Chapter 75: Chapter 75: The Life-Saving Wooden Ladder
"Hu Ge, we have to break out! If we don’t, we’re gonna be surrounded by these damn beasts!" Wu Chao shouted again, his roar immediately provoking a response from the surrounding zombies.
"Roar, roar, roar~" The chilling howls echoed, rippling through like sound waves, unending.
But even so, Hu Xiaodong continued to swing the cleaver in his hands as if he hadn’t heard a thing.
He was like an emotionless killing machine, neither responding to Wu Chao’s question nor showing any fear, only repeating one motion: slashing!
Tang Xiaoquan noticed Hu Xiaodong’s odd behavior and realized that his mind was muddled by the deaths of Huzi and the others,
which was a dangerous thing. While anger might significantly boost his combat strength to some extent, it could also make him lose the most basic sense of reason and judgment.
Once a person loses their basic reason and judgment, they are likely to do something reckless.
It’s what common sense says: people become strong out of fear, reckless out of anger.
Right now, as the central leader of the team, Hu Xiaodong’s every move concerns the life and death of the team members, so his confusion is terrifying for the entire team.
I must do something!
Wrinkles on his forehead instantly gathered into a tight knot. Tang Xiaoquan’s mind raced, and although he didn’t intend to seize the so-called leadership, it was clear that someone needed to step up and lead, to point the squad in a clear direction out of their predicament.
Again, his gaze swept over the entire alley, where the continuously crowding zombies formed walls of living dead flesh, preventing Tang Xiaoquan from seeing beyond the alley.
Fortunately, Tang Xiaoquan had walked this way before, so he recalled clearly that the north end of the alley led to the city’s main road, while the south end led to a small commercial street.
Undoubtedly, the small commercial street had significantly fewer zombies compared to the main road, so Tang Xiaoquan didn’t hesitate much before deciding, "Follow me, we’re breaking through to the south."
Tang Xiaoquan charged forward, long spear in hand, without caring about how Hu Xiaodong might react.
Tang Xiaoquan’s leadership gave the previously bewildered survivors a backbone. They quickly shifted direction and focused their attack on the south side of the alley.
Without question, Tang Xiaoquan’s decision was the right one under the circumstances.
After all, compared to facing zombies on both sides, choosing the south, where zombie numbers were relatively weaker, as a breakthrough point was wiser.
However, although Tang Xiaoquan’s decision was correct, he overlooked another issue, a crucial one concerning their survival.
The primary advantage of breaking south was the fewer zombies there, but to capitalize on this, they first had to ensure the zombies from the north wouldn’t continue attacking them.
But how could the bloodthirsty zombies from the north sit idly by and let their prey escape?
So despite their apparent movement towards the south, Tang Xiaoquan and the others were still besieged, with no change in their precarious situation.
Wu Chao barely caught his breath after slashing down another zombie, only for another to attack immediately.
Endless and inexhaustible, Wen Quanxin’s arms felt like sticks over a grill, burning with pain.
Ba Cheng crouched in the middle of the group, eyes alertly watching both sides, occasionally striking at zombies attempting to sneak in yet still finding it exhausting.
Wang Qiang, at the forefront, had no chance to even catch his breath, mechanically striking and growing more fatigued by the minute.
Seeing his companions struggling, drenched in sweat, listening to their labored, chaotic breaths, Tang Xiaoquan realized the gravity of the problem.
But he had no solution; he simply couldn’t figure out how to halt the relentless northern assault.
If they couldn’t stop the beasts’ attack, pushing south would be a fool’s errand.
Fatigue gradually eroded the awareness of each survivor, and a despairing mindset began spreading through them.
Death seemed imminent!
Yet...
At that moment, right when everyone was shouting in despair, a thunderous shout exploded among them.
Tang Xiaoquan didn’t even have time to react before a fierce gust of wind swept past his ears, followed by a resounding "clang."
Looking towards the sound, Tang Xiaoquan saw a long wooden ladder fall into the zombie horde, with each rung acting as a natural cage, trapping the zombies in between the rails.
"Roar, roar, roar~" The zombies became agitated, their movement severely hindered by the fallen ladder, which enraged them.
They opened their hollow eyes wide, skeletal hands clawing and grasping at the air, seemingly the only way to inch closer to their prey.
"Don’t just stand there, charge out!" Hu Xiaodong shouted again, the power of his voice resonating like a battle cry, snapping the survivors out of their daze.
Many times, humans just need a little hope to rekindle their fighting spirit.
Hu Xiaodong’s move with the ladder undoubtedly gave the survivors hope to live on.
The alley wasn’t wide, just enough for two people to stand side by side, so the ladder effectively controlled the movement of the northern zombies.
But the survivors understood that the ladder, made of wood, was not iron and couldn’t withstand the zombies’ continuous tearing force, so they must clear the 9-meter alley before the ladder was destroyed.
Hu and Wu led the front, others at the rear. The survivors adopted an alternating attack strategy, where if those in the front showed signs of exhaustion, the ones behind stepped forward.
This way, they not only maintained powerful combat strength but also significantly increased their advancing speed.
On the other side, the mindless zombies surged forward, each trying to be the first to touch their prey.
But the alley was only so wide. Instead of getting closer, their crowded confusion caused zombies to trip and fall.
Thus, with each other’s morale growing ever higher, the survivors grew more determined.
Eventually, through their relentless efforts, a sliver of long-lost sunlight finally streamed into the alley entrance, marking their success.
But before they even had time to savor their victory, new troubles quickly followed...