Chapter 117

Chapter 117: Killing

Over there was an office building. The room with the window wrapped in vines was likely a high-level executive’s office. As soon as Third Brother arrived, he immediately checked if the room was safe. After confirming there were no zombies, he waved his hand toward the opposite building, signaling that it was safe to come over.

Zhang Xiaobai said, “Third Brother says it’s safe over there. We can go now.”

Without hesitation, the two of them grabbed the vines and slid across.

Soon, it was Jia Daozhang’s turn.

Jia Daozhang climbed onto the balcony and sat there, glancing down. His vision blurred, and he felt dizzy. He gripped the vines tightly, too scared to jump, his body trembling uncontrollably.

Method couldn’t stand watching anymore and said, “Daozhang, do you need a push?”

Jia Daozhang immediately screamed like a pig being slaughtered, “No, no, no! Don’t push me! I’m not ready yet, give me a moment! Let me calm down!”

Someone behind him sneered, “You’ve been calming down for a while now. Why don’t you come down and let someone else go first?”

Though Jia Daozhang’s face was pale with fear, he refused to back down verbally. He shouted, “Did you create this thing? This humble Daoist just wants to sit here and enjoy the view…”

“Daozhang, hold on tight,” Gu Ning suddenly called out, breaking her silence.

Jia Daozhang was startled and instinctively tightened his grip on the vines. He immediately realized what Gu Ning was about to do. The words “don’t” were just about to escape his throat when he felt a strong force push him from behind. He lost control and tumbled off the balcony, his soul seemingly flying out of his body. The word “don’t” turned into a terrified scream, echoing through the buildings like the cry of a slaughtered pig. Jia Daozhang, clutching the vines, slid rapidly across the rope toward the opposite building.

By the time he reached the other side, Jia Daozhang was still screaming with his eyes closed, clearly terrified.

Zhang Xiaobai and Zhong Xu, both amused and exasperated, leaned out to grab Jia Daozhang and drag him into the room.

Once inside, Jia Daozhang collapsed on the floor, his body as limp as noodles. He kept muttering, “Gu Ning is too cruel, too cruel…”

“They’re coming,” Xiang Xu suddenly said, turning to look at the door.

No one needed to ask who “they” were.

The previously relaxed atmosphere instantly turned tense.

Someone silently moved to the front, grabbing the vines and sliding across one after another. Previously, they would wait for the person ahead to reach the other side before starting, but now they were sliding across as quickly as possible, eager to get away.

However, due to the speed, often the first person hadn’t even been pulled up before the second person arrived, crashing into them. The third and fourth followed, all groaning in pain.

Gu Ning asked, “Method, can you try carrying Xiang Xu across?”

“Shouldn’t be a problem,” Method said, securing his knife at his waist. He crouched down, hoisted Xiang Xu onto his back, and adjusted his grip. “No problem. Xiang Xu, hold on tight. Don’t fall.”

Xiang Xu quickly wrapped his arms tightly around Method’s neck.

Instead of grabbing the vines, Method stepped onto the ice and, with a swift movement, dashed toward the opposite building, leaping through the window in the blink of an eye.

By now, only Zhang Ji, Gu Ning, and a few others from the team remained.

The door began to thud from the impact of something hitting it.

The remaining people grew restless, scrambling to slide across as quickly as possible.

When it was Gu Ning’s turn, she was the fourth from last. She secured her knife at her waist, nimbly climbed onto the balcony, grabbed the vines, and without hesitation, leaped down. The vines sagged momentarily before snapping taut, sending her swiftly toward the opposite building.

The wind whistled in her ears. Looking down, she saw a sea of densely packed zombies, which was somewhat terrifying. Suddenly, a faint cracking sound, hidden beneath the friction of the vines sliding on the ice, reached her ears. Gu Ning’s heart skipped a beat. She looked up and saw a crack forming in the vine she was holding. In the instant she noticed it, the crack widened. Even someone as bold as Gu Ning broke out in a cold sweat. She was still hurtling through the air, with nothing to grab onto.

A sharp *crack* sounded—

The vine suddenly snapped. Zhang Xiaobai and Method, who had already leaned out of the window to catch Gu Ning, watched in horror as the vine in her hand broke. Gu Ning plummeted downward!

