After the response from inside the elevator, the knocking sound outside the elevator ceased, replaced by a very faint metallic scraping sound—Qi Yan had inserted the blade into the gap of the landing door!
Although he couldn't see it, Song Fei knew it nonetheless.
He could even picture Qi Yan's decisive and powerful movements, his cautious and resolute gaze, and his unwavering determination to achieve his goal.
At one time, Song Fei felt that all of this was a bit "over the top." Life is not a playground, but it is not a war either. While his own carefree and unrestrained lifestyle was certainly not right, Qi Yan's insistence on doing everything perfectly made life lose a lot of its flavor.
Until the zombie horde erupted.
These qualities made Qi Yan the most reliable partner, the most dependable friend, and the most fearless warrior.
Song Fei realized that he had actually misused a concept.
A carefree and unrestrained lifestyle and extreme self-discipline are not mutually exclusive attitudes towards life, even though they seem so relative, as if the choice is merely a matter of individual preference. The reality is that those who choose the former never think twice, while those who choose the latter often give it careful consideration.
Because the latter is much more difficult to implement than the former.
The blade must have been inserted into the upper-middle part of the elevator landing door, because even when a sliver of moonlight shone through the crack in the open landing door, Song Fei and He Zhiwen still couldn't see the blade. Furthermore, they had only succeeded in prying open the car door from the upper-middle part, which is why they were helpless when faced with the landing door, which only revealed its lower part.
The gap between the doors widened slowly and evenly until it was wide enough to accommodate a person's shoulder, at which point it stopped.
The next second, the person who opened the door quickly lay down, peeking out from the crack.
Backlit, Song Fei couldn't see Qi Yan's entire face at all. To be precise, the upper half of the man's face was completely shrouded in darkness, with only the outline of his nose and mouth barely discernible.
Even so, Song Fei's eyes instantly welled up with tears. He had kissed those lips eight hundred times, and he practically had that nose etched into his brain. Just looking at the nose and lips was enough to make him lose control!
His lips moved repeatedly, as if he had a thousand words to say, but for a moment he didn't know where to begin.
Qi Yan sensed Song Fei's excitement. If Song Fei had etched his nose and mouth into his brain, then he must have tattooed Song Fei's entire body onto his heart valve. With every heartbeat, this guy would twitch, relentlessly until death.
But now is not the time to speak; even if you really want to, you have to hold back.
Shh.
Qi Yan quickly put her index finger to her lips, stopping Song Fei from saying anything more.
But Song Fei seemed unwilling to give up and wanted to speak again.
Qi Yan frowned, then pressed her index finger firmly against her lips again, a silent but forceful warning!
Song Fei went all out: "I don't want to talk either, but there's a pair of legs standing next to you!"
Qi Yan suddenly stiffened, keenly sensing the cool breeze coming from the side. He rolled to the side, causing the attacker to miss!
Qi Yan, who had rolled to the side, quickly stood up, while the zombie that had fallen to the ground with a thud was still struggling and had not yet gotten up. It was wearing a black top, and in the extremely dim light, it was impossible to tell whether it was a hoodie, a cotton coat, or something else. In Qi Yan's eyes, it was just a whole black shadow, ghostly, just like its appearance!
Without hesitation, Qi Yan fired a shot. He intended it for the back of the head, but lost his aim in the shadows, and it seemed to have pierced the back of the neck. The zombie twisted violently, managing to pull the blade out of its own flesh!
Qi Yan gripped the gun tightly the entire time, so the sudden movement didn't affect him, and he decisively holstered his weapon. As the zombie lunged again, he struck it in the chest, then swayed sharply to the side, causing the zombie to lose its footing and fall to the ground. Qi Yan drew his blade, giving the zombie no further chance, and fired a third shot straight into its temple.
However, the fact that this zombie has fallen means that millions of zombies will swarm in!
Fortunately, Song Fei and He Zhiwen opened the sedan chair door in advance, saving Qi Yan a step.
Therefore, without hesitation, he knelt down, threw down his weapon, reached his arm down into the sedan chair, and said in a hurried but firm tone: "Give me your hand!"
Song Fei almost swayed as she gripped Qi Yan tightly, and in the warmth of her ex's palm, she used her spiritual power to slap herself countless times—you broke up with a man this tall and sturdy, are you an idiot? Are you, no, an idiot?!
The instinct for survival instantly revived Song Fei and He Zhiwen, putting them back to full strength. Their previous dejection and despondency were replaced by renewed spirit and agile skills, and in the blink of an eye, the two were back on the ground!
But it was clear that zombies were already running this way because of the previous fighting and talking, and judging from the footsteps, there was more than one!
