The gluttonous little boy is four and a half years old, and even the wealthy family kneels down and

The three rested in the hotel for less than fifteen minutes.

Qiu An opened her suitcase with a dark expression. Inside, there were neatly arranged items for her vacation: a floral shirt, sunglasses, sunscreen spray, and a straw hat with colorful ribbons.

He stared at the straw hat for three seconds, then snapped the box shut and turned to look at Yun Ziang, who was lying paralyzed on the bed.

"You call this a 'vacation'?" Qiu An's tone was as if she wanted to lift someone out of bed.

Yun Ziang rolled over, hugged his pillow tightly, and mumbled, "Don't rush, we've only just arrived in Dachun City. Let's get some sleep first, and we'll talk about it tomorrow..."

"By the time you wake up, it'll be dawn," Qiu An sneered. "Have you ever seen a zombie strolling around in broad daylight? If you don't go tonight, you'll have to wait until tomorrow night."

"If you don't want to go home, just lie here. Anyway, I'm leaving first thing tomorrow morning, and I'm taking Xiaojin with me."

Yun Zi'ang sat bolt upright, his face contorted in pain. "Are you even being reasonable? I've been driving all day! I could see the highway with my eyes closed!"

Xiao Jin had already slung her little cloth bag over her shoulder and stood at the door, swinging her short legs with an expectant look on her face: "Xiao Jin is ready! Let's go catch some zombies!"

Qiu An ignored Yun Ziang, picked up Xiao Jin's fox-shaped bag, slung it over her shoulder, and walked out.

Yun Zi'ang struggled on the bed for five seconds, then got up cursing and grabbed his coat to chase after them: "Wait for me! You two heartless bastards, you really left me here all alone!"

The city of Dachun was shrouded in a layer of gray at night, with hardly any cars on the road.

When the three arrived at the abandoned building, they could see the dark building standing amidst the weeds from afar.

Xiao Jin frowned as she looked through the car window: "The murderous aura is so strong. It's even more intense than I expected."

Qiu An lowered the car window and smelled the scent in the night air.

After a moment, he narrowed his eyes slightly: "It really does smell like a zombie. There are still people making corpses in this era. Who on earth is causing this trouble?"

Yun Ziang parked the car a little further away and turned off the engine.

The surroundings were eerily quiet, with only the rustling sound of the wind blowing through the weeds, like countless tiny hands rubbing the ground.

The three walked to the front of the building. The iron gate was ajar, and the seal on the gate had been torn in half and was swaying gently in the wind.

"This place has been without power and water for many years, hasn't it?" Yun Ziang huddled behind Qiu An, his flashlight beam sweeping randomly across the ground.

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a sudden "buzz" in the building, and the lights came on.

The fluorescent lights in the lobby on the first floor flickered twice in a stark white light, illuminating the broken glass scattered on the floor and the plastic chairs that had fallen over.

Yun Zi'ang jumped back in fright: "Holy crap! How come there's still electricity?!"

Qiu An raised his hand and pressed it on his shoulder, his ears twitching slightly, and he said in a very low voice, "There is the sound of living people breathing in the building."

Yun Zi'ang pulled his foot back after taking a step: "Living people? In this godforsaken place, living people are scarier than dead people, okay?"

Qiu An ignored him, her gaze slowly sweeping across the darkness, and said, "Separately. You and Xiao Jin go to floors five, six, and seven, I'll take care of floors one through four. Let's get this over with quickly."

"No way!" Yun Ziang rejected the idea without even thinking. "Three, three, three people going together! I'm so scared!" He said it with a straight face, and even his stuttering had a hint of coquetry.

Qiu An turned his head and looked at him with the eyes of someone looking at a large piece of trash, his lips twitching: "Are you here to catch zombies or to act in a horror movie? If the three of you go together and climb up floor by floor, you won't be able to finish searching by dawn."

"We can't be separated!" Yun Zi'ang grabbed Qiu An's sleeve, then quickly let go, instead standing behind Xiao Jin, placing his hands on her small shoulders as if he had found some kind of pillar of support. "My little aunt said we're family, we'll go together! Right, Xiao Jin?"

