Chapter 148: Emergency Situation

Puff!

Outside, heavy rain poured, but inside the mall it was bone-dry; the tablecloth caught fire in moments, and the old man couldn't stop it in time.

"Hahaha, burn! Burn these bastards to death!"

Xiang Wei grabbed the flaming tablecloth and swung it.

In the flickering firelight, twisted faces emerged—fear, rage, madness…

North of Qincheng, several beams of headlights illuminated the highway; two RVs and a Prado drove silently, their RPMs kept low, their noise faint. By the time zombies fifty to sixty meters away sensed their presence, the vehicles were already far away.

Zhang Su drove while conversing with Jia Shiqin and the other three about the Jin Yuan Mall.

The Jin Yuan Mall stood in the northern part of Qincheng's urban area, once a bustling commercial district, but in recent years it had gradually declined due to the expansion of commercial zones and the rise of online shopping.

Though declined, a dying camel is still bigger than a horse; the Jin Yuan Mall in the city center remained operational, its underground supermarket still lively, serving over a dozen surrounding residential communities—this was precisely why survivors had gathered here.

"Master Jia, according to you, the zombies are concentrated mainly on the third and fourth floors, right?"

Zhang Su asked.

Jia Shiqin nodded: "Correct. One of our team members is a researcher in animal behavior; he carefully observed the zombies and found they climb upward more easily than they descend, so even when wandering aimlessly, they generally head upstairs."

Studying zombies like animals was quite impressive.

"I don't recall incorrectly—the second, third, and fourth floors between Building A and Building B of the Jin Yuan Mall all had connecting corridors. We'll go through the B zone; there are survivors there, and the environment is relatively stable. Master Jia, how many people are in their group?"

Zhang Su began planning, but was immediately doused with cold water.

"It won't work, Brother Zhang—the corridors between A and B are completely sealed, not just locked doors. It seems the supermarket staff dropped the fire doors before the power went out. Unless we restore electricity, it's nearly impossible to break through by force."

Jia Shiqin said helplessly.

"Then how did the group that first seized the Jin Yuan Mall get to Building B?" Zhang Su asked, puzzled.

"We were on the third floor then—we're not sure how they got there…" Jia Shiqin scratched his head, confused.

Zhang Su frowned inwardly: this leader of the self-rescue team was utterly incompetent—how could he not care about something this critical? What if those people pulled a trick?

The barber chimed in: "I know this—I saw them from the window. They came through the mall's main entrance and killed four or five zombies outside."

Zhang Su realized: "So those survivors abandoned their familiar Building A and went through the trouble of fighting their way all the way around the outside to reach Building B… Master Jia, didn't you ever wonder why they abandoned Building A?"

"I… didn't think much about it back then. I just thought having any place to rest was a blessing. Later, when I thought about it, I realized the problem—it must be that the skybridge was hard to defend."

Jia Shiqin sighed.

Zhang Su rolled his eyes, refusing to speak to Jia Shiqin, picked up the walkie-talkie, and said: "Old Tan, Old Tan, we'll reach the left turn up ahead soon—speed up, shake off those tailing bastards!"

Saying this, Zhang Su pressed the accelerator slightly, took a sharp turn, and smashed through several zombies at the intersection.

"Since the main entrance is usable, we'll enter directly through it. The interior of Building A is circular—Xinyu, you and—uh—"

Just as he was about to assign roles to lure zombies into a circle, Zhang Su looked up and froze: "That's… did the Jin Yuan Mall just get power? No—fuck, it's on fire!"

Everyone followed Zhang Su's gaze: red flames flickered within the glass curtain walls of the third and fourth floors; the fire's glow even faintly revealed the gilded characters "Jin Yuan Mall" on the wall.

"Yes, that's it—that's the Jin Yuan Mall—it's on fire!"

Jia Shiqin grew especially panicked upon seeing the flames.

"Zombies don't start fires—this is clearly human-made chaos. The people inside are trying to escape. Hold on tight!"

Zhang Su shouted, switched the headlights to high beam to illuminate the road ahead. There weren't many vehicles piled up in the center; the wreckage didn't impede progress. He accelerated toward the wandering zombies—better to crush them now than have them follow the vehicle to the mall entrance.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

After a series of impacts and crunching sounds, the RV screeched to a halt in front of the mall. Fortunately, it was a cab-over model with a truck-like front—had it been a regular sedan, the airbags would've exploded from that maneuver.

"Damn, when will we find the parts to modify this vehicle!" Zhang Su thought.

The Prado and the Fokner Mobil followed closely and stopped; over ten people got out and quickly cleared the seven or eight zombies that had caught up.

"Brother Zhang, it's on fire!"

Lu Yu bo yanked his grain sampler from a zombie's skull and rushed to Zhang Su's side.

"I saw it! Old Tan, don't rush!"

Zhang Su called out to Tan Hua jun, who was eager to charge into the mall, then addressed everyone: "Listen up—Chen Hanzhou, Pei Lan, Zhao Xue, and Wu Lue—you four guard the vehicles. Warn anyone who approaches once—take one more step and shoot!"

He trusted all four could carry out his orders.

This was the advantage of deploying everyone—ample manpower made assignments easier and prevented serious oversights!

"Little Xue, don't be soft!"

Zhang Su handed Zhao Xue the specialized sentry pistol and reiterated his warning.

"Brother Zhang, you know me," Zhao Xue's cold voice carried an air of reassurance.

Zhang Su nodded to Zhao Xue, then waved his hand: "The rest of you, follow me!"

As he spoke, he noticed Lucky the Corgi trailing beside him, and bent down: "Lucky, stay here. It's too chaotic inside—you can't use your advantage. Guard the vehicles with them. If anyone misbehaves, bite them to death!"

Woof!

Lucky obeyed.

Illuminated by flames, they didn't need flashlights; through the glass doors, they could see the mall's interior.

Aside from the fire—which was terrible—the rest of the situation was far better than expected. No hordes of zombies danced wildly, no frenzied ones blocked the entrance. Stepping into the first floor felt strangely quiet.

But when they looked toward the escalators, they saw the zombies from the first floor jammed at the escalator entrance, packed like sardines, surging upward—like damned souls frying in hell's oil, terrifying under the firelight.

"Didn't you say zombies prefer climbing up? Then why are there so many downstairs?"

Zhao De zhu grabbed Jia Shiqin and demanded.

"M-most of them, not all…" Jia Shiqin stammered.

"Shut up!"

Zhang Su cut off the argument, looked upward. Unfortunately, the structure limited his view severely, but his hearing clearly detected zombies chasing something.

"Ahh!"

At that moment, a piercing scream echoed from above, accompanied by thumping and thudding combat sounds.

"Xiang Wei, you bastard, ahh… ahh… you'll die too—you'll die here!"

The screams mixed with curses, chilling to the bone.

"Little Ma!"

Another urgent cry rang out.

"Dad… Dad, that's my father's voice!"

Tan Hua jun suddenly became wildly excited.

"Die!"

Thud! Thud-thud!

Before anyone could react, three zombies dropped from above, landing not far from them. One hit head-first and died instantly; another crawled painfully but was still alive; the third landed on a glass display case, dragged its broken body upright.

Auuu!

Two brainless zombies lunged straight at Zhang Su's group; the crawling one also wriggled toward them.

Without Zhang Su's command, three or four people immediately rushed forward and swiftly eliminated the three zombies.

"Go—use that stairwell!"

Bathed in firelight, Zhang Su pointed to the emergency exit. The elevator was useless; the escalator was blocked. Only the safety stairs remained—he prayed silently: please let this stairwell be safe!

(End of Chapter)