Splish!

Heavy rain fell outside, but inside the mall was dry, and the tablecloth soon caught fire. The old man tried to stop it but was too late.

“Hahaha, burn, burn you bastards!”

Xiang Wei swung the flaming tablecloth around.

Under the light of the fire, the twisted faces of several people were illuminated, showing fear, anger, madness…

To the north of Qin City, several headlights lit up the road as two RVs and a Prado drove quietly, their RPMs kept low, making barely any noise. By the time the zombies, spaced fifty meters apart, sensed the car’s presence, it was already gone.

While driving, Zhang Su talked about various matters of the Jinyuan Mall with Jia Shiqin and the others.

The Jinyuan Mall is located in the northern part of the Qin City District, a once-bustling old commercial area. In recent years, due to the expansion of the shopping district and the rise of online shopping, it has gradually declined.

Decline or not, a starved camel is bigger than a horse. The Jinyuan Mall in the city center continued to operate, including its bustling underground supermarket, radiating out to over a dozen surrounding neighborhoods. This was the very reason it could attract survivors to gather.

“Master Jia, according to what you said, the zombies are mainly concentrated on the third and fourth floors, right?”

Zhang Su asked.

Jia Shiqin nodded, “That’s right. We have an animal behavior expert in our team who carefully observed the zombies and found that they are better at climbing up than climbing down, so even when wandering aimlessly, they generally go upstairs.”

Studying zombies like animals is quite impressive.

“If I remember correctly, there are passages between Block A and Block B on the second, third, and fourth floors of Jinyuan Mall. We’ll pass through Section B later; there are survivors there, and the environment is relatively stable. Master Jia, how many people are in their group?”

Zhang Su started planning but was quickly disappointed.

“It’s not feasible, Younger Brother Zhang. All the passages between Blocks A and B are sealed, not just locked doors. Before the power went out, it seems the supermarket staff dropped the fire doors. Unless the power is restored, it’s almost impossible to break through with force.”

Jia Shiqin said helplessly.

“Then how did the group that first occupied Jinyuan Mall get to Block B?” Zhang Su asked, puzzled.

“We were on the third floor at the time, not quite sure how they got there…” Jia Shiqin muttered, scratching his head in confusion.

Zhang Su frowned, thinking to himself that the leader of this rescue team was too unreliable, not caring about such important matters. What if the other side played tricks?

The hairdresser chimed in, “I know this. I saw them from the window. They entered through the main entrance of the mall and killed four or five zombies outside.”

Zhang Su realized, “So those survivors abandoned the familiar Block A and fought their way from outside the mall to Block B… Master Jia, didn’t you wonder why they abandoned Block A?”

“I thought… didn’t think much at the time, just felt lucky to have a place to rest. But later, I realized there was a problem. It must be that the corridor bridge was hard to defend.”

Jia Shiqin sighed.

Zhang Su rolled his eyes, not wanting to talk to Jia Shiqin any longer. He picked up the walkie-talkie and said, “Old Tan, Old Tan, it’s just a left turn ahead. Speed up and shake off those followers!”

With that, Zhang Su stepped on the gas, making a turn and knocking several zombies off the crossroads.

“Since the mall’s main entrance is accessible, we’ll go in through the main door later. The inside of Block A has a circular design. Xinyu and, uh huh?”

Just as he was about to assign duties to lure the zombies, Zhang Su lifted his gaze, a bit stunned as he pointed ahead, “Is that… Jinyuan Mall brought back power? No, darn, it’s on fire!”

Everyone looked in the direction Zhang Su pointed, only to see a red glow flickering through the glass curtain walls on the third and fourth floors. The refracted firelight even faintly revealed the gold-edged characters “Jinyuan Mall” on the wall!

“Yes, that’s it. Jinyuan Mall is on fire!”

Jia Shiqin was particularly panicked at the sight of the flames.

“Zombies probably won’t start a fire; this is likely man-made chaos. The people inside must be trying to save themselves. Hold on tight!”

