The fighting broke out very suddenly. Just as a few people were starting to feel sleepy, gunfire erupted.

It was like a repeat of the previous night. In an instant, the windows of the house were shattered, and bullets rained down like hail.

There was a difference from the previous day, though. Before, the bullets that hit their house were stray shots from the crossfire between several parties outside, but this time, the people outside were clearly targeting them.

Looking at the dense, honeycomb-like bullet holes in the walls, anyone with a normal brain knew that the people outside wanted to kill them.

"What is going on?"

Zhang Yi, instantly sobered, lay on the ground with his hands over his head and shouted at Wang Hai beside him.

Wang Hai was a little bewildered. He did not understand what was happening. Although there was a possibility of encountering threats from gangs in this mission, he had always thought that as long as they did not directly interact or conflict with the gangs, they would at most be affected like yesterday and should not become gang targets.

But the current situation clearly showed they were the target. When had they provoked these guys? They did not even have time to hide.

Ethan understood that the reason they were being targeted was likely because buying a large amount of weapons had aroused suspicion. At such a sensitive time, it would be strange if a group suddenly buying a large quantity of weapons did not elicit any reaction.

Even if the two main gangs were fighting fiercely and had no time to bother with Ethan and his group, the local gangs could not possibly fail to notice. Ethan and his group were a flock of fat sheep, and it was not unusual for the local gangs to step in and grab them, especially since the police had no capacity to deal with these matters and would most likely treat it as part of the conflict between the two main gangs.

"What do we do now?"

Perhaps having gone through some hardship, Zhao Ying's nerves had become much tougher. The former professional woman, now lying on the ground, could still ask what they should do while facing a hail of bullets. Just a day earlier, she would have been screaming, trying to escape, and then been shot to pieces.

"What else can we do? Fight back."

Wang Hai had come to his senses. No matter what trouble they were in, they could not just let the other side slaughter them, so the only option was to fight back.

Besides, it was not like they did not have weapons. A large amount of weapons and ammunition was right by their hands. There was nothing to hesitate about.

"Use the refrigerator for cover."

Among household appliances, the refrigerator was the most suitable for cover. As for the wooden walls, forget it. Hiding behind them was no different from asking to die.

With a clear plan, they immediately started to act and launched a counterattack toward the outside.

Although visibility outside was poor due to the darkness, the lights inside the house were either broken or had been turned off by Zhou Shulin while he was pulling the refrigerator, so no one could see the other side. Furthermore, the aim of these thugs was not very good. Most of the time they relied on numbers and guns. Most bullets flew wide, so there was not much danger.

Ethan casually picked up one of the two rifles and, like Chen Peng, hid in a corner, observing the situation outside through the holes shot in the wall.

Of course, he did not need to be this cautious, he just did not want to be too conspicuous.

Compared to Ethan, Chen Peng did not need to worry so much. As a senior member, no one would find it strange no matter how well he performed. Besides, he also needed to complete this mission and likewise did not want to be turned into a sieve by thugs and die here.

As Wang Hai and the others began to counterattack, although they were just shooting randomly into the darkness, it was enough to cause confusion on the other side and also draw out the opponent's main firepower points.

These people were the targets Chen Peng needed to deal with. He used the assault rifle in his hand like a sniper rifle, basically causing casualties with every shot. At the thugs' level, even a slight injury basically meant losing the ability to fight, which was not much different from dying.

After suffering many casualties, the thugs also understood and did not dare to shoot randomly. Wang Hai's side also stopped firing. In this situation, shooting wildly only wasted bullets and easily exposed positions.

After a period of silence, the newcomers began discussing what to do next among themselves.

"What do we do next?"

"How about retreating through the back?"

Their house was in a corner of the block. Behind the house was a spacious yard, and behind the yard was a small grove. Crossing the grove led to a small dirt slope, and climbing the slope led to another residential area.

"Do you think they would not have people stationed in the back? I think they are waiting for their companions to ambush us and then launch a pincer attack."

Just as he finished speaking, there was a sudden knocking sound. They immediately aimed their guns toward the back door, but Wang Hai looked puzzled.

"If it is an ambush, why are they knocking?"

Ethan knew why. He had sensed earlier that someone was trying to circle around from the grove, but the small grove was not peaceful, and those unlucky guys were already dead.

