Rotting Land: Survive

After walking for another 5 minutes, Derek finally gave the order, "We’ve arrived."

Stopping in his tracks, Xu Renjie raised his eyebrows and glanced at the top of the shaft. Two narrow beams of white light shot straight down through the holes in the cover, forming two splotches on the ground, bringing a trace of vitality to the dead silent shaft.

According to Derek’s earlier description, the outside of the cover should be a construction site surrounded by gelatin board. So theoretically, it should be safe.

However, due to the sudden incident at the bottom of the shaft just now, Old Xu was skeptical about Derek’s description.

Reversing the grip on the blade in his hand, Xu Renjie gestured to Lei Tong, indicating that he should go up first.

Lei Tong had no objections to this; they wouldn’t argue about so-called security like ordinary people.

On the battlefield, orders are paramount, and as a soldier, you must complete the tasks your superiors assign.

Binding Derek, Lei Tong positioned himself facing the direction they came from, ready to hold his ground against any monsters that might appear, buying time for Old Xu to climb.

After giving his instructions, Xu Renjie didn’t hesitate, stepping forward to ascend the cold iron ladder.

Due to the torrential rains of the past few days, the ladder bars had a layer of fine ice from the freezing temperatures, making them extraordinarily cold to the touch. Even gripping them securely was a problem, let alone climbing.

Despite this, Old Xu climbed swiftly, like a Spiritual Monkey, undeterred by external conditions, reaching the top tier in no time.

Before his eyes remained the final barrier; once he moved aside the manhole cover above, he should enter the school’s inner area.

Old Xu didn’t rush to push off the cover because he wasn’t sure if the outside was truly as safe as Derek claimed.

Even if it was, no one could guarantee there wouldn’t be new changes after a whole day had passed.

For safety, Xu Renjie paused on the iron ladder and listened carefully to the sounds outside the shaft.

second, 10 seconds, 35 seconds, time flew by like a fleeting horse, and only after a full minute passed did Old Xu let out a soft breath.

There was no disturbance; though Old Xu heard several scuffling sounds, those sounds were at least 5 or 6 meters away from the shaft opening.

In other words, outside the shaft should be safe!

Confirming this, Old Xu no longer hesitated. He promptly reached out with both hands and grasped two points on the cover, then using the principles of mechanical force, deftly lifted it up.

"Ka-cha!" Despite the touch being light and gentle, the heavy cover inevitably made a noise as it detached.

This caused Old Xu, and Lei Tong and Derek below the shaft, to tense up.

To avoid "alerting the snake in the grass," Old Xu stared at the cover for over 40 seconds, waiting until there was no disturbance before finally sliding his right arm to gently move the lid to the side.

As the cover shifted slightly, long-lost light pierced down, bringing the survivors, who had been in darkness for so long, a slight sense of psychological safety.

Once the lid was half open, Old Xu stopped immediately, then gently placed it on the ground.

He didn’t remove it entirely; he feared that if an emergency arose, at least he could rely on the half-covering manhole to block a zombie attack.

After all, sight could not reveal the actual scenery outside, and even though Xu Renjie had sharp hearing, he couldn’t be 100% sure there weren’t hunting zombies outside the cover.

Holding onto the edge at the top, Xu Renjie quickly poked his head out, then rotated 360 degrees and swiftly withdrew. The movement was fluid, just like a turtle quickly retracting into its shell after checking the surroundings, leaving no opportunity for hunters.

"Hu~," he exhaled. The outside situation looked fine; at least within the range of Old Xu’s sight, there were no signs of zombies. This somewhat alleviated Old Xu’s concern.

Since the outside of the shaft was safe, Old Xu naturally wouldn’t continue to stay holed up. With a swift motion, he pushed up with both arms and then propelled by his legs, easily leaped out of the shaft.

Landing, Xu Renjie immediately crouched down, simultaneously bringing the steel blade he held back to his chest for protection.

As he moved, the glow from the blade seemed particularly ominous.

Old Xu rotated 360 degrees again, his eyes precisely scanning every key point. After a careful inspection, he waved to Derek at the bottom of the shaft.

Seeing Old Xu signal, Derek patted Lei Tong’s shoulder and then whispered, "Hey, Lei Tong, Old Xu is calling us to come up."

Lei Tong, focused on the depths of the shaft, didn’t look back; he simply replied, "You go first, I’ll bring up the rear," and ended the conversation.

Derek had no objections to Lei Tong’s command.

After the zombie’s sudden attack, he was still shaken and needed someone to guard his back.

He didn’t want to be pulled down during his climb and face another terrifying ordeal.

Taking advantage of Derek’s climbing gap, Old Xu completely opened the half-lifted cover.

There was no choice; neither Derek nor Lei Tong could deftly get through the half-opening like he could.

Once Derek reached the mouth, Old Xu extended his right hand to pull him out, then turned around again to keep watch.

"Dong dong dong!" Lei Tong glanced back and saw Derek’s waving hands as he gently tapped the iron ladder thrice.

Lei Tong immediately turned and leapt onto the iron ladder, using his surprisingly agile movements, despite his size, to quickly climb upward.

Without any mishaps, Lei Tong also successfully climbed out of the shaft.

Once the three were reunited, Old Xu signaled Lei Tong to reseal the cover.

After all, this was their only access point to the outside world from the school, and Old Xu didn’t want anything to happen to it.

Having meticulously dealt with the cover, Old Xu pulled Derek close and gestured to the adjacent teaching building, quietly asking, "Where is the safest spot to climb?"

"Climb up the drainpipe to the 2nd floor, then alternately use the window sills and air conditioning brackets layer by layer to reach the 10th floor’s first...second, third, fourth, fifth..." Derek recited the numbers in Arabic in sequence, then continued, "Reach the 5th window on the 10th floor and enter through it; it’s the entrance I specially left when I came out, and it’s the only window without a hasp."

Old Xu looked up, carefully inspecting the route Derek mentioned: "Do those Japan guys have guards at the window?"

"Usually none, at least I haven’t encountered any when I came out."

"So there might be," Old Xu muttered to himself.

Without a doubt, whether the Japanese students are ambushing at the windows is crucial.

This directly affects whether Old Xu and the others might be attacked mid-climb. If they were to be shot while climbing, neither Old Xu nor Lei Tong, no matter how skilled, could escape.

Thus, the upcoming climbing order must be carefully planned. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)