Chuncao: "How the hell is this possible? A gorilla can grow this big?!"

Zhang Yingjie: "The zombies are catching up, Rong-ge, what do we do!"

Zhou Rong: "I don't know! I've never had such shitty luck on a mission—!"

Si Nan: "...Stop talking, just run."

The Zombie Gorilla let out an earth-shattering roar, smashing the corner of the upper staircase with its fist. The four of them tumbled and fell to the next floor, coming face to face with the tide of zombies swaying and squeezing their way up.

Chuncao and Zhang Yingjie desperately sprayed the zombies with gunfire, but the living dead legion, advancing wave upon wave, was completely fearless, staggering ever closer through the hail of bullets.

Zhou Rong turned and fired at the giant gorilla, trying to clear a path upwards—but in the crowded and chaotic stairwell, ordinary bullets had no effect on the zombie beast. Instead, they only enraged it further, causing it to leap up and come crashing down on them!

The concrete steps couldn't support the weight of the Zombie Gorilla's crash and instantly shattered into countless pieces, sending the four of them flying.

Chuncao screamed, "Rong-ge! Think of something!"

Zhou Rong's furious roar echoed through the stairwell: "Si Nan—"

Si Nan landed hard. In the darkness, he raised the heavy machine gun and unleashed a storm of bullets onto the stairwell wall!

The extremely close firing range sent metal slugs, shell casings, and concrete fragments ricocheting everywhere. If the special forces squad hadn't been wearing bulletproof vests under their field uniforms, they would have been shredded to pieces.

Even so, the other three were forced back by the hail of bullets, able to do nothing but desperately protect their heads and faces.

The gunfire suddenly stopped. The concrete wall had been riddled into a honeycomb by the machine gun. Si Nan kicked a large hole in the wall, revealing a passage leading into the building's interior!

Zhou Rong turned and fired frantically at the zombie horde, shouting, "You go first, quick! One by one!!"

Si Nan, Chuncao, and Zhang Yingjie quickly scrambled into the passage one by one. Zhou Rong was last. Just as he got halfway in, he felt a tug on his foot. A zombie had actually grabbed him. Gritting his teeth, he kicked for his life several times before finally managing to struggle free and crawl inside.

"Roar—!"

The Zombie Gorilla's vision was clearly poor in the dark. Extremely agitated after suddenly losing its targets, it violently swiped its hand, tearing apart several zombies and smashing the crumbling wall, creating even more terrifying cracks.

"The wall won't hold!" Zhou Rong yelled. "Let's go!"

The shelter was mainly divided into eleven floors, but between them were narrow partition levels, fire control floors, and the like, which were usually only entered by staff for routine inspections and were off-limits to the public. The space they had broken into from the stairwell was one such floor.

The four of them sprinted down the empty corridor. Suddenly, the ground shook behind them. The entire stairwell wall had been knocked down by the Zombie Gorilla!

Chuncao was gasping for breath as she ran. "I thought we were playing Resident Evil, how did we end up in a King Kong raid? Are we going to make it this time?!"

"It's coming after us! We have to think of something quick!" Zhang Yingjie ran with his backpack slung over one shoulder, the contents clanging around, making it a truly miserable experience. "Rong-ge, I think you should still have some armor-piercing rounds in your bag. The three of us can cover you while you look for them?"

Zhou Rong said flatly, "No time to get them out! The armor-piercing rounds are at the very bottom of the magazine, originally prepared for blowing up the Biological Research Institute!"

"Why is our luck so bad this time?!" Chuncao said in disbelief.

Si Nan: "...Don't talk so much while you're running for your life!"

The corridor came to an end. The four special forces soldiers made a sharp turn. Suddenly, Zhou Rong caught a glimpse of something from the edge of his laser night-vision goggles. "Wait, this way!" In that instant, Zhou Rong was so happy he could cry. "—A garbage truck!"

At the shelter's central garbage collection point, a compression-style garbage truck was parked quietly by the entrance, emitting an odor that was impossible to ignore.

Heaven never seals off all exits.