The three of them reached the corner near the elevator and looked left and right. The night stretched out from the middle of the corridor, gradually deepening until it was completely dark. They could only tell that the sound was coming from the right, but they couldn't see anything at all.
Song Fei and He Zhiwen were completely unfamiliar with the battle situation in this building and dared not make any rash moves. Qi Yan stood in front of them, staring intently at the source of the sound, seemingly waiting and preparing.
Song Fei suddenly understood; Qi Yan had a plan!
But He Zhiwen, standing to the side, didn't understand. His heart was pounding with nervousness, and he unconsciously gripped his comrade's arm tightly. His comrade, Song, gave him a bright, reassuring look, a confidence that seemed to come from who-knows-where!
Suddenly, Qi Yan acted. He somehow produced a plastic bag—whatever it was—and flung it across the corridor!
The crisp bouncing sound instantly resounded throughout the area, and as the bouncing ball continued to move forward, it was as joyful as a rushing stream.
It's ping pong!
Song Fei reacted instantly, and at the same time noticed that Qi Yan was still holding the plastic bag in her hand, and at most a third of it had just been thrown out.
However, this was enough for the zombies to have fun with.
The three of them silently retreated along the wall to the door between floors, trying to stay as far away from the corridor as possible, holding their breath until a dozen or so zombies ran from the right and then continued to chase them to the left.
About a minute later, when the last zombie's footsteps had faded into the distance and were barely audible, Qi Yan suddenly pulled Song Fei and ran to the right side of the now empty corridor!
Song Fei was confused but completely trusted the other party, so she used her free hand to pull He Zhiwen up, and the three comrades ran hand in hand. Before long, they entered an empty classroom.
This is a small study room. Several rows of tables and chairs are crooked in the moonlight, and some of the tables are still littered with draft paper, silently telling the story of the hard work and focus of the students who once studied here.
These classrooms are rarely locked, day or night, because the most valuable items are the desks and chairs, which are not made of rosewood or golden nanmu, so they offer little protection against theft.
But things are different now.
The three friends entered and immediately closed and locked the door.
The classroom was small, with a wall next to the corridor and no windows. So, locking the door and putting up a few desks made it temporarily safe.
Qi Yan then took out the flashlight, which he hadn't used much along the way, from the zippered pocket of his coat and turned it on.
This imported flashlight, originally belonging to Ren Zhe, truly lived up to its reputation as a high-end product. Qi Yan had already adjusted it to a medium-low setting to save power, but it still illuminated half of the classroom.
He Zhiwen recognized the familiar surroundings at a glance: "This is the seventh floor."
"Oh," Song Fei replied casually. He was more concerned about Qi Yan than the floor.
Turning her head slightly, Song Fei finally saw Qi Yan's face clearly for the first time since escaping the elevator.
The other person's appearance startled him.
Qi Yan's hair was completely soaked, and her face looked like it had just been pulled out of the water. Her delicate eyelashes were stuck together in clumps by the water, making her look like a girl who hadn't applied her mascara properly. Her complexion was pale with an unhealthy pallor, and her face was flushed with an abnormal flush.
As he watched in surprise, another drop of water slid from Qi Yan's temple to his chin, and then fell to the ground.
"It's raining outside?" As soon as the words left her mouth, Song Fei felt incredibly stupid. She could see the window facing the night sky, but not a single raindrop was visible on the glass.
Qi Yan was stunned. He didn't know that Song Fei had already reflected on himself while asking the question. He just felt that this guy was deliberately making sarcastic remarks, and deliberately making sarcastic remarks after he risked his life to save him. It was simply outrageous and inhuman!
"Yes, it rained very heavily."
Qi Yan's tone was so soft it was almost gentle, leaving He Zhiwen completely bewildered.
No, ever since Song Fei started asking about the weather, he'd been a little out of sync with his comrades.
Song Fei swallowed hard, sensing something was wrong.
Qi Yan's anger has several levels. At the initial level, she is quick to argue and do whatever she wants. However, when she is extremely angry, she can control herself and the colder her tone is, the higher her anger level becomes.
But I didn't do anything to attract hatred, did I?
Even if it wasn't raining outside, and I asked a stupid question, it was still this person who was first covered in water. He's not smart enough to understand why, and he guessed wrong, but it's not like he committed a heinous crime... wait!
Song Fei was suddenly stunned, as if his mind had suddenly opened up. Without saying a word, he took a step forward and came to Qi Yan. He reached out and slipped his hand under Qi Yan's clothes from behind, and before the other party could react, he had firmly touched the other party's lower back.
One hand was damp.
Ignoring Qi Yan's attempt to dodge after she finally came to her senses, Song Fei continued upwards. If this was taking advantage of her ex-boyfriend, then she must have groped his entire back.
However, the first time, Song Fei did not have any playful intentions when she touched him.
