Military Rescue?

"Yeah, save Brother Zhang first!"

"Without Brother Zhang, what will we do if we run into Zombies later!?"

"Let Brother Zhang decide what to do!"

Anyone with even a little sense quickly understood this.

At worst, they could save Zhang Tie and leave Lin An behind.

Zhang Tie's Sister and relatives were all in the hotel. Surely Zhang Tie would not leave Zombies here then.

That way, they would not look heartless, and there would not be much danger.

The crowd stopped arguing. Some of the more proactive ones even nervously gripped the weapons they had found, preparing to receive Zhang Tie.

Wang Jianguo could not help but chuckle as he watched the scene before him.

He had anticipated this long ago.

A rabble. Cowardly human nature.

Whether for self-preservation, conscience, or future considerations, people would make this choice.

In essence, everyone was still thinking about their own safety.

The rope had already been lowered, and Zhang Tie was about to reach the ground floor.

Wang Jianguo suddenly spoke again.

"Everyone, I contacted the military during the day. They promised to come rescue us within the next few days."

"You need not worry about your future safety."

"The military has already established a Safe Zone. Many of them are stronger than Lin An and Zhang Tie!"

Wang Jianguo smiled, utterly confident.

He directly exposed the one thing everyone feared most: safety!

Conscience? Saving people? Bullshit!

"So, for safety reasons, they cannot come up!"

"When the military rescue team finds out that we once saved someone suspected of being a Zombie..."

"Hehe, don't blame me for not warning you when you can't get on the rescue helicopter."

Behind him, several white-collar workers who had long since conspired with him silently rushed into the crowd and seized the rope.

Meanwhile, Zhang Tie was less than thirty meters from the hotel, stumbling as he ran.

More than a hundred Zombies howled and charged wildly after him. The closest was only two meters away.

"Lower the rope!"

Zhang Tie's eyes were wide with fury, bloodshot as he stared at the shattered second-floor windowsill.

Shadows moved behind it. He believed the people inside had heard him long ago.

What had happened?

Why had they not lowered the rope yet!?

"Second Uncle!"

"Old Huang!"

No one answered.

At a loss, he could only hurriedly take Lin An and hide behind the overturned cargo truck.

Lin An's breathing grew weaker and weaker behind him, and Zhang Tie felt as though a fire was burning in his chest.

They could not hide behind the truck for long. Once the Zombies surrounded them, there would truly be no escape.

Zhang Tie panted heavily, looking anxiously at Lin An.

As an Awakened, his powerful Combat Power came with an equally massive need for food.

With his stamina depleted and his mind exhausted, an intense hunger rose into his throat.

Without food to replenish his strength, even if they were lucky enough to hide here without the Zombies breaking through, his strength would not recover at all.

Not only did he need a safe place to rest, Lin An needed one too!

Zhang Tie frantically rummaged through the medicine bag and pulled out all kinds of pills.

They were all in English. He could not understand any of it, nor did he know what the Bandaged Girl had taken!

He could not worry about that now. He simply shoved all the medicine into Lin An's mouth.

But without water to wash it down, Lin An quickly spat it back out.

Zhang Tie was growing desperate. Seeing Lin An's breathing weaken by the second, he feared Lin An would fail to hold on and turn into a Zombie the next moment.

What should I do!? What should I do!

Food. Water!

He needed both!

On the second floor of the hotel, Wang Jianguo looked relaxed as he watched Second Uncle and the others glare at him.

"I'm only thinking of everyone. Once the military sends people here, you'll know who was right and who was wrong."

He let out a long sigh, but his heart was filled with contempt.

A bunch of nobodies. A little bluffing, and they actually believed it.

The crowd began discussing it among themselves.

Director Wang's words instantly caught their attention.

"Director Wang, is the military really sending people to rescue us?"

"Don't our phones have no signal? And aren't they out of battery too?"

Someone questioned him, but the lackeys Wang Jianguo had bought off hurriedly interrupted.

"Do you even know Director Wang's status? Just because you can't contact anyone doesn't mean he can't! Use your brains. He's an important man!"

"Besides, we're in the City Center. How could the authorities possibly abandon us?"

