"Everyone ready?" Yang Bin's face was dead serious as he looked at the group.

"Yeah." They nodded, tension written across every face.

Zhao Kun and his two weren't happy about any of this, but Yang Bin's dominance left no room for argument. They'd caved.

"I count to three, then Old Hei, you two pull the ladder."

"Got it!" Old Hei and Skinny Monkey gripped the ladder, palms slick with sweat.

"One."

"Two."

"Three."

The instant Yang Bin's voice dropped, Old Hei and Skinny Monkey yanked the ladder clear.

BANG-

The iron door slammed open. Two blood-drenched zombies burst onto the rooftop.

This was Yang Bin and Chen Hao's first time seeing them up close. Those blood-red eyes sent ice down the spine, and the stench of gore hit like a wall-thick enough to gag on.

They'd braced themselves for this. It was awful, but not paralyzing.

The zombies locked onto the group the instant they cleared the doorway and charged.

Old Hei and Skinny Monkey hoisted the ladder and rammed it into one zombie, driving it back against the wall.

The thing thrashed and clawed, snarling, but one body against two men and a metal ladder wasn't a contest. It stayed pinned.

Yang Bin and the other two rushed the second zombie.

"GRAAAH-"

It lunged straight at Yang Bin, who was out front.

Yang Bin sidestepped, dodging the lunge, and swung the steel pipe hard into the zombie's torso.

THUD.

The impact rattled up his arm until his fingers went numb. The zombie didn't even flinch. It spun and came at him again.

That's when Chen Hao closed in from behind and cracked a brick square across the back of its skull.

CRUNCH.

The brick exploded into fragments. Dark, almost black blood oozed from the zombie's scalp-but the damage barely registered. What it did do was shift the thing's attention.

"Haozi, get back!" Yang Bin shouted.

Chen Hao didn't hesitate. He turned and ran.

The zombie seemed personally offended by the guy who'd smashed its head. It abandoned Yang Bin entirely and tore after Chen Hao.

Zhao Kun darted in from the flank, brick in hand, and slammed it into the zombie's shoulder.

The zombie didn't spare him a glance. Still locked on Chen Hao.

The rooftop wasn't big. Chen Hao ran out of space fast, the railing at his back, the zombie closing the gap-

And then he vanished.

Zhao Kun, right behind, nearly tripped over his own feet. His eyes went wide as dinner plates.

"Wh-where the hell did he go!?"

Yang Bin didn't look surprised at all. He kept moving, closing the distance.

The zombie lost its target and swiveled, locking back onto Yang Bin.

Yang Bin's body was in decent shape from years of hauling bricks on construction sites. With the steel pipe in hand, he had enough confidence to keep the thing at bay-swinging, cracking it across the ribs, the arms, the legs, never letting it get within grabbing range.

Zhao Kun caught up, face still stunned. "Where's Chen Hao?"

"Right here." Chen Hao flickered back into view.

"You just-how-you just disappeared!" Zhao Kun could barely string words together.

"Relax. Never seen a magic trick before?" Chen Hao said, completely casual.

"......"

"You're telling me that was a fucking magic trick!?" Zhao Kun's eyes bulged.

"What else? You think I can turn invisible or something?" Chen Hao rolled his eyes.

"........"

"Hey! You two done chatting?" Yang Bin's voice was strained. "Figure out how to get this thing over the edge-I can't keep this up forever."

Zhao Kun swallowed his questions and grabbed a brick, moving to help.

"Don't bother coming in close. We're already at the edge. One of you just give it a solid kick-send it over." Yang Bin said.

Chen Hao and Zhao Kun exchanged a look.

"I'll do it," Chen Hao said.

He locked his eyes on the zombie tangled up with Yang Bin. Took a breath. Started his run-up. Three steps, four-then launched himself forward and drove his foot into the zombie's chest with everything he had.

The kick launched it clean over the railing.

"Beautiful!" Yang Bin said.

All three rushed to the edge and looked down.

THUD.

The zombie's body smashed into the pavement below. Blood pooled outward from the impact.

They watched, expecting stillness-

And the thing wobbled back to its feet. It swayed, looked around with dull confusion, found no targets above, and shuffled off to join the other zombies milling below.

"!!!"

"That didn't kill it!?"

All three stared, wide-eyed.

"What the fuck. These things are disgusting," Zhao Kun spat.

"Quit complaining. Help me deal with the other one first." Yang Bin was already moving.

On the other side, Old Hei and Skinny Monkey still had the second zombie pinned with the ladder. It thrashed and snarled, but couldn't break free. By the time Yang Bin's group reached them, both men were soaked through with sweat.

"Let go on my signal. Then all five of us use the ladder to drive it to the edge," Yang Bin said.

"Got it."

Five against one was a different game entirely.

The moment the ladder pressure released, the zombie lunged at the group.

All five grabbed the ladder and charged forward, ramming the zombie backward across the rooftop until it hit the railing-and they shoved it over.

THUD.

Another dull impact.

Everyone rushed to the edge again, craning their necks to look down.

This one lay in a spreading pool of blood. It didn't get up.

"Huh. How come this one's dead?" Zhao Kun asked.

"Its skull cracked open on impact. Hard to survive that," Chen Hao said.

Yang Bin nodded slowly, thinking. So the head was the weak point.

That explained why the first zombie had fixated on Chen Hao after the brick hit its skull-it had registered the threat.

"Barricade the door. Let's rest," Yang Bin said.

They wedged the ladder back against the door and collapsed onto the concrete.

The fight had lasted maybe two minutes. The psychological weight of it felt like hours.

They were college students. Ordinary ones. The fact that they'd stood their ground at all was remarkable.

Now that it was over, the shaking started.

"Sss-"

A sharp hiss of pain. Chen Hao grabbed his ankle, face twisted.

"What is it?" Yang Bin was at his side immediately.

Chen Hao carefully rolled up his pant leg. Three long, ragged scratches ran across his ankle, welling with blood.

"What happened!?" Yang Bin's voice tightened.

"Must've caught me when I kicked it. Its hands were flailing everywhere." Chen Hao forced a bitter smile.

The air on the rooftop went dead still.

Then Zhao Kun, Skinny Monkey, and Old Hei backed away fast.

Yang Bin's brow furrowed. He stared at the wound, expression grim.

Chen Hao saw their reactions. It took him half a second to understand. The color drained from his face.

"Bin-ge... am I going to turn?"

"No. Don't go there. You'll be fine." Yang Bin kept his voice steady.

"How can he be fine? Everyone online says if you get bitten or scratched by a zombie, you turn. It's only a matter of time." Skinny Monkey blurted.

"Shut your mouth. Nobody asked you to talk." Yang Bin's voice was sharp as a blade.

"It's the truth! You can't just pretend it isn't happening. What's the point of lying to yourselves?" Zhao Kun shot back.

"This is between me and him." Yang Bin picked up the steel pipe. His eyes went cold. "Say one more word, and I'll make sure none of you ever speak again."

"What, you think you can take all three of us?" Zhao Kun didn't flinch. He'd been itching for this.

"Try me." Yang Bin's voice was flat. Final.