Half an hour later.
"I'll go first to check things out. Once I leave, run as fast as you can toward the fire escape. Don't make any loud noises, got it?" Liu Jian, standing at the front, looked at a young man who was "fully equipped" and repeated his instructions for the third time.
"Alright, let's go. Deep breaths. We'll be back soon," Liu Jian reassured them.
The screaming earlier had come from the left side of the building, and those zombies seemed to be heading in that direction. The fire escape they were heading to was on the right. If they were lucky, they might avoid running into any zombies.
"Wh-why do I have to be at the front?" The young man who was to lead the group glanced at Liu Jian reluctantly, looking somewhat unwilling to stand at the front.
"Because you're the strongest here! Xiao Wang, it's a special situation, so you'll have to take on this role," Liu Jian said, patting Xiao Wang on the back and signaling him to open the door.
Xiao Wang saw the encouraging look from Jiang Xing and got a thumbs-up from her, which made him feel a bit more confident.
"Go!" she mouthed.
Xiao Wang took a deep breath, slowly pushed open the door, and peeked out. After a few quiet moments, he signaled to the group, confirming it was clear.
Everyone held their breath, listening carefully for any unusual noises. When there was nothing but silence, Xiao Wang glanced at the others, nodded, and gently pushed the door open wider.
Fortunately, this was a newer door and didn't make the loud creaking noises of the older, rusted ones.
After opening a crack, the first thing everyone saw was a trail of dark, almost black bloodstains on the floor, stretching quite a distance, and disappearing near an office cubicle.
Confirming that there was nothing unusual around, Xiao Wang steeled himself and pushed the door open wider.
Just like before, even though there were sounds from the outside, the room remained quiet, as if the screams had drawn everything away.
The group formed a line, with Xiao Wang leading, followed by Liu Jian and Jiang Xing. Two female colleagues stayed in the middle, while two male colleagues brought up the rear.
The fire escape was to the far right, just a few steps away.
Everyone moved quietly, holding their breath as they quickly approached the fire escape.
"Hurry!" Liu Jian whispered to Xiao Wang.
"I'm at the door..." Xiao Wang pushed against it, pressing the handle down to open it, but it wouldn't budge. No matter how hard he pushed, it was stuck.
"What's going on? This door?"
It was already slightly open, but he couldn't push it open any further.
"Is there something blocking it from the inside?"
Xiao Wang pressed his face closer, trying to squeeze his head in to see, "I swear, it's not supposed to be blocked! This is an emergency escape; it's supposed to be clear!"
He tried a few more times, making quite a bit of noise, but the door wouldn't move.
"Ah!"
A male figure suddenly crawled out from under a desk, seeing the group and immediately letting out an angry roar. His body twisted unnaturally, flipping around in a bizarre posture.
"Don't let him get close!" Liu Jian shouted, alarmed as he saw the figure rushing towards Xiao Wang. He quickly shoved the door, pushing Xiao Wang aside, but his eyes turned to fear.
As the zombie rushed toward them, several more zombies seemed to emerge from all directions, shrieking and charging wildly at the group.
"Watch out!"
The nearest zombie was already dangerously close. Yue Zhihao picked up a chair and smashed it with all his might, knocking the zombie back, but only for a moment. It rolled over and crawled right back, heading directly toward Xiao Jin.
"Stay back!"
Xiao Jin screamed, shakily aiming the pointed end of his wooden stick at the zombie.
The zombie lunged forward, impaling itself onto the stick, the sharp end piercing through its chest. It screamed in pain but continued to push forward, gnashing its teeth toward Xiao Jin.
"Get back!"
Jiang Xing fearlessly kicked the zombie in the head, making it snarl and stumble backward. She quickly grabbed the other end of the stick, and together with Xiao Jin, they managed to push the zombie down to the floor.
Xiao Jin pulled out the stick, intending to stab it again, but Jiang Xing quickly pulled him away.
"Don't try to fight; just run!"
There was a staircase next to the fire escape. Although taking the stairs wasn't the most rational choice, they had no other options left.
"Damn it, how did they get up from the first floor?"
They were on the 17th floor, but the elevator still showed it was on the first floor. Who knew how many more zombies were on their way up?
There was no time to hesitate. Several zombies had already sprinted closer, slamming into the glass wall near Jiang Xing and the others, leaving a visible crack.
"Quick, hold them off!"
Liu Jian shouted, pointing at the few who were at the front of the group, urging them to brace against the door.
Outside the elevator was a glass door, and a few of them pressed against it with all their might, staring at the terrifying zombies on the other side.
"Team Leader Zhang, I hate to break it to you, but you don't have to get this excited!" Lin Xiwang glanced at Zhang's blood-streaked face, nervously joking, but she continued to press against the door with all her strength.
Perhaps her voice stirred up the tension. The zombies outside became even more frenzied, scratching and clawing at the glass, slamming harder and harder, making the pressure on the door almost unbearable.
"Why isn't the elevator here yet!?"
Just as she finished speaking, there was a ding as the elevator doors opened.
They were in luck. Although the inside was stained with blood, there were no zombies.
Liu Jian quickly stepped inside and shouted, "Quick, get in!"
"We'll count to three, and we all go together!"
"Okay!"
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"
"Go!"
They all let go simultaneously, sprinting into the elevator.
But as soon as they released the glass door, it couldn't withstand the pressure anymore, shattering under the weight of the zombies slamming against it.
Crash!
A group of zombies tumbled through the broken glass and lunged toward the elevator, but the group quickly shoved back, managing to force the zombies out and slam the elevator doors shut.
"Quick, press the button!"
Liu Jian frantically jabbed the door close button. It usually shut so fast during work hours; why did it have to be so slow now?
Fortunately, just as the zombies lunged at them, the elevator doors finally shut, and the elevator began to descend slowly towards the second floor...
Still in a state of high alert, the group quickly noticed something was off.
"Wait, why is the elevator going up?"
"This isn't right. I clearly pressed the button for the 2nd floor!" Luo Jian said, panicking.
He wasn't mistaken—the button for the 2nd floor was lit up, but the button for the 19th floor was also illuminated. If it wasn't pressed by mistake, it meant someone on the 19th floor had called the elevator!
"What do we do?"
It wasn't just Luo Jian who was anxious; the others also descended into chaos over this unexpected turn.
But there was no time to think. The 19th floor was only a few levels away from the 2nd floor, and within a few breaths, the elevator reached the 19th floor.
Ding~
The familiar chime echoed.
As the elevator doors slowly opened, everyone gripped their makeshift weapons tightly, anxiously staring at the gap. Outside the elevator—was it going to be a person, or a zombie?