What was knocking on the door now was not human at all, and it was less like knocking and more like banging on the door.

Bang. Crash.

Along with a series of chaotic noises, a chilling cry of "hungry" echoed through the quiet darkness. The few reincarnators who had already predicted this immediately understood what had broken in.

"It is zombies."

"Zombies are coming already?"

"Did you forget about the man-eating monsters reported in the newspaper? This proves that zombies have been present in the town all along."

Because it was a foreseen risk, everyone was relatively calm. No one showed extreme panic. But tension was unavoidable. After all, they were now facing monsters they had only seen in movies and TV shows. There was no way not to feel nervous.

For these newcomers, facing this kind of monster for the first time in a pitch-black environment was lucky, because they did not have to see how disgusting the thing was as clearly as Ethan did. As soon as the zombie appeared, Ethan shot it in the head.

"It seems the head is still the zombie's weak point."

In many movies and TV shows, the head is the zombie's weak point, but there are a few types of zombies that are not afraid of headshots. Those are more troublesome.

"Judging from its movement speed just now, it should be the relatively common type of zombie from Resident Evil. It cannot run or jump, and its reactions are slow. A single one is not much of a threat. As long as we are careful not to be surrounded by a large number of zombies and thoroughly check corners to avoid ambushes, there should not be any danger."

Taking advantage of this time, they put on their gear and replenished their expended ammunition, refilling empty magazines.

There was still a large group of thugs outside, and they did not know when they would start firing again. Now they were starting to look a bit like reincarnators, knowing to seize time to prepare for a battle that could break out at any moment.

This progress made Chen Peng very satisfied, so this time he chose to let the newcomers relax and de-stress a bit.

"Do not worry, compared to the few of us here, they are the main course."

Just after he finished speaking, a series of screams suddenly came from the quiet night, accompanied by scattered gunfire. They immediately realized that the thugs outside had been attacked by zombies.

There were more people gathered outside, so there was no reason for the zombies to only target a few of them. Even if they were reincarnators on a mission, they were not enemies of the entire plane.

"Can we leave now while this is happening?"

During the fighting, Zhao Ying had been lying on the ground, and somehow she had gotten a pot and put it on her head. It had to be said this was a wise choice. Looking at the dents and scrapes on the pot, her head had likely been hit by flying debris several times. Without the pot she would have been injured, which was why she was still wearing it with no intention of taking it off.

No one laughed at her. In that situation, everyone wished they were surrounded by steel plates. If they had not been too slow, they would have done the same.

"Yes, we should go."

The car was parked outside, but there was a group of armed thugs guarding the front, and who knew how many zombies mixed in. They were not sure that was a suitable option.

Moreover, the gunfight had made such a big noise that the police could not possibly ignore it. So they decided to leave through the back door and take a small path.

Because of the period of fighting, some bullets were consumed, which made the packages they needed to carry a bit lighter. However, everyone was still carrying large and small bags, and even Zhao Ying carried as many as possible.

No one complained. Everything they were carrying was for survival in the coming period. No matter how tired they were, they had to endure it.

Ethan and Chen Peng were relatively more relaxed. Even though they were heavily burdened by full gear, this amount would not trouble them.

But because of the others, the team's speed could not be fast, so it took time to cross the small grove, climb the dirt slope, and reach another residential area.

At this point, they found there was no need to be cautious anymore.

The sudden various noises, the continuous cries of "hungry," interspersed with piercing screams, this doomsday scene, as if evil spirits had descended, clearly told them: the game has begun.

"The zombie virus outbreak is starting on a large scale."

"Next, although there is no need to hide, we need to be even more vigilant, especially in dark corners. Also, try to walk around any immobile bodies you see and do not approach them casually."

They brought out their weapons. At this point, holding weapons would not seem conspicuous anymore.

Just a second ago, a man holding a shotgun ran past them, and was then hit and sent flying by a car that suddenly sped out. The car drove straight down the dirt slope and finally crashed into a large tree.

Wang Hai turned back to look at the wrecked car, watching as a zombie with a severely twisted body crawled out of the driver's seat and then, while groaning "hungry," steadily crawled toward Wang Hai and the others.

"We also need to be careful of these zombie drivers that suddenly pop out."

(To be continued.)