In the blink of an eye, the streets were swarming with zombies, making it impossible to tell where there was a way out.

"Bang—"

Claire Harris had already stretched his long legs, easily leaping onto the car roof amidst a hail of bullets. Ryan Bennett could almost hear the sound of him stepping onto the steel roof.

He wielded Shenmian, unleashing full firepower, blasting a circle of flesh and gore around the squad as the center.

Everyone caught their breath for a brief moment.

Emily Thompson followed suit, jumping onto another car, firing as he shouted wildly, "Captain Harris! There are more and more of them!! What do we do?!"

Claire Harris's long brows furrowed, pupils contracting: "Front left, the convenience store!"

Most of the shops on the street were destroyed, making the convenience store with its iron gate stand out.

More and more zombies were drawn by the gunfire, and those close by kept surging toward the living, relentless.

Amid the blood and scattered corpses, no one cared what they stepped on—they just broke through desperately in the direction Claire Harris had indicated.

David Ford and Helen Ford took up positions on the left and right, with William Cooper charging at the front.

With Claire Harris and Emily Thompson holding the high ground, they quickly cleared a bloody path.

Ryan Bennett wiped the blood from his face—they had already reached the convenience store entrance.

Someone cursed, "It's locked!"

Years of tacit understanding made Eric Morgan act without hesitation—he raised his gun and shot the store's ID panel. A piercing alarm blared, and the iron gate outside the glass door was already being pried open by William Cooper!

Ryan Bennett looked back and saw Claire Harris had jumped down from the car roof, rolling to cushion his landing and dodging the swarming zombies, striding quickly toward them.

Claire Harris's face was cold as frost. As he walked, he fired and roared, "Emily Thompson! Are you fucking done yet?!"

Emily Thompson's eyes were bloodshot, cursing as he fired at the zombies climbing onto the car roof around him.

Claire Harris's shout snapped Emily Thompson out of it. He glanced at his teammates rushing toward the convenience store: "I'll cover them a bit more! Go!"

Claire Harris reached the convenience store entrance. With his astonishing strength, he joined William Cooper, and together they forced the iron gate open just enough for someone to duck through!

"Ah—!"

What they didn't expect was that almost as soon as the iron gate was opened, five or six zombies with ashen eyes and pale faces burst out from inside the convenience store, moving as fast as rabid dogs, charging straight at them!

"Bang bang bang bang bang!!"

A volley of gunshots, and bodies fell everywhere.

Every bullet was a perfect headshot.

Everyone was stunned: "!!!"

Standing right at the entrance, Ryan Bennett's face was covered in blood, making his expression unreadable.

Both hands gripped the Diamond Bird, and the recoil from the rapid shots left Ryan Bennett's arms numb and trembling slightly.

The last corpse lay at his feet, eyes wide open, a bullet hole dead center in its brow.

Claire Harris was stunned for a moment too, but quickly snapped back and ordered, "Clear the entrance, get inside and shut the door!!"

This was no time for jokes. Eric Morgan immediately dragged the bodies aside and rolled in, followed by a completely transformed, unrecognizable Ryan Bennett.

Neither dared relax for a second. Once inside, they raised their guns and quickly swept the area.

The convenience store was a mess—most of the shelves were empty, as if it had just been looted. Other than that, there were no more zombies inside; it was relatively safe.

Amid the gunfire and screams, Emily Thompson was the third to roll into the store.

Next came William Cooper and Claire Harris.

Corpses piled up. Claire Harris kicked away a zombie that had crawled in, finishing it off with another shot. But the presence of the living was attracting more and more zombies. They pressed in at the entrance, frantically trying to squeeze inside. Blood and brain matter splattered everywhere, turning the convenience store entrance into a sea of corpses. The iron gate rattled violently, as if it would collapse at any moment!

Just as everyone at the entrance was about to give out, Helen Ford was finally shoved into the store by David Ford.

Helen Ford's hair was soaked with blood. He turned and shouted, "Bro! Get in!!"

David Ford was just outside the door, his face covered in blood. After pushing Helen Ford inside, he suddenly yanked the iron gate down, locking himself outside!

Everyone was shocked!

"David Ford—"

Claire Harris abruptly dropped Shenmian, raising both arms to lift the iron gate, but in that split second, he saw David Ford raise his right hand and wipe the blood from his face.

Three fingers on that right hand were missing, the bite marks bleeding profusely.

Just like that mutated woman earlier, blue, web-like veins began to creep across David Ford's young face, and his bright, resolute eyes turned grayish-white at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Countless zombies crowded behind David Ford, swarming to tear at him.

He remained unmoved.

"Bro!!!" A desperate wail echoed from inside the store. Witnessing everything, Helen Ford lunged toward the door like a wounded beast.

Teammates held Helen Ford back, all their eyes bloodshot.

Outside, David Ford's eyes turned completely cloudy. In just a few seconds, everything that made him who he was disappeared. He let out a guttural "ahh ahh" and, together with the zombies locked outside, began to slam and pound crazily at the iron gate.

He had become one of the zombies.

"Bro!!!" Helen Ford was pinned to the ground by his teammates, the six-foot-tall man sobbing his heart out, "Bro!!!"