Even with each step upwards, his heart would clench.
Qi Yan's entire back was covered in sweat.
How long would it take to rush up to the seventh floor in one go? One minute? Two minutes? Three minutes? But what if you encounter obstacles? Go back and try again? If once isn't enough, try twice? If twice isn't enough, try three times? If three times isn't enough, try four times?
It's not raining outside.
There was only one idiot who worked tirelessly for five and a half hours to rescue them after they were trapped in the elevator.
He hugged Qi Yan tightly, using all the strength he had: "I..."
"Wait a minute."
Although she was caught off guard by the touching, Qi Yan resolutely interrupted her ex-boyfriend and struggled to break free from his passionate embrace, while pulling away the claws that were still on her back.
Song Fei's surging emotions were abruptly blocked by Qi's dam, leaving him momentarily overwhelmed and torn between knowing when to restrain himself and continuing his reckless advance.
In fact, Qi Yan hadn't thought about it that complicatedly at all. Song Fei's erratic behavior started and stopped at will; it was part of their daily fun, and whether it happened earlier or later didn't affect the quality of their relationship.
However, the schedule of another comrade-in-arms cannot be postponed any longer...
Below Gewu Building, there is an apple tree.
Zhao He felt as if he had become one with the tree, that you are in me and I am in you, and that even with his eyes closed, he could imagine the tree's beautiful appearance with its lush foliage and abundant fruit.
His body was freezing cold. His down jacket should have held up against the wind, but the temperature was dropping lower and lower. Besides, he dared not move a muscle except for his mouth—this tree, from the very beginning until now, hadn't broken a single branch; this was God's reward for his unwavering stability. If Mount Tai had moved even slightly, God might have been angered, and all his efforts might have been in vain.
Zhao He wasn't afraid of landing, but he was afraid of falling into the arms of these dozens of fans below.
They loved him so much that he feared his body would be lost forever.
In the span of half a night, Zhao He had developed a deep bond with the zombies under the tree. He could even accurately identify at least a third of their faces, and even as they shifted and changed shape with the rhythm of the swaying, he could spot them at a glance in the vast sea of corpses.
"Don't look at me so expectantly. I'm not quite over it yet. How about we chat for another ten dollars?"
Two hours earlier, Zhao He had switched from singing to rapping, otherwise not only would his voice be unable to take it, but he would also lack the stamina, and his repertoire wouldn't be enough. Fortunately, the audience was very supportive. Perhaps the long-term interaction had created a certain attachment among them, because now, whether Zhao He was singing or chatting, they were very enthusiastic, their eyes focused and their bodies full of energy.
"Damn it, it's you again!" Zhao He said irritably, stabbing the sweater-clad zombie who was trying to climb the tree for the nth time. "I'm too lazy to put in the effort now. If you come up again, I won't be polite. I'll blow your head off, you believe me?"
After saying that, he glanced in the direction of the main entrance, sighed with mixed feelings, and could not hide his exhaustion.
"Don't worry," Zhao He said earnestly, looking at the zombies stirring under the tree as if they could really understand him. "Xiao Qi will come out again soon. It's happened dozens of times already, how come you still haven't figured out the pattern?"
but...
Zhao He glanced at the doorway again, still feeling uneasy. It remained empty and eerily quiet.
"This time it's taking a bit longer."
His seemingly joking tone was actually Zhao He trying to reassure himself.
After all, in the countless previous charges, the longest Qi Yan had ever stayed inside the building was not this time. Of course, if it was because Song Fei was found, that would be a cause for celebration, but the fear was that Song Fei hadn't been found, and Qi Yan, for some reason, would never be able to launch the 1001st charge again.
Zhao He felt he couldn't bear such an outcome.
He and Qi Yan didn't have a deep bond. At least before today, Qi Yan was just a companion he'd met by chance on his escape route. You could say they had a life-or-death bond, since they'd fought together and brushed shoulders with death. But to put it bluntly, if Qi Yan really did die a heroic death, he would be sad, even cry for his comrade. But after the tears, he would have to keep going.
However, all of this has changed in the past six hours.
Song Fei and He Zhiwen were trapped in the elevator, and Qi Yan was going to rescue them. He helped restrain the zombies from the tree, and the whole plan went smoothly.
But he never imagined that this restraint would last for half the night.
Watching Qi Yan rush in, watching him frantically escape from the building amidst the relentless pursuit of zombies from who-knows-which floor or which floors, watching him scramble up another tree to rest, watching him hold off the zombies he brought out, watching him slip back down, watching him continue rushing in. Then he failed again, was chased out by new zombies, climbed the tree again, waited again, climbed down again, and continued rushing.
