Seeing that Lambert had dealt with the fallen mutated creature, Shao Ming swung his baseball bat in a smooth arc, knocking the small mutated creature flying through the air.
Before they could catch their breath, more mutated creatures emerged from the houses around them. The moment they spotted the three in the middle of the street, they charged at them furiously.
"Run!" Shao Ming shouted in Chinese without thinking. But Lambert was already sprinting.
Shao Ming drew his handgun and took down the closest mutated creature, covering their retreat as they moved back toward the house.
He fired several more shots, aiming at the approaching mutated creatures.
"Quick, move!" Feng Yusheng shouted, crouching by the door.
Shao Ming turned and dashed into the house. Feng Yusheng quickly slammed the door shut behind him. A mutated creature rammed the door, sending Feng Yusheng stumbling backward in fear.
There was no time to hesitate; the trio quickly darted for the back door.
Shao Ming was the last one out. He pushed over some nearby cabinets, praying that they would slow down the creatures.
Just as they exited through the back door, the front door and windows were both smashed open, and a flood of mutated creatures poured inside.
Shao Ming turned around and fired two shots, hitting one creature in the chest, but the bullets had little effect.
The three of them jumped into the field, but the mutated creatures were relentlessly chasing them.
Normal humans, without assistance, couldn't keep up a full sprint for long. But the mutated creatures could. By the time the three had run a short distance across the field, their speed had slowed considerably.
Shao Ming glanced back, ready to shoot, but saw that the mutated creatures in the field had spread out too much, moving too fast. Even stopping to aim wouldn't guarantee a hit.
"Over there!" Lambert shouted. "There's a warehouse by the train station!"
Shao Ming glanced over. At the edge of the field, through a line of trees, he could see the corner of a white warehouse.
Compared to running two kilometers back to the train, taking refuge in the warehouse seemed like a much better option.
"Are you sure we can get in?" Feng Yusheng asked, panting as she ran.
"Usually..." Lambert said, breathlessly, "That warehouse is open."
Shao Ming looked back again. The mutated creatures were getting closer.
The trio climbed up a small embankment, with the creatures hot on their heels.
Shao Ming stopped, turned around, and fired several quick shots, dropping a few creatures that had reached the embankment.
At such close range, barely a meter or two from the creatures, there was no need to aim precisely.
Just as he was about to keep shooting, his handgun clicked empty.
He quickly swapped in a new magazine and reloaded, firing once more at an approaching creature.
Alongside the embankment was a road, and across it lay the warehouse that Lambert had mentioned.
Seeing that the creatures behind them had been cleared out for the moment, Shao Ming hurried to catch up with his companions, making a beeline for the warehouse.
As they reached the warehouse, the large metal doors stood wide open, just as Lambert had said. But now, Shao Ming understood why the doors were rarely closed.
They were massive, about five centimeters thick and more than three meters high, and closing them was a hassle.
Lambert was the first to reach the doors. He pushed hard, trying to shut the heavy metal doors.
Even though the doors had wheels at the bottom, they closed incredibly slowly. The other door could only be closed from the inside by pulling it—if they didn't hurry, they'd be locked out.
Feng Yusheng hurried to the other side and began pulling the door shut. Shao Ming didn't join them, as the mutated creatures were already climbing up the embankment.
The distance to the road was manageable, so Shao Ming tried to steady his breathing, firing quickly at three creatures that had climbed up the embankment.
The creatures were relentless, continuously rushing up, and soon, his magazine was empty again.
Shao Ming swapped out his last magazine just as he heard Feng Yusheng's voice.
"Shao Ming, look out behind you!"
He turned around just in time to see a mutated creature charge out from behind the warehouse, running straight at him.
Without thinking, Shao Ming spun around and fired. But the shot missed, the bullet grazing the creature's scalp.
The creature pounced on him, knocking him to the ground.
His backpack took the brunt of the fall, saving him for the moment, but his handgun was knocked away.
Without thinking, Shao Ming drew his knife from his waist and drove it into the mutated creature's temple.
He quickly rolled over, grabbed his handgun, but it was too late to stand. Lying flat on the ground, Shao Ming fired several more shots, taking down a few more creatures.
Lambert finally managed to close the first door, and he rushed over to help Feng Yusheng shut the other side.
Shao Ming cursed under his breath. It was obvious that he needed help more than they did.
He scrambled to his feet and continued firing at the mutated creatures.
His ammo ran out quickly again, and Shao Ming tossed his empty handgun aside, grabbing his baseball bat to continue fighting.
Just as he threw down the empty weapon and pulled out his bat, the warehouse door was finally starting to close.
Without waiting for the others to warn him, Shao Ming sprinted toward the door.
As it was about to close completely, one mutated creature charged in, getting caught at the door.
"Get out of the way!" Shao Ming yelled, raising his bat and slamming it into the creature's head, sending it flying.
The door finally slammed shut, plunging the warehouse into darkness.
Outside, the sounds of creatures slamming against the door and their angry roars echoed, but the creatures had no way of getting inside now.
Shao Ming pulled out a flashlight and switched it on, scanning the large warehouse. The beam landed on a small room on the second floor.
"Let's head up there," Shao Ming said.
The warehouse was filled with mechanical materials and supplies. Shao Ming grabbed a long metal rod from a large box and handed it to Feng Yusheng.
She took the rod, using it as a makeshift cane to support herself.
Shao Ming had originally meant it as a weapon, but after a brief thought, he kept that to himself—it could be used as a cane if she needed it.
The trio made their way up the stairs to the second floor. Rather than being a full second floor, it was a small room built along one side of the warehouse, overlooking the main area. The room had several windows that gave a clear view of the warehouse.
Once inside, Shao Ming tossed his backpack onto the desk and took a seat. Feng Yusheng and Lambert followed suit, each finding a chair. No one spoke.
The adrenaline rush from moments ago had faded, and now, the aches in their bodies were becoming more noticeable. If they had been even slightly less fit, they might not have made it out.
Shao Ming looked around with his flashlight. To his surprise, the small office had a water dispenser, fully stocked with water.
They each drank a little and took a brief rest.
They hadn't brought any food on this trip, and now that they were trapped in the warehouse, there was nothing to eat.
Feng Yusheng remained in the office, searching for anything useful, while Shao Ming and Lambert headed downstairs to search the warehouse.