Chapter 85: Chapter 85: Desperate Escape
Using hands and feet in unison, Hu Xiaodong rather effortlessly climbed to the top of the air conditioner unit.
However, because the iron rack supporting it was somewhat old, it inevitably emitted a series of "squeaking" metal rubbing sounds under Hu Xiaodong’s weight.
"Brother Hu! Be careful!" Wen Chuanxin instinctively blurted out, and the rest of the people also couldn’t help but worry about Hu Xiaodong’s safety and the load-bearing capacity of the iron rack due to the sudden "squeak" sound.
Raising his hand to make an "OK" gesture, Hu Xiaodong indicated for everyone to relax. Then he slowly twisted his body, turning in the direction of the balcony.
The balcony was about 2 meters long and one meter wide, and it was less than 90 centimeters away from the air conditioner, so Hu Xiaodong could easily touch the outer railing by simply extending his arms.
Taking another few steps forward, Hu Xiaodong tried to position himself in a spot where he could exert force comfortably.
Then, leaning forward to hold the railing, he bent his knees and stepped on the unit twice. Once he ensured that the iron rack below was strong enough to support his weight without any signs of breaking or collapsing, his heart finally eased a bit.
The glaring sunlight shot from the east, causing Hu Xiaodong to lower his head slightly uncomfortably. The sweat incessantly streaming into his eyes blurred his vision somewhat.
He instinctively wiped the sweat from his face, took a deep breath, and as the warmth filled his being, his black eyes began to narrow subtly, only to suddenly brighten at some critical point!
Bend knees, apply force, support, leap up, Hu Xiaodong’s continuous movements were completed in one fluent motion.
The explosive power, unleashed with full force, unsurprisingly sent him up onto the railing.
The iron rack groaned again, but as the pressure lifted, it returned to normal.
"Phew~" Exhaling a long breath, Hu Xiaodong leaped down to the ground. Once he landed safely, he quickly made a "victory" gesture to the onlookers below.
"OK! Next, Wang Qiang, it’s your turn!"
No one questioned Tang Xiaoquan’s arrangement. Although, at heart, every one of them couldn’t wait to leave the horrifying "Wall of Hell," after experiencing a string of life-and-death trials together, they all hoped their companion could leave before themselves.
This was a complex and contradictory mindset, which only those who had been through it could understand.
Wang Qiang, due to his excessive physical exhaustion, appeared a bit clumsy as he climbed. However, after a series of awkward struggles, he still managed to make it onto the balcony without any danger.
Afterward, the remaining survivors, one after another, followed the same method to stand up and leap.
Meanwhile, beneath them, a group of tireless zombies kept roaring ceaselessly as if planning to use their enthusiastic "cheering" to call back those "idols" on stage!
"To hell with it!" Wu Chao, feeling reborn, roared in anger to vent his discontent.
Beside him, Wang Qiang directly picked up a small flower pot from the ground, and then glaring furiously, threw it out.
The 10-centimeter diameter clay flower pot traced a beautiful arc in the sunlight, and the soil spilled mid-air, splattering onto the zombies below.
"Clang!" With a crisp sound, the flower pot carrying Wang Qiang’s endless resentment accurately hit the head of a "fan" with slightly longer hair styled in a punk artistic fashion.
Under the force of the impact, the pot instantly shattered into pieces, with the soil quickly burying the head of the artistic "fan."
You could even see a wilted little flower among the soil, looking rather amusing from a distance.
"Alright! Quit fooling around! Quiet down!" Tang Xiaoquan frowned slightly, poking his brother’s side with a bit of helplessness.
Clearly, their crisis was only temporarily eased, so until they safely entered the room, anything could happen.
"Alright, everyone get ready, I’m going to open the door." As he spoke, Hu Xiaodong’s strong left hand had already reached through the cut mosquito net inside, ready to rotate the doorknob and open the door at the next second.
At this moment, just after scolding Wu and Wang, Tang Xiaoquan stopped him.
"Wait a second! Brother Hu!"
Slightly tilting his head, Hu Xiaodong gave him an inquiring look: "Is there a problem?"
Nodding slightly, Tang Xiaoquan softly continued, "It’s like this, Brother Hu, before going inside, we’d better come up with a plan!"
"Damn it, what kind of plan! There are six of us, even if there are zombies inside, we’ll wipe them out in no time!"
All along, Wang Qiang had been holding in a bellyful of frustration due to the zombie chase, so hearing Tang Xiaoquan’s hesitancy immediately triggered an outburst of annoyance.
Tang Xiaoquan didn’t mind his brother’s mockery. He gazed at Wang Qiang intently, then calmly asked: "Qiang, you said the six of us could easily handle the zombies inside. That’s not wrong. But can you guarantee that the zombies in the hallway won’t come in? Can you guarantee that the door to this room is closed? If not, then we simply rush in... hmm hmm!"
With two cold hums, Tang Xiaoquan didn’t complete his sentence, knowing the fear in Wang Qiang’s eyes confirmed that his explanation had taken effect.
"Go ahead, Xiao Tang, what’s your plan?" Hu Xiaodong withdrew his hand and patted Tang Xiaoquan twice on the shoulder. After experiencing this series of turmoil, he increasingly found this young man before him extraordinary.
Calm during crises and meticulous in thinking, was Hu Xiaodong’s evaluation of Tang Xiaoquan. Besides that, the young man’s composure in never showing his emotions on his face made Hu Xiaodong regard him even more highly.
After all, everyone has been young and reckless in their early twenties, so to show maturity akin to this young man was indeed rare.
Tang Xiaoquan did not know what Hu Xiaodong was thinking at the moment. He pondered for a moment; after organizing his thoughts, he slowly began to speak: "Here’s what I think: Since we don’t have many weapons left, Brother Hu, you and Wu Chao should go inside first to scout the situation, mainly to see if the front door is closed. If it is, then the rest of us will follow inside; if not, we’ll just have to hold this wooden door, then retreat back to the wall!"
Hu Xiaodong silently propped his hand on the window sill, casting a few furtive glances inside, then decisively nodded and said: "Alright! Just as you said, Wu Chao, drop your backpack, let’s go explore first!"