29. Watching Coldly from the Sidelines

"Xiao Hu, you're the smart one. What do you think we should do?" Li Qi turned to Hu Li once again.

Hu Li gave Li Qi a deep, searching look. He needed Li Qi’s help to escape from this place, so he didn't refuse when Li Qi approached him.

According to the man with the iron rod, the others were currently on the third floor of the building. They were in the warehouse on the first floor, which was guarded by only six men, two of whom were in the security booth at the main entrance. Two more were in a lounge not far away. To leave, they had to deal with the two in the lounge first, then head to the entrance.

Hu Li explained the plan to Li Qi, who nodded as he listened. Li Qi didn't like to use his brain; he usually left the thinking to Hu Li. It had never failed him before, and he trusted that this time would be no different.

Once they had agreed on the plan, they began to execute it. Hu Li, being lean and small, opened the warehouse door and slipped out first, with Li Qi following close behind.

Before they could even take another step, the door behind them rattled again. A little girl emerged, followed by her father, and then, one after another, the rest of the survivors crawled out.

"Why did you come out? We were going to deal with those men first and then come back for you!" Li Qi whispered, anxious to see them all following him.

"Brother, we’ll go with you. There’s strength in numbers; we can definitely defeat those bad guys," the little girl whispered back. Her father had taught her to say that inside.

The other survivors nodded repeatedly. In truth, they were terrified that the two men would run off alone and leave them behind. Hu Li was far too sharp to miss their intentions, but he didn't call them out. He simply watched the scene with cold indifference and tugged on Li Qi’s sleeve, signaling him to keep moving.

"Stay quiet and follow us closely," Li Qi whispered to the group, seeing that they wouldn't go back to hide in the warehouse. He then turned and headed toward the lounge with Hu Li.

Inside the lounge, two men were cleaning handguns, while a third held a machete, casting envious glances at the guns in the others' hands. However, since the guns were distributed by the boss, he dared not steal one. He sneered at the men with the guns, thinking they were just bootlickers. If not for their sycophancy, they wouldn't have been trusted with weapons. Envy made his blood boil.

"Why haven't 'Monkey' and 'Porcupine' come back yet? I'm going to go check," the man with the machete decided, wanting to avoid the sight of the others. He stood up to leave.

"Stay put! The boss said we aren't allowed to act separately. At least two people must go together," the man cleaning his gun said. He glanced at the man with the machete, finally putting down his cleaning cloth. He stood up, keeping the gun in his hand.

"I'll go with you."

"You're just a bootlicker! Don't act so high and mighty! I don't want to go with you today, so get lost!" The machete-wielder couldn't stand the other man’s arrogant attitude, constantly using the boss's name to push people around. He was nothing! With a sharp retort, he turned to open the door.

In the next second, the barrel of a gun was pressed against his temple.

"Do you think I enjoy being with you? If the boss hadn't ordered it, why would I, a man of status, ever accompany a brute like you?" The man with the gun pressed it harder against the other's temple, his tone filled with contempt.

"Damn it! My temper!" The machete-wielder flared up, raising his blade.

"Don't move! You can try me—see if your blade is faster than my bullet!" The sound of a gun hammer cocking echoed in the room. The machete-wielder’s anger was stifled, his face turning beet red.

"Drop the knife!"

He dropped the blade, feeling humiliated.

"Open the door!"

The door was pulled open, and in that instant, an iron rod struck down, slamming heavily into the machete-wielder's forehead. Simultaneously, a blur of motion flashed past. The man with the gun instinctively pulled the trigger.

*Click!* The sound of a firing pin hitting an empty chamber rang out. He didn't believe it and pulled the trigger again. The same empty click was his only response.

"Looking for this?" A mocking voice came from his side.

He looked over to see a small man leaning against the wall, holding a magazine in his hand. He looked down at his gun; the magazine was indeed missing. Looking back at the machete-wielder, he saw the man had already been knocked unconscious with a blow to the head.

"Li Qi!" Hu Li shouted. A second later, an iron rod slammed into the gunman's forehead.

*Thud!* He collapsed to the floor.

Hu Li stepped forward, picked up the handgun, and slotted the magazine back in. He then retrieved the machete and tossed it to Li Qi before heading out first. A long corridor led to the main entrance.

The hallway had already been cleared; there were no zombies. The group crept along, tiptoeing behind Hu Li and Li Qi. Although the rest of the gang was on the third floor, there was no guarantee someone wouldn't get a sudden urge to check on things. Their time was precious; they had to act fast and avoid alerting those upstairs.

They soon crossed the corridor and arrived at the lobby. To their surprise, there were four men there, all surrounding a woman. None of them noticed the people appearing at the door.

"Hey! Look at those curves! It’s enough to make a brother’s heart itch!"

"Right? Even if she’s got a mask on, that figure is top-tier."

"No kidding, just looking at that body makes you want to drool!"

"Haha, with a body like that, she definitely can't be ugly!"

"Haha, look at you, acting like you know!"

The four men joked without a care, completely ignoring the woman. In their worldview, women were mere accessories to men—especially in the apocalypse, where they were just playthings with no combat ability who relied on men to survive.

Li Xiaoxiao had already seen the people at the door. Three days after the rain, the zombies had dispersed, and she and her group had left their temporary base. She had suddenly received a side quest to rescue someone. She hadn't wanted to take it at first, but considering her base needed to level up and her upgrade tasks required more members, she decided to come and see if anyone was worth recruiting. She hadn't expected them to be capable of saving themselves; it seemed her intervention was unnecessary.

Over by the entrance, Hu Li recognized Li Xiaoxiao immediately—she was from the Paimond vehicle. A flicker of excitement stirred in his eyes, but he remained rational.

Li Xiaoxiao took a step back. The four men were confused, thinking she was scared and trying to run. One of them reached out to grab her. But the next second, Li Xiaoxiao’s figure vanished.

At that moment, one of the men noticed the shadows moving at the door and strode over to pull it open. Hu Li, sharp-eyed, had already seen him coming. He pulled out the dagger he had scavenged from the gunman’s pocket and unleashed his speed ability. He circled the man who opened the door, and by the time he returned to his original spot, the man’s head had already hit the floor.

When he saw Li Xiaoxiao step back, he knew she wouldn't help them; they had to rely on themselves to survive. Li Qi reacted quickly as well, stepping into the room. He had traded his iron rod for the machete, and with his strength boosted, the remaining three men were soon lying on the ground.

Fortunately, none of the three super-powered individuals were downstairs. The survivors behind them were thrilled to see how easily they had dealt with so many people. They desperately wanted to leave, but the thought of the zombies outside kept them from rushing out. One by one, they turned their hopeful gazes toward Hu Li and Li Qi.