Challenge Completed

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Watching the zombies run past right before his eyes, the man felt a surge of warmth rush through his entire body—a physiological reaction born of sheer excitement and agitation that pumped an unprecedented burst of strength into his limbs!

"Wait, wait, it's not time yet!"

Suppressing his wildly pounding and restless heart, the man waited as those stiff-legged, slow-moving zombies shuffled past him.

"Hurry, hurry, go!"

The moment the zombies between Building Three and Building Four were mostly lured away, the man moved with the swiftness of a startled hare, using both hands and feet to scramble frantically out of the narrow gap. Feeling the sunlight shine upon him once more, his heart was flooded with the blissful relief of someone who had just cheated death.

There was no time to linger. He shouldered his gun and bolted at a dead sprint.

During his time trapped, he had long since mapped out his route for the moment he broke free.

Running toward his target destination, the man couldn't help but look up, wanting to see who on earth had made the noise and drawn the zombies away. Soon, two dark figures appeared on the rooftop.

"Is it them?"

Without breaking his stride, the man managed a brief, passing salute to the two figures on the roof.

Zhang Su narrowed his eyes slightly and waved back at the sprinting man.

"He's a SWAT officer?!"

Zheng Xinyu asked in astonishment and doubt.

The escaped man was covered in dirt and grime, and his clothes and pants showed varying degrees of wear and tear, but two large Chinese characters still visible on the back of his uniform gave away his identity.

"He must be a survivor from that night. Look at what a fine piece of hardware he has slung over his shoulder!"

Zhang Su gazed with envy at the assault rifle slung across the man's body, his eyes burning with desire. However, upon a second thought, having a gun wasn't necessarily useful right away. Putting aside whether his own marksmanship was reliable, the frantic sound of gunfire would be even more effective at attracting zombies than a bullhorn.

Amidst their conversation, the three of them watched the man leap onto the anti-theft security bars of the first-floor window of Building Four, Entrance One. Scrambling with hands and feet, he scaled up to the second floor in a few agile bounds—his movements exceptionally nimble, easily operating at a level far superior to an ordinary person!

Unfortunately, there were still security bars on the second floor, leaving him no choice but to keep climbing all the way up to the fourth floor, where he finally found an open window!

Qin Ya flipped inside and stood within the room, letting out a long breath. Only then did he have the time to seriously look back toward the roof of Building Three, only to find that the two people were still standing there without moving, their gazes fixed squarely on him.

"Could it be that he deliberately lured the zombies away for me?"

At this thought, Qin Ya turned back and solemnly snapped a salute toward the roof of Building Three.

Soon, he received a reply. He saw the figure on the opposite roof casually and mockingly gesture near his head with his right hand, bearing a striking resemblance to the greeting style of underworld bosses in Hong Kong gangster films.

"Interesting!"

Qin Ya was basically certain that the people on the opposite roof had lured the zombies away specifically to help him break free. As for their motives, he had no way of knowing.

At the same time, Qin Ya noticed someone on Building Three waving at him with a face full of ecstatic joy, looking as though they had just laid eyes upon a savior.

Sighing inwardly, facing those desperately waiting for rescue, he could only respond with an apologetic shake of his head—willing, but lacking the strength to help.

Awoo!

Right at that moment, a zombie growled from behind Qin Ya. Knowing he had no time to waste, he spun around and smashed the butt of his gun forward, directly knocking the zombie flat onto the ground before pulling out his hunting dagger and cleanly driving it into the zombie's skull.

Zhang Su withdrew his gaze, completely unconcerned about the SWAT officer. If the man could fight his way out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, there was no way he would get trapped by just one or two zombies.

He turned his attention back to the zombies captivated by the cheap old-model cell phone. They were scrambling over one another to rush inside, piling up and stepping on each other until the dense mass of undead quickly formed a squirming ball.

