Tiny drones, each the size of a bee, scattered from the window, soaring over the city and transmitting real-time footage to Ji Yushi’s communicator, which projected it as a holographic image for observation.

“There are still survivors in the city,” Zhou Mingxuan pointed out, indicating a section of the footage. “Look, there’s smoke here!”

On the screen, the city’s landscape gradually became clearer.

The dilapidated streets and damaged roads everywhere were a stark reminder that civilized society had vanished from this city. Like the area where they currently stood, other streets bore only the traces of zombie activity.

“Of course there are survivors. We almost got hit by that flying car earlier, didn’t we?” Li Chun said, unable to hide his anger and regret.

“Damn it, if it weren’t for that flying car, Wen-ge wouldn’t be this badly injured… I really couldn’t have done any better at the time!”

Ji Yushi responded, “I was a bit late in warning you.”

Li Chun opened his mouth but then said, “Consultant Ji, that’s not what I meant.”

“Alright, he didn’t mean it that way,” Song Qinglan cut in, looking through his binoculars at the location Zhou Mingxuan had pointed out. Through the lens, he saw three or four people on a rooftop, stacking fuel into a large blue metal drum, while on the ground, the letters “SOS” were painted in white, clearly signaling for help.

“Having survivors just means they’re waiting to die.”

Not far away, the ominous black wall stood silently, devouring everything in its path.

With zombies ahead and the black wall behind, these people, like them, were just barely surviving in the cracks, not knowing when their end might come.

Wherever they looked, countless zombies were emerging from various buildings, residential areas, subway entrances, and other places. In the absence of “prey” or fellow zombies to hunt, these zombies moved like ordinary people, neither fast nor slow, wandering aimlessly. As more and more zombies took to the streets, the dense crowd looked as bustling as a New Year’s Eve celebration.

Song Qinglan observed for a few minutes, frowning. “These zombies still retain some social habits?”

Zhou Mingxuan took the binoculars and noticed the same thing. “Weird. Are they going home to sleep and then waking up at dawn to go shopping? Damn, they really love life!”

On this side of the black wall, sunlight bathed the entire city.

Song Qinglan’s sharp profile tensed as he watched the footage from Ji Yushi’s drones, deep in thought.

Back at the park management office, Song Qinglan had observed the corpse of the park manager up close, the murky gray-white eyes of the body suddenly flashing in his mind. He realized something: “It’s the light.”

Everyone looked at him.

Song Qinglan explained, “We arrived here at 4:30 in the morning. Other than that homeless man, we didn’t encounter a large number of zombies on the streets—until the sun came up—”

He didn’t need to say the rest.

The first wave of zombies they encountered appeared as soon as the first ray of sunlight hit the city.

“Look,” Song Qinglan pointed to the drone footage, “Zombies have a tendency to gather. Many of the places they’re coming out of are underground passages, subway stations, buildings—places that are mostly brightly lit throughout the night.”

“I hypothesize that the virus invaded their visual nerves, damaging their eyes, so they can’t see well and are highly sensitive to light. Besides sound and smell, they instinctively follow their kind towards the light, especially brighter areas.”

Hearing their captain’s analysis, everyone suddenly had a revelation.

Li Chun looked up at the bright crystal chandelier in the hall, then walked over to turn it off.

The others silently agreed with this action.

But then another question arose.

Ji Yushi asked, “If these light-chasing zombies can be called light seekers, what does the mission target mean by dark seekers?”

This question remained unanswered; no one could provide an answer.

Zhou Mingxuan thought for a moment. “Does that mean it’s safer to move at night? At night, these things go back to their nests?”

“Not necessarily,” Song Qinglan replied. “Not all zombies will gather underground; some will stay outside. More than their sensitivity to light, these zombies are more sensitive to sound and smell. Did you forget the fierce battle we just had in the stairwell?”

Li Chun agreed, “Yeah, they might be blind, but they’re fast!”

Song Qinglan added, “The most important thing is that, no matter how you look at it, we can’t afford to wait that long.”

In the hall, Duan Wen was still unconscious.

Their immediate priority was to find a pharmacy and get Duan Wen some medicine and antibiotics, or his life could be in danger, let alone his leg.

Song Qinglan was a person of action, and in a short time, he had already formulated a plan. He zoomed in on the overhead view of the building. “Besides, the situation actually favors us right now.”

“Just now, Tang Le and Zhou Mingxuan scouted the area. Besides the unusable elevators, Runjin Tower has four fire escape staircases.”

“The left-side corridor is blocked, and the one we used earlier is out of the question, leaving only two options. We can’t say for sure which one is in better condition.”

