The checkpoint near the front gate had changed again. The constant changing making it both frustrating and kind of funny all at the same time.

No matter what the military did, if a zombie wanted to get through it, they would. The soldiers, the barricades, the guns, everything that they thought would protect them won’t mean shit.

"That was a big sigh," said Zhenlan from the driver’s seat. The five of us were piled into the black SUV, and I could see Chenghai looking at me from the passengers seat. "We can always turn around."

"No," I replied shaking my head. If anything, being in the middle of this, it make me want to double down on my plan. I looked over at the clock on the dashboard and slowly calculated just how much time we had. "I just finally realized what the comments ’too stupid to live’ really look like."

Lingyun, who was sitting to my left furrowed his brows. "What do you mean?" he asked, but I only shook my head.

I would help these four men survive, but that was my bottom line. The rest could learn the hard way, just like I had to.

A few of the soldiers turned when they saw the SUV, and then a few more turned because soldiers were worse than chickens when one of them spotted something out of place.

And apparently, we were the ones out of place.

Wei Guang noticed us before we managed to reach the first barrier. He came over fast, his expression already doing that tight military thing that meant he was trying to stay polite even though his patience had packed a bag and left town three minutes ago.

"No," he said before anyone could speak.

I poked my head forward before I turned to look at him through the window. "Well, that was rude."

"You’re not leaving the perimeter."

"I don’t remember asking."

His eyes moved past me to Chenghai and then back to me, which was his first mistake. "I told you I would take you once we had things under control. We do not have things under control at the moment. In fact, infected movement around the area is increasing, and we’re still clearing the western access route."

"Sounds like you are going to be busy. Need us to bring back anything for you?" I sneered, cocking my head to the side. I would rather shoot him than bring something back.

I might not have the stick so far up my ass as I did before, but that didn’t me I got a lobotomy either.

"It is busy," he snapped, then immediately took a breath like he realized he was talking to someone who might make his life harder out of spite. "Go back inside. Watch your movies. Eat some ice cream or chocolate. Whatever it is you usually do."

Lingyun coughed into his fist while I could only smile.

Wei’s gaze dropped briefly to my clothes before coming back up again. "You might be dressed like you can fight, but we both know that’s not the case. Besides, you don’t want to put your men at risk for a new purse or some makeup."

That was an interesting sentence.

Not because it was true.

Because he sounded like he really believed it.

Wei looked at Chenghai again. "I know you’ve been living the good life out here, but the world isn’t what you remember it to be. Rouxi is too fragile, not matter what she might have convinced you. You might think you can protect her, but without us, you can’t."

Lingyun snorted. "Yeah. Fragile like a bomb."

Chenghai didn’t laugh. He didn’t even look at Lingyun. His attention stayed on Wei, steady and unreadable, like he was deciding whether the words deserved an answer or if letting Wei keep breathing was generous enough.

I didn’t bother with any of that.

"Are you done?" I asked, glancing up just long enough to meet Wei’s eyes before turning my head and dismissing him. "Because I wasn’t asking. We are leaving, with or without your permission."

He did a finger twitch that meant something because suddenly there were two men standing in front of the SUV, their weapons raised. "This is now a military base, not your home. You’re not leaving the perimeter."

"Move."

"No."

"This is not a joke," Wei said, lowering his hand slowly.

"I’m not laughing."

"You don’t understand what is out there."

I blinked at him.

Then I looked past him toward the street, the barricades, the trucks, the soldiers, the scientists’ equipment still being hauled through my yard like any of this was normal. Somewhere in the distance, something screamed, and a group of soldiers immediately shifted toward the sound.

"It doesn’t matter what is out there," I said, looking back at him. "It can’t be any worse than what is in here."

Wei stared at me like I had just admitted to wanting to lick a zombie.

Honestly, so dramatic.

"You are not going out there for retail therapy," he said slowly. "No one is that stupid."

"Apparently, you are," I answered, leaning back in my seat and essentially dismissing the other man. "Now, you and your men have three choices. You know, since I am in a good mood and all that. The first one is that Zhenlan drives forward, and you men get turned into pancakes before they could even fire a single shot."

The two men in question shifted their grip on their guns and widened their stances, like they could physically stop the vehicle if they wanted to.

If they were fighting powers, and had about ten more years to practice and get strong then maybe they might stand a chance. But not now.

"Option two," I continued, looking at my nails. "You back off and let us go on our merry way."

"What is option three?" Wei demanded, his eyes narrowing on me like he could see me through the tinted windows.

"Option three is a surprise."