Chapter 12 Torrential Rain

Chapter 12: The Rainstorm

As if to confirm each other's presence through this gesture...

A few days later, the government delivered another round of supplies, exactly one week after the last. Thanks to two off-road vehicles, the distribution within the community proceeded smoothly.

This time, the supplies included more daily necessities like tissues, sanitary pads, and toothpaste—enough to last everyone in the community for a month. Yet, those who realized this couldn't find joy in it; it only meant the disaster would persist longer than anticipated.

A few days later, those who routinely checked the outside situation noticed the weather had taken a turn for the worse. The sky was dark and oppressive, requiring lights indoors to see. A chilly wind, carrying a rank, metallic odor, seeped through cracks in the walls, bringing with it an ominous foreboding.

At nine in the morning, low, rolling thunder rumbled menacingly in the distance, growing louder and closer until its roar seemed to engulf everything.

Several bolts of lightning pierced through the dark clouds, illuminating scattered limbs and flesh on the ground. Finally, a heavy rain poured down, washing away the mud and blood-soaked debris. The glaring red was gradually replaced by a ghostly pale white.

Since it wasn't the rainy season, everyone assumed the downpour wouldn't last long. Still, the absence of sunlight in such an environment was enough to put anyone on edge.

Bai Suizhi frowned, watching the rain outside. Kahn walked over and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I've got a bad feeling."

"Didn't the group chat say the rain would stop soon?"

"Have you noticed the zombies downstairs seem to be moving faster?"

Hearing this, Kahn immediately looked down at the zombies wandering aimlessly below. Aside from when they were chasing prey, these zombies usually moved like malfunctioning robots—stiff-limbed and slow. But now, without any stimulus, their steps had become nimbler, their bodies more agile. From a distance, they could almost pass for normal people.

The change was subtle but unnerving. A grim suspicion was slowly becoming reality.

"They really are evolving, and this rain might be speeding up the process."

The rain didn't fall continuously but would stop and start intermittently. Just when they thought it was over, it would pour again. This psychological tug-of-war exhausted everyone; they even began to wonder if someone was controlling the rain behind the scenes.

The heavy rain lasted for three days. Each day, the first thing residents did upon waking was check if the rain had stopped, but each time, they were disheartened.

At eight in the evening, something even more despairing happened: the power went out. Large amounts of accumulated water had flooded the power distribution rooms and boxes, damaging the equipment and causing a circuit failure.

All the lights in the community vanished in an instant. The moment darkness enveloped everything, everyone instinctively clamped their mouths shut, as if monsters were emerging from the shadows, ready to tear them apart.

They felt cut off from the outside world—unable to see anything, unable to hear anything except the rain and thunder. The darkness and silence fueled their dread, stretching everyone’s nerves to the breaking point.

Suddenly, another terrifying sound mixed into the silence, snapping the last thread of composure for everyone. The dragging footsteps of zombies echoed in the stairwell, and the dripping of rainwater from their bodies sounded like Death dragging his scythe, coming to claim their lives.

Bai Suizhi heard it too. He quickly sent a message in the group chat and rushed to the window, shouting, "Block the doors! The electronic locks don’t work without power!"

His words were like a torpedo dropped into a still lake. A chill ran down everyone’s spines. Almost in unison, they turned to look at their doors.

Zombies, gathered at some unknown time, were already pressing against the locked doors. They crowded together, chest to back, forming a massive impact force against the doors whose smart locks had failed. The already unstable latch shifted, and the door burst open! Zombies poured into the rooms, searching for hidden prey.

Those who reacted in time hurriedly pushed shoe cabinets, sofas, tables—anything movable—against the door to barricade it. Then, like vulnerable ants, they could only wait silently for the elephant’s iron hoof to crush them. Survival depended entirely on luck.

Some didn't have time to barricade their doors before zombies broke in and quickly tore them apart. Their dying screams were the only things they left behind. Those who heard the cries hid indoors, too afraid to make a sound, their nerves taut as they listened for footsteps, like children playing hide-and-seek.

The zombies’ movement speed and attack power were increasing, and the smell of blood and the screams attracted even more of them. It was only a matter of time before the community was completely overrun.

Bai Suizhi said in the group chat, "We can’t stay here. If we want to live, we have to break out."

Most people’s first reaction was refusal. The past few days had been peaceful, and they still had enough food at home. As long as they held out until the power returned, everything would be fine.

But… would it really?

Would anyone really come to fix the circuits? Could they really hold out until then?

Everyone knew the answer: no one would come to repair the circuits, just as no one had come to collect the body of the woman devoured by the man in the suit on the first day.

Perhaps those delivering supplies would mark this distribution point with a big red X once no one came to collect, indicating that no survivors remained. Then the community would become a coffin for the living and the dead.

But leaving the shelter they had relied on for so long filled them with instinctive unease and fear. What should they do?

104: "Can’t you lure the zombies away like last time?"

207: "Do you think we’re herding cattle? It’s easy for you to say. Why don’t you try it yourself? Stop treating us like suckers."

Others chimed in to mediate: "This is an emergency. It’s not the time to argue. Let’s focus on how to get out safely." They knew they couldn’t stay in the community anymore; leaving might be their only chance at survival.