Xiao Jin looked up, her eyes sparkling. Although she didn't understand what the adults were arguing about, she understood the words "let's go together," so she nodded emphatically: "Yes! Let's go together! Xiao Jin can protect you!"

Qiu An glanced at the two figures, one big and one small, his temples throbbed twice, and finally squeezed out a single word through gritted teeth: "Okay."

He turned and walked towards the second-floor staircase, his voice carrying a sense of utter despair, like someone with a child, "Stay close. If anyone falls behind, I won't look back for them."

They only briefly toured the first floor.

The lobby was empty, except for a few rows of overturned plastic chairs and a service counter that was so badly damaged that its original color was no longer visible.

Scattered on the ground were some yellowed pieces of paper. Yun Ziang shone his flashlight on them and found that they were all old newspapers from more than ten years ago, with blurry handwriting and no information.

The stench in the air was faint, as if it were drifting from a great distance, or as if it were right under their noses.

The three of them walked up the stairs.

Each step up the stairs echoed.

With each step Yun Ziang took, the flashlight would dart around erratically, its beam sweeping from left to right and then from right to left, busier than a searchlight.

Xiao Jin walked ahead of him, her short legs moving steadily. Qiu An walked even further ahead, his steps very light and without making a sound.

When we got to the second floor, only one light was still on. Every few seconds, it would go out with a "zzzz" sound and then turn on again with a "pop".

The corridor was long, with open doors on both sides. The numbered tags on the doors were scattered, some lying on the ground and deformed from being stepped on.

Yun Ziang always felt that something was looking out through the cracks in those doors, which made the back of his head feel cold.

"Was this really a hospital before?" he asked in a low voice.

"A sanatorium," Qiu An replied casually. "Later it was converted into an infectious disease isolation center, where many people died. Then it was closed down."

"You seem to know quite a lot," Yun Ziang muttered.

"I checked before I came." Qiu An glanced at him. "Unlike you, who dared to drive without even knowing where you were going."

Xiao Jin suddenly stopped and looked toward a door to the side.

The door was ajar, and it was pitch black behind it; you couldn't see anything.

She looked at it for two seconds, then continued walking forward.

Yun Ziang's heart was in his throat. When he passed through that door, he deliberately squeezed closer to Qiu An, almost pressing himself against his back.

"Aren't we going to call the police?" Yun Ziang asked in a low voice.

"What are you going to report? If you have no evidence, just say there are zombies in the building. The police will arrest you first." Qiu An didn't even turn his head.

Yun Ziang swallowed hard and stopped talking.

When I got to the third floor, all the lights on the floor were out.

Moonlight streamed in through the broken window at the end of the corridor, casting a pale white glow on the ground.

The wind slipped in from some crack, causing the scraps of paper on the ground to rustle gently.

Just then, a sound came from ahead.

Da, da, da.

It was like someone wearing hard-soled shoes walking slowly down the corridor.

Every sound was so clear it was almost uncanny, as if it were coming from not far away.

Yun Ziang's hair stood on end instantly.

He swiftly raised his peach wood sword, assuming what he considered a passable defensive stance: "It's here, it's here! Is it that? Is it that thing?"

Qiu An didn't say anything, but slowly turned to the side and shielded Xiao Jin behind him.

His ears twitched again, as if trying to pinpoint the direction of the sound.

Xiao Jin peeked half her head out from behind his waist, her little hands clutching the hem of his clothes, her eyes fixed on the front without blinking.

Da, da, da.

The sound suddenly stopped.

The entire corridor was so quiet that only the barely audible breathing of the three people could be heard.

Yun Ziang's palms were sweaty as he gripped the sword. He opened and closed his mouth, wanting to say something, but Qiu An glared at him and stopped him.

A few seconds later, a dark figure flashed past at the end of the corridor.

Soon, it glided along the ground like a bird.

Yun Ziang cried out "Ah!" The sound exploded in the empty corridor and echoed several times.

His legs went weak, and he grabbed Xiao Jin's arm next to him.

Xiao Jin stumbled as he pulled her, and patted his hand in disgust: "Grand-nephew, you're holding Xiao Jin so tightly."

