Staring at each other in silence, everyone was shocked.
Ah Cheng’s forehead was instantly covered in sweat. He hurriedly felt for the keys and twisted them forcefully, but after trying for a long time, the engine only made a few "puff puff" sounds with no sign of starting.
"Damn it, can’t believe this is happening!" Seeing Ah Cheng’s dejected look, Wang Qiang slapped the back of the seat and then sighed helplessly toward the sky.
The van had broken down, and at such an unfortunate location, which was undoubtedly a harsh blow to the survivors struggling to stay alive.
"Wh-what do we do now!" Ah Cheng asked in panic, as the increasingly close zombies made him more and more terrified.
Yes, what should we do? This was an unavoidable question for the survivors, as the increasingly restless street allowed no time for them to ponder longer.
Stay calm! I have to stay calm! Tang Xiaoquan tried his best to control his emotions. Though the situation was critical, like a fire burning one’s backside, Tang Xiaoquan understood that panicking, fearing, and hesitating now would only bring the team’s end closer.
Law of Survival, Article Seventeen: During an apocalypse crisis, regardless of any peril, maintaining a calm mind is your essential rule for survival.
His brain rapidly processing, Tang Xiaoquan weighed the pros and cons; he was faced with a choice:
Staying meant huddling inside the car, relying on the van’s metal and glass for protection, teasing with the zombies, while praying for a miracle.
Whereas going out required confronting the zombie blockade head-on, fighting them, and finding shelter, a danger clearly not at all trivial.
Comparing both, neither was an excellent choice, but rather than leaving his life to elusive fate, Tang Xiaoquan preferred to hold it in his own hands.
So he made an immediate decision, pointing outside the window: "Let’s go! Over there!" ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel{f}ire.net
The "there" Tang Xiaoquan referred to was only a hundred meters from their parking spot, a small street-side fast-food joint.
Above the door, a black sign clearly read "Harmony Noodle House" in large characters, and the reason Tang Xiaoquan chose this location was based on three considerations.
Undoubtedly, the shorter the distance, the lower the chance of encountering zombies. Looking around at surrounding stores, either they were too far or there were too many obstacles along the way, only that noodle house seemed suitable.
Through observation, one could clearly see that the noodle house had only one front door, so as long as the outer rolling shutter was lowered, their safety would be ensured.
After several nerve-wracking outings to find food, Tang Xiaoquan understood deeply a certain principle:
No matter when or how secure a fortress is, without sufficient food supplies, everything is in vain.
And this store, being named "Harmony Noodle House", naturally wouldn’t lack flour or similar grains inside.
Therefore, combining all these, Tang Xiaoquan seemingly had no reason not to choose "it".
"Move!" With a shout, Tang Xiaoquan led the charge, darting out of the vehicle.
"Crack!" He knocked down a zombie beside him, and without taking another look, he sprinted out.
"Huff, huff!" Accompanied by breathless panting, the survivors sprinted for their lives.
As they moved, the surrounding zombies also sensed something amiss, turning their heads with excitement, howling as they stumbled toward the three.
This was a hundred-meter dash, more accurately a race between humans and zombies.
Wang Qiang swung an axe at an obstructing zombie, but just as he pulled out the axe, another zombie hiding behind a car charged at him from the side.
Without thinking much, Wang Qiang, who had long been battle-hardened, instinctively kicked it and then aimed the spear downwards, piercing the zombie’s skull as it fell.
Compared to Wang Qiang’s boldness and strength, Ah Cheng, facing enemies alone for the first time, appeared much clumsier.
He retreated step by step, gripping his spear tightly but not daring to throw it.
At this moment, Ah Cheng was undoubtedly terrified by the man-eating monsters before him, like a person losing a fight just by losing their composure.
Fortunately, the zombie Ah Cheng faced was quite old, allowing him to barely manage by dodging. Otherwise, if it were a younger one, he might have been tackled to the ground and torn apart long ago.
Tang Xiaoquan, at the back of the team, saw Ah Cheng’s predicament entirely.
However, he was also entangled by two zombies, unable to help.
Seeing their prey with nowhere to escape, the two zombies were overjoyed, their high-pitched howls rising and falling as if showing off to their companions: Hey, guys, watch closely; I’m about to get this one.
But would they really succeed? Would Tang Xiaoquan just sit and wait, letting them have their way?
The answer was clearly no; in truth, Tang Xiaoquan had planned everything from the beginning.
The two zombies, oblivious, moved closer, and just as they were about to pounce on Tang Xiaoquan, intending to knock him down.
Tang Xiaoquan suddenly moved. He swiftly ducked and then ducked down, slipping right through the gap between the two zombies.
Once free, with not a moment wasted, he turned around, held the spear horizontally, and pushed it forcefully.
"Thud, thump!" The pitiful zombies fell to the ground, without laying a finger on Tang Xiaoquan.
Yet Tang Xiaoquan didn’t feel any sense of triumph, for his gaze had already shifted to Ah Cheng in the distance, who was cornered by the elderly zombie with nowhere else to retreat.
With life hanging by a thread, leaving Tang Xiaoquan no time to think, he instinctively threw his spear.
The spear, carrying unmatched fury, sliced a straight line through the air, striking precisely at the zombie’s skull.
The aim was true, but the strength...
Due to the significant previous exertion, Tang Xiaoquan’s spear, which should have pierced right through the skull, only made the zombie stagger before falling to the ground.
Nonetheless, Tang Xiaoquan saved Ah Cheng’s life, and his timely intervention allowed Wang Qiang, who followed closely, the chance to hack down the elderly zombie with an axe, rescuing Ah Cheng from peril.
"Damn it, Ah Cheng, is that a goddamn fire stick in your hand? Why aren’t you throwing it, damnit?"
Facing Wang Qiang’s questioning, Du Jiancheng blushed like a fire: "I-I’m sorry, I was just—"
"Enough! No time for chatter, run!" Turning to knock down the pursuing zombies, Tang Xiaoquan once again made a sprint for it...