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墨書 Inktalez
The team waited for more than half an hour, but instead of the return of the graduate students and Yuan An, they were met with the sound of Zombies approaching from the tunnel.
Song Jiu estimated that the two must have traveled quite a distance without finding a suitable vehicle. Turning back would waste fuel, so they likely planned to find a usable car before returning. Although Song Jiu had emphasized safety first, given the current predicament, it was understandable that the two would prefer to take risks rather than return empty-handed.
Song Yao felt a bit anxious. In the dead of night, if the two strayed too far from the group and something happened, there would be no time to come to their aid.
"They'll be fine," Song Jiu said confidently. "Xiao Xiong and Yuan An have experience. Besides, National Highway is straightforward; with a car at their disposal, even if they encounter a Horde, retreating safely shouldn't be an issue."
"So what do we do now?" Song Yao knew there were no other options and could only silently hope that nothing would go wrong for them.
"Let's set off and leave some people to wait for them," Song Jiu suggested, scanning the group that was ready to depart. A few young people were on alert along the road; the Zombies were scattered and not in large numbers, likely attracted by Wu Wentao's gunfire earlier. For now, they posed little threat. Wu Wentao and Jin Bo had taken Yang Xiaomeng to scout out a route near the quarantine area while the rest waited for Song Jiu's orders.
"I'll stay behind," Song Yao said as she took the handgun Dr. Zhong handed her. "You take the others first; it's easier for me to move alone. I'll catch up with you once they return."
"Just you alone?" Song Jiu hesitated. He knew his sister was capable, but facing a horde of Zombies alone was risky no matter how skilled she was.
"Don't worry about me; I know what I'm doing. Just make sure you all stay safe down there. The situation is unclear; if anything goes wrong, don't force it," Song Yao replied with a slight smile as she loaded golden bullets into the magazine one by one. While her brother worried about her safety, she was equally concerned for him. As Luci had previously analyzed, the core members of their three teams were all strong-willed and brave but tended to act impulsively without enough calmness or rationality.
"Let Luo Yu accompany you; at least you'll have someone watching your back," Song Jiu finally decided after some thought.
Song Yao didn't insist further and nodded in agreement. She had a good relationship with Luo Yu; before Roundabout fell, they often teamed up for patrols and had developed a strong rapport.
After finalizing their plans, they prepared to set off.
The group returned to where Yang Xiaomeng was hanging nearby. Jin Bo was peering down with his neck craned, holding onto a rope while Yang Xiaomeng leaned against the side, looking despondent and silent.
"What's going on?" Song Jiu asked as he approached to take a look. Below in the ravine was pitch black; nothing could be seen.
"Down we go, temporarily safe." Jin Bo fixed his gaze on the two safety ropes secured to the rock spikes and said, "They say it's several hundred meters; with so many of us, it's quite a challenge."
Song Jiu was taken aback and looked again at the bottomless cliff, exclaiming, "Several hundred meters?" He then glanced at Yang Xiaomeng and gritted his teeth, saying, "Is there no other way?"
"There is another way, but it's far and requires traversing through the woods, which is dangerous." At this moment, Yang Xiaomeng had given up any hope of luck and appeared ready to accept whatever fate awaited them. On one hand, he worried about them turning on each other; on the other hand, he was somewhat curious about these people. Seeing Song Jiu's tense expression, he added, "It's not as exaggerated as you think. I can go up and down just fine; why are you all so scared?"
"It would be more pleasant if you just kept quiet," Jin Bo shot him a glare but nodded in agreement. "It will take some time, but the difficulty isn't too high."
Song Jiu had no doubts about this; Yang Chun Yue had demonstrated similar skills before. He had climbed alongside her, albeit clumsily, but it was manageable. Descending was different from climbing; technique was one aspect, but the main consideration was psychological resilience. The darkness below obscured the ground, and hanging in mid-air was quite nerve-wracking. With Wu Wentao leading the way, everyone felt a bit more at ease.
A few lookout youths shouted out as zombies wandered nearby. Instead of using guns, they grabbed their knives and surrounded the creatures to eliminate them. In the distance, the road undulated and twisted; it was unclear if more hordes were approaching. In the past half hour, several waves had staggered toward them, but fortunately, only from the tunnel direction—there was no blockage behind them.
After patiently waiting for a while longer, faint rustling sounds came from below the barrier. Jin Bo shouted downwards, and moments later, Wu Wentao responded with a figure appearing in mid-air, agilely climbing up.
"All set; it's less than two hundred meters to land." Wu Wentao shook off the dust from his clothes and began to remove the tools hanging from him. "What's the plan?"
"Everyone goes down; my sister and Luo Yu will wait for the vehicle." Song Jiu replied and reached out to tug on the ropes that were as thick as his fingers. "How far is it once we descend?"
"Not far." Yang Xiaomeng rolled his eyes in disdain; he had already mentioned that only three people would stay behind—was there really a need for such fear?
"Old Wu, you lead the way; everyone else follow." Song Jiu turned to look at the crowd. The faces of those few shamans were somewhat pale; compared to fighting zombies, this seemed even riskier. If the rope snapped during descent, they might not even find a body.
"If you don't want to go down, find Sister Jia for rations." Song Jiu had no intention of coddling anyone and exchanged glances with Chef Jia. "I can't spare anyone to look after you; it's your choice."
In this world, being a lone wolf wasn't easy. Perhaps some wished to venture out alone into the world, but unfortunately lacked the ability. Thus, no one sought out Chef Jia for leftover food. Fear of heights could be overcome; moreover, with Wu Wentao there for support below, as long as they were bold yet careful, it wasn't as difficult as they imagined.
