Chapter 18: Thump! Thump! Thump!

At 6:40 p.m., the sky darkened as the light gradually faded. Meng Ran was fully equipped, wearing a mask. After placing Nian Nian safely in the space, she grabbed a shovel and left the house.

The hallway window was shattered, and a cold wind began to blow.

Before descending the stairs, Meng Ran exhaled the cold air and glanced at the residents on her floor. All the doors were tightly shut; no one had come out.

As she turned the corner down the stairs, a pair of murky eyes appeared. When she reached the first floor, the ground was damp, creaking underfoot, with some broken ice and snow brought inside.

Fang Weiwen and the others had already gone out, having dug a crooked path. Meng Ran picked up her shovel and dug beside it but then heard a creaking sound.

“Who’s there?”

Meng Ran lowered her voice, feeling around in the darkness for a kitchen knife, her fingertips extending like vines ahead.

She switched off the flashlight’s beam, and a sharp gust of wind brushed past her ears. Meng Ran turned and bent down just as a snow shovel swept over her head.

With a thud, a hand pressed on Meng Ran’s shoulder. She swung the knife forward, but there was nothing in front of her.

The force was strong, and her shoulder ached faintly. In the darkness, she could barely make out the figure pressed against the corner of the wall.

Her vine-like tendrils moved instinctively, following the person’s direction. Just as the shadow was about to throw a punch, the thin tendrils caught the ankle.

The cold blade, tinged with the scent of vegetables, pressed against her neck. Meng Ran pushed it away with her knee.

“Who are you?”

“Is that you?”

The voices spoke simultaneously. Meng Ran frowned—did this person know her?

“Have you been out before?”

Meng Ran didn’t answer. The person said, “I followed you last time. Are you going to see that corpse again or what?”

Seeing Meng Ran still resisting, the person added, “At first, I didn’t recognize you. I thought you were one of those scavengers.”

This person knew quite a bit.

“What floor are you on?”

“I’m Mu Qiuyun from the sixth floor.”

Meng Ran had little impression of Mu Qiuyun. The flashlight flicked on, and Mu Qiuyun pulled off her mask, exhaling deeply.

Seeing her face, Meng Ran suddenly recalled a few things.

Because their floors were close, Meng Ran had seen Mu Qiuyun a few times before. She was solitary, rarely interacting with others.

“I thought you were Fang Weiwen’s wife and that Fang Weiwen had Chen Yun send something over. Sorry.”

Mu Qiuyun only realized during the scuffle that if it had been Chen Yun, she wouldn’t have resisted like Meng Ran did.

“Fang Weiwen and the others left a long time ago.”

Meng Ran released her grip, discreetly retracting her tendrils without Mu Qiuyun noticing.

She had deliberately chosen this time to avoid Fang Weiwen and the others. It seemed Mu Qiuyun knew quite a lot as well.

Mu Qiuyun nodded. “I thought those people might have left some tricks behind.”

“What are you planning to do?” Meng Ran asked cautiously, gripping her knife.

Mu Qiuyun quickly replied, “I want to check on that corpse. People on other floors have died recently. The corpse from unit 406 should be the earliest. I want to see what it’s become.”

If it posed a threat to them, they would need to find a way to deal with it and prepare countermeasures in advance.

Meng Ran glanced at her. Their goals were the same; trying to avoid each other was pointless.

Having finally gone out, chances like this would be rare in the future. Meng Ran paid no more mind to Mu Qiuyun and proceeded through the path.

The snow outside was already deep, but there were footprints ahead. Fortunately, it had been cleared before, so it wasn’t completely engulfing everything.

Following her memory, Mu Qiuyun silently trailed behind, not uttering a word.

She rubbed her hands together. The night sky was dark and moonless as they tread slowly across snow and ice.

They arrived at the first-floor warehouse where Zhao Weijie’s father’s corpse was kept. The snow had already covered the windows.

Meng Ran struggled, using the shovel to clear the snow, the flakes chilling her through her clothes.

Mu Qiuyun, wearing gloves, brushed the snow off the window and saw two gray-white eyes staring back.

Her eyes widened. Meng Ran sensed something was wrong and instinctively stepped back.

A chill rose from her feet.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The window rattled from pounding. Mu Qiuyun snapped back to attention. Though prepared, the impact was still jarring.

The dead relentlessly battered the window, those eyes fixed unblinkingly on them.

Because of the cold, the window had become brittle and soon began to crack.

Meng Ran drew her knife.

“What are you going to do?” Mu Qiuyun asked, looking at her. “Kill it or what?”

Meng Ran glanced at her. Wasn’t that obvious? They had to eliminate it; otherwise, leaving such a menace in the community would only allow their numbers to grow rapidly.

“Kill it.”

Meng Ran kept telling herself this thing had been dead for several days.

Suddenly, with a crash, the window shattered. A gaunt arm reached out, half the body squeezing through. The shards tore the skin, releasing a foul-smelling mixture of blood and gas.

The window was too small, and the corpse got stuck halfway. Mu Qiuyun stepped forward and adjusted her mask.

“Hah!”

The corpse opened its mouth, emitting muffled groans, one hand reaching forward desperately.

Meng Ran closed her eyes briefly, then stepped forward resolutely. “Pierce the heart. That should finish it.”

The fruit knife blended into the darkness. Gritting her teeth, Meng Ran stabbed as it could no longer resist.

With a clang, pain radiated through her palm. Mu Qiuyun struck the corpse with the snow shovel—it hit like a stone.

“Such hard bones.”

Stabbing from the back didn’t penetrate.

Sensing the attack, the corpse struggled fiercely, almost crawling out entirely.

If not the back, then where else?

The two circled it. Meng Ran struck repeatedly. Her right hand grew numb and sore; only the head remained.

Their eyes met briefly. Meng Ran plunged the fruit knife into the head.

The corpse suddenly stiffened. Gray blood seeped out, sliding down the window and falling inside.

Meng Ran shone the flashlight briefly, breathing heavily. It was her first time doing such a thing.

“It should be out of breath now,” Mu Qiuyun broke the silence.

Meng Ran raised her hand and realized she was drenched in sweat.

“Let’s go.”

After waiting a few minutes, Meng Ran finally felt the cold creeping in. She curled up and picked up the shovel, turning back.

Mu Qiuyun stood before the warehouse, staring at the fallen corpse, the torn blankets, and ropes inside.

The corpse lay on its back, calm and lifeless after the head was pierced.

Night deepened, temperatures dropping. Mu Qiuyun hurried back, not wanting to run into Fang Weiwen and his group.

Meng Ran returned to the community. Upon climbing the stairs and reaching her door, she suddenly noticed signs of violent damage to her security door.