BXBX NOVEL Chapter 52 - 47: Some Deviations from the Plan.
Chapter 52 - 47: Some Deviations from the Plan.
This building was about six or seven stories tall, with metal fire escape stairs and railings on the side, and garbage bins reeking of rot below.
Tao Yu looked up to see a zombie stuck in the metal railing of the third-floor walkway, though it was the only one visible up there for the moment.
With a forceful push from her feet, she jumped up, reached out her hand to hook on, and easily flipped herself onto the fire escape railing.
The metallic creaking sound caught the attention of the zombie on the third floor, but before it could react, Tao Yu kicked it down from the stairs.
She then swiftly made her way up to the roof of the building.
There was a corpse on the rooftop, and upon closer inspection, one could see the gaping gunshot wound on the head, though it was nearly mummified by the wind, attracting not even flies.
"It must be from a long time ago. I should check out the place where the curtain is fluttering first. It would be best to find a native to talk to."
If it wasn't a fragmented indigenous person, either intelligent zombies or Pioneers would be acceptable as well.
It would also be possible to exchange some information with the Pioneers.
After estimating the gaps and distances between these buildings, Tao Yu made a quick dash.
Her formidable physical abilities, coupled with the dismantling actions of Five-Form Boxing, turned her into a highly compressed spring.
Easily carrying a backpack, she leaped over the alleyways between buildings, landing on the opposite side.
Once she got the hang of it, she began to accelerate continuously, moving as if practicing parkour.
The alleys between ordinary buildings posed no obstacle, and the zombies she encountered en route were simply slapped away with a raised hand—her palm, clad in puncture-resistant gloves, struck like a bear's paw, flinging the zombies aside like rag dolls.
Running, vaulting, sliding, jumping, rolling—even with fifty kilograms of supplies on her back, Tao Yu showed much greater agility than seasoned parkour practitioners.
"Seventh floor, to the right front,"
As Tao Yu sped across rooftops, she felt the strong winds at her ears, intermittently scanning the buildings she had committed to memory beforehand.
Throughout her journey, someone at the window continued observing the street at intervals, yet failed to notice Tao Yu on the rooftops.
"This rules out the Inner City Pioneers at least,"
Comparing her own movements across rooftops to the capabilities of Jose and Wino, Tao Yu made a quick judgment. Even though she was moving atop the buildings, if they were newcomers from the Inner City, they should have been able to detect her easily.
Even if the inhabitants of the Inner City had previously seemed uninterested in the spoils here, being able to further eliminate them as possibilities added a measure of controllability.
Even now, compared to the former capabilities of Jose and Wino, she still lacked the strength for a direct confrontation.
Shush~
The friction of her tactical boots slid against the surface, and Tao Yu suddenly came to a stop at the edge of the rooftop.
In front of her was no longer the alleyways she had been traversing, but instead a four-lane road forming a T-intersection with the road she had come in on.
The room where Tao Yu had confirmed someone's presence was in a hotel diagonally across from the highway.
As soon as Tao Yu stepped to the very edge of the rooftop, fully exposing herself, the shadow that had been peeking through the curtain finally spotted her.
Tao Yu locked gazes with the figure in the shadows for an instant, prompting them to hastily leave the window in panic.
Not long after, it seemed another person came to the window, opened the curtain, and met Tao Yu's gaze—it was a muscular, tattooed, bald man.
At that moment, Tao Yu was clad in a full tactical suit with a tactical helmet, backpack slung over her shoulders, and fully armed to the teeth.
Based purely on appearances, she was quite imposing, and upon seeing her, the man simply opened the curtain fully and then made several hand gestures.
However, Tao Yu couldn't understand the abstract gestures he was making.
After realizing they couldn't communicate, the burly man pointed up, then placed a finger on his lips, making a universal shushing gesture, before he walked away from the window.
This time, Tao Yu more or less understood what he wanted to convey; he was likely getting ready to come up to the rooftop and was asking her to keep silent.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before three figures made their way onto the roof.