“If we take the fire escape down, we can directly enter the underground passage—now that most of the zombies are on the streets, the underground is relatively safer. The underground passage connects to the main road, which is the exit.”

Song Qinglan drew a green line on the holographic map, quickly analyzing the situation.

“Based on the real-time data from the drones, once we exit at the ground level, we can take the route with the fewest zombies and find a pharmacy or hospital as quickly as possible. This is the ideal breakout method. The only problem is: which fire escape do we choose?”

Li Chun commented, “It’s a fifty-fifty chance, a 50% success rate.”

Zhou Mingxuan nudged him with his elbow, “Why don’t you mention that there’s a 50% chance of choosing the wrong one and dying?”

Li Chun glanced at Tang Le and winked at Zhou Mingxuan, “Old Zhou, that’s not right. We have to think positively!”

As they spoke, the drone footage suddenly flickered and then went black.

A warning appeared on the projection: [Warning, Drone Offline]

“Damn it!!! The black wall is moving!” Zhou Mingxuan glanced out the window and cursed, “We need to move now!!”

Everyone was startled.

Sure enough, the black wall had silently crept closer, already reaching the street with the convenience store. It not only “swallowed” the drones but was also quickly approaching them!

There was already a few minutes of time lag between the drone’s footage and the map generation. Just as they had made a plan, they were hit with yet another disaster!

Song Qinglan slammed his hand on the table in frustration.

Ji Yushi checked the storage situation, “It’s okay, I memorized the route. I can draw the nearest pharmacy and hospital locations.”

“You memorized the route from a quick scan of countless street layouts? You think you’re that confident?” Song Qinglan, suppressing his frustration, raised an eyebrow.

Ji Yushi looked at the black wall and then at the time on his communicator. “What if I do draw it?”

Song Qinglan: “…”

Knowing that time was short, Ji Yushi continued, “I don’t need to draw much, just the most optimal route for us to move forward. Give me five minutes.”

Everyone: “???”

Has Consultant Ji lost his mind?!

Ji Yushi finished drawing the map in less than five minutes.

At first, everyone thought he was just boasting—after all, how could one person remember an entire unfamiliar route and the conditions of every street? But as the map became more complete, with the directions matching perfectly, Ji Yushi’s confident sketching left everyone secretly astonished, realizing they had underestimated him.

Once the map was complete, Song Qinglan quickly glanced at it, then sent it to everyone’s communicators and said hastily, “Split up. If we get separated, meet at the agreed location. On the way, if possible, grab bandages, antibiotics, splints, and other supplies. You can never have too much. If you see the black wall, run for your life—zombies are nothing compared to it.”

Everyone responded, “Understood!”

Outside the window, the sky was dark with the approaching black wall, ready to engulf them.

Inside the building, zombies were gathering, and the streets outside were even worse. Team Seven had been together for two years, but they had never faced such a dire situation—they were unknowingly pushed to the brink.

Li Chun declared, “I’ll go southeast with Tang Le!”

Zhou Mingxuan, carrying his gun, said, “Captain, I’ll take Consultant Ji and Duan to the northeast!”

“Damn the PU-31, damn the black wall and zombies. If I die, make sure to burn some paper for me and write the address!” Li Chun wiped his eyes, his face set with determination. “And burn a couple of chicks!”

“Shut up. Aren’t you worried Consultant Ji will laugh at you?”

Li Chun grumbled, “Pfft, maybe Consultant Ji will ask for some hunks instead.”

Everyone nudged him playfully.

Even Ji Yushi didn’t find this group’s behavior annoying at the moment.

He glanced at Song Qinglan, wondering how she managed to lead this group. It wasn’t as bad as he had imagined.

“Alright, I’ll burn you eight,” a sudden voice came over the public channel—Duan Wen’s voice.

Hearing that he was awake, everyone quickly rushed to the dimly lit hall, startled to find the sofa covered in dark red bloodstains but with no trace of Duan Wen!

Realizing something, Song Qinglan shouted, “Duan Wen!!”

Duan Wen, no longer afraid of his captain’s anger, continued speaking through the public channel, “I’ve got a fever. Going out there would be suicide, so I might as well contribute. What kind of damn mission is this anyway? Tch.”

There was static in Duan Wen’s communicator.

Everyone heard the noise clearly.

“Wen-ge! Where are you?!”

“Old Duan, where the hell are you?!”

Duan Wen replied, “Stop whining, I’m saving you time.”

“No need to split up.”

“Captain, that route is blocked. Take the northeast fire escape, hurry up, the black wall is coming.”

The sound of chaotic footsteps echoed through the communicator.

“Haa—”

“Bang!” A gunshot rang out.