"When the authorities send people here, don't blame us if we can't take too many people at once and leave you behind!"

Half explanation, half threat.

The questioning crowd quickly fell silent.

Wang Jianguo looked calm and sincere as he gave a light cough.

"I hope no one questions this anymore. I guarantee with my character that the authorities will definitely send people!"

"What we need to do now is ensure our own safety and avoid getting infected so we can board the helicopter!"

He thumped his chest as though it were all true.

Yet Wang Jianguo knew full well that the military Safe Zone and rescue personnel from the authorities were all fabrications.

His phone had long since shut down. With no signal, how the hell could he contact anyone?

Still, he was a member of the leadership. He was confident the authorities would not simply abandon him.

If he waited a few more days, even if the military did not come, surely a few armed police officers would show up, right?

After hearing Wang Jianguo's assurance, most of the crowd, who had no opinions of their own, said nothing more.

Among the people Zhang Tie had brought, the small number who still cared about loyalty could only give up in resentment.

The reason was simple: the group Wang Jianguo had gathered were tall and strong, among the few young people in the hotel.

The Fire Axes in their hands threatened everyone, whether deliberately or not.

They might have been terrified of Zombies, but they still dared to threaten a group of old, weak, sick, and disabled people.

Seeing that the situation was under control, Director Wang could not help looking pleased with himself.

He had merely made them a casual promise: follow him, and they could work for the government in the Future.

And once the military arrived, those who followed him would get priority boarding on the helicopter.

Under threats and temptation,

these people obediently followed his orders. They were stupid beyond belief.

Just as everyone was preparing to return to their rooms, a young girl's sorrowful voice rang out.

"Uncle, please lower the rope, okay?"

"My brother is still down there."

With tears streaking her face and her eyes red-rimmed, Zhang Youwei looked pleadingly at Wang Jianguo, her body trembling with agitation.

Hm?

Wang Jianguo had his arm around a fawning Young Woman when he stopped heading back to his room and turned to look at her.

Tsk, tsk.

What a lovely little girl. She had the makings of a beauty.

Zhang Youwei was dressed innocently and sweetly. Her reddened eyes were bright and filled with pleading, making people want to pity her.

Her pale feet wore a pair of sandals, and the round toes made him itch to grab them in his hands and play with them.

Her skin was fair and smooth, like milk splashed from a steaming teapot.

The purity unique to a young girl made it feel as though ants were crawling through his heart.

Greed flashed through his eyes. Without drawing attention, he withdrew his arm from the Young Woman's waist.

Compared to Zhang Youwei, the Young Woman, who had seemed somewhat attractive before, now looked like a withered flower.

He took two steps at a time and walked over to Zhang Youwei.

"Uncle wants to save your brother too, but he's infected."

The breath from his yellow, smoke-stained teeth was nauseating.

"Uncle is thinking about everyone's safety too. If there were a way, I'd definitely save him!"

He pretended to comfort her as he reached for You Wei's face and gently stroked it.

Her lively little face was smooth and tender, as though he could squeeze water from it with a single hard pinch.

Unable to resist, his hand moved downward, as though he merely wanted to pat You Wei's shoulder.

"Uncle..."

You Wei trembled all over. Something in the adult's eyes frightened her.

"My brother isn't infected. He can still kill Zombies."

Sobbing uncontrollably, her shoulders shook as she tried to dodge the greasy hand.

Wang Jianguo sneered inwardly.

Naturally, he had guessed that Zhang Tie most likely had not been infected by a Zombie. Otherwise, Zhang Tie should have fallen unconscious like Lin An, right?

But let Zhang Tie come up? Then who would still listen to him!

When he had privately recruited people during the day, he had already promised those men how they would deal with the women in the hotel.

Threats, temptation, and manipulating hearts all required giving these idiots a little sweetness first!

"Sweetheart, Uncle..."

One hand pressed down on You Wei's body while the other reached lower in a feigned gesture of pity.

"Swish."

Just as his blood began to boil with excitement, he suddenly felt a chill at his neck.

"Lower the rope. Save them!"

The voice was cold and carried intense Killing Intent.