Zhang Yingjie smashed the truck window with his fist, pulled out four wires from under the steering wheel—two red, two blue—and connected them one by one, his fingers trembling slightly.

A moment later, the engine roared to life. The other three leaped onto the back of the truck. The instant the Zombie Gorilla appeared at the other end of the corridor, the truck shot forward with a roar!

Sitting in the bed of the garbage truck, Zhou Rong quickly pulled the armor-piercing rounds from his tactical pack and took the Type 89 heavy machine gun. Si Nan flipped over and moved closer. Zhou Rong used his shoulder as a support to prop up the gun barrel, squinting to take aim.

Si Nan was as steady as a rock, but Zhou Rong's body jolted with the truck. Through the scope, he could only see the Zombie Gorilla bounding up and down, getting closer and closer to the truck.

On the other side of the truck bed, Chuncao watched them intently, not daring to make a sound, cold sweat sliding down her cheeks to her sharp chin.

"Roar! Roar! Roar—"

The zombie King Kong leaped into the air, bringing with it a foul wind as it came crashing down!

—If time were to stop, it would be a terrifying scene.

The Zombie Gorilla's body, weighing several tons, was like a small hill. Its black shadow completely enveloped the three people on the truck. Its sharp claws, covered in bloody, rotting flesh, were less than a foot from Si Nan's eyes.

At that very moment, the red dot in the scope lit up.

Zhou Rong pulled the trigger.

Bang!!

The Zombie Gorilla's massive head completely exploded, splattering everywhere!

The instant he released the trigger, Zhou Rong got up, flipped over, and pushed Si Nan down beneath him, holding him tight. The next second, the gorilla's bloody brain matter sprayed all over his back.

The truck sped away desperately. The Zombie Gorilla's headless body tumbled in mid-air, crashing heavily behind them, and disappeared into the distance in the blink of an eye.

·

Five minutes later, on the garbage truck.

"Retch..."

Exhausted, Si Nan rolled over and sat up. He finally had nothing left to throw up and managed to take a sip of water.

Zhou Rong said gloomily, "Is it really that bad?"

"Retch..."

Chuncao looked back, wiping her mouth while panting heavily, and affirmed, "Yes, Rong-ge."

Zhou Rong retaliated by scooting toward them. The two of them immediately backed away in unison. Chuncao said angrily, "Stay away! We can still be like father and daughter if you keep your distance!"

Zhou Rong felt a sense of loss from being shunned. He leaned down from the top of the truck bed and knocked on the driver's side window. "Yingjie! Stop the truck and let me in for a bit!"

There was no answer from the driver's cab. The truck continued to drive forward smoothly, as if nothing had happened.

Zhou Rong sat up helplessly, a vein throbbing on his forehead. The back of his field uniform was covered in sticky, half-dried brain matter, mixed with the garbage in the truck bed that hadn't been dealt with in who knows how long. The smell was simply out of this world.

"Comrade Xiao Si," Zhou Rong cleared his throat, preparing to reason with him. "Let's assume a hypothetical situation."

"If I hadn't sacrificed myself to protect you just now, who would be the one with a face full of zombie brains right now? Who would be the one isolated, shunned, and psychologically traumatized by their teammates? With morale so low..."

"Have some water, Rong-ge," Comrade Xiao Si said hastily.

Zhou Rong took the water bottle with dissatisfaction, took two sips, and was nearly sickened by the stench all over his body.

·

"We'll cross the partition level from here and arrive at West B District in twenty minutes, which is directly above the emergency communications office. There's a service elevator there for garbage disposal personnel. We go straight down sixty meters to reach the designated area, then we detonate."

Zhou Rong's finger stopped on the tablet map, making a red mark.

Chuncao raised her hand.

"Comrade Xiao Cao, you may speak."

Chuncao sat far away at the other end of the truck bed, yelling at the top of her lungs, "What if we run into more King Kongs—what do we do—!"

"We'll deal with it," Zhou Rong said coldly. "Do you really think we're on a field trip?"

