Chapter 127

Chapter 127: Falling from the Building

Zhuang Chen took everyone’s advice and had the guards stop shooting, switching to a five-person rotation of special ability attacks. This method was much quieter than gunfire, reducing the risk of attracting more zombies.

“What should we do next?” Third Brother asked with a grave expression. “With just our special ability users here, it’s impossible to kill so many zombies.”

If they were all ordinary zombies, it might be manageable. But among them were a significant number of evolved and mutated zombies.

Gu Ning suddenly asked, “Director Zhong, since the base was built, has anything like this ever happened before?”

Director Zhong replied, “No. At most, there have been a few hundred, and they were quickly dealt with. We’ve never seen this many zombies before.”

Gu Ning walked away without a word. This time, she didn’t climb the wall but instead scaled the nearly 20-meter-high watchtower. The view from there was much broader. The cold winter wind brushed against her face, unexpectedly making her feel a chill. A sense of unease crept into her heart as she looked down at the densely packed zombies with almost no gaps between them. She had a strong feeling that these zombies hadn’t wandered here by chance. Such a large number, with more continuously pouring in, couldn’t all be moving in one direction just because of the base’s human presence. Something must be driving them…

She gripped the railing and scanned the area. Zombies were everywhere—on the three main roads and several branching paths. There wasn’t a single spot without zombies. Wait…

Gu Ning’s heart skipped a beat. She slowly shifted her gaze back to the middle of the vertical main road she had just scanned. There stood a short zombie, a child. It didn’t seem unusual at first glance, as there were many child zombies mixed in the horde, moving forward with excited hisses. But this one was different. While all the other zombies were stumbling forward, it stood still, head bowed. Stranger still, the zombies behind it would automatically move to either side as they approached, avoiding the small area around it. Not a single zombie bumped into it.

“She” was wearing a white summer dress, with her hair down. Based on her size, she appeared to be an eight or nine-year-old girl. Gu Ning couldn’t see her face because her head was lowered, but even so, the girl didn’t stand out in the zombie horde. If not for Gu Ning’s keen observation, she wouldn’t have noticed anything unusual.

A bizarre thought crossed Gu Ning’s mind. If something was driving these zombies, could it be “her”?

Just as this idea formed in her head, the zombie girl, who had been standing with her head down, slowly raised her head. Her gray eyes locked directly onto Gu Ning’s from the watchtower. The moment their eyes met, Gu Ning’s mind buzzed.

“She seems to have noticed something,” Yi Shaoqing said, looking up at Gu Ning, who was leaning slightly over the watchtower railing.

Everyone turned their attention to the watchtower.

“Wait… what is she doing?” Zhuang Chen frowned, watching Gu Ning with unease.

Gu Ning was climbing onto the railing, seemingly trying to get out of the watchtower. But outside the watchtower was a nearly 20-meter drop. If she climbed out, she would fall!

“What’s she doing?” Yi Shaoqing muttered, puzzled by Gu Ning’s actions.

“Something’s wrong…” Method suddenly ran toward the watchtower, trying to climb up and see what was happening with Gu Ning.

Director Zhong suddenly said, “She seems to want to jump down—”

The moment these words were spoken, everyone’s faces turned pale with horror.

“Gu Ning! What are you doing up there?! Be careful!” Third Brother shouted up at her.

But Gu Ning acted as if she didn’t hear him. She didn’t even glance down, offering no response. She continued to lean out, with half her body already over the railing! Everyone finally realized something was seriously wrong. Their faces changed, and they began shouting up at her, trying to get her attention. But Gu Ning seemed completely deaf to their cries. She kept climbing out.

If someone had been up there with her, they would have seen her eyes clouded over, her pupils unfocused, and her expression blank, almost dazed. She gripped the railing, trying to climb over it. She was almost successful, with most of her body already over the railing. If she let go, she would fall.

“No… Gu Ning! Don’t!” Third Brother, Zhuang Chen, and the others frantically ran toward the watchtower.

“Shit, shit, shit! Gu Ning! Don’t do it!” Zhang Xiaobai shouted as he desperately climbed the watchtower ladder. Cheng Ming was already ahead of him.

The special ability teams, who had been directing attacks, also looked up, horrified by what they saw. Zhang Ji instinctively moved toward the scene.

