Chapter 105 - 99: The Mysterious Disappearance of the Three Survivors

Chapter 105: Chapter 99: The Mysterious Disappearance of the Three Survivors

Yanhai Bank Headquarters, second floor.

It was pouring rain outside. With many of the curtains drawn, the entire building was dim and gloomy.

Yu Dong and his team stepped onto the floor and checked the various office areas. They discovered extensive signs of life in three [VIP Rooms].

"It looks like three people were living here for a while."

In the three VIP rooms, Yu Dong saw deluxe sofas that had been used as beds. The trash cans in each office were filled with toilet paper and food wrappers, and there were quite a few water buckets as well.

"Three men," Yu Dong added.

A large amount of excrement was also found in one of the sealed-off offices.

Zhou Jian Country sniffed the air in the places where the three had lived.

"There’s not much of a human scent... They probably haven’t been here for a few days. Where did those three survivors go?"

Yu Dong’s eyes scanned the surroundings. "Something’s not right..."

Huang Zhiqiang asked, "What do you mean?"

"If the three of them were going to live on the second floor, why didn’t they block the stairwell to the first floor or the one leading to the third? One person might be stupid, but with three people, at least one of them should have been more cautious. Unless..."

Zhao Wenjie continued, "Unless they knew there were no zombies upstairs or downstairs, that the main gate outside was locked, and that the area was safe enough that they didn’t need to take precautions."

"Exactly. But there were definitely two pools of blood downstairs, signs of someone turning into a zombie. So where did the zombie go? And where did the three survivors go?"

Zhou recalled the building’s layout.

"A bank headquarters like this definitely has more than one entrance... Could it be that they ran out of resources and left through the underground garage?"

That explanation was plausible, but Yu Dong still had some doubts.

"What about the zombie? We haven’t heard any strange noises since we entered this building... It’s like there isn’t a single zombie here. And those three people didn’t seem to be guarding against them either. Where did the zombies go?"

"I’ve got it!"

Huang Zhiqiang slapped his forehead. "Maybe the only people in this building were these three survivors and the two on the first floor who turned. They killed those two zombies and threw them into the underground garage."

Zhao Youcai curled his lip.

"Don’t be ridiculous. In a building this huge, a 12-story bank headquarters, even if 7:00 PM is closing time, there’s no way only five people were here! You’d have at least two for night security and the monitoring room, and who knows how many were working overtime. The bank closing its doors doesn’t mean everyone goes home. Oh, and the cleaning crew that comes in after hours... I’d guess there were at least twenty or thirty people here to be realistic."

Yu Dong nodded as well. "That’s right. If we assume a 90% infection rate, and three people survived, then it’s highly likely there were over 30 employees still in the building at the time. For it to be completely silent... it’s too strange."

Just then, Liu Ye’ye, who was standing by the hallway, had her robotic dog run back to them.

"Senior, there’s nothing unusual on the third floor, but three of the offices have their doors closed, so I couldn’t get in."

"Let’s go up and see..."

The team went up and searched cautiously, but there were still no zombies.

It was getting stranger and stranger.

"Be careful... Ye Ye, have your robot dog keep scouting upwards."

The continued absence of any zombies was actually putting a lot of pressure on Yu Dong.

They had been prepared to clear out zombies floor by floor... but they’d reached the third floor and still hadn’t seen anything.

And so they continued, floor by floor...

Up to the 11th floor, it was still completely empty. The only thing they could see were signs that someone had been rummaging around.

In particular, the bottled water coolers in the various offices had almost all been moved, clearly taken by the three survivors to drink.

"The next floor up is the 12th, the top floor... We still haven’t seen those three people or any zombies."

The group stopped on the 11th floor.

Yu Dong said in a low voice, "If those three survivors haven’t left the bank, they’re most likely on the 12th floor..."

"I’m guessing those three survivors might have discovered some danger below, like a zombie horde? They probably left the second floor and went to the top floor."

"If that’s the case... it means these three people were capable of clearing out all the zombies in the entire building. They’re definitely powerful. We have to be extra careful. Sometimes, people are more terrifying than zombies."

Huang Zhiqiang said, "I get it! The dark forest rule of the apocalypse: assume any other team you meet is an enemy that wants to kill you!"

