the door to the storage area and still leave enough space for two people
to pass. Bai measured the opening, moved the heaviest piece herself, and
showed the residents how to arrange the rest. The job took only a few
minutes, but it changed the shape of the stairwell from a trap into a
usable route.
When they reached the ground floor, Bai checked the main entrance and
the side access doors. One had been secured from the inside with a
chain, but the chain had been attached to a weak bracket. Another door
had a lock that looked solid but could be pushed open if someone applied
enough force near the handle. She reinforced both. The rear service exit
had a gap at the bottom, where a small infected animal might crawl in,
so she sealed it with a metal strip. Yan recorded the changes and marked
the points that would need checking again.
They found no large group of zombies on the ground floor, but the
loading area contained signs of recent movement. There were dark smears
