The door was sealed shut again. Inside Room 302, Li Fang had finally stopped crying, slumped against the bed in sheer exhaustion.

Cao Chengping sat uneasily, his eyes darting around the room like a cornered rat.

Who would have thought that the blood-soaked maniac from earlier wasn't a psycho killer, but a rescuer?

He was going to live.

But he had also completely offended their new overlord.

What now? He had zero leverage. What if the boss was the petty type who held grudges?

In this post-apocalyptic hellscape, he could be gutted like a fish and left in a ditch, and no one would bat an eye.

The more he thought about it, the more his panic spiraled. The color drained from Cao Chengping's face, his stare turning dull and vacant.

Nearby, Li Kai had managed to pull his pants back up. He shuffled toward Li Fang, his posture practically radiating guilt.

Li Fang instantly recoiled. "What do you want? I'm warning you, the boss said no funny business! You touch me, and I'll squeal to him."

Li Kai swallowed hard. Hesitantly, he dug a hand into his pocket.

He pulled out a damp, yellowish-brown, crusty sock and offered it to her.

"Li Fang... I was just acting on impulse earlier. Here, put your sock on. Don't catch a cold."

Li Fang's face twisted into a mask of pure agony. "Get the fuck away from me!!"

Li Kai froze, his hand suspended in mid-air with the crusty sock dangling from his fingers. He didn't know whether to press it on her or pull it back.

Eventually, he shoved the offending garment back into his pocket and slunk back to his corner in silence.

He glanced over. In the opposite corner, Cao Chengping was curled into a tight ball, shivering violently.

Li Kai weakly raised a hand. "Hey, what the hell is wrong with you?"

Li Fang cast a venomous glare his way. "Now he knows how to be scared. He'd be better off dead!"

.....

Sixth floor, Sun Ya's apartment.

Zhang Wan had set aside the makeshift armor she was sewing and was busy prepping a meal in the kitchen.

Fu Hu was gripping a heavy boulder with both hands, grinding out endless sets of squats.

Fu Qingdai held a pair of bricks. Barely a few squats in, her long, slender legs were already shaking like leaves in the wind.

She forced herself through a few more reps before finally collapsing to end the set.

Dragging her feet toward the sack of pig feed, she grabbed the plastic scoop, dug in, and leveled out a scoop of the pungent protein powder.

But as she raised it to her lips, she froze.

She looked back at Su Jin, her face scrunched in misery. "Brother, do I really have to eat this? It smells like literal pig shit..."

"Eat it."

Tears pricking her eyes, Fu Qingdai shoved a massive spoonful of feed into her mouth, a cloud of foul powder puffing past her lips.

Su Jin sat at the tea table, casually flipping through notes from the rat experiments. The two elders sat across from him, nursing cups of hot tea.

Sun Ya took a slow sip. "You've read the data. The infection has a latency period, a noticeable lag. But our sample size is tiny. This could just be a fluke caused by individual biological differences. It's possible that absorbing only a trace amount of the gray substance won't guarantee infection."

"With that in mind, I still put Cheng Du and Liu Min in the unit across the hall. I didn't bolt them in, just taped up the door. Even though the risk seems low right now, they aren't like us. They don't respect the danger of the rainwater. Your group and Fu Hu's family are vetted, and Old Wei and I are obviously clear. As for the rest, the safest play is locking them down for an observation period."

"And those three you mentioned downstairs... weak-willed baggage. Plus, their room is completely dry on supplies. I highly recommend keeping them isolated. Let them stew in their own unit for a while longer."

"Mm." Su Jin snapped the notebook shut. "Give it another two or three days, and the ambient gray substance outside might just dissipate on its own. After that, the only contamination sources will be living hosts. We need to stay ahead of the curve. I want to salvage some cars and barricade the complex perimeter, then slowly start sorting the survivors inside."

"Will that actually work?" Wei De asked, skeptical. "As the weather warms up, zombie mobility will spike. A few parked cars won't stop them, and dragging them into place will make a racket, drawing even more in. We can't turtle up in this complex forever; that's just a slow death sentence."

