Chapter 40: Mysterious Tactics (Prince and Princess, Please Follow)

“Oh, so the rooftop looks like this—I’ve never been up here before.”

Zheng Xinyu glanced around curiously; the warm sun hung high, the wind was cold and the clouds thin, distant mountains visible—all seemed so peaceful, were it not for the thick plumes of smoke rising in the distance, which made her almost believe the disaster hadn’t happened.

“Su-ge, there’s someone!”

Zhong Xiaoshan tugged nervously at Zhang Su’s arm, pointing toward Building Four.

Zhang Su and Zheng Xinyu turned to Building Four—and sure enough, a man and woman were watching them.

The woman wore a short wool coat, while the man wore a sporty pullover; both looked young, no older than twenty-five.

From their attire, it was clear they hadn’t come to the rooftop at the start of the disaster—at least not the woman, since it was far too early to need a wool coat then.

As if to show friendliness, the man in the pullover waved vigorously at Zhang Su and the others, his whole body swaying with the motion.

Zhang Su waved back in response.

But the two buildings were over thirty meters apart, and with the wind, the only way to communicate was by shouting—both sides knew noise would attract the undead, so they stayed silent.

“They’ve probably been on the rooftop for several days already.”

Zheng Xinyu said, noting the filthy coats and messy hair of the two.

“Their condition doesn’t look good… we need to find a way down quickly. If we wait, the cold will damage their bodily functions—more dangerous!”

Zhong Xiaoshan’s face showed a hint of helplessness as she spoke.

Zhang Su glanced at the two women in surprise—these were exactly the words he’d planned to say, yet they’d spoken them first; it seemed the two had finally caught up with the pace.

“Let’s focus on our own business, no time to waste. Zhong Xiaoshan, you stay here and keep watch—if you hear movement below, shout for us! Xinyu, come with me.”

As Zhang Su gave his orders, he waved again toward the people across the way, ending the brief encounter.

“What are they up to on the rooftop?”

The man on Building Four’s rooftop lowered his arm, his dusty face clouded with thought.

At barely twenty, he should have been full of vigor—but now his eyes were filled with confusion and helplessness.

“Tian Fan, they… they don’t look panicked at all. They must be able to move freely on and off the rooftop. It seems the crisis in Unit One of Building Three has been resolved—we can ask them for help!”

The woman on Building Four’s rooftop excitedly tugged at the man’s sleeve.

Her dirty face looked ordinary, but upon closer inspection, her skin was surprisingly good—she must have taken great care of it before. The thick wool coat concealed her figure, hiding any curves, though it was clear she wasn’t fat.

She was six or seven years older than Tian Fan; before the disaster, they hadn’t known each other well—it was only the sudden catastrophe that brought them together on the rooftop.

Tian Fan turned his head, smiling bitterly: “Yu-jie, even if we could get the message to them, how would they come rescue us? There are dozens of undead in our unit!”

Yu Nuo’s expression darkened at his words. She recalled the memory of escaping to the rooftop two days ago—every terrifying moment vivid: the stinking mouths, the crimson eyes, the teeth dripping with flesh. Each recollection sent chills down her spine, and she still woke screaming from nightmares.

“But we can’t stay here forever—we’re almost out of food and water, and… it’s freezing at night. Tian Fan, we can’t stay—we have to escape.”

Yu Nuo’s face was filled with desperate longing for life. Suddenly, as if struck by an idea, her eyes welled up. She was about to crouch down to conserve energy when she glanced across and murmured: “They seem to be doing something!”

Tian Fan followed the direction of her finger—and was stunned to see the man across pick up a cement block the size of a palm and hurl it far out.

“This… are they throwing stones at the undead?”

Tian Fan’s heart sank. At first, he’d seen the three across holding weapons and thought they looked formidable—but now he realized they were acting absurdly.

There were at least a hundred undead down there. Throwing stones? Even if they demolished the building brick by brick, it wouldn’t be enough.

But before Tian Fan could even react, a strange yellow sphere appeared in the man’s hand across the way…

Then, a loud, rhythmic tune blared from the opposite rooftop!

“Can’t fly away, this colorful world, yet…”

Before he could recover from his shock, he saw the man across fling the yellow sphere with all his strength toward the gap between Building Seven and Building Eight!

“Holy shit—they’re trying to lure the undead away from between Buildings Three and Four!”

Tian Fan whispered in astonishment, his dull eyes suddenly brightening. He sprinted to the wall and stared up at the yellow sphere soaring through the air, amazed at the man’s strength—the arc was perfect, carrying the sphere far away!

“Lao Liu… I’m afraid I’ll fail your final request…”

At the base of Building Four, crouched in a cramped space, a man licked his dry, cracked lips from thirst. Beside him lay a standard assault rifle, and a pistol was strapped to his waist—but even so, he had no intention of rushing out.

Not from cowardice—he carried his old friend’s dying wish, and dared not die lightly.

“Xiao Qin, I’m done for. Your sister-in-law… she’s gone. But Xiao Yu is still alive—he hasn’t been infected. Promise me: live, find him. Don’t die here and bury yourself with us—it’s meaningless!”

The scene of Captain Liu’s death replayed endlessly in his mind.

If not for that promise, he would have died that very night!

He wanted to roll over, but the space was too narrow—he could only shift slightly sideways, unable to turn from his prone position to lie on his back.

He reached for the water bottle beside him, opened it, and poured hard—only two or three drops landed in his mouth…

The agonizing posture, hunger, thirst, and ever-present danger were slowly eroding his will. Every minute felt like a year.

He passed the time counting undead feet—but the shrubs blocked his view, so he couldn’t see everywhere. By different shoe styles, he’d counted over fifty undead. No matter how many more were hidden, that number alone was more than enough to overwhelm him.

“Tonight—no matter what, I’m getting out tonight. Even if I die, I’ll…”

Puff!

As the man silently swore, a distant sound of a stone landing on grass echoed.

He strained to turn his head toward the noise, but his view was blocked—he saw nothing.

“Who the hell is throwing stones at the undead? Thinking they can smash them all to death one by one?”

“I’m a drunken butterfly…”

Just as he was mentally mocking the stone-thrower’s bizarre logic, a loud song suddenly blared in his ears.

In the silent world, where the shuffle of undead feet was the main soundtrack, occasionally broken by heart-wrenching wails, this sudden song struck his eardrums like lightning—his heart jolted.

Moments later, the man stared in disbelief as every pair of undead feet within his view sprinted toward one direction!

(End of Chapter)