A collective gasp rang out.

“Gu Ning!” The Three-Linked Team was stunned.

Gu Ning, falling rapidly, realized it was no time to hide her Wood-type Special Ability. Her power surged, but before the vines could sprout from the ground, her outstretched hand was suddenly grabbed. She instinctively tightened her grip, hearing a sound like bones shifting. Her fall halted mid-air. Gu Ning looked up in surprise to see Huang Mengyao holding onto the vines with one hand and gripping her hand tightly with the other. Huang Mengyao’s face was pale from the sudden strain, but she gritted her teeth and held on. She had been right behind Gu Ning and, in the moment Gu Ning fell, had risked letting go with one hand to grab her.

The people at the window watched in shock as Huang Mengyao caught Gu Ning.

Once they reached the other side, Zhang Xiaobai and the others quickly pulled Gu Ning up, relieving Huang Mengyao’s burden, and then helped Huang Mengyao inside.

Huang Mengyao, pale and sweating, clutched her hand. Gao Yue quickly pushed through the crowd to check on her, carefully pressing her wrist. “It’s fractured,” she said.

Gu Ning suddenly stood up, drew the knife from her waist, and swung it toward Zhou Yan, who was standing next to Zhang Ji. Gu Ning’s action was so sudden and her expression so fierce that it startled everyone. Several Special Ability teams instinctively stepped back, leaving Zhang Ji’s team exposed.

Zhou Yan, frightened by Gu Ning’s icy expression, shouted, “What are you doing?”

Gu Ning coldly spat out two words: “Killing!” As soon as the words left her mouth, the knife swung down.

*Clang!* Gu Ning’s knife struck a shield of earth that Zhang Ji had hastily conjured. Zhang Ji barked, “Gu Ning, calm down! This might just be an accident!”

“An accident, my ass!” Gu Ning was furious. If it hadn’t been for Huang Mengyao risking her life to grab her, and if she didn’t have her Wood-type Special Ability, she would have been a bloody mess, torn apart by zombies. She had held back for the sake of the bigger picture, but now it was clear that Zhou Yan wanted her dead. If she let her go again, it wouldn’t be in line with Gu Ning’s style. As the curse left her mouth, she swung her knife three times in rapid succession. The seemingly sturdy earth shield shattered under her blows. Zhang Ji, startled, quickly retreated, his face pale with fear. He conjured more earth shields to block Gu Ning’s attacks while shouting at the Three-Linked Team, “Aren’t you going to stop her?”

Method and the others did step forward, but not to stop Gu Ning—they were there to help her.

Method moved swiftly, darting in front of Gu Ning to restrain Zhang Ji.

The rest of the Three-Linked Team also moved to restrain the other members of Zhang Ji’s team.

Zhou Yan hadn’t expected things to escalate like this. She realized the situation was bad and tried to retreat toward the door. But as she stepped back, a cold blade pressed against her neck. Zhou Yan panicked and instinctively cried, “Don’t kill me!” At the same time, she activated her Special Ability.

She felt something cold slide across her neck. Before she could register the pain, she felt something warm trickling down her neck. Then, amidst horrified screams, she felt a sharp pain—but it didn’t last long. Her vision spun, and her head rolled off her neck. Her body remained standing for a moment before blood gushed from the cleanly severed neck.

“Ah!” Several girls from the Green Tree Team screamed, too shocked to speak. They stared in horror at Gu Ning, who was holding a blood-dripping knife, and instinctively stepped back.

Gu Ning had killed Zhou Yan without even bothering to hear her explanation or waste time on words. With a single swing of her knife, she had separated head from body.

Zhou Yan’s head rolled a couple of times before stopping at Zhang Ji’s feet. Zhang Ji looked down and saw Zhou Yan’s wide eyes, still filled with shock and disbelief. He stumbled back, his face alternating between pale and green. After a moment, he looked up at Gu Ning in disbelief.

Gu Ning stared back at him expressionlessly, the blood from Zhou Yan’s body dripping from her knife.

The others had only seen Gu Ning kill zombies before, not people…

Killing zombies and killing people were entirely different. Using a Special Ability to kill and using a knife to kill were also different, especially when it involved beheading someone with a single strike…

Several girls with weaker constitutions turned pale, unable to look at the head on the ground or the headless body. Just moments ago, this had been a living person…

Gu Ning, holding her knife, walked out and said, “Third Brother, let’s go.”

