Initially, Zhang Su thought Qin Ya and his group would set off the next day, but to his surprise, a whole day passed without any movement.
During the boring wait, Zhang Su taught them some weapon skills, but this time the moves were not for dealing with zombies; they were intended for live humans.
Zhang Su had always been aware of the treachery in peopleâs hearts and the need for caution, but he hadnât expected to encounter guys like Chongzi and Brother Xiang in just a few days. The collapse of order is a terrifying thing, and from then on, one could never be careless around humans.
Another day passed. Zhang Su stood in the bathroom, gurgling with mouthwash, pondering that if there was still no movement upstairs by noon, heâd take the three of them and leave first, as waiting around wasnât a viable option.
"I wonder how those two guys are doing..."
With mouthwash still in his mouth, Zhang Su got lost in thought, thinking about his two employees, Wu Lue and Zhao Xue.
"The store must have been looted, hopefully, the things under the shelves go unnoticed..."
As he was thinking, Zhang Suâs ears perked slightly, his eyes lit up as he heard faint footsteps along with the sound of a child speaking.
The distance was far, and there was a wall in between, so Zhang Su couldnât make out exactly what was being said, but he could distinguish it was Liu Xuanyuâs voice.
The group upstairs was on the move!
"Get ready, get ready!"
Zhang Su shoved the mouthwash into his bag, gestured to the two women studying how to set up noise traps, and nodded towards Wang Guangjun who was folding clothes, then quickly ran to stand behind the door to listen intently.
"Hmm?"
At that moment, Qin Yaâs slightly puzzled voice sounded.
"Whatâs wrong, Officer Qin?"
Duan Wuhu stopped and asked.
"Someoneâs opened this safety door!"
Qin Ya confidently stated, then pulled open the door to enter the hallway, saying, "After collecting supplies, I marked all the safety doors; someone definitely came to this floor!"
"Could it be we ran into them yesterday while heading upstairs?" Tian Fan said.
Qin Ya shook his head, "Impossible, just a bump wouldnât be a problem."
"It might have been Xiaozhang and the others, probably gathered some supplies on the way out."
Duan Wuhu followed Qin Ya into the hallway, glancing around.
Behind door 302, Zhang Su looked through the peephole and saw Qin Ya slowly emerge from behind the wall, then look his way!
Zhang Su turned back and motioned for everyone to halt.
"I donât know! But someone definitely came to this floor; I deliberately left the 302 door open, and now itâs shut!"
As Qin Ya spoke, he walked to the door and tried pulling it, his expression slightly serious.
"Brother Qin, forget about it, itâs definitely those guys from yesterday, letâs just mind our own business."
Yu Nuo, walking at the back, held a table leg in his hand, his face showing a slight trace of fear.
Qin Ya frowned, did not speak, pressed his ear against the 302 door, and then knocked a few times.
Moments later, receiving no response, Qin Ya subconsciously touched his rifle, turned back to the others, and said, "Letâs go."
Quickly, the group disappeared into the corridor.
"Shh!"
Zheng Xinyu was about to speak when she saw Zhang Su gesturing for silence, quickly covering her mouth.
They were unaware, but Zhang Su knew all too well, Qin Ya and his group hadnât really left; the footsteps had just stopped at the staircase, they must be hiding behind the safety door.
"Get ready, itâs time to move!"
After another five minutes, when Zhang Su was sure he heard footsteps getting further away, he finally spoke up.
"Does Officer Qin know weâre here?"
Zheng Xinyu helped Zhang Su put on an armguard, curiously inquiring.
"He marked the door; those tricks you see in spy movies, doesnât know weâre here, just that weâve been here. As expected of SWAT, truly has some skills; we could learn a lot from them!"
Zhang Su, after packing his gear, was the first to go to the door, habitually took a peek outside before opening it, and they all left one after another.
