Chapter 1053 - 1038: Laying Low (Part 4)

Chapter 1053: Chapter 1038: Laying Low (Part 4)

"Listen, we’re about to send you to the room downstairs. I hope you won’t do anything drastic during the process. As I mentioned before, if you really care about the man, then be strong and survive. As for what you plan to do with us once you survive, we’ll accept it!"

Having said these words of advice, Old Xu flipped himself onto the wall, then easily maneuvered to the bottom floor, and signaled to Lei Tong above, who was ready.

Following the order, Lei Tong checked the ropes tied on the boy once more, then leaned down and said, "This might hurt a bit when you go down, just endure it. Don’t worry, don’t be afraid, I’ll safely get you to the destination."

The boy was evidently persuaded by Old Xu’s repeated exhortations. He remained silently looking towards the wall, a solemn expression overtaking his face.

He would be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous. But the boy managed to control his emotions well, perhaps due to Old Xu’s words, "Surviving is considering the man."

Extending his arms, Lei Tong carefully placed the boy onto the wall, then reiterated the points on rappelling: "Grip the rope tightly with both hands, crouch your legs against the wall. Remember, don’t look down. We’ll handle the rest. Let me know when you’re ready."

The boy nodded vigorously, and although Lei Tong didn’t understand what he said, the boy’s actions clearly conveyed his meaning.

"Good!" Lei Tong responded in a deep voice, positioning the rope firmly on the ground, then bent over using his midsection as an axis.

After setting it up, he patted the boy’s shoulder: "Follow what I just told you, descend slowly, don’t be nervous, nothing’s going to happen."

Despite his words, Lei Tong still felt anxious inside.

First, the tools at hand weren’t official climbing equipment.

Second, the boy had no climbing experience.

Third, and most important, the boy’s unpredictable emotions worried Lei Tong; if he acted out of line while descending, it could be disastrous...

But the arrow was already on the bowstring and had to be released.

Staying on the rooftop was a death sentence—descending was the only chance for survival.

"Let’s start!"

Squaring his stance, with firm control of the bed ropes on either side, Lei Tong gave the boy the signal to act.

The boy complied quite cooperatively, bravely stepping back two paces. To be honest, standing on the edge of an eight-story building’s wall, even an adult male would be petrified.

The wall’s edge barely gave room for the boy’s feet, and with a slight move, he was halfway to hanging off.

However, the boy remained surprisingly calm, not showing excessive tension despite the perilous situation.

First the left foot, then the right. The boy continually recalled the actions instructed by Lei Tong and Old Xu.

His movements were awkward and clumsy, yet ultimately, he successfully left the wall top.

This was a critical step because only after this could Old Xu and Lei Tong assist him with the following steps.

As soon as the boy descended, Lei Tong felt the rope tighten on his waist.

Without delay, he cautiously released the bed ropes bit by bit to aid the boy’s descent.

Everything was progressing smoothly, and if there was any issue, it was the presence of zombies that prevented Old Xu and others from communicating verbally, along with the cold night wind’s assault on the boy’s suspended body.

Watching the boy’s continued footwork, Old Xu gave him a silent thumbs-up in his heart.

To possess such courage at such a young age in this environment—frankly, many adults might not match up to him.

Soon, as the rooftop wasn’t very far from the residence, the boy descended to Old Xu’s proximity in no time.

The window was already open, and as the boy entered the reception zone, Old Xu promptly reached out to embrace him.

As soon as he held the boy, although Lei Tong couldn’t see from above, he discerned the downstairs situation through the bed rope’s movements.

He then tightened the rope to secure the boy’s position.

Meanwhile, Old Xu firmly anchored the boy’s feet to his chest.

Then, the boy immediately pulled the bed rope in his hand to signal Lei Tong above to release the rope.

Everything went exactly as Old Xu had instructed beforehand; the boy’s full cooperation made the entire operation exceptionally smooth.

Cautiously bringing the boy inside, Old Xu immediately untied him once settled.

Having experienced it himself, Old Xu understood the discomfort of being bound. Someone without professional training could hardly endure it.

Thus, the boy’s composure left Old Xu admiring him. After untying him, Old Xu promptly tugged the bed rope to signal Lei Tong to come down.

Like Old Xu, despite his sturdy build, Lei Tong descended nimbly as if weightless.

In just a few skillful moves, he appeared before Old Xu’s eyes.

After landing, he threw the bed’s sheet to the floor.

Being both a tool and a resource, because one never knows when it might come in handy later, Lei Tong didn’t discard it, carrying it down in a hassle-free manner.

"There are two rooms and a living room here, with a door at the front, and a total of six windows. Just to be safe, we need to reinforce and block all of them!"

As the saying goes, better safe than sorry. Although there weren’t zombie attacks at the moment, no one could guarantee those beasts wouldn’t sneak up for an assault.

Especially those "Climbers," skilled at scaling walls; they could appear before the survivors at any moment due to their adeptness.

With curtains drawn and tables and chairs blocking the door, Old Xu, Lei Tong, and even the boy were engaged in fortification tasks.

Upon completing these, Old Xu gave new instructions: scavenging for supplies!

That’s right! One of the primary purposes of coming to this location was to hope for possibly more resources to prolong their wait.

Splitting up, Old Xu and Lei Tong immediately started scouring.

They were quite fortunate. Perhaps because the homeowners were a newlywed couple, there was indeed a good stockpile of food and drink.

Although most of it was already decayed and unusable, there was still a considerable amount of usable items for Old Xu and the others.

One bag of 20-kilo Fortune Crystal Rice, a whole box of Dove Dark Chocolate, five packets of Old Tan Pickled Noodle, and various small packaged snacks.

In short, after a bout of scavenging, the small living room table was piled high.

Surveying the scene, Old Xu estimated that just the three of them eating freely, these supplies would sustain them for a month.

As the saying goes, with food in hand, there’s no panic while handling affairs.

Since only half a year or so had passed since the apocalypse’s outbreak, there was almost no doubt that the supplies were still within their shelf life.

Even if they weren’t, in Huaxia’s food culture, it wouldn’t be a problem—after all, we’ve been trained from childhood in various "dark cuisines," and our viscera have long developed resilience against all harm.

"Captain, with these, we can hold out for a while now!" Lei Tong chuckled, his mood as bright as the weather outside, clear skies after the rain.