The cold wind on the rooftop seemed to carry the shrieks of the dead, chilling Wang Xixi and Zhang Hao to the bone. They scrambled and crawled into the stairwell, fleeing toward Building 27 where they resided without looking back.
When they returned, breathless and soul-shaken, to Brother Qiang's "nest"—a place filled with the stench of blood and sweat—they were met not with comfort, but with two twisted, hideous faces.
The two remaining thugs under Brother Qiang, one named "Scarface" and the other "Cola," were sitting in the room, wiping their machetes with a dirty rag.
"Bang!"
Scarface kicked Zhang Hao to the floor, while Cola grabbed Wang Xixi by her hair and slammed her face hard against the greasy table.
"Fuck your mother!" Scarface roared, delivering another kick to Zhang Hao's stomach. "It's all because of you two jinxes! You egged Brother Qiang on to go after that tough nut! Now look what happened—the boss is gone, and our brothers are dead! I'll see how you two plan to compensate us!"
Cola grinned wickedly as he hugged Wang Xixi from behind, his hand wandering freely over her body while the other held a fruit knife against her delicate cheek. "Brother Scarface, don't be angry. Now that the boss is gone, we're the bosses. This babe looks pretty good; she'll be perfect for the boys to blow off some steam. As for this guy..." He licked his lips. "Our food supplies are running low anyway. He'll be perfect for us to have a taste of meat."
Hearing this, Zhang Hao was scared out of his wits, and his crotch instantly became wet and warm. He struggled to beg for mercy: "Don't... don't kill me! I'm still useful! We're still useful! That bitch Zhao Yuwei might be formidable, but she's soft-hearted! She's Wang Xixi's best friend! If we go and beg her, play the emotional card, she'll definitely open the door! Once the door is open, everything inside will be ours!"
Wang Xixi also acted as if she had caught a literal lifeline, hurriedly chiming in: "Yes! Yes! Yuwei listens to me the most! She doesn't know we were the ones who led Brother Qiang there! We'll lie to her, say we were also forced by Brother Qiang and barely managed to escape! She will definitely save us!"
Scarface and Cola exchanged a glance, the murderous intent on their faces fading slightly. They knew that with just the two of them, they could never breach that fortress. If they could trick her into opening the door, it was indeed the best way.
Scarface moved his foot off Zhang Hao's chest and spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm. "Fine, I'll trust you one more time. Now, get over there immediately! If you can't get that door open, don't bother coming back. I'll skin you both and hang you at the door like cured meat!"
...
Ten minutes later, a timid knock sounded outside the heavy alloy door of Zhao Yuwei's apartment.
Zhao Yuwei was sitting on the sofa, slowly and methodically wiping her compound hand crossbow. Hearing the knock, the corners of her mouth curled into a cold arc. She walked to the control panel by the door and pulled up the feed from the entrance camera.
On the screen, Wang Xixi and Zhang Hao stood there looking pitiful. Their faces still bore the bruises from the recent beating, and their clothes were even more tattered, making them look incredibly wretched. They clearly thought Zhao Yuwei was unaware of everything that had happened and were trying their best to squeeze out the most sincere and helpless expressions.
"Yuwei... Yuwei, are you there? Open the door, it's Xixi!" Wang Xixi cried, pressing her face against the cold door. "We barely managed to escape from that monster Brother Qiang! He forced us to help him open your door, and when we refused, he beat us... Yuwei, we're so scared. It's too dangerous outside. Please, let us in!"
Zhang Hao also chimed in from the side: "That's right, Yuwei. In this kind of world, we have to stick together! There's strength in numbers! It's not safe for you to be in there alone. Let us in; I can help you keep watch at night, and Xixi can help you cook. We can only survive if we're together!"
They performed with great emotion, completely failing to notice a tiny, imperceptible red light blinking next to the camera.
Zhao Yuwei pressed the intercom button. Her voice came through the speaker outside, carrying a perfectly measured tone of surprise and concern.
"Xixi? Zhang Hao? Oh my god, it really is you! How did you get here? You look badly hurt!"
Hearing Zhao Yuwei's voice, Wang Xixi and Zhang Hao were overjoyed, thinking their plan was halfway to success.
"Yuwei! You finally answered!" Wang Xixi cried even harder. "We can't hold on much longer, there are zombies outside... Please, for the sake of our years of sisterly bond, open the door!"
Zhao Yuwei's voice sounded somewhat troubled: "But... my defense system is very complex. Once the main door is deadlocked, even I can't open it. However... there's a small supply delivery hatch next to it. Let me see if I can pass you some food and medicine."
With a "click," a small window about thirty centimeters square slowly slid open beside the door.
Greedy light immediately burst from the eyes of Wang Xixi and Zhang Hao. They thought Zhao Yuwei had fallen for it.
However, what was passed through the window wasn't food, but a small mirror.
Zhao Yuwei's voice rang out again, tinged with mockery: "Take a look in the mirror. You two look exactly like two dogs with broken legs."
Wang Xixi and Zhang Hao's faces turned deathly pale instantly. They finally realized that Zhao Yuwei knew everything!
"You... you know?" Zhang Hao's voice was trembling.
"Know what? Know that you two pieces of trash sold the information about my supplies to a group of cannibals, hoping they'd kill me so you could seize my house?"
Zhao Yuwei's voice suddenly became bone-chillingly cold.
"Or know how Brother Qiang and the others were turned into charcoal on my balcony like fireworks? I saw everything quite clearly, my dear 'best friend.'"
Wang Xixi broke down completely. She collapsed to her knees, kowtowing frantically: "I was wrong! Yuwei, I was really wrong! We were forced! If we didn't do it, they would have eaten us! Please, for the sake of our past friendship, forgive us this once! I'm willing to serve you like a slave!"
"Friendship?" Zhao Yuwei chuckled. The laughter coming through the speaker sounded exceptionally eerie and piercing.
She paused, as if considering something, then spoke in a voice full of seductive temptation: "But then again... seeing how pathetic you are, I'm not a completely unreasonable person. If you want to live, you have to show some sincerity, right?"
"Sincerity? What sincerity? As long as we can do it, we'll do anything!" Zhang Hao asked eagerly, as if seeing a final glimmer of hope.
"It's simple." Zhao Yuwei's voice was like a demonic whisper. "Go back and kill those two men who just beat you. Bring me their heads. Then I'll believe your'sincerity' and let you in."
Wang Xixi and Zhang Hao were struck as if by lightning, standing frozen in place. Kill those two cold-blooded thugs? Wasn't that just a suicide mission?
"What? Not willing?" Zhao Yuwei's voice rang out again. "Then I'm closing the hatch. It's almost dawn, and the zombies will be out soon. Whether you want to be eaten by zombies or turned into emergency rations by those two thugs—choose for yourselves. Oh, and here's a tip: they probably think you've succeeded and are letting their guard down right now."
With that, a "click" sounded as the supply hatch slowly closed.
Outside the door, there was a deathly silence. Wang Xixi and Zhang Hao looked at each other, seeing the same fear, struggle, and a hint of... madness and ruthlessness born from being pushed to the brink in each other's eyes.
They had been pushed by Zhao Yuwei to a life-or-death choice. Their only path to survival was to step onto another bloody road leading to hell.
Meanwhile, eight hundred meters away, T-3 of the Black Watch-White Blood Cell Squad had just lowered his binoculars.