"Confirm again, I go first, Xiaohai follows me, then itâs Tian Fan, Yu Nuo you take Xiaoyu with Tian Fan, and Teacher Duan brings up the rear! Understood?"
Behind the iron door leading to the parking lot, Qin Ya quietly instructed, his gaze sweeping over everyoneâs face, the dim flashlight lighting up each oneâs cheeks.
"Understood!"
"No problem."
Everyone responded in succession.
"Alright, move out!"
Decisively, Qin Ya, confirming no objections from the group, gently opened the iron door.
When Duan Wuhu stepped through the iron door, Zhang Su and his group reached the first floor.
Awooo, awoooo...
"No wonder theyâve been moving so smoothly; seems the zombies in the unit have mostly cleared out."
Zheng Xinyu peeked from the corridor into the unit, discovering only two or three zombies still wandering, the rest must have been attracted by some sound and left the unit.
"Should we eliminate them to prevent future trouble?"
Zhong Xiaoshan asked.
Following Zhang Su these past few days, sheâs picked up quite a few small techniques; at a time like this, clearing out the unit might offer another option in case of any issues at the underground parking lot during retreat.
Zhang Su listened carefully, there was no noise downstairs, thought Qin Yaâs group were still cautiously exploring, so he wasnât in a hurry, said, "Xiaoshan, you lure the zombies, Xinyu, you trip them up, Old Wang takes the heads."
"Okay!"
"No problem!"
"Brother Zhang..."
Seeing the two girls agree so readily, Wang Guangjun got a bit anxious, hurriedly saying, "Brother Zhang, I canât handle them on my own, you have to help me!"
"With their help, what are you afraid of? Donât worry, Iâm watching, I wonât let anything happen to you!"
Zhang Su confidently patted Wang Guangjun on the shoulder.
Zheng Xinyu quickly set up a tripwire at the door and gave Zhong Xiaoshan an OK sign.
Zhang Su held Zhong Xiaoshan, who was preparing to lure the zombies, and said, "This time, donât use sound, slowly move towards that male zombie closest to us, see how close you can get before it reacts."
Zhong Xiaoshan knew Zhang Su intended to test the zombiesâ sense of smell; although worried about the difficulty of this task, she didnât say more and nodded before leaving the stairwell.
"Brother Zhang, wonât Xiao Zhong be in danger?"
Wang Guangjun watched as Zhong Xiaoshan slowly approached the zombie, swallowed hard; he never imagined young people these days being bolder than the sky.
"You have to understand it to better deal with it!"
Zhang Su gave a simple answer to Wang Guangjunâs question, closely monitoring the distance between Zhong Xiaoshan and the zombie.
The distance from the stairwell to the nearest zombie was about eight meters. Zhong Xiaoshan, taking steady steps, had long swapped her favorite sexy high heels for Zheng Xinyuâs casual sneakers, inching closer with nearly no sound.
Awooo, grrr grrr.
Zhong Xiaoshan, highly focused, could hear her own heartbeat and the grinding sound of the zombieâs teeth at a close distance; as the distance narrowed, her muscles tensed more and more.
When she took another step, the zombie beside her paused its odd throat noise and suddenly turned its head to look at her.
Awooooo!
A wild, loud shout erupted, as it charged at Zhong Xiaoshan, followed by two other zombies reacting shortly after, all rushing towards Zhong Xiaoshan.
However, Zhong Xiaoshan was faster; the moment the zombie turned its head, she spun around and sprinted towards the safety door.
Standing at the door, Zhang Su pointed to the ground, reminding Zhong Xiaoshan to be cautious of the tripwire.
"Phew!"
Zhong Xiaoshan rushed into the stairwell and continued running up another floor before stopping.
At the same time, she heard a series of thumping sounds downstairs, indicating the tripwire successfully tripped the three zombies in succession.
The zombies fell to the ground, emitting a stench, their shriveled arms clutching at the air, with necks raised in a frenzied roar, like hellish specters released to hunt.