Shao Ming picked up a nearby handgun, clicked off the safety, and handed it to Feng Yusheng. He also grabbed an extra magazine from his bag and placed it on the control panel.
"Are you sure about this?" Feng Yusheng asked one last time.
"If we can save him, we should," Shao Ming said as he opened the door. "Wait for me here."
Feng Yusheng didn't argue further. Since Shao Ming had made his decision, she chose not to stop him.
The quickest way to reach the car rental company's parking lot was to follow the railroad tracks forward. Using the slopes on both sides of the tracks for cover, Shao Ming made his way toward the road near the airport.
He stepped lightly on the railroad ties, careful not to make too much noise as he moved along the tracks.
The drone was nowhere to be seen—likely it had returned to the rooftop.
Unlike the tracks that led toward the office building, this set of railroad tracks was on the opposite side of the rental company. The layout of the area formed something like a triangle with the train station and office building.
Shao Ming used the trees along the track embankment for cover, making his way safely toward the rental company's parking lot.
He climbed up the embankment and saw the rental lot filled with cars. A wire fence blocked off the side of the lot closest to the tracks, but the entrance on the side facing the road was wide open. There were no mutated creatures in sight, likely because they had wandered off with the horde.
Though there was an overpass and some trees blocking his view, Shao Ming could still see the office building's rooftop from the parking lot. The man was no longer there, and the mutated creatures below were too far for him to see clearly.
Shao Ming didn't immediately enter the parking lot. Instead, he circled the area to plan his escape route. The entrance of the parking lot provided a direct exit to the street, and across the street, there were two multi-story parking garages that would block the view of any mutated creatures coming from the direction of the office building.
He casually walked up to one of the cars, kicked it, and—
As expected, the car's alarm blared loudly.
For safety's sake, Shao Ming quickly moved to another car, striking its window with the stock of his rifle. The first hit didn't break it, but after a second strike, the glass shattered into pieces.
Having set off two alarms, Shao Ming wasted no time. He quickly left the parking lot and ran toward the nearby parking garage.
Instead of heading toward the train station, he first slipped into the garage.
The garage wasn't fully enclosed, so Shao Ming could see what was happening outside through the half-height walls.
The mutated creatures took the bait immediately. Upon hearing the car alarms, they rushed toward the parking lot in a swarm.
Now, Shao Ming could only hope that no hearing-impaired creatures had remained at the office building.
Seeing that the distraction was working, he finally turned toward the train station and started running, following the tracks. Once he turned the corner and couldn't see the horde anymore, Shao Ming felt a little more at ease and picked up his pace toward the train.
By the train, a typical British man was ravenously eating. He was wearing a work uniform with the "Arriva Trains Wales" logo and carrying a large black backpack. A set of bloodstained tools, including wrenches and crowbars, was strapped to his waist.
Feng Yusheng was standing nearby. When she saw Shao Ming return safely, the tension in her face relaxed.
The man immediately put down his water bottle and crackers, coming forward to shake Shao Ming's hand, expressing his gratitude.
"Thank you so much. I've been stuck on that roof for almost a week, living off two packs of chips and rainwater."
"Just doing what I could," Shao Ming replied. "But we need to leave now. Once the mutated creatures wake up, they'll start wandering around."
When the man heard this, he quickly said, "You can leave by train."
"Train?" Shao Ming looked at Feng Yusheng, who was eyeing the man and his gear with curiosity. She was occasionally glancing at the tracks to check for mutated creatures, while also studying the man's tools and uniform.
A train did sound like a viable option—faster and safer than driving a car when dealing with the mutated creatures.
"Do you know how to drive a train?" Shao Ming asked.
"Of course, of course!" the man said confidently, patting his chest. "I'm a railway engineer, after all."
"A railway engineer drives trains?" Feng Yusheng turned to ask, her voice tinged with skepticism.
Shao Ming, too, wondered. While he didn't know exactly what a railway engineer did, it surely wasn't the same as a train driver, right?
The man, seemingly caught off guard by the question, answered sheepishly, "Well, I haven't actually driven one before, but I've been around trains a lot. I've even played plenty of train simulation games."
Shao Ming and Feng Yusheng exchanged a look, both of them silently raising their eyebrows at each other.
"Let's hurry," the man said, finishing his last bit of cracker and downing the rest of his water. "There's a Class 43 train on the platform that hasn't left yet. If all goes well, the key should be inside."
With that, he hurried off toward the platform.
It seemed like he had been planning this all along.
"Something's a bit off about this guy," Feng Yusheng muttered quietly in Chinese.
"What?" The man turned back and asked, slightly confused.
"Ah," Shao Ming quickly covered, "We didn't catch your name yet."
"Sorry, sorry," the man said, stopping. "I'm Lambert."
They followed Lambert to the other side of the platform, where the Class 43 train was parked. It was a classic old model that Shao Ming vaguely recognized from somewhere.
Lambert climbed onto the platform, pulled open the door, and climbed inside.
"Yes, yes, yes!" Lambert exclaimed excitedly. "I knew it! I saw the train driver run out of here the other day. And look, the key is right here!"
"Can you be quieter?" Shao Ming asked, keeping an eye on the distance. Didn't this guy realize that they were in danger of being surrounded by hundreds of mutated creatures?
Just as Shao Ming glanced around, a mutated creature locked eyes with him.
It let out a terrifying scream, and within moments, more mutated creatures came rushing toward them.
"You'd better hurry and get this thing moving!" Shao Ming shouted, raising his rifle as he prepared for the worst.