The rest of the drive went without a hitch, and the vehicle drew to a slow halt before the front gates of Longshan Medical University.
The gates were shut tight.
After a quick scan from inside the vehicle confirmed there were no zombies around, Su Jin stepped out and jogged over.
A single gunshot shattered the lock, and he pulled open the iron leaves on either side.
They drove inside without trouble and parked on the athletic field before the three men got out.
Glancing at their surroundings, Su Jin drew the map Sun Ya had given him from his breast pocket. "The situation looks decent—better than expected.
"Still, according to Sun Lao's intel, student activity in here was fairly heavy. It's rather dark inside. Lao Fu, you take point in a moment and focus on keeping your guard up. Cheng Du and I will cover you from behind.
"Once we enter the teaching building, it's less than two hundred meters to the stairs leading underground.
"We brought guns, but it's best to use them as little as possible. Gunfire makes too much noise, and I don't want to draw zombies down from the other floors. Stick to bows whenever you can.
"That covers the basics. If either of you has questions or concerns, speak up now."
"None," the two replied in unison.
"Good. We'll head out in a bit. Just wait a little longer." Su Jin tilted his head toward the sky.
"Wait for what, Director?"
"Wait for the clouds to roll in."
Moving in single file, observing their surroundings with every step, the three approached the teaching building.
At the entrance, Su Jin drew a deep breath and ducked inside.
Directly across from the main entrance lay a wide staircase.
Concealing themselves beneath the bend of the stairs, they leaned out to peer down the right-hand corridor.
About a dozen zombies stood crookedly along the hallway.
This path was the only way to the underground laboratory.
"Director, how do we get past this? A hard fight's unavoidable, and there's no way to keep it quiet. How about we go upstairs to scout first?"
"Shh... The more moves you make, the more can go wrong." Su Jin raised a finger to his lips, turning his head to study the corridor.
"I'll strike first this time. You two back me up with bow and arrows, and use your flashlights to draw their attention if necessary." As he spoke, Su Jin slipped off his shoes.
Cheng Du glanced down, a flicker of confusion crossing his eyes.
Three layers of socks... The director was actually wearing three pairs of socks.
What was more, something resembling a non-slip rubber pad was stuck to the ball of each foot.
Suppressing his breathing, Su Jin set his shoes down soundlessly on the floor.
One by one, he slowly stripped off every small trinket on his body that might clatter or jingle and handed them to Fu Hu.
"Director, what are you doing?" Fu Hu whispered.
"Circling around... We'll hit these zombies in a pincer. Though if I can take them all out myself, so much the better."
With that, Su Jin pushed off his right foot and sprang upward.
Planting his foot against the wall, he surged all the way to the ceiling.
Then, slipping around the corner like a gecko, he bounded back and forth between the corridor's walls, working his way forward.
He continued until two zombies appeared beneath him.
Pulling his feet in, Su Jin dropped. In the same motion, he drew two sharpened screwdrivers from his waist and drove them into the zombies' hearts with ruthless precision.
Thanks to his extensive experience dissecting and hunting zombies, coupled with the speed buff he gained in dim environments, this strike was practically impossible to bungle.
The two zombies crumpled instantly, and Su Jin was already kicking off the wall to return to the ceiling.
The thud of the first two bodies hitting the floor clearly drew the attention of the others.
Gliding along the ceiling, Su Jin shot straight to the tail end of the small pack.
Dropping once more, he swiftly assassinated another pair.
Huddled in the corner, Cheng Du watched the dark silhouette move through three-dimensional space, methodically harvesting zombie lives. His expression stiffened. "Good god... Was the director always this strong?"
"Don't doubt it. He's stronger than the two of us put together, and it's still fairly bright out—this isn't even his top form," Fu Hu whispered, his gaze never leaving Su Jin's figure as he held his drawn bow at full tension, ready to release. "You don't know, but he only sleeps three or four hours a day. The rest of the time, he's either hunting zombies or honing his skills."
"He looks full of energy to me."
"Basking in the sun during the day seems to recharge him fast... I think at his peak, his strength might even surpass mine, though he probably can't take a beating like I can."
In the time it took them to exchange those few words, all dozen or so zombies had hit the floor.
Cheng Du and Fu Hu traded a look and stepped out from around the corner.
Su Jin came to a stop, a light sheen of sweat on his forehead.
The corridor was on the shaded side of the building, and clouds covered the sky, yet it remained fairly bright.
Pulling off those maneuvers had genuinely taken a toll. If it had been pitch-black night, he wouldn't have been worn down like this.
"Director, that was incredible!" Cheng Du gave a thumbs-up, still keeping his voice low.
Su Jin nodded. "Ordinary zombies aren't a threat to us anymore. The issue is purely numbers—two fists can't fight four hands. Don't let your guard down. Our abilities came from zombies, and there's no telling whether zombies with special powers will show up too."
With that, Su Jin lowered his stance. "I checked ahead. There are only two or three stragglers left, and I'll deal with them. But the situation inside the rooms isn't great. Stay low when passing the windows so you aren't spotted. Once we reach the end, we're home free."
Everything went smoothly, bringing them straight to the laboratory entrance!
Facing the shut door, Su Jin reached out and gave it a tug.
When it failed to budge, a jolt of alarm ran through him.
The steel door before him was of exceptionally high specifications, fitted with a small blast-resistant window.
According to Sun Lao, although the facility had backup power, it should have been completely drained by now under any circumstance.
This outer door was designed to unlock automatically upon a power cut.
If it wouldn't open now... breaching it was essentially out of the question.
"What is it, Director?"
"I don't know. The door won't open... It shouldn't be like this." Anxious, Su Jin looked up and peered through the blast-resistant window.
Inside lay a scene of utter disarray.
After a moment's thought, Su Jin raised a hand and tapped on the pane.
A few seconds later, an overjoyed face appeared behind the glass!
Su Jin's expression instantly froze. He glanced back at Fu Hu and Cheng Du.
"You two hold the stairwell. Don't let any zombies in."
Turning back, Su Jin mouthed to the person inside:
*I'm here to save you.*
Two more faces soon appeared behind the blast-resistant window—an old man and two students in all.
The three scrambled frantically on their side of the door to disengage the locks.
Before long, the door swung open. Su Jin ducked inside at once and quickly pulled it shut behind him.
The three survivors immediately crowded around, eyes glistening with emotional tears.
"Are you military? Did you come specifically to rescue us? How are things outside?" The old man fired off questions in rapid succession.
Su Jin nodded. "Let's take it easy. How many of you are in here?"
"Just the three of us. Luckily, there was food and water inside, which let us hold out until today. Another two days... and we wouldn't have made it," one of the students choked out.
"Are the lab mice still alive? Is the sodium fluorescein and portable UV light still here?"
"A batch of our experiment mice already died... There are only eighty-some left now. Everything else is here too."
"Find all of it for me. Then we leave immediately!"
Without the slightest hesitation, the three set to work in sheer jubilation.
Only a few minutes later, they stood before Su Jin holding the supplies.
"Hand them over to me. My teammates are right outside. You go first." Having verified the supplies were correct, Su Jin gestured toward the door.
Thanking him repeatedly, the three walked toward the exit.
Three gunshots rang out, and three bodies dropped to the floor.
Blood began to spread. Su Jin's frame swayed faintly. He closed his eyes, let out a long sigh, collected the supplies, and slipped out the door.
Chapter 51