Except for Gao Yue, who was slightly uncomfortable, even Xiang Xu remained calm. They all followed Gu Ning out without hesitation.

“Yuan Ge…” A member of the Survival Team hesitantly asked in the silence, “Should we still follow them?”

The others seemed to wake from a dream.

Yuan Ge, without hesitation, started walking out and said, “Let’s go! Hurry up and follow them!” He was growing more and more impressed with the Three-Linked Team. The seemingly weakest member had turned out to be so fierce! Sticking with them would surely ensure their survival.

Liang Le, who had been hesitant earlier, now followed without hesitation, leading his team out.

Wang Sheng and Wei Xin exchanged glances and quickly followed.

Finally, someone from Zhang Ji’s team spoke up, “Captain, what about us?”

Zhang Ji’s face went through several changes as he looked at the body on the ground, unsure how to handle it. He called over another Fire-type Special Ability user from the team to burn the body, then walked out.

“Everyone,” Jia Daozhang said with a smile, though his eyes were cold. “Given what’s happened, I think it’s best if we part ways now. To be frank, we no longer trust you. We don’t want to have to deal with zombies while also watching our backs for those with ulterior motives.” His words weren’t directed solely at Zhang Ji’s team but at everyone.

The Special Ability teams felt a pang of guilt. They had come with their own agendas, thinking Gu Ning was weak and might die, potentially dropping valuable supplies. But after witnessing Gu Ning’s actions, those thoughts had vanished.

Jia Daozhang’s blunt words left no room for argument. Before anyone could respond, he added, “Everyone, we’ll see you at the base.”

With that, the Three-Linked Team headed in a different direction, quickly disappearing from view.

Once they were gone, the remaining people exchanged uneasy glances, their anger now directed at Zhang Ji’s team.

After shaking off the others, the Three-Linked Team cleared out an alley to rest.

Third Brother asked, “Gu Ning, are we heading back to the base now?”

“Zhuang Chen might be the person on that plane,” Gu Ning suddenly said.

Everyone was surprised. While they didn’t know Zhuang Chen well, they still had some impression of her.

Method was puzzled, “How do you know?”

Gu Ning looked at Third Brother and said, “Zhuang Chen is from the Five-Star Brigade. That emblem might be hers.”

Third Brother instinctively wanted to ask how Gu Ning knew Zhuang Chen was from the Five-Star Brigade but realized now wasn’t the time.

“I need to find her,” Gu Ning said. She only mentioned Zhuang Chen because she was the only one they knew. But the truth was, whether it was Zhuang Chen, Ji Jiuzhe, or Yi Shaoqing on that plane, she would go find them without hesitation.

The rest of the Three-Linked Team didn’t know about Gu Ning’s connection with Zhuang Chen from another world, including Method. They thought Gu Ning and Zhuang Chen had only met a couple of times and hadn’t spoken much. Gu Ning’s determination to find her was surprising.

They also felt it was unwise to risk so much for someone they barely knew.

“And there’s the matter of the vaccine research data. If we find it, it could save the world,” Gu Ning added, sensing their hesitation. She felt strange saying such lofty words, but it was the only justification she could think of.

Third Brother, however, was moved by her words.

“Then let’s not waste time. Let’s decide on a direction. Where should we go?”

“I know,” Xiang Xu said, pointing in a direction. “We should go that way.”

Following Xiang Xu’s direction, they walked several hundred meters and found a street littered with the stinking corpse of a mutated zombie. Surrounding it were the mangled bodies of other zombies, clearly cut down by Wind Blades. A few zombies were still wandering nearby and were quickly dispatched.

“Look over there! There’s a mark!” Method suddenly called out, pointing at a wall.

Everyone turned to see a large white arrow spray-painted on a store’s rolling shutter, pointing forward.

Judging by the trail of dead zombies, it seemed they had anticipated rescue and left marks in their haste to escape.

Gu Ning felt a surge of excitement. She had a strong预感 that she was about to reunite with the Five-Star Brigade. Suppressing her rising excitement, she exchanged glances with the others, and they all ran in the direction of the arrow.