A family of four
Now I understand why the shadowy figure was able to spot the team members fainting on the seventeenth floor so quickly—he had surveillance cameras. He probably already calmly released the poison the moment we landed on the roof.
Perhaps to save fuel, the motor starts on a timer, running for an hour at a time. During this time, the shadowy figure can feed the zombies, check the concentration of poison gas, observe the condition of the prisoners, and see if any new captives have been caught.
Filling every floor with narcotic gas is no small feat. It would require either laying pipes or placing release devices on every floor, and also sealing off the vents to turn the building into a solid plate. This couldn't be done in a day or two, which shows that this person has been doing this for a long time.
Yu Zhongjian said, "He dragged away three people yesterday alone. At this rate, he must have killed quite a few survivors. I suspect he's been using the lie of offering shelter to lure the survivors in Zhangcheng into the building."
“It’s like hoarding supplies.” I was horrified. “Feeding three people a day is too much. Maybe when you came, he felt he had too much stock and temporarily increased the amount of zombies.”
“Yes, you’re here too, and you have even more supplies.” Yu Zhongjian chuckled. “Ignorance is bliss. Both teams went and never returned, so we shouldn’t have acted so recklessly. In my current condition, if you were also affected by the numbing agent, I could only watch as you were dragged to feed the zombies.”
His breath tickled my neck as he spoke, so I nudged his head and said, "There's no going back, and I don't like hearing 'what ifs.' The fact is I wasn't affected. Don't you want someone to come and save you?"
He was silent for a moment, then said, "If it's you, I don't want it to happen."
...I didn't know how to respond.
I don't recall him ever speaking kindly to me. In our daily interactions, he was sometimes aloof and sometimes eccentric; when we disagreed, even if he compromised, he would show impatience; and when he tried to befriend me, he had an overbearing and infuriating attitude. I always felt this was the awkwardness of his personality and the confidence that came with his strength, something I couldn't stand but felt helpless about. He was the first person I wanted to consult and ask for help when I encountered difficult situations. After hearing his resume, I felt even more that my dream of trampling him underfoot and making him subservient would never be realized. Bowing to the strong is a basic awareness of the strong.
But in this dark, narrow stairwell, he lost all his composure, leaning weakly against me, unable to even lift his head, still saying he didn't want me to rescue him. Did he not trust my abilities? Was he afraid I would cause trouble and hold him back? Or... was he worried about my safety?
I was a little touched, but I didn't want to show it, so I said haphazardly, "Brother, don't look down on your sister. You stay here and wait for me to deal with that guy before I come back to rescue you!"
He was about to stand up when he pressed his head against my shoulder: "Wait, wait until he turns off the motor before you move. Also, I'm not your older brother, don't call me that."
"We've become sworn brothers. Once a brother, always a brother."
"No, shut up, he'll be down soon."
See? I knew it! The Yu Zhongjian who can talk so sweetly isn't the real Yu Zhongjian. He immediately reveals his true colors when things don't go his way. But finding him instantly brought me peace of mind, like finding a pillar of strength. Even though his hands, feet, and whole body are weak, I'm tough... ugh! I'm strong!
The elevator was ten meters from the stairs. To prevent any accidents, I not only closed the small door but also helped Yu Zhongjian hide in a triangular corner under the stairs. A few minutes later, sure enough, people started moving outside.
At this point, I became a little worried. I wondered if the shadowy figure had a habit of counting heads. If he noticed someone was missing, would he look for them in the surveillance footage or increase the amount of poison gas released? This stuff is no good; if you inhale too much, it could damage your brain and cause serious problems.
Yu Zhongjian could no longer lean on my shoulder, so he leaned on my back. I was too nervous to pay attention to him, so I squatted down at the bottom of the stairs, holding onto the edge of the step with my left hand to support him, and listening intently to make any noise.
The elevator opened and closed, closed and opened again, the sound of bodies dragging on the floor sending chills down my spine. I wanted to rush out, I desperately wanted to rush out. Those ordinary survivors were lives too, possibly the last remaining humans in the West. How could I just watch them become zombie food while they were unconscious? What was our original purpose in going to the Western Front? It was to save more people!
I turned around and helped Yu Zhongjian up, then whispered in his ear, "We've already dragged two people away. We can't let him harm any more living people. I need to get out."
