Chapter 62: Underground, Used by the Fat Mouse

She looked at that 4S dealership—a square, modern storefront with floor-to-ceiling glass walls. Through the glass, she could vaguely make out golden curtains and rows of sleek, powerful new cars, but couldn’t see much further inside.

The place oozed modernity, its minimalist, imposing decor completely out of place with the surroundings. Not only that, but the repair shop in front was also far too large for such a small area.

Even if, before the apocalypse, this new district was meant to become an important hub, it still didn’t make sense for a dealership and workshop of this scale to be tucked away in such a remote spot.

She glanced at Yue Li and his companion. They were clearly trying not to attract attention. Was there some secret here?

She crouched down and poked at Milk’s plump, soft neck, whispering, “Hey, did you drag me here just to watch them fight over loot?”

The mouse darted its eyes around, then glared anxiously at Liu Meng’s group. Suddenly, it let out a sharp, piercing squeal—“Squeak! Squeak!”—not loud, but so high-pitched it was like a knife. Its fur bristled. Bian Changxi couldn’t help but cover her ears, and then she saw mutated rats begin to emerge from various corners.

“Squeak!”

“Squeak squeak!”

The fat mouse called out, and the mutated rats responded. As if receiving orders, their red eyes widened, fangs dripping with saliva, and they charged at Liu Meng and the 4S dealership.

Bian Changxi’s eyes widened.

She’d suspected that with Milk around, other mutated rats wouldn’t dare approach, which explained why she hadn’t seen any on the way here. But now it seemed this little guy could actually command its own kind.

She looked at Milk with newfound amazement.

Liu Meng’s group was scared out of their wits by the sudden swarm of mutated rats. They scattered in panic, and even Yue Li and his companion, who had already entered the dealership, fled moments later, chased by the rats in utter disarray.

Meanwhile, the fat mouse sprawled out on the ground, limbs splayed, belly heaving, barely able to breathe.

Bian Changxi carefully scooped it up. It felt boneless, its fur slick with sweat, as if soaked. It raised its tired eyes and whimpered weakly at her, then pointed a short paw toward the dealership.

She sighed helplessly, glanced around, and dashed toward the 4S shop.

The dealership was indeed huge, filled with flashy, high-end cars that dazzled even someone like Bian Changxi, who knew nothing about cars. But she didn’t linger. Guided by the mouse, she headed to a back lounge—a dim little room. The moment she entered, several pairs of blood-red eyes glared at her.

Startled, she looked closer and realized they were mutated rats. They eyed her, or rather, the Milk in her arms, and let out a few low, submissive growls before turning back to gnaw at the floorboards in the corner.

Bian Changxi confirmed they wouldn’t harm her or Milk, but still stayed alert, quietly flicking off her gun’s safety. She saw the floor had been gnawed into a jagged hole, with a faint light shining up from below.

“No way, is there really a hidden treasure underground?” This was straight out of a wuxia drama. Bian Changxi felt a bit awkward.

“Awooo!” The fat mouse, a bit recovered, jumped from her arms and called to her at the hole before leaping down. Bian Changxi hurried over and saw something drop below, then heard another “awoo” as if urging her to follow.

She estimated the drop—about five or six meters. Grabbing the edge, she lowered herself in, then let go and landed on the ground. Despite her good form, the impact left her legs numb and she landed on her butt. Her body just wasn’t strong enough yet.

She looked up—and was stunned by what she saw.

The underground space was enormous, lit by rows of vintage, dim lamps powered by their own circuits, still glowing after all this time.

It was like a giant showroom. Behind her was a tightly shut door—the main entrance, she guessed. Ahead, a staircase with golden, icy handrails led down to the main floor, where all sorts of vehicles were displayed.

Bian Changxi was amazed. Was this the dealership’s warehouse? Or a private showroom for VIP clients?

She looked up at the eight-meter-high steel ceiling, hung with ornate chandeliers. Only the hole she’d come through showed exposed concrete and wood, likely from disrepair—otherwise, no mutated rat could have chewed through.

“Woo…”

She wandered through, dazzled—sports cars, off-roaders, trucks, Beetles, stretch limos, even a massive luxury RV. Every type of vehicle was here, all heavily modified.

“Yue Li and Su Chensi must be after these,” she muttered. “But if that’s the case, why sneak in?”

“Woo woo woo…”

A frantic cry from behind a car caught her attention. Milk was jumping up and down in front of a wall, trying to reach a power switch.

“What are you doing?”

Milk tugged her pant leg, dragging her over, then pointed at the switch and squeaked insistently.

“You want the lights on? But if they come on, people upstairs will notice—”

Before she could finish, Milk had already climbed up her leg and shoulder, leaping to press the switch.

But instead of the chandeliers lighting up, a rectangular outline appeared on the wall. Circuits lit up along its edges, and with a mechanical whir, a section of wall sank in and slid aside—like something out of a sci-fi movie.

Bian Changxi jumped back two meters, gun raised in alarm.

