"Heh, that gun's useless without bullets!" Tang Ying sneered.
Xiao Yang's eyebrow twitched. This woman's really pushing it. He stepped forward until their noses almost touched, his breath warm against her face. "Even without bullets, it's still hard. Want me to jab you and see how much it hurts?"
Tang Ying's cheeks flushed as his innuendo sank in. She shoved him away and raised her pistol. "Back off. Accidents happen."
A scream suddenly echoed from upstairs. Both froze, then bolted toward the source.
In the office where Xiao Jiang and Xiao Liu had been, Mu Wanqing and the others stood grimly. Blood pooled on the floor. The male officer's corpse lay with a gaping head wound, while Xiao Jiang clutched her torn throat. The K-9 Yangyang whimpered, licking her paling face.
"The male turned and bit her before we could stop him," Mu Wanqing explained. "I had to put him down."
Tang Ying collapsed beside Xiao Jiang, pressing a hand to the gushing wound. "I told you to protect yourself first!" she choked out.
"He… was my partner," Xiao Jiang rasped. "Couldn't…" Her eyes glazed as veins began creeping up her neck. "Don't… let me… become… them."
"Out. Now." Tang Ying's order left no room for argument.
The gunshot that followed made everyone flinch. When Tang Ying emerged minutes later, her eyes were red but dry. She wordlessly handed pistols to Mu Wanqing and Lin Shishi.
"Your colleagues' guns. Protect yourselves."
"We don't know how—"
"Everyone has a first time," Tang Ying cut in, echoing Xiao Yang's earlier words as she stalked toward the second floor.
Xiao Yang trailed her through empty corridors until she whirled on him. "Following me to mock my failures?"
Before he could retort, guttural groans echoed from an office. They kicked open the door to find a uniformed zombie lunging—Xiao Yang's blade split its skull mid-leap.
"Rescue team?!" A voice shouted from a hidden panic room. A smug-faced officer in pristine uniform emerged. "Tang Ying! You came for me!"
Her expression iced over. "Glad you're alive, Comrade Li Yang. But don't flatter yourself."