Working together, they moved the wooden table to the doorway, and piled up a few sandbags on top. Once they finished all this, the five people inside the room were already drenched in sweat from the exertion.
Solemn, silent. Everyone held their weapons, quietly waiting on either side of the door.
No one spoke; the five of them had even adjusted their breathing to the slowest possible rhythm.
Time ticked by second by second. The tension of waiting in silence was palpable.
Ten minutes later...
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The door continued to be battered.
Watching the plaster dust continuously fall from the doorframe, Tang Xiaoquan's dark eyes furrowed even tighter.
It seemed that waiting for those beasts to leave on their own was clearly unlikely.
After all, this time was different from before; the last time he managed to drive away the zombies by staying silent because they hadn't really discovered his and Wang Qiang's exact location.
But now, not only did the zombies know their precise movements, they had also been engaged with them for quite some time.
Thus, Tang Xiaoquan was certain that, given these beasts' degree of persistence, they absolutely wouldn't leave this place quickly.
But in doing so, this flimsy wooden door...
Feeling a sense of helplessness, Tang Xiaoquan could not naively believe that the wooden door alone could hold off those beasts outside, even though they had just reinforced the door. Yet, how much effect could a mere wooden table and a few sandbags have?
After all, they were facing dozens of zombies, and their reinforcements were continually coming up from the building's base.
"Bang!" Another violent crash was heard, with faint scratching noises from fingers clawing the door panel.
In light of this, Tang Xiaoquan knew they could no longer continue to wait silently, because once the door broke, they would have nowhere to retreat or defend.
So...
"Listen to me, everyone. This door won't hold much longer; we must leave immediately!"
His voice was low, but it stirred a tidal wave of astonishment in their ears!
"What! Leave here?" Wang Qiang couldn't believe his ears, shouting out instinctively but quickly realizing this would attract the zombies' attention, so he sheepishly lowered his voice: "Are you crazy! Out there is full of those beasts, and you're asking us to go out, how? Do you think there's a way out..."
When Wang Qiang uttered "out," his eyes suddenly widened as if he had realized something. He quickly turned to Tang Xiaoquan, who was silently nodding at him.
So that's it!
"Brother, do you have long wooden planks or something big enough for a person to crawl on at your house?"
The big man looked at Wang Qiang bewildered, clearly not understanding what he was talking about.
Darn, cursed internally, Wang Qiang, helpless, gestured with his hands and said reluctantly: "Look, big guy, what I need is about this long and wide, something a person can crawl on. Do you have it?"
The big man still looked puzzled, his brow furrowing more and more, nearly forming the legendary "king" character.
Seeing Wang Qiang's frustrated expression, Tang Xiaoquan sighed softly, patted his shoulder, and gestured to handle the explanation.
Pushing Wang Qiang aside, Tang Xiaoquan paused briefly and then pointed to the balcony outside the room: "Here's the deal, big guy, we need something to get us from here to the neighbor's balcony over there. The dimensions have been gestured by Wang Qiang just now, and it can be longer but not shorter. Additionally, it must support the weight of an adult. Do you have anything like that?"
His concise words had barely finished before the big man provided a confident response: "Yes."
Without further ado, he led some of them to the bedroom.
"Bed? You can't be serious; are you suggesting this!" Wang Qiang twitched his mouth, utterly baffled by the big man's solution.
"I mean, big guy, this can work, but isn't it a bit... too...'something'?"
Ignoring Wang Qiang's grumbling, the big man called over the kid with him and, on his cue, they jointly removed the mat on the bed, then lifted the wooden board beneath it.
"This should work, right?" The big man pointed to the board and raised a brow at Wang Qiang, the underlying inquiry unmistakable.
"Ah, it can work." To avoid unnecessary disputes, Tang Xiaoquan replied promptly, simultaneously instructing everyone to carry the plank to the balcony outside the room.
Outside the small room, the scorching sun high overhead emitted unbearable heat.
Everyone was busy with their hands and feet, and once they set the bed frame on the balcony, their sweat-soaked clothes were even worse than before.
Wiping his face casually, Tang Xiaoquan spoke up:
"Alright, listen everyone, we need big guy to go first because we're exhausted right now..."
"No way! I have to go with my nephew!" Before Tang Xiaoquan finished speaking, the big man immediately rejected his proposal.
"Uh, hehe," chuckled awkwardly, Tang Xiaoquan could only respond helplessly to the big man's overly cautious attitude. Since the big man was unwilling, he could only volunteer himself.
After all, Wang Qiang's stamina was greatly depleted, and Huang Yaru always lost composure in emergencies, so: "I'll go first. Once I confirm it's safe, Huang Yaru next, then the little brother, big guy fourth, and Wang Qiang last. Is that alright?"
"No. Like I said, I'm going with my nephew!" stubbornly replied the big man.
Suppressing the urge to argue, Tang Xiaoquan found himself at a loss.
Once, he thought Wang Qiang was the most stubborn guy around, but he hadn't expected the big man to surpass him!
This truly was beyond belief, seeing all sorts in the world!
"Alright, big guy, you go with your nephew!"
Upon saying that, Tang Xiaoquan took off his backpack, picked up the Snake Spear handed by Wang Qiang, and climbed onto the plank.
I must admit, this plank, whether in terms of length, width, or hardness, was undoubtedly the best material for constructing a "temporary bridge."
At 1.8 meters long, you don't have to worry about it being too short, causing a collapse during crawling.
The width is enough to accommodate two people side by side, ensuring stability and safety during transit.
And as for weight-bearing capacity, that's the least of the concerns, since the two primary layers of board design allow two adults to crawl simultaneously without any breakage issues.
Steadily jumping off the plank, Tang Xiaoquan tidied his slightly messy down jacket, then carried the "Snake Spear" to the window behind the room...