67: The community has fallen.

Because of the cold, the security guard on duty stayed inside the guardroom and didn't see the zombies outside the gate climbing in, one on top of another.

In the blink of an eye, a dozen had entered, which was no longer something he could handle. So he shouted once and immediately started running.

The guard inside the guardroom saw Section Chief Gu, who hadn't even reached him yet, turn tail and run, and knew something was wrong. However, it was already too late; before he could open the door to run with him, several zombies were already smashing against the door.

Terrified, he gripped his baton with both hands, but the upper half of the guardroom door was made of glass, which the zombies shattered in a few hits. All the zombies lunged inside; just as his baton struck a zombie, his abdomen was pierced through by a zombie's fist.

Gu Jie heard the blood-curdling screams of his subordinate behind him and looked back. He was struck with horror, his scalp tingling; dense crowds of zombies were flooding into the community like a deluge. Midway, they split into multiple paths—one group ran toward him, while the others dispersed to charge toward the homes of all the nearest Property Owners. The community had fallen!

He turned and, while running for his life, shouted at the top of his lungs, "The zombies are inside! Everyone, block your doors and windows immediately!"

"What?"

"Who's shouting?"

"What happened?"

The sleeping Property Owners didn't know exactly what was happening yet. One after another, they opened their doors or windows out of curiosity, and that was the end of it. They were immediately tackled and torn apart by zombies. Screams erupted from different units and hallways, piercing the dawn and causing widespread panic.

"Ah, help! Someone help me!"

"Child, my Child—ah!"

"Wife, run!"

"Dad, hurry and close the door!"

"Ah, Mom, what's wrong with you?"

Such sounds rose and fell one after another.

Si Nan was also startled awake by the screams. Her first reaction was to realize: "The community has fallen."

Ma Bufan and Guan Xiaoning were the first to react because the two of them had been playing poker until now. They had heard Gu Jie's warning, coupled with Si Nan's reminder.

Instantly scrambling out of bed, they quickly checked the doors and windows, then moved the heaviest old furniture in the house to block both the inner and outer doors before sealing the windows shut.

After ensuring their safety, the two little fellows peered out through the cracks in the windows. "It's terrifying. The zombies are smashing against our courtyard gate. I don't know how long our courtyard wall can hold them back."

"Sister Nan will be okay, right?"

Ma Bufan looked at Guan Xiaoning like he was an idiot. "Are you still half-asleep? If anyone's going to be okay, it's Sister Nan. With that smooth courtyard wall of hers, even if we added our heights together, we couldn't jump over it."

Guan Xiaoning smiled. "We haven't slept at all, okay? But what you said is true. Sister Nan was so wise to build the courtyard wall so high so long ago; not even a ghost could get in."

"Hahaha, you idiot, a ghost could definitely get in because ghosts don't walk, they float."

"I'm going to tell Sister Nan that you called her a ghost."

"Guan Xiaoning, you're asking for it! Take this!"

The two of them began to play-fight in the middle of the night. Their sister, Guan Xiaowen, stood at the door wrapped in a quilt, watching them with utter speechlessness. "I think both of you are idiots. Zombies are attacking outside, yet you two are playing so happily and heartlessly. If that's not being an idiot, what is?"

Meanwhile, Bai Zichuan was even smarter than Ma Bufan and Guan Xiaoning. After returning from an outing with Si Nan, the guy had started tinkering, searching everywhere in the community for things like wooden boards and iron plates.

He even went to the homes of people who had already been wiped out to dismantle their beds, tables, and cabinets, carrying them back to heighten his own courtyard walls. He removed other people's stainless steel window frames to install on his own windows, with thick wooden boards blocking the middle, leaving only a gap to breathe fresh air. He then installed three large stainless steel frames at the entrance.

Although it was a simple and makeshift operation, he was many times safer than the other Property Owners. For instance, right now, while many families were being overrun and wiped out by zombies, he pulled up the corner of the quilt to cover the Child's ears, preventing the screams from waking him up.

On the other side, Huang Jianli, Gao Ming, and Xu Songquan weren't so lucky. With the thick, warm quilts, the three of them were sleeping soundly. If Gao Ming hadn't gotten up to use the bathroom, they wouldn't have known the community had fallen.

Gao Ming wasn't worried about the door being breached by zombies; instead, he was filled with regret. "Damn it, we should have taken the saw during the day to cut open Si Nan's courtyard gate and go in to kill her.

Maybe we would be living in Si Nan's safe house right now. Now the entrance is full of zombies, and we can't even leave the door. How are we supposed to make a move on her?"

What was even more terrifying was that their food supplies wouldn't last long at all. On the way here, they had been so focused on fleeing for their lives that they didn't dare stop to get supplies even when they saw convenience stores with their doors wide open.

They had originally thought that once they arrived, they could team up with Huang Jianli and immediately take over Si Nan's villa. In this situation, didn't it mean they had struggled so hard to escape here just to find a different place to wait for death?

Xu Songquan was also angry, as it was Huang Jianli who had stopped them. But now they were on Huang Jianli's turf, and when he first entered the house, he had noticed many bloodstains that hadn't been cleaned up properly.

He could guarantee that this house definitely didn't belong to Huang Jianli; he must have killed the people here and stolen it. It wasn't out of the question that if he got annoyed, he might kill them in the middle of the night while they were sleeping.

Thinking of this, he quickly gave Gao Ming a meaningful look. "Hey, Old Gao, what are you saying? Who knew the heightened walls of the community wouldn't be able to stop the zombies?

You saw it on the way here—the zombies have progressed. They've become smarter, and their strength has increased. Maybe Si Nan's courtyard wall won't be able to hold them back either. When the time comes, we might be able to just pick up the pieces."

Their well-honed chemistry allowed Gao Ming to catch on immediately. He sighed and said, "I'm just anxious. Zombies aren't easy to deal with, and they've made it harder for us to take down Si Nan. Old Xu, you're not wrong. Let the zombies torment Si Nan first. Surround her, scare her to death, until she's desperate for a man's protection.

When she's on the verge of a mental breakdown, we'll appear. At that time, we'll be her only hope. Maybe she'll be eager to open the door and welcome us in, hahaha—"

Seeing the two men's attitude, Huang Jianli said nothing. He had them help move things to block the door, after which he went back to his own room to continue sleeping without a word.

But the moment the door closed, the look in his eyes changed.

Inside their room, the expressions of Gao Ming and Xu Songquan also shifted abruptly, becoming fierce. However, being smart, they didn't speak but instead used hand gestures to mimic the action of killing.

Huang Jianli hadn't considered that at a time like this, everyone was looking out for themselves. He had actually brought in these two ruthless men just to form a faction to take down Si Nan; it was nothing but digging his own grave.

He was alone, while the other side had two people who were also good friends; it was impossible for him to even sow discord between them. So he quickly double-locked his bedroom door and gripped a handy weapon while standing guard behind it.

Soon, Gao Ming came out to use the bathroom again. "Damn, if I hadn't been bursting, I wouldn't even have come out to pee. It's so fucking cold."

Right then, Huang Jianli suddenly threw open his door and swung a Kitchen knife toward Xu Songquan's back.