Breaking through each staircase, reaching each elevator, then breaking through again, reaching another, and even needing to check if anyone is inside the elevator—these steps may sound simple, but in reality, especially in a power outage, with countless zombies roaming each floor, and while ensuring one's own absolute safety, it's an incredibly difficult feat!
once.
twice.
Ten times.
Twenty times.
With unwavering perseverance and repeated practice, Zhao He eventually lost count of how many times he had done it.
That guy seemed tireless, undeterred, and unaware that there was even a word in the world: give up.
If it were him, Zhao He thought he would go crazy.
You either collapse and return, kneeling on the ground begging your comrades for help when you have no other options, or you risk everything to fight the zombies to the death, even if the outcome is infection and mutation, at least you'll have a satisfying end.
But Qi Yan chose the most difficult path.
Endure failure time and time again, keep moving forward, never despair, never give up, never become irritable, never go crazy, and even become calmer and more determined each time.
If Zhao He hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed that such a person could really exist in the world.
Just like those "Touching China" programs he had watched before, he always felt that the content was excessively exaggerated and sentimental, and he often wondered, "How could a normal person do something like that?"
Now he knows that such people exist, and that such people have a huge impact on those around them.
It's impossible for anyone not to be influenced by such a power.
So he actually spent half the night perched in the tree, singing to the zombies for half the night. He was so cold he was practically frozen, but he still thought he could hold out for the rest of the night.
That's amazing.
"Maybe Qi Yan really did find those two, which is why she forgot about me." Zhao He chatted earnestly with his former classmates under the tree, then sighed sadly, "Sigh, Zhou Yilu has Qiao Siqi, Feng Qibai is with Wu Zhou, Qi Yan is off with Song Fei and He Zhiwen, and I'm all alone... Waves chasing waves~~ Crows in pairs~~ Every girl has a companion~~ Who's a match for me~~~~"
"Zhao He—"
"I'm just getting into the mood, can't wait until I finish singing... Uh, wait, Qi Yan?!?"
Zhao He suddenly raised his bald head. The building was too tall and the light was dim, so they couldn't see each other's faces clearly, but they could still tell the numbers—one in the tree and three upstairs.
"You really found them?!?"
Zhao He stared wide-eyed in disbelief, unable to contain his joy, his voice even carrying a long-lost passion.
"Yes, it's all safe." With Zhao He's voice contrasting with his own, Qi Yan's tone sounded even calmer. Perhaps during the long rescue, he had become accustomed to suppressing his rationality, making it difficult for him to come out of it. "How many zombies are under the tree?"
Sixty-nine!
Song Fei was speechless. Did you really need to be so precise?
Qi Yan seemed to suppress even his吐槽 (tu cao, a Chinese internet slang term for sarcastic or critical comments). He only needed a rough estimate and had a mental count: "We'll sing now to lure them over, then you find a chance to climb down and escape, understand—"
Zhao He frowned: "You got the radio?"
"not yet."
"Then why should I leave! Are you on the seventh or eighth floor? If you fail and run away when you rush to the twelfth floor, without me holding back these guys under the tree, are you planning to just reincarnate?"
Qi Yan paused for a moment before saying, "We won't rush in later; we need to rest first."
"Then I'll rest in the tree," Zhao He said without hesitation. "Once you've rested and I've rested, we'll continue cooperating. Anyway, we'll talk about everything after we get the radio!"
Qi Yan was getting a little anxious. Although she tried to control herself, her tone was still inevitably impatient: "The temperature will drop even lower in the second half of the night. You can't stay in the tree like this!"
"I can do it!"
"We can't do it!" Qi Yan gave no room for discussion and decisively issued an ultimatum. "We're not going to act until tomorrow night. There's still a day and a half left. You figure it out yourself."
"Damn it!!!" Zhao He was easily provoked but not easily swayed by force, and he was about to explode.
Song Fei couldn't listen any longer. Those who didn't know better would think these two were comrades-in-arms. Was this how they discussed things?
Pushing Qi Yan aside, Song Fei gently called out to those below, "Zhao He, we will get the radio, and we can definitely get out of here unscathed. Just trust me this once, okay?"
"No way!" If Qi Yan had persisted, he might have wavered, but this guy was completely unconvincing. "You can't even handle an elevator, how can I believe you!"
Song Fei: "But Qi Yan is capable!"
Zhao He: "What's it to you?!"
Song Fei: "Qi Yan can defeat zombies, elevators, and the whole world, but I can defeat Qi Yan! So, the man who ultimately stands at the top of the food chain is me, me, and me again!!!"
Zhao He: "..."
Song Fei: "Any more questions?"
Zhao He: "..."
Song Fei: "Why aren't you saying anything?"
Zhao He: "You need to let me sort out this complicated food chain for a while!!!"