Outside the door were Lin Fubiao and Pan Yao...
Lin Fubiao stared at the fire consuming the gasoline-soaked junk and the door of Shi Gong Dui’s house, his face twisted in a mix of savagery and pleasure, as if relishing a sense of revenge. "If you won't let us live well, then don’t think you can live either!"
After being forced next door, they stared at their pitifully meager food supplies, racking their brains for a solution. Lin Fubiao’s mother had managed to stop the bleeding from her wound, but without a doctor or surgery, she developed a high fever during the night. The more Lin Fubiao thought about it, the more resentful he became. Conveniently, they found half a bucket of gasoline in the house they were occupying, so they planned to burn Hao Jian and the others alive while they slept, just before dawn.
What they hadn’t anticipated was that Hao Jian and the group would wake up earlier than usual due to their biological clocks. The group had already packed a lot of their belongings, but the fire spread fast, quickly engulfing the wooden door of the house.
The fire extinguishers were outside, so Peng Mao ran to the kitchen to fetch water. But as soon as he got close, the thick smoke nearly suffocated him. They soaked all the clothes they could find and tied them over their faces, but despite these efforts, the only exit was already overtaken by flames. What could they do?
At that moment, Hao Jian remembered the "Spider-Man" safety suit she had received as a level reward. She quickly rushed to the balcony. Fortunately, the building had no burglar bars, as Shi Gong Dui had never installed them, and the balcony overlooked the building's entrance. Above them was a ceiling, so even if they jumped down, they wouldn’t need to worry about zombies attacking them right away.
With little hesitation, Hao Jian took out the safety gear. The equipment was designed for high-rise operations, so even though they were only on the 16th floor, it was more than sufficient.
"What’s that?" Lian Ru Ning asked, taking a break from trying to fight the fire.
"High-altitude safety gear, found in Shi Gong Dui’s house," Hao Jian responded.
The others gathered around. "We can escape from the balcony?!" someone exclaimed.
Shi Gong Dui, slightly confused, muttered, "When did I buy that... Doesn't matter, I’ve bought so much random stuff, so maybe I just forgot about it."
In moments like this, survival was the priority. Without this equipment, they would likely be suffocated or burned alive.
After securing the gear, Hao Jian glanced at everyone, then strapped the harness onto Lian Ru Ning, securing both the main and secondary ropes. "You go first."
Lian Ru Ning hesitated, her eyes filled with unease. She grasped Hao Jian’s hand, wanting to say a thousand things but unable to form the words.
"Stop stalling, go!" Shi Gong Dui slung his backpack over her shoulder. "Take this equipment down first!"
With no further hesitation, Lian Ru Ning climbed over the railing, slowly descending the wall.
Most of the other balconies had burglar bars, and some had zombies trapped inside. As Lian Ru Ning passed by, the zombies clawed at the bars, trying to grab her. One almost caught her leg, but she had tucked her pants tightly into her boots, so the zombie only managed to grab her clothing. With a quick slash, she chopped off the zombie's arm with her knife. After that close call, she was much more cautious, increasing her speed whenever she approached a balcony.
Once she safely reached the ground, she removed the ropes and signaled Hao Jian to pull them back up for the next person to descend.
Next came Xin Ting, followed by Shi Gong Dui, Peng Mao, and lastly, Hao Jian.
By the time Peng Mao was descending, the fire had already intensified, and Lian Ru Ning grew more anxious when Hao Jian didn’t follow immediately. She was about to climb back up to check on her when, just as the smoke began pouring out from the balcony, Hao Jian finally started her descent, much to everyone’s relief.
"Why did you take so long?" Lian Ru Ning, on the verge of tears, scolded. A fire isn't something to be taken lightly, and those who haven’t experienced one often don’t understand how rapidly it can spread. Had they hesitated just a few more minutes, they might not have made it out.
"I suddenly remembered something I hadn’t grabbed," Hao Jian replied, her face covered in soot, with only her mouth and nose clean, making her look quite comical. It was clear how close she had come to death.
"What was so important?" Lian Ru Ning asked.
Hao Jian pulled out a power drill. "This."
By now, the zombies had gathered below, and if they attempted to descend further, they’d be as good as dead. But with the power drill, they could dismantle the burglar bars on a nearby fourth-floor balcony, allowing them to pass through into the building's stairwell. From there, they could attach the remaining safety ropes to the stairwell windows and rappel down to the parking lot behind the building.
After regrouping, they took stock of their belongings. Apart from the food in their backpacks, they hadn’t been able to carry much, but they still had their weapons and clothes.
After narrowly escaping, Peng Mao let out a big sigh of relief and patted Shi Gong Dui on the back. "Good thinking! If not for you, we’d have died up there!"
Shi Gong Dui still couldn’t recall buying the equipment, but he didn’t dwell on it. "No idea if there are any survivors in the other units."
They all suspected that the fire wasn’t caused by faulty wiring. The smell of gasoline was unmistakable—it was clearly arson. And the only people who could harbor such a grudge against them were Lin Fubiao and his group.
Shi Gong Dui was thinking the same thing. Without saying a word, he gestured for them to move on.
The fire quickly drew attention as flames spread from the 16th floor of the 23-story building. Some of the other residents began to flee, while others encountered zombies in the stairwells. Those who remained downstairs also prepared to leave, fearing the fire would spread further. A few stubborn individuals grabbed fire extinguishers to fight the flames.
Shi Gong Dui found a motorcycle on the side of the road. He turned to Hao Jian and the others and said, "Signal the security team to pick you up. I'm on my way."
Hao Jian nodded. She understood that Shi Gong Dui didn't want to go with the security team because they would probably search him and discover his equipment stash. He had already contacted his superior the night before and they had given him an address. If he could get there, he would be safe.
