The Final Escape

After dispatching a few scattered zombies, Yang Tian and Jessica finally reached the rooftop. There were already four people there—Lion and Tiger, covered in blood, were among them. To Yang Tian's shock, Tiger had lost an arm.

"He was bitten. Turning into a zombie was only a matter of time!" Hound was shouting, twisting the facts in response to Lion's questioning and Silver Fox's account of what had happened.

Upon hearing Hound's voice, Jessica stirred on Yang Tian's shoulder. Her previously vacant eyes suddenly regained focus, her agile reflexes seemingly returning to her body. She flipped off Yang Tian's shoulder, and her intense killing intent surged towards Hound. Her slender hand reached for the Barrett slung on her back, quickly setting it up.

"Python! What are you doing?!" Lion immediately sensed something was wrong and hurried to stand between Jessica and Hound, loudly demanding an explanation.

"Snow Leopard went to save you, and you got him killed! And now you're still slandering him!" Jessica's voice trembled, the icy eyes behind the scope emanating a chilling fury.

"Put down the gun! Those steel doors won't hold the zombie horde for long! They'll be up here any minute! I need you to find a vantage point and be ready!" Lion barked orders at Jessica, but she ignored him, keeping her aim fixed on Hound. With Lion blocking her path, she hesitated to pull the trigger.

Hound, pale and sweating profusely, cowered behind Lion's tall frame, stammering, **"Jessica... I..."

Bang!

In a shocking twist, Python fired. But instead of hitting Hound, the bullet grazed past their ears.

"After this mission, Hound, I'll deal with you myself!" Jessica slowly lowered her gun, her eyes still brimming with killing intent as she locked her gaze on Hound for several long moments before turning away to head for a vantage point.

"You! It doesn't matter who's telling the truth now, we settle this once we get out of here! For now, get into position and set up your fire coverage! Move!" Lion ordered with a frown.

"Yes, sir!" Hound, relieved, ran off, but as he turned, his terrified expression shifted to one of malice. He shot a glance at Jessica in the distance, muttering under his breath, "You b**... just wait."

Chapter 9: Tiger's Farewell

"Why is Python acting like this all of a sudden?" Yang Tian asked while moving with the group.

"Hey, kid... Everyone has their story, don't they?" Tiger said with a smile, as if he were still whole, seemingly unfazed by his severed arm and the white bandages soaked in blood.

"Snow Leopard was her brother," Tiger shrugged, trying to grab another bandolier off his shoulder. He awkwardly paused with his right hand hanging mid-air, then switched to his left with a resigned smile.

"What's wrong with you?" Yang Tian frowned, eyeing Tiger's severed arm.

"I got bitten, so I cut it off. But if I still turn, do me a favor—put a bullet in my head. I've seen your aim; it's good," Tiger said with a smile. "Sometimes I wonder, are you some highly-trained special ops soldier sent on a mission, who we happened to recruit by dragging you into our mess? Haha... poor puppet."

"Puppet! Guard that ladder over there! Those brainless zombies might actually manage to climb up!" Lion's shout cut through the conversation. The group was already in position, bracing themselves as the heavy thuds of the advancing zombies grew louder.

"Brothers, hold this staircase for another 35 minutes! The helicopter will be here soon!"

Hope? In a world on the edge of collapse, hope was the most precious thing—and also the cruelest.

Yang Tian strode towards the far end of the rooftop where a ladder led directly from the tenth floor. Could these clumsy zombies really fear a straight vertical climb?

He put a foot on the edge and paused in surprise. Damn, there actually were some climbing up! Then again, with so many zombies, it was inevitable some would figure it out. Their movements were no better than a newborn baby's.

Rat-tat-tat-tat—a few shots later, several zombies dropped. Yang Tian scanned around, trying to find something sharp to sever the ladder, hoping to knock it down like an ancient siege ladder.

The distant rumble of gunfire had begun. This was the final stand—hold the line, survive or perish. If they fell, death was certain—or worse.

"Hurry up! I need to get back and help!" Yang Tian fired at the points where the ladder met the ledge, but it wasn't working well. He needed an axe or something.

After taking out a few more zombies, Yang Tian suddenly remembered—he had a points redemption system!

"How could I forget about you?!" He quickly checked, finding his points had somehow climbed past 500. Just as he was reviewing it, the distant roar of helicopters reached his ears.

"Boss! They're here!" Silver Fox cheered, nearly jumping in excitement.

Thud, thud, thud... Tiger, now serving as the heavy gunner, wore a pale expression, his left hand squeezing the trigger. He faced the zombie tide pouring through the corridor, expressionless, seemingly unaffected by the news of rescue.

"Why are they here so soon? Weren't they supposed to be at least an hour away? It's barely been over thirty minutes!" Lion's eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Boss, isn't sooner better? We're finally getting out of here!" Silver Fox said, firing his submachine gun in short bursts, excitement clear on his face.

Hound looked at the approaching helicopter, eyes gleaming with excitement. Then, he glanced at Jessica, who was calmly taking shots, muttering darkly, "You b**, pointing a gun at me... just you wait."**

"Over here! Over here!" Silver Fox lit a flare, waving it vigorously.

"Roar!" Zombies were flung out from the horde with each of the Mother's guttural roars.

Tiger gritted his teeth, the machine gun spitting long bursts of fire, mowing down zombies, but the pressure continued to build. Sweat poured down his face, and with one eye blocked by sweat, the other began to blur inexplicably. Why... why was this happening?

Bang, bang... A few more precise shots, but these slow-moving zombies on the ladder were no real threat to Yang Tian. He continued to keep one eye on his points redemption system while taking the occasional shot—until the heavy machine gun fire from the distance suddenly stopped.

"What's going on?!" Yang Tian yelled into his radio, turning to look back.

"Tiger? You okay?!" Lion grabbed Tiger by the shoulder, trying to turn him, only to be met with a low growl.

"Hiss..." Tiger's eyes had turned murky, and he lunged, knocking Lion to the ground.

"Boss!"

"Lion?!"

Silver Fox, who was waving the flare, sensed something wrong. Turning, he saw their leader pinned beneath Tiger.

"Damn it, couldn't you hold on a bit longer?! Just a little longer! Even fifteen minutes, even one minute!" Lion roared in grief, looking at his comrade—now a mindless creature trying to bite his throat. Lion clamped down on Tiger's neck, using all his strength to hold him in place, then closed his eyes in pain.

Years of fighting side by side told Lion that in the moment he held Tiger down, Tiger's fate was sealed.

Bang!

As expected, a bullet flew past. Jessica's slender finger slowly moved away from the trigger, her head bowed slightly, her eyes closed in pain.

"Lion! What the hell are you doing?! Snap out of it! They're already coming through!" Yang Tian's voice shouted through the radio, jolting everyone out of their grief.

Without a word, Lion pushed Tiger off, scrambled to his feet, and set up the heavy machine gun again. But the number of zombies being thrown onto the rooftop was too many. Even with Silver Fox, Hound, and Python providing cover, the situation was quickly spiraling out of control.