The sky was gloomy, and light rain pattered down.
Shicheng, in the underground parking lot of an office building.
A young man in a black tracksuit was drenched in sweat. He frantically pounded on the window of a black Mercedes. "Huff... Huff... Boss lady, open the door! They're coming!"
"Get lost!"
The boss lady slammed the gas pedal, crushing his right foot, and sped out of the parking lot.
"D*mn it! You'll pay for this next time."
The young man sat on the ground, calmly lit a cigarette, took a drag, and exhaled a smoke ring.
He paid no attention to the approaching horror behind him.
"Roar!"
Five grotesque zombies were upon him, baring their bloody mouths and biting down.
"Ah—"
His neck was torn apart, blood gushed, but his eyes remained indifferent.
A white haze engulfed his mind. Light and shadows emerged...
"Lin Jiu, Lin Jiu! Are you even listening to me? You've been late twice this month already. Don't you want your attendance bonus?!"
A chubby supervisor stood with hands on hips, scolding the black-clad young man in front of him.
Lin Jiu rubbed his eyes and looked around. He curled his lip and replied, "Supervisor, do I, Lin Jiu, care about your lousy bonus? Look at you, you pig."
The supervisor swung a slap, which Lin Jiu easily dodged. Then, turning around to light a cigarette, he effortlessly evaded the man's kicks and punches.
Not because of sharp instincts, but because he had endured this same combo dozens of times before.
"Huff... Huff... You little punk, you got eyes on the back of your head now or what—"
Before he finished, Lin Jiu spun and kicked him square in the crotch. The supervisor groaned and collapsed unconscious.
"Crash!"
The surrounding coworkers stood up in shock, staring at Lin Jiu as if he were a stranger.
"Is that really Lin Jiu? Why is he so ruthless all of a sudden?"
"Did he take the wrong meds? Daring to beat the supervisor—isn't he afraid the boss lady will fire him?"
"So what? I can't stand that pig either."
"Right, good on him. That guy slapped me last week."
Two female coworkers looked worried and fearful, but five male colleagues were clearly pleased.
Beep Beep!
Countdown: 55 minutes 59 seconds.
Lin Jiu stared at the countdown that appeared before him. The boss lady wouldn't enter the building for another 30 minutes.
When the countdown ended, the zombies would arrive. Each of the 13 floors of this office building would be overrun, including this one.
He had tried to escape 17 times already, but failed each time.
Just now, he almost succeeded, only to be coldly abandoned by the very boss lady he saved.
Fuming, Lin Jiu shouted, "D*mn it, she's the only one in the whole company with a car! Can't you guys put in a little effort?!"
His coworkers were speechless. If they had money, who would still be working a job like this?
Besides, Lin Jiu blaming them was laughable. Wasn't he the laziest one here?
No one dared speak, afraid he might go berserk and kick them too. They returned to their work, ignoring the collapsed supervisor.
"Screech..."
Lin Jiu dragged an office chair to the door, sat down, and lit another cigarette.
He was waiting—for the boss lady to arrive, and for the countdown to end. Until then, he couldn't leave this room.
"Lin Jiu, why aren't you working? The boss lady will scold you again if she sees this."
A sweet voice entered his ears.
He turned to see Fang Xiaoqian, the woman who sat across from him.
He didn't respond. Instead, he got up, walked to the water dispenser, filled a cup, and splashed it in her face.
"Ah! What are you doing?!"
Fang Xiaoqian jumped up, her white blouse soaked, water dripping from her pretty face.
Lin Jiu looked at her disheveled state and laughed heartily. "Hahaha, drowned chicken!"
Plop!
A young man with gold-rimmed glasses dropped his documents, having stared too long at Fang Xiaoqian. "Today it's pink," he murmured while picking them up.
The other male coworkers snickered. They knew Fang Xiaoqian had a messy private life, but even they thought Lin Jiu went too far. Splashing water was one thing, but that was excessive.
Seeing their lecherous stares, Fang Xiaoqian covered her chest with one hand and pointed at Lin Jiu with the other, shouting, "Lin Jiu, you owe me an explanation today! Or I'll have my boyfriend beat you up!"
"Explanation? Hah, hahaha..."
Lin Jiu kept laughing, the madness in his voice growing stronger.
Why splash her? Because she would be the first to mutate into a zombie.
And he was her first victim.
He had tried strangling her early, but once the timer hit zero, she transformed anyway.
There were no sharp weapons in the office. He had tried smashing her head with a chair, but her skull was tougher than a normal person's—it didn't work.
Lin Jiu glanced at the young man with glasses and burst into wild laughter again.
"Why is he laughing at me?"
The guy was visibly shaken.
Four other coworkers whispered behind him, "Did you piss him off?"
"Yeah, protect your important parts. Or you'll end up like the supervisor.it somewhere else, just not there."
The guy realized he was on his own. These so-called buddies wouldn't lift a finger for him.
Lin Jiu pointed at him and Fang Xiaoqian. "You damned couple, when I get a gun, I'll send you both back to hell."
Then he returned to the doorway, laughing wildly as he lit another cigarette.
The others, sensing juicy gossip, bombarded the guy with questions. He immediately denied everything. "Come on, I'd never go for Fang Xiaoqian."
"What do you mean?! What's wrong with me?!"
Fang Xiaoqian, still fuming at Lin Jiu, now yanked on the guy's ear.
Lin Jiu ignored them. He had tried every method, even cooperating with his coworkers, but they all ended in death.
Only the first one to escape had any chance to survive.
Beep Beep!
Countdown: 25 minutes 59 seconds.
"They're coming."
Lin Jiu stared at the countdown and took a long drag.
Click-clack click-clack...
The sound of high heels echoed. The boss lady swayed into view—long hair, red lips, black dress. She was stunning, a 35-year-old who looked 19.
She stepped through the door and stumbled. "Ow! What the hell is wrong with you, Lin Jiu?! Get back to work!"
Lin Jiu smirked and blew a thick cloud of smoke in her face.
She didn't expect that. Holding herself up with both hands, she coughed and turned her head, annoyed.
"Ugh... what are you doing?!"
Without replying, Lin Jiu pulled her into his arms and carried her into a private office.
"Holy crap, what's he doing?!"
"Is he insane? In broad daylight? I'm going to take a look!"
Everyone rushed to the office door to eavesdrop.