The inside of the building was very dark and there was only light at the entrance.
From the location the car stopped at inside the building, they could make out two words on the wall in the centre of the lobby with some difficulty: Runjin Building. On the left was the layout of the building engraved onto a metal panel. They could roughly guess that this was a building for both commercial and residential use.
The smooth marble floor in the lobby was stained with blood and there were some bloody handprints on the walls. The glass from the glass doors broken through by the car and rubbish were scattered across the floor. Apart from that, there was nothing else.
“How is everyone?” Song Qinglan asked inside the car, “Anyone hurt?”
The front of the car was severely damaged making it even more difficult to move in the already crowded back seats.
Song Qinglan’s voice was very close and it sounded right next to Ji Yushi’s ear, much like the first time he heard it on the public channel.
“I’m fine.” Ji Yushi answered.
Except for Ji Yushi, no one knew what happened before and no one seemed to have memories of their last death.
Just now with the spacecar suddenly appearing and death almost seizing him once again, his adrenaline rose to an all-time high and his heart sped up. Even when the car braked and his head hit the back of the driver’s seat, he didn’t feel it.
“I’m also okay.”
“I’m fine.”
………..
Duan Wen’s voice from the passenger seat was painful, “My….my leg seems to be stuck.”
Li Chun let out a curse, “Hurry and help! Brother Wen is stuck!”
“Grrrr…..”
A faint sound travelled over.
The building was deserted and the dark corridors stretched endlessly. It made it hard to tell which direction that sound came from, but it definitely wasn’t far from them.
The car crashed into the building just now and the commotion was too loud so it must have alerted the nearby zombies. This building may appear deserted but there are many zombies hidden within.
Duan Wen’s left leg was firmly trapped. When his teammates tried to move the part trapping his leg, the pain was unbearable.
“You guys go first. Don’t worry about me!”
The zombie’s sounds were getting closer. Duan Wen panted heavily, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat, “Go!”
“How could we leave you!?”
“Hang in there, Brother Wen!”
Song Qinglan inserted Shen Mian into the gap and motioned for Li Chun to protect Duan Wen’s knee.
Even in a situation like this, he remained calm and decisive. He only said quickly, “Less nonsense. Hang in there. Even if your leg is broken, we’re leaving together!”
The absolute trust developed after going through many missions together made Duan Wen willingly accept his captain’s order. Hearing his words, he gritted his teeth and nodded, “……Okay.”
“Hurry!” Zhou Mingxuan urged as he looked around vigilantly with his gun raised.
The footsteps in the corridor grew louder and louder and more and more hasty. There were even growls sounding very close at hand.
“Bang, bang, bang!”
Someone opened fire and several zombies fell as blood splattered around them.
But this corridor seemed like it led to hell. Very soon, more growls and footsteps could be heard and the number of zombies that appeared were several times more than it was earlier!
“Hurry up!!” Li Chun was so anxious, his eyes were red. He shouted, “Cap Song!”
The pitch black Shen Mian was used as a lever.
Because of the force he was exerting, blue veins appeared on Song Qinglan’s forehead and the muscles on his arm became more defined. The car slowly began to let out a low groan.
“AHH—-”
Along with an uncontrollable cry of agony, Duan Wen’s leg was finally freed. It was completely bloody and the wound was so deep, the bone underneath was visible.
Li Chun’s hand trembled, “Brother Wen!”
Duan Wen face was extremely pale. Li Chun supported him out. Song Qinglan shouted, “Go!”
Five people plus one wounded fought while retreating. When they came, their impact shattered the glass and the corridor on the left was also blocked. Zombies poured in continuously. The squad was like a headless prey thrown into a trap. It could be said that they had just left a tiger’s den only to enter a wolf’s den!
Amidst the gunshots, waves of zombies were shot to death. The building was like a maze with nowhere to escape.
With a thud, someone knocked open the fire door.
Tang Le who had been silent for a long time shouted, “Here!”
Everyone retreated into the emergency staircase. The emergency lights turned on, no one was inside.
But very quickly, there was a commotion below. Everyone’s expression changed. A group of zombies had rushed up from below!
“Grrr——-”
“Grrr——-”
At this moment, the zombies following them poured through the fire door. Under the orange emergency lights, these pale faced humans looked like they were soaked in blood. Together with the large group coming from downstairs, their paths were blocked!
Gunshots sounded rapidly. Blood, flesh and brain matter stained the white walls.
