Chapter 59

Chapter 59

Tang Man decided to trust her and Zhongqiu’s instincts. She sought out Captain Bai, sharing her premonitions and the unusual behavior of the four small animals.

Captain Bai promptly reported the matter to command. Given her past achievements and the combat prowess she displayed that day, the commander took her intelligence very seriously.

Everyone was ordered to conduct two thorough inspections of the hotel, inside and out, yet nothing was found.

While some trusted her intuition and wished to relocate, the majority preferred to believe their own eyes. The hotel had already been searched three times, and they were convinced there was no danger within.

After such a prolonged delay, it was already nearing 9 p.m. Finding a new resting place and securing it would take an unknown amount of time, and with more zombie fighting scheduled for dawn, most of the already exhausted group refused to move.

The day’s casualties had already caused widespread demoralization, and some civilian superpower users were deeply resentful of the military for making them waste effort on two additional hotel safety checks.

No one knew how many more days the battles would last. It would be detrimental for friction to develop between civilian superpower users and the military so early, on just the second day.

After careful consideration, the commander still did not authorize relocation. However, he arranged for all soldiers to rest in their vehicles, ready to drive away at the first sign of danger.

He also instructed the military to advise other superpower users to rest in their vehicles if possible. Those who insisted on staying in the hotel were encouraged to buddy up on lower floors for easier escape.

Some wavering individuals, seeing the soldiers’ serious demeanor, reluctantly chose to sleep in their vehicles after a moment of hesitation. Yet, over a hundred people dismissed the warnings as an overreaction, casually finding rooms in the hotel to sleep in.

After all, with battles ahead, a good night’s sleep was crucial. They had checked this hotel three times, not even missing a potted plant—surely there was no problem!

Tang Man and the other two built a bonfire outside their vehicle and cooked a large pot of mushroom and lean pork porridge, accompanied by steamed buns. The thick, savory porridge, with its rice grains cooked to perfection, emitted a warm steam. In the cold winter night, it not only warmed their stomachs but also their hearts.

Given the reactions of Stripes and the other three animals, Tang Teng and the others eyed the towering hotel building as if it were an unstable bomb.

“Tang Man, what do you think is hidden in there?” Although Zhongqiu’s reaction unnerved him, Sheng Yao was genuinely curious about the potential danger that hadn’t been found after three searches.

Tang Man shot him a look. “If I knew, would I still be sitting here?”

The porridge was scalding. She held a spoon, skimming the cooler surface absentmindedly, her peripheral vision constantly fixed on the hotel building in the distance.

After dinner, Tang Teng laid thick quilts in the truck cabin—all taken from the hotel rooms during their earlier inspections—and placed sleeping bags on top.

“Sis, you can come sleep now!” Tang Teng called out from the cabin.

“You guys sleep first. I’ll keep watch tonight.” Tang Man turned back to him from beside the fire, the flames illuminating half her face, which was set in grim determination.

Tang Teng opened his mouth to say that the soldiers were taking turns on watch, but remembering Zhongqiu and the others’ abnormal behavior, he ultimately swallowed his words.

“Then the three of us will take shifts. Remember to wake me up later,” Sheng Yao lingered by the fire a while longer before returning to the truck, not forgetting to remind her to “switch shifts” with them before he left.

“Mm.” Tang Man nodded, not daring to meet his gaze.

Sheng Yao had grown increasingly bold lately, his eyes always shining with an alarming intensity that made her deeply uncomfortable.

Occasionally, she even wondered if she should talk to him properly after this mission, making it clear that she only saw him as a younger brother. Her initial care for him and his mother was solely because he was Xiao Teng’s roommate and because of their family’s house. She wanted him to stop wasting his time on her.

If there were no feelings, it was better to prevent the other person from falling deeper and to encourage them to look elsewhere sooner. Judging by the reactions of some repeat customers at the grocery store, with his looks, even if he were just a superficially powerful superpower user, young women would still flock to him.

He certainly wouldn't have trouble finding a girlfriend!

Tang Man sat by the fire, idly stroking Zhongqiu, who was sound asleep in her lap. The little cat, even in its dreams, instinctively exposed its belly, allowing its human to pet it to its heart’s content.

Zhongqiu had stubbornly refused to sleep in the cabin without her, insisting on staying by her side, and eventually dozed off on her knees.

A tangle of vines lay coiled at her feet. Should any zombies approach, they would spring out, silently ending the zombies’ lives without disturbing the sleeping kitten in her arms.

“Ah—”

“Help—”

Around 1 a.m., piercing screams suddenly erupted from the hotel, only to be abruptly cut short, as if something had choked them off.

Tang Man quickly rose from the fire, waking Tang Teng and the others in the truck, while she herself retreated to the vehicle’s door.

She planned to first assess the opponent’s strength—if they were evenly matched, she’d fight; if not, she’d run!

