A man holding a pistol entered through the window, his expression twisted in a savage grimace.

"Alright, darling, let’s just kill him right away."

Yang Mu was utterly bewildered. What were these people up to? Using a woman to trick someone into giving up a safe's combination?

"Are you robbing this place? Don’t you realize the entire outside is swarming with zombies?"

The woman’s husband approached Yang Mu, chuckling sinisterly.

“There are only zombies in the quarantine zone. This isn’t the end of the world yet. As long as we get out, money will still be useful. It’d be such a waste not to steal some now.”

Yang Mu had already noticed that these men were dressed as security guards, and it all made sense to him.

Clearly, the hotel’s security and staff had seen the chaos unfolding around them and decided to take advantage of it. But since they couldn't open the safe, they used the woman to extract information—only to be caught in the act by him.

He had indeed fallen into a trap by meddling in affairs that weren’t his, and now found himself in a bigger mess—escaping the tiger’s den, only to land in a wolf’s lair.

Where had they gotten their weapons?

Oh... There was no need to guess. In such chaos, even the police would have turned into zombies, so picking up a couple of guns likely wasn’t too difficult for the survivors.

Seeing that the man was about to make a move against him, Yang Mu hastily said:

"Hey, brothers! You're going about this all wrong. Don't you want money? Shouldn't you be asking the old man for the safe’s combination instead of messing with me? I’m just a passerby."

“Ha! That old miser? Someone once tried to rob him before, and he almost got beaten to death over a hundred bucks but still wouldn't let go. Now there’s a million in that safe—you think he’ll just hand over the password?”

“How about this: I’m quite the talker. Let me have a word with the old man. If I can get the password, won’t that save you from wasting explosives? Besides, who’s to say explosives would even crack that safe open?”

The men exchanged glances, and finally, the woman’s husband nodded. It seemed he was their leader.

“Alright, give it a shot. But if you don’t get it out of him, I’ll kill you on the spot!”

Their leader was full of arrogance.

Yang Mu swiftly walked over to the old man, crouched beside him, and looked him in the eye.

“Your name is Wang Biao?”

Yang Mu had overheard Liu Dan mention his name earlier.

“Mm,” Wang Biao stammered, trembling slightly, clearly shaken by the guns pointed at him. He had never expected things to turn out this way.

“Just give them the password, or they'll kill me first, and then you next.”

“I... I won’t say it. Let them kill you. After they’ve killed you, I’ll think about whether I’ll tell them or not.”

A flash of malice glinted in Wang Biao’s eyes. He was still holding a grudge from the kicks Yang Mu had given him earlier.

The situation was tricky. Yang Mu was caught between two sides, both of whom wanted him dead.

“Wang Biao, Wang Biao... I’m not a wicked person, but now I have no choice. I don’t want to die!”

As Yang Mu spoke, he moved swiftly, grabbing Wang Biao and starting to beat him.

There are many ways to fight, and Yang Mu employed the art of bluster.

To the onlookers, it appeared he was beating Wang Biao mercilessly, but in reality, none of his strikes were lethal.

Within half a minute, however, Wang Biao’s face was swollen, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

The onlookers were stunned. Who would’ve thought this young man, who looked like a pretty boy, could be so ruthless, beating someone as if he intended to kill?

“Hurry up and tell me the password, or I’ll beat you to death!” Yang Mu roared, having now pushed Wang Biao from the corner of the room to the door.

Opportunity knocked. Yang Mu grabbed Wang Biao by the collar and in one swift motion, leapt towards the door, throwing it open.

“He’s escaping! Shoot him!”

Gunfire rang out, and blood blossomed from several holes in Wang Biao’s body. Yang Mu, shielded by Wang Biao, stood unharmed outside the door.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

He turned back quickly, his face cold as he looked at Wang Biao.

“This is the fate you chose for yourself. Don’t blame me.”

With that, Yang Mu shoved Wang Biao back into the room and bolted.

“We’ve been tricked! That brat was hitting him so fiercely to distract us, and he slipped out to the door!”

“Too cunning. We can’t let him escape! He’s vicious and dangerous—he planned it all out, using Wang Biao as a shield to block our bullets!”

The men clamored as they rushed out of the room. Yang Mu dashed into the stairwell and bolted upwards, climbing all the way to the 30th floor, panting heavily.

Hah, catch him? Not a chance.

He had been running for his life since childhood, and his speed and endurance had been honed to the limits of human capability. The extreme parkour training over the past two years had pushed his limits even further, bringing him to a state of near perfection.

This wasn’t a commercial area anymore. Yang Mu peered through the stairwell door. Ahead was a long hallway lined with apartment doors, likely part of a hotel-style residential building.

Yang Mu knew these types of apartments—affordable, with small floor plans and limited ownership rights. They were often used as single apartments or office spaces.

Since they couldn't be used as registered addresses, the rent was generally low, making them suitable for fledgling entrepreneurs.

Listening closely, Yang Mu couldn’t hear any movement below. They probably hadn’t followed. Even those with decent stamina would be panting heavily by the 16th or 17th floor. Climbing this high would feel like ascending to the heavens, so the pursuers weren’t likely to catch up anytime soon, and might have already given up—after all, this was the 30th floor.

After a moment’s hesitation, Yang Mu entered the corridor, looking for a safe place to rest.

