Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Turning the Tables

Lian Yi moved fast.

She went back to Room 602, locked it from the inside, then returned to Room 601 and slipped in. She shut the security door and dragged a chunk of cabinet across it until the entrance was sealed tight.

Only then did she let herself sit.

Lian Yi sagged onto the living room sofa, wiped her forehead, and felt heat burning under her skin.

She was feverish.

In this apocalypse, that meant one of three things. Some people woke from the midnight sleep as zombies, driven by hunger. Some didn’t evolve at all and stayed ordinary. And some—like her—spiked a high fever within two hours, then dropped into a coma for a second round of evolution.

The original Lian Yi’s job had kept her lean but tough. Add Lian Yi’s soul and divine strength, and the second evolution had triggered fast.

She knew what came next: twenty-four hours of sleep. If her body held and she wasn’t interrupted, she’d wake with a superpower. Maybe strong, maybe weak, but it was the baseline for survival.

She couldn’t afford to miss it.

That was why she’d used Wang Qiang. Even though she’d beaten Ma Tao and Yun Rou back to the rental, she couldn’t be sure they wouldn’t come here to hide.

If they found Room 602 empty, would they try Room 601?

If they broke in and interrupted her evolution, she’d lose everything.

So she’d thrown the neighbors into the stairwell. Soon enough, Wang Qiang would turn too. Two zombies in a narrow stairwell would slow anyone coming up.

If Ma Tao and Yun Rou still managed to reach the sixth floor, that would be on them.

Even then, what could they do with an empty apartment?

Still, Lian Yi didn’t trust luck. Fighting the urge to collapse right away, she dragged the living room sofa, the coffee table, the dining table—anything heavy—into a barricade behind the door. Unless someone was stronger than she was and willing to smash through by brute force, she would be safe until she woke.

Even with divine strength, she didn’t get careless. She retreated into the small study, jammed its door shut too, and gave herself a second layer of protection.

Then she spread a quilt on the floor.

She lay down.

The moment she closed her eyes, she sank into deep sleep.

While Lian Yi slept, Ma Tao and Yun Rou finally forced their way out of the adult shop. They shook off the stiff shuffling zombies and headed straight for Lian Yi’s rental.

Their escape was partly dumb luck. In panic, Ma Tao yanked hard on the door handle. He only meant to keep the crowd from crushing the glass, but he ripped the handle clean off.

Yun Rou stared at it, eyes flashing in the dark. She whispered, thrilled, “Brother Tao… since when are you this strong?”

Ma Tao stared at the black stainless-steel handle like he couldn’t believe it was real. Then he grinned—relieved, proud. “I don’t know. I just… got strong. That’s good. With strength, I can protect you.”

“Brother Tao,” Yun Rou said softly, “we can’t stay here. No food, no water. And the noise keeps drawing more of them.”

Her voice was sweet, careful. She’d already positioned him as her anchor.

Ma Tao’s confidence swelled under her gaze. The small, ugly thoughts he’d hidden before stopped hiding. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you. We need somewhere to hold up—somewhere with supplies—then we wait for news. Lian Yi’s place is close. We’ll go there.”

Yun Rou lowered her eyes and nodded. “You come here often. You must know the way. I’ll follow you.”

Ma Tao flinched, realizing how it sounded. He hurried to explain, “She made me come so I’d know the door. I’ve only been twice. But I do know where her spare key is. If we knock on strangers’ doors, they won’t let us in.”

Only then did Yun Rou let a faint smile show. “Then I’ll stay close, Brother Tao.”

Ma Tao nodded, swallowing his fear. Talking was easy. Doing it was different.

He braced himself. “When I shove these double doors open, there’ll be a gap. Stick to me. We run first, think later.”

“Okay,” Yun Rou said, though she hated leaving the store. The number of zombies outside was growing. She could hear them pressing at the glass.

So she nodded.

Ma Tao took a deep breath and shoved with all the strength he had.

The doors didn’t just open—they toppled outward, crushing three or four zombies beneath their weight and clearing a path.

Ma Tao grabbed Yun Rou and ran, stepping on the fallen glass door as they burst into the night.

A thousand meters took them twenty minutes. They had to dodge lunging bodies the whole way.

Ma Tao swung the ripped-off handle like a club, battering away any zombie that came too close. Yun Rou stayed tucked behind him until they reached the old compound’s electric gate.

Inside the courtyard, zombies wandered aimlessly—until their noses twitched.

They turned, huffing, white eyes locking on the living warmth outside.

Yun Rou’s voice shook. “Brother Tao… what do we do? I’m scared.”

Because it wasn’t only the yard zombies. The ones they’d shaken earlier were closing in behind them too, huffing and dragging themselves forward, gathering like a slow tide.

They weren’t looking at two people anymore.

They were looking at food.