After those few screams, people quickly began leaping from the hotel’s second-floor windows, some so frantic they didn’t even have time to put on their pants.

“Rats! So many zombie rats!” they shouted, scrambling toward their vehicles.

Tang Man focused her gaze and saw a black tide of zombie rats pouring from the windows. Immediately after, a dense swarm of zombie rats also emerged from the main entrance, chasing after the fleeing superpower users.

Their eyes glowed red, and under the firelight, tens of thousands of rats appeared as a dense mass of red dots, enough to trigger trypophobia.

The zombie rats’ rotting fur hung loosely from their bodies, their black muscles sometimes even falling to the ground when other zombie rats trampled them—a truly disgusting sight.

Tang Man made a snap decision, quickly climbed into the driver’s seat, started the truck, and floored the accelerator.

“Run! We can’t handle this many beasts…” Tang Man shouted at the soldiers charging toward the hotel as she drove, her voice barely audible in the wind. She didn’t know if they heard her warning.

Even a swarm of ants can bring down an elephant. If there were a few Level 3 zombies, she might dare to fight with the soldiers’ help. But against such a massive horde of zombie rats, she truly had no confidence.

Seeing their strongest fighter drive off, the other bewildered civilian superpower users naturally followed suit.

Captain Bai, now a Level 2 superpower user with significantly enhanced senses, had naturally heard Tang Man’s warning.

He approached the grim-faced commander and relayed Tang Man’s message.

“But there are still many superpower users trapped inside…” The commander’s expression was conflicted.

“Lieutenant, you must make a decisive move!” Captain Bai urged him.

Gritting his teeth, the commander closed his eyes, each word seemingly forced out: “Notify everyone, retreat!”

The well-trained soldiers swiftly evacuated the area, leaving a large curtain of fire behind them. Yet, zombie rats continued to charge out of the flames, chasing the convoy.

Tang Man sped down the road they had come from. Most of the zombies on the way had already been cleared, and she hoped to shake off the zombie rats and find a safe place to wait until dawn.

Glancing in the rearview mirror at the long line of vehicles behind her, she couldn't help but curse under her breath. All heading in the same direction—were they afraid of not attracting the zombie rats’ attention?

Recalling the map she had recently memorized, she decisively changed routes.

Sheng Yao, watching from the small window between the cabin and the driver’s seat, instantly understood her intention.

“Ming Xu is still behind us!” he reminded her.

Tang Man’s hand on the steering wheel paused. She glanced at the tabby cat in the passenger seat, its ears flattened in alarm. After a few seconds of internal struggle, she finally said, “I’ll slow down. Tell him to pull alongside the truck on the left and open the driver’s door. I’ll use vines to pull him in…”

Dong Mingxu had been closely watching Tang Man’s movements since he was woken up. Seeing her drive off, he was the first to follow, so the distance between their two vehicles was not far.

Sheng Yao leaned out the back and shouted Dong Mingxu’s name, explaining Tang Man’s plan.

From the back seat, Dong’s father, realizing he was about to be abandoned after hearing their conversation, climbed into the front passenger seat and tried to grab the steering wheel.

Dong Mingxu’s hand was scratched in several places, and his clothes were disheveled. The car even nearly swerved into a roadside tree. Impatiently, he shoved his father hard, pushing him back into the passenger seat, then activated his superpower to erect an earthen wall between the driver’s and passenger’s seats.

His voice was full of impatience, yet he spoke quickly: “The car will keep driving straight on this road. After I get out, I’ll withdraw my superpower. If you don’t want to die, drive yourself out of here… Good luck, and I hope we never meet again!”

The last sentence was spoken softly, tinged with a faint sense of relief.

He knew exactly what fate awaited this man—abandoned in a zombie-infested city, pursued by zombie rats.

But this man had tormented his mother for so long, causing his once gentle and kind mother to suffer from depression and attempt suicide multiple times.

They had barely escaped, yet he continued to hound them. It was time for him to pay his dues!

Tang Man freed one hand to open the truck’s passenger door while Dong Mingxu’s car pulled up alongside it, driving parallel.

Four vines stretched out from the truck, yanking Dong Mingxu from the driver’s seat. Then, with a stomp on the accelerator, the truck swerved onto a side road. Dong Mingxu flapped in the wind like a kite for a few seconds before being pulled into the truck’s passenger seat.

It took him a while to calm his racing heart—that experience had been far too thrilling! He had been terrified the vines wouldn’t hold his weight and he’d fall out.

He hissed in pain, rubbing his bruised calves, arms, and back. After taking off his jacket to check his injuries, he was relieved to find only some bruising—no broken bones—thanks to the extra layers he’d worn against the cold.

After catching his breath, he pressed against the window, staring at the pitch-black road behind them. The once vibrant metropolis, alive with neon lights, now lay in eerie silence. The darkness gaped like a monstrous void, capable of swallowing all hope and light. When would dawn finally come?