"Shh," Qiu An whispered.

He slowly crouched down, lightly twirling his fingers in the air, and frowned. "More than one. This smell...it's not from a living person."

Xiao Jin followed his example and sniffed, nodding, "It smells like a zombie. It stinks, like a cardboard box that's been soaked in water."

"A cardboard box that's been soaked in water?" Yun Zi'ang was almost in tears. "At a time like this, you still think of cardboard boxes!"

Xiao Jin replied earnestly, "It really does look alike."

Qiu An was too lazy to bother with this pair of clowns.

He slowly straightened up, and the moonlight shone from behind him, stretching his shadow into a long, thin blade.

The sound suddenly disappeared at that moment.

Qiu An stood still, looking towards the end of the corridor, and after a few seconds, she lifted her foot and walked forward.

Xiao Jin broke free from Yun Ziang's embrace, walked to a door, and gently pushed it open with a long, sharp creak.

Yun Ziang felt his hair standing on end.

"Little Miss, could you please not open the door randomly?" His voice was already a little weak.

Xiao Jin looked around the room curiously and found it empty, which seemed a bit strange.

She continued walking forward.

Qiu An walked at the front, taking very light steps, his eyes constantly scanning both sides of the corridor.

Yun Zi'ang's hair stood on end, and he gripped the peach wood sword in his hand tightly.

Just then, a series of rapid footsteps suddenly sounded from the other end of the corridor.

It wasn't just one person; it was several pairs of shoes simultaneously scraping the ground as they rushed towards them.

The sound was urgent and heavy, as if something was surging out of the darkness in droves.

Xiao Jin and Qiu An exchanged a glance and walked towards the direction of the sound.

Suddenly, Yun Ziang saw a dark shadow fly past him. He cried out "Ah!" and his legs went weak. He instinctively leaned to the side.

He reached out to brace himself against the wall, but his hand landed on something.

The thing was hard, and it had a cool, damp feel to it.

He turned his head and met a pair of eyes that were inches away from his own.

Eyes that glowed green. Right next to his face.

Those eyes had no pupils, only a murky, decaying blue-green sclera.

Before Yun Ziang could even utter a cry, a hand grabbed his collar and pulled him back.

It's Qiu An.

He released Yun Ziang and whispered, "Don't go near the wall."

"Th-th-what is that thing..." Yun Ziang's legs were so weak he could barely stand. His flashlight swung wildly, and where the beam swept, he saw several dark figures slowly emerging from the depths of the corridor.

They walk slowly, but their movements are strange. Their knees don't bend, and each step seems to be lifted up by something. The soles of their shoes scrape the ground, making a "tap, tap, tap" sound.

Xiao Jin stood still, her little face tense.

She pricked up her ears, counted, and said, "There are three."

Yun Ziang was on the verge of tears.

Clutching the peach wood sword, he began shouting incoherently, "Demons and monsters, leave! Demons and monsters, leave! Buddha, Jade Emperor, Great Sage Equal to Heaven, by your command—"

He didn't know what he was shouting, but he felt he had to shout something, otherwise his heart would jump out of his throat.

"Shut up." Qiu An glared at him. "Go to the back."

Before he finished speaking, Qiu An's ears perked up.

They weren't human ears, but a pair of pointed red fox ears that popped out from the hair.

Immediately afterwards, a gust of wind rose behind them, and eight fluffy fox tails spread out in the moonlight, like red flames suddenly bursting open.

One of its tails deftly curled backward, wrapping around Yun Ziang's waist and lifting him into the air.

Yun Ziang's feet left the ground, and he watched helplessly as his "useless teammate" became a hanging ornament suspended by a tail.

This was the first time in his life he had seen Qiu An in her fox form, and his eyes widened in disbelief.

The red fox's fur shimmered with a golden-red light under the moonlight. Its ears stood erect, its tail fanned out, and its eyes slanted upwards, giving it a cold yet almost eerie beauty.

"Xiao Jin, those two on the left," Qiu An said.

"Okay!" Xiao Jin answered crisply and shot off like a small cannonball.