Chapter 40: Military rescue?

Yeah, let's rescue Brother Zhang first!

Without Brother Zhang, what will we do if we run into zombies later?!

Let Brother Zhang decide what to do!

Those with a little bit of sense quickly realized this.

At worst, we save Zhang Tie, not Lin An.

Zhang Tie's sister and relatives are all in the hotel; by then, no one will believe Zhang Tie would leave zombies here.

This way, it won't seem like we lack conscience, and there's not much danger.

The crowd stopped arguing; the more proactive ones even nervously gripped the weapons they'd found, ready to meet Zhang Tie.

Wang Jianguo watched the scene before him and couldn't help but let out a light chuckle.

He had anticipated this all along.

A rabble, weak human nature.

Whether from self-preservation or considering conscience and the future, people will make this choice.

Actually, deep down, everyone is still considering their own safety.

Seeing the rope already lowered, Zhang Tie was about to reach the ground floor.

Wang Jianguo suddenly spoke again.

"Everyone, I contacted the military during the day; they promised they'd come rescue us in these few days."

"You don't need to worry about your future safety."

"The military has already established a safe zone, and many of them are stronger than Lin An and Zhang Tie!"

Wang Jianguo wore a smile, full of confidence.

He directly pointed out the people's biggest concern: safety!

"Conscience? Saving people? Bullshit!"

"So, safety considerations. No one can come up!"

"When the military rescue personnel arrive and discover we once rescued someone suspected of being a zombie..."

"Hehe, if you can't get on the rescue plane later, don't blame me for not warning you."

Behind him, several white-collar workers who had long been in cahoots silently rushed into the crowd to seize the rope.

At this moment, Zhang Tie was less than thirty meters from the hotel, his steps staggering.

Behind him, hundreds of zombies howled as they charged madly, while the nearest zombie was only two meters away.

"Drop the rope!"

Zhang Tie glared, his eyes bloodshot, fixed on the shattered second-floor windowsill.

A shadow flickered; he believed the people inside had already heard his voice.

What happened?

Why haven't they lowered the rope yet!

"Second Uncle!"

"Old Huang!"

No one responded.

At a loss, he could only panic and bring Lin An to hide in the rear of an overturned truck.

Behind him, Lin An's breath grew ever weaker; he felt a fire burning in his chest.

The truck's rear won't hide them for long; once a horde of zombies surrounds it, it's truly impossible to escape.

Zhang Tie gasped heavily, his expression urgent as he looked at Lin An.

As an Awakened One, while possessing great combat power, his food consumption is equally enormous.

His strength exhausted, his spirit drained, he felt a fierce hunger rising in his throat.

Without food to replenish his strength, even if he luckily hid here and avoided being overrun by zombies, his strength could not recover at all.

Not only does he need a safe place to rest, Lin An does too!

Zhang Tie fumbled through the medicine pack, pulling out various medicines.

They're all in English, which he can't read. He also doesn't know what that bandaged girl was eating!

He couldn't worry about that; he simply shoved all the medicine into Lin An's mouth.

But without water to wash it down, it was quickly vomited back out.

Zhang Tie felt somewhat desperate, watching Lin An's breath grow weaker, fearing he might succumb and turn into a zombie any second.

"What to do!? What should I do!?"

"Food, water!"

"We need both of these!"

On the hotel's second floor, Wang Jianguo looked calm, gazing at the group of his second uncle who glared at him.

"I'm also thinking of everyone; once the military sends people, you'll see who was right and who was wrong."

He let out a long sigh, but inside he was full of contempt.

A bunch of commoners, a little coaxing and they believe it.

The crowd murmured in discussion.

Director Wang's words instantly caught their attention.

"Director Wang, is the military really going to send people to rescue us?"

"Isn't there no phone signal? And it's also out of power!"

Someone voiced doubts, but was quickly cut off by Wang Jianguo's hired lackey behind him.

"Don't you know what position Director Wang holds? Just because you can't reach him doesn't mean he can't! Use your brains—he's a big shot!"

"Besides, we're in the city center—how could those above possibly abandon us?"

