IDMLA 17

Yan Chen’s eyes reddened, then as he opened the door, a hideous-faced zombie lunged at him.

He grabbed two corners of the bed board with both hands, shoving the plank diagonally with brutal force. The zombie slammed into the board, its stiff movements sending it flying against the wall across the hallway.

Seizing the opportunity, he waved for Tang Tang to hurry and follow him.

Tang Tang naturally didn’t waste any time either. Mimicking his movements, she pushed the board out with some visible effort, scraping against the doorframe.

Fortunately, there were no ability users outside.

Dragging two large bed boards down the stairs clearly wasn’t practical. As previously discussed, the two of them moved one after the other, running deep into the corridor on the tenth floor.

For Tang Tang, zombies had become a common sight over the past few days, but their various grotesque expressions still made her somewhat uncomfortable.

“Grrr—”

A zombie was about to sink its clawed hand into her when intercepting it with the iron rod was already too late. Thinking quickly, Tang Tang bent down sharply to dodge. Then, while the zombie was still slow to react, she looked down and noticed the bed board she was dragging.

Such a great big tool, what a waste not to use it!

An idea struck her. She untied the cloth strap wrapped around her front that was used to drag the wooden bed, changed it to grip in her hand instead, lifted one side of the board with her other hand, pressed her foot firmly against the board’s edge, and kicked forward with all her might.

Her foot hurt from the kick.

The board shot forward with the force of her kick, tripping up the several zombies chasing behind her and sending them all tumbling to the ground. However, this method had a downside, Jiang Zhu’s not-so-tightly-bound head would slam hard against the board with each of her movements, producing a somewhat loud “thud—thud—” sound.

Damn!

That was a mistake. Definitely a mistake.

Hearing that crisp sound, Tang Tang felt a pang of guilt.

She was about to crouch down to check if Jiang Zhu’s head was still okay, but as she paused, the zombies that had been tripped earlier crawled back up, seemingly ready to claw at her again.

She didn’t dare delay. Seeing that Yan Chen had already cleared a long stretch of path ahead, she quickly grabbed the long cloth strap and ran forward, temporarily setting aside any concern for Jiang Zhu’s head.

It’s fine, it’s fine, Jiang Zhu is the male lead, he definitely has strong plot armor!

Besides, his head is padded with a thick cotton quilt underneath, so nothing will happen to him!!

Tang Tang could only comfort herself with that thought.

The corridor wasn’t wide. When the bed board was placed in the middle, there was only enough space on either side for one foot. If Tang Tang ran slowly, one or two zombies would squeeze through the gaps on both sides to attack her, just like the one that had clawed at her earlier.

But as long as she dragged the board forward quickly, zombies trying to attack her from the sides would need to run quickly on their tiptoes, a level of fine motor control that zombies surely couldn’t manage.

With Yan Chen clearing the way ahead, there was almost no worry about zombies in front. Tang Tang only needed to make sure the zombies behind didn’t catch up to her and Yan Chen.

But among the zombie horde behind, some were fast runners and eager to give chase. They even learned to step onto the board to grab at her from close range.

Tang Tang turned back and saw this, nearly tripping over her own feet.

She quickly crouched down and repeated her trick, constantly shifting the board around, shaking it so that the zombies that had stepped one foot onto it couldn’t keep their balance and tumbled backward in a heap.

Tang Tang let out a sigh of relief, feeling immensely proud of herself.

See, see? Her methods were absolutely brilliant.

Up ahead, Yan Chen passed by a dorm room with its door wide open. Observing that it was relatively clean inside, with no zombies in it, the balcony window intact, and not even any zombies climbing on the window, he quickly stopped and called out to Tang Tang.

“Over here, over here! This dorm room is great, let’s pick this one!”

Hearing his voice, Tang Tang trusted his judgment and quickly raised her hand to signal her agreement.

Yan Chen pushed the board forward a few steps, then quickly slipped into the new dorm room himself. Using the same method he’d used to leave the previous room, he moved the board carrying the two big guys inside.

By then, Tang Tang had also reached the spot.

Yan Chen moved the board to the innermost part of the room, then went out to receive Tang Tang.

But at that moment, something unexpected happened.

