Before more mutated creatures could catch up to him, Shao Ming quickly climbed the fire escape, making his way upward. He glanced back and saw at least a dozen mutated creatures crowding the base of the stairs, some of them already attempting to climb the trash bin he had used earlier. Fortunately, the creatures from the second and third floors, having crawled out of windows, were limping due to broken limbs, which made them less of a threat.
Shao Ming took a moment to recall the height of the shipping containers. They seemed only slightly lower than a second-floor window, so it wasn't an impossible jump. The police hadn't been foolish enough to place the containers directly beneath the windows, but it was close enough that a jump would suffice.
Reaching the second floor window, Shao Ming kicked the glass, but to his surprise, it only rattled slightly without shattering as he had expected.
"Well, that's strange," he muttered under his breath. He then pulled out his baseball bat and struck the window again. This time, the glass shattered completely, but there were still sharp shards left in the frame.
Not wanting to get cut while climbing through, Shao Ming carefully cleared away the remaining glass before climbing into the hallway on the second floor.
Inside, he could hear the growls and thuds of mutated creatures, banging on doors as if they were on the verge of bursting through at any moment. Shao Ming knew he had no time to waste.
Running toward the far end of the hallway, he reached the window facing the street. Looking outside, he realized there was still a considerable distance—about five or six meters—between him and the shipping container.
If he could get into one of the rooms, however, he might be able to jump from there directly to the container.
He tried the door to the room next door, but it wouldn't open. Without hesitation, he kicked it, but the door didn't budge.
"Dammit," he cursed inwardly. "Why does my escape always have to be different from the movies? In the shows, a door's supposed to just burst open with a kick!"
Shooting the lock was an option, but not one Shao Ming was willing to take. A close-range shot could ricochet, and he couldn't afford to risk a stray bullet hitting him or a mutated creature sneaking up on him.
His mind raced. There was no time to waste trying to force open doors or shoot locks. The first floor usually had a supply room with spare keys, and if he didn't want to risk scaling the wall outside, he would need to go downstairs to find the keys.
The second option wasn't feasible, so Shao Ming swiftly made his way down to the first floor.
As he passed each door, the sound of mutated creatures inside grew louder and more frantic, slamming against the doorframes as if they could sense his presence. He just hoped that the doors would hold and not collapse under the force.
The front door of the building was locked, but through the window of the supply room, Shao Ming could make out the figure of a mutated clerk, who had once been the building's manager. The man now had a chain of keys hanging from his belt.
The supply room door was locked, but Shao Ming wasn't about to be deterred. The door was secured with a thick iron chain, which made the situation a little more complicated. But the sight of the mutated clerk, hunched over and banging against the glass, confirmed that Shao Ming needed to act quickly.
Without hesitation, Shao Ming drew his pistol and fired two quick shots. The first bullet shattered the glass, and the second lodged into the clerk's head, ending its struggle.
The body of the mutated clerk slumped backward, lifeless. Shao Ming quickly climbed through the broken window and snatched the keys from the corpse's waist.
Back upstairs on the second floor, Shao Ming inserted the key into the lock of the room he had previously attempted to open. There was no sound from within, but he remained cautious.
With one hand gripping the fruit knife and the other holding his pistol, Shao Ming cautiously opened the door. To his relief, the room was empty. No mutated creatures.
Rushing to the window, he saw that he could jump directly to the shipping container from the ledge. The distance wasn't much, just over two meters.
He quickly threw his backpack out of the window, watching as it landed safely on top of the container. Then, with a running start, Shao Ming jumped.
It wasn't too far, and with a solid landing, he found himself on top of the container, his backpack in hand. He looked beyond the quarantine wall and saw a large, eight-wheeled Scania truck parked beside the church. But it wasn't empty. The driver's seat was occupied—by a mutated creature.
Just as Shao Ming was about to jump off the container and rush toward the truck, the mutated driver let out an angry roar, slamming his foot on the gas pedal. The truck's engine roared to life.
What the hell? Shao Ming was momentarily stunned. The mutated driver was actually driving the truck?
Before he could react, the truck surged forward, slamming directly into the container. The force of the impact pushed the container, causing it to deform slightly. Shao Ming held on tight to the edge of the container, barely managing to stay on top as the truck's collision nearly threw him off.
The container was pushed forward, rolling through the street, knocking over several cars before crashing into a building, where it finally came to a halt. The mutated driver, still gripping the steering wheel, kept his foot on the accelerator, letting out a growl as the engine roared in vain.
Shao Ming, heart racing, climbed down from the container. The loud crash had attracted the attention of several mutated creatures, who were now pouring out of the buildings along the street.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Shao Ming quickly dashed down the road toward the church. If he kept going, he would reach a major street, which could lead him toward the consulate.
While the quarantine zone didn't seem all that different from the area outside it, there was less danger on the outer streets. After all, the only reason the area had been quarantined was because of the mutated creatures escaping from the nearby hospital.
Shao Ming sprinted toward the consulate, his heart pounding, his mind still reeling from the near miss with the truck.