Chapter 42 – Mission Settlement

Xiao Wuwang cursed his bad luck under his breath, then began searching on the -3rd floor.

Naturally, he prioritized searching Area F first.

Since a large number of zombies had originally gathered here, even though the vast majority had been lured away, some still remained.

Searching here inevitably led to occasional skirmishes.

But after combing through all of Area F, eliminating at least a hundred zombies, and wasting quite a few bullets, Xiao Wuwang still hadn’t found the last person.

By now, his patience was gradually wearing thin.

“Marcus!”

Xiao Wuwang couldn’t help but shout.

——————

Inside an air duct, Marcus hadn’t eaten for two days. Weak and exhausted, he could only curl up in a corner, waiting to die.

Faintly, he seemed to hear gunshots, but they soon fell silent again.

Thinking he was hallucinating, he drifted back into a hazy sleep.

He didn’t know how much time had passed when suddenly, a voice calling his name reached his ears.

Then, a second call, followed by a third.

He shook himself awake, certain he hadn’t misheard—someone had really come to rescue him!

Having resigned himself to waiting for death, a glimmer of hope instantly ignited in his eyes.

But when he tried to call out in response, he found his throat was as dry as if it had been scorched by fire from the long lack of water. All he could produce was a weak, hoarse “Wooo.”

Frustrated, tears welled up in his eyes. Summoning his last ounce of strength, he clenched his fist and pounded heavily against the inner wall of the air duct.

The sound of “Thump-Thump-Thump” echoed through the pipe.

It wasn’t loud, but he hoped it would carry farther than his voice could. All he could do was pray that the person would hear it.

Xiao Wuwang called out several times without getting a response and was about to head to another area when suddenly, a few dull thuds reached his ears.

Xiao Wuwang instantly became alert. He stopped in his tracks, listening intently, trying to pinpoint the source of the sound.

“Thump-Thump-Thump…”

After several more consecutive thuds, Xiao Wuwang finally locked onto the direction of the sound.

It was coming from the direction of F-108.

He immediately returned to Unit 108.

“Thump-Thump-Thump…”

This time, he finally confirmed it—the sound was coming from the air duct above his head!

He couldn’t help but curse himself as “stupid.” Why hadn’t he checked more carefully earlier?

Xiao Wuwang located the vent, dragged over a table to stand on, and climbed inside. Sure enough, he found an older middle-aged man huddled in a corner.

“Are you Marcus?” Xiao Wuwang asked.

The man nodded weakly, his voice almost inaudible. “Y-yes… it’s me. Are… are you here to rescue me?”

“Yes!” Xiao Wuwang replied. Seeing his poor condition, he took out a bottle of water and a chocolate bar and tossed them over. “Eat something first. Once you’ve regained some strength, climb out.”

“Th-thank you!”

About five or six minutes later, Marcus, having recovered enough to move, successfully climbed out of the air duct.

“Let’s go! I’ll take you out!” Xiao Wuwang said decisively, pulling him toward the elevator.

“No! Young man, wait a moment longer!” Marcus struggled slightly, pulling his hand back.

Xiao Wuwang stopped and frowned. “What else is there?”

Marcus pointed toward another vent opening and pleaded, “There… there’s a bag over there with a data hard drive inside. It’s very important to me. Can I take it with me?”

To secure his cooperation, Xiao Wuwang had no choice but to follow instructions and crawl into the ventilation shaft, where he indeed found a package stashed inside.

This must have been placed there earlier by him or his people.

After retrieving the package, Xiao Wuwang didn’t immediately climb down to hand it over to Marcus. Instead, he stored it in his Portable Space and silently commanded “Break Down.” Seeing that only one Electronic Component popped up with no message about any potion Blueprint, he immediately halted the breakdown.

A single Electronic Component wasn’t worth as much as gaining Marcus’s goodwill.

“I’ll carry the package for you. Once we successfully rescue you and reunite with Silva, I’ll return it to you. For now, we need to move!”

This time, Marcus didn’t cause any more trouble and followed behind Xiao Wuwang toward the elevator.

As they approached the elevator, he could hear the constant banging against the fire door not far away.

The glass on the fire door had long been shattered, and grayish Zombie hands reached out through the gaps.

“Creak, creak…”

After who knows how many impacts, the heavy fire door was already on the verge of collapse. It was clear to anyone that it wouldn’t hold much longer.

“Hurry!” Xiao Wuwang grabbed Marcus and rushed straight for the elevator.

At the same moment, with a loud “Bang,” the fire door finally gave way and was knocked flying. The Zombies in front lost their balance and fell, but the horde behind trampled over them, charging out and heading straight for Xiao Wuwang and Marcus.

Xiao Wuwang reacted swiftly, pulling Marcus into the elevator and kicking away the trash can blocking the door.

He then frantically pressed the elevator buttons.

Luckily, the elevator doors closed just before the Zombies could catch up.

Even as the elevator ascended, they could still hear the “bang, bang” sounds of the Zombies pounding against the elevator doors below.

As for the fate of those Zombies, it was no longer Xiao Wuwang’s concern.

The elevator came to a steady stop on the first floor. There had been no Zombies there before, and there still weren’t. After leading Marcus out of the lab through a gap in the wall, Xiao Wuwang retrieved the off-road motorcycle.

“Get on!”

Having already seen Xiao Wuwang store and retrieve items out of thin air, Marcus wasn’t surprised when he produced a motorcycle. He immediately followed instructions and climbed onto the back.

“Hold tight!” Xiao Wuwang didn’t dwell on the awkwardness of being hugged by another man. He grabbed Marcus’s hands and placed them around his waist.

Then, he twisted the throttle hard, and the motorcycle shot forward like an arrow released from a bowstring.

The wind roared past their ears as Marcus clung tightly to Xiao Wuwang, his body trembling slightly from tension.

Xiao Wuwang focused entirely on driving, speeding through the desolate streets.

Occasionally, a few wandering Zombies could be seen in the surroundings, but before they could even react, the motorcycle had already left them far behind.

In just three or four minutes, Xiao Wuwang smoothly arrived at the station.

Hearing the sound of the motorcycle from a distance, Silva was already waiting at the station entrance.

Seeing his old friend Marcus return safely, Silva finally showed a relieved smile.

“Let’s get inside the station first!” Xiao Wuwang stored the motorcycle and led the two to his train.

“I’ve brought him back to you. Shouldn’t you fulfill your promise now?” As he spoke, Xiao Wuwang took out the safe.

Marcus watched quietly from the side. Xiao Wuwang hadn’t returned the package to him, and he didn’t press for it.

Silva first handed over the remaining three Infinite Coins to him, then helped him open the safe.

As the safe opened, Xiao Wuwang couldn’t help but peer inside.

Two pale blue vials lay quietly within the box.

—Appraise!