Rotting Land: Survive

Chapter 545 - 537: Night of Terror (9)

A horde of zombies surged into the beauty and hair salon at Zhang Zhicai's "summons," completely fixated on him, entirely unaware of the "secluded" Xu Renjie pressed against the wall in the corner.

Yet, even so, seeing so many grotesque and loathsome creatures running past was enough to make one's heart leap and hair stand on end.

It was fortunate that Xu Renjie had a strong enough psychological fortitude, otherwise anyone else might have screamed in terror long ago.

The front door was not far from the stairs, so Zhang Zhicai quickly darted into the stairwell entrance, as per the plan, leaving the wooden door at the bottom floor open to lure the zombies.

Once upstairs, Wang Qiang, who had been waiting for a while, immediately stepped aside to let Zhang Zhicai pass, while he promptly knocked over a pre-prepared wooden bed.

Almost at the same time he toppled the bed, several excited creatures appeared on cue.

"Damn it, come, come! Come feast on your Grandpa Wang!" Wang Qiang provocatively taunted the creatures, pounding on the bed frame.

Thanks to his vigorous provocation, the creatures didn't hesitate, they flailed their arms and surged forward.

In the zombie world, there is no notion of "seniority and inferiority," no "modesty and concession." Driven by primal bloodlust, they fiercely struggled upwards.

The sheer force of their onslaught truly startled Wang Qiang, but Hu Xiaodong's timely support reduced the strength of the zombies' attack from below.

"Retreat! Fall back!" Tang Xiaoquan urgently called out.

After all, this battle wasn't about killing as many zombies as possible since they could never kill them all.

Their task was merely to hold back zombies, to attract their attention, in order to create a chance for Xu Renjie by the rolling gate to escape.

Upon hearing the order, Hu Xiaodong and Wang Qiang retreated slowly, knocking over tables and chairs they had prepared beforehand as they backed away.

Soon, the small stairwell was tightly blocked, yet the survivors still shouted loudly, banged, and clattered away, afraid that the creatures would lose interest if they couldn't find them.

As the objects blocked their way, the eager zombies continually tripped over themselves.

But one after another, the fallen ones hadn't even had time to get back up before the ones behind were already stepping on their backs, rushing upwards.

They seemed to relish this iron Buddha game, and soon the persistent creatures formed another wall of corpses at the stairway entrance, sealing the entire stairway.

This somewhat exceeded Tang Xiaoquan's expectations; he had anticipated various scenarios but hadn't foreseen that the zombies would block their own reinforcements' path.

Gazing at the remaining tables and benches intended to barricade the door, Tang Xiaoquan sighed helplessly. If only he had known this would happen, there would have been no point in his brothers exerting themselves moving all this.

However, despite this, the work still had to be done.

"Qiang, keep shouting; you're usually the loudest one, now's not the time to be reserved, do it loudly!" Tang Xiaoquan continued to clamor to invigorate them. Until Xu Renjie successfully started the Jianghuai JAC, they needed enough noise to draw the zombies in.

And what situation was Xu Renjie in now?

With most zombies rushing into the room and the path ahead blocked, although the brothers were diligently luring quite a few creatures' attention upstairs,

some "weak-willed" zombies still lingered, just a few of them in front of him.

It wasn't clear if Xu Renjie's appearance was too "handsome" or if his scent was too peculiar.

In any case, these few curious creatures were all gathered around him, unusually interested in him.

They would sniff all around, and in their excitement, they would gnash their teeth and snap at Xu Renjie's face.

Such terrifying behavior was utterly frightening.

After all, who knew if these creatures might suddenly take a bite, and once bitten, even if by some luck one escaped later, they'd get infected.

So this waiting process for the grim reaper's judgment was sheer torment.

Was Xu Renjie afraid? Yes! Terrified!

In such circumstances where death was possible at any moment, any sane person with a brain would be afraid.

Xu Renjie was no exception, but there is a difference between fear and fear.

Some people cower in fear, never to rise again.

Others advance courageously because they understand the value of life, which leads them to cherish it rather than act rashly.

Old Xu remained relatively calm, while the zombies tested him, he was also observing them.

Firstly, as the creatures pressed close, he smelled the scent of lotion and hair gel on their heads.

Secondly, although the zombies' actions were quite aggressive, their gestures were empty in repeated attempts.

Finally, after several minutes of probing, Old Xu's mind gradually settled with a plan.

So, he began daringly assuming control; first lightly touching the creature's body, seeing no significant reaction, then sniffing forward, and upon no response, joining them in a baring of teeth for intimidation.

With these actions completed, Xu Renjie basically deduced that his scent had been masked, and therefore he immediately dared to move towards the main entrance.

Xu Renjie moved very slowly, clearly recalling Tang Xiaoquan instructing him to mimic the staggered walk of the undead.

Along the way, he was frequently scrutinized by the surrounding zombies; however, creatures mostly just sniffed him or glanced around without giving Old Xu any substantial obstruction.

Before long, Old Xu safely and uneventfully reached the car.

All along, Tang Xiaoquan had been closely monitoring the situation below, and when he saw Xu Renjie's stumbling figure, he couldn't help but feel tense.

He could imagine Old Xu's emotions at that moment, but for now, all he could do was pray for him and voice to the brothers who were still noisily calling out at the stairway entrance, "Old Xu has reached the car door, everyone get ready, once the engine starts, we're jumping out the window!"

"Understood!" Wang Qiang was the first to shout back in response, a shout that fell on the still-desperately unblocking zombies below, undoubtedly serving as a clarion call.

Instantly, the zombies' "enthusiasm" increased by several degrees, and the sound of splintering wood became even more intense.

At the vehicle, Xu Renjie instinctively looked up at the window, where his gaze met Tang Xiaoquan's downcast eyes, to which Old Xu gave a couple of indifferent nods before, without any outward sign of urgency, inserting the key into the lock, followed by a turn that produced a soft click.

Old Xu raised his hand, pretending to scratch the window frame, then quickly lifted the door handle, but to avoid too hasty a motion, he did not rush to open the door.

Instead, waiting for several approaching zombies, he leaned towards them, seizing upon the inertia of shoulder bumps to push open the slightly ajar car door.

At this point, there was nothing left to conceal, without a second thought Old Xu leaped forward, nimbly slipping into the car.