Rotting Land: Survive

"Xiao Tang! Jump down quickly!" After waving his hand to finish, Hu Xiaodong rushed to call Dazhuang to the back of the vehicle.

He had two purposes for doing this: first, to prevent the beasts from rushing into the yard and surrounding the vehicle; second, to leave enough buffer space for the second group to jump, preventing them from falling off the vehicle.

Wang Daguo stuck his head out to look at the bottom of the building, estimating the distance to be not very high. In theory, it should not be a problem to jump down like this.

But many things are often like this; what seems simple can become completely different when placed in a specific environment or position.

For example, the current situation: the distance from the rooftop to the ground is no more than 6 meters. Subtracting the height of the truck, the actual distance is about 3 meters.

In ordinary times, with Wang Daguo's physical condition, he could easily leap down without batting an eye.

But the problem now is that he is in an atmosphere surrounded by zombies. The adrenaline surge caused by fear has inevitably interfered with his brain, rendering his estimation of the distance between the vehicle and the building much longer than it truly is.

Seeing Wang Daguo's hesitation, Tang Xiaoquan assumed he was just being cautious and didn't question it. He immediately pulled his good brother Wang Qiang over and urged loudly, "Qiang! You jump first!"

"Me?" As expected, Wang Qiang questioned. Tang Xiaoquan seemed to anticipate his question and added before he could finish, "Brother Hu is under too much pressure dealing with the zombies; you have more battle experience. Hurry and help! Quick!"

At this point, what else could Wang Qiang say? As they say, character determines action. Wang Qiang, straightforward and impetuous, might often act rashly, speak out of turn, and even annoy people, but in life-and-death moments, he would defy logic with bravery. It's not that he isn't afraid of death; he just doesn't like hiding behind his comrades.

Perhaps there really are people in this world who persist in "dying on the charge."

Also peering down, unlike Wang Daguo, Wang Qiang showed no hesitation. He instinctively stepped back a couple of steps, then suddenly exerted force in his legs, leveraging the momentum to propel himself forward.

"Ah!"

Wang Qiang had seen action stars in films jumping from danger into sunset-lit skies many times before, marvelling at their coolness and excitement.

But Wang Qiang never imagined he'd one day do something similar himself.

Though not as graceful, still...

With a roar from his diaphragm, Wang Qiang leapt off the rooftop. Seconds later, he felt himself drop and saw the truck's rear iron plate enlarge in his view.

"Clang!" Like a pile driver slamming to the ground, Wang Qiang's feet landed on the truck's rear with a thunderous crash.

At once, it excited the surrounding zombies into frenzy, each one howling like they were on adrenaline.

Due to the intense retaliation, Wang Qiang rolled forward uncontrollably. If not for Hu Xiaodong beside the truck keeping a close eye on his movements and timely pulling him before crashing into the truck bed, he'd now definitely have hit the iron plate hard.

After briefly regaining his breath, Wang Qiang laboriously got up, ignoring the pain in his back, and quickly grabbed the Snake Spear to join the fray.

"What the hell is this? Is it the zombie dog you mentioned?" Hu Xiaodong had just checked on Wang Qiang when he looked up and saw a pair of blood-red eyes glaring at him from the side of the truck.

He instinctively reached for the Compound Bow on the truck, but before he could, he heard Wang Qiang's hurried inquiry from behind: "Where? Where? Where's that damned dog?"

Unclear why Wang Qiang seemed so agitated, Hu Xiaodong subconsciously raised his hand and pointed ahead. To his surprise, when he did, Wang Qiang suddenly responded as if stimulated, aiming his spear at the Corpse Dog.

"You damn bastard, earlier I had no weapons, and I couldn't kill you! Come, beast, let's fight in round two!"

As the saying goes, enemies meet with heightened animosity, one man, one dog glaring across the truck at each other.

The dog crouched, baring its fangs, growling low.

The man hunched, with the Long Spear at the ready.

Watching the showdown between man and beast below, Tang Xiaoquan sensed a tension in the situation.

He knew his brother's temper too well—quick-tempered and easily impulsive—and worried he might act irrationally due to emotional swings.

The original plan was for him to jump after Wang Daguo landed on the truck.

But now…

"Brother Wang! I'm going first! Throw down the backpack and follow quickly!" Saying this, without waiting for Wang Daguo's reaction, a concerned for his brother Tang Xiaoquan also stepped back two paces, then sprinted forward.

But Tang Xiaoquan was ultimately a step too late, because as he moved to jump, the Corpse Dog below also launched its attack.

Man and dog charged at Wang Qiang simultaneously, and seconds later, two loud thuds echoed.

"Bang!"

"Crash!"

The abrupt noises startled Wang Qiang tremendously, as his attention had been fully on the Corpse Dog ahead. Upon hearing the sound from behind, he instinctively glanced back.

Seeing his brother landing safely eased his mind slightly. Yet barely two seconds later, his face turned ashen.

He was supposed to be fighting the Corpse Dog, and it was attacking! Yet at this crucial moment, he had been distracted—

An uncontrollable chill ran down his back. In his haste, Wang Qiang didn't pause to help Tang Xiaoquan up but quickly turned around, raising his spear defensively before his chest.

"Where's the Corpse Dog?" The emptiness in front left Wang Qiang exclaiming aloud.

As he spoke, Tang Xiaoquan, now rising from the truck bed, shouted loudly, "There, under the truck ahead!"

No one grasped the Corpse Dog's recent movements better than Tang Xiaoquan. During his fall, thanks to his height advantage, he witnessed the beast's entire approach.

The zombie dog was undeniably fierce, not even a broken leg slowed it down.

But it somehow overestimated itself, trying to jump over the truck's guard with three legs and strike Wang Qiang.

Lacking the right limb's balance support, it unsurprisingly smashed into the guard.

Following Tang Xiaoquan's pointing, Wang Qiang found the enemy. Without hesitation, he raised his Snake Spear, directing a fierce thrust at the toppled dog's head…