Zhao Kun crept downstairs, terrified of what might be waiting around the corner.

Luring zombies was insanely dangerous work, but nobody had forced him to run his mouth. All he could do was swallow his regret and keep moving.

At the stairwell landing, no zombies. Zhao Kun was about to exhale when he spotted two pairs of blood-red eyes staring straight up at him from below.

"Fuck-"

He spun and bolted back up.

"GRAAAH..."

Two zombies surged after him, thrilled by the chase.

Zhao Kun burst back through the Rooftop doorway in seconds.

"How many!?" Yang Bin demanded.

"Two!"

"The hell-didn't I say lure them one at a time!?"

"You think that's something I can control!?" Zhao Kun snapped.

"Same plan. Skinny Monkey and Old Hei pin one with the ladder. We handle the other." Yang Bin called the play without hesitation.

With one round of experience behind them, the second time went noticeably smoother.

The two zombies charged through the door. The ladder slammed into the first one immediately, locking it in place. The second hadn't even registered what was happening before two bricks and a steel pipe crashed into its skull.

The zombie snarled and lunged at the three who'd hit it.

They drew it toward the edge. Yang Bin tangled with it using the pipe while Zhao Kun and Chen Hao grabbed the tall stool Old Hei had hauled up earlier and rammed it into the zombie's torso.

Nobody dared kick anymore-not after the last scratch.

The stool did the job. It slammed into the zombie full-force, and the thing toppled backward off the Rooftop without ceremony.

Then the group turned, lined up the ladder, and shoved the pinned zombie over the edge too.

The whole process was smooth as flowing clouds and water. Start to finish, barely over a minute.

"Good working together." Yang Bin walked up to Zhao Kun and extended his hand.

There was history between them, sure. But when the zombies came, Zhao Kun's crew hadn't pulled any tricks. They'd fought all-out. That counted for something.

At the end of the day, there was no real hatred-just words. Stupid words from before the world ended.

They still needed each other. Personal grudges had to go on the shelf, or someone would die over nothing.

Zhao Kun blinked at the outstretched hand. Then he reached out and gripped it.

He got the message. He wasn't stupid. In a situation like this, grudges were a luxury. Yang Bin had made the first move-no way was Zhao Kun going to stand there posturing.

"Good working together. But this luring thing-can we rotate? It's genuinely terrifying." Zhao Kun's smile was stiff.

"Sure. I'll take the next one." Yang Bin didn't hesitate.

Truth was, he'd planned to go himself from the start. He could see through walls. He could spot zombies before they spotted him, minimize the risk to almost nothing. But Zhao Kun had volunteered with that big mouth of his, so Yang Bin let him have it.

Seeing how readily Yang Bin agreed, Zhao Kun's estimation of him ticked up another notch. He didn't want to admit it, but the guy genuinely had a bigger picture in mind than he did.

They rested briefly. Then Yang Bin scooped up a handful of stones and headed downstairs.

At the stairwell landing, he activated his True Vision Eye and swept the area. That was the name he'd given his Special Ability-it saw what others couldn't, and the name fit like a glove.

No zombies on the stairs. Yang Bin descended carefully. Near the seventh floor, he activated True Vision Eye again and checked both directions.

Left dormitory: two zombies drifting aimlessly inside. Right dormitory: empty. Both rooms looked ransacked, belongings scattered everywhere like someone had already torn through them.

The corridor was worse. Three zombies on the left, clustered dangerously close to the stairwell entrance. One on the right, also close. If he walked down carelessly, all four would spot him instantly.

Yang Bin considered his options, then flicked a stone to the right and ducked back behind the corner.

The clatter drew attention. The three on the left glanced over, then lost interest. But the one on the right shuffled to where the stone had landed, tilting its head at the pebble on the floor.

Good. Yang Bin threw another stone-this time right at the base of the stairs.

The curious zombie wandered over again, staring down at the second stone with something almost like confusion.

"Hey."

Yang Bin leaned his head around the corner and gave it a quiet wave.

The zombie's eyes locked onto living flesh. Instant frenzy. It launched itself toward him.

Yang Bin turned and sprinted upstairs, reaching the Rooftop in seconds.

Zhao Kun and the others were already standing ready for battle. "How many?"

"One."

"Easy."

The zombie came tearing through the door after Yang Bin.

What greeted it was a ladder swinging horizontally like a battering ram, cracking across its body.

The thing hadn't even processed what hit it before it was launched several meters, skidding to the Rooftop's edge.

It barely got its feet under it before the ladder drove forward again-and shoved it clean off the building.

This zombie never even saw a face. Just experienced High-Altitude Throwing, express delivery.

Down on the first floor, three students huddled in a dormitory room, watching zombie after zombie plummet past their window. They were shaking.

"These zombies really know how to party."

"What's weird about it? They can't feel pain. Jumping off a building is nothing to them."

"Great. So now we have to watch for zombies outside and zombies raining down from above. When the hell are we supposed to get out of here?"

"Being alive is enough. We've still got some bread in here. If we ration it between us, we can stretch it two days. Maybe rescue comes by then."

"...Yeah."

Back on the Rooftop.

"My turn."

Zhao Kun stood and moved toward the stairs. That was him-when it was his responsibility, he didn't dodge it.

"Let me go again." Yang Bin stopped him.

Three zombies were clustered right by the stairwell entrance down there. Zhao Kun couldn't see through walls. If he walked down blind, three of them could swarm him at once. That was how people died.

Zhao Kun studied Yang Bin's face for a moment. Then he nodded. "Okay."

Luring zombies was a death wish. If someone else was volunteering, he wasn't going to argue.

Yang Bin went back down. Same method-tossed a stone.

But this time, all three zombies drifted toward the stairwell entrance together.

Yang Bin frowned.

He tried again. And again. The three refused to split up, moving as a loose cluster no matter where the stones landed.

Yang Bin ground his teeth. Fine. All three at once, then.

He stepped into view.

Three pairs of red eyes locked on. Three zombies charged.

Yang Bin ran, leading them up the stairs at full speed.

"Heads up-three of them!" he shouted as he burst onto the Rooftop.

"Shit, are you serious!?" The group flinched.

"Same setup. Skinny Monkey and Old Hei, ladder on one. Haozi, you and Zhao Kun take one with the stool. Last one's mine." Yang Bin barked the adjustments without slowing down.

The three zombies poured through the door behind him. Skinny Monkey and Old Hei jammed the ladder into the first one instantly, pinning it. Zhao Kun and Chen Hao hoisted the tall stool and drove a second zombie back against the wall, holding it there.

Yang Bin drew the third to the Rooftop's edge. He planted his feet and swung the steel pipe with everything he had, straight into the zombie's skull.

A wet, heavy thud. Blood burst from the impact point. The pipe vibrated so hard it hummed in his hands, and his arms went numb to the elbows.

"Shit-overdid it."

Blood sprayed in every direction. Yang Bin's stomach lurched violently. If there'd been anything left in his gut, it would've come up right there.

But the hit worked. The zombie's movements turned sluggish, its coordination visibly broken.

Yang Bin's eyes sharpened. He choked down the nausea and swung again-same target, the skull.

With three zombies in play, Chen Hao and the others had their hands full. Nobody could help him. He had to finish this one alone.

If he couldn't shove it off the building, then he'd just have to beat it to death.