He had barely walked seven or eight meters when a nearby door suddenly swung open, revealing a hulking man at least 1.9 meters tall. He seemed half-asleep, squinting as he brushed his teeth, foam spilling from his mouth.

“Hey, are you the delivery guy? Took you long enough. I’ve been waiting for over an hour.”

Yang Mu was momentarily taken aback, then laughed.

“How long have you been asleep, man?”

“Not too long. I drank with some buddies all night the other night, then crashed yesterday morning... Just woke up now. Huh? Where’s my chicken casserole? Isn’t it in your bag?”

“This place has been turned into a quarantine zone, didn’t you know?”

“A quarantine? For what?”

“Zombies. The apocalypse might be upon us.”

“Apocalypse? Hahaha, what the hell are you talking about?”

“Looks like you really don’t know. Come on, let me explain it to you slowly.”

Yang Mu nudged the giant back into his apartment and, after checking that no one was coming up the stairs, shut the door behind him.

It was a one-bedroom unit, with a balcony in the living room. On the balcony, there was a telescope. Yang Mu walked over, pulled the curtain open just a crack, and picked up the telescope to look outside.

Objects within a few hundred meters were clear, but anything farther away became blurry.

"My name is Yang Mu. A survivor of the apocalypse.”

“I’m Song Ren... What the hell is that?”

Song Ren’s face changed as he gazed at the chaotic streets below—cars overturned, bodies scattered everywhere, bloodstains streaking the ground, and clusters of people howling and snarling in unison.

“It’s the end of the world. A zombie crisis.”

“Where did the zombies come from?”

“No one knows. People just started turning. It’s confined to the old city, so this area became a quarantine zone.”

Song Ren stared blankly for a moment, then rushed to his bed to call someone. He dialed several times, but no one picked up.

“My parents, they live in the old city. Why aren’t they answering? I need to go check on them.”

“Big guy, you can’t get out. Look around. The zombies haven’t surrounded the building yet, but there are too many of them just a few hundred meters away, especially on the road leading to Exit B...”

Yang Mu’s last words were more of a mutter to himself, spoken softly.

With the telescope, he could see the situation clearly. For miles, there were nothing but hordes of zombies!

It seemed that, since it was an exit, many people had initially flocked in that direction, but barricades and quarantine lines had been set up, trapping them. They hadn’t made it out and eventually turned into zombies, blocking the way.

Song Ren grabbed his hair in frustration, exasperated.

“Why hasn’t the military come to wipe out the zombies here?”

“There are 800,000 to 900,000 people in the old city. How would they wipe them all out? How much equipment and firepower would they need? Even if they’re planning to act, it would take time to prepare.”

Yang Mu surveyed the room again as he spoke and was startled to notice the blanket on the bed moving.

"Is someone inside?"

"Ah? Oh, that's just a girl I brought back after drinking," replied Song Ren.

As soon as he finished speaking, the blanket was thrown aside, revealing a person slowly sitting up on the bed.

Bare-chested with a commendable physique, her skin was unnaturally pale.

Her long, chestnut-colored hair draped over her shoulders, and her face was somewhat unsettling.

Her lips were turned outward, her teeth enormous, and her eyes were cloudy with a hint of a zombie's hollow stare.

"Brother, are you telling me you were sleeping with a zombie?"

"Is that so shocking? I even...well, just a few moments ago, her moans..."

Song Ren's face turned ashen, recalling the mournful, almost beastly cries from earlier.

Yang Mu, seeing the change in Song Ren’s expression, was immediately filled with dread.

"The apocalypse began yesterday morning. Were you and this woman both so drunk that you came home and went straight to sleep?"

"Uh..."

"Big guy, you're incredible! This woman must have already turned into a zombie. The alcohol might still affect her, which makes her a drunken zombie. You were sleeping with her, and you didn’t...kiss her, did you?"

"No... I wanted to, but her breath smelled so foul I backed off."

Yang Mu had never admired anyone as much as he did this giant at this moment; his luck was astonishingly good, surviving a zombie encounter unscathed—who would believe it?

This also clarified a crucial point: the real danger from zombies lies in their claws and teeth, covered in a layer of viscous substance. Only wounds from these appendages, allowing the substance to enter the body, cause zombification. Other forms of contact are less hazardous, so engaging in intimate acts didn't result in infection.

Grasping his axe, Yang Mu quickly dragged a dining table over as a barricade—his strategy for dealing with zombies, using obstacles to reduce risk.

"Are you saying I slept with a zombie? Oh my god! Mom!"

The giant's face turned purple, and he rushed to the bathroom, vomiting uncontrollably while turning on the faucet to wash something.

Yang Mu didn’t need to guess; he knew exactly what he was washing—likely an overwhelming sense of terror.

Holding the axe tightly, Yang Mu observed the woman on the bed. Unlike other zombies, she didn’t go berserk upon seeing a living person; instead, she stared vacantly at Qin An.

After a moment, she slowly rose on her knees, her hands touching the bed as she crawled like a dog.

She fell off the edge of the bed with a thud but didn’t seem to care, rising again and continuing to crawl towards the bathroom.

Song Ren, emerging from the bathroom with his trousers in hand, was horrified to see the zombie grinning at him from the doorway and screamed once more:

"Mom!"