Tang Xiaoquan's right hand kept poking, but the tiny keyhole seemed resolute in its mischief, refusing to let him insert the key no matter how hard he tried.
In a moment of desperation, Tang Xiaoquan slapped himself repeatedly, the force akin to autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves.
Hearing the slapping sounds behind him, Wang Qiang shouted without turning back, "Quanzi? What the hell is going on with you now?"
Still silent, Tang Xiaoquan's entire focus was on the three keys.
Success or death! This was his belief.
Perhaps the slaps had an effect, as Tang Xiaoquan felt his anxious and agitated state slightly calm, and his trembling fingers gradually steadied.
Without daring to think too much, he quickly inserted the key into the lock, fearing any delay might cause his trembling to resume.
"Clack, snap, clang!"
Wang Qiang kicked fiercely at a zombie in front of him. Under his powerful kick, the zombie fell straight backward, and due to inertia, the "Eight-footed Snake Spear" stuck in its skull was pulled out with a sickening liquid.
One down, another one quickly followed.
These beasts showed no fear at their companion's fall. Instead, the fall offered them a better chance to approach these delicious morsels, filling them with insatiable excitement.
"Roar~" As the distance between humans and zombies decreased, the zombies' howls grew louder.
Tang Xiaoquan wiped the sweat from his face with a wave of his hand. Another failed attempt stripped away the remains of his confidence.
Is today really the day I die here?
Thinking about his mere twenty-odd years of life, Tang Xiaoquan couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.
The last key, the final attempt. Though the 7th floor remained unexplored, Tang Xiaoquan knew that with their current mental and physical state, they couldn't hold out much longer.
The outcome hung in balance, success or failure depended on this moment.
Forcefully inserting the key into the keyhole, Tang Xiaoquan had never imagined opening a door could be this difficult.
He silently prayed, invoking every deity and spirit he knew, then with a twist...
"Click!" Whether it was his heartbeat or the sound of the lock opening, there was a fleeting moment of confusion for Tang Xiaoquan until he unsurely pushed the door open, a rush of uncontrollable excitement rising from within.
"Qiangzi! I did it! The door's open! Quick! Retreat!"
As the words left his mouth, Tang Xiaoquan moved forward to help, but just as he turned around, a chill swept over his back.
Instinctively sidestepping, his heightened nerves saved his life as a cold Iron Axe narrowly missed his ear, slicing downward.
Wang Qiang didn't see the attack on Tang Xiaoquan. After hearing the latter's words, he gathered all his strength to deliver a head-kicking blow to the zombie at his side.
Along with this strike filled with oppression and fury, the two "fruit knife" tips of the "Eight-footed Snake Spear" finally succumbed to the pressure and detached, permanently lodging in the accursed zombie's skull.
Afterward, Wang Qiang didn't linger. He knew that if he kept poking, he'd still never clear all the beasts, even in three days and nights.
So, with escape as the best strategy, since Quanzi had opened the door, the best option was to retreat inside while the zombies hadn't closed in.
With a plan in mind, Wang Qiang turned with the Snake Spear, reached the corridor, grabbed Tang Xiaoquan with his left hand, took Huang Yaru with his right, kicked open the door, and rushed inside.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Once inside, Wang Qiang found a man with a firefighting axe glaring at him angrily.
"What's happening!" was Wang Qiang's first reaction. But before he could think further, Tang Xiaoquan shouted, "Not good! Hurry, close the door!"
In a crisis, every minute could determine life or death. Snapping back, Wang Qiang's eyes widened in shock as he turned to grab the door handle, slamming it heavily shut.
But then...
"Smack~" The expected loud bang didn't come because as the door swung shut, a gray-black shriveled zombie hand abruptly stuck in, catching on the door frame.
A man, a zombie.
The man was pulling with all his might while the zombie was excitedly squirming, making a flimsy wooden door their battleground.
Gripping tightly, Wang Qiang dared not relax for a moment. Despite being exhausted, he kept enduring because he knew that if the door gave way, then they...
What to do? Tang Xiaoquan's mind was crawling with chaos like a nest of ants. He wanted to help Wang Qiang but couldn't ignore the man holding the axe.
After all, the other's sneak attack had already shown their hostile intent.
However...
To Tang Xiaoquan's surprise, as he hesitated, the man made a move, and his target was Wang Qiang, standing with his back at the door!
His pupils contracted rapidly, filled with a bright red, Tang Xiaoquan roared, charging and shouting, "What are you doing! Are you crazy! Qiangzi! Watch your back!"
Tang Xiaoquan's warning was unnecessary, as the whistling wind had already alerted Wang Qiang of the danger behind him. Yet, with all attention on the zombies in front, even the aware Wang Qiang couldn't react in time.
"Crack!"
The entire world seemed to freeze. Watching the descending axe, Tang Xiaoquan felt his heart about to leap from his chest.
Instinctively, he shut his eyes because the scene unfolding was one he neither wanted nor dared to see.
"What are you waiting for! Close the door!"
"Oh, right!"
"Bang!"
Three sounds, the first deep, undoubtedly from the man; the last dull, surely from the door closing; as for the middle one…
Tang Xiaoquan gasped because the sound was so familiar, he could hardly believe it.
He slowly opened his eyes, raising his brow to look toward the door. Seeing the familiar figure, taller than himself by half a head, his heart released a long-held breath... Wang Qiang was alive!
And the man's target had only been the zombie's rotting hand stuck in the doorframe!
With the door closed, they were safe for now.
But inside, silence fell once more. The two parties, meeting for the first time, stood on opposite sides of the entryway.
The man held his axe, while Wang and Tang held their weapons, tension suffocating the room, the clash imminent...
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