Chapter 33: Things Are Not Looking Good

"Uncle, are you okay?" Xie Ning looked her uncle up and down.

Song Youzhi had come to the village committee office on business today and had specially changed into a suit he rarely wore.

Now, the suit’s sleeve was torn, and he was covered in dust from head to toe.

Fortunately, he hadn’t suffered any injuries, so Xie Ning relaxed.

"How did you get here?" Song Youzhi was still shaken, looking Xie Ning over. "Did you come alone?"

"No, my mom and Song Kexin are waiting outside. We need to get out of this building as soon as possible."

"Kexin’s here too?" Song Youzhi was both surprised and delighted.

After getting trapped in the village committee building, he had been a nervous wreck, unable to stop worrying about his daughter’s safety.

Now that he heard his daughter was safe, a great weight was lifted from his mind.

"This is great!" An ecstatic Song Youzhi grabbed Xie Ning’s hand.

Behind them, an old man in his early sixties suddenly scoffed, "Easy for you to say. The ground floor is crawling with those monsters. How are we supposed to get out?"

Who wouldn’t want to get out if they had the chance?

This little girl was just full of hot air.

Xie Ning ignored the man, turning and squeezing her way to the window to look down.

The zombies that had been drawn to the parking lot by the alarm were now slowly moving back, all of them gathering at the building’s main entrance.

Xie Ning sensed something was wrong and turned to Song Youzhi. "There might be a First-tier Zombie hiding here."

Otherwise, there was no explanation for why the zombies would gather right in front of the building, perfectly blocking the entrance.

She had already led most of them to the back parking lot. Normally, after wandering around and not smelling any people, they would have dispersed on their own.

Song Youzhi stammered, "What’s a... a First-tier Zombie?"

"Let me put it this way. The slow, mindless monsters you’re seeing now are all just the most basic, Initial Stage zombies. When one evolves to the First Rank, its speed, climbing ability, and destructive power will be two to three times greater than before."

Song Youzhi swallowed hard. "It... it’s faster? After it evolves, can it catch us?"

Xie Ning looked Song Youzhi in the eyes and nodded earnestly. "Yes."

"Uncle, we’re going to the rooftop."

"The rooftop?"

"From the rooftop, we can cross to the old building next door. It’ll take less than five minutes to get down to the cultural park, and then we’ll be out of here."

She had already planned this escape route on her way up. If the main entrance was truly impassable, this was the only other way out.

The old man overheard and cut in, "You think you’re in a movie? There’s a whole platform between these two buildings. You really think you can jump that without falling to your deaths?"

Xie Ning completely ignored the old man, just looking at her uncle. "It’s a gamble, Uncle. Are you in?"

Song Youzhi steeled himself. "I’m in!"

As the uncle and niece squeezed their way to the door, Director Ma couldn’t help but try to persuade them. "Xiao Song, don’t be so reckless. We’re pretty safe in here for now. This conference room door is made of heavy metal; it’s thick. It’s not likely to be broken down."

"Isn’t it safer to wait here for rescue from the authorities? Why must you listen to your niece and go take risks with her?"

Xie Ning turned her head and gave Director Ma a long, hard look. "Sitting around waiting to die is never the solution."

"Uncle, let’s go."

"Wait, wait!" The female clerk quickly squeezed over to them. "Uncle... Uncle Song, I’m coming with you."

"Xiao Zhu, don’t be a fool!" Director Ma scolded, utterly exasperated. "Going out there is suicide!"