"Wait a little longer, he'll come down again." He rested his head on my shoulder again, and because we were facing each other, we were almost in an embrace, ears touching ears and cheeks rubbing against cheeks.
I refrained from attacking him because of his weakness: "Brother, please don't take advantage of me, it's the same if you lean against the wall."
"dirty."
"How long have you been lying on the garage floor? Do you still think it's dirty?"
He didn't speak or move, just rested quietly on my shoulder for a while, then lifted his head and said, "Come on, I'll go with you."
"No, you're practically developing osteomalacia. Just rest here. I know what I'm doing and won't do anything reckless."
"I feel much better." I couldn't see his expression or movements in the darkness, but I felt him straighten up and finally stop leaning on my shoulder, back, or neck.
"What do you mean by 'much better'? Even if you're much better, you still can't lift a weapon. If you go up there, I'll have to take care of you."
"No need." He made some rustling noises for a while, the outline of his hand flashed before my eyes, and he actually stood up with a hunched back, walked past me, and left the triangular room. "Now that you have the knife, let's go."
I was speechless: "You...you...you've recovered?"
"One-tenth," he said casually. "Ripping off someone is no problem."
The start of the motor turned on several energy-saving lights in the basement. Taking advantage of the elevator doors closing again, we went out of the stairwell to check on the survivors. There were indeed three fewer people than before.
The door to the basement level was locked, so I planned to take the elevator up, but Yu Zhongjian disagreed. He said that if the elevator moved, the other party would become wary, making the process more complicated.
I didn't argue, and obediently followed him up the stairs to the door. I watched as he touched the keyhole, took something out of his pocket, fiddled with it for a while, and silently and quickly opened the door that I had been trying to pry open for ages. His skill was almost on par with Zhou Yi's.
I didn't say a word, nor did I bother to make a face, dutifully holding the flashlight to illuminate his path. I finally understood how Xiao Qing felt. Liar! He couldn't even stand up before, how could he recover so suddenly? He must have been better a long time ago; he just wanted to take advantage. I'll settle the score with him once we're out of this den of iniquity!
The generator roared, the zombies howled incessantly, and the chains rattled, completely masking the faint sound of a door opening. We slipped inside, hiding in the shadows of the generator room wall, and peered toward a light in the distance.
The basement level is the same size as the underground parking garage, but it is divided into many small sections. Eighty percent of the building's operating systems are located here. Rows of trash cans and cleaning trucks are parked in the open space, overhead lights are dim and pipes crisscross, and red dots are lit on the surveillance equipment.
I wanted to tell Yu Zhongjian that this madman might have accomplices watching the surveillance footage, but seeing him standing steadily with his legs firmly planted and gripping the knife tightly, I was so angry that I didn't want to say anything.
In the center of the floor, in a space enclosed by trash cans, there were three zombies. Two were older, one was younger, two were "female," and one was "male."
I was able to tell them apart so clearly because they were all dressed in complete and clean clothes, with the male and female styles immediately obvious. Although their hair was sparse, it was of varying lengths, and the younger one even had a small, sparse braid. The three zombies had varying degrees of decay on their faces, but their features were intact; none of them had gone blind or had rotten lips, so they still looked somewhat human.
They were all chained around their necks and waists, and judging by the direction, the chains were nailed to the ground. No matter how they wandered, they couldn't leave the area around the trash cans, clearly indicating that someone was deliberately feeding and caring for them. The most terrifying thing was that the young "female" zombie had a small belly. It was small and round, growing abruptly from her shriveled and thin body, like she had ascites.
We were in the dark, the man in the gas mask in the light. His features were clearly visible under the illumination; he wore a dark gray, work-like uniform and was bent over on the other side of the trash can, seemingly doing something. Three zombies growled and lunged at him, baring their teeth and claws. He straightened up, pulled a pair of gloves from his pocket, put them on, and then, like a leader greeting subordinates, shook hands with each of the zombies. He lingered a little longer with the young female zombie; both she and the zombie seemed reluctant to part. Finally, the masked man forcefully pried open the female zombie's claws, staring at them blankly for a long time, while the female zombie thrashed about passionately.
As he bent down again, I couldn't help but tug at Yu Zhongjian's sleeve. There must be survivors lying behind the trash can; if we didn't act soon, the masked man would probably be fed to the corpses.
Yu Zhongjian raised an eyebrow at Fang and said softly, "You go."
