Fortunately, beyond the door was nothing but damp, chilly air.
The temperature in the basement dropped several degrees. Where did this small door lead? Why was it so cold?
We exchanged glances. Though the situation inside was unknown, it was clearly a passageway! After a brief hesitation, we all agreed: we had to investigate!
It was a tunnel, about one person tall—even a man over 1.9 meters could stand upright. The walls were smoothed with cement, and the ground was level. It seemed the digging had been done methodically. This definitely wasn't an escape tunnel dug by prisoners—it was clearly built by the prison administration, though its purpose was unclear.
We followed the winding tunnel for about twenty minutes. I grew anxious—my parents and Shuai Shuai were still in the cells aboveground. Even if zombies couldn't break in, the horde was right outside the walls! I didn't want to be away from them for long.
"Dead end!" someone up front whispered. The leader was Yang Guang (Sunshine), another member of Yan Quan's group. He was a lean, agile young man around 27–28 years old, with a sharp jawline and intelligent eyes. He moved with practiced grace, as if trained in martial arts.
At the tunnel's end, an iron ladder was fixed to the cement wall, leading to a manhole-like iron cover overhead. It was locked.
"This leads to the surface!" Yang Guang climbed up, pressed his ear to the cover, and listened. "It's quiet outside—probably no zombies." After careful listening, he reported. Jianan handed him a master key to unlock the cover.
The lock clicked open. Yang Guang carefully lifted the cover a crack, peering through the gap.
"Ah! It's a room!" He suddenly pushed the cover open, startling us!
In a flash, he climbed out. Impatient, I quickly followed up the ladder.
Whew! Relief washed over me. It was a room—empty—so no risk of zombies stepping on our heads!
The others swiftly climbed up.
The room was small. By flashlight, we saw it had no windows, only a door. We had no idea what lay beyond.
The door opened outward, but Yang Guang didn't rush. He pressed his ear against it, listening intently.
"Clear!" He turned the knob gently—click, the lock opened.
Whoosh! Blinding light flooded in. So bright!
As our eyes adjusted, we found several men in police uniforms aiming guns at us.
"Are you SWAT?" Yang Guang took the initiative. Their uniforms differed from regular police gear, especially their hats.
"Survivors from Anji Prison? You found the secret passage!" The leader, a bearded man, spoke in an interrogative tone.
"Misunderstanding! We're survivors passing through Anji City. Over a hundred elders and children are trapped in the prison by zombies. We found this tunnel by accident." Yang Guang quickly explained, seeing they mistook us for escaped convicts.
But they didn't lower their guns. The bearded man scanned us, his eyes lingering on me. Finally, he lowered his weapon. "No female inmate in Anji Prison has hair as long as yours—even after six months without a haircut."
"What is this place?" Jianan asked, seeing the tension ease.
"Anji City SWAT Team. I'm Lao Deng (Old Lamp), the captain. These are my remaining team members." So the bearded man was Lao Deng!
"The SWAT base isn't far from Anji Prison. This tunnel was built in case of a prison riot. The inmates are all felons—if they took guards hostage, a frontal assault would be too risky. But this tunnel? Heh, lets us catch them off guard!" Lao Deng's explanation clarified the tunnel's purpose.
Lao Deng's team had six members, all armed to the teeth. Aside from Lao Deng, who was around 37–38, the others were in their twenties.
"Are there any surviving prisoners in Anji Prison?" Lao Deng also wanted updates. Clearly, after the outbreak, they'd prioritized survival over prison management.
"None! Also, when we entered the city yesterday, there weren't any zombies. But last night, a horde surrounded the prison!" Jianan replied.
"Right! It's bizarre! This area was crawling with zombies—that's why we've been trapped here so long! But yesterday morning, they all headed in one direction!" Lao Deng was equally puzzled.
"Why didn't you evacuate when the zombies left? Why stay?" I asked.
"Where would we go? Our supplies are here, so we decided to stay put." Lao Deng explained.
"The SWAT base is next to a wholesale food market. After the outbreak, we used our firepower to move all the edible food here. It's stored in the next room. Our compound has sturdy walls, and the main gate is locked. As long as we don't make noise attracting them, this is the safest place!" Lao Deng led us to the next room, where a large table was piled with guns and ammo. SWAT teams really were well-equipped!
"With all these weapons, why did you just hide here instead of rescuing your families?" As a woman, I thought of loved ones first.
"Ma'am, most of us aren't locals. Our parents, wives, and kids are all on farms or in rural areas. We haven't been able to contact any of them." Lao Deng's eyes dimmed.
"Where are you all from? Where are you headed?" a young SWAT officer behind him asked me.
"We're from Bincheng, heading to Peach Spring Farm. The farm is remote, with fewer zombies, and we can grow our own food. Staying in the city isn't sustainable!" I replied.