Chuncao couldn't help but mutter, "Why does it feel like we've been having such bad luck on missions lately? Should we go to Yonghe Temple and pray?"

Si Nan had been holding Zhou Rong's precious, one-of-a-kind family heirloom of a gun, sitting on the side and diligently calibrating the scope. At this moment, he suddenly interjected, "I've always wanted to ask, what is this King Kong you guys are talking about?"

Zhou Rong eyed him suspiciously. Si Nan returned his gaze with a calm, clear look.

"King Kong is an ancient, mutated giant gorilla. Comrade Xiao Si, have you seen Skull Island?"

Si Nan shook his head.

"What about Resident Evil?"

Si Nan shook his head again.

"...You must have played Counter-Strike, at least."

Si Nan said, "I don't play games."

Zhou Rong looked as if he had discovered a new continent. "As a teenager who grew up and thrived in the 21st century, you don't watch dramas or play games? Comrade Xiao Si, what did you waste your student years on? Is there any pain or unspeakable secret you wish to confide in the organization?"

Chuncao said lazily, "You wouldn't get it, Rong-ge—someone with Si Xiaonan's looks spent all his school years busy with romance. He was either gazing at the stars and moon with an innocent junior, discussing poetry and life's ideals, or watching movies and riding bikes with the sweet campus belle, holding hands in the study hall. He's not like you military academy geeks, hehe—"

Si Nan said, "I've never been in a relationship."

Chuncao: "..."

Zhou Rong: "..."

The air suddenly fell silent, with only the rhythmic jolting of the garbage truck to be heard.

After a long while, Zhou Rong said slowly, "Although not getting into puppy love is a good thing... Comrade Xiao Si, people should have some recreation once in a while, otherwise the mental stress will be too great and cause problems... By the way, once we're out of here, do you really not want to find a private place and whisper some secrets with Rong-ge? It's very necessary to relax your mind and body, you know."

"I do have recreation," Si Nan replied. "Sleeping."

After a long pause, Chuncao held her nose and scooted closer to Zhou Rong, whispering, "I think when he says sleeping, he just means sleeping."

Zhou Rong: "I think so too."

The garbage truck made a turn in the spacious partition level and sped westward with a roar, bypassing the generator sets and power distribution room ahead. In the corner was the service elevator, sealed with yellow and black warning tape.

The truck stopped, and the three on top jumped to the ground simultaneously. Zhou Rong, carrying dozens of kilograms of equipment, said while running, "You know what? I finally figured out what kind of feeling Comrade Xiao Si gives me. The White Eagle Troop, the one we fought against last year with a 19-to-8 loss ratio..."

Chuncao: "Ah! Right!"

Zhang Yingjie: "Those damn foreigners act all high and mighty, but their skills are sloppy, no good! Rong-ge, give me the wrench!"

Zhou Rong said "Hah!" and replied, "What do you need a wrench for?" He then grabbed the crack of the door with his bare hands and gritted his teeth. With a great effort, the muscles in his shoulders and back bulged as he pried the elevator doors open.

The elevator shaft was a pitch-black hole. Zhou Rong shone his tactical flashlight around a few times. The bottomless darkness swallowed the light, but a faint glimmer of water could be seen reflecting from the bottom.

"What's going on?" Zhou Rong muttered. "Did groundwater back up?"

Zhang Yingjie took a small sensor from the pocket of his camouflage pants and tossed it into the elevator shaft. A moment later, the tablet showed the detected depth—57.6 meters.

Their target floor was two meters underwater. They would need to dive.

"Rong-ge, are we going down?"

Zhou Rong pointed forcefully inside. "Cut the crap, let's go!"

Chuncao deftly set up the grappling hook, fixing the head to the elevator shaft wall with eight suction cups. Zhang Yingjie put on his leather heat-resistant gloves, grabbed the rope, and leaped in.

This time the order was changed to Zhang Yingjie, Zhou Rong, Si Nan, and Chuncao. The four of them descended in a line, pushing off the four walls of the shaft—south, east, north, and west—to descend in a spiral.

