Chapter 59 Part 2

“Who gave you the guts to rob us here?”

“Speak up! Don’t play mute!”

The group bombarded him with questions.

The thief’s eyes darted wildly, unable to keep up. “I… I…”

Finally, Grandpa Zhang stepped forward with his cane, quieting the room.

“I’ll ask.”

“Are you with those other thieves?”

The thief didn’t answer, asking instead, “What happened to them? Where are they?”

“The ones climbing walls? All pushed off and smashed to death downstairs.”

Grandpa Zhang’s tone was gentle—a deliberate act.

“You’re the only one left. If I hadn’t stopped them, they’d have beaten you dead too!”

Lin Zao caught on first: Grandpa Zhang was playing good cop.

He hardened his expression, puffed out his chest, and silently raised his iron stick.

The other neighbors got the hint, some sharpening knives, others baring their teeth.

Grandpa Zhang pressed, “I told them to ask you a few questions. Answer well, and you walk. Otherwise—”

“I’ll answer! I’ll answer!” The thief nodded frantically. “Yes, I’m with them! We live at West Slope Street No. 8. We knew each other before…”

“Why target us? Been scouting long? Anyone else watching this place?”

“I don’t know…”

“You don’t know?!”

Lin Zao swung the iron stick, slamming the end into the concrete floor with a massive clang.

“We… we’ve never been here before. Someone told us Happiness Street by the auto factory has supplies in every house. That’s why we came…”

Right—West Slope Street was a good distance from Happiness Street, at least an hour’s drive.

No one would bother driving over just to case the joint.

“Who told you?”

“I… I don’t know!”

The thief was on the verge of tears.

“Last night, just before dawn, two sedans drove by our place.”

“They were talking as they passed—Happiness Street has supplies, Happiness Street has a big warehouse.”

“We figured we’d try our luck…”

The barbershop two sisters gasped. “Two sedans—one black, one gray?”

“Probably, I didn’t see clearly…”

“Shameless bastards!”

The two sisters and Fat Uncle and Fat Aunt cursed them out.

It was the two cars that had tailed them yesterday.

They’d followed, got driven off, and now spread rumors out of spite.

No wonder!

The two sisters took a deep breath, guilt washing over them.

“Our fault. We led them back, and they learned where we live. Sorry.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t say that. No gas, nowhere else to go—you had to come back.”

“Yeah, and they’d been watching you for days. They knew where you lived already. Hiding wouldn’t help.”

Grandpa Zhang thumped his cane. “No time for apologies now. We need to figure out what’s next.”

The rumors were already out.

No one knew how many people might set their sights on them, coming to steal, rob, or even kidnap.

This batch of thieves certainly wouldn’t be the last.

After everything they’d been through, they had come to understand one thing.

In this apocalyptic world, the threats weren’t just zombies—humans were dangerous too.

And there would be plenty more people showing up soon.

“We—all of us—need to stick together,” Grandpa Zhang said with a sigh, his voice heavy with heartfelt concern.

“Otherwise, we might not make it through this.”

“Agreed!” Lin Zao nodded first, and the other neighbors chimed in their support.

“Yeah!”

“I’ve been thinking the same thing for ages.”

Lin Xiaobao, standing by the window, raised his little hand high.

He didn’t quite follow everything, but he knew one thing—

“I’m all for it!”

“So, what do we do with this thief?” someone asked.

Everyone turned as one to look at the thief.

The thief shrank back, bursting into real tears, snot and all streaming down his face.

“Please, let me go! I swear I didn’t steal anything! I barely climbed in before they spotted me! I didn’t do a thing…”

For the moment, none of the neighbors could think of a good way to deal with him.

Fat Uncle stared at him, thinking it over before speaking up first. His voice was ice-cold, laced with menace.

“Kill him and hang the body at the street entrance. Once others see that, they won’t dare come near. Problem solved.”

The thief nearly wet himself at those words.

“No! Please, no! Spare me! I’ll never steal again… give me a break…”

It was a brutal suggestion, no doubt.

After all, no one there had ever killed a person before—not even a pig.

The idea of murdering and hanging someone terrified them.

Even Fat Uncle, who had proposed it, couldn’t bring himself to do the deed.

Just then, the zombies’ roars echoed from outside the door.

Green Hair spoke up. “How about we toss him out to feed the zombies? That way, we don’t have to get our hands dirty.”

“But what if…” Da Mei objected, “one of them gets in when we open the door?”

“Then carry him up to the roof and drop him from there.”

“Grandpa Zhang’s place is a single-story house. We can’t get to the roof.”

“Killing him and hanging him up isn’t great either. What if the blood draws a horde of zombies? We can’t just defend against people—we have to watch for zombies too.”

“Exactly, exactly!” The thief nodded frantically. “I’d attract all the zombies! Your houses would be swarmed, and you’d all be trapped here to die!”

They couldn’t kill him. They couldn’t throw him out.

So what were they supposed to do?

Silence fell over the group.

They stared at the thief, and he stared back, his face pleading.

After what felt like ages, Lin Zao—who hadn’t joined the discussion—finally spoke.

