"Bang..."

  "Ah..."

  A sudden fsh of fme illuminated the dim basement, followed by a blood-curdling scream. Zhang Liping, who had been running toward the tunnel, colpsed to the ground. A spray of blood erupted from his right thigh, sending him tumbling and rolling two or three times before his head smmed into the tunnel wall. Without even a whimper, Zhang Liping y unconscious at the tunnel entrance, drenched in blood.

  "Damn it! You thought you could run?" Zhang Xu looked down at Zhang Liping's crumpled body with cold indifference, spitting a glob of saliva in his direction. His shot sent a clear message to everyone: the gun wielder held absolute control over their fate. Even Gao Chujiang, who had almost overtaken Zhang Xu, stopped dead in his tracks. His face darkened as he carried his daughter and retreated several steps, realizing that no matter how fast they ran, the real power y with the person holding the weapon.

  "Ah... Liping!" Wang Fang, who had just stopped running, let out a piercing scream. Ignoring the smoking muzzle of Zhang Xu's rifle, she bolted toward the tunnel, only to be intercepted by Liu Fei, who had been waiting for this moment. With a calcuted kick, Liu Fei sent Wang Fang sprawling onto her stomach. She pressed her foot down on Wang Fang's abdomen and hissed, "You ignorant fool! Stay down if you want to see your useless husband again!"

  "Thud... thud..."

  Just then, two heavy, unexpected thuds echoed through the pitch-bck tunnel. Everyone turned their heads in surprise, only to see the two massive iron doors that had been left open slowly closing on their own. Then, as if guided by some unseen force, the doors began to open again—just enough to reveal a narrow gap, barely rge enough for one person to squeeze through.

  "Do you really want to keep me company? Why are you moving so slowly?"

  The little girl, who had been silently watching everyone, spoke again. Her voice was high-pitched and eerie as she slowly withdrew her right hand, which had just been raised. "I've changed my mind," she said emotionlessly, her tone dripping with menace. "It's enough for just one person to go through. Otherwise, you can all stay here and become my little bears!"

  "Shiver..."

  A collective gasp rippled through the group. The "little bears" she mentioned—could they really be human? Were the headless corpses scattered around this pce the very "little bears" she was referring to?

  At her words, everyone except Lin Tao became highly alert. The quota for safe passage had dropped from four to one, meaning that unless everyone here was selfless to a fault, anyone who wanted to enter the tunnel would have to contend with the calcutions of others. The implication was clear—it was a warning aimed primarily at Lin Tao and Zhang Xu, the only two armed members of the group.

  The group exchanged uneasy gnces, their nerves fraying. Zhang Xu, standing beside Lin Tao, furrowed his brows deeply. His eyes flickered with hesitation, and his grip on his Type 81 rifle tightened and loosened repeatedly. After half a minute, he let out a heavy sigh and said to Lin Tao, "Lin Ge, you go ahead. Think of a way to help us from the other side. If it comes down to it, we'll just have to accept our fate."

  "What do you mean, accept our fate?" Lin Tao finally turned around, his eyes sharp and calcuting. He had been testing Zhang Xu, gauging whether he would take a shot at him in a moment of desperation. But instead of pulling the trigger, Zhang Xu had offered to let him go first. While Lin Tao wasn't exactly moved, he did add Zhang Xu to his list of trustworthy individuals.

  Lin Tao gave Zhang Xu a meaningful smile, which left Zhang Xu momentarily stunned. Before he could respond, he blurted out, "Accept our fate? What else can we do? That ghost... damn it! You old bitch, you dare..."

  Zhang Xu's words were cut off by a sharp cry. Liu Fei, who had been lingering near the iron door, seized the opportunity to slip into the tunnel unnoticed. Although Zhang Xu's rifle twitched slightly, he couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger. His finger hovered over the trigger, trembling, but ultimately, he released it.