"When the people from above arrive, if we can't take too many at once, don't blame us for not bringing you!"

It was half explanation, half threat.

The doubting crowd quickly fell silent.

Wang Jianguo's face was calm and sincere; he gave a light cough.

"I hope you won't doubt this any longer—I guarantee with my integrity that those above will definitely send someone!"

"All we need to do now is ensure our own safety and avoid getting infected so we can't board the plane!"

He patted his chest, making a sound, as if it were genuine.

But Wang Jianguo knew deep down that the so-called "military safe zone" that those above would send was nothing but his fabrication.

His phone had long been turned off—no signal, unable to contact anyone at all.

But after all, he was also a member of the leadership team, and he confidently believed those above could never abandon him.

Wait a few more days—even if the military doesn't send people, the armed police and such will surely send a few, right?

Most of the indecisive crowd, hearing Wang Jianguo's such guarantee, stopped saying anything.

And among the people Zhang Tie brought, only a small part who still felt loyalty could only resentfully resign themselves.

The reason is simple: the group Wang Jianguo recruited were all big and tall, the few young people inside the hotel.

These people, with fire axes in hand, intentionally or unintentionally threatened them.

Though they might fear zombies, they still dared to threaten a bunch of the old, weak, sick, and disabled.

Director Wang, seeing the situation already under control, couldn't help but show a self-satisfied expression.

He merely made a casual promise: as long as you follow him, you'll later be able to work in the government.

Furthermore, once the military arrives, those who follow him will get priority boarding the plane.

Under threats and inducements.

These people then obediently listened to his commands—truly stupid to death.

Just as everyone was about to return to their own rooms, a girl's plaintive voice sounded.

"Uncle, please lower the rope, okay?"

"My brother is still down there."

With tears like pear blossoms in the rain, her eye sockets red, Zhang Youwei gazed pleadingly at Wang Jianguo, her body trembling slightly from agitation.

Huh?

Wang Jianguo, with a fawning young woman in his arms, stopped his steps back to the room and turned his head to look at her.

Tsk tsk.

What a lively little girl—she's actually a beauty in the making.

Zhang Youwei, dressed purely and cutely, her red-rimmed eyes bright and full of pleading, evoked pity in those who saw her.

Her lotus-white feet wore sandals, her round toes making him want to grab and play with them.

Her skin was white and smooth, like milk poured from a hot teapot.

The girl's unique innocence made his heart feel as if ants were crawling inside.

A flicker of greed flashed in his eyes; without changing expression, he pulled his arm from the waist of the young woman beside him.

By comparison, he now thought the formerly somewhat attractive young woman was nothing but a wilted flower.

He took three steps in two, walking up to Zhang Youwei.

"Uncle also wants to save your brother, but he's been infected."

The breath from his years of smoking, his mouth full of yellow teeth, was nauseating.

"Uncle is also thinking of everyone's safety. If there were a way, I'd definitely save him!"

He feigned comfort, reaching to touch Youwei's face, gently stroking.

Her vibrant, smooth, tender cheeks seemed as if they could be squeezed to yield water.

He couldn't help but let his hand drift downward, as if wanting to pat Youwei's shoulder.

"Uncle…"

Youwei trembled all over, feeling that the expression in the adult's eyes before her made her afraid.

"My brother isn't infected; he can still fight zombies."

Unable to cry out, her shoulders involuntarily shrugged, trying to dodge those fat, greasy hands.

Wang Jianguo gave a cold snort in his heart.

He naturally also guessed that Zhang Tie was probably not infected by zombies; otherwise he'd be unconscious like Lin An.

But let Zhang Tie come up? Then who would still listen to him!

During the day, while privately recruiting manpower, he had already promised those few how to handle the women in the hotel.

With threats and inducements, to play with people's hearts, he first had to give this bunch of idiots a sweetener!

"Little treasure, uncle…"

He pressed one hand down on Youwei's body, the other hand feigning pity as it moved downward.

"Whoosh."

Just as his heart burned hot and he grew somewhat excited, he suddenly felt a chill on his neck.

"Lower the rope, save someone!"

The voice was clear and cold, full of killing intent.