“Let him go.”

Everyone turned to him in surprise. “Little Lin!”

Lin Zao stood with his arms crossed, gripping the iron stick, his tone flat. “Let him go back and tell everyone that Happiness Street isn’t to be messed with. He and his gang tried stealing here and got wiped out—no survivors.”

That would scare off anyone else.

The neighbors hesitated, huddling together in a tight circle.

“But what if…”

Green Hair lowered his voice.

“What if word gets out and they band together to rob us instead?”

“There probably won’t be that many. Even if there are…”

“I’m not killing anyone anyway. You do it if you want.”

“Me neither.”

“I think Brother Lin’s got a point. Let him go spread the word that we’re not easy pickings. It’ll spook them.”

“But what if it doesn’t?”

“At least it’ll scare off the cowards. Once the message is out, the bold ones who were coming anyway will still show up. Better to send him packing and focus on some defenses.”

Suddenly, Lin Zao spoke again. “I’ll go say a word to him.”

“Hey! Brother Lin!”

Lin Zao approached with the iron stick in his arms, bending down slightly to whisper something in the thief’s ear.

In an instant, the thief’s face—which had started regaining some color—drained white again.

“Alright,” Lin Zao said, straightening up.

“He won’t cause any more trouble now. Guaranteed.”

A few neighbors still hung back, looking to the respected Grandpa Zhang.

Grandpa Zhang pondered for a long moment before nodding. “Listen to Little Lin. Let him go.”

“Okay.”

The thief burst into tears of joy, thanking them profusely. “Thank you! Thank you so much! I’ll turn over a new leaf, I swear!”

The Tri-Colored Trio untied the ropes binding him to the chair and dragged him to the back door of Grandpa Zhang’s house.

“We’re not killing you,” they said. “Whether you escape the zombies is up to you.”

“I…”

The thief hesitated again.

The noise had drawn a dozen or so zombies of all sizes, men, women, young, and old. They shuffled around near Grandpa Zhang’s and Lin Zao’s houses.

It was pitch black outside, rain pouring down. The water seemed to slow their movements a bit.

Even so, getting past them wouldn’t be easy.

“Wait… let me out later, please…”

“Quit your yowling. The more you howl, the more excited they get.”

The Tri-Colored Trio held him firm while the Two Sisters twisted the lock and cracked the door open just a sliver.

With a creak, the back door swung open.

Several zombies whipped their heads around at the sound.

The next second, the thief squeezed through the gap and bolted in the opposite direction.

He didn’t dare yell or shout, just ran for his life.

Fu Cheng stood by the window, his face darkening, eyes like ice as he let out a low growl.

In the following instant, all the zombies lurched into motion, shambling after him with flailing limbs.

The thief clenched his jaw tight, silent as he dashed past the street corner.

Lin Zao and the others didn’t watch any longer. Whatever happened next was on him.

If he survived, good for him.

Grandpa Zhang gripped his cane tighter and sighed.

“Tonight’s going to be a long one. Sleepless for sure.”

“We need to get ready for any thieves or robbers who might show up,” Lin Zao said, nodding as he thought aloud.

“Post two people at the highest spot to keep a sharp eye on both ends of the street—like lookouts. The second anyone approaches, yell the alarm.”

“Scatter thumbtacks or glass shards along the streets leading in. If they drive up, it’ll blow their tires. Put some on the windowsills too, to stop climbers.”

“Or if anyone has iron bars or sandbags, block the street entirely!”

Red Hair jumped in. “I’ll drive the minivan over to barricade it.”

“No can do,” someone said. “The minivan’s too valuable. What if they trash it in a rage? How do we get around then?”

“We need junk for that.”

“But we don’t have any.”

The neighbors all shook their heads.

Who kept iron bars at home? They weren’t running a prison.

“Then glass shards it is,” Grandpa Zhang decided. “The convenience store has empty liquor and soda bottles. Smash ’em up and use those.”

“Got it.”

With a quick plan in place, everyone sprang into action.

Lin Zao’s house and Fat Uncle and Fat Aunt’s were the only three-story buildings on the street, so those became the lookouts for now.

Lin Zao planned to have Fu Cheng and Little Bao watch from upstairs, while Fat Aunt kept an eye out at the other place.

They loaded empty bottles into crates, smashed them to bits, and scattered the glass shards at both ends of the street.

It had been overcast yesterday and today, with rain still falling.

The solar streetlights were flickering, running low on power.

The shards blended into the rain-slicked, pitch-black road—nearly invisible.

With defenses set, everyone headed home to change clothes, grab weapons, and brace for whatever came.

As they parted, Grandpa Zhang called out to Lin Zao.

“Little Lin.”

“Yeah?” Lin Zao turned.

“What did you say to that thief?”

The other neighbors perked up, curiosity piqued as they looked his way.

“Yeah, Brother Lin! What’d you tell him? You scared him half to death.”

Lin Zao pressed his lips together, glancing toward Fu Cheng at the window. He flashed him a polite smile.

“I told him—my husband is the boxing champion. If he’s got the guts, come back and try his luck.”