Crack!
Lightning split the night sky as heavy rain poured down.
The small temple suddenly seemed more sinister and eerie.
Lin Jiu no longer dared to sleep, gripping his handgun tightly.
Last night, he had fallen asleep around 10 PM—something or someone must have attacked him afterward.
Could it be that one of the people outside had been infected?
Worried, he had gone to check them, but found nothing abnormal.
Now, only Grandpa Lü and Xiao Xuan remained.
"Haha, Grandpa Lü, bored? Let's play some chess."
"Sure."
Grandpa Lü smiled, his gloomy expression easing a bit as he turned to retrieve a chess set from his bag.
While he wasn't looking, Lin Jiu carefully observed him and noticed there were no wounds on his arms or legs.
That left only Xiao Xuan, who had a leg injury.
After playing chess for half an hour, Lin Jiu moved over to Xiao Xuan.
"Are you asleep?"
He whispered in her ear.
"What do you want? Hmph, not behaving even at night."
Xiao Xuan turned to face him. Eventually, her face flushed red.
She didn't mind the handsome guy next to her. Compared to her exes, he lacked that greasy aura and had a touch of youthful innocence.
"Let me check your leg, see if it's healing."
Lin Jiu spoke gently.
He moved to examine her leg. This time, she didn't resist and let him look.
Her fair leg had a bruise, but no bite marks.
After checking her leg, he looked at her arms. No injuries either.
"That's strange… Did a zombie get in somehow?"
He stared blankly, holding Xiao Xuan's hand.
"Had enough of touching me? Someone else is still in the room."
Xiao Xuan reminded him, noticing he wouldn't let go. Despite having had many boyfriends, she still felt awkward getting too cozy with an old man around.
Ahem.
Lin Jiu cleared his throat awkwardly and let go of her hand.
He turned back to chat with Grandpa Lü.
At 11:30 PM, both Grandpa Lü and Xiao Xuan had fallen asleep, but Lin Jiu remained wide awake.
The bullet was already chambered. He was determined to see what had killed him.
Beep beep!
Countdown: 8 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds.
"D*mn!"
Only then did he realize the countdown had started while he was asleep.
Apparently, the countdown didn't have a fixed start time.
He stepped outside to see the area for this round—only to find the temple was sealed.
This time, the locked zone was the temple itself.
The countdown timing and area both seemed random.
Tension crept in—this was even more suffocating than facing zombies in the open.
He checked the side room. The men were still holding their bladders, nothing suspicious there. Then he went into the courtyard, flashlight in hand, scanning the surroundings nervously.
Rain soaked his clothes as the light refracted through the dense downpour.
No movement on the roof or the walls.
12:00 AM.
"Aaargh…"
A painful groan echoed from the room he had slept in.
Lin Jiu tensed and rushed back in with his gun—only to be startled by a chilling gaze.
Grandpa Lü was clutching his exploded left hand, expression twisted in agony. His right hand held a drawn combat knife.
"Kill… kill you terrorists…"
His hoarse voice trembled. Seeing Lin Jiu with the gun, he began swinging the knife wildly.
"Grandpa Lü! Snap out of it!"
Lin Jiu shouted as he retreated from the room, aiming his gun at him.
He finally understood—Grandpa Lü had been the one who killed him last night during a mental break.
He couldn't lower his guard. Even with a gun, he could still get taken out.
"Sorry, Grandpa Lü. Just repaying the favor."
He began to pull the trigger.
Whoosh!
Grandpa Lü suddenly hurled his knife. Lin Jiu barely dodged, but it still slashed his face, drawing blood.
The blade embedded itself in the crimson wooden pillar behind him.
Bang! Bang!
Lin Jiu fired two shots, but Grandpa Lü rolled forward, evading them.
He kicked the gun out of Lin Jiu's hand and lunged at him.
"D*mn! No wonder he was a special forces soldier."
Lin Jiu protected his head and face as his arms took painful hits.
Realizing he couldn't take him down by kicking alone, Grandpa Lü turned to retrieve his knife.
Lin Jiu lunged for the gun—but just as he reached it, Grandpa Lü kicked his wrist, sending the weapon flying again.
As Grandpa Lü leapt at him with the knife, Lin Jiu raised his hands.
"Old man, just you wait…"
Bang!
A gunshot rang out behind him. The bullet zipped past Lin Jiu's ear and struck Grandpa Lü square in the forehead.
Thud!
A bloody hole opened in his head as he collapsed, lifeless.
Lin Jiu turned to see Xiao Xuan with the smoking gun.
"You… your aim's impressive."
"Hoo… I trained overseas. What happened to him?"
Xiao Xuan engaged the safety and approached, relieved to see Lin Jiu wasn't seriously hurt.
"He had an episode and mistook me for a terrorist."
Lin Jiu cautiously reached for her gun.
He couldn't relax. The countdown hadn't ended—he couldn't trust anyone.
Surprisingly, Xiao Xuan offered him the gun without resistance.
"It's pouring outside. Let's go back in. We're leaving this place tomorrow."
She pulled Lin Jiu inside and started wiping his face with a pink towel.
She was good at caring for boyfriends—perhaps not out of affection, but out of habit.
The scent of her perfume calmed Lin Jiu.
"Let's not sleep until sunrise. I'm afraid something else might happen."
"Hmm. Should I go finish off the rest of them, just in case they attack us?"
She said it casually, without emotion.
Lin Jiu didn't reply. He hadn't given her the gun earlier—there were only three bullets left, not enough for seven heads.
Plus, he needed it to defend himself if more zombies came.
When Xiao Xuan realized there were only three rounds, she stayed put. She didn't want to get splattered with blood—it'd ruin her clothes.
She only had two outfits; if her white tracksuit got dirty, she'd have nothing left to wear.
Beep beep!
Countdown: 5 minutes, 15 seconds.
The sky had brightened, but the rain hadn't stopped. Grandpa Lü's corpse on the ground had turned pale from soaking in the rain.
"Looks like the danger's passed."
Lin Jiu yawned and stepped into the courtyard.
Creak… Creak…
A chewing noise echoed.
He pushed open the door to the side room—and was met with a horrifying sight.
Five zombies were feasting on the seven captives.
Half of Liuzi's head was already gone.
The rear wall had been torn open. The captives had been killed in their sleep—never even had a chance to scream.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Lin Jiu fired three shots, taking out three zombies, then sprinted back to Xiao Xuan.
There were two minutes left. He just needed to last that long to get another survival coin—then he could buy a new magazine and fight back.
As the remaining two zombies charged, he slammed the door shut.
Xiao Xuan helped him barricade it with a table.
"How did they get in?!"
"They tore through the wall. Just hold out two more minutes, and we're out of this."
Lin Jiu pushed the table with all his strength, but the zombies were powerful—one slam nearly forced the door open. Thankfully, Xiao Xuan added her weight to it.
The two minutes felt endless as they struggled to keep the monsters out.
At the 10-second mark, the door was nearly shredded. Lin Jiu resorted to kicking the table to dodge the swiping claws.
As the countdown ended, he quickly exchanged a coin for a new magazine and fired point-blank—both shots hit their mark.
Huff… Huff… D*mn, that was close.
Lin Jiu collapsed against the table, panting.
But then, the wall ahead cracked open—red claws poked through.
Bang! Bang!
With each hit, a gaping hole appeared in the wall.
"Run!"