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The four of them were already airborne in the helicopter. As they flew out of the underground base, Wang Zhi looked down and saw they were over a suburban jungle area. The team gazed at the distant city, where smoke was rising from the ruins. Just days ago, the city was thriving, but now it was filled with smoke, chaos, and destruction. Wang Zhi pulled out his binoculars and saw countless zombies wandering through the streets and alleys. At that moment, the illusion that this was all a lie shattered.
On the helicopter, Lao He once again briefed Wang Zhi and the Fatty on the parachuting techniques and key points to keep in mind.
“We’re approaching the target area. We are currently at an altitude of 3,000 meters. We’ll be near the target in one minute. Please prepare for parachuting. Repeat: one minute to target, prepare to jump!”
The pilot’s voice echoed over the intercom.
The moment the pilot finished speaking, the four of them arrived at the helicopter’s side door.
“Once we jump, aim for the middle of the largest rooftop! Follow my lead! 3, 2, 1, jump!” Lao He shouted.
Without hesitation, Wang Zhi and the others jumped. If they didn’t follow orders and jumped too late, they would miss the best landing spot, and if they missed the largest rooftop, they would be scattered and isolated from their team, leading to certain death.
“Deploy your parachutes!” Lao He yelled into the comms.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
At that moment, four white parachutes floated down from above the rooftop, but due to the wind, Fatty and Ying were too close. Ying had to adjust her descent, and her parachute’s trajectory began to lower. She was nearing the point where she wouldn’t make it to the rooftop. In a desperate move, Ying threw out a grappling hook!
Clang! The hook caught onto the rooftop. Wang Zhi, upon landing, quickly grabbed the hook as it swung towards him and pulled it tight.
Fatty and Lao He also successfully landed on the rooftop. After removing their parachutes, they quickly ran over to help pull the grappling hook.
After throwing the grappling hook, Ying’s body slammed into the wall of a six-story building. She held tightly onto the rope with one hand, quickly removed her parachute, and then slowly climbed back to the rooftop.
“Phew! That was close,” Wang Zhi said, gazing at the group of zombies below.
“Fatty, are you trying to get us both killed?!” Ying complained.
“I’m really sorry, Ying. You just have this unique charm that I couldn’t help but get too close,” Fatty said with a flurry of compliments.
Wang Zhi, seeing the earlier scene, felt lucky that Ying reacted quickly. If it had been him, he would’ve fallen to the ground, and before he could remove his parachute, a group of zombies would have overwhelmed him.
….
“Senior! I just saw a helicopter fly by!”
“A helicopter? Aren’t there enough flying machines in the sky lately? Zhang Xiaowei, you don’t really think they’re coming to rescue us, do you?” Zhang Qichao interjected.
“No! Not just a helicopter! Four people jumped out of it!” Zhang Xiaowei exclaimed excitedly.
“What? Is that for real?”
“Where are they?”
“Let’s get out of here and let them notice us!”
The people inside the room started speaking anxiously.
“Shh! Be quiet!” The senior gestured for silence.
At that moment, everyone realized they had overreacted. The zombies outside were still a threat, and they began praying not to attract them.
But, contrary to their wishes, two zombies, attracted by the noise, arrived at the door, clawing at the wooden door, producing a high-pitched, screeching sound!
“If this keeps up, more zombies will come! Wuwuwu, we’re done for,” one of the students began crying.
“Stop crying! We still have the senior. If you keep crying, the zombies will eat you first,” another male student said.
“Open the door!” The senior gripped a steel pipe and spoke coldly.
Despite her command, no one dared open the door. The senior felt a sense of disappointment and turned to Zhang Xiaowei, saying, “Zhang Xiaowei, open the door.”
Reluctantly, Zhang Xiaowei stepped forward and cautiously walked toward the wooden door.
Creeeak~ As Zhang Xiaowei opened the door, he immediately dashed behind the senior.
Growl!
The zombies, sensing the presence of prey, became even more ferocious. As one was about to claw at Zhang Xiaowei, the senior swiftly dashed forward.
In one smooth motion, the senior made a diagonal slash, and the zombie’s head was instantly severed, falling to the ground. She followed up with a graceful counter-cut, severing the second zombie’s waist. After disabling its ability to move, she made a final strike, killing it outright.
In less than a minute, two zombies had fallen. The senior wiped the blood off her weapon and returned to the corner to clean her steel pipe.
Although they had faced bloodshed repeatedly, some people still couldn’t handle it and began dry heaving.
“Let’s move!” The senior said.
“Senior, there’s no… no other place. If we move again, the only option is the rooftop,” Zhang Xiaowei replied.
“Then let’s go to the rooftop!” The senior said and led the group toward the rooftop.
….
On the rooftop, Wang Zhi opened the map of S University and looked around.
“We’re currently on the rooftop of the central office building. The school is divided into four areas: two in the north and south for classrooms, and the east and west for dormitories, gyms, and cafeterias,” Wang Zhi explained as he examined the map.
“So where should we go first?” Fatty asked.
“Hold on, let me check.” Wang Zhi took out his binoculars and observed the situation from the 8th floor of the office building.
A campus with tens of thousands of people, most of the zombies were concentrated near the classrooms and dormitories.
“It’s a tough situation. Those who survived are really lucky,” Lao He remarked, peering through the binoculars.
“Wang, what do you think? How did they survive?” Fatty asked.
“Most likely, they hid in a place with very few people,” Wang Zhi analyzed.
“Lao He, Ying, check if there are any survivors nearby. Fatty, keep an eye on the rooftop door, don’t let the zombies get in.”
Wang Zhi then picked up the map again, studying it carefully, trying to find the best point of entry. The classrooms were crowded, likely overrun with zombies. The cafeteria might be a possibility because there was food and it was near the supermarket. But that would attract others, and the risk of infection would increase.
The only options left were the library and the gymnasium. These places had fewer people and were relatively safer, making them easier to defend if there was enough food.
“Anything?” Wang Zhi asked the others.
“Nothing. It’s all zombies around here,” Lao He replied.
“I saw two kids, but they were bitten by zombies near the supermarket,” Ying said casually.
Wang Zhi, hearing this, raised his binoculars and looked toward the supermarket.
He saw a group of zombies surrounding two students, tearing them apart.
He put down the binoculars, focusing on the library and gymnasium directions.
After a bit more observation, he realized the outer perimeter was full of zombies, but no survivors. Just as he was about to put down the binoculars, the door to the gymnasium rooftop suddenly opened! Wang Zhi quickly looked again.
“They’re survivors! 9 o’clock direction, rooftop of the gymnasium!” Wang Zhi shouted immediately.
“23 people!” Lao He counted their numbers.
If they hadn’t gone to the rooftop, finding them would have been like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Wang Zhi thought of a way to get their attention. First, he needed them to know they were alive, so they would stay put.
The students on the rooftop noticed Wang Zhi when Zhang Xiaowei waved from the office building, signaling toward them. Ying and Lao He also spotted them through their binoculars.
Wang Zhi pulled out a high-powered flashlight and directed it toward the gymnasium rooftop, signaling to them.
…
“Wait? They’re telling us to wait!” The senior interpreted the signal, and gave a thumbs up toward the office building.