Rotting Land: Survive-Chapter 404 - 402: Great Escape Through the Well Shaft (Part 4)

Chapter 404: Chapter 402: Great Escape Through the Well Shaft (Part 4)

Due to years of neglect and the assault of heavy rain, the edge of the barrier had completely rusted into place at the drainage hole.

This made the prying work exceptionally difficult; at least Lin Junfu had tried dozens of times without success.

The footsteps outside grew nearer; the survivors all knew that if this barrier wasn’t opened soon, they would all meet their end here.

"Let me try!" Hu Xiaodong, still quite confident in his own strength, stated. Despite being somewhat downcast due to a leg injury for some time, his recent continuous rehab exercises had restored about seventy percent of his former capability.

Knowing this was no time for fussing, Lin Junfu decisively stepped aside for Hu Xiaodong and handed him the crowbar.

Grabbing the crowbar, Hu Xiaodong spat twice into his palms, then without further ado, began to pry it open.

His muscles swelled quickly like hardened knots, with veins bulging along his body, and his face turned a shade of red.

Yet despite his efforts, the barrier remained motionless.

Seeing this, a chill went down the spine of every survivor.

Left with no choice, Wei Dazhuang threw in his weight behind the wooden stick and placed it against the iron bars.

"Come on, Xiao Hu, let’s do it together!"

With that, both Hu Xiaodong and Wei Dazhuang exerted their strength together.

To be honest, with their combined effort, the barrier, which seemed adamant in its resistance, finally showed a slight movement.

"There’s hope! Everyone, let’s push harder!" Lin Junfu encouraged at an opportune moment.

After sensing that slight movement, Hu Wei immediately put all their strength into it.

However, a wooden stick is still a wooden stick, and in terms of flexibility and hardness, it couldn’t compare to an iron crowbar.

So, it wasn’t surprising when Wei Dazhuang applied full pressure, it snapped with a "crack" unable to bear the load.

With the stick broken, the faint glimmer of hope that the survivors had just ignited was instantly dampened.

Fortunately, the "iron barrier" had shown signs of movement earlier, so Hu Xiaodong seized the moment, and managed to pry open the rusted bars.

"Quick, Dazhuang, give me a hand!" Seeing the iron barrier loosen, Hu Xiaodong abandoned the stick and tried to pull with his hands, but the iron bar was indeed heavy. As soon as he touched it, he felt something was wrong and immediately called on Wei Dazhuang for help.

Dazhuang was already on standby and responded immediately to assist.

In the end, with their combined effort, they managed to take down the heavy iron bars and place them steadily on the ground.

"Go!" As the barrier was removed, Lin immediately urged everyone to enter the "pipe," because he already heard Sang Biao’s distinctive loud voice.

It was clear that the latter was still unaware of their exact location, so they had to move quickly to put distance between them and their pursuers.

The drainage pipe was cylindrical and narrow, just wide enough for one person.

The survivors entered in order, with Yan Hua leading, followed by Hu Xiaodong, He Jing, Fangfang, Acheng, and Lin Junfu was in charge of the rear.

The inside of the pipe was dark, and the air was extremely thin, with various pungent smells that were hard to inhale.

Yan Hua led the way, stepping carefully, and soon arrived at a turn.

According to the map provided by Tang Xiaoquan, he decisively moved left.

Honestly, the survivors’ current actions were a gamble, and conventionally, they should have confirmed their plans before acting that night.

But who would have expected such an unforeseen change today, so all they could do was hope that fate was on their side, and that no more barriers blocked their path or any pipe reconstructions occurred.

They continued to feel their way forward in the dark for 20 meters, and the second turn marked on the map appeared again.

Seeing this turn, Yan Hua’s heart settled a bit because he knew they were not far from the target location.

"Damn it! A bunch of useless fools! Haven’t you found where they escaped to yet? Look closely, damn it! I refuse to believe a group of living people sprouted wings and flew away!" Sang Biao, half-crazed, pointed his gun in multiple directions.

He knew that if today’s business failed, he would be in deep trouble when it came to accountability later.

Perhaps it was his brandishing of the gun that worked; just a couple of minutes after his berating, his underlings finally discovered anomalies inside the isolation ditch.

"Brother Biao, over here, there are footprints inside here!"

Following the voice, Sang Biao leapt down the isolation ditch, reached his subordinate’s location in a few steps, and looking in the direction indicated, indeed saw messy footprints inside the drainage ditch.

"Damn it! They’re really good at covering their tracks! Move aside!"

There was no time to go back and get the keys to open the door, so Sang Biao shot the hanging lock on the iron door, breaking it.

This shot from Sang Biao also alerted Lin inside the pipe.

He had deliberately locked the door behind him to slow down the pursuers’ progress.

With the lock destroyed, it meant the situation had reached a critical juncture.

Yan Hua climbed up along the iron ladder on the wall, and above him, a beam of faint sunlight trickled down.

That was their target location, the last checkpoint to their escape route.

"Boss, here!" Sang Biao’s group found the iron barrier that Hu Xiaodong had pried away.

The foul odor wafting from within made his underlings hesitate to move forward.

"Damn it! What are you all standing around for? Watching a show? Let me tell you, if Dazhuang gets away, you’ll all be feeding the zombies!"

This statement was more effective than any order; the underlings who had hesitated moments earlier immediately charged forward as if energized.

Despite the stinking stench, the person at the head reached the branching path inside the pipe.

Faced with two paths, he dared not decide on his own and quickly shouted, "Brother Biao, there’s a fork here, which way do we go?"

Sang Biao’s eyes flickered, and he promptly directed, "Front group, go left, the rest follow me right! Speed up, speed up! Don’t let that Wei guy get away!"

Sang Biao’s loud commands echoed through the long pipe, reaching the survivors’ ears.

This undoubtedly made their already tense nerves even more terrified.

Sweat beaded on Yan Hua’s forehead, as his forearms strained to lift the manhole cover above.

But it was tightly sealed, and lacking regular exercise, he struggled without success for quite some time.

Left without options, he signaled Hu Xiaodong to pass him the crowbar, hoping to reverse the current setbacks.

From the approaching sounds, it was evident the enemy was getting closer... (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)