Chapter 7
Chapter 7
“Found… you.”
The madman’s face was coated in a sickening layer of blood, completely obscuring his features. Only his blood-red eyes stood out. Empty and emotionless, they stared at nothing as he reached for Li Wei’an’s hair!
At that critical moment…
“Riiiiing…!!!!”
A phone suddenly began ringing beneath the sedan where Qingshui had hidden earlier!
“Hehehe… Found you…”
“Over there! They’re over there! Hahahahaha!!!!”
The madmen surrounding them immediately split up, most of them howling as they charged toward the ringing sedan.
But not all of them. Several who had already spotted Li Wei’an and the others pinned them to the ground, while another crawled beneath the car and savagely dragged An Xiaolin out.
“Ahhh!” An Xiaolin’s scream finally tore free from her throat.
Now!
Qingshui rolled out from the other side of the car. The military spike in her hand drove into the madman’s temple from the side with deadly precision!
The madmen behind her had already noticed the commotion. Qingshui kicked one lunging madman away, planted a foot on the hood of the nearby sedan, and used it to propel herself onto the roof. Then she pulled a lighter from inside her clothes.
Click!
A tiny flame sprang to life in the darkness.
She took aim at the gasoline-soaked ground and tossed the lit lighter without hesitation.
BOOM…!!!!
A dazzling orange-red fireball erupted with a deep explosion!
The spilled gasoline became the perfect fuse. Flames raced wildly along the trail of fuel, engulfing the underside of the leaking sedan in an instant and swallowing the crowd of madmen gathered around it, all of them trying to crawl beneath the car!
“Fire! Fire! It feels so good… So good! Aaaahhh…!!”
“Bastard! It’s so hot! Hahahaha, hehehe! This feels amazing!”
The madmen shrieked in ecstasy as the flames licked over them. Some danced wildly in the fire, while others rolled around screaming, spreading the blaze even farther. Thick smoke and searing heat burst outward!
Chaos reached its peak.
Qingshui jumped down from the roof. Nearby, Li Wei’an and Chen Yuhui were struggling against two madmen. Li Wei’an was wildly slashing with her fruit knife, while Chen Yuhui had been pinned to the ground, her head on the verge of being torn off!
Qingshui rushed over and drove her military spike into the back of one madman’s skull. As the other lunged at her, she rammed the bloodstained weapon straight into his gaping mouth!
Flames crackled behind her, their heat scorching her back. Thick smoke spread through the area, temporarily blocking the others from view.
Drained of strength, Li Wei’an collapsed onto the ground. She and Chen Yuhui gulped down air, their faces covered in soot and cold sweat.
Chen Yuhui looked at the two madmen who had died instantly, then at the twisted figures writhing in the flames. Finally, her gaze settled on An Xiaolin, who sat limply a short distance away, staring blankly at everything before her.
All that remained in Chen Yuhui’s eyes was the coldness of someone who had narrowly escaped death, along with a trace of resentment.
An Xiaolin finally came back to her senses. Her lips moved as she tried to apologize, but not a sound emerged from her throat.
Li Wei’an saw the look in Chen Yuhui’s eyes as well. Her lips parted, but in the end, she said nothing.
The feeling of nearly being caught and torn apart had been far too real. She could no longer bring herself to comfort anyone over what had happened.
“No time! Move!” Qingshui rasped.
Her voice jolted everyone awake. The fire and smoke had created chaos and provided cover, but they could not stop every madman. Worse, they might attract even more.
The four of them did not even have time to catch their breath. Covered in dirt and blood, they once again raced toward the looming darkness of the Administrative Building.
More noise came from up ahead. Qingshui immediately led the others into a nearby thicket. Perhaps drawn by the fire behind them, the group of madmen rushed straight past without noticing them and ran toward the flames.
The four women made their way through the undergrowth and reached the Administrative Building without further incident. As they stared at the building towering before them, Li Wei’an and the others felt their hearts grow heavy.
According to the plan, reaching this point meant it was time for them to split up.
Qingshui and Li Wei’an would enter the Administrative Building to rescue Lin Hao, while Chen Yuhui and An Xiaolin waited in a secluded corner to support them.
While Qingshui used the camera to survey the building, Li Wei’an quickly messaged Lin Hao to tell him they were about to enter the Administrative Building.
Lin Hao, who had nearly given up all hope, barely stopped himself from blurting out a curse. He had only reached out to his junior as a desperate gamble. He had never expected her to actually make it this far.
He replied at once: “Use the rear service entrance to Block A! There aren’t as many of them there!”
“Junior, whatever you do, stay away from the conference hall!”
Li Wei’an showed the messages to Qingshui. Only after Qingshui nodded did she reply, “Got it.”
Lin Hao replied, “Stay safe out there.”
Li Wei’an stared at the words and smiled bitterly to herself. If only.
Qingshui turned to Chen Yuhui and An Xiaolin, her expression solemn. “Use your judgment. Understood?”
“Understood,” Chen Yuhui replied. An Xiaolin nodded as well.
Only then did Qingshui turn to Li Wei’an. “Dorm Leader, are you ready?”
Li Wei’an drew a deep breath, her face grave.
“Yes.”
The two women crouched low and silently entered the grounds surrounding the Administrative Building. The area was completely still in the darkness, and for the moment, there was no sign of danger. They were now outside Block A.
Qingshui whispered, “Where’s the rear service entrance?”
It was not as though she had never visited the Administrative Building before, but she usually used the main entrance. Fortunately, as a member of the University Youth League Committee, Li Wei’an frequently came and went from the Administrative Building and knew the layout.
Li Wei’an pointed ahead. “Farther up.”
They cautiously continued forward until they reached the side of the building. Sure enough, there was a door set into the wall.
Qingshui picked up a stone and threw it ahead.