Method had already climbed most of the way, gritting his teeth as he pushed himself upward.

Just as Method reached the final rung, Gu Ning let go of the railing and flipped over the edge!

Method lunged toward the railing, reaching out to grab Gu Ning, but he only caught air. He could only watch helplessly as Gu Ning fell from the watchtower.

Third Brother, Zhuang Chen, and the others looked up from below, watching in horror as Gu Ning suddenly flipped out of the watchtower. For a moment, it felt like their hearts had stopped. Screams caught in their throats, unable to escape.

The moment Gu Ning let go, she finally broke free from the zombie’s spiritual power grip. As her consciousness returned, the intense feeling of weightlessness made her hair stand on end. Instinctively, she reached out to grab something to stop her fall. Her body jerked violently, and a sharp pain shot through her wrist. She groaned, her fingers gripping the metal plate tightly. Her body swayed in the air, 10 meters above the ground, before finally stabilizing. She hung there, suspended, and when she looked down, a cold sweat broke out. She quickly grabbed the plate with her other hand.

“Ah!” The people below gasped as they saw Gu Ning suddenly grab the watchtower ladder during her fall.

“Gu Ning! Hold on! I’m coming!” Cheng Ming, who had been so scared he collapsed on the ladder, was pulled up by Zhang Xiaobai, who had seen Gu Ning grab the ladder. “Cheng Ming! Get up! Gu Ning’s hanging on!” Cheng Ming looked up and saw Gu Ning clinging to the ladder. Relieved and panicked, he scrambled upward. Method, seeing Gu Ning’s situation, rushed down from the watchtower.

“Gu Ning, I’ve got you. Don’t let go yet. Let me get a better grip!” Zhang Xiaobai’s hands were shaking as he grabbed one of Gu Ning’s hands on the ladder. Gu Ning let go with one hand and grabbed Zhang Xiaobai’s wrist. Cheng Ming flipped over the railing, holding onto it with one hand and grabbing Gu Ning’s other hand with the other. He nodded at Gu Ning, who then grabbed his wrist. Together, Zhang Xiaobai and Cheng Ming pulled Gu Ning back up. Method, standing on the ladder, wrapped his arms around Gu Ning’s waist and pulled her back onto the ladder.

The four of them collapsed on the ladder, their faces pale and legs weak. They were drenched in cold sweat, and the chilly wind made their backs shiver.

“Gu Ning, are you okay?” A group of people ran up from below, their faces equally pale.

Gu Ning instinctively shook her head, only to hear Third Brother’s furious roar: “Gu Ning, what the hell were you doing just now?! You nearly gave me a heart attack! What were you thinking, trying to jump?!”

Zhuang Chen gave Third Brother a surprised look, then turned to Gu Ning. “Gu Ning, what just happened?”

Gu Ning shook her head again, then recalled what had happened before she lost consciousness. She had seen the zombie raise its head and clearly saw its gray, bottomless eyes—like an abyss. She had stared into those eyes, falling deeper and deeper, until she regained consciousness and found herself flipping over the watchtower railing. That zombie had been able to strip her of her consciousness and control her body! Gu Ning was now certain that these zombies were being driven by it. They had to find and kill it!

Gu Ning suddenly stood up and ran back toward the watchtower.

Everyone thought she had gone mad again and panicked. Method reacted quickly, lunging forward to grab Gu Ning’s leg. “Gu Ning, what are you doing?!”

The others rushed over and restrained Gu Ning, treating her as if she were a mental patient. Gu Ning, both anxious and angry, shouted, “Something is driving those zombies! I found it earlier, but it took control of me and made me lose consciousness! If we want to solve this crisis, we have to find and kill that zombie!”

Her words stunned everyone. What did she mean by “driving the zombies”? And it could control people?!

Gu Ning broke free and ran back up the watchtower. The others quickly followed.

Gu Ning scanned the area where she had seen the zombie earlier—nothing… it wasn’t there… or there… it was gone!

Her eyes darted through the zombie horde, but she couldn’t find the little girl zombie anywhere.

“It’s hiding,” Gu Ning said, her face still pale. She turned to Zhuang Chen. “We have to find it.” She looked down at the torn metal net and the sea of zombies, her expression grim. “We’re running out of time.”