Evan watched the empty street for a few more seconds.
No new zombies were being drawn by the noise.
It was finally time to move.
The Jetta's engine roared to life.
The sound immediately alerted the zombies gnawing on bodies nearby.
Evan pressed the clutch, shifted gears, and stepped on the gas.
In a smooth sequence of movements, the old manual-transmission Jetta shot out of the underground garage.
The world above ground was a wasteland.
Broken cars littered the streets, smashed together like toys thrown aside by a violent child.
Bodies were scattered everywhere, some half-eaten, some crumpled in ways that showed they had never even had the chance to fight back.
Evan slowed the car, weaving in an S-shape through the debris.
The moment the engine echoed across the street, zombies snapped their heads toward him.
They shrieked in unison.
Within moments, a massive swarm poured from every direction, throwing themselves toward the Jetta.
What started as dozens quickly swelled into a horde.
At a glance, there had to be more than two hundred.
"Master, that is a bit too many," Sophie Yu said, face tightening slightly.
She was strong, even monstrous in some ways, but she was not invincible.
If she was surrounded from all sides, her stamina would eventually run dry.
And if she ran out of strength, she would not be able to protect Evan.
Evan stayed calm.
"It's fine. I can drive."
He skillfully maneuvered the Jetta, keeping enough distance from the pursuing zombies while avoiding obstacles.
The old car rattled and groaned, but it obeyed him like a loyal steed.
Soon, the supermarket came into view.
Zombies filled the entire front entrance, easily over a hundred.
There was no way to go through the main doors.
Evan swerved away, circling the supermarket's exterior.
Then he spotted it.
"The loading bay."
Right beside the warehouse.
Exactly where he needed to go.
He glanced in the rearview mirror. The horde was still more than a hundred meters away.
"Sophie, zombies won't attack you. Take the bag and the suitcase. Wait for me at the loading bay."
"Yes, Master."
She immediately grabbed the supplies and jumped out of the moving vehicle, landing with perfect balance.
Evan kept circling the supermarket, drawing the horde away.
He made a few wide loops, burning precious time.
Zombies poured in from side streets, from alleys, from broken shopfronts.
The entire area was becoming a death trap.
He soon saw the tail end of the horde wrapping around the supermarket.
Hundreds of undead now encircled the building almost completely.
If he kept driving forward, he would plow straight into them.
He turned the car stereo to maximum volume.
Music blasted so loudly it rattled the windows.
Evan opened the door, pulled out his Tang blade, and jumped out.
The Jetta crawled forward slowly in first gear, becoming a noisy bait for the zombies.
Evan sprinted toward the loading bay.
Most of the undead chased after the blaring Jetta, but more than a dozen still locked their crimson eyes onto him.
Evan swung his blade with sharp, efficient movements.
He decapitated a few, disabled others with clean strikes, and pushed forward until he reached the loading bay.
"Master!" Sophie called out in relief when she saw him.
She had clearly been worried the entire time.
"Hold off the ones chasing me. I'll open the door."
Evan didn't waste another second.
He ran to the warehouse entrance.
An electronic lock waited beside the heavy metal door.
He grabbed a handful of dusty gravel from the ground and sprinkled it over the keypad.
Human fingers always left traces of natural oils.
With the dust adhering to those subtle prints, the frequently pressed keys became clear.
He found four numbers immediately.
Now it was just a matter of trying combinations.
First attempt. Wrong.
A sharp alarm beeped.
Zombies in the distance snapped their heads toward the sound.
Second attempt. Wrong.
Third attempt. Still wrong.
Behind him, Sophie was piling up corpses.
Dozens of zombies lay at her feet already, and more kept coming like a never-ending tide.
Her breathing grew heavier.
Even with her mutated strength, fighting continuously pushed her endurance to the limit.
Evan forced himself to stay calm.
He entered the next combination.
A clear chime sounded.
The light on the lock turned green.
Success.
"Sophie, fall back!" Evan shouted.
He threw the hiking pack and suitcase inside the doorway, then stood ready to pull Sophie in.
She kicked two zombies away with her long legs, then sprinted toward him.
She leaped forward in a desperate flying tackle and crashed straight into Evan's arms.
Evan caught her and slammed the heavy door shut behind them.
The lock clicked into place.
"Finally," he exhaled.
Sophie stayed curled in his chest, refusing to move.
She had used a tremendous amount of strength and now simply wanted to cling to him and rest.
Before either of them could relax, they sensed something off.
Both turned their heads slowly.
A group of people in store uniforms stood before them, gripping makeshift weapons.
Their eyes were filled with fear and suspicion.
"Who are you?"
"How did you know the password?"
The man who spoke had a balding head and pudgy face.
Judging from his clothes, he was likely the supermarket manager.
"We are survivors," Evan replied calmly.
"We came to gather supplies."
The manager frowned.
At the outbreak, he and the employees were restocking the warehouse.
They shut the door just in time and survived by sheer luck.
With food and water abundant, their days had been surprisingly manageable.
Until now.
The warehouse door suddenly opened and nearly scared him into unconsciousness.
One look at the zombie-filled world outside was enough to give anyone nightmares.
"Survivors?"
"I am the manager here."
"I make the decisions."
"As for you two..."
His gaze drifted over to Sophie Yu.
He froze.
Sophie was stunning even when covered in dust and blood, even while clinging to Evan like a delicate cat seeking warmth.
In his dull, desperate world, she looked unreal, almost dreamlike.
Movies did not have actresses like that.
Not even close.
An idea flashed in his eyes.
"You can stay..." he said slowly.
"But both of you will follow my rules."
"In times like these, resources are valuable. We cannot feed freeloaders."
Evan smiled faintly.
He instantly recognized the filthy intention hiding behind the man's words.
The manager had no good plans.
His eyes gave away everything he was thinking about Sophie.
But Evan was not in a hurry to kill him.
This warehouse was safe from zombies but not from people.
If they were going to stay here and survive comfortably, the entire place needed to be reinforced, secured, and rebuilt.
And that required manpower.
These supermarket employees were perfect for the job.
Once he had rested, he could deal with all of them in one sweep.
After that, they would become laborers.
Evan's eyes shifted to a large walk-in freezer in the corner.
It was heavily locked with old-fashioned metal locks.
Given how well these stores usually stocked food, there had to be piles of frozen meat and seafood inside.
In the apocalypse, that was luxurious treasure.
The keys, no doubt, were on the manager or hidden somewhere under his control.
Evan cracked his knuckles softly.
After some rest, he would simply extract the information.
Violence worked quickly on men like this.
The manager had no idea the clock on his life had already started ticking.