Separated

Xiao Qi smiled as she took in the scene. Meeting this run's quota shouldn't be much of a problem now. "Sister Qi, can I ask you something?" Yun Yu asked with open curiosity, having nothing else to do at the moment. "What is it?" Xiao Qi gave her a puzzled look. "Do you have a thing for Long Ming?" Yun Yu blurted out unexpectedly. He Zhong and Tang Ye immediately turned their heads toward Xiao Qi. "Stop talking nonsense," Xiao Qi said, her expression stiffening in annoyance. "Then why do you look out for him so much? You even took the initiative to bring him into our team!" "He's my client, so of course I look after him a little more." "Really?" Yun Yu gave Xiao Qi a skeptical look, sensing something off about the explanation. Xiao Qi lightly rapped Yun Yu on the head. "Stop letting your imagination run wild." "Ow, ow!" Yun Yu quickly clutched her head. Just then, intense bursts of gunfire echoed from outside the hospital. Xiao Qi and the others froze, turning toward the sound. "What's going on?" "No idea!" Murmurs of unease broke out among the group. Suddenly, a combatant rushed over, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Fall back! The horde is closing in!" "Everyone, notify your teammates to stop searching and pull back immediately!" Xiao Qi commanded, her face abruptly draining of color. "Yes, ma'am!" Startled, the scavengers scrambled to dispatch people to alert their comrades. Yun Yu turned to Xiao Qi in a panic. "Sister Qi, Long Ming isn't back yet!" "He Zhong, go call him!" Xiao Qi ordered on the spot. Without hesitation, He Zhong dashed toward Inpatient Building No. 5, yelling at full volume, "Long Ming, stop searching! The monsters are here! Get out!" At that moment, Mila hurried over with several of her people. "Xiao Qi, gather everyone and pull out with us right now." "Ah, right this second? Some of our people haven't rendezvoused yet!" "There's no time—the horde is already here!" "Understood! Everyone, fall in behind the combat squad and withdraw!" Xiao Qi gritted her teeth and yelled. *** Meanwhile, in the stairwell of Building No. 5, Long Ming was repeatedly kicking the rusted iron door before him. *Bang!* A tremendous crash echoed down the hall. "*Phew...*" Long Ming stepped back, panting as he glared at the dented door in frustration. All he wanted was to take a quick look on the roof, but the door was locked tight, resisting every kick, and he didn't have any tools on hand. Suddenly, faint shouts reached his ears, catching him off guard. A moment later, Johnny's voice drifted up the stairwell. "Long Ming, pull back! The monsters are here!" Hearing this, Long Ming didn't retreat. Instead, he raised his foot and delivered another furious barrage of kicks to the door. He trusted his instincts: there was definitely something on the roof, and it had to be good. *Crack!* The door gave way and swung open. Delighted, Long Ming bolted out onto the right side of the roof. At a glance, he spotted a compact, sharp-nosed metal supply pod impaled in the concrete. The heavy fog had evidently kept anyone from noticing the airdrop land here. Compared to the previous pod, this one was notably smaller in size. Long Ming swept his gaze across his surroundings. Once certain there was no immediate danger, he hurried forward to open it. *Click!* The supply pod bloomed open like a flower bud, revealing an exquisite metal case inside. Long Ming snatched it up, silently praying for an invitation letter, and popped the latch. A cyan injector met his eyes. Long Ming stared at the cyan vial in mild surprise as a notification popped up on his wristband. [Swiftness Injector] [Effect: Significantly increases agility for one hour.] Reading the description, Long Ming felt a pang of disappointment. He had hoped for an invitation letter, or at least a gene potion, but instead it was just a Swiftness Injector. Still, he didn't dwell on it. Using his wristband, he promptly scanned the item into his safe box. Down below, a storm of gunfire erupted. *Bang! Bang!* Startled, Long Ming rushed to the edge of the roof and peered down. A dense, dark wave of corpse monsters was flooding into the hospital grounds, while Mila and her team were retreating toward the left side of the complex. Long Ming immediately bolted for the stairwell. Right inside the stairwell, he practically collided with Johnny and his four companions. "Why haven't you left?" Long Ming was genuinely surprised that they had actually come up to find him. "We came to get you! The monsters are here—let's move!" Johnny urged. "Go!" Without wasting breath, Long Ming led the way down the stairs. They quickly made it to the ground floor, but as they rushed toward the exit, they saw a massive swarm of zombies surging past the front doors. "Quick, fall back! Head upstairs!" Long Ming's face tightened as he wheeled around, leading Johnny and the others back up toward the tenth floor. *Patter, patter...* Several minutes later, the group scrambled onto the tenth floor, completely out of breath. "Shh!" Long Ming raised a finger to his lips, signaling Johnny and the rest to stay quiet. Johnny and his crew choked back their heavy breathing, doing their best not to make a sound. Long Ming strained his ears, listening intently. After confirming no corpse monsters had pursued them up the stairs, he whispered, "All right, we're safe for now." "*Whew...*" Johnny and his companions breathed a collective sigh of relief. "Brother Johnny, what do we do next?" asked a short man with a pencil mustache, his expression full of worry. "Du Yin, give me a second to catch my breath," Johnny replied between ragged gasps. "There's nothing to think about," Long Ming said calmly. "We have to wait until the horde clears out before we can leave. Going out now is suicide." "What? Then won't we get separated from the main force?" a capable-looking woman with dark blemishes on her face asked anxiously. "We don't have a choice," Long Ming told them. "You guys hide here. I'm going up to the roof to check the situation." Leaving them with that instruction, he headed straight for the stairs leading to the roof. "Wu Qing, you guys wait here. I'll go take a look too!" Johnny called out, hurrying after him. *** Up on the roof, Long Ming and Johnny slipped out through the broken iron door, one after the other. "Brother, wait for me," Johnny gasped out. Long Ming shot him a look, and Johnny clamped his mouth shut. Staying low, Long Ming crept to the edge of the left side of the roof, cautiously poking his head over to look down. Johnny crept up beside him and peered over as well. Down in the courtyard, corpse monsters were shuffling toward the hospital's rear gate. Beyond that, the view was swallowed by a murky gray haze, making it impossible to see into the distance. "Damn it, the fog is too thick. You can't tell which way the main force ran at all!" "Just because we can't see doesn't mean we can't determine their direction," Long Ming said evenly, listening closely to the distant gunfire. "Huh? How do you figure?" "The gunfire!" "Brilliant! That way we can track their direction and catch up with them!" Johnny gave Long Ming a hearty thumbs-up. Even though the heavy fog drastically reduced visibility, it did nothing to muffle sound. "Why would we chase after them?" Long Ming retorted coldly. "What? We're not catching up to the main force?" "Trailing the main force is far too dangerous. We should head straight for the evacuation point and wait for them there." "Right! Man, you've got a sharp head on your shoulders!" Johnny realized at once. "All right, keep quiet," Long Ming said, taking a deep breath and fixing his gaze on the horde below. If the zombies weren't drawn away by the main force and some lingered inside the hospital, they might very well end up trapped here for good. Time ticked away. In the blink of an eye, half an hour had passed. The courtyard below the inpatient building was now almost entirely devoid of corpse monsters. Long Ming let out a quiet sigh of relief. "The horde has moved on. Let's head down." "Got it!" Johnny agreed without hesitation.