March 20th, 8:48 AM — Longwan Mall, Lower Atrium Level
John Wang POV
——
The Ghoul didn't move.
Neither did we.
Every infected in the room stood like stone — Crawlers twitching in place, heads angled wrong, spines coiled as if waiting for something unseen.
The air was heavy.
It pressed in from all sides, thicker than blood, heavier than smoke. Crawlers halted mid-step. Their clawed hands twitched like nerves misfiring. A hundred bodies, frozen — but not confused.
Waiting.
And at the centre of it all, the Ghoul stood, still as a pillar of salt. White flesh. Limbs too long. Shoulders hunched like a beast that had never quite learned to stand.
The Ghoul's body sagged, but its head remained steady, with smooth yet empty movements.
Then it raised its arm.
One slow, deliberate motion, and pointed.
Straight at me.
Nothing else moved. Not even the air.
It didn't growl. Didn't shriek. It just indicated.
"...Did it just—" Tang Wei's voice trailed off.
