Huan Tian stood at the corner, as if he had just arrived.
A flash of viciousness flickered in Zou Wen's eyes, but it was quickly suppressed, replaced by a seemingly excited flush. If not for Huan Tian's sharp gaze, the sudden shift in expression would have gone unnoticed.
"Huan Tian, you're here too? Great!"
"Come help me block the door! I'll grab the fire hose from over there—if we tie this door shut, those bastards won't be able to get in. Then we'll be safe!"
But Huan Tian didn't move. On the contrary, the killing intent in his eyes grew more distinct.
Did Zou Wen think he had just arrived? That he couldn't tell the door was already on the verge of collapse?
Whoever went to help block the door would be taking the fall for him. Zou Wen still wanted to use him at a time like this!
Huan Tian didn't act. But on Zou Wen's exposed arm, he spotted no fewer than four bite marks. And through the torn parts of his clothes, some wounds looked like they had been left by gums—bloody and raw, with the blood beginning to take on a faint bluish hue.
The fact that Zou Wen was still alive meant he'd been bitten by a second-generation infected. But that also meant that, in the few hours before he turned, he was a walking piece of meat, reeking of temptation.
Zou Wen shouted while bracing the emergency exit door with all his strength, still trying to hide the fact that the screws were already loose.
But Huan Tian remained motionless, forcing Zou Wen to bear the burden alone.
Eventually, Zou Wen couldn't hold out any longer. Frustration pushed him into a rage.
"Huan Tian, are you just standing there taking a shit? Can't you see I need help?"
"Get over here right now! If you help me, you'll be one of my people. You'll eat well, live well—not like you are now, slaving away for four thousand a month!"
"You help me now, and I'll transfer you a million on the spot. Is that good enough for you?"
This time, Huan Tian finally moved.
As Huan Tian stepped closer, Zou Wen grew more excited, though not a trace of it showed on his face. He just kept urging him along:
"Huan Tian, hurry up! I can't hold on much longer!"
"Is that food on your back? Put it down first—once we secure the door, we'll grab everything and run for it!"
A cold glint flashed in Zou Wen's eyes. His mind was already made up.
He wasn't planning to wait for Huan Tian to take over the door. As soon as Haun Ting stepped within range of the collapsing emergency door, he would let go and bolt. Huan Tian's reflexes would kick in, and he'd instinctively catch the door to stop it from falling.
As for the supplies on Huan Tian—if there was time, he'd snatch them; if not, he'd run. Either way, the plan was flawless.
But just as Zou Wen was eagerly waiting for Huan Tian to walk straight into the trap, Huan Tian stopped right in front of him.
One more step, and he'd be within the danger zone of the falling door—but Huan Tian didn't move an inch further.
"Why aren't you helping? Just a bit closer!" Zou Wen was drenched in sweat, panic creeping into his voice, and a dangerous gleam flashed in his eyes.
"If I take one more step, I'll probably die—won't I?"
A chill shot through Zou Wen's body. His eyes flickered with a brief panic.
"W-What are you talking about? That's nonsense. Once you take over, I'll grab the fire hose and we'll tie the door shut—those zombies will—"
"I just want to know one thing,"
Huan Tian's voice was cold as ice.
"Jiang Qing and Wang Susu—did you introduce them to each other?"
Zou Wen stiffened as if struck by lightning. The rest of his sentence was scattered like ash in the wind.
"What the hell are you talking about? I don't know anything! Why bring that up now? We need to focus on staying alive!"
Huan Tian said nothing, but from the panic and evasiveness in Zou Wen's eyes, he had already gotten the answer he wanted.
"Not talking, huh?"
Huan Tian's eyes were icy as he slowly pulled a fruit knife from his pocket.
Zou Wen froze on the spot.
"H-Huan Tian, what are you doing?!"
"I'm not doing anything," Huan Tian replied calmly, though his gaze carried a trace of mockery. "Just making the most out of you."
Before the words had even finished, the knife in his hand slashed down like lightning, swift and precise, slicing cleanly across Zou Wen's shoulder. Blood spurted out instantly.
"Ahh—damn it, that hurts! Huan Tian, are you insane?! What the hell are you trying to do?!"
Zou Wen screamed in pain, shocked and furious. The sharp sting nearly made him lose his grip, but the stronger threat was already in the air—the thick scent of fresh blood spreading rapidly.
Bang!
Bang!
About thirty meters to the right, two office doors were violently flung open. Three blood-soaked, mutilated zombies stumbled into the corridor, rushing straight in Zou Wen's direction.
At the same time, low growls echoed behind Huan Tian.
A male and a female zombie burst out of a nearby room and into the hallway. The heavy, metallic scent of blood ignited a frenzy in their ashen eyes, now glowing red with madness.
Further down the other two corridors, more howls followed one after another—it was clear those paths were no longer an option.
Only the hallway to Huan Tian's left remained eerily quiet, completely undisturbed.
His tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed slightly—at least the left path was safe.
By now, Zou Wen had served his final purpose in Huan Tian's eyes. Waste repurposed—task complete.
The five zombies all turned at once toward the source of the sound, as if catching the scent of something irresistibly delicious in the air. Their bodies stiffened, and in the next instant, their eyes burned crimson.
"Raaaarghhh!!"
With a feral roar, three zombies lunged at Zou Wen like mad beasts, as if determined to tear him apart and devour him whole.
The male and female zombies were now sprinting madly toward Huan Tian, blood still dripping from the corners of their mouths with each stride—clearly, they had just fed on human flesh.
