Grabbing the knife proved far more difficult than everyone had anticipated. After all, under normal circumstances, people use both hands to pick things up. Such habits, ingrained from a young age, are not easy to adapt to quickly.

This was especially true for Zhao Yunhai, a man of advanced age, who, bound hand and foot, was already sweating profusely and feeling sore after just a short while of frantic searching.

Without a doubt, switching people now was clearly not feasible. Putting aside whether switching would achieve the desired result, the increasingly close roars of zombies prohibited the survivors from doing so.

"Uncle Zhao, don't panic. Listen to my commands: move your body two centimeters to the right. Good, now move one centimeter down. Yes, just like that..." Seeing Zhao Yunhai groping aimlessly, Tang Xiaoquan knew this wasn't the way forward, so he quickly started giving directions.

Under Tang Xiaoquan's guidance, old Zhao's fumbling saw an immediate improvement. Although his movements were still not very agile, his direction was not too far off.

For the survivors, the knife-retrieving mission was without a doubt a speed race. Would old Zhao manage to retrieve the knife to save everyone first, or would the zombie horde be a step quicker in devouring them?

All would depend on the speed of old Zhao's actions.

Sweat streamed uncontrollably down Zhao Yunhai's cheeks like a creek as he desperately tried to quell his inner tension and anxiety.

Even when he first stepped onto a podium to face dozens of unfamiliar faces, he had never felt so at a loss as he did now.

"That's it, Uncle Zhao, pull hard from that position!" Tang Xiaoquan timely halted old Zhao's hand movements, and upon hearing his command, Zhao quickly stopped and pulled up on Hu Xiaodong's pant leg with all his might.

The pant leg slowly moved upward, and finally, after a few seconds of strenuous pulling, a brown leather sheath came into Tang Xiaoquan's view.

Suppressing the joy in his heart, Tang Xiaoquan understood that this was just the first step towards escape. Unless they successfully fled this place, all joy and excitement would be in vain.

So...

Gathering his spirits, Tang Xiaoquan continued directing Zhao Yunhai further down.

Unsheathing the knife was also not an easy task, but for survival, Zhao Yunhai gritted his teeth and got it done.

By this point, the entire process of retrieving the knife had taken almost 80 seconds. Though the timing itself was remarkably swift, from the grand scheme of things, it was still too slow.

Stimulated by the fresh blood, dozens of zombies closest to the survivors, at the forefront of the horde, roared excitedly. If they had a language, Tang Xiaoquan was certain they would be discussing among themselves how to feast on the survivors.

"Qiang! Come over here quickly!" Given the urgency of the situation, Tang Xiaoquan didn't dare delay, hastily calling his brother Wang Qiang over. After all, with Hu Xiaodong in bad shape, Tang Xiaoquan had to make the decision to switch out to lighten Hu Xiaodong's burden.

At that moment, Wang Qiang was also at a loss for what to do. Tied hand and foot, he couldn't kill or escape. This feeling of sitting there waiting to die, like a lamb to the slaughter, made him extremely frustrated and angry.

So upon hearing his brother's call, he didn't hesitate and slid over like a slippery fish.

As for what position to take next for cutting the ropes, both Wang and Zhao had seen enough movies and TV shows to not need extra instructions from Tang Xiaoquan. They instinctively got into position.

Back to back—this position was inherently uncomfortable, let alone trying to perform the high-difficulty action of cutting the hemp rope in such a stance.

Fortunately, Tang Xiaoquan was there to act as Zhao's eyes. Otherwise, left to himself, Zhao might inadvertently cut Wang Qiang's wrist.

"Uncle Zhao, lower down a bit. Yes, now angle the knife a bit steadier as you push it in. Hey! Wait! A little more to the right. Yes, good! You can push it in now!"

It's hard to imagine how difficult this was. Zhao, under the pressure of the approaching zombies, also had to worry about not accidentally harming Wang Qiang due to a lapse in concentration.

Under such immense pressure, Zhao's right hand holding the knife began to tremble uncontrollably, leading to the small knife slipping and falling to the ground.

With a crisp clang as the blade hit the ground, everyone's heart sank to rock bottom.

Old Zhao was stunned. He understood his responsibility more than anyone, yet at this critical moment—where every second counted and with all their lives hanging in the balance—he had dropped the ball, and it truly made him...

"Uncle Zhao, don't just stand there stunned. Pick up the knife quickly!" Seeing Zhao Yunhai's dazed look, Tang Xiaoquan was genuinely anxious and, disregarding everything else, shouted loudly.

Tang Xiaoquan's loud shout was like a sudden thunderclap, jolting Zhao Yunhai out of his self-reproach. He instinctively picked up the knife from the ground and, before Tang Xiaoquan could give further instructions, he independently began operating based on memory.

Whether Zhao's memory was exceptionally good or the adrenaline surge kicked in, this time Zhao Yunhai not only accurately inserted the knife into the rope loop but also began cutting steadily.

"Creak, creak!" With the back-and-forth scraping of the blade, the thick hemp rope was breaking apart at a visibly rapid pace.

Meanwhile, two of the first zombies had nearly closed in on the survivors.

"Damn beasts!" Seeing a zombie about to pounce on the bleeding Hu Xiaodong, the nearby Wang Qiang leaped toward the zombie without waiting for the rope binding him to be fully cut.

"Crash!" The forward momentum unsurprisingly knocked the zombie over, and Wang Qiang also fell to the ground due to inertia.

Hu Xiaodong, witnessing the scene, was stunned. Truth be told, when he saw the zombie lunging at him earlier, he had already braced himself for death.

After all, he bore undeniable responsibility for the current predicament.

So if his death could win even a second of escape time for his brothers, Hu Xiaodong was willing to rest in peace.

However, what Hu Xiaodong did not expect was that the person he was trying to buy time for ended up sacrificing their own life to save his at the last moment.

Struggling to stand, the tightly bound ropes and his injured thigh were like shackles firmly nailing Hu Xiaodong to the ground.

He had never felt as helpless, ashamed, or wretched as he did now.

In his eyes, the rotting figure quietly climbed on top of Wang Qiang, and with another bite, it could end Wang Qiang's life.

At this point, Hu Xiaodong was in despair. Angrily, he closed his eyes, understanding that unless a miracle happened, there was no way the bound Wang Qiang could escape being bitten to death.

However, at this life-or-death moment, Wang Qiang let out the loudest shout of his life:

"Ah!!!"

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