Zhang Su shouted, switching the car lights to high beam to illuminate the front. There weren’t many vehicles piled in the middle of the road, and the mess on the ground wasn’t an obstacle. He sped up, charging through the wandering zombies, knowing they’d follow the car if not dealt with now.

Thump, thump, thump.

After a series of collisions and the crunching sound, the RV screeched to a stop in front of the mall entrance. Luckily, it was a flat-head RV with a truck-like front structure. If it had been a regular car, the airbags would have deployed from such maneuvers.

“Damn it, when will we find the materials to upgrade the car!” Zhang Su thought to himself.

The Prado and Fukner Meifu followed closely behind and parked steadily. Over ten people got out of the vehicles in succession, first clearing the seven or eight zombies that had caught up.

“Brother Su, there’s a fire!”

Lu Yubo removed a grain sampler from a zombie’s head and ran urgently to Zhang Su.

“I saw it! Old Tan, don’t rush!”

Zhang Su stopped the eager Tan Huajun from rushing into the mall, then said to everyone, “Listen up, Chen Hanzhou, Pei Lan, Zhao Xue, and Wu Lue, the four of you will guard the car. Warn anyone who approaches just once, and if they take another step, shoot!”

He trusted these four to do what he instructed.

This is the advantage of having everyone deployed; with ample manpower, things are easily arranged without major mishaps!

“Xiaoxue, don’t hesitate!”

Zhang Su handed a guard post-specific gun to Zhao Xue, reminding her once again.

“Brother Su, you know me.” Zhao Xue’s cold voice carried reassuring confidence.

Zhang Su nodded to Zhao Xue, then waved his hand, “The rest of you, follow me!”

Just as he finished speaking, he noticed Corgi Good Fortune following him and said softly, “Lucky, stay here. It’s too chaotic inside for you to be effective. Guard the vehicle, and if anyone messes around, bite them!”

Woof!

Good Fortune accepted the command.

The firelight made flashlights unnecessary. Through the glass doors, everyone could see the interior of the mall.

Aside from the fire being a huge problem, everything else was much better than expected. There were no hordes of rampaging zombies, nor were any crazed zombies blocking the door. Entering the first floor, it even seemed somewhat deserted.

However, when everyone looked towards the escalator, they realized the zombies that used to occupy the first floor were now blocking the escalator entrance, packed like sardines and scrambling up, much like fiends being fried in the hellish oil cauldron, looking especially terrifying under the firelight.

“Weren’t zombies supposed to prefer going upstairs? Why are there so many still down here?”

Zhao Dezhu grabbed Jia Shiqin and asked.

“M-Mostly, mostly only, not all…” Jia Shiqin hastily explained.

“Stop arguing!”

Zhang Su interrupted the quarrel, looking up at the floors above. Unfortunately, due to the structural layout, the observable range was extremely limited, but he clearly sensed that something was being chased by zombies.

“Ah!”

At that moment, they all heard a piercing scream from above, accompanied by muffled fighting sounds.

“Xiang Wei, damn you, ah… ah… you’ll die too, die here!”

The cries of anguish mixed with curses resonated chillingly.

“Xiaoma!”

An urgent cry followed.

“Dad… Dad, that’s my dad’s voice!”

Tan Huajun suddenly became extremely agitated.

“Go to hell!”

Thud! Thud thud.

Before anyone could react, three zombies fell from above, landing not far from the group. One was brain-splattered and died on impact, while another crawled laboriously, still alive, and the last one fell on a glass display case, dragging its body upright.

Awooooo.

The two zombies charged blindly at Zhang Su’s group, while the crawling one also wriggled towards them.

Without needing Zhang Su’s orders, three or four people immediately rushed forward and swiftly dispatched the three zombies.

“Let’s go, head to those stairs!”

Illuminated by the firelight, Zhang Su pointed to a fire escape. The elevator couldn’t be used, and the escalator was occupied by zombies, leaving only the fire stairs as an option. He prayed in his heart that the fire escape could truly provide safety!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep