Chapter 27: Accustomed to Lofty Heights

The man who appeared so suddenly was, of course, Gu Sha.

He had originally intended to sneak into the hotel quietly to look for that tree, but it was clear he had failed. The current zombies had, for the most part, undergone three rounds of the Crimson Baptism. Both zombies and mutant beasts had evolved far beyond ordinary human capabilities, and the number of empowered human warriors was vastly outstripped by the evolving ranks of zombies and beasts.

Although humans had the advantage of firearms, these were all controlled by the major powers and could not be widely distributed. The combat power of the average person was now completely outclassed by the zombies. Before long, even regular firearms would become much less effective, and humanity would be thrust into a new era of cold weapons, with hot weapons reserved as trump cards for large-scale battles.

After several waves of evolution, zombies and mutant beasts had become faster, stronger, and more agile than ordinary people. In the narrow confines of a city, firearms were too limiting—you had to hit the head to kill a zombie or beast, but few possessed such marksmanship. As a result, melee weapons would gradually become the mainstream choice.

In his previous life, at this time, Gu Sha was still in T City. He also obtained a few firearms back then, but his skills with them were poor. Several times, he had nearly died when zombies closed in on him. In the end, he discovered that cold weapons were actually more practical—he could decapitate or sever the neck to kill zombies, or cut off legs and arms to reduce their threat.

It wasn’t that firearms were useless, but the zombies had become so fast that it was hard to hit them, and the time spent reloading was simply too long. Of course, cold weapons were only effective for ordinary people in one-on-one situations. If they got surrounded, death was all but certain, since zombies were now far stronger than humans—and they never tired or felt pain.

Moreover, few people now realized that even greater calamities were looming on the horizon. In just a few days, the global climate would undergo drastic changes: extreme cold and heat, typhoons, sandstorms, earthquakes, widespread acidic rain—all would shrink the habitable range for humanity, make resources even scarcer, and further restrict movement. Afterward, the global zombie sieges on cities would all but annihilate the remaining shelters.

Disasters of a magnitude that even empowered warriors might not survive were still to come.

But for now, Gu Sha wasn’t thinking about any of that. All he cared about was obtaining the Source Pearl. Once tomorrow was over, he would find a way to hide within the Barrier.

The authorities still wielded formidable power. Though the Barrier had only recently been established, it was already quite secure. To survive the coming cataclysms, the safest place was within the Barrier. Moreover, future opportunities would be closely tied to the Barrier as well.

At this moment, Gu Sha was brandishing his Tang sword, darting through the park in search of the crooked-necked tree his comrade from his previous life had described. Meanwhile, on the fifth floor of the hotel, Zhang Chuping and the others watched through a gap in the window.

"What is this guy trying to do?" Zhang Chuping wondered aloud.

He could clearly see that Gu Sha's skills were far beyond those of an average person—swift, precise, lethal. He ran back and forth, completely unaffected by the presence of so many zombies.

"Is this guy an idiot?" a middle-aged man cursed. "He's making so much noise, he'll just attract more and more zombies!"

Gu Sha, meanwhile, was growing a bit frustrated. The park behind the hotel wasn't very large, but it was crowded with buildings, making it impossible to get a clear view. He hadn’t spotted the crooked-necked tree as described by his former comrade.

After thinking for a moment, Gu Sha decided to go upstairs for a better vantage point. Only from above could he quickly locate the tree.

But his dash for the stairs terrified Zhang Chuping and the others hiding in the hotel. A dense horde of zombies was now chasing Gu Sha directly up the building.

"Goddamn it!" someone cursed. "Is he trying to get us killed by bringing all those zombies up here?"

"If he lures the zombies upstairs, we're done for!"

The people in the room looked grim. The number of zombies had been increasing, and now they'd all been drawn right into their building—things had just gotten much worse.

However, at this moment, Zhang Chuping suddenly barked, "Shut up, all of you!"

The others looked at him in confusion.

Zhang Chuping said coldly, "Let's go. Open the door and see if we can find that guy."

They all looked even more puzzled.

He sneered, "Didn't you see how skilled he is? If we find him and get him to go out and alert the rescue team, or somehow get a satellite phone so I can contact my father, we'll all be saved!"

Their eyes brightened, their breathing quickened, and excitement flared up inside them.

Only one person voiced concern, "Young Master Zhang, what if he refuses to take the risk to help us?"

Zhang Chuping glanced at him as if he were an idiot. "If I offer him a chance to enter the Barrier, do you think he'll refuse? Unless he's completely out of his mind!"

At that moment, Gu Sha was running swiftly through the stairwell. There were very few zombies inside this building. That made sense—zombies needed to feed, and if there was no one left alive in a place, they would leave. So, most of the zombies had likely already gone outside.

Nonetheless, what Gu Sha didn’t expect was that when he reached the fifth and top floor—intending to climb up to the roof—he found there was no stairway access to the rooftop. Just as he was about to find a room and climb out through a window, the door of a room midway down the hallway opened and several people poked their heads out.

"Hey, over here, brother!" someone called.

Gu Sha, confident in his skills and untrusting of human nature in the apocalypse, nonetheless believed in his own strength. Without hesitation, he dashed inside.

Once in the room, he found eight survivors: six men and two women. But when he saw the two naked, vacant-eyed women, Gu Sha frowned, instantly understanding what they had endured.

But he was no hero. He had no intention of punishing evil or upholding justice, nor did he care to maintain civilization in the midst of the apocalypse.

"Thank you, everyone," Gu Sha said politely, heading toward the window. He hadn’t come in to hide, just to find a window to climb up to the roof.

But as he approached, Zhang Chuping suddenly stepped in front of him and said, "I'm Zhang Chuping. My father is Zhang Qingyun!"

Gu Sha paused, then replied, "Oh, hello, hello. And best regards to your father as well!"

Gu Sha's indifferent response irritated Zhang Chuping; his brows drew together. "You're not from C City?"

Gu Sha answered with a puzzled look, "No, I'm not. Why?"

"No wonder," Zhang Chuping said, suddenly enlightened and growing more arrogant.

"Impressive, very impressive," Gu Sha responded perfunctorily, moving toward the window.

Zhang Chuping, accustomed to being fawned over, felt a surge of anger at Gu Sha's attitude, but he suppressed it. Placing his hand on Gu Sha’s shoulder, he said, "You seem pretty capable. I can give you an opportunity: help me with something, and I'll take you into the Barrier with me when this is over."

(End of this chapter)