"I'll go myself! If this guy has accomplices, I won't interfere. I'll leave it all to that conman surnamed Yu!" Furious, I brandished my knife and charged out, yelling, "Stop! Don't move!"
The masked man froze, then slowly raised his head. The gas mask completely covered his face and head, so I couldn't see his expression.
"You are surrounded. Lay down your weapons and surrender immediately, and we will give you a way out."
The zombies immediately shifted their target, grabbing at me again without delay. Instead of retreating, I took a few steps forward and stood outside the trash can. The length of the zombie chains was calculated very precisely; when they stretched out their arms, there was a horizontal distance of about half a trash can between them and me.
"Did you hear me? Kneel down and put your hands behind your head!"
The masked man made panting noises, neither speaking nor kneeling. He looked at me and his head and shoulders twitched slightly, as if he were sneering. Then he pulled a short gun from behind his back and raised it with a whoosh.
We were standing at opposite ends of the diameter of the trash can, quite a distance apart. I couldn't hit him with my knife, but his gun could definitely hit me.
No sooner said than done, I feinted and crouched down outside the trash can, hiding myself completely. "If you don't take the good thing I'm offering, then don't blame me for being impolite!"
As soon as the safety was released and the bolt was pulled, the masked man clearly didn't expect me to be polite, so why should I be polite? I spotted the withered, bluish-gray fingers above me, sprang up, grabbed them, and pulled them towards me, dragging the young female zombie face down onto the trash can lid. I half-squatted, gripping her wrist tightly. Her head was shaking wildly, her gray teeth clenching and snapping. I was only half an arm's length away from those teeth.
"It's everyone's responsibility to eliminate zombies!" he shouted, enduring the excruciating pain in his right arm as he raised the knife and aimed it at the female corpse's head.
"No!" the masked man finally uttered a hoarse cry.
I suddenly perked up, finally finding an outlet for all the pent-up fear and frustration of the day: "You think you can just say no? Who the hell do you think you are? So what if you can release poison? You can't poison me! Hahaha, you idiot, aren't you? Didn't expect that, did you? You even dared to set traps to catch living people to feed the zombies! You anti-human, anti-Earth, anti-universe scum deserve to be killed by everyone! Shoot, you scoundrel! If you hit me, I'll call you grandpa. If you miss, don't blame me for killing your 'wife' first, then your 'parents'!"
"No!" He roared again as I swung my knife two inches from the female corpse's head.
Actually, I didn't mean to scare him; my right hand just couldn't hold on any longer.
The female corpse was writhing and groaning incessantly, showing no interest in my conversation with her "husband" and only wanting to gnaw on my face. Two older men nearby also came to join in the fun, but unfortunately, they were too far away to even smell the human scent.
"What are you up to, spouting nonsense? Turns out you're raising zombies in this building. You want to be with your 'wife' all the time? Just let her bite you, okay? You don't want to die, yet you're pretending to be all lovey-dovey. I despise men like you with warped minds! But your parents are here, so it's not my place to lecture you. How about this, I won't kill your 'wife,' but put down your weapon, take off your mask, kneel down, and sing 'Conquer' for me. Sing until I'm satisfied, and then I'll let you go..."
"Uh! Da da da!"
Before I could finish speaking, a burst of bullets suddenly swept past me, kicking up dust, overturning a trash can, and shattering a light on the roof. Startled, I let go of my grip, shrank back, and fell to the ground.
Only a gun barrel out of control could produce such an arc trajectory. I patted my chest, got up and looked in that direction. The masked man's neck was already in Yu Zhongjian's hand. His left fist was as fast as the wind, and he punched the masked man's temple twice, and the man's head drooped.
We had no firearms, one of us had a slight disability in both arms, and the other had only recovered one-tenth of his strength—I didn't believe it. The only way to take this guy down was through coordinated attacks: draw his attention and then ambush him from behind.
The masked man's panting stopped, and he collapsed to the ground like a dead pig. I went over and removed his mask, revealing a pale, swollen face, no better-looking than a zombie.
I clicked my tongue: "A family of four, not one can be missing, this madman is even more perverted than you."
Yu Zhongjian glanced at me but didn't reply. He took the submachine gun from the masked man, checked the bullets, and fired three shots at the roaring zombie. The monstrous creature, kept in captivity for who knows how long and having devoured countless human flesh and blood, thus ended its sinful zombie life. The masked man would probably go insane when he woke up.
