Chapter Summaries

Li Yu interrogated a captured bald man while driving a horde of zombies away. After learning about the man’s group and their planned meeting, Li Yu threw him from the vehicle, and the zombies caught him.

• Li Yu secured a loudspeaker to the vehicle as zombies pursued them.
• Second Uncle said the bald man’s companions had lured the zombies, and Li Yu questioned the captive about them.
• The bald man revealed that his group had knives and iron rods and planned to meet at a gas station where the national highway met the expressway.
• Li Yu kicked the bald man out of the vehicle, and the zombie horde swallowed him.

Li Yu and the others gave food to a hungry brother and sister, then waited at an empty convenience store to ambush a group heading for their car. After capturing the village party secretary’s son and questioning him about the Lotus Building, Li Yu was left speechless by the boy’s reaction.

• Li Yu and the others left half their food with the brother and sister and told them to find somewhere safe.
• They hid in an empty convenience store and waited for the group to arrive.
• Li Yu signaled the others to charge and shot the village party secretary’s son in the calf as he approached the car.
• They questioned the wounded man, who identified the Lotus Building as his group’s headquarters.
• The man denied knowing what they meant, and Li Yu could not get out the words he had planned to say.

Li Yu and the others shared a moment of understanding before Li Yu killed the village Party secretary’s son, who tried to flee and fight back. Li Yu then filled both vehicles’ fuel tanks, preparing for whatever might happen next.

• Yang Tianlong listened as someone explained that trust and family had shaped their choices.
• Li Tie and Li Gang nodded, and the group fell silent as some of the gloom lifted.
• The village Party secretary’s son tried to escape toward the convenience store while watching the others.
• Li Yu stabbed the man in the neck with a dagger and killed him.
• Li Yu filled the fuel tanks of both vehicles to avoid being caught unprepared.

Li Yu and the others lured a growing zombie horde toward the Lotus Commercial Building, where they tried to trap it. The zombies broke through and devoured one of the guards as the survivors ran upstairs.

• Li Yu and the others drove toward the People's Hospital, but the growing horde forced them to cut through the county town.
• Li Yu directed the group to let the zombies follow them to the Lotus Commercial Building.
• The group used a loudspeaker and blocked the entrance to funnel the zombies toward the building.
• The zombies overwhelmed the guards, and one guard was swallowed and devoured.
• Li Yu and the others ran upstairs as the zombies poured into the building.

Li Yu and his group watched the zombies leave the Lotus Commercial Building, then entered to investigate after discovering the people inside had abandoned a staff member to die. Li Yu confronted the survivors and brought them together, then went to the rooftop with Zhang Tianlong.

• People on the eleventh and twelfth floors shut their doors against a staff member fleeing the zombies, and the zombies killed him.
• After the zombies left, Li Yu and his companions entered the building and searched the floors, finding the eleventh-floor door closed.
• Li Yu kicked open the door and found Horse Face and others amid the chaos, with several people lying dead or wounded.
• Several shirtless men came downstairs, saw Li Yu and the others holding guns, and tried to retreat; Xiao Zhou nervously introduced himself.
• Li Yu had the people from the upper floors gathered together and went to the rooftop with Zhang Tianlong.

Li Yu questioned the men who had been forced to come to the building and learned about Brother Hao’s group in the county town. He left the captives to Li Tie and the others, who decided their fate, while Zhou Sheng was kept behind.

• Li Yu sent Yang Tianlong downstairs with the naked men, who claimed they had been forced to come.
• Li Yu questioned the group and suspected the balding man knew more about their situation.
• The men said they had been staying in the county town with many others and mentioned Brother Hao.
• Li Yu told the group to keep Zhou Sheng and let them deal with the rest.
• Li Tie and the others debated whether to spare or kill the captives, and several men were shot dead.

Li Yu refused to take the survivors with him, left them supplies to defend themselves, and departed with his group. As night approached and zombies grew more dangerous, they hurried toward the base.

• A young woman thanked Li Yu and begged him to take the survivors along, but Li Yu refused because the group needed to return before dark.
• The woman tried to press herself against Li Yu, and Song Min knocked her to the floor and warned that they were not good people either.
• The woman returned to Zhou Sheng's mutilated corpse while the others watched in unease.
• Li Yu left supplies for the survivors to protect themselves and departed with his group.
• Li Yu and the others drove toward the outskirts, hurrying to reach the base before nightfall.

Li Yu and the others raced back to the base after dark, fighting through zombies and a pack of zombie dogs on the way. They got inside the perimeter gates, and Li Yu found that the blood on his neck had not infected him.

• Li Tie drove the group toward the base as night fell, while Li Yu urged him to hurry and contacted his second uncle.
• At the narrow road to the base, the group met Zhao Dapao and fought zombies by flashlight before Li Yu noticed danger behind him.
• Li Yu struck a zombie dog with his blade, but several more zombie dogs chased the group toward the base.
• The group rushed through the gates, and the zombie dogs slammed into the closed outer gate.
• Li Yu reassured everyone that he was fine after checking the blood on his neck, and his second uncle patted him on the shoulder.

Li Yu returned to the base after the zombie siege, reunited with his family, and reprimanded Li Hang and Lai Jiaqi for their carelessness. Later, he shared food and drinks with those who had worried about him, ending the chapter beneath the stars.

• Li Yu and Yang Tianlong went to the Watchtower, where Li Yu armed himself with a crossbow and they dealt with the zombie dogs.
• Li Yu reassured his second uncle that the trip had gone smoothly and promised to explain more the next day.
• Li Yu's family embraced him when he returned, relieved to see him safe.
• Li Yu reprimanded Li Hang and Lai Jiaqi for being careless during the zombie siege, and both lowered their heads in shame.
• Li Yu ate with his companions, shared beer and cigarettes, and looked up at the starry sky.

Li Yu shared Moonlit Brew Beer with Li Hang, Yang Tianlong, Li Tie, and the others, then spoke about surviving the apocalypse without losing their humanity. After the gathering, he cleaned the blood from his neck and relaxed alone in the bathtub, finally feeling more at ease.

• Li Hang and the others joined Li Yu, who reluctantly shared the chilled Moonlit Brew Beer with them.
• As they drank, Li Yu said he wanted to lead everyone through the apocalypse comfortably and warned them not to become monsters.
• Li Yu urged the others to persuade themselves when their consciences troubled them, then clinked glasses with Yang Tianlong and the group.
• After the gathering, Li Yu noticed blood on the back of his neck, rinsed it clean, and went downstairs for a leftover bottle of craft beer.
• Li Yu lay in the bathtub, listened to Sound of Silence, and gradually felt calm and safe behind the towering perimeter wall.