"I've factored that in. The vast majority of the population was trapped indoors when this hit. The streets shouldn't be completely swarming. Even if the cars can't hold them off forever, they buy us a solid buffer zone."

Su Jin leaned forward, his tone turning crisp and pragmatic. "Right now, the name of the game is buying time and space. That fleshy orb grants abilities. My strategy: we segment the survivors, drip-feed them supplies, and keep them locked down inside. Meanwhile, I sweep the complex, hunt the trapped zombies, harvest the fleshy orbs, and consolidate the remaining supplies."

"I'm betting I can farm a decent amount. Once we have enough, we unleash the healthy survivors, run them through basic training, and form a structured militia. With a disciplined chain of command and a handful of awakened abilities, our survival odds skyrocket. Phase three: we secure heavy ordnance, locate a highly defensible choke point, establish a permanent stronghold, and initiate a city-wide sweep for assets and survivors."

"Thoughts?"

Wei De gave a firm nod of approval.

Sun Ya waved a dismissive hand. "I'm on board with the militia idea. But setting up a stronghold in the middle of the city? Absolutely not. The zombie density is too high, and our firepower is pitifully inadequate."

Su Jin tilted his head, listening intently.

"My counter-proposal: once the complex is organized, we punch straight out of the city and head for the military district. They have stockpiles of food, medicine, and fuel. With Old Wei and my tactical oversight, we can leverage heavy weaponry to rapidly secure a beachhead. Your corporate restructuring plan is too slow. The stragglers in this city will be dead before you finish organizing them, and the long-term risks are catastrophic."

Su Jin's brow furrowed. "The military district is a death trap. You said it yourself: the armed forces likely took the brunt of the first wave. The zombie concentration there will be astronomical. Furthermore, the second we step into the wilderness, we're dealing with infected wildlife. And what about insects? We have zero data on whether the gray substance affects bugs."

Sun Ya pressed his hands flat against the table. "Infected organisms don't feel the cold. We haven't seen a single infected insect yet, which drops the probability to near zero. Moreover, based on our autopsies and observations, the infected don't naturally swarm. Without a distinct stimulus, they just aimlessly shamble."

"Translation: the infected soldiers have likely wandered off by now. Infected wildlife lose their pack instincts and won't congregate in their usual dens. Zombies cover a massive surface area, spreading themselves thin, and sound doesn't travel well across open terrain."

"Compare that to an urban environment. You launch an operation here, the noise draws zombies. Their roars trigger a chain reaction, pulling in more... the probability of triggering a massive zombie horde is a statistical certainty. Without heavy artillery, one bad pull will wipe us all out."

"That still feels... overly aggressive, doesn't it?" Su Jin said, weighing the variables.

"Desperate times require extreme measures." Sun Ya's gaze darkened with a hidden layer of anxiety. "Old Wei and I are ancient. We could snap our necks tripping on the stairs tomorrow. What's your contingency plan when we drop dead? Do you have another ballistic weapons engineer on speed dial? Heavy artillery isn't an assault rifle; you can't just point and click."

Su Jin lowered his head and offered a cold, reassuring smile. "Don't overthink it, gentlemen. You're my VIPs. I'll make sure you stay breathing."

Sun Ya shook his head, his face dead serious. "Little Su, we respect your pragmatism, and I appreciate the sentiment. But you can't shield us forever, and frankly, you might not have the power to."

"Let's ignore the long-term. Look at Old Wei. He has a severe heart condition, and his current meds won't even last the month. They're imported pharmaceuticals. Getting a refill in this hellscape is basically impossible."

"Elder Wei." Su Jin immediately locked eyes with Wei De. "What exactly do you need? Why wasn't I briefed on this? This is a critical resource issue that needs proactive solutions."

Wei De chuckled, waving it off. "The pills keep the engine running smooth, but missing a few won't necessarily kill me on the spot. Don't risk your neck over my bad ticker."

With that, he slapped his knees and pushed himself up from the chair.

"Alright, clock's ticking. Let's go check on the lab rats."