Rotting Land: Survive

Like a spiritual monkey, Xu Renjie nimbly climbed to the top of the tree. Once settled, he made an "OK" gesture to Hua Biao below and raised the binoculars around his neck to survey the distant factory building.

Through the lens, as in the scene at the entrance observation point, many zombies were wandering about, roughly estimated by Xu Renjie to be around 20 in number.

Of course, this was just the number of zombies outside the factory, as for the inside... that was still an unknown.

Aside from these zombies, what intrigued Old Xu more were the neatly stacked bricks; they were all placed at designated spots, covered with rainproof materials, and from the looks of it, were untouched by weather damage.

After assessing the situation, Old Xu returned to the vehicle and relayed the observed scenario to everyone in detail.

Afterward, he expressed his views: "The situation is as follows: there are about 20 zombies outside, and the inside of the factory is unclear. My personal opinion is that we should first deal with the zombies outside, then probe inside the factory. There’s certainly some danger, but we all know how important these bricks are to us. If we can secure this place, we can build stone walls around our base."

Old Lin nodded. As one of the three main pillars of the team, he naturally understood Old Xu’s intentions.

Indeed, as Old Xu mentioned, no matter how remote or well-guarded the base is, without a wall to separate it, true safety cannot be achieved.

Therefore, Old Lin immediately agreed, "I agree with Old Xu’s proposal. We now have eight people; dealing with 20 zombies shouldn’t be a problem."

Tang Xiaoquan was not in a hurry to respond; he played with his bangs and pondered.

Undoubtedly, 20 zombies were not much of a problem, given their past experiences facing much larger zombie hordes.

However, for the past two months, they had been staying at the villa, and apart from a few having direct confrontations with zombies, most were engaged in playing "schemes" with people.

Considering everything, Tang Xiaoquan felt they shouldn’t take it lightly and after weighing it, he suggested, "Let’s do this for safety. Old Xu, Derek, you two stay in the car. The rest of us will act together. If there’s an emergency, Old Xu, you can drive in to evacuate us."

Old Xu initially wanted to refuse to stay in the car but eventually agreed to Tang Xiaoquan’s proposal after considering tonight’s rescue matters: "Alright, I’ll stay in the car with Little Derek on standby. Old Lin, I’ll leave the rest to you."

"Haha," Old Lin waved his hand grandly, "it’s all about contributing to the base; it’s only right."

"Alright! Let’s move out immediately, and try to get this done quickly!"

With Old Lin’s command, the survivors started to jump out of the vehicle one after another.

After getting off, Old Lin divided the group into two teams: "Xiao Tang, Qiang, Brother Wei, you three guard the rear; Hua Biao, Little Li, you two come with me in the front. Does anyone have any questions?"

"No!" The unanimous agreement surprised Lin Junfu, who looked at Wang Qiang with a slight astonishment—honestly, the young man’s compliance made him a bit uncomfortable.

However, now was not the time to consider that. The reason Old Lin grouped Tang Xiaoquan and Qiang together and assigned them to the rear was to prevent Wang Qiang from making any rash actions.

"Let’s go! We’re moving out!"

The group split into two, creeping toward the factory stealthily.

Once they reached the factory gate, the six people spread out and clung to the wall. The sounds of footsteps inside were constant; hearing this sound again after more than two months sent shivers down the survivors’ spines.

Gripping his steel blade tightly, Old Lin peeked around the entrance guard room, clearly able to see from his position a shriveled torso with only half its body left, crawling on the ground, persistently gnashing its mouth.

If only Hu Xiaodong were here right now; with his precise archery techniques, handling that creature would be a breeze.

But unfortunately, to ensure the base’s safety, Hu Xiaodong, an absolute key player, had been stationed at the base for defense.

Currently among the team, only Wang Qiang had the capability to shoot accurately.

But Lin Junfu was not entirely confident, fearing Wang Qiang might do something foolish due to emotional instability from the "betrayal" he suffered.

"What’s up, Old Lin, is there a problem?" Hua Biao’s voice whispered in his ear.

After a brief pause, Lin Junfu snapped back to reality and said seriously, "There’s a zombie in the guardroom outside the door. We need to take care of it before we can proceed inside."

Old Lin believed that before beginning the factory sweep, it was best to quietly eliminate the zombies on the perimeter first to avoid the awkward and dangerous scenario of being caught between zombies inside and out.

Upon hearing this, Hua Biao leaned over to glance at the gate and indeed spotted the creature lurking there. Not overthinking it, Hua Biao directly called over Wang Qiang and instructed, "Qiang, there’s a half-zombie at the door. Can you take it out from a distance?"

Seeing Hua Biao summon Wang Qiang, Old Lin couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat, thinking to himself: Hua Biao, Hua Biao, do you not know Qiang’s current emotional instability?

But alas, as a soldier, Hua Biao wouldn’t consider anything else on the battlefield; neutralizing the enemy is his sole objective.

And given the current situation, Wang Qiang was the most suitable candidate to quietly eliminate the zombie, so his instinct was to "make use of everything," leveraging each member’s capability.

To everyone’s surprise, Wang Qiang was unusually composed. He looked at the creature’s position at the door, carefully estimated the distance, and solemnly replied, "I can’t guarantee a hit with one shot, but killing it won’t be a problem."

This response genuinely shocked the group; was this still the young man they remembered? In Hua Biao’s, no, all five of the participating team members’ eyes, Wang Qiang’s typical response would have been... he should have nonchalantly shrugged, boasting and patting his chest assuring, "This little task? I’ll handle it in no time."

Only Old Lin, rather than feeling comforted or reassured by Wang Qiang’s "steadiness," was even more worried.

However, in contrast to Old Lin’s mixed feelings, the military-born Hua Biao had great confidence in Wang Qiang and straightforwardly patted his shoulder, smiling, "Missing the first shot doesn’t matter. Just make sure you take it out."

Nodding, Wang Qiang said no more. He turned around, mimicking Hu Xiaodong’s pre-shot preparation moves, carefully recalling past practice techniques in his mind.

He then took two deep breaths, waited for his mind to steady, and decisively leaned out, drew the bow, and released.

Perhaps Wang Qiang’s moves weren’t perfect, and maybe his rhythm needed improvement.

Nonetheless, the decisiveness in completing the series of actions and his unflinching calmness left everyone amazed.

After shooting the arrow, Wang Qiang quickly pulled back, and upon stabilizing his position, he immediately drew another carbon arrow, placed it on the arrow platform, ready to make another move. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to contribute recommendation votes, monthly tickets on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)