"Captain! Why don't we go with them? Our supplies might last a year, but what then?" The young man urged Lao Deng.
"How about this: we help you break out, and you take us six with you?" Lao Deng proposed terms—though we'd have accepted them even unconditionally.
"Deal!" But I kept that thought to myself. Right now, we needed allies!
So Lao Deng's six and our eight tunnel explorers gathered around a table to plan the rescue.
"Earlier, we observed from the walls—only a few scattered zombies outside. Most of the horde is concentrated around Anji Prison!" Lao Deng summarized.
"Exactly. We've been attacked by coordinated hordes all along. Someone's manipulating them. The prison siege targets us specifically, so the rest of Anji City is relatively clear." Jianan shared this intel to prepare Lao Deng.
"Damn it! What kind of sick bastard would do that? I'll carve him up and feed him to the zombies!" Lao Deng fumed at the revelation.
"Any idea what their goal is?" True to his training, Lao Deng immediately analyzed the motives.
"Probably our supplies. We have a truck full of food. Somehow, they found out. With over a hundred people, it's obvious we're well-stocked." Yang Guang replied.
"Scum thrive in chaos! Why not gather their own supplies instead of preying on others?" Lao Deng despised such tactics.
"Got it!" Lao Deng slapped his forehead. "Peach Spring Farm is due north. We'll lure the zombies to southern Anji City! You escape northward, and we'll loop around to catch up!"
Another diversion? Last time, Shan Qi's team never returned. The plan worried me.
"Luring tens of thousands of zombies—are you sure? You might not make it back! Besides, besides turning back into the city, is there another route to Peach Spring Farm? How will you shake such a large horde and return to Anji?" Jianan raised doubts.
Lao Deng glanced at him. "There's a path, but it's a detour. About five kilometers south of Anji, there's a village. The farmers used to take their oxcarts to the northern market before dawn—it was too far by the main road, so they forged a shortcut. It's too narrow for large vehicles, so few know about it. My plan: we take a military越野车 (off-road vehicle), draw the zombies out with gunfire north of the city, then lead them south toward the village. We'll circle back via the shortcut to the north gate. You drive ahead—we'll catch up!"
The plan sounded solid! Local SWAT indeed knew the terrain, even hidden paths used by farmers!
Lao Deng didn't want all six men for the diversion—he took two strongest youngsters. The other three—Zhi Qiang, De Yi, and Chen Hao—he entrusted to us. As Lao Deng said, it was a diversion, not a battle—three men were enough.
Seeing his confidence, we didn't argue. Suggesting more men might seem like doubting his skills.
The SWAT armory was better stocked than Bincheng's police station, with crates of ammo.
Yang Guang handled the firearms with familiarity. Lao Deng watched him and asked, "Brother, were you a cop? Or military?"
Yang Guang grinned. "Sharp eyes, Captain. I served in the Shenyang Military Region's Special Forces—Falcon Unit."
Lao Deng chuckled. "The Falcons—I've heard of them. No one stays past thirty. You're not thirty yet, are you?"
Yang Guang picked up a sniper rifle, aiming it outside casually. "Got injured on a mission. Retired early."
Lao Deng didn't press for details. Instead, he gestured generously at the arsenal. "Take whatever you're comfortable with, brother. Ammo's plentiful. I've emptied our stash—never had to fight the hordes much, so it's all here. Should last us a while!"
As they talked, I listened in. So Yang Guang was ex-special forces—impressive! My knowledge of special forces came from Hong Kong movies like the SDU (Flying Tigers). Yang Guang's unit was the Falcons—probably similar.
Curious as I was, now wasn't the time for stories. We had to work fast.
Lao Deng's three took sufficient firearms; the rest went to Chen Hao's trio and our group for the return trip. They also had food supplies Lao Deng didn't want to leave behind. Together, we loaded all their stored goods onto several military off-road vehicles in the yard.
But we didn't assign dedicated drivers. Instead, we parked the vehicles by the gate. Depending on how effective Lao Deng's diversion was, if the zombies cleared out, we'd have time to send drivers back for the loaded vehicles. If time was tight or zombies remained, we'd flee north immediately—no risking lives for supplies.
With the plan set, I suddenly remembered something!
We'd bricked up the prison gate! We'd have to knock down the new wall to get out!
Hearing this, Jianan smiled. "The wall's newly built—not fully dried or solid. Remember, we have a bulldozer. One push will topple it. Don't worry."
Whew, good!
About such things, men always knew better.
We agreed with Lao Deng: we'd return to gather everyone and prepare. Lao Deng's team would set out from the SWAT base in two hours. Once gunfire sounded south of the city, and the prison horde dispersed, we'd topple the wall, open the gate, and flee north. Yet another escape—though it seemed we were always fleeing…
Thus, our eight, plus three new companions, headed back through the tunnel.