A shadow, as if waiting behind the door all along, lunged out the moment the wall opened.

Bang, bang, bang! Bian Changxi recognized a zombie and fired without hesitation. In her rush, she didn’t hit any vital spots, only slowing it down with shots to the chest.

She scrambled away, grabbing a car’s roof rack and vaulting on top, firing two more shots—one hit its shoulder, the other missed.

Now she could see it clearly: a hulking male zombie, face rotten beyond recognition, clothes stained with blood and gore. It looked like a prison uniform, and his head was nearly shaved.

Her heart skipped. Was this guy a convict before?

A prison uniform—he’d likely escaped.

She glanced into the room behind the wall. It was dim and filthy, with blood and corpses on the floor, but no more zombies or people.

As she pondered, the zombie roared and smashed a car door, trying to shake her down.

She lost her balance and fell—luckily, on the far side of the car.

Through the undercarriage, she saw the zombie’s feet. Instantly, she switched to a large-caliber sniper rifle—one Gu Xu had given her, along with a pistol. After their supermarket escape and recent battles, Gu Xu’s gun stash was running low, but he’d still generously given her two guns. Shadow had also given her a custom pistol. The pistol was easy to carry; she pretended to keep the sniper in her suitcase, but actually kept it handy.

Lying prone, she barely needed to aim—one shot, and the zombie’s ankle exploded, sending it crashing down.

She quickly got up, walked over, and finished it with a shot to the head.

She let out a long breath.

Guns really made a difference. Without one, this huge zombie could have killed her.

“Woo…” Milk ran over, calling to her, but this time Bian Changxi ignored it, shooting it a cold look before turning to enter the hidden room.

She was shocked. The space was much smaller than the showroom, but still about a hundred square meters. On the left were piles of goods wrapped in woven sacks; on the right, stacks of wooden crates. In the corner stood a single bed and a table with two laptops in screen-saver mode, plus some scattered parts. The corpse lay slumped at the table, blood everywhere.

She guessed the two had been companions—one turned, killed and ate the other.

What shocked her most was the wall covered in real weapons—firearms, vintage cold weapons, bows, crossbows, blood-grooved throwing knives, long heavy swords—all glinting under the dim light.

What kind of place was this?

She checked the goods and was even more stunned: the sacks seemed to contain high-powered plastic explosives, and the crates were filled with guns and ammo.

Combined with the zombie convict outside, she guessed this was a criminal gang’s hideout. The dealership and showroom were just a front.

The thought chilled her. If there were still people here who hadn’t turned, barging in like this could have been fatal.

She pressed her lips together and went back out, feeling a surge of anger. The “light switch” she’d thought was for the chandelier was actually a metal panel that had popped out of the wall. The mechanism had been exposed by Milk, who’d chewed up the carpet and floorboards, revealing the machinery underneath.

She sneered at the now-cowering Milk. “You’re really something, using me as your gun. And I’m so stupid—I let my guard down just because you act cute and dumb. I should know, the more powerful something is, the more dangerous—even if it’s just an animal.”

“Woo…” Milk shrank back.

“Who’s your master?” Bian Changxi asked, then laughed. “What am I doing, talking to you? Whatever, I’m done with this!”

She turned to leave.

Milk tried to bite her pant leg to stop her.

Bian Changxi kicked it away, almost stomping it to death, but finally just summoned a long vine to wrap it up like a cocoon, leaving only its mouth and nose exposed. Milk didn’t resist at all.

She tossed it into her storage, still fuming. Looking at the dazzling cars and the mountain of explosives and weapons—enough to arm a whole battalion—her anger only grew. Suddenly, she began running, sweeping all the vehicles into her storage in a few breaths, leaving the showroom empty.

She went back to the small room, taking all the explosives, guns, weapons, even the bed, table, and laptops—anything she could carry.

She’d fired seven shots—four pistol rounds lodged in the zombie, one in the floor, and two sniper rounds through the zombie into the ground. A professional could glean a lot from these ballistics. Not wanting to leave a trace, she hacked up the bullet marks with a fire axe until nothing was left.

She carefully wiped her fingerprints from the switch and metal handrails, reset the wall and switch.

Who knew if it would help, but she was dealing with the mouse’s possible master and a criminal gang—better safe than sorry.

All that was left was the zombie corpse. She didn’t bother digging out its crystal core, just stuffed it into her storage.

Then she went to the hole in the ceiling, pulled out a metal hook and vine from her storage, hooked the edge, and struggled to climb up. Outside, the mutated beasts were still there—without Milk, they’d lost their fear. As soon as she emerged, they bared their fangs and lunged.

She braced herself with one arm, drew her sword with the other, swung it to drive them back, then dashed away without engaging, heading for the exit.

Crap, someone was killing rats out front! She peeked out—it was Yue Li, Liu Meng, and others. She quickly slipped out the back door, into the yard, checked that it was empty, ran, vaulted the wall, and dropped down the other side.

Whew—she exhaled, dusted herself off, got her bearings, and hurried away from this mess."