Tang Hao’s brow always carried an indescribable worry. Leaning against the wall and sitting on the damp ground, he sighed wearily.
Sinan said nothing, then suddenly asked: “How did you find this place?”
“I carried him around for most of a day until I met them,” Tang Hao indicated the special forces soldiers. “They found this cave. Fortunately, the terrain is high and concealed; otherwise, Young Master Guo’s bloody smell would have attracted zombies long ago. In the following two days, I went out during the day to search for survivors, but without weapons and with many zombies nearby, I never encountered any living people or a rescue team.”
Tang Hao wiped his face forcefully and changed the subject: “By the way, how did you find this place? Where’s the main force?”
Sinan said: “Zhou Rong is behind.”
Tang Hao: “…”
The two stared at each other. Tang Hao couldn’t help but ask: “And?”
“I was deliberately led here,” Sinan said simply. “That’s it.”
Tang Hao suddenly stood up: “What? There are living people in the canyon? Who led you here? What do they look like? Did you see who they were?”
Sinan: “No.”
They looked at each other again. Tang Hao’s head was full of “…”
Tang Hao interrupted: “No! You can’t go with him. It’s too dangerous, and I can’t risk anyone else getting hurt!”
Sinan looked at them, his eyes serious, “We can’t just sit here and wait. Those lives matter, and it’s a risk worth taking.”
The tension in the cave was palpable as they weighed their options. Each of the special forces soldiers exchanged glances, their resolve hardening as the reality of the situation dawned on them.
“I understand the risks, but we have to try,” one soldier finally said. “We’re trained for this. We can handle it.”
Tang Hao opened his mouth to protest, but the look on Sinan’s face silenced him. The determination in the soldiers’ eyes told him that this fight was no longer just about survival; it was about duty.
Finally, Tang Hao relented, giving a slow nod. “Fine. But if you’re going, we go together, and we stay in contact at all times.”
Sinan nodded in agreement, and the group gathered their gear quickly. They all understood that time was of the essence, and with no further time to spare, they set off into the unknown.
You’re all in terrible condition!” Then he turned to Sinan: “Give me the gun. I’ll go with you.”
Tang Hao’s attitude was very resolute. However, Sinan hesitated slightly and didn’t respond.
Tang Hao continued, “If you’re looking for Yang Chuncao and Ding Shi, I might know where they went. That night during the breakthrough, I was with them, and we only separated before crossing the river. If they didn’t change direction midway, we should be able to track their traces along the riverbank.” He spread his hand, staring steadily at Sinan, repeating: “Give me the gun. I’ll go with you to find them.”
After more than ten seconds, Sinan finally unholstered the gun from his waist and threw it over.
Tang Hao caught it accurately. Sinan turned to walk out, saying casually: “Use it sparingly. There are only five bullets.”
·
The sun had completely risen outside the canyon, with dense green foliage covering the mountains except for the high stone cliffs.
“Never seen anything like this before,” Tang Hao leaped down from the stone cliff, releasing the rope and letting out a short laugh: “No animals, no insects, just plants growing in a way that sends chills down your spine, as if all living things have fear of the zombie virus written into their genes. This planet is about to be taken over by the undead and plants.”
They crossed the tree gully along their original path, weaving through the lush forest.
After about a meal’s time, they finally heard the distant roar of a waterfall.
Sinan carried dozens of kilograms of equipment, slightly lagging behind a few steps. Tang Hao proactively said, “Let me help you carry that.”
However, Sinan shook his head.
“…You Omega,” Tang Hao could only retract his hand, forcefully parting the bushes half a person’s height, saying mysteriously: “You’re different from all the Omegas I’ve seen. It feels like you could survive without an Alpha, so why did you end up with Zhou Rong…”
Bang!
Tang Hao’s words were cut short as a bullet whizzed past, taking down a zombie hiding behind a tree dozens of steps away.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Sinan shot each zombie with precision, killing all zombies within a hundred meters in the low-visibility dense forest, with each shot accurately hitting the head. Focusing intently through the scope, he softly said:
“Sounds like you’ve met a lot of Omegas.”
Tang Hao: “…”
“Clear,” Sinan lowered his gun: “Let’s go.”
Tang Hao: “…Hey, I’m saying, has anyone ever worked on communication skills… never mind.”
The waterfall roared, reflecting countless rainbow-like lights in the sunshine. They bypassed the camp from a distance, with Sinan never releasing a signal flare to notify the main group, and Tang Hao didn’t mention it either. They walked with frequent stops.
After walking along the riverbank for about a meal’s time, the terrain suddenly rose, with the river sharply descending, creating a cliff about seven or eight meters high. Tang Hao observed for a long time, standing hesitantly: “Maybe… this should be the place. That night during the breakthrough, the zombie horde chased us, and I got separated from the others in the rush…”
Sinan suddenly asked: “They didn’t look after you?”
Tang Hao laughed bitterly: “Everyone’s bullets were spent, it was pitch black, zombies were everywhere, visibility was less than half a meter. How could they care about me in such a situation?”
Sinan nodded, remaining silent, half-kneeling at the cliff’s edge, carefully looking at the river, lost in thought.
Tang Hao looked at his back, feeling he sometimes couldn’t understand this former White Eagle instructor. He had unhesitatingly betrayed the A country where he’d lived for over twenty years and showed no emotional attachment or nostalgia after coming to C country. He seemed responsible for the 118 special forces teammates but showed no emotional response after seeing the critically injured Guo Weixiang, only calmly and decisively administering medication.
When everyone gathered, he was the most low-profile and silent. But when the group encountered difficulties, he was the first to step up and solve the problem.
No one could know what was in his mind, and no one could predict his next unexpected action.
Tang Hao lowered his gaze and after a moment, looked up and asked, “Hey, does this environment look familiar to you?”
“No. Why?”
“I was thinking… if you had remembered the route after crash-landing and come with us a few days ago, maybe we could have found the antibody immediately.”
Sinan glanced back at him: “Why make such an obviously non-existent assumption?”
Tang Hao forced a smile that looked more like a grimace: “Nothing. Just afraid that with only this one antibody sample, something might happen and it would be gone forever.”
Sinan said: “Indeed, only this one sample exists. Perhaps there are paper documents at the White Eagle base, but they were likely destroyed when the virus broke out.”
Tang Hao’s heartbeat skipped a beat, and his face turned ugly: “What if it gets lost accidentally? I mean, you just said someone deliberately led you here, which means there might be another group in this canyon. What if they get the antibody first…”
“That would be troublesome,” Sinan said flatly. “So we need to hurry.”
Tang Hao coughed after a long while: “Right, I thought so too.”
Sinan studied him for a few seconds, saying nothing. Tang Hao stood up: “I want to go down and check. If those people came through the waterway, they might have left clues.”
“No need to look.”
“Hm?”
“There,” Sinan pointed.
