Rotting Land: Survive

His footsteps barely stopped, and Derek stood in place like a lost soul.

Seeing Derek’s dazed stance, Old Xu’s forehead was lined with frustration.

He really wanted to go up to the young man and slap him. At what time do you choose to act foolishly, if not at this moment?

Everyone knows not to look down while climbing a mountain, as it only increases your fear.

Crossing a path infested with zombies is the same; knowing the situation inside, you still insist on looking. Why do this...?

Just as Old Xu was contemplating whether to go over and pull the young man away, Derek suddenly moved, but instead of moving forward, he retreated slowly to his right rear.

Then Old Xu heard the chewing sound at the path abruptly stop!

Damn! A bad premonition appeared in his mind.

Sure enough, during Old Xu’s moment of panic, urgent footsteps could be heard advancing from afar.

Due to the darkness of the shaft, Old Xu could only see a fleeting shadow pass his eyes, followed by Derek’s terrified shout echoing through the shaft.

It’s over! What Old Xu was worried about happened after all.

He had feared Derek would mess up, but in the end, he couldn’t avoid it.

It must be known that the shaft is a maze; Derek’s shout, echoing through the unique environment, could be heard kilometers away.

Thinking of this, Old Xu’s head throbbed incessantly.

But right now, he had no time for other concerns because Derek had already fallen into crisis.

The Climber pinned Derek, its body perched like a "four-clawed spider." Clearly, this was the first time he had encountered such a mutated type.

On the way here, fearing Derek might cause trouble, Old Xu removed all his protective gear.

So now, Derek was like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered on the chopping block, with no power to fight back.

In a survival instinct, Derek tightly grasped the Climber’s throat, and, to his surprise, the power of this beef-fed kid was not small. With the life-and-death adrenaline, even the power-fiendish Climber couldn’t easily subdue Derek for a while.

However, a weaponless struggle couldn’t last long, and the outcome against a tireless zombie was predictable.

With his knife, Old Xu frowned and rushed toward Derek. If he could, he would have left the young man to his fate.

After all, his screams had seriously disturbed the mission, even directly threatening the team’s safety.

On the battlefield, Xu Renjie would absolutely have shot him without a second thought.

But now... things had reached a point where, no matter what, he had to save the young man.

Not for the mission itself, but to get him to shut up to prevent further escalation.

Reaching out, he grabbed the zombie’s collar, and Old Xu’s developed arm muscles tensed. With veins bulging, the Climber perched on Derek was easily lifted by Xu Renjie, like a powerless chick.

"Ka!" Without unnecessary words, Old Xu raised his knife and struck down swiftly, beheading the Climber cleanly. A splash of blood sprayed out, cutting a stark figure against the dark bottom of the shaft.

Derek only felt a cold splash on his face and instinctively wiped it off, freezing as he touched the sticky liquid.

"Plop!" Old Xu casually tossed the beheaded corpse to the ground.

Right then, a dense rustling sound came from behind him again.

Derek, still shocked by Old Xu’s bloody slaughter, narrowed his eyes upon seeing the Black Shadow charging from the rear. He instinctively opened his mouth to warn, but the words stuck, unable to come out due to excessive fright.

Meanwhile, Xu Renjie clearly detected the commotion behind him, but unlike Derek’s terror and unease on the ground,

Old Xu remained exceptionally calm, not even turning his head, just standing there.

This guy is crazy! He must be crazy! How could anyone be so unreactive in such a situation? Is he looking to die?

Derek, stunned, intuitively thought Xu Renjie had a death wish, but the subsequent events completely changed his mind.

A Climber, finding lots of food, growled and lunged at Old Xu, its bloodthirsty eyes gleaming with excitement.

No doubt, the Climber’s movements were extremely swift, and the unresponsive Xu Renjie seemed doomed to be hunted.

But just as this was about to happen, a chilling Steel Blade appeared out of nowhere, and the Climber, clueless about what happened, was slashed to the ground by the sudden ominous strike.

However, the Climber was indeed formidable. With its brain not destroyed, it didn’t stop, and screeched as it got up again, launching a second leap at its prey.

But...

With an angry stamp to the Climber’s head, Lei Tong stood like a descending Demon God, forcefully stomping the Climber back to the ground.

Then, Lei Tong immediately reversed his knife handle, aimed the blade at the creature’s hindbrain, and thrust down with full force.

"Crunch!" A sound of skull cracking resonated in the air; unsurprisingly, the blade pierced through the creature’s skull and exited from the front, making a crisp clang as it hit the ground, unsure if it penetrated the surface.

Derek watched everything in front of him, only then understanding that the man before him was so fearless because he knew the big guy behind him would deal with the creatures.

Indeed! From the start, Old Xu wasn’t worried about his back.

This is the pride of Huaxia soldiers; they trust their comrades to watch their backs, so Old Xu stood there without any resistance.

With a flick of his wrist to shed the blood from his blade, Xu Renjie had no time to let Derek sit and adjust.

Although unsure if there were more zombies inside the shaft, with Derek’s frantic scream for survival earlier, Old Xu believed that even if there were no zombies inside, some were likely attracted down from the surface.

Nothing else, just the sound from above convinced Xu Renjie of his assumption.

So there wasn’t much to say; getting out of this damned shaft was the best plan.

Whether Derek recovered from shock and fear or not, Old Xu grabbed Derek’s collar and pulled him up with brute strength.

After getting him up, Old Xu pushed the unsteady Derek back into Lei Tong’s hands, whispering, "Listen, kid, if you don’t want us to be swarmed by zombies, keep your mouth shut! Stop screaming, got it!?"

Nodding instinctively, Derek swallowed, as Old Xu’s glaring eyes seemed to want to devour him.

After warning Derek, Old Xu withdrew his Steel Blade and continued to lead the way, his pace significantly quicker this time. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)