More than twenty people descended one by one, wasting quite a bit of time. By the time Song Jiu and Yang Xiaomeng finally reached the ground, the hands of the watch had already passed midnight.
Song Jiu leaned against a crooked tree, using the dim moonlight to survey the surroundings. The place where they landed was a steep slope with loose, damp soil that could easily trap a careless foot in mud. The slope was thick with grass, yet trees were sparse, contrasting sharply with the dense forest visible on the opposite mountain. Song Jiu pulled out a lighter, flicked it on and off to signal safety to Song Yao above, then ignited a leftover DIY torch. With Wu Wentao leading Yang Xiaomeng in front, they crouched low and quickly rolled down.
Such terrain was not uncommon along major National Highways. Vehicles traveling on Winding Mountain Road could gaze out at the fog-covered wilderness through their windows. During the day, visibility was unobstructed, allowing one to clearly see the vast, sunken valleys. For normal people, aside from admiring the beautiful scenery, there was also a sense of fear about the unknown depths filled with lush trees. After all, sitting in a car with nothing to do often led to imaginative thoughts about what it would be like to be stranded alone in the mountains.
In reality, such an experience was far from pleasant.
The deep night forest rendered their eyes nearly useless. The steep slope significantly slowed their pace; even someone as seasoned as Wu Wentao had to stay alert, forcing himself to observe his surroundings while maintaining a steady speed to avoid slipping down into the valley. As the guide, Yang Xiaomeng performed his duties fairly well; the rope around his feet allowed him to move normally. Wu Wentao stayed close behind him, tying his bound hands around his waist and stopping occasionally to check in.
Song Jiu and Jiao Ziqian brought up the rear of the group. Their movement resembled more of a shuffle than walking; maintaining an upright position on such a slope was nearly impossible. The best method was to sit on the ground, bend their legs, use their soles for friction, and paddle with their hands to control speed and direction. Glancing back up at the steep slope above them, they saw that the road barrier had long been obscured by grass and bushes ahead. Shadows loomed everywhere as they gasped for breath; although faces were indistinguishable in the darkness, one could imagine flushed expressions.
"Damn, this is quite something," Jiao Ziqian said as he grabbed onto an unnamed plant's roots for stability and half-sat on the ground to catch his breath.
Beside him, Song Jiu felt similarly; both were injured but managing to move along without much trouble. However, this unconventional method of travel was taking its toll on them. In contrast, Jin Bo and his group moved much more smoothly; even Ying Dou Dou seemed adept at navigating this terrain, maintaining excellent balance while Song Jiu and Jiao Ziqian had already tumbled several times in their struggle.
"That freak can't be messing with us! If something unexpected happens, we won't even be able to escape," Jiao Ziqian fumed. Initially boasting about carrying Ying Dou Dou down with him, he found she had already sped ahead and left him far behind.
"There are pros and cons; at least we haven't been ambushed yet. As for an exit, there should be other options. This path may be difficult but has its merits—would you dare come down here alone without him guiding us?" After resting for a moment and feeling some strength return to his arms as he noticed the torch fading away in front of him, Song Jiu stopped talking and continued rolling down.
Just when Song Jiu thought they would be traversing this mountain path all night long, Wu Wentao at the front finally halted his steps. He shook his nearly extinguished torch as a safety signal. The exhausted group felt a wave of relief wash over them; they no longer cared about maintaining balance over the last few dozen meters and let themselves tumble down like a bunch of wild boars rolling through mud.
"Don't rest yet; hold on for a bit longer—we're almost there," Yang Xiaomeng said nonchalantly. His bound hands didn’t seem to hinder him much as he looked at everyone sprawled out on the ground gasping for air with pride as he tossed his long hair.
"If you keep talking nonsense, I swear I'll slap you just to fulfill your wish of being treated like a woman," Jin Bo huffed as he collapsed onto the ground, glaring sideways at Yang Xiaomeng with an empty threat that lacked any real intimidation.
Jiao Ziqian lay at the foot of the slope, chuckling foolishly, muttering, "Damn it, why does it feel like I'm on a trip with him?"
"Come on, if we rest any longer, I'll fall asleep," Song Jiu said weakly, forcing herself to get up.
Ying Dou Dou helped Jiao Ziqian to his feet and whispered something in his ear. Jiao Ziqian's expression froze for a moment, turning into a mix of embarrassment and anger as he took advantage of the night to pinch the girl's pert backside.
Song Jiu watched this unfold, shaking her head and smiling wryly. Life, oh life, Song the Official couldn't help but feel a wave of emotions.
The journey ahead was uneventful; it wasn't particularly smooth, but it wasn't so difficult that everyone struggled to move forward. The ground was covered with wild grass that reached their calves, and the dampness of the night made their pant legs cling uncomfortably to their skin. Although the journey wasn't pleasant, it offered a unique experience, especially with the rustling sounds of insects in the grasslands that gave them a surreal feeling. In their memories, aside from the roars of Zombies, it seemed they hadn't heard other sounds from nature in a long time. Many believed that the Zombie disaster had also affected other living beings in nature, yet they were surprised to find that deep in the mountains, everything remained unchanged.
As they traveled in silence under Yang Xiaomeng's lead, the group crossed a low-lying grassy area and entered a dense forest. Just as Yang Xiaomeng had said, there were no paths in the valley; they relied solely on their feet. In some places, traces of human passage could be seen where grass blades were trampled down, revealing small patches of dark brown earth.
The long night dragged on in silence. When the bright moon peeked out from behind the clouds again, the weary group finally arrived at their destination.
Beyond the dense forest lay an open area where a red brick wall abruptly rose from the ground. Through the courtyard wall, two rows of coffin-like bungalows stood silently, with flickering candlelight seeping through the window grilles like ghosts.
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