Apocalypse Ground Zero: Refusing To Leave Home-Chapter 69: Nothing Here

"There. We go there."

Wei Lingyun’s voice was steady, already committing to the decision as his eyes tracked the entrances, the broken glass, the open space that stretched deeper than they could see from the road. Chenghai eased off the gas, clearly agreeing with the other man.

But Jian Yuche was already shaking his head. "Don’t," he said simply.

The word was quiet, but it landed hard in the small space of the SUV.

Zhou Chenghai’s foot hovered for a fraction of a second before pressing back down. The SUV held its speed, continuing past the edge of the parking lot instead of turning in.

Lingyun didn’t look away from the building. "It’s intact. Which is more than I can say about the other buildings we have come across."

"It’s too exposed," Yuche explained, his gaze never leaving the structure as it slid past them. "Too much open space. Too many angles we can’t see. You go in there, you’re blind the second you step through those doors."

Zhenlan leaned forward slightly from the back seat, tracking the same sightlines. "Then we clear a section. Lock it down."

"With what?" Yuche’s tone stayed even, controlled. "We don’t have the bodies to hold it. We don’t have the weapons to sweep it. You clear ten meters, something comes out of the next ten. Or drops in behind you. Or comes down from above. We would be in the light while our enemies are in the shadows. We would be dead before we even looked at a crumb of food."

The SUV passed the main entrance and the sound of glass cracked under the tires where it had spilled across the pavement. The doors hung open, the interior beyond them stretching into darkness, swallowing what little light made it inside.

Lingyun watched it go. Measured. Calculated the pros and cons.

"You’re right. No control," he murmured after a moment. "And not our territory."

"That’s the problem," Yuche answered with a nod. "You’ve gotten lazy being a top dog," he continued, flashing Lingyun a smile in the review mirror. "Go back to thinking like a soldier in enemy territory. With no backup."

Lingyun went silent even as he returned Yuche’s nod.

No one pushed the argument further and Chenghai didn’t slow again. The mall slipped behind them, disappearing from view as the SUV pushed deeper into the city.

Three blocks later, Yuche’s attention shifted.

The corner shop came into view ahead, wedged between a taller residential building and a narrow alley that ran along its left side.

It was a lot smaller, more contained, one level, and limited entrances. It was a space that could be read in seconds instead of minutes.

Manageable.

"There," Yuche murmured, pointing out the building to Chenghai.

Chenghai picked it up immediately, easing the SUV toward the curb and stopping about twenty meters short of the entrance. The engine idled low, steady, the sound carrying farther than it should have in the empty street.

Yuche scanned the area again, slower this time. Windows. Alley. Rooftops. Fire escapes.

There was no movement.

No silhouettes shifting behind glass. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

No immediate threat.

The quiet pressed in, and along with it was the feeling of wrongness.

Quiet didn’t mean safe. It meant either nothing was left... or something was waiting for a better moment to move.

"We check it fast," Yuche murmured. "In and out. No lingering." His gaze shifted between them, holding for just long enough to make sure they were all locked in. "Anything feels off, we pull. Straight back to the vehicle."

No one argued.

They didn’t have the margin for error anymore.

Yuche opened the passenger door and stepped out. The air hit cold and still, carrying the faint scent of rot and something burned long ago. His shoulder tightened immediately, the wound pulling under the bandage, but he ignored it.

Lingyun was already moving on the opposite side. Zhenlan followed a step behind. Chenghai came last, closing the distance with steady, controlled steps, his posture tight but stable.

The door was cracked a bit, but it was mostly intact.

Yuche paused just long enough to look through it.

Shelves. Debris. No movement.

He pushed it open.

The hinges creaked.

Too loud.

The sound carried deeper than it should have.

He stepped inside anyway, boots crunching against broken glass. The others spread out behind him without needing direction—Lingyun drifting left, Zhenlan to the right, Chenghai anchoring near the entrance.

Yuche moved down the center aisle, eyes tracking everything. Shelves leaned where they had been stripped or knocked loose. Some had collapsed entirely, their contents ground into the floor and pressed into the tile.

Nothing useful.

Nothing untouched.

He stepped over flattened cereal boxes, past dented cans with torn labels, past packaging that had already been picked clean.

He reached the back and pushed into the storage area.

Smaller. Tighter. Worse.

Wooden shelves lined the walls, unstable and sagging. Boxes sat torn open or empty. A mop bucket lay on its side, long dry, leaving a faint stain across the concrete.

He checked the exits.

One door.

Metal. Reinforced.

Locked.

No windows.

No second way out.

Dead space.

"Nothing here," Lingyun murmured from the front.

"Same," Zhenlan replied.

Yuche turned immediately.

No second sweep. No hesitation.

They were done.

He moved back through the aisle, steps lighter but no quieter. The debris made silence impossible. Every shift of weight produced sound—glass shifting, plastic cracking, something rolling just out of sight.

Halfway through and metal shifted.

A shelf groaned under its own imbalance.

A can tipped.

Rolled.

Hit the edge and dropped to the floor like an explosion.

The sound rang out.

Sharp and clean.

Yuche froze, his eyes shooting up; Chenghai was already looking at him.

No words needed. They knew they were fucked

Movement appeared outside.

Shadows crossing the intersection. Bodies turning toward the sound.

Four.

Then six.

Then more.

They came fast.

Hands struck the glass. The frame. The door.

"Out," Yuche murmured, but he was already moving.

Lingyun shifted instantly, cutting toward the exit. Zhenlan followed without breaking pace. Chenghai pulled the door open just long enough to clear the path.

The zombies were already there.

Close enough to touch.

Yuche stepped outside and cut left, creating space before the first one could reach him. Fingers brushed his sleeve as he slipped past, but he didn’t slow.

The SUV sat ahead.

Twenty meters.

Lingyun reached it first, wrenching the rear door open. Zhenlan moved in after him. Chenghai followed, one hand braced against his ribs, his breath tightening with the movement.

Yuche hit the passenger side and slid in as Chenghai threw the SUV into motion.

The engine roared on command and the vehicle surged forward.

Bodies slammed into the back. Hands struck the windows. One caught the side mirror, dragging for a heartbeat before it snapped free, sending the body tumbling back into the street.

Yuche twisted in his seat, watching through the rear window.

The zombies were still coming.

Still running.

Still following.

Chenghai cut the next corner hard, breaking line of sight.

The street behind them vanished.

Yuche faced forward again, his hands settling on his knees, his shoulder pulsing in time with his heartbeat.

No one spoke.

They didn’t need to.

They had nothing.

No supplies. No gain for the risk that they took.

Only confirmation that any space, big or small, was enough to get you killed now.

Quiet spaces didn’t mean empty.

And every second inside a building stacked the odds against you.

The SUV kept moving forward as the city stretched ahead, broken and waiting.

Yuche watched it pass, already calculating the next approach, the next angle, the next place where the risk might drop just low enough to try again.

They hadn’t even started their mission yet and it had just gotten that much harder.

This was going to take a while...

He just hoped that Rouxi was fine back at the mansion.