What is bound to come will come eventually.

The night was fading, and the brilliant lights were just turning on. The weather forecast had been remarkably accurate after all; the cold air mass continued its southward march, bringing drifting snow, and the dark clouds dispersed along with it. Beneath a night sky dotted with a scattering of stars, a crescent moon cast a faint, clear light over the tranquil earth. After their meal, Wang Chen and Sheng Qingru found a quiet, secluded corner to sit close together, savoring a tender moment of warmth.

The nurturing warmth of romance over the past few days had stripped away much of the harshness from Sheng Qingru, leaving her looking noticeably softer overall. She rested her head on Wang Chen's shoulder in silence, gently resting her hand atop his, rhythmically kneading his palm. Noticing him reaching for his pocket yet again, she spoke in a soft murmur, "Try to smoke a little less."

Hearing this, Wang Chen paused, dropping the hand he had just raised. He replied softly, "Thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?"

"Nothing. Just wanted to say it."

"You fool..." Sheng Qingru knew precisely what he was thanking her for, though she was reluctant to spell it out. Instead, she murmured, "I'm willing."

Wang Chen felt a wave of emotion. He gently patted the back and shoulders of the woman beside him and said no more. In truth, though their relationship had progressed to intimacy since they began dating—with each other's bodies entirely familiar, having used up at least a box of condoms—they had never once shared a deep kiss. At most, their lips would brush in a fleeting, superficial touch, and even lingering traces of sweat from physical closeness were rare. Wang Chen was acutely aware of the devastating potential of the active zombie pathogen residing within his body. Much like an HIV carrier, protected intimacy in bed might still carry a degree of safety, but if they were to abandon all caution and indulge recklessly, he feared waking up to find Sheng Qingru transformed into a zombie lying beside him. That was an outcome he could never, under any circumstances, bring himself to accept.

"Tonight..." Wang Chen was a vigorous young man, a pseudo-second-tier athlete. Seeing the flushed, shy profile of his lover, his thoughts inevitably began to wander. He whispered some sultry, newly minted ideas into her ear, earning a light blow to his shoulder from the blushing beauty, who nonetheless shyly consented. Just as the atmosphere was peaking and the affectionate pair were preparing to take the next step, the walkie-talkie chose that most inopportune moment to blare to life. "Captain Wang! This is Shu Chang! Fourth Elder Tian is dead! You'd better get over here!"

Damn it! Why did he have to croak neither sooner nor later, but right at this exact moment? What the hell is this?!

As a normal young man in his early twenties, with a stunning beauty right before him—his for the taking, completely at his mercy—to have things interrupted by official business was enough to make any red-blooded man want to throw off the captain's mantle and quit on the spot. Wang Chen finally fully understood why Fang Qiang had insisted so adamantly on pushing him into this wretched captain's role. Even if it meant just holding an empty title, the authority of the captain had to be shoved into his hands. As the relatively righteous faction backed by the government, they couldn't just seize things by force or bully the innocent; thus, the position of captain brought zero benefits, yet whenever a major crisis demanded risking one's life or trivial chores piled up, the very first person everyone sought out was bound to be Wang Chen, never Fang Qiang. That ugly, flawed, dissolute middle-aged man was undoubtedly blissfully enjoying himself, holed up in his room and plowing away diligently with Joanna. In Fang Qiang's own words, it had taken him years to earn another chance at tilling the fields, and foreign fertile land at that—only an absolute idiot wouldn't pour their heart into it!

Complaints were complaints, but Wang Chen wasn't a lazy slacker, nor would he throw a childish temper tantrum over something like this. He could only pull a gloomy face, gear up fully, and step out amidst the stifled giggles of Sheng Qingru, grabbing a flashlight as he made his way toward the warehouse.

Upon arriving at the warehouse that served as a makeshift prison, sure enough, with Elder Tian—the most menacing thorn in their side—already dead, and the settlement fortified by Ren Wanrong to a paranoid level of defense, Fang Qiang was predictably nowhere to be found. Ren Wanrong hadn't shown up either, while Ma Tian and Yang Xiaohua were similarly holed up in their own little room, shamelessly wrapped up in each other. Only the two newbies, Chen Chong and Shu Chang, were present, along with Pablo, who never liked missing out on any excitement—or perhaps had simply eaten too much dinner and 'voluntarily' emerged for a patrol—accompanied by a few on-duty civilians. Seeing Wang Chen approach, they called out to greet him.