Someone suddenly forwarded an official notice to the group chat, excitedly saying, "The authorities posted a notice. Someone’s coming to rescue us."

Everyone’s spirits lifted, and they clicked on the news. The report stated that heavy rain had affected many parts of the country, with the southeastern coastal regions hit hardest due to typhoons. Almost all telecommunication systems had collapsed, leaving them out of contact.

The authorities had immediately dispatched helicopters for large-scale search and rescue operations in the affected areas. They urged anyone who saw the notice to set up brightly colored distress signals on rooftops or other high places.

"The rooftop?"

"How are we supposed to get out in this situation?"

"Like before—not through the main door. Climb out the window."

Wu Feng was on the verge of tears: "But what about my wife and child? It’s still raining outside. They can’t climb…"

Bai Suizhi: "Brother Wu, we’ll clear the zombies in the stairwell. You can take the stairs."

Wu Feng gripped his phone, his fingers turning white. He shouldn’t let two young people take such risks for them, but he couldn’t bring himself to refuse. Finally, he typed with trembling fingers, "Thank you." Tears already blurred his vision.

Guo Mengting held her daughter, her heart heavy. These two young men were always the first to step up. They owed them too much.

Wang Yongzhi patted Wu Feng’s shoulder: "Brother, why are you crying? With us here, your wife and daughter will be fine."

Tao Hongyan hugged Guo Mengting. She understood how terrible it felt to rely on others for help, but survival was what mattered most now.

People from other buildings were already climbing to the rooftop. The rain made it difficult, but the thought that the rooftop was their path to survival filled them with motivation and hope.

Some from Building One also began climbing to the rooftop. Others waited for Bai Suizhi and Kahn to clear the stairwell so they could leave safely. A few stayed behind to help deal with the zombies.

In the darkness, Bai Suizhi glanced at Kahn under the pale light of the tablet: "Scared?"

Kahn shook his head: "Not with you here."

Bai Suizhi chuckled, pleased by Kahn’s response. He ruffled Kahn’s hair and said, "Let’s go."

Kahn crouched on the shoe cabinet blocking the door, short knife in hand. Bai Suizhi stood by the door, a flashlight clenched between his teeth. They exchanged a glance, and Bai Suizhi quickly pulled the door open a crack. A zombie outside stumbled into the gap due to momentum, and Kahn swiftly slashed the back of its head. Once the zombie stopped moving, Bai Suizhi fully opened the door.

The zombie, without the door for support, slumped into Bai Suizhi’s arms. Using the corpse as a shield, Bai Suizhi blocked two other zombies lunging forward. Kahn, taking advantage of his higher position, quickly struck down the nearest zombie. Seeing this, Bai Suizhi hurled the corpse in his arms at the last zombie, and Kahn jumped down from the shoe cabinet to help finish it off.

Without wasting a moment, they headed downstairs. Unable to see clearly, they stayed close, ears straining to catch any footsteps around them. Adrenaline made their hearts race.

Bai Suizhi and Kahn nodded at the two, then continued downstairs. When they reached the fifth floor, perhaps because the residents had already left, only two zombies were still ramming against the door. To eliminate all potential threats, they engaged.

Bai Suizhi made noise to lure the zombies into the stairwell. As they approached, one was grabbed by the neck from behind by Kahn, who had been hiding against the wall, and pulled to the ground. The other was met head-on by Bai Suizhi’s knife, piercing its throat.

After clearing the fifth floor, they descended to the fourth floor, where they found Wang Yongzhi and Wu Feng waiting in the stairwell. Originally, they had planned to go up and meet Bai Suizhi and Kahn, but the fourth floor had unexpectedly many zombies—seven in total—so they had to stop and wait for them to come down.

The four of them communicated via text messages on their phones and decided that Wu Feng would lure some of the zombies to the sixth floor to be dealt with alongside the uncle and his group, while the remaining three would handle the rest.

Once the plan was settled, Bai Suizhi, Kahn, and Wang Yongzhi quietly moved into the fourth-floor hallway. Wu Feng then shouted in the stairwell, drawing all the zombies toward the sound, quickly closing the fire door behind him to trap the last four zombies on the other side.

Wang Yongzhi used his go-to spear to brace against the lunging zombie’s chest, then finished it off by driving his newly equipped knife into its brain. After nearly being caught last time, he had switched to a dual-wielding style.

Meanwhile, Bai Suizhi and Kahn’s combat skills had improved dramatically through practice—their strikes were swift and lethal, executed with precision and without hesitation.

They quickly took care of the four zombies. The three then opened the fire door and headed toward the sixth floor. Before they even reached it, they saw Wu Feng hurrying down. Relieved to see them all safe, Wu Feng let out a sigh of relief.

Wang Yongzhi slung an arm over Wu Feng’s shoulder and said, "Who do you think you’re looking down on? We took care of these zombies in no time."

Wu Feng smiled and thanked them again.

Wang Yongzhi replied, "Enough of that. Let’s head down."

The four made their way to the third floor, with Bai Suizhi and Kahn following closely behind. They walked arm-in-arm, a habit they had maintained throughout their journey—as if this small contact reassured them of each other’s presence, drawing a bit of security from the darkness.