Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Survivor Search and Rescue Team – The Door to Apocalypse Rebirth – Full Book Online Novel

Survivor Search and Rescue Team

Although Gu Ning brought out so many supplies, except for Jia Daozhang, everyone else ate sparingly, only half-full, and then asked Gu Ning to take the remaining supplies back. The water Gu Ning brought out was not touched by anyone; each person only took a sip.

Gu Ning’s “generosity” surprised everyone, even Xie Yuhong, who had always maintained a cold gaze, looked at Gu Ning with a newfound warmth.

“Gu Ning, let me help you carry that,” Cheng Ming said, eyeing the bulging backpack.

It was hard to imagine how Gu Ning had managed to carry such a heavy bag and still run so fast today.

“No need, thank you,” Gu Ning replied effortlessly, hoisting the backpack that seemed disproportionately heavy compared to her frame onto her back. “I’ll go take a look upstairs,” she said, heading towards the second floor.

Gu Ning scouted the second and third floors before returning to the first floor.

She briefed everyone on the situation.

Both the second and third floors had security bars on the windows. Even if they could be removed and bedsheets tied into ropes to descend, they would still have to face the zombie dog head-on. The only option now was to wait, as Gu Ning had suggested earlier.

However, Gu Ning couldn’t afford to wait.

She couldn’t help but regret not learning how to use a gun from Method.

She never expected animals to turn into zombies too.

Gu Ning’s heart was heavy. If human zombies were manageable, a zombie dog with such speed and terrifying attack power was almost impossible to defeat in a direct confrontation. It had to be shot in the head to die completely, and just one scratch from its claws would infect you with the zombie virus.

Moreover, their combat abilities were not on the same level, and without long-range weapons, it was a one-sided slaughter.

The already difficult world had just become even more challenging.

It was hard to imagine what the future held for humanity in such a world.

Gu Ning deeply felt that this was the true apocalypse.

“Damn, even dogs are turning into zombies now. What if chickens and ducks start turning too? We might as well just kill ourselves now,” Zhang Chao said.

Everyone’s mood was heavy, and no one responded.

Jia Daozhang said, “It’s a pity I didn’t bring my copper coins. Otherwise, I could divine our future.”

He looked disheveled, his grayish-blue robe dirty, his black cloth shoes covered in dust, and his face smeared with dirt, making it hard to see his original skin. Even his goatee was matted together, making him look more like a scruffy vagrant from the Republic era than a dignified Taoist priest. He looked much worse than when Gu Ning first saw him a few days ago.

After about an hour, Jia Daozhang, annoyed by the constant banging, paced around the room and finally asked, “Gu Ning, what if that zombie dog never leaves? What do we do then?”

Gu Ning sat calmly and said, “Unless a group of people with guns suddenly shows up and kills that zombie dog.”

Jia Daozhang, lacking the self-discipline of a Taoist cultivator, rolled his eyes, then suddenly ran into a bedroom, grabbed a blanket and pillow, threw them on the floor, and lay down. “In that case, I’ll take a nap. Wake me up when those gun-wielding people arrive,” he said, closing his eyes and falling asleep.

Jia Daozhang’s actions immediately triggered sleepiness in everyone else. They had been startled awake early in the morning, ran for over half an hour, and were terrified by the zombie dog. Sleepiness overwhelmed them, and despite the banging at the door, they all dozed off.

Gu Ning hadn’t slept for twenty-four hours. She wanted to sleep too, but her mind was racing with chaotic thoughts, keeping her awake. She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling, bored. She checked her watch; it was still before 9 a.m.

For some reason, Gu Ning thought of the missing plush blanket.

She quietly walked back to the bedroom.

Closing her eyes, she recalled the details of that moment.

She remembered her thoughts at the time and the instant the plush blanket disappeared…

Gu Ning opened her eyes and walked to the wardrobe. She looked at a red dress inside and thought about taking it with her…

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Gu Ning’s pupils contracted slightly, and the red dress vanished before her eyes!

As if it had never existed.

It wasn’t her imagination!

Gu Ning tried a few more times.

She stared at the now-empty wardrobe, stunned.

She had no idea where these things went; she only knew she had made them disappear!

Did she have some kind of superpower?