In the glow of the flashlight, Wang Chen inspected Fourth Elder Tian, who had been bound up like a roll of cotton padding. His eyes were rolled back, his head tilted upward, and his mouth hung wide open in an expression of sheer terror, completely devoid of breath. Frowning, Wang Chen asked, "When he was locked inside the warehouse earlier, weren't the cotton quilts untied? Why is he wrapped up again?"

Shu Chang, who had been responsible for guarding Elder Tian tonight, quickly answered, "They were untied, and we even threw him a set of dry, warm clothes. But Fourth Elder Tian was completely out of it, totally clueless about how to dress himself. I and..." Shu Chang pointed to an honest-looking civilian, who hurriedly nodded, "...we specifically fetched a basin of water to wash his face and head, and then helped him change into the clothes. We brought him dinner too, but Fourth Elder Tian never touched it. He just kept muttering nonsense about being cursed or haunted by ghosts. About forty minutes ago, he suddenly started thrashing all over the floor, screaming at the top of his lungs and clawing at his chest, even bashing his head bloody. We didn't know what else to do, so we rounded up four people to pin him down. But we couldn't just hold him down forever, so we simply bundled him back up in the cotton quilt. Fourth Elder Tian quieted down after that, and I thought everything was fine. But when I checked on him half an hour later, he'd stopped breathing, so I had to call Captain Wang over to take a look."

"When Fourth Elder Tian breathed his last, was anyone by his side?" Wang Chen confirmed.

Shu Chang exchanged a glance with the civilian, and both shook their heads. Shu Chang added, "The two of us were warming ourselves by a fire outside. That was my idea, so it's my failure in duty..."

Wang Chen waved a hand, cutting Shu Chang off. Nobody in their right mind would enjoy being locked in a room with a man who had gone half-mad at dusk, screaming about ghosts. If he were in their shoes, Wang Chen would have preferred standing out in the cold wind by a fire as well. Besides, the area around the warehouse offered an open line of sight, and Fourth Elder Tian inside was tied up like a festive rice dumpling—what kind of abnormal situation could possibly arise? With just a door in between, any real trouble would have given them ample time to react, so their choice to wait outside was entirely understandable.

Untying the soiled cotton quilt and dragging the still-limp body of Fourth Elder Tian onto the floor, Wang Chen stripped off his clothes and trousers. His pupils instantly contracted. The manner of Fourth Elder Tian's death was identical to that of the hundreds of people in the workshop. Because he had been bound, there were no claw marks on his body, but his lower half was a mess of blood, urine, and feces. Pressing down on his lower abdomen even squeezed out a pool of blood. That's right, Wang Chen was no coroner; he couldn't make head or tail of forensic science. Yet, from the standpoint of logical deduction, no poison could possibly delay its onset for this long, could it? Doing the math, it had been well over twelve hours since the deaths of Elder Tian and the others!

Could it be that Elder Tian and his men hadn't been killed by poisoned wine after all? Was there a new outbreak?! One that struck so swiftly it killed people before they even realized it?!

At this terrifying thought, Wang Chen felt goosebumps erupt across his entire body!

Brothers shared thick and thin together. Without a moment's hesitation, Wang Chen grabbed his walkie-talkie and called out, "Ma Tian, Xiaohua! Something's happened over here! Get your asses over!"

True to form, less than ten minutes later, the two of them arrived at the warehouse wearing matching scowls. It was a rare treat for the settlement to be rid of its greatest internal threat; surely it wasn't too much to ask to let a newly smitten young couple unwind a little?

Scowls aside, the two didn't utter a single complaint. By the time they hurried over, they had already heard Wang Chen's broadcast over the intercom mobilizing the entire settlement. Although night had fallen, the settlement thankfully had electricity, lights, tools, and supplies. Therefore, everyone was required to participate in a thorough sanitation sweep—spraying disinfectant, epidemic prevention chemicals, and quicklime—and every single person was ordered to wear a gas mask while sleeping! That's right, whether they could sleep well or sleep at all was their own problem to endure, but not a single gas mask was to be removed!