Out of nowhere, a fierce gust of wind suddenly swept through the corridor, even stronger than the wind outside.

Tang Tang was momentarily stunned by the sudden wind, and the next second, the several zombies that had been chasing her were blown away.

???

That powerful?

She knew those zombies weren’t light, when she’d swung her iron rod at them before, her hands had ached from the impact, but she never expected the wind to be so strong that it could blow them away with a single gust?

She was lost in thought for just a moment, and the next second, she couldn’t stay calm.

If those zombies got blown away, then with how light she was, wasn’t she in serious, serious danger?!

Tang Tang’s mind snapped back to clarity. She hurriedly tried to drag the board into the dorm room.

But unfortunately, she’d just been worrying about her own safety when the next second, the fierce wind came roaring straight at her.

Damn it!

The wind was too strong, she couldn’t stay on her feet!!

Tang Tang hurriedly grabbed onto the dormitory door beside her, trying to hold herself back.

Yan Chen was pushed forward a few steps by the gust of wind, raising his arm to shield his eyes as he, too, grabbed the doorframe alongside Tang Tang.

“The—wind—where—from—!”

The wind was so strong that voices were barely audible.

Tang Tang heard the sound and shouted loudly at Yan Chen, who was clinging to the doorframe across from her: “What—did—you—say?”

“I said—where—is—the—wind—coming—from!”

“I—don’t—know!”

The two of them clung desperately to the doorframe, managing not to be blown away. But the wooden board Jiang Zhu was lying on had nothing to anchor it, only a long cloth strap tied to Tang Tang, which made it dangerous.

Tang Tang vaguely heard the sound of the cloth strap about to tear apart.

!

She looked down, squinting to see—holy crap! The strap was already half broken!

Now there were only two options: one, she and Yan Chen each lend a hand to steady Jiang Zhu’s board; two, abandon Jiang Zhu and let him fly off.

Tang Tang didn’t know what the outcome of the first option would be, but if she chose the second, when the male lead returned, he’d definitely push her into a pile of zombies and settle both old and new scores!

With that thought, she held onto the doorframe and slowly crouched down.

At the same time, she called out to Yan Chen: “Jiang—Zhu—wood—board!”

Yan Chen quickly understood her intention and crouched down to help her.

The two of them each held one side, maintaining their grip for a full two minutes before the strange wind gradually died down.

“Phew—”

They collapsed onto the ground, letting out a long sigh of relief.

Their palms were already sweating, if the wind hadn’t stopped, they probably wouldn’t have been able to hold onto the doorframe much longer.

They struggled to carry the wooden board back inside. Fortunately, the gust had blown the nearby zombies far away, so they could focus solely on moving the board without worrying about zombie attacks.

Tang Tang casually wiped the sweat from her brow, ready to rush into the dormitory and close the door before the zombies came back.

But just then, that strange wind suddenly started blowing again out of nowhere.

??

Tang Tang instinctively reached for the doorframe, but this time, even as her hand stretched out, she could only watch helplessly as her hand and the doorframe grew farther and farther apart.

?!

She hadn’t made it in time?

Her hand speed hadn’t been fast enough?

I don’t believe it!

Put me down!!

Tang Tang was lifted off the ground by the fierce wind, screaming silently.

Yan Chen noticed the situation at that moment, turned around, and lunged to grab one of her hands while his other hand gripped tightly to the edge of the doorframe.

Tang Tang felt her body, which had been flying backward, suddenly stabilize. She glanced at Yan Chen holding her, but before she could even breathe a sigh of relief, she noticed a zombie in the corridor that, resisting the fierce wind, was stiffly walking toward her direction?

And the hand Yan Chen was holding, at that moment, pulled by Yan Chen on one side and the wind on the other, felt like her arm was about to snap, a heart-wrenching, tearing sensation.

So, another multiple-choice question arrived.

One: Yan Chen doesn’t let go, endures the wind. Then her arm breaks, and together with Yan Chen, they enjoy a zombie-biting combo, both turning into zombies or dying…

Two: Yan Chen lets go and quickly closes the door. Then her arm doesn’t break, and neither of them gets bitten by zombies on the spot, but her ending is doomed…

Is letting go or not even a question?