The Trembling World

Chapter 102: Top of the Building

“Brother Liu, thank you so much for rescuing us once again in our time of need.” Zhang ShengLi walked over to Liu Gan to express his gratitude, but his expression was full of pain and misery.

“I’m so stupid! It was all due to my stupidity. I caused his death…” Zhang ShengNan said to Liu Gan while she burst into tears.

If only she had listened to Liu Gan’s advice and not argued, then it wouldn’t have escalated to the point where she felt like she had lost self-respect. There was no medicine to treat regrets. The fact was, Hu Rong had died, her eyeball had been ripped out, her face scarred and torn, and her body severely wounded, so sooner or later she would die. Everything was too late to regret.

Liu Gan ignored Zhang ShengNan and walked around to investigate. He had to make sure it was safe, and then he headed back to the doorway. This result was just as he had suspected. He just hadn’t realized that she would bring them down so soon, but he wouldn’t say such things during this time.

“Brother Liu, don’t go!” Zhang ShengNan shouted at Liu Gan.

Liu Gan stopped in his tracks, turned his head around, and coldly stared at Zhang ShengNan. Since this was caused by her stupidity, he did not have a hint of pity for her.

“I know it was my stupidity, naivety, and stubbornness that caused all of this. I am unforgivable! So thank you for saving my brother. I know that I have no right to ask you for anything, but please, I beg you to bring him along. He has always listened to you, so he isn’t stupid like me.” Zhang ShengNan begged Liu Gan in her final moments.

Only after this tragic accident, did Zhang ShengNan finally wake up. She knew that her stupidity caused the death of her beloved boyfriend. So, she didn’t want to drag down her brother too.

“ShengNan don’t say anymore. No matter what happens, I won’t leave you.” Zhang ShengLi interrupted his sister.

“I am guilty of everything! Brother, you have to listen to Brother Liu from now on and don’t be stupid like me.” Zhang ShengNan replied to her brother. Then, she pulled out a hidden knife and cut open her neck.

“ShengNan!” Zhang ShengLi suddenly shouted and rushed over, but it was all too late. She had cut open her carotid artery, so fresh blood spewed out from it. Now it was impossible to save her.

“NO! NO!”

Zhang ShengLi screamed loudly and applied pressure onto ShengNan’s carotid artery. But, the blood didn’t stop pouring out from the opening. After a few minutes, the blood stopped pouring, but Zhang ShengNan’s eyes were gray and lifeless.

Zhang ShengLi kneeled on the ground unable to lift his head. He could only helplessly cry. Even though he knew that his sister was at fault, regardless he would still love her because she was all he had left. Seeing her die this way in front of him, he couldn’t accept it. It was too painful.

“Maybe she was forced out of this game, and she returned to the real world. My condolences, so you don’t need to worry.” Liu Gan couldn’t bear to see Zhang ShengLi so grieved and tried to console him.

“Really?” Zhang ShengLi suddenly had a glint of hope in his eyes.

“With this type of game, no one can be sure?” Liu Gan shook his head.

Zhang ShengLi didn’t continue the conversation, but he only sat on the floor and stared at the bodies of ShengNan and Hu Rong. He still felt that this was all too surreal. Did they really die? Or did they return to the real world?

“I’ll give you ten more minutes to mourn. During this time, I want you to think carefully if you want to follow me. I will bring you, but if you choose to stay and continue mourning, I will respect your decision.” Liu Gan patted Zhang ShengLi’s shoulder a few times as he prepared to leave.

If Zhang ShengNan hadn’t died, Liu Gan definitely wouldn’t bring Zhang ShengLi along. Now that she was dead, Zhang ShengLi didn’t have any more deadweight. Previously, Zhang ShengLi’s performance was spectacular. In addition, his sister’s death served as a reminder that Liu Gan was right. So, Liu Gan was definitely willing to give Zhang ShengLi another chance.

Liu Gan really wanted to takeover a Serenity aircraft. However it was hard to control a large aircraft with only him and Yin He. So he had to recruit more people.

“No, I will leave with you right now.” Zhang ShengLi wallowed in his misery and stood up. From the nearby room, he found a few white cloths that were used to cover instruments. He used that to cover up the bodies of Hu Rong and Zhang ShengNan. Then, he silently stood for half a minute. He turned around and left the laboratory, closing the door behind him.

Liu Gan wanted to remind Zhang ShengLi that he should separate their head from their bodies, just in case they reanimated as zombies. After thinking about it for awhile, he decided not to open his mouth. The reason was because he was curious if the two would actually become carriers of the virus and turn into zombies.

After he was done searching through the building, Liu Gan would eventually have to pass through the floor to get down. By that time if they did become zombies, it would only verify his idea.

Of course, judging from both of their wounds, Zhang ShengNan had the highest chance of becoming a zombie. Hu Rong might not have had that possibility since his skull had been cleaved and crushed into parts. It would be very unlikely for him.

Liu Gan waited for Zhang ShengLi to leave through the door and then headed towards the stairs of the fire escape. Zhang ShengLi quickly caught up in a few quick steps. Even though his expression was miserable, he was calming down.

…

Around 2AM in the early morning, Liu Gan led Zhang ShengLi with Yin He to the top of the building.

From above the 90th floor, there were no more strange events. They didn’t encounter any type of variant zombies. However, there were still some straggling regular zombies. Liu Gan and Yin He were able to mow down all of them without resistance.

It wasn’t raining tonight; however, the wind was very strong on top of the roof. A helipad was at the top of the building, but there was no helicopter. Zombie corpses were scattered everywhere. The repugnant smell of rotten flesh was lingering in the air. It seemed that someone had been here before, and they had been fighting. According to Liu Gan’s hypothesis, it must have been players that had just entered the game and left behind these clues.

A lightning rod was on top of the building. It stood around half-a-meter tall. It was strapped down by a couple of sturdy wires at the sharpest tip of the rod. Stairs were located beside the lightning rod, and repairs could be made by climbing up them.

However, Liu Gan wasn’t interested in climbing up.

While standing on top of this hundred floor building, he overlooked the entire Nanjing city. Even though a large portion of the city was shrouded in darkness, you could see a faint shimmer of light at a far away location.

It seemed like there were more local survivors and players around like Liu Gan and Zhang ShengLi. They were scattered throughout the city, struggling to survive.

Liu Gan was standing at the top while the gusts of wind breezed past him. He was deep in thought, thinking back on his journey and all that he had been through to get here. He could finally collect his thoughts.

This was truly a horrifying and dangerous game. There were ambushes everywhere, so every step had to be cautious.

The Trembling World, the name very accurately described the game.