Chapter 48: The Fading City (13)
(Game Day Nine)
The cleanup of the zombies went smoothly. Many citizens joined in on their own, showing great initiative.
The downtown area had far fewer zombies now. Residents made encouraging banners and painted messages on windows to boost morale.
Everyone felt hopeful, believing it wouldn’t be long before things returned to normal.
As the sun began to set, the neighborhood was quiet. They had just finished a round of cleaning. Suddenly, a crow appeared out of nowhere, and then—
Thousands of crows filled the sky.
In just moments, the crows spread the zombie virus to every corner of the city.
The teams working outside were completely wiped out.
By nightfall, when the zombie virus was at its most active, two-thirds of the city's population began to mutate.
Screams filled the air, windows were stained red, lights in residential areas went out one by one, and heavy objects fell from heights. All the earlier hope disappeared in an instant.
The city had turned into a nightmare.
Ye Nianchu checked the doors and windows again. Qin Mubai moved a cabinet to block the door and set up a defense.
They both knew that when the sun rose, the city of Searle would be completely chaotic.
(Game Day Ten)
The entire city was filled with the sound of hissing zombies. The crows had flown away, leaving only a few scattered ones still hovering.
Survivors realized that the zombie virus was evolving. If zombies outside discovered them, a group would quickly come to their door.
Zombies piled up everywhere, even around tall buildings.
Those who were still alive kept their curtains drawn and stayed silent.
Ye Nianchu saw how zombies climbed up a building. The second wave of zombies was particularly vicious, and they seemed to work together.
The hotel was eerily silent. It was hard to tell how many people were still alive.
Two days passed like this.
(Game Day Twelve)
Fewer and fewer survivors remained, while the number of zombies kept increasing.
Hiding at home and not being discovered by zombies had become the only way to survive.
"Knock, knock, knock—"
Someone was knocking at the door. Zombies shouldn’t knock. Ye Nianchu tapped her keyboard, relieved that there was still power. If there had been a blackout, finding a way to communicate would be nearly impossible.
The screen showed the figures of two men, both neatly dressed. One of them held a blood-stained knife hidden behind his body. Several hotel security guards and waiters stood beside them at the door.
It seemed someone had formed a group to take control of the hotel.
Ye Nianchu and Qin Mubai stayed silent.
"I’ve been knocking for a long time without any response. I don’t think they’re zombies, do you?" one of the men said, pressing his ear against the door to listen. "There’s no sound inside."
"Open the door and go in," the man with the knife, who appeared to be the leader, commanded. Despite their fear of finding a corpse, the others obeyed.
Hotels have spare keys for rooms. They managed to unlock the door but didn't push it open. The cabinets braced against the door were arranged very cleverly.
"Brother Deng, something’s in the way," the two henchmen struggled with the door but couldn’t get it open.
"It seems people are still alive," the man named Deng said with a smile. He raised his voice and said, "We’re hotel employees, just here to check on your safety. Please open the door."
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