Chapter 7: Foreseeing

This was the bank branch’s vault, the central area spanning roughly ten square meters. All six surfaces were reinforced concrete, embedded with thick, high-strength steel plates—far sturdier than one could imagine.

Yichen dashed inside in one breath, and Zhu Youzheng slammed the steel door shut with all his might.

Boom! The monster crashed heavily against the iron door, the deafening noise making their hearts pound with terror.

“Not bad, you finally did something reliable for once!” Yichen leaned against the wall, gasping for breath. To find a temporary refuge in such a short time—Zhu Youzheng’s luck was truly extraordinary.

“I didn’t expect the vault door to be open,” Zhu Youzheng managed a strained smile, uglier than a cry.

Along the corridor leading to the vault lay several mangled corpses of women. Perhaps they were bank employees, hoping to hide in the vault but failing in the attempt.

Yichen’s face was ashen as he pressed his hand to his wound and slid down the wall.

“You—you’re hurt?” Zhu Youzheng panicked at the sight of blood soaking the front of his shirt.

“It’s nothing… If you’d tried starting the armored truck from the beginning, maybe we’d have shaken off the zombies and never encountered that monster.”

At Yichen’s reproach, Zhu Youzheng had no retort, a wave of regret rising in his heart. If only he’d listened back then, perhaps things wouldn’t be so dire.

Boom—the monster rammed the door again!

“Is it safe here?” Zhu Youzheng asked cautiously.

“Not really. More zombies are coming. They’ll be here in a minute or two,” Yichen answered grimly.

“What in the world is that thing? How could anyone infected become so huge?” Zhu Youzheng shuddered at the thought of the crimson, sinewy creature now separated from them by only a single door.

“Maybe it’s an evolved zombie, or perhaps some non-human beast affected by the black rain…” Yichen forced himself to stay alert.

His condition was poor—the discomfort from his first zombie wound returning. Worse, his stomach was empty, energy fading fast; even standing was difficult, much less fighting zombies.

So hungry!

Fat Zhu Youzheng was barely two meters away, radiating an irresistible scent of flesh that tormented Yichen’s fraying nerves.

He couldn’t help licking his parched lips. The food was right there—why hesitate? Hunger was the most primal, basic need of any creature.

He reached out and gripped Zhu Youzheng’s shoulder. In his weakened state, his grip wasn’t strong, but Zhu Youzheng, already tense, flinched in fright.

“What is it?” Zhu Youzheng’s face was stiff, having already sensed Yichen’s strange state, fear written all over him.

“It’s nothing…” Yichen retracted his hand, suddenly more lucid.

God, he’d actually wanted to prey on a human just now! If he’d bitten down, how would he be any different from a zombie?

Silence fell between them, each consumed by his own fear.

The monster’s relentless pounding on the door shook their eardrums like hammer blows. Meanwhile, zombie reinforcements arrived, their howls echoing in waves.

The limit was near… The steel door now bulged inward in several places! It was only a matter of time before they broke through.

“I don’t want to die!” Zhu Youzheng wailed, on the verge of tears.

He’d thought accepting death would be easy—just close his eyes and it would be over. But after this close encounter with zombies, he realized he lacked the courage to face it.

“How can we just give up? Even if they break in, we’ll fight to the death!” Yichen gritted his teeth, forcing himself up to search the vault for anything that might serve as a weapon. But there was nothing useful.

The only thing the vault had in abundance was money—piles of crisp, red notes stacked in the corner, at least ten million. In the past, anyone with so much cash would’ve wept with joy. Now, money was utterly useless—a fire axe would be worth far more.

Clang! The monster’s claws punched a hole through the steel door.

Zhu Youzheng was petrified, his sobbing cut short.

Yichen’s heart hammered, mind swirling in chaos. No weapons, a failing body, and an unreliable teammate—how could they possibly hold out? Was there truly no way out?

Suddenly, the screech of brakes pierced the air from outside the bank.

The zombies, as if by tacit agreement, ceased battering the door. That sound was even more enticing than the long-besieged vault.

Someone had arrived? Yichen felt dazed. In moments of crisis, the mind sometimes retreats into delusion—was this a hallucination?

The driver honked the horn repeatedly.

Without hesitation, the monster and the zombies turned and ran outside. They had a new target!

Yichen heard the engine start up, carrying away a stream of zombies. Gradually, the world grew quiet.

“What just happened… Are we safe?” Zhu Youzheng, regaining his senses, asked incredulously.

Yichen nodded. He sensed that most of the zombies had chased after the car.

“No way, we survived?!” Zhu Youzheng was overwhelmed, barely able to contain his excitement. “A real savior! If they’d come a moment later, we’d be dead!”

“Who could it be? How did they know we were here?” Yichen wondered. If it wasn’t a coincidence, then someone had risked their life to rescue them.

“Who cares who it was? The point is, we’re saved!” Zhu Youzheng grinned.

“Don’t celebrate too soon. We need to get out of here while we can. If the zombies come back, we’re dead for sure,” Yichen warned.

“Right.” This time, Zhu Youzheng obeyed without protest.