He put away his gun and said, "Go and turn off the numbing gas release device, open the windows for ventilation, and find some clean water to give the team members to drink."
"oh."
I stood still, and he looked at me and said, "Go ahead."
"Me going alone? What if his accomplices are up there?"
"No, there won't be any. Even if there were, they would have been fed to zombies. Otherwise, he wouldn't have risked luring rescuers."
Three male survivors lay side by side on the ground next to the trash can, their bodies covered in blood. A bucket and a boning knife were placed beside them, creating a horrifying scene.
Yu Zhongjian checked their breathing: "They're not dead, they just had some flesh cut off, they can be saved."
I kicked the unconscious masked man hard. "You beast, you're having a great time raising zombies, huh! Let's not kill him, just tie him up here and let him watch his 'wife and parents' reunite!"
“Okay.” Yu Zhongjian stood beside me, swayed slightly, and his voice suddenly became weak: “You…you go do your work. It’s okay if you can’t find all the release points, just turn on the ventilation equipment. I’m going to rest for a bit.”
After finishing the task, he started acting pitiful again. Isn't being a domineering CEO more appealing? I'd rather not bother with you. I snorted and turned to leave. I hadn't gone far when I heard a staggering sound behind me.
Yu Zhongjian's arm, gripping the trash can, was trembling, and his face was extremely pale. I turned to look at him, his eyes closed, his head shaking, desperately trying to remain conscious. I struggled with my own thoughts for a moment. Sigh! Surely a grown man wouldn't feign weakness like this? The gas definitely affected him; otherwise, we wouldn't have had to come to his rescue. Maybe he was just putting on a brave face and cooperating with me. Was I being overly suspicious and guarding against something?
I walked over, put my arm around his waist and put my weight on him, and said, "Come on, let me take you up to the rooftop for some fresh air."
It was completely dark when I stood on the rooftop, braving the biting wind, firing a signal flare and contacting Gao Chen via walkie-talkie. Since entering the building at 6:30 in the morning, I had been here for at least twelve hours, remaining on high alert all day, running up and down the building non-stop, tying people up, turning on ventilation, finding clean water, and transporting people without a moment's rest.
I violently kicked open the doors to all the offices on the 35th floor, smashing all the windows to pieces. Thirty soldiers, six of my team members, and three survivors from Zhangcheng were brought up in batches via the elevator, dragged out one by one by hand. After being ventilated by the windows for half an hour, they were still dazed and confused, unable to speak or walk, demonstrating the potency of the anesthetic.
Gao Chen would soon send a helicopter to pick them up. His voice on the walkie-talkie sounded very official and calm, only saying at the end, "You've worked hard, we'll be waiting for you to come back..."
My arm was almost numb with pain; I couldn't lift my right hand more than ten centimeters, and I could barely hold the walkie-talkie in my left hand. The wind was strong on the rooftop, so we had to shout to communicate. I couldn't quite hear his closing remark, so I yelled, "What did you say?"
He said he would fire you when you got back, because the military couldn't tolerate someone like you who didn't follow orders.
"What's so rare!" I turned around and rolled my eyes at you. "You're better again? Weren't you unable to move just now?"
Yu Zhongjian walked towards me against the wind, took the walkie-talkie from my hand, put his arm around my shoulder and back, and pinched my right arm with his fingers: "Does it hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt." His gesture of putting his arm around me was natural and casual, like that of a brother, and I didn't sense any ambiguity.
"Showing off".
That's you.
He looked down at my expression and smiled, "Thank you for saving me. You saved me again."
"Again?" I asked, confused. "When did I ever save you?"
He didn't answer, but continued, "I feel I owe him a debt of gratitude for saving my life..."
"Let's become sworn brothers!" I interrupted him loudly. "Don't take it to heart. It's only right and proper for your little sister to do anything for you. You're my elder brother!"
He rarely showed exaggerated expressions, but now he burst into laughter. I didn't know what he was laughing at, but after listening for a while, I joined in. What dragon's den, tiger's lair, or poisonous abyss? He's just a pathetic madman. We two are exceptionally gifted, immune to all poisons, and we're both perfectly fine, neither of us being fed to zombies. Han Bo and his group are even more amazing; they solved everything with a nap. Isn't that something to laugh about?
So we stood shoulder to shoulder, looking at the dark sky in the distance, and laughed together. Our laughter echoed in the cold night wind, carrying a sense of joy and unbridled abandon.
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