The group retreated to the second floor. Zhou Mingxuan opened the door and swore, “What the fuck?! It’s an exchange office! Even during this age, there are people fucking coming out to handle that?!”
The second floor was completely filled with zombies who couldn’t find an exit. The number couldn’t be estimated.
Tang Le and Zhou Mingxuan quickly closed the door again, ignoring the loud banging on the door and then locked it shut with a chain, “Go up!”
“Can’t go up!” Zhou Mingxuan multitasked and blasted at the zombies chasing after them from below while shouting, “It might be a dead end!”
“Going down is already not an option!” Tang Le roared, “Now what do we do?!”
Everyone had no choice but to retreat. When they reached the fourth floor, Ji Yushi suddenly said, “Go to the sixth floor!”
Li Chun who carried Duan Wen was almost in tears. He was in disbelief, “Up again?!”
Song Qinglan gritted his teeth and shot. The zombies in front of him scrambled over the corpses that were piling up. There was no end in sight. He shouted, “Go!”
“Clang!”
The fire door on the sixth floor was knocked open. It was quiet.
With the light coming in from the emergency staircase, a zombie was spotted as soon as it rushed out from the darkness and it was shot dead by Zhou Mingxuan who was at the front, leading the squad.
“Close the door!”
“Find something to barricade it!”
A flashlight turned on in the darkness and a noise followed.
Song Qinglan’s hearing was sharp and he quickly ordered in a low voice, “Quiet!”
Under the chaotic flashlight beam, a female zombie appeared from around the corner.
“Swoosh—–” A hole appeared on the zombie’s head. Her grey eyes widened and she then collaped onto the ground.
Ji Yushi’s black eyes were bright. In his hands was the white Diamond Bird which had a silencer installed at some unknown point in time.
There were some sounds of impact coming from the fire door behind them which were mixed with the zombie’s growls.
The silencer solution made it difficult for the zombies to find them. They only lingered outside the door for a while before their chaotic and frenzied footsteps quickly moved further up the building.
They were temporarily safe.
The light was bright and a little dazzling. Tang Le had found the power switch on the wall.
The decorations here were very exaggerated; crystal lamps, pink cotton candy-like sofas, marble and glass walls. This group of straight men couldn’t understand what kind of place this was.
“High class beauty salon.” Ji Yushi stored away his gun, “Usually not many people here.”
Zhou Mingxuan suddenly raised his laser gun at him and squinted his eyes. The next second a zombie fell not far behind him.
Ji Yushi looked back and calmly gave his thanks, “Thank you.”
Zhou Mingxuan bowed.
Together with Li Chun, Song Qinglan had already set Duan Wen down on the sofa. Very quickly, the blood soaked through it. Duan Wen had lost too much blood, his legs were bent at an unnatural angle and he was completely unconscious.
Li Chun was in charge of logistics and he was also responsible for simple first aid in the team. Seeing this situation, his eyes couldn’t help but turn hot, “The medical kit was lost while fighting against the zombies! I’m really useless!”
Song Qinglan was calmer than Li Chun. He said to everyone, “Stop the bleeding first and find a clean towel! Then see if there is a first aid kit here!”
Everyone: “Yes sir!”
As they busily searched around, Zhou Mingxuan asked, “Advisor Ji, how did you know that this is a beauty salon?”
Ji Yushi said, “There was a floor map downstairs.”
As if he wasn’t used to taking into consideration whether or not others could understand his words, he paused and added another sentence, “It was next to the building sign.”
Zhou Mingxuan also remembered. There was indeed a map next to the two words ‘Runjin Building’ but ordinary people would only briefly glance at it, let alone remember details of each of the floors.
On their way here, Zhou Mingxuan’s attitude towards Ji Yushi had changed considerably. Hearing him say this now, if his mood wasn’t low, he would’ve sincerely complimented him.
They soon found a first aid kit and Li Chun also found a towel.
In a situation like this, Li Chun didn’t have a needle to use so he could only temporarily wrap Duan Wen’s left leg with bandages and the towel.
Finally having barely stopped Duan Wen’s bleeding, Song Qinglan’s hands were covered in blood and his forehead was coated with sweat. He looked around for a while before his eyes fell onto Tang Le.
Tang Le sat in the corner, staring dazedly into the distance. It was as if he had only temporarily come alive for a moment earlier.
Song Qinglan looked at Tang Le solemnly for a few seconds and seemed to have something to say but in the end, he only turned and asked, “Where is Advisor Ji?”
Zhou Mingxuan was a little surprised. He pointed in the direction of the bathroom, “Went that way.”
