There was nothing strange about the sun setting. The rotation of the sun and moon, the alternation of day and night—these were natural laws that occurred every day.
But the problem was that the four of them were currently inside a commercial building with a complex maze of corridors and stairs, where every corner was infested with zombies.
Once it turned dark, visibility would plummet. Their field of vision would narrow, making it much harder to spot zombies and even more difficult to scavenge for supplies.
The most troublesome part was that if night fell before they could secure the car, they would be forced to drive through a modern city with a completely paralyzed power grid and no streetlights.
Bai Mu could already imagine the road conditions on the streets outside. They definitely would not be empty and smooth. He was certain that a significant number of intersections would be completely blocked by flipped vehicles from massive pile-ups, rendering them impassable.
He had more than enough experience with this. After all, ten years ago, he had fled from a major city himself.
Back then, he had always made it a rule to move during the day whenever possible. Only with sunlight could he see far enough ahead to avoid those congested intersections within the city.
When it was about to get dark, he would find an empty park or park by the side of the road in advance, only continuing his journey the following morning.
If he had no choice but to travel at night, he would have to turn on the headlights. However, the headlights could only illuminate a couple of hundred meters ahead. If he took a wrong turn into a densely packed zombie area or ended up in a dead-end alley where turning around was impossible, the situation would become incredibly dire.
And in this Journey of Death Script, the light and the roar of a car engine would undoubtedly attract those sensitive zombies, causing the danger level to skyrocket.
The best-case scenario was to drive off the main streets before dark, find a safe place to camp and rest, and then take turns keeping watch until dawn.
To achieve this, they had to hurry. Yet, the other three people in the team did not seem to have realized the severity of the situation.
Misty Rain Traveler, who was leading the way, was still walking at a snail's pace. She moved with extreme caution, checking her surroundings with every step, her attention entirely focused on staying alert for zombies.
Bai Mu had no choice but to step forward and tap Misty Rain Traveler on the shoulder.
Misty Rain Traveler looked over in confusion. According to their agreement, Bai Mu could not speak and had to rely on gestures to communicate with their temporary commander. Thus, he pointed toward the sky outside the left railing.
Misty Rain Traveler glanced at the glow of the setting sun and seemed to realize something. Bai Mu then pointed at a decorative hanging clock on the railing of the small plaza. As the D-grade Player stared at the stagnant clock hands, her pupils abruptly contracted. It appeared she had understood Bai Mu's warning.
Time—that word instantly surfaced in Misty Rain Traveler's mind.
For this Journey of Death, the most difficult part of the first stage of the Main Quest was not finding gasoline, nor was it playing hide-and-seek with zombies. It was racing against time.
Whether they could successfully drive the car away before dark would almost certainly be the deciding factor in their survival rate for the first night.
Misty Rain Traveler immediately stopped in her tracks. She realized that if they continued dawdling like this, the situation would only get worse. Fortunately, someone had reminded her.
She had not thought this far ahead. Or rather, she might have only realized it when the sky grew even darker, but by then, it would have been too late.
She turned around, waving the brothers Great Northern Wilderness and Nancheng Port over, and led the squad to an open area near the clock.
The four of them were on the third floor of the mall. Looking down through the iron railings, they could see a car parked in the small plaza. It was adorned with colorful ribbons. Although dust and rain stains covered the chassis and ribbons, it was still clear that it was likely the grand prize of some promotional event. The car keys were displayed in a prominent glass case right in front of the vehicle.
This was the escape vehicle Paradise had prepared for them. Within their line of sight, about a dozen zombies were standing in the shadows facing the walls, motionless and spacing out like statues.
Bai Mu noticed moss growing on the skin of some of the zombies. Their flesh had rotted into mush. There was no telling how long they had been standing there.
Speaking of which, he hadn't seen any zombies in the sunlight. Did these creatures have an innate aversion to light?
While Bai Mu was observing the details of the zombies, Misty Rain broke the silence with a low voice.
"Sorry, we need to revise our plan."
"What do you mean?" Great Northern Wilderness was a bit confused. "Did something happen?"
"It's getting dark." Misty Rain pointed at the sky. "If Bai hadn't reminded me, I really wouldn't have thought about it. If we haven't left the building before nightfall, it's going to be extremely dangerous."
"Now that you mention it, searching for things in the mall after dark will be a bit troublesome." Great Northern Wilderness understood Misty Rain's concerns.
"Not just that," Bai Mu added. "After leaving the building, we still have to drive the car out of the city. We won't be able to see the road once it gets dark."
Great Northern Wilderness rubbed his chin, furrowing his brow.
"I have an idea," Misty Rain suggested. "Let's split up into two groups."
Misty Rain Traveler pointed to the left and right sides of the corridor. The cinema was located right in the center of the mall, with paths and staircases leading downstairs on both sides.
"Let's lower the priority of everything other than gasoline and focus entirely on finding fuel. We'll make our way from the third floor down to the first, then regroup at the small plaza on the ground floor."
"If anyone finds gasoline, bring it over. If the gasoline is in a dangerous spot and two people aren't confident they can retrieve it safely, still head to the small plaza to meet up. Then, the four of us will gather and get it together."
Great Northern Wilderness frowned tightly. After a few seconds, he agreed, "That works. My brother and I will form one group. We have good teamwork."
"Alright." Misty Rain nodded and looked at Bai Mu. "It works out perfectly. I have a high Grade, so I'll team up with Bai, who has the lowest Grade."
"Who goes left, and who goes right?" Nancheng Port suddenly asked.
"Bro, it doesn't really matter, right?" Great Northern Wilderness replied.
"Brother Wilderness, I think it actually does matter a bit." Bai Mu pointed downstairs. "Look at the zombies in the plaza. Aren't they all hiding in the shadows?"
"You're right." Great Northern Wilderness leaned over to take a look.
"I've been observing them since we left the cinema. Not a single zombie is standing in the sunlight. They likely possess an instinct to avoid sunlight or strong light sources. The more shadows and darkness an area has, the more zombies are probably hiding there. Conversely, areas illuminated by sunlight will have fewer zombies."
"In other words, taking the side with more sunlight will be safer..." Great Northern Wilderness licked his lips and glanced to his left.
The staircase over there was bathed in the glow of the setting sun, offering ample lighting.
"Brother Bai, you sure are honest." Great Northern Wilderness scratched his full beard, a hint of helplessness in his tone.
"Brother, we'll take the left," Nancheng Port stated.
Great Northern Wilderness did not reply. Instead, he looked toward Misty Rain Traveler, the leader they had temporarily voted into position just a few minutes ago.