In his eyes was the open-air rooftop of a two-story building, which the group had previously mistaken for a wall due to the problem with both the light and their line of sight.
The rooftop was about a hundred square meters, and the spacious concrete ground was littered with life’s debris like waste paper and rags. If it weren’t for the presence of five camping tents, one might really think it was a garbage dump.
Sensing the hint of doubt in everyone’s eyes, Wu Chao shrugged with a small, helpless smile: "We don’t have gas here, so we can only use these to make fire for cooking and boiling water. It’s a bit dirty, but... well, you’ll get used to it!"
"That’s right," as he spoke, a tall, skinny young man walked over. He cheerfully bumped fists with Wu Chao, hugged him firmly, and then continued, "Though the conditions here are a bit rough, it is definitely safe, plus you can enjoy a free open-air sunbath and a 360-degree unobstructed view of the city."
Cheerful, optimistic, a fan of the NBA, and having a good relationship with Wu Chao, Tang Xiaoquan wasn’t too concerned about the young man’s slightly playful banter. At this moment, he was appraising the unfamiliar young man quickly, following the thought process instilled by the Law of Survival.
"Of course, if you get bored, you can knock on this iron door, and then you can..."
Just as the young man knocked on the iron door, a bone-chilling roar followed by vigorous pounding echoed all around.
Everyone was shocked, especially Hu Xiaodong, who was in the middle of talking with the elderly man; he immediately raised his cleaver and assumed a defensive posture.
"Wen Quanxin, what are you doing! Do you have nothing better to do after eating? You want to get us all killed!" Seeing everything was normal around them, Hu Xiaodong felt a bit relieved. He quickly understood the reason behind the noise and immediately scolded.
It seemed this wasn’t the first time Wen Quanxin had done such a worrying thing.
"Hehe~" Wen Quanxin scratched his head with an awkward smile and stuck out his tongue, "Oh, Hu Ge, I-I was just introducing our place to new friends."
After saying this, he earnestly added, "Uh~ What I did just now was a mistake. You absolutely must not touch this door; otherwise, it’ll provoke a reaction from the zombies just like earlier."
After hearing this, several people familiar with Wen Quanxin could only shake their heads in resignation.
Scatterbrained, acting without thinking, enjoying silly jokes, Tang Xiaoquan added a few more lines to his assessment of Wen Quanxin. Official source ıs novelꞁire.net
Besides, given his recent inappropriate behavior, it was only natural to add him to the list of people who posed a threat to the team.
"NMD, making such a racket early in the morning! I can’t even get a decent sleep!"
As he spoke, a man with a sleazy appearance poked his head out from a dark green tent.
Tang Xiaoquan observed very carefully and noticed that when this not-so-pleasant man appeared, the originally humorous expressions on Wu Chao and Wen Quanxin’s faces vanished, and even the elderly man with silver hair immediately paused his conversation with Hu Xiaodong.
It seemed this man was an unstable factor within the team, Tang Xiaoquan immediately deduced.
"****, where did this bunch of flies come from? Aren’t there already enough mouths here?" The man continued to speak unfiltered, targeting Tang Xiaoquan and the others.
Ah Cheng was obviously intimidated by the man’s aura and shrank back.
But upon hearing it, Wang Qiang immediately flared up, his eyebrows arched fiercely, and he retaliated without hesitation: "Hey, who are you calling flies?"
"Anyone who replies is a fly! Anyone freeloading is a fly!"
Tang Xiaoquan quickly grabbed Wang Qiang, who was about to step forward, and signaled him with a glance to not act impulsively.
After all, this was their territory, and although the man’s words were harsh, they weren’t entirely unreasonable.
Moreover, after their group had endured two marathon-like escapes, they were in dire need of a place to recharge.
So starting a conflict now was clearly not a wise move.
"Uh~ Hehe, young man, don’t worry. We have arms and legs, and we won’t trouble your hospitality for nothing. If there’s anything we can do to help, please feel free to ask. As long as we can do it, we will."
Tang Xiaoquan’s response was neither overbearing nor servile, carrying a diplomatic flair.
Unfortunately, ruffians can’t appreciate the elegance of music; the sleazy man raised his eyebrows, gave Tang Xiaoquan a look-over, and then mockingly jeered: "And who the hell are you? With those skinny arms and legs, you think you can handle anything? You probably wouldn’t even satisfy a gap between those creatures’ teeth!"
"You bastard, if you have guts, you..."
"Enough!" A harsh shout interrupted Wang Qiang’s words. Hu Xiaodong, flexing his bulging right hand, pointed at both opposing sides and scolded: "You, and you stop talking. If you’re really that idle, go clean up the stuff on the ground!"
Admittedly, this shout of his indeed had an effect, as both inflamed sides closed their mouths obediently, at least for now.
"Cough, cough, cough~" A bout of violent coughing broke this rare silence again.
"Damn it, coughing all day long, isn’t it annoying! TMD if you can’t handle it, just die early and save the food!" The sleazy man’s eyes flashed with a cruel light, like a wolf at midnight, inciting fear in others.
Yet Hu Xiaodong appeared unfazed by the man’s fierce demeanor: "Lu Hu, I’m warning you one last time, if I catch you cursing at Hu Zi and his mom again, I’ll throw you off the roof to feed the zombies."
Lu Hu met Hu Xiaodong’s eyes with defiance. Yet, it only lasted a moment before he was cowed by the inherent authority in Hu Xiaodong’s unspoken gaze. He unwillingly muttered something under his breath, then sulkily retreated into his sleeping bag.
Seemingly noticing the unusual expressions on Tang Xiaoquan and the others’ faces, Hu Xiaodong turned to point at the tent from which the cough originated and explained: "Don’t worry, everyone, Hu Zi isn’t infected by the zombies. This little guy is probably just exhausted, leading to a weak body and catching a cold. Unfortunately, I don’t have any medicine here, or else..."
"Sigh~" Hu Xiaodong let out a long sigh, looking very dejected.
Seeing him so dejected, Wang Qiang suddenly remembered that there was an unopened box of 999 cold medicine in his survival pack, so he immediately wanted to search for it.
A fair large hand discreetly tapped his back, and then a familiar whisper came to his ear: "Don’t move, it’s not the time yet!"