Looking at each other, everyone exchanged glances. They all felt something should be said at this critical juncture, yet kept silent due to their individual thoughts.

Zhao Yunhai continued to pack his things, nearly finished. Seeing this, Tang Xiaoquan quickly put his hand on Zhao Yunhai's shoulder, pretending to be upset: "Uncle Zhao, look at you. Didn't we just agree? We're family, no need for formalities. Why are you distancing yourself from us again?"

With a slight frown, Tang Xiaoquan's expression was genuine, making it difficult for anyone to detect any abnormalities. However, his eyes occasionally darting towards the keys inserted below the steering wheel revealed his true thoughts.

Yes, Tang Xiaoquan's emotional words were not sincere; he was merely trying to be courteous in order to persuade Zhao Yunhai to leave the car keys behind.

After all, with the man gone, our side staying inside the car can indeed avoid the danger of being attacked by zombies in the building. But if the man has an accident or the vehicles at the foot of the building are besieged by zombies, our side without keys to start the car would be trapped like sparrows in a sealed jar, unable to escape.

Unfortunately, Tang Xiaoquan's well-laid plans were thwarted by reality.

Just as he was preparing his next words, his good brother Wang Qiang spoke first: "Exactly! Uncle Zhao, you're clearly not trusting us. What's the matter? Are you afraid we'll drag you down? I'll be honest with you, we brothers are not cowards who fear death!"

Tough words! Righteous statements! Wow, Wang Qiang's stance at this time was as if his self-esteem had been trampled, unusually serious.

Not afraid of a formidable opponent, but scared of a teammate who acts like a fool. Hearing Wang Qiang's self-centered words, Tang Xiaoquan wished he could slap his size 41 shoe against Wang Qiang's size 38 face!

At this point, what more could he say? As the saying goes, spilled water can't be gathered. He could only follow up on his brother's words and continue: "Yes! Uncle Zhao, let's skip the formalities. Bottom line, we're family! Your matter is everyone's matter! I think, after a while..."

To avoid further complications, Tang Xiaoquan didn't wait for Zhao Yunhai's response and continued uninterrupted: "Wu Chao, Brother Hu, you two go with Uncle Zhao upstairs, others stay at the building's foot to protect the car! We have a 15-minute limit, must leave after regardless of the outcome! No problem, right?"

His gaze shifted to Zhao Yunhai, evidently this last sentence was directed at him.

"No, no problem, I'm just going up to confirm something! Won't take too long!" Zhao Yunhai responded promptly, and the actions of the group deeply moved him.

Nodding silently, since the other party had accepted his help, then...

Striking while the iron is hot, after babbling for so long, Tang Xiaoquan finally voiced his ultimate purpose: "For safety's sake, Uncle Zhao! Don't turn off the car, we need to keep it running so we don't end up unable to start it later."

"Oh, right, right, what you said makes sense! I'll keep it running!" Without any suspicion of the young man's ulterior motives, Zhao Yunhai simply assumed he was genuinely considering safety.

Not only him, the others also didn't notice, all secretly admired Tang Xiaoquan's meticulous thinking.

With this, the car keys were finally in hand, meaning from this moment on, their fate could finally be controlled by themselves.

Letting out a silent breath, the long-worried matter now settled, Tang Xiaoquan was able to relax a bit, then...

"Swish, swish!" The three car doors nearly opened simultaneously, with survivors filing out.

"Ah Cheng, go to the driver's seat, ready to start and head off at any time!"

"Qiangzi, you're in charge of the front, I'll guard the rear! Wei Yang, on lookout, watch for zombie ambushes!"

Without any nonsense, as soon as his toes hit the ground, Tang Xiaoquan habitually began issuing orders.

This might be what it means to say experience makes one grow. If initially, what Tang Xiaoquan did was due to helplessness, survival, or pressure...

Now, after a series of life-and-death battles, these actions had subtly become instinctive, though the person involved hadn't realized it yet.

Seeing Tang Xiaoquan's orderly deployment, Hu Xiaodong's tense face slightly relaxed.

He felt very fortunate to have met him at the beginning, and very thankful for saving him, imagining if not for their joining, his original team might now...

The past is unbearable to recall, Hu Xiaodong was not one who liked reminiscing.

After all, life must continue, only by moving forward can one survive longer in this damn apocalypse!

The building's basement security iron door was wide open, which saved survivors from the trouble of opening it. Hu Xiaodong signaled Zhao Yunhai to follow behind him, not intentionally taking care of the middle-aged man but simply not trusting a stranger to lead him.

"Your home is on the 5th floor, right?" Hu Xiaodong asked softly.

"Yes, the 5th floor! Room 502! Second door!" Zhao Yunhai confirmed quietly while picking up the ruler in hand.

"Alright!" Nodding once, Hu Xiaodong silently moved forward two steps, then raised his compound bow, using the staircase for cover, peering towards the hallway corner. Sure enough, a short-haired zombie was facing the wall in "repentance!"

In a situation like this, Hu Xiaodong had nothing more to say, drawing the bow and loosing the string. With an almost imperceptible sound of muscle tearing, the zombie that was just hunched over stood still instantly collapsed to the ground.

A 15-minute limit, Hu Xiaodong and the others had to race against time.

The trio stepped over the corpse, Hu Xiaodong pulling the carbon arrow from the zombie's head, then re-mounting it on the arrow platform.

Proceeding step by step up, replicating this method, after taking down 4 zombies wandering in the hallway, Hu Xiaodong's group reached the target floor: 5th floor.

According to Zhao Yunhai's description, Room 502 was the second door on the left of the 5th floor. From the image reflected by the ventilation window on the hallway wall, at least 4 zombies were roaming outside Room 502.

Thus, judging by the similar balance of power, there was no need to cautiously use the compound bow to deal with them one by one. Given the limited time, after Hu Xiaodong loosened the string to take down the nearest zombie, he drew the cleaver from his back and charged out with a swift stride...

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