There were six of them at first, then eight, then more. The building manager arrived with a tense face and a flashlight in his hand, trying to look like a leader. Two men who had been the loudest in the chat stood beside him, both of them acting like they were doing something brave instead of something stupid. One of them had a hacksaw tucked into his bag, and the other had brought a set of small tools that would not have been enough to do much on their own, but together with enough time and noise they might have damaged the door to the upper stair landing. A woman Bai Li barely recognized kept saying this was for the building’s good and that people should not be selfish in times like this. Another man behind her muttered that if Bai Li had so many supplies, then it was only fair to take some since she could not use all of them herself. There was not even a hint of shame on their faces. The only thing that seemed to matter to them now was getting to the top before someone else did. Bai Li watched them from her screen with a calm, almost lazy expression, as if she were observing a few chickens trying to break into a locked grain room. She could not be bothered to feel real anger. It was more like mild curiosity. How far would these people go before they understood that the world outside had already changed, and that their old tricks no longer made them important? She saw one of the men begin sawing at the stair security door with a stubborn, ugly focus. The others took turns checking the corridor. They kept whispering that if they stayed quiet, the zombies would not notice them. Bai Li nearly smiled. They were about to learn how much noise even a small group could make when they all became scared at once.

At almost the same time, Yan Cijin had also started seeing signs that something was wrong. She had not been in Bai Li’s apartment, but she had enough sense to check the building cameras from her own phone when the chat began to heat up. The same ugly little plan was showing up there too, and she knew immediately that Bai Li would not be worried in the same way she was. Yan Cijin understood Bai Li too well now for that. Bai Li was strong enough, sharp enough, and cold enough in a crisis that most of these people were not even worth her fear. Still, Yan Cijin could not help sending a message. She looked at the screen for a second and typed, "Are you okay? What should I do about the nuisance outside?" It was a short message, but there was real concern behind it, the kind that came from knowing someone’s habits and their stubbornness and their tendency to pretend nothing bothered them until the last second. She did not have to wait long. Bai Li replied almost immediately. "Do not worry. I am fine. I will handle it in my own way. Stay where you are and do not go near the door unless it is safe." Yan Cijin read that and let out a small breath. Bai Li’s tone was as calm as ever, almost too calm, which in its own way was reassuring. She knew that when Bai Li wrote like that, it meant she had already seen everything and decided none of it was worth panic. Yan Cijin looked toward the door of her own apartment and then back at her phone. She knew Bai Li could handle a few pests. The only thing she could really do was trust her, which was not hard. Bai Li had already earned that trust in the little ways that mattered most.

Back on Bai Li’s floor, the group had finally reached the top of the stair landing, where the door to the upper corridor was locked and chained behind the broken tool marks they had already made on the lower metal frame. The building manager was breathing harder than the others now, but he still kept saying that they should not give up. "A little more," he said. "We can get through this. Bai Li is just one person. She cannot fight all of us alone." The two men with the tools looked at each other and nodded like they were about to do something meaningful. One of them lifted the hacksaw again and tried to work on the edge of the door frame while another shoved a screwdriver into the crack. They had even brought a small crowbar, which made Bai Li finally shake her head in amusement. So many tools, so much noise, and still such poor judgment. She watched them for another moment and then closed the surveillance feed with a quiet click. The sound they were making was already enough to tell her that they had reached the last step before their own humiliation. She stood up, adjusted her shirt, and moved toward the apartment door with the same calm pace she used when going to answer a business call she already knew would be annoying. The whole group outside was still talking, still pushing, still telling each other this was necessary, this was fair, this was for everyone. Bai Li reached the door and paused for a moment with one hand near the lock. Then she looked at the hallway camera one more time, confirmed that none of them had actually managed to damage the door enough to matter, and let out the smallest sound of contempt. They had brought tools for their pride, not for the job.

The moment she opened the door, the hallway went quieter. Not silent, because the building was still full of danger and distant noise, but noticeably quieter, as if everyone had suddenly realized the thing they had been talking about was now standing right in front of them. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

.

.

.

TO BE CONTINUED,