Chapter 1

I was just about to turn the doorknob when my hand suddenly froze mid-air.

The live comments wouldn't stop popping up before my eyes.

"The bastards are going to barge in as soon as you open the door for them! You'll never get rid of them once they're inside!"

"They will insist on playing loud music and games during the height of the zombie outbreak! And they won't stop even when you tell them to!"

"They're also going to eat up all of your rations and then eat your pets too!"

"Don't you ever open that door! It's your last line of defense against them!"

The knocking on the other side of the door continued, and my vision somehow felt like it had just been attacked by a virus with how the live comments kept popping up non-stop.

Yet, all of them warned me not to open the door at all costs.

I carefully withdrew my hand, feeling my heart thumping loudly in my chest.

I had been living alone on the third floor of this old apartment complex. Almost everyone else in the block had already left, and I was one of the last few people to still be living here, and it was all because of this door.

After having my place robbed a few years ago, I spent a fortune having this military-grade steel security door installed.

If my boyfriend, Valerio Petrucci, really brought those debt collectors with him, then I was never going to open the door for them at all. However, I had no way of confirming whether what the comments were saying was true.

The apartment didn't allow cameras to be installed in the corridors. Even the peephole in the door seemed to have been blocked by something in the way.

After hesitating for a bit, I pressed my ear against the door, thinking of listening to the situation outside. But other than the urgent knocking and the occasional zombie roar, I wasn't able to hear anything at all.

I was just about to step back when the knocking suddenly stopped.

Valerio's familiar voice came from the other side of the door, sounding a little confused.

"Gemma? Are you in there? Didn't you say that I was always welcome to seek shelter with you? Why aren't you opening the door for me?"

I pressed my ear to the door once more.

I didn't hear anyone else next to him. It sounded more like Valerio just muttering to himself.

He soon sent me a text message.

"Babe, it's dangerous out here. Hurry up and let me in the door!"

I took a deep breath and decided to call him on FaceTime.

However, he rejected the request almost immediately.

My heart sank. Why wasn't Valerio picking up? He had also previously rejected another request from me earlier.

Back then, he told me that he was on a business trip and it wasn't convenient for him to answer my calls. But in reality, he had simply been seeing off his first love at the airport while she went abroad for a trip.

I was still wondering how to respond to him when he texted me again.

"Babe, there are all sorts of creatures out here. I'm worried that FaceTime will just lure them to us. Can't you just let me in? Please?"

I stared at the screen and typed in my reply.

"Then, send me a photo of the corridor."

There was complete silence on his end for a whole minute.

Then, he replied.

"My camera got smashed just now while I was running away from the zombies."

With his reply, I was very sure now that Valerio was lying to me. It was just as the live comments had warned—that he'd brought his debt collectors with him this time.