Chapter 38: Chapter 36: Rescue Plan
The drone hovered for a moment before flying away from the front of the train.
Shao Ming quickly opened the train door, grabbed his rifle, and chased after it.
When he saw that Feng Yusheng was about to follow, he immediately stopped her, signaling for her to stay inside the train.
The drone seemed to be guiding Shao Ming forward. It flew a little distance, then paused. As Shao Ming caught up, the drone moved on again.
The drone continued along the railroad tracks, heading in the direction from which the zombie horde had come yesterday. However, it was unclear where the horde had wandered off to today.
Shao Ming followed the drone, climbing onto the green patch of land beside the tracks. A lone office building appeared in front of him.
Inside the first floor of the building, it looked like many mutated creatures were resting. Outside, a few mutated creatures were looking up at the drone. Shao Ming quickly crouched down and hid behind a patch of grass.
The drone rose higher into the air and flew up to the building's roof. A person appeared from behind the railing on the roof.
Shao Ming hadn't expected to find another survivor so close to the train station—only about 400 to 500 meters away.
In fact, Feng Yusheng could vaguely see Shao Ming from inside the train.
The person on the roof waved excitedly in Shao Ming's direction, and Shao Ming raised his hand to wave back.
It looked like the person was trapped on the roof, while there were at least a hundred mutated creatures on the first floor.
Between the train tracks and the office building was a large, open lawn—there was no cover. If Shao Ming stepped out into the open, the mutated creatures would definitely see him.
The man on the roof quickly ducked out of sight, and there was no movement for a while.
After some time, as Shao Ming was observing, the drone flew back out again.
It was strange—the mutated creatures showed no interest in the drone. Whether it was because the creatures were uninterested or too lazy to move, they didn't chase after it, even though the drone had flown past them twice.
This seemed odd. The creatures were sensitive to the sound of vehicles and gunfire, but it was as if they knew the drone was empty, not carrying a human.
The drone flew past Shao Ming's head and dropped a small piece of paper, which fluttered down to the tracks below.
Shao Ming left the grass and returned to the tracks, picking up the paper. He unfolded it.
The message on the paper read:
"Please save me. I've been trapped here for days. My food and water are almost gone. I need to leave."
Below that, it added:
"Last night's zombie horde went toward the city center."
Shao Ming was indeed inclined to help this person, but the sheer number of mutated creatures beneath the building made the task feel impossible. Even if there were just a hundred pigs locked in a pen, it would take ages to clear them with the firepower he had. And these mutated creatures were far more agile than pigs.
He looked up. The drone was hovering just above his head, its camera trained on him.
After thinking for a moment, Shao Ming realized that his only option was to replicate the strategy from yesterday—use the train to draw the mutated creatures away from the building.
He decided to return to the train and discuss the situation with Feng Yusheng.
The drone followed closely behind him, like a little follower, hovering just above his head.
Back at the train, Feng Yusheng immediately opened the door for Shao Ming.
"What happened over there?" she asked, handing him a bottle of water.
"There's a person trapped on the roof of a building," Shao Ming said as he unscrewed the cap and took a sip—water was running low. "The drone was sent by him. He wants me to help him get out."
Feng Yusheng glanced at the drone outside the train window and asked, "Do you think it's possible?"
"Not really," Shao Ming shook his head. "The building is surrounded by zombies."
"Then what do you plan to do?" she asked. "Do you need my help?"
Shao Ming thought for a moment. He felt this was something he should do alone.
Perhaps seeing the hesitation on his face, Feng Yusheng quickly added, "I won't be a burden. I know how to handle zombies."
"No," Shao Ming replied firmly. "I won't let you go. Besides, even if we rescue him, someone has to stay in the train to let him in."
"Then what do you plan to do?" Feng Yusheng asked again.
"I'll use the train to draw the zombies away, like I did yesterday afternoon."
"You have a car?" Feng Yusheng raised an eyebrow. "What about the horde? What if you attract them again?"
Shao Ming tapped his forehead. He honestly didn't have a better idea.
If the building was like any other on the street, it wouldn't be a problem. But this office building was isolated, and there was no way to escape from the roof.
A car would be a good idea, but he had no idea where the main horde was now. Driving into the city might trap them, and driving toward the airport would only attract more mutated creatures.
Shao Ming was about to give up when he suddenly had an epiphany. He didn't need to drive a car around. The car alarm itself could draw the mutated creatures.
With how quiet the streets were now, an alarm from a car several hundred meters away would certainly reach them. As long as the person on the roof could safely descend on the opposite side, away from the mutated creatures, they should be able to escape.
"I think I have an idea," Shao Ming said.
He pulled out his tablet, thankful he had downloaded a map. Following the railroad tracks, he found several car rental centers nearby.
"I'll go to these car rental centers. We don't need to drive around honking to attract zombies. The car alarms will do the job. That way, the horde won't follow us like yesterday."
Feng Yusheng looked concerned. "But what about you? Once the alarm goes off, the zombies will definitely swarm toward the car."
"I'll circle back from the airport side," Shao Ming said. "There are more obstacles and cover that way."
He opened a drawing app on his tablet and quickly scribbled "When the alarm goes off, run here" with an arrow pointing in the opposite direction of the horde.
The drone descended slightly, peering at his screen for a moment before flying off.
Shao Ming knew that time was running out.