The sturdy packing tape held on stubbornly, enduring for a full minute and a half before finally giving way. When the yellow tape and white foam scattered through the air, the music finally stopped; no matter how durable an old-model phone was, it could not withstand the relentless trampling of a horde of zombies.

"Did you see that? If I were ever trapped, you two could use this method to help me. And if you were ever trapped, I'd find a way to rescue you just the same!"

Zhang Su walked back to the stairwell and said to the two women.

Zheng Xinyu and Zhong Xiaoshan nodded solemnly. Watching Zhang Su execute it made the task look simple, but if it were up to the two of them, they might not pull it off so smoothly. Some things simply demanded hands-on practice.

"Let's go, time to head back!"

"Big Brother!"

As Zhang Su called the two of them to head inside, he suddenly heard someone shouting from the opposite rooftop. Turning his head, he saw it was none other than the man in the athletic shirt.

He made a shushing gesture at the man and then waved goodbye once more, signaling farewell.

"No, don't leave, Big Brother! Can you come and save us? Big Brother..."

Seeing that the trio's footsteps did not halt, Tian Fan grabbed the railing in desperation and yelled, "Big Brother! Look, the zombies downstairs have all been lured away! Please have mercy and help lure the zombies away from Entrance One as well, won't you?"

Due to his angle of vision, he had no idea that Zhang Su had lured the zombies away solely to help a SWAT officer. He shouted blindly, "I still have plenty of supplies at my house! Help me out, and I'll share half of my supplies with you—hey, damn it, don't leave..."

The man kept shouting, yet watched helplessly as the three people on the opposite roof walked into the stairwell and shut the door behind them, showing not the slightest intention of stopping.

"They... how could they be like this?"

Yu Nuo stared blankly at the closed door. As if her last shred of hope had been extinguished, she slumped limply to the ground, her eyes instantly turning red.

Tian Fan slammed his fist hard against the wall, squatting down in frustration with a look of utter despair in his eyes.

When the three of them returned home, none of them mentioned the man crying out for help. Clearly, a tacit understanding had already formed among them, making them well aware of what could be done and what could not.

"Brother Su, did you know all along that a SWAT officer was trapped over there?"

Zheng Xinyu scratched her slightly itchy head and asked.

"Huh? No, he just had good luck."

With his mind preoccupied with the upcoming reward, Zhang Su seemed somewhat distracted. He pointed toward the bathroom and said, "I need to take care of some business!"

With that, he walked toward the bathroom.

Seeing Zhang Su leave, Zheng Xinyu and Zhong Xiaoshan tacitly hurried over to the window to look toward the roof of Building Four.

"Sister Xinyu, do you think those two can make it out alive?"

Zhong Xiaoshan asked in a low voice.

Zheng Xinyu bit her lip and shook her head. "I think it'll be very difficult... Because compared to us, they're missing the most important thing!"

"What is it?" Zhong Xiaoshan asked with curiosity.

"The courage to risk your life... The first time I killed a zombie, my heart felt like it was going to jump right out of my throat. If Brother Su hadn't been leading me, I think I'd be dead by now!"

Zheng Xinyu murmured softly.

Facing fear and disaster, seeking help from others was not wrong, but if one merely sought help while forgetting how to save oneself, that would be truly pathetic.

Zhang Su walked briskly into the bathroom, and as expected, a line of text instantly materialized in his mind:

[Help the hidden survivor lure away the zombies within three hours. Difficulty: A. Completed. Time taken: 01:05:22]

[Reward: Enhanced Hearing]

As the text faded, Zhang Su did not feel any unusual physical sensations, but his ears suddenly picked up the murmuring voices of the two women outside.

"If Brother Su hadn't been leading me, I think I'd be dead by now!"

"Yeah, my life was saved by Brother Su too. Even though I can't really help him with much right now, I definitely mustn't become a burden to him."

"Right, it's time for us to train!"

As the brief conversation ended, Zhang Su smiled with gratification, thinking to himself, "Those two girls are reasonably sensible after all!"