Twenty minutes later.
Near the main gate plaza of the residential compound.
The woman had been forced to climb onto a tree branch four to five meters high.
Initially, a ladder was used to get her up, but the rest of the way, she was forced to climb herself.
The woman clung tightly to the branches with both hands, her legs trembling uncontrollably from fear.
"Please, please, let me down... I'll do whatever you want from now on! I don't even need food or water anymore... Please, let me down, I don't want to die!"
The short, stout man glared at her impatiently, his voice low as he said, "Shut up, damn you! If you want to live, do as I say! When we've hidden ourselves, you scream your lungs out! Attract all the zombies from the main gate plaza! We'll kill the zombies, and then we can save you!"
The tall, thin man, hearing the short, stout man's plan, asked with a slight tremor, "Brother, will this work? Just the two of us against over twenty zombies... What if something goes wrong..."
The short, stout man confidently waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, didn't we see it yesterday? This woman was shouting from the rain gutter back then. Seven or eight zombies were gathered below. The man with the fire axe didn't have any trouble killing them all! Although there are more zombies this time, the two of us can watch out for each other! It'll definitely be fine!"
After speaking, the short, stout man saw the tall, thin man was still hesitant, so he added, "Actually, these zombies only look scary! They don't have much combat power in reality! Think about it, that man could chop off a zombie's head with an axe! It was so easy, it means these zombies' bodies are very fragile! We're just imagining them to be more terrifying than they are! Don't worry, trust your brother, and it'll be fine!"
Hearing this, the tall, thin man nodded, still somewhat unconvinced. Indeed, the man with the axe yesterday had been a bit too formidable! His physique looked average, not particularly muscular or robust! Why could he kill zombies like slicing vegetables?! It wasn't that the man was too strong, but that the zombies were too weak! Since that man could do it, we definitely can too!
The tall, thin man followed the short, stout man's instructions. The two of them hid behind a sedan at the main entrance.
"Ah~ Help!" The woman screamed. Her voice was exceptionally sharp and piercing! With just one shout, half the zombies at the main gate were immediately attracted.
"Huhu... Roar... Roar~ Ugh..."
The horde of zombies was drawn by the woman's cries! All the zombies seemed to activate at once, rushing forward with strange growls!
"Ah!~ Help me, I don't want to die! Save me, save me~ Please!" The woman had been reluctantly going through the motions when she first screamed. Now, however, she was utterly terrified by the approaching zombies, screaming for her life! Her piercing soprano instantly shattered the silence of the residential area! All the zombies in the main gate plaza swarmed forward, instantly surrounding the tree where the woman was, forming a dense circle. They all tilted their heads back, extending their pale, cold arms!
"It's time!" The short, stout man smiled slightly. He remembered the situation when Zhang Chen had killed seven or eight zombies, and they had been rendered helpless. Furthermore, the zombies had barely had any power to fight back!
"Go!" With the short, stout man's command, the two men charged forward, each wielding a cleaver. Both the short, stout man and the tall, thin man knew that noise would attract the zombies, so neither dared to make the slightest sound. They crept to the rear of the zombie horde and swung their cleavers at the nearest zombie's back of the head.
*Slash!* The cleaver embedded itself into the zombie's skull. One zombie slumped to the ground! Before the short, stout man could show any joy, a wave of fear suddenly washed over him. He discovered that the cleaver was stuck in the zombie's head and he couldn't pull it out. As the zombie's body fell, the short, stout man, still holding the cleaver, stumbled and almost fell. Even so, the cleaver wouldn't budge!
"Damn it!" The short, stout man cursed under his breath! "How is this different from what I saw yesterday? I put all my strength into that chop! My wrist still aches from the impact! I thought it would be like Zhang Chen, cutting off a large chunk of the zombie's head with one strike! But this is all I get? It only went in a dozen centimeters... and now I can't even pull the knife out!"
*Squish!* At the same time, the tall, thin man swung his cleaver horizontally, directly at the zombie's neck! Likewise, he thought this strike should have decapitated the zombie! But the cleaver only cut halfway through. When it hit the cervical spine, it got stuck! And the worst part was... this zombie wasn't dead! Instead, it slowly turned around.
"B-Brother..." This is completely different from yesterday's scene! The tall, thin man's legs went weak, and he collapsed onto the ground. The cleaver in his hand was now lodged in the zombie's neck. Both brothers were now disarmed! Any single zombie could kill them right now.
"Run... Run!" The short, stout man shouted, then turned and fled. His yell attracted even more zombies!
"Huhu... Ah... Ugh..." A dozen zombies abandoned the woman screaming in the tree and turned to pursue the two men.
"Brother... Brother, save me..." "Don't leave me!" The tall, thin man scrambled to his feet, crawling towards the short, stout man, wailing. He was tall and ran fast. Although the short, stout man had fled first, his short, stout physique made him much slower, and soon the tall, thin man caught up to him! The zombies behind them were even faster, pursuing them with their eerie cries!
"Brother, hurry up, the zombies are coming!" the tall, thin man yelled anxiously. He couldn't bear to abandon his brother and flee alone. He unconsciously slowed his pace slightly.
"Brother, I'm sorry!" the short, stout man said, panting as he ran. Long periods of inactivity had left him winded after only a few dozen meters. "I really can't run anymore!"
"What are you saying, Brother? Keep going! We're not far from the unit entrance! Don't give up!" The tall, thin man reached out to grab the short, stout man's arm, wanting to pull him along. The moment his hand touched the short, stout man, the latter suddenly grabbed his arm in return. While the tall, thin man was momentarily stunned, the short, stout man swiftly kicked out, hitting the tall, thin man's ankle precisely!
*Crack!* The short, stout man had put all his strength into that kick! He directly injured the tall, thin man's ankle.
"Brother... you..." The tall, thin man endured the pain, looking at him with complete astonishment. His eyes were filled with incomprehensible, despairing emotions!