◇Lucky Town Mall◇

Half an hour out, and the baby began to get fussy...

"I forgot his nappy bag." Xiulan said as she tried helping Xiaolang in figuring out what was bugging the little guy.

Hearing this Lu Xing had a sweatdrop as he realized a big dilemma.

"Brilliant idea." Mr. Wu said sarcastically jabbing at Lu Xing with his words, "Now we need to make a stop at a supermarket or something for baby essentials."

Suddenly a smell wafted the air, disgusted, Mr. Wu turned to enter the nearest exit point on the highway.

☆☆☆

District Jinche, Lucky Town Mall.

15 minutes after Lu Xing's group entered the District, and 7 something minutes before his group would reach the Mall...

"Sshhh..." A dark haired man hushed the people hiding down low behind the large counter.

Each one holding an assortment of weapons, from guns to crowbars...

They were hiding from a large humanoid monster. It had chased them into the mall, picking off anyone unlucky enough to enter its line of sight. Bulkier than the average zombie, and hediously...covered in boils, and veins bulging, this creature being the size of a football quarterback...

Was rather frightening.

More so was how it killed its prey...its spit was like acid.

"What do we do now?" A green eyed youth whispered.

The thing growled and huffed causing everyone to hold still. The younger the person the more they shivered out of fear... The older folks were having a hard time getting everyone to calm down.

"That thing ate my mom." A boy said, covering his mouth afterwards to muffle his sobs.

Plenty of people had quickly lost their lives to the thing in their hurry to get into the mall. People had shoved, and fallen, the acid instantly hitting them followed by their screams of agony and then...death. That thing would eat parts of the dying or dead, the sounds of it chewing and slurping still fresh on people's minds.

Then there were the lucky few people that had simply been scattered along the way, probably still alive...

Only this small group had been unlucky in that the thing had chased them into a Luckin Coffee place.

"Damn monster." A young buff guy taking glances at the taller man beside him, "Yo Mo? What's the plan?"

"Don't know if I'd call it a plan...seems this fellows slow on its movement," The man explained in a low voice, his green eyes observing their available routes, "Can't hear well either, probably due to all the liquid in him. I don't think it's got a good sense of smell either. We should be able to head to the rooftop from the stairs located in the west side of the building, or we can head down to the bomb shelter beneath the mall?"

"With which one do we actually have a chance of surviving?" A teenage boy dryly countered, his hands holding a blood soaked bat.

The thing began walking in their direction...some of its boils popping and spilling acid to the floor. Its nostrils flaring as it closed in on the doorway... The thing crept closer until finally one of the people whimpering with a hand covering their mouth got up and started running, tears in their eyes.

"I can't...take this anymore!" She let out, the fear having gotten to her.

"Wait!" Someone exclaimed as they reached out in an attempt to stop her...

They were to late, the girl ran straight into the zombie's path.

It gave a growl before grasping the girl with its big arms, the acid instantly corroding flesh. The girl shrieked and cried out, her eyes widened in horror as the thing opened its mouth wide...

Then it leaned down and tore flesh, the sizzle of corroding flesh heard in the large mostly empty cafe. The people behind the counter holding in their fear. This entire night has been wrought with nothing but uncertainty...and fear.

That girl's final moments were made of...

This surreal reality.

"We'll split into two groups from here." Kuan Mo said as he looked at everyone who had followed him into this deathtrap, "I'll go out and distract the thing while all of you run out of here."

It looked like one of them was about to protest, but Kuan Mo held up a hand.

"I'm not about to die, I mean to have it chase me, and then escape it." Kuan Mo explained, "You all will have to take a great risk when you run out of here though."

He looked at all the strangers gathered around him, people older, and younger that had chosen to follow him because of his quick thinking skills...now he felt responsible for them...

'If only you could get caught...then maybe we won't get caught...'

'Yeah just let it eat you...why should I die for this loser?'

'Shit...shit...shit....I don't want to die..'

'My mommy died...everyone's probably dead too...I want my mom...'

'Nothing about this is right...'

The thoughts came streaming endlessly...into Kuan Mo's head.

'I can barely hear myself think over it..' Kuan Mo winced under the onslaught.

Trying to ignore the chaotic thoughts of those around him, he concentrated on recalling the exact layout of the cafe...

'That's it!' He mentally came up with the best plan, then he motioned for people to split up into two groups.

Somehow, he managed to separate the bad apples from the good one's, as he feared their maliscious thoughts would prompt them into hurting someone undeserving of the harm.

He then told them his strategy...

☆☆☆

"So you're planning on just shadowstepping in," Wu Xinyi went over the strategy, "grab the essentials, and come back...all of this without trying to be a hero? Right?"

His tone carried a hint of mistrust.

Lu Xing scratched his chin in a manner of one in deep thought...then opened his eyes to reveal someone with the face of an idiot. Wu Xinyi instantly felt irked from where he sat at the driver seat... Given the fact he had glimpsed Lu Xing's expression via the mirror on the front window.

"Tch." Wu Xinyi gritted his teeth, "I'll give you 30 minutes, if you aren't back by then...you can hike home."

"Don't forget, I'm the only one who can get us to the warehouse." Lu Xing smirked as he got up and propped a foot onto the truck beds side, "Plus you'd have to babysit the kids on your own if you did that."

Wu Xinyi had his face scrunch up into a scowl, and just when he opened his mouth...

Lu Xing jumped...