C46 He Ran Back to the Factory, but Was Surrounded by Zombies.

Building trust between people isn't easy.

This is especially true for strangers; it's difficult to take someone at their word, even when they might be speaking the truth.

Tang Bing understood that the female celebrity didn't want him to rescue her, likely because she didn't want to burden him. Despite her despair, she was considerate of others before her death, suggesting she was a decent person in life.

It was a shame—if only she had chosen to trust him, even the slightest bit, her young life needn't have been snuffed out in the flames.

In such a hopeless, apocalyptic world, Tang Bing knew some might see death as a welcome escape. Yet, there's a certain bravery in striving to live.

While it was heartbreaking not to save her, that was all there was to it.

Tang Bing wasn't so arrogant as to see himself as a savior, nor would he irrationally blame himself for the death of an unknown survivor right before his eyes.

Everyone has the right to choose their own path, and he couldn't stop someone from walking theirs.

The female celebrity chose to end her life; that was her path, and it wasn't anyone else's place to intervene.

The explosion drew more zombies, and the once-desolate streets were now teeming with them.

Many of the zombies pursued Tang Bing from every direction.

Logically, Tang Bing shouldn't have headed straight back to the factory, as it would draw the horde to them. A few hundred zombies could easily besiege the factory, trapping them inside.

But he had no other option—the area was choked with zombies, and there was no clear route to divert them, short of being able to scale walls and rooftops.

Even as he aimed to reach the factory, he had to confront the oncoming masses from both sides. His only choice was to tap into his extreme speed, weaving through the swarm to gain enough distance for Sun Meng to secure the doors.

There was no time for second thoughts—his only option was to run! Run! Run!

Tang Bing leveraged his exceptional agility, sprinting with a velocity that shattered world records, the piercing wind howling past his ears.

"Bing!" Zhao Dagang and Sun Meng, without a second thought, flung open the factory's iron gate and frantically waved him over. It was a perilous move—if a horde of zombies approached from the side, the factory would be overrun.

Tang Bing was tempted to berate them for their foolhardiness, yet he understood it was to allow him an uninterrupted dash to safety.

Summoning every ounce of his strength, he widened the gap between himself and the pursuing zombies and bolted for the gate. Upon reaching it, he vaulted inside and bellowed, "Close the door!"

With a resounding "Boom!" Zhao Dagang slammed the gate shut just as Tang Bing made it through. Sun Meng, in a panic, threaded the chain lock into place and secured it.

"Be careful!" Tang Bing warned as he sprang to his feet, grabbing Sun Meng by the collar and yanking her away from the door.

The zombies amassed at the gate, pounding and clawing at the sturdy iron barrier. Arms snaked through the narrow gaps, scraping and grasping. Behind, the relentless pressure from the horde threatened to topple even such a solid defense.

"Bing, what do we do now?!" Sun Meng's face was ashen with terror at the sight.

Zhao Dagang, gripping the fire axe, hacked away at the encroaching limbs with desperate ferocity.

Sun Meng, petrified by the carnage, cowered behind Tang Bing, unable to watch as severed hands fell to the ground.

"Dagang, leave them be!" Tang Bing called out, his brow furrowed in disapproval. The man who had once been too scared to even touch a zombie was now utterly fearless, perhaps too much so.

"But Brother Bing, what if they break through?" Zhao Dagang looked back, concern etched on his face.

"They won't," Tang Bing reassured him, shaking his head. "This gate is well-designed. Unless they ram it with a vehicle at top speed, there's no chance they'll get through. Sheer numbers aren't enough to breach this door."

Relieved by Tang Bing's confidence, Zhao Dagang exhaled deeply. But then, a troubling thought struck him. "But now we're trapped inside with no way out!"

"Don't panic!" Tang Bing paused, then added, "The zombies were drawn here because they saw me. But I'm not wounded, so everyone should head back inside the factory and wait in silence. Stay quiet, avoid injuries, and give it some time. Once they lose their target, they should move on. Remember, these zombies lack human reasoning. They don't think like us; they operate purely on instinct!"

"Got it!" Zhao Dagang had an epiphany, "Let's make a dash for the building, then!"

"Move out!" Tang Bing took the lead, sprinting into the building. Sun Meng and Zhao Dagang were right on his heels. The trio quickly secured the building's entrance and made their way to the dormitory on the top floor.

"You brought the zombies here!" Qin Mengli had witnessed the whole ordeal from inside the building and looked distressed as the three men arrived upstairs.

Sun Meng and Zhao Dagang hung their heads, resembling children who had been caught misbehaving.

Tang Bing's frown deepened at the sight of his companions' guilt. "What's this about? I'm the one who drew the zombies, not you. And besides, Dagang and I risked our lives for those supplies. What gives you the right to judge us?"

Qin Mengli, faced with Tang Bing's icy stare and sharp words, was at a loss for words. Feeling aggrieved, she spun around and stormed into her room, slamming and locking the door behind her.