It took both of them a good deal of effort to force open the warped steel door, leaving them drenched in sweat. Yichen staggered toward the bank lobby, his gait almost indistinguishable from a zombie’s.

“I’ll go check the armored truck!” Zhu Youzheng hurried to the entrance, his enthusiasm a sharp contrast to his previous despair.

“Wait!”

“What is it?”

“There’s something at the door.” Yichen picked up a metal bench. He was in no shape for a fight, but together with Zhu Youzheng, they could handle a single zombie.

Catching on, Zhu Youzheng followed behind, bench in hand, though his trembling betrayed his nerves.

Yichen suppressed his discomfort and crept toward the corner by the entrance. A shadow loomed there.

He swung the bench suddenly, but the shadow dodged his attack.

The figure wasn’t particularly fast, but seemed prepared, anticipating exactly where he’d strike.

Just as Yichen turned, he was kicked in the rear, losing his balance and sprawling on the floor.

With that brief contact, Yichen knew—this was no zombie, but an ordinary person. Still, the impact jarred his wound, making him grimace in pain, unable to move for a moment.

The newcomer pressed a foot to Yichen’s back, but the stick in his hand didn’t come down.

“Doesn’t seem to be a zombie…” He adjusted his glasses, studying them intently.

“Who are you?” Zhu Youzheng, bench raised, asked warily. Anyone who could take Yichen down so easily was no ordinary person.

“My name is Ling Zhe. I’m a college student, a survivor like you.” He pushed his glasses up again, a sly smile in his phoenix eyes.

“You’re hurting him. In a second, he’ll grab your ankle,” a cold female voice chimed in from the side.

“Huh?” Ling Zhe hadn’t processed it yet when Yichen suddenly moved.

Just as the girl predicted, he twisted his arm, grabbing Ling Zhe’s ankle and giving it a shove. Had he not held back, Ling Zhe would’ve landed squarely on his backside.

Yichen sat up, eyeing the two newcomers.

Ling Zhe, the college student, was splattered with dried corpse blood—clearly he’d dispatched quite a few zombies himself. No wonder, in his weakened state, Yichen hadn’t immediately detected the scent of a living human.

The other was a girl of fourteen or fifteen, with softly wavy, sea-blue hair, skin white as snow, dressed in a summer school uniform, spotless and without a trace of blood.

She was beautiful, but her expression was blank, like a porcelain doll.

At a glance, Yichen understood—she too was an infected, barely any trace of humanity left in her scent. Yet both her eyes were a natural, deep black, different from his own.

“Liang Bing, if you’re going to warn me, give me more than a second’s notice,” Ling Zhe complained. One second wasn’t nearly enough time to react.

“He means you no harm,” the girl replied coolly, still studying Yichen.

“You can predict my movements?” Yichen asked, unable to stop himself.

“I can anticipate a target’s actions for the next ten seconds.”

“Ten seconds? That’s incredible…” Yichen marveled. In ten seconds, you could escape a horde of zombies or kill ten of them—as long as you knew their moves.

“What’s your special ability?” Liang Bing asked in her chilly tone.

“Uh, nothing as amazing as yours. I just run faster, jump higher, and have greater strength, that’s all…” Yichen admitted.

Liang Bing nodded, losing interest once her questions were answered. The conversation shifted to Ling Zhe’s interactions with Yichen and Zhu Youzheng.

“You’re seriously hurt—want to join us? My sister’s a doctor, she can treat you,” Ling Zhe offered with concern.

Before Yichen could answer, Zhu Youzheng eagerly agreed, his small eyes sneaking shy glances at the quietly poised Liang Bing.

Seriously? Is this guy a lolicon? Yichen was speechless at Zhu Youzheng’s bashful display.

“We weren’t talking to you—we don’t need dead weight,” Ling Zhe said with a cheerful smile.

If you ignored his words and just looked at his expression, you’d never expect such cutting remarks.

Zhu Youzheng was instantly petrified.

“I’ll go with you, but you can’t leave him behind,” Yichen insisted.

“Fine, as you wish. There’s enough room in the car anyway,” Ling Zhe agreed.

He walked over to the armored truck and stripped the gear from the armed zombie guards Yichen had dispatched earlier, tossing it into the vehicle.

“I… I can drive,” Zhu Youzheng offered, desperate not to appear useless.

“Great, we can take turns if needed,” Ling Zhe said, sliding into the driver’s seat.

Yichen climbed in as well, sitting in the back with Liang Bing.

“Were you wounded by a Crawler?” Liang Bing asked.

“Crawler… you mean that red muscle monster? Yes,” Yichen replied, thinking the name fit perfectly.

“Why is your wound healing so slowly?” Liang Bing leaned in to examine him. “Have you not eaten anything?”

“No. Have you?” Yichen asked nervously. Surely she didn’t mean eating people?

“Yes. With Ling Zhe, there’s food. His sister’s at the hospital,” Liang Bing replied simply.

“So now we’re heading to…”

“The hospital.”

“But didn’t they say all survivors in this city evacuated to Nanchuan?” Yichen recalled the rumors from the convenience store.

“Some people always stay behind. You’ll see when we get there.” Liang Bing didn’t elaborate further.