"Assistance? Elaborate, please. I shall assess the situation first."
"The matter at hand is as follows…"
Li Shurui disclosed the full details to Huazhen.
In truth, official rescue efforts had been made several times, but they had missed them.
Simply put, there was no way to reach the rooftop.
The sixth floor was teeming with zombies, at least several dozen.
Exiting through the staff passage, they found their path to the fire escape blocked by these creatures, who not only possessed keen sight but were also highly sensitive to any surrounding noises.
To put it bluntly.
Given the ferocity of these zombies, even if each of them wielded an assault rifle, breaking through would be impossible, let alone now that they were unarmed.
"So, excluding that plump boy, the six of you are at a loss, and my addition would make a difference?" Huazhen frowned.
"Not exactly. You are the only one who has made it to the cinema from the outside in these past days. You certainly know the situation outside the cinema, and at the very least, you have some experience in evading those creatures," Li Shurui reasoned, glancing at Huazhen's backpack.
By now, they all knew it contained a kitchen knife, its blade crusted with dried blood.
"Firstly, when I entered from outside, I was fortunate enough not to encounter many zombies. Secondly, zombies wander. Just because they weren't in the ticketing corridor when I came in doesn't mean they aren't there now."
"You're right. I just checked, and compared to the daytime, there are seven or eight more zombies outside the door. However, we can find another way."
"Such as?"
"We could bypass the ticketing corridor and head for the fire escape stairs. Behind the ticketing area, near the entrance of the cinema, there's a counter selling cola and popcorn."
"I'm aware of that place; I saw it when I came in."
Li Shurui nodded, "Good, that makes things easier. There's a staff lounge behind that counter, connected to the employee passage behind the projection room. If we can reach the lounge, we can access the fire escape stairs through the window there."
Huazhen was taken aback.
He then recalled what Li Shurui had mentioned earlier.
Opposite the projection room's restroom was a fire escape, intersecting with the employee passage. Exiting there led to the stairwell, which Li Shurui and the others had blocked with servers to prevent zombies from ascending.
In other words, moving along the employee passage would lead to the staff lounge near the popcorn counter.
But this had little to do with Huazhen.
He was here to raid the supermarket.
Not to perform charity work.
His visit to the survivors here was merely to learn how the initial outbreak unfolded.
The survivors in the projection room wished to wait on the rooftop for rescue.
But for Huazhen, the presence or absence of rescue was inconsequential.
He could boldly open the door and descend the stairs, inviting the zombie ladies in JK uniforms to shop for clothes and engage in a more intimate exchange in the fitting rooms.
Alternatively, he could simply turn on the big screen here, project the downloaded romance films onto it, and invite his zombie friends to watch, turning the volume up to the max. Surely, the seats would be filled by then.
Whenever he grew tired of the city and wished to see the rare creature known as "human" in the natural world, he could just drive to the quarantine zone.
"However, we are still lacking certain conditions," Li Shurui said. "Outside the window of the staff lounge, there's an air conditioning unit. The fire escape stairs are about six meters away, and we can't jump that far. We need to find an object long enough and not too heavy to serve as a bridge."
"The projection room likely doesn't have what we need, does it?" Huazhen leaned against the wall.
"That's true, but the furniture store on the fourth floor has ladders and other items. If we bring them back and dismantle them, we'll have a solution."
"That sounds easy, but with zombies everywhere, how do we get out?" Huazhen inquired.
"Noise. We can use noise to draw them away," Li Shurui explained. "Zombies have sight and hearing. The mall automatically cuts power at 11:30 pm. Except for the emergency lights, all other lighting will be shut off, and at that time, they'll be as good as blind."
"So, we can carry two mobile phones with us. One to attract the zombies outside, leading them elsewhere, and the other tied with a string, hung from the railing and lowered to the second floor. This will attract a large number of zombies."
"Don't underestimate the power of a single phone. In the silence of a power outage, its sound will be loud. So, I want you to accompany me to check the employee passage, to confirm its safety. If there are no zombies, then our plan can succeed."
"Fine, I agree, but on one condition," Huazhen said.
"What's that?"
"Everyone else must work too."
"But… having many people is inconvenient for movement, and there are four women. If they get frightened by the zombies… to put it bluntly, they'll be a burden."
Huazhen clicked his tongue, "But they can move things, can't they?"
"Move, move things?"
"Don't you see this as an opportunity? Since most of the zombies will be drawn to the second floor by the noise, the third and fourth floors, along with the food, can be thoroughly scavenged."
"But our goal is rescue…"
"Rescue?" Huazhen chuckled. "Alright, let's assume the rescue is successful, and you safely reach the quarantine zone. What then?"
Li Shurui was at a loss for words.
"After the outbreak, the quarantine zone built in just over half a month is unlikely to have abundant supplies. If there's a vaccine or cure for the zombies, that's one thing. But without it, eventually, people will be sent out to scavenge for supplies. Whether or not you'll be chosen for the search teams is another matter, but, certainly, food won't be plentiful."
Huazhen continued, "But that's a problem for later, right? The situation isn't too dire now, is it? So even if we bring a batch of supplies to the quarantine zone, we can preserve them well. As long as they're stored properly, even if supplies run low later, and people come asking for food, we can claim it's all been eaten… In the end, if we're to risk our lives, let's do it together."
Li Shurui, facing Huazhen's earnest gaze, pondered for a few seconds, then nodded.
Indeed.
Not only should they consider rescue, but they must also plan for the future.
While it may seem foolish to collect food when there's still some left, they must prepare for what's to come.
Since they're going out tonight to lure the zombies anyway if the plan succeeds and most zombies are drawn downstairs, why not let the others who are idle go out and gather supplies? After all, they'll share in the spoils, won't they?
Just as Huazhen said.
If they're to risk their lives, they'll do it together.
Huazhen was pleased with Li Shurui's response.
His initial goal was the supermarket's supplies.
Now, he had managed to coax six people into helping with the transport, which was a great help indeed.