34: Chapter 34 Aluminum Cans

Huo Sixian was the first to react. He took out his phone and continued tapping on the screen, not daring to make any noise; even his breathing was cautious.

"I'll open the door, don't make a sound."

After finishing the message, Huo Sixian tried to hand the phone to Kong Ziyi, who was currently feeling a surge of desolation.

Still immersed in the pain of losing Li Wenzhuo, he suddenly received the phone from Huo Sixian. His hand was unsteady, and the phone fell directly to the ground with a crisp clatter.

Kong Ziyi felt he was finished because he clearly saw 'Li Wenzhuo' rushing toward him at an incredible speed.

A hoarse, low growl came from 'Li Wenzhuo's' mouth, a sound as unpleasant as an old man with phlegm stuck in his throat.

Kong Ziyi's pupils dilated instantly, but years of training allowed him to react immediately.

There was a baseball cap beside Kong Ziyi. He held it straight in front of 'Li Wenzhuo' to keep him at bay. Seeing this, Huo Sixian, Meng Hangfei, and the others grabbed whatever tools were at hand to block 'Li Wenzhuo's' attack.

But the effect was minimal. After turning into a monster, 'Li Wenzhuo' had gained immense strength, and his mouth emitted a foul stench. In just a few minutes, 'Li Wenzhuo's' teeth had become sharp and jagged, and his tongue and throat had turned completely black.

He looked like he had stepped out of a black-and-white animation; except for his clothes, 'Li Wenzhuo' was now entirely shades of black and gray from head to toe.

"Heh... heh... heh..."

'Li Wenzhuo' raised both hands to his chest, making a clawing motion as his black nails danced wildly in the air.

"Run!" Seeing this, Huo Sixian reacted immediately. Hiding in this storage room wouldn't work, so the moment he pulled open the door, he let out a sharp command.

He didn't dare speak too loudly for fear of attracting others. The group bolted, with 'Li Wenzhuo' chasing relentlessly behind them. As a woman, Ye Qingqing naturally didn't have as much stamina as the men, especially since the men around her were all trained fighters with peak physical condition.

After running a few steps, Ye Qingqing felt the gap between them. Her current body's physical fitness was still too poor. She even decided that if she survived this trip, she would definitely train hard upon her return.

However, at this moment, Ye Qingqing was running purely on willpower. If she hadn't been worried about the people around her, she would have wanted to hide in her space and wait for 'Li Wenzhuo' to leave before coming out.

Beside her, Huo Sixian was the first to notice something was wrong with Ye Qingqing. They were only four floors away from the rooftop.

Hardening his heart, Huo Sixian scooped Ye Qingqing up by the waist and hoisted her directly onto his shoulder.

Ye Qingqing was startled. While she was grateful to Huo Sixian, the posture made her feel ashamed. Who carries someone on their shoulder like that while fleeing for their life!

But with the situation so dire, Ye Qingqing couldn't afford to argue with Huo Sixian.

When Huo Sixian and the others reached the rooftop Emergency Exit, they unexpectedly found the door locked tight; it wouldn't budge at all.

With 'Li Wenzhuo' still behind them, Ye Qingqing's heart leaped into her throat as she pondered what to do next.

Seeing that 'Li Wenzhuo' was only one floor away, Ye Qingqing shouted in desperation, "Don't move!"

Hearing this, Huo Sixian and the others instinctively followed her command and froze.

They didn't even move their eyes. Sure enough, once 'Li Wenzhuo' could no longer hear any sound, he stopped, frozen in place, maintaining a posture of climbing on all fours.

Seeing this, Ye Qingqing's chest felt like it was about to burst, but she didn't dare breathe heavily, only adjusting her breath in small, shallow gasps.

Huo Sixian was also surprised. They truly hadn't expected that after turning into those things, they wouldn't move as long as there was no noise.

Originally, Huo Sixian thought those things would wander around even when it was quiet, so he was somewhat surprised to see 'Li Wenzhuo' frozen in place.

Ye Qingqing wondered how to make 'Li Wenzhuo' leave to give them enough time to escape to the rooftop. Once there, she could take climbing ropes from her space, descend to the water level bit by bit, and head back on the inflatable boat.

But she hadn't expected the situation to be so tricky.

While the others were at a loss and Ye Qingqing was considering whether to take another alarm clock from her space to throw downstairs, something unexpected happened.

Huo Sixian took a can of Coke out of his bag. This can was a private stash he had found, and he hadn't wanted to sacrifice it so soon.

After all, Huo Sixian loved Coke, and he had long since finished the stock in 321. He had finally managed to find a single can.

He never expected it would be used for something like this.

Huo Sixian shook the can; it was still full. If he threw it down like that, it wouldn't make much noise.

Only an empty can would make a sharp clattering sound when thrown downstairs, which would buy time for Lu Huan.

Lu Huan was skilled at lockpicking. After all, in their line of work, they had to know a bit of everything.

Huo Sixian took a Flashlight from his bag and threw it down the stairs as a test. As soon as 'Li Wenzhuo' heard the sound of the Flashlight falling, he moved instantly, chasing after the direction it fell.

Now!

Without hesitation, Huo Sixian popped the can open and chugged it down in one go, leaving Ye Qingqing staring in disbelief.

She had thought Huo Sixian would throw the can immediately after opening it, but she hadn't expected him to finish the Coke first, even preferring to throw a Flashlight instead.

Ye Qingqing's lips twitched. Meanwhile, Lu Huan had produced a piece of iron wire from somewhere. While 'Li Wenzhuo' was busy chasing the noise downstairs, he began working on the rooftop Emergency Exit door.

There was a series of clinking and clanking sounds from the picking.

"Can't you be quieter!" Meng Hangfei saw that 'Li Wenzhuo' had gone down, but was now being drawn back up by the sound of Lu Huan's lockpicking. He was instantly fuming and had already prepared himself for a fight.

Just then, Huo Sixian took one last reluctant look at the empty can and threw it with a large swing. 'Li Wenzhuo' was led away again like a dog on a leash.