In the blink of an eye, Bai Wen had taken down four Zombies without batting an eye. Glancing at the hallway splattered with green blood plasma, he quickly searched the rooms before heading up to the third floor.
The hotel was teeming with Zombies—most of them naked, both men and women—all long stripped of their living appearances, now reduced to snarling, roaring figures of the Walking Dead.
Bai Wen showed no mercy. With a gun in each hand, he shot each one in the head, swiftly clearing the building of Zombies. However, to his disappointment, these were all ordinary Zombies, with only a few Incubation crystals among them.
After a quick snack of leftover dried fruit from yesterday, Bai Wen climbed to the rooftop, set up his sniper rifle, and aimed at the Zombies wandering the hotel square.
The distance was great enough that these mindless Zombies couldn't possibly catch his scent or charge up here. Feeling completely at ease, he pulled the trigger.
Piu~ A bullet left the barrel with a soft sound, striking a Zombie nearly a kilometer away right in the head. Green blood and white brain matter splattered across the ground.
The previously sluggish Zombies suddenly seemed injected with adrenaline, becoming frenzied and howling wildly. But they soon realized there was no trace of human scent nearby—no target to attack.
They could only scurry around like headless flies, utterly unable to locate their enemy.
This was exactly the effect Bai Wen wanted. Calmly, he pulled back the bolt, ejected the spent casing, and fired again.
Piu~
Another Zombie dropped, its head blown open with a fist-sized hole.
Meanwhile, the SCV had already slipped over unnoticed, quietly tearing open the Zombies' chests to collect the crystals inside. The Zombies were too caught up in their frenzy to pay attention to such a tiny thing—and even if they did, it was just a hunk of metal. Zombies had zero interest in that, so why waste energy attacking it?
Bai Wen continued firing methodically, reloading whenever a magazine emptied before resuming his sniping. Soon, a small hill of spent casings piled up at his feet.
By now, the square was nearly empty of Zombies, all picked off by Bai Wen alone. His ammo pouch was finally depleted.
Checking the sky, he stretched, his joints cracking. After inspecting his gear, he packed up, slung the sniper rifle over his shoulder, and prepared to return to the villa.
The SCV flew back and perched on Bai Wen's shoulder, about to report the day's haul when hurried footsteps echoed in the distance—more than one person's.
Bai Wen immediately pulled out his binoculars and spotted two figures running toward him, one after the other, pursued by a horde of snarling Zombies.
He cursed under his breath. If they came this way, wouldn't they lead the Zombies right to him? He quickly shouldered his sniper rifle but remembered he was out of ammo the moment he took aim.
Forced to lower the rifle, he drew his pistol and swiftly climbed down to the second floor.
He couldn't afford to expose himself now. With so many zombies in close combat, who could guarantee not getting scratched? One scratch was all it took—unless you were among the rare few immune to the virus, you'd turn into a mindless zombie.
The two of them were indeed running in this direction. Perhaps because Bai Wen had killed all the zombies in the square, they instinctively thought this area was safe. Stumbling and staggering, they dashed into the Grand Luxe Hotel.
They had intended to block the door, but the furniture in the lobby was too large and heavy for them to move. Instead, they held hands and rushed up to the second floor, hastily dragging over desks and miscellaneous items to barricade the stairway.
Then they repeated the process on the third floor.
They didn't stop until they reached the fifth floor, utterly exhausted and unable to move another step.
"Don't be afraid. They won't make it up here anytime soon. Let's rest for a bit, then figure out what to do!" said one of them—a gaunt, middle-aged man, his voice weak and strained.
The other was completely wrapped in tattered robes, even their head concealed under a hood, with a scarf covering their face. Only a pair of striking black eyes were visible, making it impossible to discern their appearance.
Hearing the man's words, they squeezed his hand and nodded solemnly, as if offering reassurance.
"Don't move!" Suddenly, two pistols were pressed against their foreheads, freezing them in terror. The middle-aged man reacted instantly, shoving his companion aside and shouting, "Run!"
Bai Wen's eyes flashed. He fired a shot into the floor, making the man flinch violently. With all his strength, the man screamed, "You heartless monsters! Go ahead, shoot me! Kill me!"
Then he threw himself in front of his companion, his emaciated face twisted into something even more terrifying than a zombie's.
But the person he was protecting suddenly lunged forward, shielding him instead. Though they didn't speak, the determination in their exposed eyes was unmistakable.
Bai Wen was intrigued. In this dark apocalypse, such loyalty was rare. Were these two father and son? Or father and daughter?
In that brief moment of distraction, the younger one—whether son or daughter—suddenly struck. A lightning-fast kick sent Bai Wen's pistol flying, followed by a second kick aimed straight at his head. In close quarters, Bai Wen had no chance to fire. He could only dodge the relentless assault.
Their body was incredibly agile and strong, capable of executing complex maneuvers that forced Bai Wen into retreat. But Bai Wen was no pushover either. His steely resolve and enhanced physique quickly turned the tide.
"Bam! Bam! Bam!" Their fight spilled from the narrow hallway into a spacious guest room. However, likely due to exhaustion, their attacks began to weaken, leaving them gritting their teeth just to hold their ground.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man fought through his own weakness, scrambling to pick up Bai Wen's discarded gun. Bai Wen had been watching him closely. The moment the man grabbed the weapon, Bai Wen drew a dagger, seizing the opportunity to lock the younger one's arm and press the blade against their throat.
Only then did Bai Wen realize—it was a woman!
"Let her go, now!" Seeing his daughter in Bai Wen's grasp, the middle-aged man was both shocked and furious, but dared not act rashly. All he could do was shout helpless threats.
Bai Wen chuckled. "Even if I stand here doing nothing, how long do you think you can last? Tell me—where are you from and what's your purpose here? Otherwise, I won't mind leaving a scar on your daughter's pretty neck!"
"Don't you dare—" Before the middle-aged man could finish, a wave of weakness overcame him. His gun clattered to the ground.
A smirk curled at the corner of Bai Wen's lips. Just as he was about to finish them off, a sudden burst of gunfire erupted across the square.