As night fell, the moon rose silently into the sky.
Officer Shane had long since collapsed into a deep, exhausted sleep, his breathing steady and slow.
Beneath the desk, Louis, who had been keeping watch, slowly lifted his head.
Those blue eyes, bright even in the darkness, held no trace of drowsiness. Only a cool, calculated calm remained.
He knew it was time to act.
Soundlessly, he crawled out from under the desk, his movements light and precise, like a cat.
First, he took the ebony wand from the suitcase and carefully secured it close to his body. The familiar warmth of the polished wood brought a fleeting sense of reassurance.
Next, he packed a small amount of food and water into the suitcase. He had no idea when he would find supplies again, preparation was essential.
After that, he retrieved a sheet of paper and a pen from a drawer and, by the faint moonlight filtering through the window, wrote a brief note.
When he finished, he folded it carefully.
From the side pocket of Shane's backpack, he took out a small electronic alarm clock, set the time, and placed both the note and the clock beside Shane's head.
Only then did Louis take a deep breath.
Without hesitation, he turned and slipped out of the room.
He didn't head downstairs immediately.
Instead, he ducked into a nearby utility room and retrieved a bundle of sturdy nylon rope he had collected days earlier.
Back in the corridor, he slung the suitcase onto his back like a backpack and wrapped the rope tightly around his chest and waist, securing it firmly so it wouldn't shift or make noise during movement.
Then he took out his greatest trump card.
The invisibility cloak.
The silvery fabric flowed over him like liquid water. Light distorted, and in the blink of an eye, his figure vanished completely.
Finally, he picked up a large adult raincoat he'd found in the utility room and moved silently toward the first floor.
The lobby below was a mess.
The Walker whose skull he had smashed earlier still lay slumped beside the filing cabinet, its decomposing body exuding a nauseating stench.
Louis held his breath, forcing down the churning in his stomach, and approached.
Using a broken piece of metal shelving as a tool, he began scraping the sticky, dark-red flesh and decayed tissue from the corpse.
Several times, bile rose to his throat.
Several times, he nearly retched.
Each time, he swallowed it back by sheer force of will.
By the time he finished, the yellow raincoat had become a mottled, disgusting dark red, coated in clotted flesh and unknown slime, reeking with the unmistakable odor of death.
Louis nearly fled from the corpse.
Carefully, he carried the "camouflage suit" back upstairs and placed it gently outside the manager's office door.
Only after completing this did he return downstairs once more.
He checked the time.
Four in the morning.
There was still more than an hour before dawn.
Perfect.
He approached the main door, still tightly barricaded with desks and filing cabinets. Using all his strength, he slowly shifted the outermost cabinet, just enough to create a narrow gap for a child his size.
Gripping the bloodstained crowbar, Louis took a steadying breath.
Then he slipped through the opening.
And merged completely into the gray sea of Walkers outside.
The cold night wind washed over him, cooling the heat of tension burning in his head.
They were everywhere.
Crowded together, wandering aimlessly, growling under their breath. One brushed past him, the rotten fabric of its clothes scraping against the surface of the invisibility cloak, sending a shiver crawling up his spine.
Louis's heart thundered in his chest.
But he didn't panic.
He remembered his daytime experiment.
As long as he didn't make a loud sound, the Walkers couldn't detect him.
To be certain, he tested it.
As he passed a Walker, he gently hooked its leg with the end of the crowbar.
The Walker stumbled forward, crashing into another.
A few hollow growls escaped them as they struggled back to their feet, but neither noticed the invisible presence standing beside them.
Louis was fully reassured.
He began executing his plan.
Reaching the edge of the herd, he tapped the crowbar lightly against the ground in a steady rhythm.
Tap… tap… tap…
The sound was soft, but in the deathly silence of early morning, it was unmistakable.
The nearest Walkers reacted at once.
They turned, empty sockets "fixing" on the source of the noise, and began shuffling forward with stiff, dragging steps.
Seeing this, Louis felt a surge of joy.
He immediately stopped tapping and turned away from the office building. As he walked, he continued to make faint, rhythmic noises with the crowbar, like a silent shepherd guiding his flock.
In this manner, he led the first group of Walkers far from the building.
Then, still wrapped in the invisibility cloak, he circled back soundlessly along another route, returned to the vicinity of the office building, and used the same method to draw away a second group. Then a third.
He became the most tireless corpse herder imaginable, moving back and forth between the office building and distant streets again and again, steadily relocating the Walkers out of the area.
He lost track of how many trips he made. All he knew was that his arms ached from the constant tapping and his legs felt as heavy as lead.
But he succeeded.
The street that had once been packed with the dead was now sparse. A few stray Walkers still wandered aimlessly, but they no longer posed an immediate threat.
As the sky gradually brightened, Louis found a roadside bench and collapsed onto it, panting heavily as he watched the office building from a distance and allowed himself a moment of rest.
Inside the manager's office.
Officer Shane suddenly jolted awake.
His biological clock never failed him. Dawn was near.
The room was quiet, unnervingly so.
His eyes snapped toward the space beneath the desk.
It was empty.
"Louis?"
Shane's heart skipped violently. He scrambled to his feet and immediately noticed the alarm clock and a folded note lying beside the sofa.
He grabbed the note and unfolded it quickly.
Officer Shane,
By the time you read this letter, I will have already left to carry out my "secret mission."
Thank you for taking care of me these past few days. Now it is my turn to help you.
Yesterday, I saw some survivors smear the flesh of those monsters on themselves. The monsters walked right past them without noticing.
So I decided to use the same method. I went outside to draw them away by making noise.
I also prepared a "camouflage suit" for you. It is right outside the door. It is disgusting, but it should work.
I left you an alarm clock as well. Remember to turn it off. If necessary, it can also be used to attract their attention.
Please do not worry about me, and definitely do not come looking for me. Like I said, I am a Wizard chosen by God. I will survive.
You should leave as soon as possible. There are people waiting for you who matter more. You said your partner's family is also your family.
They must be scared and lonely right now, just like I was.
They need you. Go protect them.
Your friend,
Louis
"What?"
Shane desperately hoped this was some kind of joke.
How could he let a kid do something this dangerous alone?
But deep down, he knew the truth.
This boy was braver than he had ever imagined.
He rushed to the window. When he saw that the sea of corpses outside had thinned by more than half, he froze completely.
Louis had not been joking.
That child had truly gone out alone into the dead of night and carved a path to survival for him with his own hands.