Director, hurry up and put on these socks!

"Hahahaha, not bad, right?" Fu Hu planted his hands on his hips and laughed heartily. "What do you think of my ability? Man, I'm no ordinary guy anymore."

"Yeah, yeah, it's great!" Su Jin cleared his throat, feeling immensely pleased. "With this ability, we'll be a lot safer from now on! You've got a day to practice and test it. We head out tomorrow!"

The next morning, downstairs in the residential complex.

Su Jin and the other two checked one another's equipment.

They had everything: crude armor, helmets, guns, arrows, and more.

More than twenty bolas were piled on the back seat, too.

Put simply, a bola was a rope with stones tied to both ends-a crude entangling weapon.

Thrown at an enemy, it could wrap around their feet.

The materials were easy to find, the weapon was easy to make, and it was efficient and practical.

Once a mindless creature like a zombie was tripped and its legs entangled, it posed much less of a threat.

Of course, that only applied to individual targets. Against a group, it clearly wouldn't do much.

Halfway through the inspection, Su Jin looked up.

Several women were leaning at a window, looking down.

Su Jin waved and called, "Go back inside! Stop distracting us and get your jobs done. We'll be back in an hour or two."

"Stay safe!" Fu Qingdai cupped her hands around her mouth and called out before closing the window.

Once he was sure no one was watching, Su Jin walked to the side of the building, took out the Gas Cylinder Bombs, and began loading them into the trunk.

With everything ready, Su Jin turned to Sun Ya and Wei De, who had been helping with the checks. "You two should head upstairs. Nobody leaves the apartment before we get back."

"Don't worry. We'll look after the place... Don't waste any time out there, either. Get back as soon as you can." Sun Ya pointed at Su Jin's chest. "You carry that bag around every day, and now you've sewn it inside your clothes. Looks like a real nuisance. What treasure have you got in there?"

"A family heirloom. It's the only keepsake I've got."

"All riiight, then."

The two old men patted Su Jin on the shoulder in turn, then headed upstairs.

Only the three men remained, looking at one another.

After a moment, Fu Hu asked, "Who's driving?"

"You asked, so you drive."

"Heh, fine."

The three got into the car, with Fu Hu in the driver's seat and Su Jin beside him.

Cheng Du sat alone in the back.

As Fu Hu started the car, Cheng Du glanced at Su Jin.

After hesitating for a while, he pulled something from inside his clothes and slowly held it out to Su Jin.

Feeling something brush past his ear, Su Jin shuddered and whipped his head around.

"What are you doing?"

"Director..." Cheng Du gave an awkward smile, his eyes darting around. "Well... the Cold Firmament Missile went off over there. The ice hasn't completely melted yet, right?"

"I figured it'd be cold over there, so I brought you two pairs of socks. Why... why don't you put them on first?"

Su Jin took the socks and unfolded them. They were white, high-cut socks.

He looked back suspiciously, then snorted with laughter. "Cheng Du, you're a real character, you know that? You're worried I'll freeze, but instead of giving me a coat or pants, you give me fucking socks? What were you thinking?"

"You've got plenty of clothes and pants. These socks are warm... and they help keep you from twisting your ankles." Cheng Du kept waggling his eyebrows, his face brimming with enthusiasm. "Director, try them."

"You're nuts." Su Jin casually tossed the socks onto the back seat, then patted Fu Hu beside him and snickered.

"Hey, Fu, don't you think there's something wrong with him? Huh? Giving me socks!"

The engine was running. Fu Hu held the steering wheel with both hands, his expression rather grave.

After a moment, he said thoughtfully, "Director... there's more to this trip than you're telling us, isn't there? Obviously, I know it's dangerous, but Old Sun and Old Wei have been acting strange these past few days. It feels like they're keeping something big from us. If we're heading out to risk our lives together, what can't you tell us?"

"How come I didn't notice?" Cheng Du asked, bewildered.

Su Jin stared ahead in thought, then finally gave a helpless, bitter smile.

"All right. Since you've asked, I'll be straight with you. Zombies aren't the only kind of infected. There's another kind that looks just like ordinary people, and they could be hiding among us. If we want to survive and expand our team, they're our biggest obstacle."

"I didn't tell you before because I was afraid you'd start suspecting one another. Our little team would've fallen apart before we even recruited anyone new."

"But don't worry. Old Sun and Old Wei have already come up with an experiment to detect these infected hiding among people. We're going out to get the things they need for it."

"We're all risking our lives together this time. There are bound to be plenty of zombies inside the Medical University, and we'll definitely have to fight. I don't want any lingering doubts between us. Don't tell the women at home when we get back. At least wait until we've built up the team."

"As long as they've found a way... All right, I understand." Fu Hu looked relieved.

"I don't understand!" Cheng Du suddenly reached out and put a hand on Su Jin's shoulder, looking somewhat agitated. "Hey, why are we still recruiting a team? What's the point? We're not trying to save the world!"

"We can already protect ourselves. We could just find somewhere deserted and live there safely. The effects of the Gray Rain are gone. We could even farm! Why take this kind of risk?"

"Hiding away only makes the difference between dying sooner and dying later!" Su Jin reached back and grabbed Cheng Du, his gaze stern. "There's nowhere safe left in this world. Don't you understand that yet? Fine, even if you could find somewhere to hide for the rest of your life, do you want to spend it living in fear, like a pig? Like a dog?"

"We have no choice! We can only fight back, and we have to fight back! The greater the burden, the more people we need to share it! We have to rely on other people, even if that means risking our trust."

"In a world like this, helping others means helping yourself. Nobody's a fool. If you're selfish, you'll either wait around to die or end up being sacrificed by someone else."

"Old Sun and Old Wei-two old men whose entire families are dead, who were ready to kill themselves! Why are they running themselves ragged every day? For us! Do you think we can back out?"

Cheng Du swallowed, withdrew his hand, and nodded.

Fu Hu said bitterly, "Yeah, the director's right. I've still got a wife and daughter. Qing Dai's still young... I don't want her to have no future. I don't want to see her living in a world like this."

As he spoke, Fu Hu took off his helmet and pulled a photograph from inside it.

His right hand gently brushed over the photograph. It was a family portrait of the three of them.

Su Jin's expression immediately darkened.

After looking at the photograph, Fu Hu turned to Su Jin. "Director, this trip is dangerous. If anything happens to me, I hope you'll help look after Zhang Wan and Qing Dai... I can tell Qing Dai really depends on you. Honestly, I'm very supportive of you. At her age, it's about time..."

"Hey, hey, hey!!!" Cheng Du reached forward from the back and repeatedly slapped Fu Hu. "Fu! Who forces people together like that? You're guilt-tripping the director! I can't stand people like you!"

"What the fuck is wrong with you? What's it got to do with you?" Fu Hu turned around and cursed.

"What's it got to do with me? You're ruining the team's harmony, you know that? Forcing your daughter on him, putting the director in a difficult position-you're shameless!" Cheng Du took off his helmet with a sarcastic air and pulled a photograph from inside. "Unbelievable. You just have to show off, don't you? It's only a photo! I'll have you know I've got one, too. I brought mine along!"

Su Jin's face went completely dark!

"Director, this is my younger brother..."

"What the hell are you two doing? Are you both fucking trying to get me killed?!" Su Jin roared and landed two solid punches, one for each man.

"Drive!"

The engine revved, and the car slowly pulled out of the residential complex.