"Mm, that’s right... Ye Ye, send the robot dog up. See if those three are still there."

"Okay."

Liu Ye’ye sent the robot dog up.

CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-CLACK~

The robot dog’s four wheeled feet moved rapidly through the hallway, even faster than a person.

It quickly reached the twelfth floor and performed a sweeping search. The path was completely clear, with no obstacles at all. It was also very bright, so the entire floor was scanned in no time.

"Senior, the 12th floor... is also empty. No zombies, and no people."

This answer stunned the entire team.

A huge, sealed bank, completely devoid of people.

"Let’s go up."

Yu Dong led the team forward, rushing to the 12th floor.

A sign hung by the entrance: Employee Cafeteria.

The moment they entered the 12th floor,

WHOOSH~~~

a cold wind blew past, carrying a biting chill. The temperature was much lower than on the floors below.

Everyone couldn’t help but shiver.

Huang Zhiqiang took the lead with his Explosive-Proof Shield raised, but there was no one inside.

In the vast cafeteria, there was only a floor covered in blood and scattered trays.

The group searched the cafeteria’s back kitchen but found nothing.

"Really no one..."

Yu Dong looked at the back kitchen. There was a gas stove, many plastic buckets filled with water, some unopened bags of rice and flour, and signs of recent cooking.

Apparently, this was where the three survivors had been eating proper meals.

"That’s weird. Why would they eat on the 12th floor but live on the 2nd? This place... it also looks like it hasn’t been touched in days. The leftovers are moldy."

Huang Zhiqiang rummaged through the things, completely baffled.

"Yeah... We eat on the 5th floor, store our supplies on the 4th and 6th, and sleep nearby. But these three people came all the way up to the 12th floor to cook, then went down to the 2nd to rest... so weird."

Liu Ye’ye also sensed that something was off.

"Forget about where they rested, maybe they just liked climbing stairs for exercise. But... where are the people? Where are the zombies? This is clearly the place where everyone turned at once!"

Zhao Youcai said, pointing at the blood-soaked floor and the scattered trays.

"Over there..."

Yu Dong pointed to a huge hole in the side of the cafeteria, where two large panes of reflective glass had been shattered.

Strong winds and raindrops were whipping inside.

"No wonder it’s so cold... It’s just like being outside."

Zhao Wenjie shivered as he spoke.

Yu Dong walked toward the opening, stood at the edge of the building, and looked down.

Sure enough, there was a pile of zombie corpses on the ground on the first floor.

Closing his eyes, Yu Dong could already picture the scene.

"On the day the zombie virus broke out, at 7:00 PM, the bank was providing dinner for those working overtime... So, almost everyone came to the 12th floor to eat at that time. Then, they suddenly turned! In the chaos and shoving, someone shattered the glass. Maybe they fell out by accident. The huge commotion and the smell of blood below lured all the zombies down. Instantly... it became quiet."

"And the three people who survived only needed to make a little noise to lure the few remaining zombies on the lower floors over and let them jump down too."

"That’s why those three survivors didn’t set up any blockades or defenses. They knew... that everyone who had turned was already outside the building. Dead or crippled, the entire building belonged to the three of them."

"As for why they lived on the 2nd floor, I guess... it’s probably because only the large sofas in the 2nd-floor VIP rooms could be used as beds. The other areas were just offices, not suitable for resting."

After Yu Dong finished his explanation, everyone pictured the scene from that day.

But Zhao Youcai remained cautious. "Then where did the three of them go? There’s still plenty of food here, and this place is so big and safe. You don’t even have to worry about zombies climbing over a wall. If we’d known how great this place was, we should have just snuck in and taken over the building from the start."

Yu Dong frowned at this.

"Then they can only be in the basement."

The basement not only had an underground garage but was also where the entire Yanhai Bank Headquarters’ vault and safes were located.

This was also their destination.

But after taking the stairs down to the basement, the group discovered something extremely strange.

The entrance to the underground garage was blocked by a large number of cabinets. Once they reached the vault, they couldn’t advance any further.

The entire bank had no other exit.

And those three survivors... had simply vanished inside this sealed bank.

Zhou couldn’t help but glance at the vault beside them.

"Those three... they couldn’t be... in there, could they???"