"Brother Wang is in front, clearing the way with my weapon, and Zhao Mengnan is at the back to cover our retreat. You all follow behind me."
On the first floor of Building 3, Lin Yuan said to Wang Zhihai and the others, his eyes fixed on Qin Xia and her son.
Wang Zhihai stood by the doorway, sensing the air, and said, "Captain, there's no wind."
"Good. Sister Lin, you spray floral water continuously to mask some of the scent."
He then looked at Wang Zhihai, "Brother Wang, can you manage?"
The double-layered wood board plus a layer of thin iron plate was not light.
Wang Zhihai chuckled, "Don't worry, Captain, this distance is still stable."
"Alright, no problem then. Get ready, everyone move quickly."
At this moment, Wang Zhihai contacted the rooftop, "Mengyao, Qing Tian, keep an eye on us."
Lin Yuan began to count down, "3."
"2."
"1."
"Watch your step and move fast!"
The group moved quickly in a single-file formation.
In the middle of the team, Lin Qingyan held Qin Xia's hand and sprayed floral water.
She intended to mask any hint of blood, but their movement still attracted the attention of three zombies.
These three zombies were the ones drawn in yesterday and had been lingering on the slope leading down to the central park of the residential area.
Seeing the zombies approaching, Qin Xia and her son grew fearful, but they clutched their masks tighter.
"Speed up, don't let the zombies track us!"
Although Qin Xia and her son were too frightened to move, their will to survive outweighed their instinct.
"Little nurse, you go quickly, I'll run with my son."
Lin Qingyan hesitated for a second, then let go and hurried towards the entrance of Building 1.
Qin Xia also ran with her child, not looking back.
Zhao Mengnan ran at the rear, calculating the distance, and gripped his wooden spear.
The zombies moving from the slope were already aware of the commotion and were charging towards them, drawn by the sound.
"Ka, ka, roar!" The zombies, now fully mutated into fungal abominations, let out a roar that sounded like a broken bellows, hoarse and terrifying.
By this time, Lin Yuan had already entered the first-floor entrance, gently placing Sun Haiping on the ground.
Picking up the wooden shield and the felling axe, he said, "Brother Wang, come out with me quickly to deal with these zombies, don't let them attract more!"
"Got it!"
Wang Zhihai re-armed himself and stood by the doorway, waiting for everyone else to enter before going out.
"Sister Lin, watch them," Lin Yuan instructed as he turned back before stepping out.
Lin Qingyan understood, her hand subtly brushing against the dagger on her thigh, "Be careful."
Zhao Mengnan was still covering their retreat outside as the zombies charged forward.
Facing the zombies charging like sprinters, Zhao Mengnan felt no panic; he had already calculated the distance and timing.
He turned, took a step forward, and half-crouched, resting his wooden spear against the ground under his right armpit, holding it diagonally upwards with both hands gripping it tightly.
Zombies' eyesight was practically nonexistent. Seeing the prey stop, this zombie charged without hesitation, only to crash into Zhao Mengnan's wooden spear.
The immense impact was not something a half-crouch could absorb. Zhao Mengnan merely used the momentum to roll onto the ground, smoothly pushing the spear forward, and the zombie flew over his head.
He rolled to the side again and got up, ready to thrust the wooden spear into the zombie's back of the head.
At that moment, a gust of wind came from behind him, and another zombie lunged. But Zhao Mengnan ignored it, plunging his spear forward with all his might. The zombie beneath him shuddered and went still.
Then, a muffled thud came from behind, different from the dull clang of a zombie head hitting metal, but a light, crisp sound of impact against wood.
Lin Yuan was not foolish. In such an open area, a zombie's iron head hitting a metal plate would be like an flares for other zombies.
"Come quickly, big score here!"
So, before coming out again, Lin Yuan had already pried loose the wire tie and reversed the wooden board to face the threat.
With a swift swing of his axe, the zombie that had been thrown to the ground had its head smashed.
One remained, charging slightly slower, likely an elder who hadn't taken his calcium supplements.
It was impaled by Wang Zhihai and Zhao Mengnan, who had rejoined the fight, on its left and right sides.
Both of them possessed considerable strength. While one might not be a match for a single zombie, two against one was still an easy task.
The zombie, lacking any intelligence, didn't use its immortality to retreat and pull itself free. Instead, it desperately lunged forward, its own momentum driving the wooden spear towards its own back.
Lin Yuan had already circled to the side and brought his axe down, severing head from body. The gushing brain matter nearly splattered Wang Zhihai's face, but luckily he was wearing a mask and goggles.
As for where the goggles came from, they were found in a carpenter's house. This trade, when cutting plasterboard and wood, generated a lot of dust, so perhaps they had prepared two pairs.
Moreover, they were available for purchase online for a little over ten dollars per pair, with free shipping.
"Sorry, sorry, a bit too much force," Lin Yuan apologized.
Wang Zhihai and Zhao Mengnan looked at the ground where the zombie's head lay shattered, its neck split all the way to its chest, and then at the teenager wearing a motorcycle helmet who was apologizing.
"Is this even humanly possible!!"
"So tired, so tired."
Lin Yuan jogged over to the slope and checked; no zombies were lingering. They then worked together to move the zombie corpses to the green belt, as they were an unsightly sight.
He also looked at the corpses thrown in yesterday. The black, sticky fungus growing on them seemed not to have coalesced but had withered considerably.
This was a strange phenomenon. What about the large black "egg" in the old town area?
After several days of growth, what was once a shattered eggshell was now almost completely sealed, with only a small gap at the top remaining.
While contemplating this, Lin Yuan and the others had returned to the ground floor of Building 1.
He locked the door and looked at himself; there were no stains on his person, so he prepared to continue carrying the injured upstairs.
Wang Zhihai and the others had no stains on their masks or goggles, only a bit on their shoulders and the raised collars of their shirts.
"Qin Xia, is it? We just finished dealing with zombies, and there are no stains on my upper body. Do you want me to continue carrying him?"
To reassure the woman they had rescued, Lin Yuan specifically explained, lest any issues arise on the way upstairs.
"N-no, no, please do," Qin Xia's voice trembled slightly, seemingly very afraid.
He glanced at Qin Xia suspiciously, "What's wrong with this woman? Why is she so scared of me?"
He, of course, didn't realize the impact his recent axe swing, which had nearly split a person in two, had on this formerly quiet and elegant woman.
Lin Qingyan, standing nearby, sighed and patted her shoulder, "It's okay, it's okay. When we first came yesterday, we were pretty much like you. Our captain once put the bones of a night demon mutant he killed into a plastic bag, and it scared us to death. We thought they were human bones. That thing's head is still displayed on the rooftop now. But don't worry, our captain is a good person. He saved us and even cooked for us!! I was so touched!!"
Lin Yuan wouldn't admit that among the ten people, only he and Wu Tian knew how to cook!!
Thinking of the newly rescued couple and their child.
Lin Yuan's eye twitched. This configuration felt so familiar!
Could this be a team-wipe engine?
However, he had learned from Wang Zhihai's experience. As for how to handle them, it depended on their subsequent performance.
As the old saying goes, "Judging a person's character can be done by observing their courage when faced with adversity, and their trustworthiness when entrusted with a task."
Observation first.
"Oh, right!" Lin Yuan, carrying the man, turned back and asked Qin Xia, "Excuse me, can you cook?"
Qin Xia paused, then nodded, "Yes, I can."
"Yay! That's great!"
Finally, someone could cook!