"The White Eagle Troop," Zhou Rong sighed.

Zhou Rong pushed off the wall with his long legs, sliding down two meters. Below him, Zhang Yingjie laughed. "Before the exercise started, those foreign bastards were so arrogant, saying all their members were fighting machines without joy, anger, sorrow, or self-emotion, that every Alpha soldier was trained to be a combat program of absolute obedience..."

"They really looked down on us idle special forces soldiers, but in the end, didn't we still get a 19-to-8 score?" Zhang Yingjie leaped down. "What a disgrace!"

Si Nan said expressionlessly, "So that's the kind of terrible impression you have of me."

Zhang Yingjie quickly denied it with an apologetic smile. Zhou Rong lamented, "But their perverted drill instructor was still very formidable. After the exercise, he challenged people to one-on-one fights and broke four of Unit 118's chief instructor's ribs—although that kind of behavior was just to save face... We're here. Yingjie, prepare to dive. Si Xiaonan, did you just kick me?"

Si Nan stopped his descent, gripping the rope tightly and planting his feet on the shaft wall. He stared intently at his gloves, as if he had suddenly entered a deep state of thought.

"You're a classic case of becoming arrogant because you're spoiled!" Zhou Rong said angrily.

Zhou Rong shone his tactical flashlight on the water below. It was dark and murky, and there was no telling how deep it was. He took an electronic detonator from his pocket and tossed it to Zhang Yingjie. "Be careful, this is our last one!"

Zhang Yingjie gave a "Roger that" gesture. "I can hold my breath for five minutes underwater. I'll come up as soon as it's set." With that, he let go of the rope and splashed into the water.

The elevator door to the emergency communications office floor was two to three meters below the water's surface. They needed to find a point to fix the detonator and set the encoder. This job had to be done by Zhang Yingjie, who was the best at diving.

Above the water, the three of them hung quietly in mid-air, like three grasshoppers on a string.

A moment later, Zhou the grasshopper couldn't help but start fidgeting:

"Comrade Xiao Si."

Comrade Xiao Si fluttered his eyelids.

"Why have you never been in a relationship?"

"You wouldn't get it, Rong-ge," Chuncao said from the very top, staring into the darkness with a profound expression.

"It's like when everyone gathers after an exam is handed in. The students who lament about not studying at all are definitely the top students who secretly studied until dawn every day. If you believe them, the rankings will teach you a good lesson about life when they're posted..."

"And the top students? They'll see their names in the top five of the grade and say shyly, 'I really didn't study!' or 'I was so lucky!' or even 'How did I drop another half a point from last time!'—but they only say these things to humiliate you, because you're the only one who scored at the bottom, the only one who honestly faced the fact that you didn't study at all..."

Zhou Rong couldn't help but look up. "My dear girl, although your school days sound miserable, your big bro was always a top student at the military academy."

Chuncao: "..."

"I was first in the whole school for four years and even got a medal at graduation. I'll find it and show you someday."

Chuncao was silent for a long time, her expression as if she had been struck by lightning.

With a splash, Zhang Yingjie broke the surface from the bottom, smiling. "All set. Rong-ge, give me a hand! I'll detonate it when I'm up."

Zhou Rong painstakingly adjusted his position, spreading his legs wide to brace himself against the left and right walls to steady his body. He bent down to pull up Zhang Yingjie, who was half-submerged in the water—but just then, a series of bubbles rose to the surface, quickly growing larger, as if something was rapidly ascending.

Zhou Rong's brow twitched. "Get up here, quick!"

Zhang Yingjie also clearly sensed the ominous feeling and yanked hard on the rope. But just as he was about to pull himself up, several pale, swollen hands suddenly shot out of the dark water and grabbed him!

"Yingjie!"

"—Zombies!!"

Zhang Yingjie drew his gun and fired wildly, but the bullets were useless once they hit the water and couldn't hit their targets. In his panic, he was pulled under by the zombies!

Whoosh! A loud sound was accompanied by a jet of water. Without a second thought, Zhou Rong pulled the submachine gun from his back and leaped into the water.