"Bing..." Sun Meng and Zhao Dagang looked at Tang Bing with concern.

"Forget it," Tang Bing waved them off. "She'll cool off after stewing in her room for a bit. I know her."

"Oh..." Zhao Dagang and Sun Meng exchanged glances, their shoulders lifting in a mutual shrug of resignation.

"Let's keep it down, everyone. Try to keep the noise to a minimum," Tang Bing advised, peering through the corridor window at the mass of zombies outside the perimeter. He felt a surge of frustration. If that sports car hadn't shown up, the zombies would be dispersed throughout the area instead of crowding around the factory.

Now, the factory was besieged by at least a thousand dreadful zombies. Although only a few hundred were directly drawn by him and were now pounding on the iron door, their lingering presence meant a significant challenge for Tang Bing and the others to leave. They were effectively trapped inside the factory.

Although Tang Bing had enough provisions to sustain four people for several months, he was prepared to reveal his secret if it meant keeping everyone safe. Yet, he was determined to avoid such a dire situation at all costs. He needed to devise a plan to either drive the zombies away or find a way to destroy them.

"Hey Bing, did you manage to rescue that celebrity earlier? How is she?" Zhao Dagang couldn't see what had happened from their distance, especially since they had prioritized hauling supplies back to the factory.

"Which celebrity?" Sun Meng inquired with a hint of curiosity.

"Shh—" Tang Bing gestured for them to keep their voices down.

"Oh!" Zhao Dagang quickly softened his tone and whispered, "Bing, where's the celebrity now?"

"Are you dense?" Tang Bing shot him a look. "I'm here alone, obviously I didn't save her!"

"Was she eaten by zombies?" Zhao Dagang's eyes widened in shock. "Oh no! That's such a shame. It was my first time seeing a celebrity in person! I didn't even get her autograph…"

Tang Bing gave him an exasperated look. Autographs? Now? He sighed and explained, "It's not that I couldn't save her; she refused my help. She must have been bitten by a zombie and thought she was going to turn into one of them, so she set the gasoline on fire and blew up the car."

"But Bing, don't you have the medicine for the infection? You saved me with it!" Zhao Dagang blurted out in surprise.

"She didn't believe me," Tang Bing replied, shaking his head.

"What a waste... Why wouldn't she trust you, Bing? She could have made it out alive!" Zhao Dagang lamented, his face etched with regret.

"Bing, who are you guys talking about? What celebrity?" Sun Meng's curiosity was piqued. "Who is it?"

"I can't recall her name," Tang Bing admitted with a shake of his head. "She's a young actress, did some commercial, I think?"

"Bing, I've got it!" Zhao Dagang interjected, "It's that actress from the cell phone commercial, Bai Guo, right?"

"Bai Guo?" Sun Meng gasped, "You mean the Bai Guo who sings 'White Moon'?"

"I'm not sure," Zhao Dagang admitted, shaking his head. "All I know is she did a cell phone ad!"

"Oh my God! If it's Bai Guo who sang 'White Moon', she's quite the celebrity! She was really popular at one point," Sun Meng exclaimed, "I really like her song 'White Moon'."

"Are you still starstruck at a time like this?" Tang Bing shook his head disapprovingly. "Focus on surviving!"

"I just think it's such a waste," Sun Meng sighed softly.

"I agree, it's a shame!" Zhao Dagang chimed in, nodding. "If she joined our team, even if she didn't lift a finger, she'd boost my morale!"

"Hopeless romantic!" Tang Bing gave him a contemptuous look, then suddenly remembered something. "The fish! Did you take care of it? The blood from the fish will keep the zombies riled up; they won't leave no matter how long we hide!"

"It's taken care of," Sun Meng whispered. "I haven't touched the fish yet. I put it in the water tank."

"You put a dead fish in the water tank?"

"Weren't we planning to have fish for dinner? Of course, I put it in the tank to clean it, but then we got sidetracked, remember?" Sun Meng explained. "So it's just sitting there for now."

"Looks like dinner's off the table tonight," Tang Bing remarked. "Since the fish is already in the tank, we might as well leave it there."

"But it's going to start smelling!" Sun Meng protested, eyes wide. "It'd be such a shame not to eat it!"

"Do you really want to keep living next door to zombies?" Tang Bing frowned. "The moment we start preparing the fish, the blood will drive the zombies outside into a frenzy, possibly drawing in thousands more. A few hundred zombies is manageable, but if a thousand of them press against the wall, they could force some through. Do we really want that kind of trouble?"

"The walls are high; how could they possibly get through?" Sun Meng was skeptical.

"With a couple of thousand zombies, no wall is high enough," Tang Bing said with resignation. "Their mindless shoving could easily lead to that scenario. They don't think like humans; they'll climb over anything instinctively!"

"So, no cooking tonight?" Sun Meng's face fell.

"We'll have to make do with snacks," Tang Bing suggested.