*
Morning 7:40am.
The bathroom in this high-class beauty salon was spacious and bright with four princess-style washstands arranged in a circle, carpet on the floor and scented candles. You could smell the fragrance as soon as you walked in.
But at this moment, there was a faint smell of blood mixed in and there were a few blood-stained tissues scattered on the carpet.
There was a sound of water.
Song Qinglan circled around the washstands before he found Ji Yushi at the innermost part of the bathroom.
Ji Yushi was washing his face or more exactly, he was rinsing out his entire head.
The water turned pink as it mixed with the blood and it drained out into the basin. The tips of his hair and his eyelashes still dripped with water and his soaked skin looked paler than usual making the raised bump on his forehead appear even more conspicuous —– It was from the impact in the car.
Through the mirror, Ji Yushi also saw him, “Cap Song.”
In that fierce battle, everyone had basically rolled around with the zombies. Unlike the Guardians who are a bunch of unruly men, Ji Yushi liked cleanliness very much. This was something everyone could see.
The strange thing was that even after seeing that Ji Yushi wasn’t actually useless, let alone a flower vase that had joined to easily clear an A-level mission like he had imagined him to be, this appearance of his still made him look weak and vulnerable.
Song Qinglan pointed at his forehead in the mirror and asked casually, “Are you okay?”
Ji Yushi answered, “I’m okay. How is Duan Wen?”
Song Qinglan, “Broke his left leg and damaged his artery. I’m afraid that leg cannot be saved.”
Ji Yushi’s actions stopped.
Song Qinglan, “Push through. We will push through no matter what. It’s better than not returning.”
Too many things had happened, and everything had happened too quickly.
They were caught off-guard and forced into their current situation. First, it was Tang Qi and then it was Duan Wen and now they’re in their current predicament.
But if…….
Probably having thought of the same things, the two fell silent at the same time but no one spoke about that uncertain possibility.
Song Qinglan didn’t come here for small talk. He soon went straight to the point, “Advisor Ji, how did you know that there is a back alley behind the warehouse?”
Ji Yushi put down the towel, “Then how did Cap Song know where the fake wall is?”
“When that woman suddenly changed in front of me, I suddenly remembered.”
“What a coincidence, me too.”
Judging from the current situation, only the two of them remembered what happened last time.
Song Qinglan crossed his arms. He spoke in a casual tone, “If I’m not crazy, I remember you should have escaped with the others in the car.”
Ji Yushi nodded, “Yes but we were unlucky. Not long after escaping, we were hit and killed by the spacecar we just saw.”
It seems that the death from last time was not a good memory for either of them.
Seeing that his sacrifice didn’t help, Song Qinglan let out a low curse, “Looks like we’re both not crazy.”
Song Qinglan opened the faucet and washed away the blood on his hands.
The bones on those large hands of his were distinct and well defined. Blood had even stained his nails. It was unknown if it was Duan Wen’s or someone else’s.
Before going out, Song Qinglan paused. He turned back and his dark eyes were deep, as if he wanted to see through Ji Yushi’s inner thoughts.
“By the way Ji Yushi, do you remember the mission mode?”
“I remember. It’s Ouroboros.”
Ji Yushi suddenly realised something. In western legends, Ouroboros represented cycle.
It was just like their current predicament!
Song Qinglan suddenly brought up this topic and, after seeing Ji Yushi’s reaction, he then gently dropped it and reminded, “We still don’t have any clues. No one knows whether our guess is correct or not. If it is wrong, the outcome may not be salvageable so I hope it can be kept a secret for the time being.”
Song Qinglan’s black combat uniform was covered with dark red blood stains. As if he was annoyed by Ji Yushi’s dawdling, he said, “Anyway, hurry and gather at the hall so that we can discuss what to do next.”
Two minutes later, Ji Yushi returned to the hall and threw something at Song Qinglan.
It was the famous killing weapon that was used as a lever earlier and then used to hold the fire door in place—- Shen Mian.
The fire door was fastened shut with an axe Ji Yushi later found.
In front of everyone, Ji Yushi didn’t act like a subordinate and his tone was serious, “Weapons should be used when they need to be used. It is best that they don’t leave your side.”
Everyone: “……..”
He had just asked for him to open a bottle cap earlier and now he dared to boss someone around. Advisor Ji was really getting braver and braver.
Those words entering Song Qinglan’s ears sounded familiar, as if he had said it last time at the park management office.
Ji Yushi this person, really was someone who would not let a single grievance go unreturned.