  Watching Liu Fei dart into the tunnel and sm the iron door shut behind her, Zhang Xu spat in her direction, cursing furiously, "Damn it! I knew that slut couldn't be trusted. Should've fucked her harder st night—she wouldn't be able to walk today!"

  "You might have saved her life," Lin Tao said with a wry smile, his expression tinged with an inexplicable pity. Seeing Zhang Xu's confusion, he sighed and shook his head. "Damn, I missed that one. I should've realized sooner."

  "Missed what? What are you talking about?" Zhang Xu's eyes widened as he stared at Lin Tao. When Lin Tao nodded in confirmation, Zhang Xu excimed in shock, "You're saying all of this is an illusion? That we've been poisoned by the zombie miasma here?"

  Lin Tao shook his head gently. "It's not miasma. I doubt there's even any miasma here. I think there's something hidden here that we haven't discovered yet."

  "I suddenly find this game kind of fun..."

  Before Zhang Xu could respond, the little girl spoke again. Her eerie, grinning face lit up with a disturbing joy as she tilted her head and said, "I'll let one more person go. Just one. The rest of you can stay here forever!"

  "I'll be damned if I py your sick game!" Zhang Xu's anger fred, and he raised his rifle, firing six or seven shots in rapid succession. The bullets tore through the dimly lit basement, striking the little girl's body. But to everyone's astonishment, the bullets had no effect. Her form flickered like smoke in the wind, shifting slightly before disappearing entirely. With her gone, the terrifying scene around them shifted dramatically.

  "What the hell?! Where did the bodies go? Where's the miasma? And why are there all these boxes?" Zhang Xu stood in stunned silence, his fshlight sweeping over the unfamiliar surroundings. He kicked a cardboard box on the wall, and it crumpled with a loud "crash," spilling out bags of White Cat undry powder.

  "Stop kicking," Lin Tao said, his tone serious as he scanned the area. "We were all deceived by an illusion. Something here is messing with our minds, turning these neatly stacked boxes into grotesque headless corpses."

  He turned his gaze toward the two massive iron doors at the end of the tunnel. Holding his rifle at the ready, he murmured, "I think whatever's causing this is inside the tunnel."

  "Thud... thud... thud..."

  Just as Zhang Xu was about to put a bullet through the lock on the door, a frantic series of knocks echoed from the stairs behind them. A woman's voice, desperate and urgent, called out, "Lin Tao... husband... open the door! We're surrounded by zombies! Help us!"

  "Bai Ru?!" Zhang Xu spun around, his eyes widening in shock. The voice was unmistakably Bai Ru's.

  "Do you really think it's her?" Lin Tao didn't even turn his head, a faint smile pying on his lips. "The thing in the tunnel must be getting desperate. It can't mess with all of us visually anymore, so it's trying to manipute us through sound. If we open that door, you know what will happen."

  "Damn it, this thing can mimic voices that well? It's smarter than I thought!" Zhang Xu muttered, his frustration mounting. He turned his back on the cries for help and fired a single shot at the lock, shattering it. With a quick twist of the door handle, the door creaked open, revealing Liu Fei's handiwork.

  "Ah! Jianwei, what are you doing?"

  Another woman's scream pierced the air, nearly breaking the group's frayed nerves. They turned to see Wang Jianwei, who had been walking with Jiang Yan, suddenly sprinting up the stairs like a madman. In his panic, he dragged Jiang Yan down with him, but he didn't even look back. "Mom, I'm coming! Don't be afraid, I'll save you!" he shouted as he ran.

  "Damn it! He's hallucinating too!" Zhang Xu excimed, raising his rifle and firing. A glowing bullet whistled through the air, striking Wang Jianwei in the thigh. But Wang Jianwei, fueled by sheer determination, ignored the pain and yanked open the door to the backyard.

  As the door swung open, Wang Jianwei's hopeful expression vanished. There was no sign of his mother—just more headless zombies, their foul stench filling the air. Before he could even scream, the horde overwhelmed him, tearing his young body apart. Blood and viscera spilled across the ground in a grotesque sptter.