Reborn as the Doomsday Tycoon: My Zombie Apocalypse Harem

Xiao Yang slammed the armored RV's door shut, the vehicle's floodlights bleaching the snow around Seaview Restaurant's boarded entrance. Two sharp horn blasts tore through the frozen silence. No response.

"Dead or gone?" He traced the restaurant's ice-encrusted security gate with a gloved finger. "Either way, we're checking."

Mu Wanqing followed him into the -25°C windchill, their synchronized pounding on the steel shutter echoing like gunshots. "Sister Lu! Can you hear us?"

Second Floor Storage Room

The lookout's frostbitten face pressed against the grimy window. "Boss! Some punk in a war machine RV's here for the chef! Got a prime-cut chick with him!"

The gang leader spat baijiu onto frozen floorboards. "Two lambs delivered to wolves." His yellowed teeth gleamed. "Lao Wu - play doorman. Lao Er, gag the chef. Rest of you - positions!"

Behind duct-taped lips, Lu You's eyes widened at the engine rumble below. Steel chair legs screeched as she kicked warning signals through floor vents.

Main Entrance

The security gate rattled upward, revealing a humanoid scarecrow reeking of grain alcohol. Lao Wu's bloodshot eyes raked over Mu Wanqing's snow-dusted figure. "Manager Lu's...indisposed."

Xiao Yang noted the man's military surplus boots - standard issue for local thugs. "Take us to her."

As the gate clanged shut behind them, Mu Wanqing's nails dug into Xiao Yang's arm. The thug's lingering stare triggered primal alarm bells. "He's..."

"Noted." Xiao Yang's elbow brushed her side in tactical shorthand.

Stairwell Ambush

Lao Wu's liquor-roughened voice echoed off moldy walls. "Careful steps - ice patch ahead."

Crash!

The staged shattering of crockery above made Mu Wanqing jump. Lao Wu's grin widened. "Clumsy woman, eh?"

Mu Wanqing's instincts screamed. Years of evading campus predators had honed her predator radar. "Upstairs isn't safe," she whispered.

Xiao Yang's hand drifted toward his parka's inner pocket. "Stay behind me."

Second Floor Hallway

Lao Wu's combat boots scuffed linoleum - three steps, pause, two steps. Xiao Yang's neural combat clock ticked: Ambush within 5 meters.

The gang leader exploded from a seafood freezer, meat cleaver raised. Xiao Yang's survival knife materialized mid-spin, blade finding femoral artery with surgical precision.

"Fucking ambush!" The leader collapsed, hot blood steaming on permafrost floor tiles.

Lao Wu's haymaker swung wild. Xiao Yang's boot crushed his kneecap with audible crack. "Door codes. Now."

Hostage Standoff

Lao Er pressed a jagged baijiu bottle to Lu You's throat. "Drop the blade or I'll-"

Xiao Yang's knife kissed the gang leader's jugular. "Your boss bleeds out in ninety seconds." He pressed harder, crimson droplets patterning the chef's white uniform. "Choose."

The standoff held for seven agonizing breaths before Lao Er's resolve shattered. "Take the bitch! Just stop the bleeding!"

Lu You collapsed against a stainless steel counter, fingers instinctively closing around a boning knife handle. Her chef's glare promised culinary vengeance.

Aftermath

Xiao Yang zip-tied the whimpering gang members with aircraft cable. "Should've stuck to shaking down college kids."

Lu You stared at her blood-splattered menu board, three-star Michelin credentials glaring beneath gang graffiti. "You came back...for leftovers?"

"Need someone who can turn canned goods into banquets." Xiao Yang tossed her a trauma kit. "Can you walk?"

Mu Wanqing helped steady the chef, their gloved hands brushing. No psychic flashes - just two survivors sharing body heat against the endless winter.