Clack!
Rattle, rattle…
Other than the sound of the stone rolling across the ground, there was no movement.
The two quickly crept up beside the door. Qingshui signaled for Li Wei’an to open it, then stood behind her, keeping a wary eye on their surroundings.
The instant Li Wei’an gripped the bolt, a terrible premonition swept over her. The rusted bolt was jammed tight, and she feared the noise would draw the attention of those lunatics.
Rust scraped against metal with a teeth-grating creak that rang especially loud in the deathly stillness of the night. Li Wei’an used every ounce of strength she had and finally wrenched the stuck bolt free.
Almost the instant it came loose…
“Hee…”
A faint, eerie sigh drifted out of the darkness just beyond the door, so close it was almost in her face.
Li Wei’an pushed the door inward a crack. The blurred outline of a person stood rigidly less than half a step behind it, as though he had been waiting there for ages.
The wan moonlight outside barely traced his silhouette. He was a man in a security guard’s uniform, his head bowed slightly and his cap pulled low.
Li Wei’an’s heart stopped. The blood in her veins froze.
The “security guard” seemed to stir at the sound of the door. With an inhuman stiffness, he slowly raised his head.
Beneath the cap was a face caked in filth and dried scabs of blood. His mouth stretched toward his ears in an impossibly wide grin, exposing yellow teeth with shreds of flesh caught between them.
His eyes snapped open in the shadows and instantly locked onto the two women outside, brimming with crazed delight.
A hoarse, clicking breath rattled in his throat, as though a shrill laugh would burst from him at any second.
In that split second, Qingshui moved.
She slammed herself into the door Li Wei’an had opened less than a hand’s width.
Bang!
The heavy iron door swung violently inward and smashed squarely into the madman’s face.
Caught completely off guard by the impact, he staggered backward into the darkness as his nasal bone shattered with a sickening crunch.
Qingshui squeezed through the opening immediately after the door struck him. By the faint light spilling in from outside, she saw the madman swaying with both hands over his mangled, bloody face, still struggling to regain his balance.
Without the slightest hesitation, Qingshui thrust her left hand upward and drove it deep into his eye socket. She twisted her wrist, and the madman’s entire body convulsed violently.
“Inside!” Qingshui barked as she darted through.
Li Wei’an forced down the nausea churning in her stomach and ignored the trembling in her fingertips. She slipped inside, then gently pulled the iron door almost shut behind her.
Beyond the door lay the maintenance area of Block A of the Administrative Building. A narrow corridor extended deeper into the building, with storage rooms on either side crammed with cleaning supplies and assorted clutter.
The air reeked of dust and mildew, with a faint, rusty tang of blood underneath.
The emergency lights appeared to be broken. Only a distant exit sign cast a dim green glow, making the shadows seem even thicker.
“The stairs are that way.” Li Wei’an pointed toward a blurry exit sign at the end of the corridor, keeping her voice barely above a whisper.
The two pressed close to the wall and hurried forward, hardly daring to breathe.
Qingshui strained her ears for the slightest sound. At the end of the corridor, they found a concrete stairwell leading upward. It was a little brighter there, with stark white light illuminating the spiraling stairs and cold walls.
They began climbing, taking care to tread softly. Yet even their quietest footsteps produced faint echoes in the empty stairwell, each one pounding against their taut nerves.
“Wait.”
A strange, oppressive sensation had settled over Qingshui, filling her with a rare sense of unease. She held her breath and listened carefully.
Huff…
Huff… huff…
Huff… huff… huff…
Someone was trying to stifle their breathing. Qingshui understood at once.
There were madmen above them!
She quickly pulled Li Wei’an back, retreating one slow step at a time. Pointing upward, she signaled that madmen were hiding above them. Li Wei’an’s face instantly turned deathly pale. She silently mouthed, Should we go back outside?
Qingshui hesitated for two seconds. It was impossible to say whether it was more dangerous in here or outside.
But within those two seconds, the madmen realized they had been discovered. Slowly, one after another, seven or eight heads poked into view.
For one second, time seemed to freeze.
“GO BACK!”
Qingshui’s roar shattered the silence. Any thought of fighting or trying to maneuver around them vanished. The instant she saw how many there were, every survival instinct in her body screamed a warning. If they were trapped in this stairwell, they would die.
She seized Li Wei’an before the other woman could fully react and yanked her around with enough force to nearly pull her off her feet. Then she dragged her headlong down the stairs.
At almost the same moment, a tidal wave of frenzied howls erupted above them.
“Why run, run, run…? Let’s play on the seesaw! You can be the seesaw, heh heh heh…”
“Wait for me, wait for me! Hee hee hee! Those looks on your faces are making my blood boil!”
A chaotic barrage of pounding footsteps thundered down from above, rapidly closing in.
Qingshui and Li Wei’an scrambled back down the half flight they had just climbed and threw themselves into the dim maintenance corridor.
Behind them, the madmen’s howls and footsteps filled the narrow corridor, already so close that they seemed moments away from pouncing on them.
“The door! Lock it!” Qingshui rushed outside first, then spun around and hauled the iron door shut as she shouted at Li Wei’an. A tremendous force resisted from the other side as the madmen shrieked with laughter and tried to wrench it open.
Li Wei’an’s face was bloodless, but her will to survive unleashed a burst of strength. Using her entire body, she heaved the heavy, rusted bolt back into place.
Creeeeak-clunk!
The bolt scraped reluctantly along its track before finally dropping into the latch with a dull thud. The madmen immediately began hurling themselves against the door. After only a few impacts, the iron was already beginning to bulge outward.
“Move! This door won’t hold for long!” Qingshui shouted at Li Wei’an.
The commotion would soon attract even more madmen. They had to get into the Administrative Building immediately!