Rotting Land: Survive

"Continue forward for 50 meters, there’s a fork in the road, take the left one, then turn right, and you’ll reach the destination."

Xu Renjie nodded, then gripped his steel blade and started moving his legs again.

It had been exactly 10 minutes since they descended and embarked on their journey at the well’s bottom. Although it didn’t seem long, the dark and narrow environment down the well could easily cause claustrophobia for ordinary people.

Fortunately, Xu Renjie and Lei Tong were professional special reconnaissance soldiers, and their daily training targeted such places unfamiliar to ordinary people, so apart from having their feet soaked by the muddy water, neither of them felt any other discomfort.

On the contrary, Derek, even though he had traversed this place more than once, was becoming somewhat restless at such a slow pace now.

But considering the presence of Old Xu and Lei Tong, he couldn’t act out and could only bite the bullet and accompany the two as they slowly progressed.

But Derek was soon convinced by Old Xu’s cautious decision because, as the three were about to reach the fork, a faint noise came from ahead.

Their footsteps stopped abruptly, and Xu Renjie gestured, pulling Derek behind him, while Lei Tong instinctively dodged to the side as Old Xu halted.

This was a reflexive reaction ingrained from years of training. Lei Tong didn’t utter a sound and vigilantly guarded the rear of the team.

"Shh... shh... shh..."

The sound was both soft and distinct, yet it appeared extremely terrifying in the dark, closed-off atmosphere of the wellpath.

Derek’s heart instantly leaped to his throat. As a survivor struggling in the apocalypse for months, he couldn’t be unfamiliar with the sound coming from the entrance.

Zombies!! Besides this kind of beast, nothing else could make such a shuffling, scraping footsteps.

Compared to Derek’s nervousness, Old Xu appeared much calmer.

Was he not afraid? He was! Of course he was! Unless you’re crazy, any normal person would feel fear encountering those bloodthirsty, brutal zombies.

Adrenaline surged through Old Xu. An average person might experience heart palpitations and weak limbs at a time like this.

But for Old Xu, who was professionally trained, the adrenaline rush signaled that he was activating his combat instincts.

Listening closely, Old Xu confirmed that the beast hadn’t detected their presence from the direction of its footsteps. This provided Old Xu with the possibility of ambush-killing it.

So, Old Xu turned around and gestured an action command to Lei Tong behind him. Lei Tong immediately understood and began securing Derek’s arms to prevent the young man from advancing or escaping.

Then, Old Xu hefted his knife and advanced alone into the dark wellpath towards the source of the noise.

Step one, step two, step three, Old Xu paused for about 3 to 4 seconds with each step, solely to confirm the conditions ahead.

After all, the bottom of the well was dark and without light, and whether or not they had lighting equipment, Old Xu dared not use it even if they did.

Soon, Old Xu vanished from the view of Lei Tong and Derek. To prevent any mishaps, Lei Tong nudged Derek’s side, reminding the young man to move forward.

After advancing two steps, they halted again.

In summary, the three of them tossed and turned this way several times until Old Xu reached the cross-intersection Derek had previously mentioned before they finally stopped.

At this moment, the noises were exceptionally clear. Old Xu faintly heard chewing sounds, which made cold sweat trickle down his forehead.

By this time, further confirmation was unnecessary; the source of the noise was undoubtedly zombies.

So the question standing before Old Xu now was: how many zombies were there?

Regarding this, Old Xu had no assurance; he only hoped that the numbers weren’t too great; otherwise, he would have to issue a retreat command.

After all, compared to the unknown rescue, the lives of his group were more important.

Taking a deep breath, Old Xu gestured for Lei Tong and Derek, who were anxiously waiting behind, not to worry.

Then, after peeking out for 2 seconds, he quickly retracted his head.

Two. Through his brief observation, Old Xu had at least seen two zombies.

But as for whether there were other zombies, he had no way of knowing.

Because the wellpath was too dark, Old Xu’s line of sight was greatly obstructed.

What to do? Resolve it or retreat?

Old Xu pondered, frowning.

If resolved, there might be a large number of zombies hidden deep in the wellpath.

But if they retreated, the fuel expended on today’s excursion would go to waste, and going back wouldn’t sit well with Old Zhao.

Stuck in indecision, Old Xu had no choice but to take another risky peek. This time, he observed carefully for five seconds.

In his sight, the two zombies were squatting on the ground, seemingly eating something.

However, these were not Old Xu’s main focus. The main point was that these two beasts hadn’t detected his presence.

Once more, taking a deep breath, Old Xu resolutely protruded his entire body, then stepped across the entrance.

After successfully passing through, Old Xu quickly pressed himself against the wall to listen closely. Upon confirming no other abnormalities, his tense heart finally settled.

"Creak, creak!" The chewing continued.

It seemed that these two beasts were completely absorbed by their meal. At this point, Old Xu knew he couldn’t waste any more time and recognized it was a golden opportunity. Without the slightest hesitation, he signaled to the concerned Lei Tong on the other side, indicating for him to quickly bring Derek over.

Unaware of the situation, Derek turned around to inquire about Lei Tong’s condition, only to be pushed on the shoulder by the big guy. Without uttering a word, Lei Tong used his copper bell-like eyes to tell Derek: "Hurry up! Don’t dawdle!"

Just like that, unaware of what was going on, Derek was led and pushed by Lei Tong to the entrance of the fork.

After settling down, Old Xu once again communicated with Lei Tong using hand signals Derek couldn’t understand.

This left Derek feeling quite uncertain.

It’s no wonder; in a dark environment, faced with a team you weren’t familiar with arranging things you couldn’t comprehend at a life or death moment, naturally, your mind would sprout a lot of doubts.

A pats came on his shoulder, and just as Derek was suspicious that Old Xu and Lei Tong might sell him out, Lei Tong pointed straight ahead, then gestured a cutting motion with his palm forward twice.

This time, Derek finally understood what the other meant. He had seen it in cop movies; they were telling him to move to the opposite fork.

But... the sound from the side entrance...

Derek felt uncertain, but under Lei Tong’s glaring eyes, he didn’t have much choice.

Reluctantly, Derek nodded, accepting the command, then took a few deep breaths, tiptoeing swiftly towards the opposite entrance.

In the mere span of 1 meter, Derek never felt that a stretch of road could be so difficult to traverse.

As he took steps forward, as expected, Derek’s adrenaline surged dramatically, but unlike Old Xu’s rational control, Derek, overly anxious, experienced a slight tremor in his steps.

And the worst part was, driven by curiosity, when he reached the center of the passage, he couldn’t help but glance towards the side entrance.

And that one glance... (to be continued. If you like this work, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations, monthly votes; your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)