Trembling At A High Altitude

"He's not cunning; he really excels in every aspect. You can tell from the way he fights the zombies."

"Yes, he must be well trained. In terms of psychological and physical qualities, he surpasses all of us ordinary people."

"We can't compare with him."

"Being the first to get to the other side isn't that impressive. The draw doesn't necessarily mean you'll get the biggest prize."

"That's right, we all still have a chance."

After a discussion among themselves, everyone felt a temporary sense of balance.

...

Li Teng hadn't received professional training and wasn't one of the well-trained kind.

He had gambled earlier that after the stench on his body was washed away by the rain, he would definitely be surrounded and bitten to death by the zombies.

That's why he rushed down to the river, only to successfully hang from the steel beams under the Great Iron Bridge.

However, the Great Iron Bridge was over a thousand meters long.

It wasn't easy for someone without professional training to climb across it using just their arms.

In the beginning, Li Teng climbed quite fast, resting only once every fifteen minutes.

But later, as he exhausted his strength and his arms grew numb, he could only continue for one or two minutes before stopping again.

As he climbed, more and more zombies gathered in the River beneath the bridge, which wasn't very deep. They were all waiting for Li Teng to make a mistake and fall into their clutches for a gruesome feast.

Li Teng had to be very careful, and when he felt his strength waning, he would fasten his belt around the steel beams in advance, to avoid running so low on energy that he couldn't even buckle his belt.

When Li Teng had reached two-thirds of the way across the Great Iron Bridge, Number Five and Number Three appeared behind him.

After restarting, Number Five and Number Three were trying to cross to the other side from beneath the Great Iron Bridge, just like Li Teng had. Clearly, after discussing, they realized this could be a relatively safe and possibly the fastest way to reach the other side. It was also likely the path left for them by the scriptwriters who designed the scene.

But they weren't just using belts to suspend themselves; they also used clothes and trousers made into ropes.

Being Number Seven, there weren't enough belts available on-site, so they had to make do with zombies' clothes and trousers as well.

...

Another hour passed.

Li Teng had finally reached the end of the Great Iron Bridge.

Beneath him, there was no longer the River, but the River Embankment.

However, the future was still bleak.

Getting to shore was still a big problem, and then finding a safe house on the other side was another big problem.

Below him, dozens of persistent zombies still gathered, waiting for him to come down and then enjoy a delicious meal.

The other zombies in the river were now attracted to Number Five and Number Three, who had climbed halfway across the Great Iron Bridge, as well as Number Two and Number Four who had finally arrived beneath the bridge.

Just as Li Teng looked back to check on his competitors, Number Two suddenly fell from under the bridge. Amidst screams of agony, he was torn to pieces and eaten alive by the zombies gathered below the bridge.

The reason for Number Two's fall... His rope, made out of fabric, was not very sturdy to begin with. After friction against the steel beam aggravated the damage, it finally snapped completely while he was hanging and resting his body, plummeting down unexpectedly.

Number Two's fall and his screams distracted the dozens of zombies that had been gathered below Li Teng. They instinctively leaped back into the water and swam towards the center of the river, temporarily leaving the River Embankment beneath Li Teng a zombie-free safe zone.

It wasn't all clear of zombies, there were still two with broken legs crawling on the ground, incapacitated.

Having recovered a good deal of strength, Li Teng quickly climbed down along the steel framework, taking advantage of the time when a large number of zombies had not yet returned, he grabbed the neck of a legless zombie, and smashed its head crazily into the head of the other legless zombie.

The heads of the two zombies did not shatter immediately while smashing into each other, but their necks couldn't withstand the impact and broke one after another, then they collapsed powerlessly onto the ground together.

"Number Two is dead."

The narrator's voice rang out.

The dozens of zombies that had been drawn away by Number Two were attracted by the noise made by Li Teng and started to make their way back, hissing as they swam towards the River Embankment.

At the same time, a good number of zombies in the streets across the river also looked over here, immediately clambered over the not-too-high Embankment railing and rushed towards Li Teng.

Without hesitation, Li Teng tore open the abdomens of the two zombies on the ground, then picked up their bodies and placed their mangled guts directly onto his own back and head, taking a zombie bath.

By the time a large number of zombies had gathered around Li Teng, his entire body was already covered in foul fluids.

When Li Teng stood up, imitating a zombie, the surrounding zombies lost the scent of humans, their gaze returned to being vacant and wandering, and they completely ignored Li Teng.

This was a pungent performance that required an extremely strong mental constitution.

Li Teng, imitating a zombie's movements, slowly swayed his way out from the midst of the zombie crowd.

Then, slowly, he clambered over the River Embankment railing and made his way onto the opposite street.

On the edge of the street were houses joined together, some with doors open, some closed.

With no indications, it was unclear which one was the safe house.

Though the sky had cleared up again by now, the director with a dark heart could bring a downpour within minutes.

If a heavy rain came at this time, all of Li Teng's efforts would be in vain.

So, although he was close to the end and victory, if he couldn't find the safe house quickly, he was at constant risk of having to start all over again, and he would be left far behind everyone else.

Li Teng walked into the crowded street filled with zombies, while swaying nonstop, imitating a zombie, he observed the houses on the street one by one.

The ones with closed doors presented a high difficulty to enter, and forcing them open could likely draw the attention of the zombie horde.

Therefore, Li Teng decided to check those later and started with the houses with open doors.

Soon, a restaurant across the street about dozens of meters away caught his eye.

It was a three-story building, the restaurant's door wide open, but unlike the other houses with doors wide open.

There wasn't a single zombie inside the restaurant.

At least from Li Teng's current perspective, there indeed were no zombies.

In this setting, the safe house was designed so zombies couldn't enter it.

So, there was a high probability that this restaurant was the safe house.

Li Teng slowly picked up two stones from the flower bed by the street and tucked them into his pocket, then he started moving step by step toward that restaurant across the street, gradually reaching the center of the street.

The center of the street was crowded with zombies, making it extremely difficult to pass through.

Just at that moment, the clear sky suddenly turned overcast.