Ever since she was bitten by a zombie and entered that strange space, opening that mysterious door, strange changes had been happening to her. So far, all the changes had been positive, but this ability to make things disappear—was it good or bad?

Suddenly, Gu Ning had an idea. If she could make things disappear, could she make the zombie dog vanish too?

The moment this thought crossed her mind—

“Bang!” A gunshot rang out.

After the first shot, several more followed, accompanied by the zombie dog’s furious howls—and human screams.

Gu Ning was stunned, then rushed out of the bedroom. Everyone who had been sleeping woke up, scrambling to their feet, looking around in confusion or fear, not knowing what had happened.

But they all instinctively stood by Gu Ning’s side.

Then, outside the door, the zombie dog let out a final, piercing cry—

And then, the world fell silent.

The people in the house looked at each other, unable to react.

Jia Daozhang looked at Gu Ning with an indescribable expression and said, “Gu Ning, you’re truly amazing.”

Gu Ning had no idea what to say.

She never expected her offhand comment to come true so quickly.

The silence didn’t last long before the door was roughly banged on, and a rough male voice shouted from outside, “Anyone in there?!”

Jia Daozhang and the others instinctively looked at Gu Ning, unsure whether to respond.

But Xiao Yunyun, impatient, quickly answered, “Yes! There are people here!”

“We’re the Survivor Search and Rescue Team! Open the door!” the voice outside shouted.

Hearing this, everyone in the room perked up, their faces showing a hint of joy.

Gu Ning couldn’t help but feel a surge of hope. If it was the Search and Rescue Team, they must have saved many people. Maybe they had seen Gu Ning’s parents.

Everyone quickly moved to clear the furniture blocking the door.

They opened the door.

Outside stood about twenty men, all in their twenties or thirties, each armed with a gun. On the ground lay a man with a bitten neck, his body pinned under the bullet-riddled zombie dog. Someone kicked the zombie dog aside, and another man picked up the fallen gun.

Two men stood guard by the iron gate.

They began to scrutinize Gu Ning’s group, their expressions not particularly friendly. A few uncomfortable glances lingered on the girls.

The girls’ faces changed, and they instinctively hid behind the men.

The leader, a burly man in a denim jacket, tall and holding a rifle, glared at his men before scanning Gu Ning’s group. A hint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes as he asked, “Who’s in charge here?”

Everyone exchanged glances, hesitating, then looked at Gu Ning.

Gu Ning frowned deeply.

The man looked at Gu Ning curiously, his tone full of doubt. “You’re the leader?”

“No,” Gu Ning said firmly.

Jia Daozhang quickly interjected, “We’re just a bunch of stragglers who came together recently. There’s no leader.”

Since Gu Ning didn’t look like a leader at all, the man just glanced at her briefly before dismissing her. He then asked, “Does anyone here have injuries?”

Jia Daozhang and the others remained silent but visibly tense.

Xiao Yunyun and the others, however, all looked at Gu Ning’s right hand, their eyes glinting with schadenfreude.

The man was about to speak when Huang Mengyao said, “That’s a knife wound. I treated it.”

“I don’t care what kind of wound it is,” the man said, frowning at Gu Ning, then gestured to another man.

The other man stepped forward, holding a pair of handcuffs, and said impatiently, “Come on.”

Gu Ning glanced at the handcuffs, then shook her head at the leader. “I’m not going with you.” If her hands were bound, she wouldn’t be able to handle any emergencies.

As soon as she finished speaking, someone behind her aimed a gun at her.

“Even if you don’t come with us, we can’t let someone who might turn into a zombie escape and come back to kill us later. So, you have two choices: come with us, or die right now,” the man said calmly. Gu Ning had no doubt that if she refused again, the gunman would shoot without hesitation.

So, Gu Ning obediently extended her hands and was cuffed with the cold handcuffs.

The man seemed slightly surprised by Gu Ning’s immediate compliance and her pragmatic attitude. A hint of approval flashed in his eyes as he said, “Let’s go. There’s a vehicle outside. We’ll take you to the gathering place.” He added, “Don’t worry too much. If you don’t turn into a zombie within ten minutes, we’ll take the cuffs off.”

With that, he kicked the zombie dog’s corpse and led the way outside.