Zombie Siege: The Road to Survival Begins at School - Chapter 33

Zhang Wei didn’t care about Zhou An’s hesitation. He said firmly, “Stop hesitating and get moving. If the zombies make it to the rooftop, none of us are getting out of here.”

“Wear your backpacks on your chest. Dump everything inside that isn’t food. Just take three bottles of water—it’s hot and stuffy now, and it’s going to rain in a few days. Toss the rest onto the roof. If we get the chance, we’ll come back for it later.”

Zhang Wei still didn’t know what the situation was like in the girls’ dorm across the way, or whether they could even get down from the rooftop over there. That dorm was a proper residential building, unlike this one, which was a repurposed old classroom building.

“When you’re climbing, hang upside down—hook your legs and grip with your hands. That way you’ve got two points of contact, and your weight will be more evenly distributed. Too bad we don’t have time to make harnesses. Zhou An, you go first!”

“Boss, I’m kinda scared.”

“As long as you don’t let go, you won’t fall. What are you afraid of?”

“Alright… just keep an eye on me, okay?”

“Hurry up! That door won’t hold much longer!”

“Okay, okay!”

Zhou An scrambled onto the rooftop canopy, lying on his back like a backstroke swimmer. He hooked his knees around the power cable and began crawling across quickly.

“If you’re scared of heights, just close your eyes,” Lu Renjia called out from the side.

That comment only made it worse. Zhou An reflexively glanced down—and instantly felt weak all over. He froze, paralyzed with fear.

“Someone help me hold this thing up!” Zhang Wei shouted to Lu Renjia and Zhao Zhenxiong.

He lifted the mid-air portion of the cable onto his own shoulder.

That raised the cable by about half a meter on this side, creating a slight downward slope. Zhou An slid forward automatically, finally stopping after about ten meters.

Good thing the cable was strong enough. With Zhou An’s weight—easily over a hundred kilos—most other ropes might not have held.

“Keep moving! Next person, get ready!” Zhang Wei yelled at Zhou An.

The shout alerted the horde on the other side of the fence. Zombies began slamming against it, trying to force their way through.

Zhou An could hear their snarls. If I don’t hurry, I’m going to get everyone killed. Gritting his teeth, he climbed with everything he had.

But as he reached the middle, the weight of his body pulled the cable down slightly, creating a small dip.

That made the remaining stretch toward the girls’ dorm a slight uphill.

“Panda, you keep holding it up—I’m going to adjust the mop stick again,” Zhang Wei said.

Panda was Zhao Zhenxiong—Zhang Wei’s nickname for him.

Zhang Wei rushed back to the fence and wrapped the mop stick around the cable a few times before wedging it sideways into the corridor railing.

That tightened the cable significantly, so Zhao Zhenxiong no longer had to hold it.

Zhou An was now only about ten meters from the other rooftop. The tension from his weight actually made climbing easier.

In no time at all, he reached the girls’ dorm roof. Zhou An reached out, and someone gave him a hand up.

“Yes! He made it!” Zhang Wei cheered.

Back when he came up with this escape plan, it was just one of several options—and a risky one at that.

But with everything happening so fast, he had no choice but to go for it. Now that Zhou An had crossed successfully, he felt confident that the rest could make it too.

“Hu Die, you’re up next!”

Zhang Wei had expected Hu Die, being a girl, to struggle more than Zhou An. But to everyone’s surprise, she climbed up the rope without hesitation and quickly made her way across.

The others watched, stunned.

In under three minutes, Hu Die reached the other side. Zhou An gave her a hand and helped her up.

“Zhao, your turn!”

Zhang Wei wasn’t entirely confident in Zhao Zhenxiong. The guy had eaten too much dog food a few days ago and had been dealing with diarrhea and dehydration ever since.

In his own words, he could barely stand without his legs giving out.

Still, Zhao Zhenxiong had a plan. He quickly removed his shoelaces and fashioned a makeshift harness.

He tied himself and the cable together at the waist.

The shoelace harness probably wasn’t strong enough to hold a person’s weight, but it gave him a powerful psychological boost: I’ve got a safety line. I’ll be fine.

And just like that, Zhao Zhenxiong began making his way across—slowly and carefully.

At that moment, Zhang Wei heard a worrying noise: a metallic clang as something hit the ground.

He turned and saw that one of the anti-theft spikes securing the iron gate to the wall had popped loose under the pressure of the zombies. The remaining ones looked ready to give out any second.

“Move it! The door’s going to break! You two, go together!” Zhang Wei shouted at Lu Renjia and Zhao Zhenxiong.

He ripped off his backpack, unzipped it, and reached inside.

Then he ran up to the gate and threw himself against it, holding it in place with all his strength.

Zhang Wei knew he couldn’t hold it for long.

He had no real leverage, and he had to stay on alert—if a zombie arm slipped through the bars, it could grab and infect him.

All he had was his backpack, shielding his arms from those grasping hands.

Thankfully, both Lu Renjia and Zhao Zhenxiong had gotten onto the rope.

Just one more minute… I just need to hold on for one more minute.

Zhao Zhenxiong was now ten meters out, far from the edge. Lu Renjia had already made it about four or five meters.

Even if the gate collapsed and the zombies rushed in, they wouldn’t be able to reach the cable in time.

Zombies began charging up the stairs below, slamming into the iron gate with everything they had. Zhang Wei ducked just in time, narrowly avoiding three arms reaching for his head.

Should’ve found a big plank to brace the gate… he thought, regretfully.

“You two hold tight! I’m coming over!” Zhang Wei shouted.

He had no idea what would happen once he let go—if the gate collapsed immediately, he’d have to jump for the cable. That kind of impact could shake Lu Renjia and Zhao Zhenxiong right off.

There’s no time!

Zhang Wei let go and sprinted toward the edge. As he ran, he zipped up his backpack and swung it onto his back.

Just as expected, the gate gave way and crashed to the ground behind him.

Zhang Wei launched himself from the rooftop and caught the cable with both arms, locking it under his armpits.

The sudden impact caused the cable to bounce violently. The two others were jolted upward, but they’d already braced themselves tightly—any looser, and they might have fallen.

Zhang Wei hooked his right leg over the cable and used every ounce of strength he had to pull himself toward the center.

Zombies swarmed the rooftop behind him, charging at full speed—only to miss the edge and plunge straight down. From below came a series of thuds as their bodies slammed into the ground.

Zombies didn’t know how to climb ropes.

Watching the self-destructive rush of undead, Zhang Wei felt a surge of relief. If he hadn’t acted fast and pulled over that power cable, they all would’ve died up there.

If he hadn’t held the gate just a little longer, he and Lu Renjia would’ve been torn apart.

But just as Zhang Wei finally exhaled in relief—something unexpected happened.

The cable on the girls’ dorm side started to come loose.