Although each had a different attire, Tao Yu could fairly confidently assess that they were unlikely to be Outskirts Pioneers. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
It wasn't that the Pioneers from the Outskirts didn't have good clothing, but most of the time, they would be clinging to their backpacks and belongings, creating a haphazardly patched-together appearance with whatever they had.
Such an aura was easy to discern.
The three people who came up included a bald, muscular white man, a tall black man, one with a shotgun and the other holding a pistol, and it seemed they were also carrying a crossbow on their backs.
But what was most unusual was that the person leading them was an Asian man with a scar on his face and a pronounced nose, who appeared to be the leader of the trio.
The crucial thing was that Tao Yu's vision was clear enough from this distance to recognize the Asian's face, which surprisingly seemed very familiar to him.
What's going on?
The big-nosed Uncle Dragon from the furniture store?
Did he star in a zombie movie?
Even though the Asian man's face bore a deep scar that made him look somewhat ferocious, it was undoubtedly the big-nosed Uncle Dragon.
This was the first time Tao Yu had encountered a local in the Abyss fragment, and he had not expected that his first encounter would be with such a significant figure!
After seeing the big-nosed Uncle Dragon, Tao Yu had an ominous premonition in his heart.
This world is not just a simple Zombie World!
This guy definitely hasn't acted in a zombie movie!
Thinking about the Python that had been parasitized by an Alien, Tao Yu also formulated some guesses in his mind.
By now, the three people on the roof had likewise jumped over a small alley and landed on the rooftop opposite Tao Yu's highway, after which the Asian man with Uncle Dragon's face kept waving at Tao Yu, signaling him to move back.
Tao Yu then saw the tall black man pull out a crossbow bolt from behind him, which was attached to a rope, making the meaning clear to him.
Looking down at the street, which wasn't densely populated with zombies, as well as the width of the road and sidewalks, which added up to over twenty meters.
Tao Yu actually felt that it would be faster to go directly down and climb up himself.
But after some thought, he decided against it.
Hum~
The crossbow bolt shot over, piercing through the rooftop water tank.
The bald, tattooed white man on the opposite side also made a pulling gesture to Tao Yu.
Tao Yu went over to check and seeing the knot wasn't very tight, he simply pulled out the arrow and tied the rope around the water tank's frame in a hitch that resembled a trailer's latch, then pulled it tight and signaled to the others to pull from their side.
Soon the rope was taut, and it was also tied down on the other side.
Without any hesitation, Tao Yu grabbed the rope with both hands and began to quickly alternate his grip, moving across.
However, during the crossing, Tao Yu remained vigilant of the other side.
Most of the time, Uncle Dragon's characters were strongly associated with justice, but Tao Yu would not completely entrust his safety to others.
Now focused, even if the opposite side decided to take a surprise shot, he could rely on "Bullet Time" to maneuver.
If he fell from this height, by throwing out his backpack he could adjust his trajectory to land on the roof of a car.
As Tao Yu reached the opposite side, the things he had braced for didn't happen.
It was just that both the tall black man and the bald white man were holding their guns with wary expressions.
With Tao Yu's armed appearance and the strength he exhibited by easily crossing over with the rope, it was understandable that they would be on their guard.
In this post-apocalyptic world, sometimes humans are more frightening than zombies.
"Hello, my name is Jack, I'm currently the leader of this survivor's base, friend, your gear is quite impressive, where did you get it?"
Uncle Dragon began with an introduction in English, probed with a question, and as he spoke, the scar on his face twisted, making him look somewhat fierce.
Jack?
Tao Yu had little recollection, it was a purely attractive name, likely from a Hollywood movie. Compared to names like Chen Jiaju, it felt somewhat unfamiliar.
But he quickly responded in fairly fluent English,
"I come from the south, what exactly is the situation here?"
Tao Yu didn't know if they had had contact with the Pioneers, but based on the radio information, it was apparent that this area had become aware of the grasslands and Rainforest in the south.
The Pioneers didn't actually have any requirements about keeping secrets from the locals within the fragments, but most of the time they would still try to maximize the advantage of their information...