At that moment, Zou Wen finally panicked. He instinctively wanted to abandon the emergency exit door and run, but the screws holding it in place were already on the verge of falling out. If he let go now, the doors would collapse instantly—he wouldn't even make it a step before the horde of zombies behind the door tore him to pieces.
"No! Don't come any closer—stay away from me!"
"Huan Tian, I'll tell you everything! I was the one who introduced Wang Susu to President Jiang, but it was that bitch Wang Susu who begged me first—I just gave her a contact!"
"Save me! I'll give you five million—no, ten million! Help me kill these zombies!"
But to Huan Tian, Zou Wen had already exhausted all his value.
"Raaaarghhh!"
The female zombie behind Huan Tian lunged first. Huan Tian didn't even flinch. He raised his left arm to block, and she immediately sank her teeth in.
But instead of flesh, her jaws clamped down on a makeshift arm guard Huan Tian had crafted with metal plating and layers of tightly rolled hardback books. The outer shell was pierced, but the dense inner layers held strong, her fangs unable to bite further.
Huan Tian pivoted—shoulders low, waist twisting—A clean, powerful over-the-shoulder throw slammed the female zombie into the ground.
Without looking back, he lifted his right leg high and unleashed a savage rising kick. The male zombie, mid-pounce, was struck hard beneath the jaw. His furious growl turned into a winded wheeze as he was launched backward, skull crashing into the wall with a loud crack—and he stopped moving altogether.
The female zombie hit the ground hard, but the force—enough to shatter a human spine—had little effect on her. She began to roll over, only to see a shadow descending fast—
Huan Tian's knee struck like a hammer, a brutal flying knee crashing directly into her nasal bone!
Her face crumpled inward with a sickening crunch. As her skull slammed into the wall behind her, Huan Tian's fruit knife followed like a lightning strike—his powerful wrist driving the blade deep into her eye socket—
A clean kill.
Two zombies were killed instantly—no more than three seconds in total!
[Ding — Eliminated Tier-1 Zombie: 2; Earned Demon Hunting Points: 2; Total Demon Hunting Points: 11]
Seeing Huan Tian's overwhelming strength, Zou Wen's eyes finally ignited with a last flicker of hope. He shouted hoarsely:
"Huan Tian, for the sake of working together! We're still humans—please, help me, I beg you..."
But all he got was utter despair.
Without hesitation, Huan Tian turned and sprinted toward the only corridor without zombies. Zou Wen could only watch his back grow more distant, his heart instantly plunging into a frozen abyss.
But in the next second, that despair twisted into a vicious snarl.
"Huan Tian, I'm going to die, but you won't escape either!"
"I curse you to a miserable death!"
"Arrghhh!"
Three zombies pounced on him. At the same time, the emergency exit doors crashed down with a thunderous roar, and five zombies from outside surged into the hallway.
Zou Wen let out a soul-shattering scream. But with a sudden crack, all the sounds ceased, replaced by a hoarse, gurgling noise.
His throat had been bitten through.
Helpless, he could only watch his life quickly drain away.
If he could instantly turn into a zombie, it might have eased his pain. But the one who bit him was infected with the second-generation Nightmare Virus, whose viral load was too low to trigger immediate zombification.
He could only suffer and die in agonizing bites.
Only after death would he become a mangled, lowest-tier zombie.
…
Meanwhile, Huan Tian was sprinting down the corridor, beads of sweat already forming on his forehead.
Long hours of overtime, taking down nearly twenty security guards, and the fierce battle in the CEO's office had pushed his body to the limit. This was why he hadn't rushed straight to the employee lounge.
And Zou Wen's presence had completely blocked the nearest route.
Huan Tian needed food, energy, so he had to find another target.
His mind raced to recalculate an escape route, switching his primary objective from the employee lounge to the small meeting room on the east side.
Company meetings sometimes lasted hours, and every meeting room was connected to a small lounge stocked with drinking water and snacks, sometimes even high-energy food if luck was on his side.
Passing through the corridor's isolation door, Huan Tian immediately locked it from the inside, then dragged a cabinet to firmly barricade it.
Leaning against the door, he controlled his breathing—slow, steady inhales and exhales.
He was using a breathing technique learned in his previous life to regulate his body, conserving as much energy as possible, preparing himself for the next round of battle and survival.
The Yun Breathing Technique was an advanced ancient martial art method that Huan Tian had learned from his good brother Yun Ze in his past life. It was the core practice of all Yun family martial arts. Without the Yun Breathing Technique, Huan Tian wouldn't even know how many times he had already died.
Under its aid, his lost stamina was rapidly recovering. But without quickly replenishing his energy, this recovery was like water without roots—always at risk of drying up.
"Yun Ze, Yun family, once again I owe you a great debt."
"Wait for me. In this life, I will never allow the tragedy of the Yun family to repeat."
Having eliminated the dangers behind him, Huan Tian finally relaxed a little. He moved like the wind through the corridor, his goal now within reach.
Bang!
Suddenly, all the lights around him went out. Huan Tian's pupils contracted sharply as his vision instantly plunged into total darkness.
"Damn it, a power outage."
Using his momentum, he rolled forward several times before steadying himself to stand.
The building had its internal power system. Normally, after a blackout, the lights would automatically come back on within ten minutes. But due to wiring issues, priority was given to vital equipment like elevators, while the lighting system in his past life only came back on the next day.
Blinking rapidly, Huan Tian's pupils quickly adapted to the darkness, but his speed was greatly reduced, forcing him to slow down.
Then, from his right side, a heavy sound suddenly came—
Like a pounding heartbeat.
Thump—thump.
Thump—thump.
Thump—thump.