Rotting Land: Survive-Chapter 488 - 483: The Eerie Giant Turntable (Part 2)
The noise immediately put Hu Xiaodong and Wei Dazhuang, who were both on high alert, on edge.
Wei Dazhuang instinctively drew the scythe from his back, while Hu Xiaodong raised his bow and aimed at the source of the sound.
Seeing the two of them acting as if they were facing a great enemy, Wang Qiang felt both amused and a bit embarrassed.
He immediately scratched his head with an awkward smile and said, "Uh... Brother Hu, Brother Dazhuang, relax a bit. That noise was just me accidentally kicking a stone. Hehe, hehe!"
After the false alarm, Hu Xiaodong exhaled a sigh of relief and slowly lowered his recurve bow.
The commotion downstairs also alerted Tang Xiaoquan and Xu Renjie on the rooftop. Compared to Xu Renjie’s solemnity and tension, Tang Xiaoquan’s eyes gleamed with excitement, his mouth upturning in a smile, as if something had thrilled him.
"This really is like searching high and low, only to find it without any effort! Haha!"
Smiling lightly, Xu Renjie turned his head puzzled and asked, "Little Tang, what are you talking about? What lost shoe?"
Tang Xiaoquan paused slightly, realizing his choice of words wasn’t right, then smiled broadly and explained, "Oh, it’s nothing, Old Xu. Here’s the thing, I thought of a way to get to the statue."
"Oh? Really? What’s the method?" Xu Renjie seemed a bit anxious.
"Can you ride a bicycle?"
"Bicycle?" Xu Renjie’s confusion became more evident, "Yes, I can! Why?"
Upon receiving the affirmative answer, Tang Xiaoquan clapped his hands and praised, "Great! Let’s go down!"
Carrying a belly full of suspicion, Xu Renjie followed Tang Xiaoquan and jumped off the rooftop.
Seeing Xu and Tang come down, the already impatient Wang Qiang immediately complained:
"I say, Quan, you two sure are slow, aren’t you? Can we head out now?"
"Of course! Just that..." Suddenly stopping mid-sentence, Tang Xiaoquan ran a few steps towards a nearby house and pointed at a metal object beside it, his lips curving into a slight smile, "Just that we need to rely on this!"
"Rely on this! A bicycle!?" Staring at the Phoenix brand bicycle Tang Xiaoquan was pointing to, Wang Qiang’s eyes almost popped out, "I say... did you take the wrong medicine, asking us to ride this?"
"Yeah," Nodding naturally, Tang Xiaoquan calmly explained: ’This is perfect! It’s green, environmentally friendly, and noiseless—ideal for our next move!’ Wang Xinquan was very satisfied with the semi-new bicycle in front of him, saying it met all his requirements, "Haha, ultimately, I really have to thank you, Qiang!"
Wang Qiang still stared wide-eyed in astonishment, but Xu Renjie had no time to waste any longer.
He immediately slung his hunting rifle and cleaver behind him and waved at Hu Xiaodong in the distance, signaling him to come along.
As for why he wanted Hu Xiaodong to come along, Xu Renjie had his own considerations.
Considering the high risk of this trip, as the circular intersection had no cover at all.
Once they exited the alley, they’d be exposed to the open air.
Therefore, compared to others, Hu Xiaodong excelled much more than Wei Dazhuang and Wang Qiangqiang in terms of ability and patience.
If an emergency arose, Xu Renjie felt Hu Xiaodong’s handling would be definitely more suitable than the hot-tempered Wei Dazhuang and Wang Qiang.
After briefly explaining the main purpose of this outing, Xu Renjie then rode the bicycle with Hu Xiaodong on it out of the alley, heading towards the statue.
After seeing them off, Tang Xiaoquan quickly climbed back to the rooftop, immediately raising his binoculars to observe Xu Renjie’s position.
In his viewfinder, Old Xu was riding the semi-new bicycle further and further away, with nothing unusual occurring around them due to their presence.
This somewhat eased the tension in Tang Xiaoquan’s heart, and as he watched the bromance-like silhouette of Xu and Hu riding together, an appropriate song popped into his head:
"Sweet, sweet, I’m smiling sweetly, just like flowers blooming in the spring wind..."
Humming and observing, just as Tang Xiaoquan finished his song, Xu Renjie finally arrived smoothly in front of the statue on his "racing bike."
Without wasting words, Xu Renjie parked the bike and balanced it, while Hu Xiaodong immediately nocked an arrow and stood vigil.
The two worked together seamlessly and skillfully.
Xu Renjie carefully examined the indents and bumps on the statue, needing to set a route for climbing beforehand to have it clear in his mind.
Once decided, he quickly got moving.
Spitting into his hands to increase friction and grip, Xu Renjie had already discarded his protective gloves in the bike.
Following the route he had just planned, Xu Renjie began climbing upwards bit by bit. Compared to his past training, this climb was relatively easy.
But in terms of psychological pressure, it was the greatest challenge yet.
He had to contend not only with the slipperiness of the statue but also be on constant alert for any sudden emergencies.
Under such dual pressure, the mental burden on Xu Renjie was immense.
Soon, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
Through his binoculars, Tang Xiaoquan anxiously watched Xu Renjie’s climb, nervous for him.
But along with the tension, he also admired Xu Renjie’s skill.
Clearly, the reputation of us Huaxia soldiers isn’t just for show.
With his superb military skills, Xu Renjie soon reached the top of the statue.
Disregarding propriety, Xu Renjie lightly leaned his bottom against the nose of the statue.
Having expended considerable energy with his earlier maneuvers, he naturally needed a short rest once at the top.
However, Xu Renjie didn’t allow himself much time to catch his breath. After wiping the sweat from his face, he quickly straightened up and looked ahead.
Unlike the previously restricted view, this vantage point gave Xu Renjie a sense of dominating the heights, overlooking everything beneath him.
Everything around was within his view, and without any delay, Xu Renjie hastily raised the binoculars around his neck.
From his high vantage point, he clearly saw the factory’s situation a hundred meters away: as Tang Xiaoquan had anticipated, the missing zombies indeed clustered around the factory’s perimeter, densely packed and countless.
However, compared to the stadium, their numbers were still significantly fewer. Nonetheless, it was unrealistic to think about driving past them to get into the factory.
The fire on the three-story building’s rooftop that he had seen earlier had been extinguished, but the number of people gathered there had increased significantly.
Xu Renjie quickly counted; there were about a dozen or so people.
A middle-aged man, not particularly tall, who kept gesturing to those around him, caught Xu Renjie’s attention.
Without a doubt, this must be Liu Yunpeng’s father, Liu Fugui, as the aura he exuded and the respectful manner of those nearby, even from this distance, was detectable through the binoculars to Xu Renjie.
It seemed driving easily into the factory was no simple task. Seeing this, Xu Renjie took out his hand-held radio and spoke in a deep voice: "Observation complete, the factory is surrounded, but the factory area is still safe, over!" (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian (qidian.com) with recommendation and monthly tickets; your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
