Chapter 81: Chapter 81: Heart-Pounding Escape (Part 1)
"Hu... uh~ Brother Hu... now, now... uh~ can you twist it?"
Dodging the random zombie claw attacks ahead while not daring to relax for a moment, leaning against the barbershop counter, Tang Xiaoquan found even speaking was difficult in such a dire situation.
Hu Xiaodong did not reply, as his entire focus was on removing the nut.
His right hand hammered rapidly, the continuous striking of the hammer against the wrench producing a crisp "clang-clang" sound.
This time he did not fail; supported by the principle of leverage, the nut finally began to turn.
"Hang in there, everyone, Brother Hu is almost done!" Wang Qiang called out, panting heavily. He was the only survivor who had the presence of mind to check Hu Xiaodong’s progress on the railing.
A glimmer of hope in despair, Wang Qiang’s words were a veritable oasis in the desert, reigniting the nearly extinguished confidence in survival among his companions.
Wen Quanxin swung his knife once more, his adrenaline-fueled strength severing the arm of a zombie that had caught his blade.
Wu Chao, Tang Xiaoquan, and Acheng, invigorated by the hope of survival, ignited their own "little cosmos," their continuous, rising shouts a testament to their resurgent fighting power.
The survivors finally rediscovered their fading determination and faith!
But as the survivors recovered, the zombies were no pushovers either.
Their arm-waving frequency increased, each one flailing as if on a stimulant, never ceasing their frenzy.
The wooden door was constantly splintered by the beasts, wood chips flying through the air as they shattered, sending shivers down one’s spine just at the sight.
Both sides engaged in a stalemate battle around a wooden door and two wooden tables, but it was clear to any observer that the human side was at its breaking point.
The wooden door was on the verge of being breached.
"Clack!" The small nut fell to the ground, producing a landing sound after a brief free fall.
This sound was so faint that the busy defending survivors failed to notice it altogether.
However, Hu Xiaodong could not suppress his inner excitement, for with the fall of this inconspicuous nut, it heralded his success in breaking the iron railing.
"Brothers! We can leave this damned place now!"
This was a release! A motivation! As Hu Xiaodong shouted, gripping the iron railing tightly, he suddenly exerted force, and with a grating metallic sound, pulled out the 80 cm long iron railing.
Having done this, Hu Xiaodong did not pause, immediately spinning around and leaping down, with the iron railing in hand, heading toward the embattled wooden door.
"Brothers, you go first, I’ll cover!"
A whistling sound passed by his ear, and the next second Tang Xiaoquan noticed something fall from the corner of his eye. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the iron railing that had worried him for so long.
With Hu Xiaodong’s immense strength, the iron railing struck down on several zombie’s elbows, leaving distinct dents in every one of them without exception.
This kind of attack, akin to a battering ram, would have knocked out an ordinary person from pain long ago.
Yet the zombies...
They were fearsome beings immune to all physical attacks except those harming their brains, so Hu Xiaodong’s strike did them no harm.
Hu Xiaodong, having dealt with zombies for so long, was well aware of this fact.
Without pause, he drew the cold cleaver from his back, and where the blade aimed, flesh and blood flew, bones shattered.
Three consecutive chops, each burying deep into bone; upon finishing this series of actions, only stumps of arms remained futilely flailing in front of the others.
"Phew~" A long exhale, Tang Xiaoquan finally could relax his mind a little.
Aside from him, the others’ faces, which were deadly pale due to the pressure, gradually regained some color.
After all, zombies without claws were like toothless tigers: terrifying to look at, but less threatening than a kitten in reality.
However, the crisis at hand was only temporarily averted, as once the wooden door broke, the survivors’ lives would be...
For this, no one needed to say anything. Tang Xiaoquan and his companions were fully aware.
"Xiao Wen, go check the situation!" Hu Xiaodong said without looking, as he chopped off a zombie’s arm that had ventured inside.
Wen Quanxin nodded, having regarded this big brother as his own after their journey together.
Grabbing his cleaver, Wen Quanxin leaped onto the railing, stuck his head out a bit to scout around, and after confirming no lurking zombies, he decisively advanced and vaulted over the stone wall before him.
The wall was about three meters high, and only 90 centimeters from the barbershop window, so Wu Chao’s climb was not laborious—fortunately amid misfortune.
If climbing difficulty were too high, given the survivors’ current strength reserves, it would undoubtedly pose a huge challenge.
Upon settling atop the wall, Wen Quanxin turned his gaze outside, onto a main road populated with zombies, which caused his heart to sink slightly.
"How is it, Wu Chao?" Tang Xiaoquan pressed, having no time to wait for Wen Quanxin’s thorough examination, as the wooden door could fail at any moment.
"It’s a main road behind, lots of zombies, but..." Glancing at the ground distance, Wen Quanxin confirmed, "the zombies can’t reach the high wall!"
"OK!" Nodding indifferently, Tang Xiaoquan was not very concerned with this outcome, only asking for his peace of mind.
"Alright, Acheng, you go up!"
Seeing Acheng and Wang Qiang ascend the wall, Tang Xiaoquan passed the backpacks and supplies over one by one.
After finishing these tasks, Tang Xiaoquan turned and patted Wu Chao, who was still defending the wooden door, on the shoulder, saying, "Wu Chao, your turn!"
Without even turning his head, Wu Chao replied coolly, "You go first, I’ll bring up the rear!"
Stunned for a couple of seconds, Tang Xiaoquan wanted to persuade him, but then saw a fearsome crack rapidly spreading from top to bottom on the upper part of the wooden door.
He immediately abandoned his persuasion efforts. It was clear this was no time for sentimentality or polite refusals.
Thus, he decisively said, "Alright, I’ll go first, follow quickly!"
And without looking back, he sprinted towards the window!