However, the situation was urgent, and Zhao Tianlei did not want to waste any more time here. He immediately opened the classroom door and led the dozen or so people along one side, slowly moving forward. The more than ten people lined up in a row, moving slowly like a greedy snake.
When they were almost at the doors of the two classrooms, Zhao Tianlei slowed his pace and held out a hand to stop everyone from advancing for the moment. Under his warning, no one dared move recklessly. They stood where they were, waiting for Zhao Tianlei's next instruction.
Zhao Tianlei stood at the door of the classroom filled with zombies, fire axe in hand. After confirming that there were no problems, he waved to the others, signaling them to leave. Zhao Tianlei believed that as long as no one made a sound, kept calm, and lightened their footsteps, they would not attract the zombies' attention. Moreover, under his instructions, the teacher at the front remained remarkably composed, advancing step by step like a cat.
With Zhao Tianlei standing guard and keeping watch for them, nearly half of the more than ten people successfully made it through. Just as the plan was about to succeed, a student suddenly shouted as he passed beside Zhao Tianlei, "Ah, I can't take it anymore!"
That shout exploded through the quiet school building like a bomb. Almost in the same instant, all the zombies in the classroom Zhao Tianlei had been watching began to stir. Zhao Tianlei truly felt an urge to split that bastard in two with his axe, but escaping with their lives was more important now.
To hold back the zombies, Zhao Tianlei grabbed the classroom door handle and shouted at those remaining, "Run, damn it! Are you all waiting here to be eaten?"
Following Zhao Tianlei's furious roar, everyone else took off running. Before they could get out, several zombies suddenly came rushing down the stairs. They had clearly heard the sound of food and charged down from above without regard for anything else. Some of them even lost their footing on the stairs and fell headfirst to the floor with a slap.
But having become walking corpses, they could not feel any pain at all. They slowly crawled back up and chased after Zhao Tianlei and the others.
"Go to hell!" Seeing several zombies about to block their path, Zhao Tianlei kicked one away, swung the fire axe in his hand, and hacked at the nearest zombies.
At that moment, everyone was fleeing for their lives, and no one noticed Zhao Tianlei's outburst. With that swing of his axe, he knocked at least three zombies to the ground. Two of them had their heads blown apart, while the third had its left arm severed by Zhao Tianlei, its entire body knocked down by the remaining force.
"Urgh..."
While Zhao Tianlei displayed his might, buying the others time and blocking the zombies, many more zombies poured out of the classrooms on both sides of the corridor. They staggered toward him, chasing after Zhao Tianlei.
"Damn it!" Faced with so many zombies, Zhao Tianlei roared in frustration and hurriedly retreated to the school building's entrance. He reached out and shut the glass doors, then used the iron chain on the door handle to tie them closed before turning and running.
By then, the dozen or so people had reached the parking lot. The two teachers climbed into their cars, and the remaining students squeezed inside as well. But there were more than ten people in total. Both teachers had compact cars, each of which normally seated five people including the driver. If they squeezed in, two could sit in the front passenger seat, while the three-person back seat could hold at most five. That meant each car could carry eight people, and the two cars could carry sixteen.
As it happened, there were exactly eighteen people in total, including Zhao Tianlei and Cheng Yao. In other words, two people would be unable to get into the cars. Cheng Yao had not gotten in because she was waiting for Zhao Tianlei; she had remained standing off to the side. Faced with this situation, the two rescued teachers were extremely embarrassed and remorseful. After all, Zhao Tianlei had risked his life to save everyone. They could not bring themselves to drive away immediately and were waiting to see whether there was another solution.
Zhao Tianlei raised the fire axe in his hand and shouted at a male student in one of the cars, "Damn it, you were the one who shouted and attracted the zombies back there! Get out! You're coming with me. If you don't get down, I'll chop you to death right now!"
Faced with Zhao Tianlei's furious expression, the boy clung tightly to the seat and refused to get out no matter what. He even wailed, "No, don't make me get out! I was just too scared. Those zombies were terrifying!"
Hearing that excuse, Zhao Tianlei grew even angrier. He raised the fire axe again and snarled at the boy, "Scared? You're not even as good as those female students! Do you know how many zombies you attracted by shouting? The people behind us were almost all killed because of you! Get down here. If you don't, I'll climb into the car and drag you out myself!"
Seeing Zhao Tianlei looking murderous, the boy actually screamed at the top of his lungs, "Help! He's killing someone! Save me! Look, he's going to chop me with that axe!"
"Fuck, you..."
Zhao Tianlei was truly enraged. Yet faced with his actions, the others did not react at all. Instead, everyone was glaring at the boy with contempt and blame. After all, Zhao Tianlei's efforts to rescue them had moved every one of them. Just as he had said, that bastard's shouting had nearly gotten people killed.
Suddenly, Cheng Yao stepped forward, took Zhao Tianlei by the arm, and comforted him. "Tianlei, forget it. Let them go. If you aren't getting in the car, then I'm not leaving either. I'm staying with you."
Hearing Cheng Yao's words, Zhao Tianlei was overwhelmed by an indescribable feeling of warmth. He hurriedly refused, "No. It's very dangerous for you to walk with me. If you go with them, you'll reach the army quickly. Once you're under the army's protection, you'll be safe."
Unexpectedly, Cheng Yao was extremely stubborn. She pulled on Zhao Tianlei's arm and said, "No. If you're not leaving, neither am I. As far as I'm concerned, staying with you is definitely safer than staying with them. You risked your life to save them, yet not one of them is willing to give up a seat for you. If we run into danger on the way, they'll definitely abandon me. But if I stay with you, no matter how dangerous it gets, you won't leave me behind. So I'm staying with you."
"You..." Cheng Yao's words were a brutally direct slap in the face to the people in the cars.
"Crash..." Just then, the school building's glass doors were smashed apart by the zombies, and countless zombies came rushing out. Seeing this, the people in one of the cars immediately started the engine and sped away without a second thought. Zhao Tianlei could not help wanting to curse.
"Student... the zombies are here. We have to leave too."
"Get lost! Hurry up and get lost! Don't let me see you again, a bunch of ungrateful bastards!"
Before you continue