The location wasn’t far, but he preferred to go alone to avoid implicating the others.
Before leaving, he handed Hao Jian a USB drive. "Payment for services rendered."
Hao Jian put it into her system inventory. She felt it was too important to carry around with her. She also wanted to test her inventory system.
After Shi Gong Dui left, Hao Jian fired a flare gun, and soon a nearby security patrol arrived. This squad came in a convoy of off-road vehicles and pickup trucks, the latter equipped with machine guns, making it look like they were in a war zone.
Once they confirmed Hao Jian’s identity, they were escorted back to the government building in Xiangshi, a place they hadn’t expected.
The city hall was built a long time ago, but it was just recently renovated. Not only is it imposing, but more importantly, it is strategically located. There's a central square in front of the government building. On either side of it are manicured gardens covering dozens of acres. Apart from the main roads, two overpasses run straight through the area.
The authorities have set up an electric grid under the overpasses, which are also being used as lookout points and platforms for long-range attacks on approaching zombies. Given the security measures, vehicles, and personnel coming and going, it's clear that the city hall is being used as the command center for Xiang City's operations.
This place wasn't designed for ordinary survivors, so Hao Jian and her group weren't brought here as such. The commander of Longwan Island had contacted them the day before and informed them that Hao Jian's group had important information, so they were escorted here.
Getting into the government building wasn't easy. First, they had to undergo inspections in a building to the left of the central square. This former exhibition hall had been converted into a Monitoring and Inspection Center, as well as a quarantined area. Everyone had to be checked to make sure they weren't carrying any dangerous items, signal jammers, or listening devices. They were then tested for the zombie virus.
Fortunately, there was no need for a 48-hour observation period. They each had half a tube of blood drawn, and after waiting for about two hours, they were informed that none of them were infected and were allowed to enter the government building.
Hao Jian asked the system, "Have they developed a way to confirm whether someone is carrying the zombie virus? Didn't they say the virus couldn’t be transmitted outside the human body once exposed to air? How can they detect it from a blood sample?"
"Although experts tried using the common traits of arthropods to study and detect the Q virus, they didn’t find anything from segmentation, secondary body cavities, bristles and tubercles, closed circulatory systems, nephridia-type excretory systems, or corded nervous systems. So the only method available right now is exposing your blood to arthropods to see if they avoid or die upon contact. This process generally takes one to two hours."
"...How crude!" Hao Jian was somewhat disappointed that scientists hadn't figured out how the zombie virus worked, but then again, many viruses, like the Ebola virus, had been extremely challenging.
In 2004, some domestic researchers began developing an Ebola vaccine, but because they couldn’t get their hands on the Ebola virus pathogen, it took eight years of research. By the time the Ebola outbreak occurred in 2014, they were able to develop the vaccine, and after clinical trials, it was confirmed effective. The whole process took ten years, showing how long and arduous research can be.
If Ebola was this challenging, the zombie virus would be even more so.
——
The person who greeted Hao Jian and her companions was a secretary who introduced herself as Wang Zishao, the secretary to the Security Department Director at the Violent Crime Command Center.
Wang Zishao was in her early thirties, with neat, short, ear-length hair. Her uniform, with its sharply tailored waist, gave her an air of authority, but her demeanor was friendly and composed, with no hint of bureaucratic arrogance.
She led Hao Jian’s group to a meeting room on the second floor, where no one else was present. Wang Zishao said, "Please sit for a moment. I'll go get some tea."
The room was furnished with sofas and a coffee table. After Wang Zishao left, Peng Mao flopped onto the sofa, exclaiming, "I haven’t relaxed like this in ages. I feel safe here."
The four of them were well aware that there were likely surveillance cameras and listening devices in the room, but they were used to this kind of life and didn’t feel overly constrained.
“If you're going back to Yang City, find a chance to ask if there's a way to go to sea,” Hao Jian said. The southern district, one of the five major zones, was focused on developing maritime power. If Xin Ting and Peng Mao wanted to go to sea, they’d need official approval. Since they were already here, it was best to inquire.
After chatting for a while, Wang Zishao returned with tea. Hao Jian was surprised, “I didn’t expect there’d still be tea to drink!”
Wang Zishao smiled, “It’s not anything fancy. Just tea left behind by people who used to work here.”
As they sipped tea, Wang Zishao asked them a series of questions, then explained, “Given the current situation, you can understand why we need to thoroughly verify the identity of anyone who comes here before making the necessary arrangements. I hope you understand.”
They did understand, of course. After answering the questions, Hao Jian remembered something and asked, “Do you have a Guard member named Huang Sheng here? I know your departments are different, but since you both handle security, you might know him.”
“If he’s in the Guard, I wouldn’t know every name, but if you give me his information and unit number, I can look him up for you.”
Hao Jian thanked her, and Wang Zishao left the room again.
At noon, Hao Jian was called to meet with the head of the Security Department. She relayed the information that Hu Dan had entrusted her with and provided additional details. Since Hao Jian had offered valuable information, the director eventually asked, “Would you be interested in officially joining the 'Special Response Unit'?”
Hao Jian didn’t answer immediately. The director continued, “While joining us may involve dangerous missions, you’d also gain certain privileges.”
Hao Jian replied, “I’m just an ordinary person.”
“We already have plenty of extraordinary people: the Guard, Intelligence Division, Tech Division, Security and Defense, Criminal Investigation Unit, Patrol Unit… Each of them is both ordinary and extraordinary. But members of the Special Response Unit are not primarily chosen from these groups, and you know why.”
Hao Jian responded, “I can’t make this decision alone.”
The director said, “As far as I know, you seem to be on your own…” He almost outright called her an orphan.
But Hao Jian thought of Lian Ru Ning, her expression softening. “Not anymore.”