Chu Hong curiously approached Yang Mu and peered outside.

Through a small door, a "man" with a severed leg was crawling out.

As Yang Mu had described, he was emaciated and about 1.7 meters tall, presumably Hu Lili's real husband.

Chu Hong's heart trembled. She glanced at Yang Mu's somewhat handsome face, feeling momentarily disoriented.

Previously, he hadn't seemed particularly remarkable, but now he exuded an aura of commanding authority.

Since the chaos began, every action and mannerism of his had diverged significantly from the Yang Mu she once knew. Was this still the same powerless son-in-law of the Wen family?

The two outside did not believe Yang Mu's words and continued their efforts with the door.

The legless zombie crawled up behind Fang Laosi and bit him on the rear.

"Ah!"

Fang Laosi's scream pierced the air, and Huang Lili looked down in horror, almost fainting.

In a hurry, Huang Lili fumbled with the keys, desperate to enter the kitchen.

Yang Mu had already locked the door from the inside.

"Let me in, please!"

Through the small window, Yang Mu's dispassionate gaze met Huang Lili's tear-streaked face. He sighed lazily, unmoved.

"Your men are outside; stay with them."

As Fang Laosi's body began to decompose, the two zombies ceased their attacks and began to sniff for new prey.

Huang Lili, seeing this, fled the kitchen and rushed upstairs. Yang Mu approached the window, pushed open the glass, smashed the lock on the aluminum alloy security window, and jumped outside.

He grabbed a ladder from the courtyard, carried it to the wall, and began to set it up.

Chu Hong ran after him, and Yang Mu looked at her and said:

"I'll only take you with me if you don't impede my progress; otherwise, I'll throw you aside immediately."

"I will do my best. Please be a bit accommodating; after all, I'm a woman."

"This is truly the end times. Gender distinctions no longer matter, and don’t forget, we’re not very close."

As Yang Mu climbed the ladder to the top of the wall, Chu Hong hurried to follow.

As they perched on the wall, a window on the third floor of the small building suddenly opened. Hu Lili jumped out but fell to the ground, breaking her bones and moving a few times before losing consciousness.

Immediately, Fang Laosi leaped down as well, breaking his bones but still wriggling like a maggot towards Hu Lili, his mouth wide open as he bit her face.

Chu Hong was horrified and turned her gaze elsewhere.

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

Outside, the scene was just as hellish. The alley was a battlefield of people and zombies.

"What should we do?"

"The people and zombies outside will eventually enter the courtyard. Rather than waiting to die, we should seek a way out."

Yang Mu pulled the ladder up, packed it into his backpack, and placed it against the opposite courtyard wall.

"This is Baihua Village, half rural houses, half resettlement housing. We'll head to the resettlement area; there are buildings there. It's safer higher up."

Having said this, Yang Mu was already climbing the ladder to the other side.

Chu Hong was stunned. The ladder was so narrow, and below were zombies. How could she get across?

"You have 40 seconds. If you don’t make it, I’m taking the ladder back."

"I can’t."

"40, 39, 38..."

As Yang Mu counted down, Chu Hong gritted her teeth and began to climb the ladder.

Voices and cries for help came from below, and zombies were growling. Chu Hong was terrified, and Yang Mu's countdown was her only reason and motivation to persist.

Finally, as the countdown reached 10, Chu Hong made it across.

"That wasn't so hard, was it? It only took 30 seconds. Next time, I'll only give you 30 seconds."

"Why are you so harsh?"

Chu Hong was angry but helpless.

Yang Mu retrieved the ladder, carried it along the 30-centimeter-wide wall, while Chu Hong dared not stand but had to crawl along, her pants rubbing and leaving marks. Luckily, she was wearing trousers; otherwise, if she had been in her previous yellow underwear, she would have been badly chafed.

They used the ladder to traverse between courtyards, taking a full hour to reach the edge of the rural housing area.

Here, there was a street about six meters wide. Beyond a wall lay the Baihua Village community.

"Yang Mu, what should we do? Look below; it's full of zombies. We can’t get through."

"Take off your clothes."

"Huh?"

Yang Mu sat on the wall and used his axe to split the ladder in half.

"Hurry up."

"Oh."

Chu Hong reluctantly removed her outer shirt and handed it to Yang Mu.

Yang Mu tore the shirt and bound it to the ladder. Standing up, the ladder transformed into stilts.

"You… you can walk on stilts?"

"Come here, and I'll carry you."

"Carry me? How?"

"Count to ten."

When Chu Hong heard Yang Mu’s countdown again, she instinctively moved, climbing close to Yang Mu, standing shakily on the wall, and clinging to his back.

At fifteen, Yang Mu began trying out stilt-walking, a skill he had practiced for half a month when he was fifteen, during his early attempts at earning money through stilt performances.

As the zombies noticed the stilts moving past, Yang Mu had already advanced to a safer distance.

Only six meters away, he crossed the street at top speed and vaulted over the courtyard wall into the community.

"You’re amazing!"

Chu Hong was exhilarated and thrilled.

"Be quiet! Are you a fool? Is this really the time for shouting?"

Carrying a living person was exhausting, and stilts were not entirely safe, presenting significant risk.

Yang Mu leaned back against the wall.

"Ah!"

Chu Hong's bottom landed on the wall, and Yang Mu was positioned right beneath her.

"Keep quiet, or I’ll throw you down."

"No, no, no, I won’t shout, but it hurts."

Chu Hong could only speak in whispers as Yang Mu removed the stilts and leaped down from the wall.

"How do I get down?"

"Jump down in five seconds!"

Chu Hong was surprisingly easy to command; hearing the countdown, she jumped immediately.

Yang Mu caught her and set her down, then pulled out his axe from the backpack and ran towards the nearest building entrance.

There were many zombies in the community, but none nearby.

As he reached the entrance, a strong smell of blood emanated.

Yang Mu quickly stopped and looked inside. Three zombies were feasting on a corpse.

"Yang Mu, Yang Mu, there are zombies!"

Chu Hong bumped into Yang Mu, drawing the attention of several zombies in the corridor. They turned their white, soulless eyes towards Yang Mu.

Yang Mu turned to see the zombies approaching them from behind.

"Yang Mu! What should we do? Yang Mu!"

Chu Hong’s voice trembled, her hands gripping Yang Mu’s back tightly.

Yang Mu's face turned extremely calm as he whispered:

"When faced with two adversaries, the brave will prevail!"

Armed with an axe, Yang Mu charged into the building, attacking the zombies.

The bravery of zombies stemmed from their soullessness, while Yang Mu's courage was driven by a determination to emerge from the brink of death.

Chu Hong, trembling at the entrance, watched the approaching zombies and, gritting her teeth, entered the building.

Suddenly, a warm chest embraced her, and Chu Hong felt a heavy breath.

The man held her with one arm, turned around, closed the unit door, and locked it from the inside.

The corridor's sensor lights flickered on. Chu Hong turned her head inside and saw the remaining zombies had turned into a pile of mangled flesh…