chapter 3

They ran. Like hell.

And they had reason to.

The silence shattered.

Undead—countless undead—rushed from every corner, flooding the area like a plague.

It was a trap.

Not just mindless corpses stumbling aimlessly anymore—they had been lured into it.

Xie Kai didn't need to ask how the boy got caught up in this. Didn't have the time, nor the strength to care.

He could fight. He could try to carve out an opening for the kid.

But at the cost of his own life.

But he didn't want to die.

He wanted to live.

His body screamed at him to run, to abandon everything and just survive—like he always had.

Maybe... maybe they both could make it.

But survival, in this twisted world, had become a selfish thing. A fight for one's own life above all else.

He had long forgotten to see the undead as enemies to fight for anyone else—only obstacles in his own path. Even then, the thought of sacrificing the boy? That thought never even crossed his mind. Not once.

So they ran.

But the undead kept coming. Like a tide. Relentless. Unforgiving. Their grotesque forms moved in a swarm, spilling out from every broken corner, from the alleys and crumbled buildings. The city, once full of life, had become a hunting ground for the dead.

Xie Kai's breath came in ragged gasps, but his mind was laser-focused—razor-sharp. He couldn't afford to slow down. Running wouldn't be enough. The horde was closing in. They were being herded, forced into a corner.

His jaw clenched.

He skidded to a stop, muscles coiled tight like a spring. With a fluid motion, he grabbed his crowbar.

He fought with everything he had—each move calculated and precise. The crowbar became an extension of his arm, swinging with deadly accuracy, cutting down the undead with brutal efficiency. His body was a weapon, reacting on instinct, driven by pure survival.

His bloodshot eyes never left the chaos in front of him, the coldness in his expression more terrifying than the monsters surrounding them. Each swing of his crowbar was an extension of his will, each movement a calculated step towards survival.

Then, the boy fired. A shot rang out, cutting through the chaos. It was a familiar sound, the click of the well-used weapon. How had the boy come to have it? Xie Kai didn't care. What mattered was the shot gave them a slight edge—just enough to keep going.

But then there was a sudden burst—smoke and fire. The boy had thrown something, setting off an explosion at the perfect moment. The undead shrieked in fear and recoiled, giving them a brief window of opportunity.

Xie Kai pushed through the crowd, moving fast and hard, clearing a path. The boy stayed close behind, but as they neared what seemed like a way out, something small darted through the mist.

A child.

Xie Kai's instincts kicked in. He sidestepped with expert precision, avoiding the undead girl's claws. But the boy—he wasn't so lucky.

In a split second, Xie Kai threw his hands forward, pulling the boy out of harm's way, his reflexes too fast for the undead to catch him. The boy missed the shot he'd aimed, but he was safe, and that was all that mattered.

But then,

An undead lunged at Xie Kai from behind, waiting for the perfect moment. Xie Kai wasn't ready for it. The claws raked across his shoulder, sharp and fast. The blow sent him stumbling. His clothes didn't protect him; the undead's strength was too much, and the claw pierced through his jacket and skin.

Xie Kai's heart dropped. The sickening scrape of nails against his flesh echoed in his mind. He could feel the sting of it. He didn't need to see the black blood oozing from the wound to know the damage had been done.

His mind raced.

He had to act. But the scratch was too close to his heart. The infection could spread quickly. He could cut off his arm—but that would cost him everything. His strength. His ability to fight. His chance to protect the boy.

Maybe he could save himself. But what about the kid?

The undead were closing in. Just two of them, alone in the chaos.

Xie Kai's eyes darkened with resolve. There was no time to hesitate.

The boy didn't notice the injury, the dark blood staining Xie Kai's clothes hidden from view. He was too focused on the chaos around them, too preoccupied with surviving.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***