Cleanup Complete
“I’m fine. The zombies in the manor should be mostly cleared out by now.” Xiao Yi grabbed the walkie-talkie and said, “Wait for me to confirm the situation inside the villa, then I’ll come find you. Don’t worry, I’ll be okay.”
“Got it. Stay safe! You’re not familiar with the villa’s layout—if there’s anywhere you’re unsure about, just ask me! Or I can come with you…” Stephanie’s concerned voice crackled through the walkie-talkie.
“Okay.” Xiao Yi smiled faintly with a touch of relief, clipped the walkie-talkie to his waist, vaulted over into the front yard, and headed toward the villa.
The car alarm and explosion earlier would have been enough to rouse every zombie inside the villa.
There couldn’t be many left now.
Xiao Yi loaded the last of his bullets into the magazine, stored the rifle in the Space Magic Cube, drew his modao, and entered the villa warily.
This time, he didn’t rush in. Instead, he stood at the grand entrance and shouted a few times into the villa’s depths.
Once he was sure no zombies were coming, Xiao Yi pressed on, heading straight for the security room.
Just like his first time entering, the villa was deathly silent, the oppressive quiet pressing down like a weight on his skin.
The security room’s armored door was tightly shut, low shuffling footsteps echoing from inside.
Xiao Yi pulled out the chainsaw, yanked the starter cord, and slowly sawed through part of the door’s lock.
He stowed the chainsaw back in the Space Magic Cube, gripped the modao with both hands, and kicked the door open with a savage thrust.
A squat zombie with razor-sharp claws lunged out from within.
Xiao Yi was ready. The modao slashed down viciously, cleaving the zombie’s head in two. It convulsed on the floor.
He kicked the corpse aside and slipped cautiously into the security room, barricading the damaged door with a nearby metal cabinet before scanning the space.
The room was spacious, at least thirty square meters. The walls were lined with screens like those on televisions. Below them sat a control panel crammed with buttons and several computers, all splattered with blood.
Beyond that, there were just a few chairs, a table, and some metal cabinets of unknown purpose.
On the floor lay a dropped pistol amid pools of blood, sticky with rotting flesh and shattered bones.
Two skulls in the bloodstains told a grim tale of horror.
When the apocalypse hit, there had probably been three people here. One turned—or maybe all three did. Trapped without food, hunger drove the zombies to fight. In the end, the strongest devoured the others.
And the survivor evolved.
That was Xiao Yi’s guess, pieced together from the clues in the room. It also shed light on zombie mutations.
Ordinary zombies on the streets rarely evolved, but this villa had produced several mutants. There had to be a unique reason.
After a thorough check, Xiao Yi found a keychain and a coil of rope in one cabinet.
The keys were labeled for specific doors: front gate, back gate, living room, swimming pool, conference room, kitchen—common areas.
He stored the keys in the Space Magic Cube and uncoiled the rope.
Then he sawed open a window with iron bars, tied the rope securely, and rappelled back down to the backyard.
The security room was now his. Next: restore power and see if the monitoring equipment still worked.
After flipping the switch in the power room, Xiao Yi climbed back up the rope to the security room.
With electricity flowing, every screen and computer flickered to life.
Xiao Yi booted a computer, fumbled through the menus to access the surveillance system, and activated the cameras.
Clear images soon filled the screens.
A few showed only static snow, but nearly all the others functioned perfectly.
“Perfect!”
Xiao Yi slid the mouse around, enlarging feeds one by one.
First up: the villa’s main corridors and halls. He’d already cleared those—skipped.
Next: the grounds around the villa. Xiao Yi spotted zombies shambling aimlessly outside. Useful for planning defenses later.
Another feed.
A lavish conference room appeared—empty, no zombies. Just a massive round table and scattered chairs.
Next feed.
The second-floor kitchen this time! Xiao Yi quickly spotted Stephanie.
She was naked, standing by a hot water tap, rinsing her body under the stream.
Xiao Yi angled the camera toward her and zoomed in slowly.
Stephanie’s alluring nude form filled the screen in exquisite detail.