Chapter 1 The Rescue Operation
　　Zhang Jinlong and his group had already run far away. Duan Xue was being carried on the scarred face’s shoulder. The five of them were panting, but none of them wanted to stop to rest – on the edge of life and death, humans can often squeeze out more potential.

　　"Brother Long! There are people in that hotel, and quite a few!"

　　Just then, Huang Mao, who was walking in front and observing the surroundings, suddenly stopped and pointed to the left front.

　　Everyone looked over. It was a five-story express hotel. On the top floor terrace and in the rooms below, they could indeed see many people moving around.

　　Moreover, what surprised Zhang Jinlong and the others was that there were no zombies wandering around the hotel entrance. There were people, but no zombies. Could it be… that there was some powerful figure in this hotel?

　　Zhang Jinlong first looked ahead. The road was still full of cars lying in all directions. Then he looked back. About a hundred meters away from them, a bare-chested zombie covered in blood was wandering.

　　"Let's get closer and see! Determine who's inside! Then decide!"

　　After hesitating for a moment, Zhang Jinlong said in a low voice.

　　People like him don’t trust anyone, not even those closest to him. Now it’s the apocalypse, and he has released the demon in his heart without any scruples, so he naturally thinks that others are the same.

　　Duan Lei stared at Zhang Jinlong and his group from afar, watching them quietly approach the hotel under the cover of the vehicles, and couldn't help but hesitate.

　　He was the zombie wandering behind Zhang Jinlong. Because he knew that he didn't have any tracking skills, if he really followed like this, he would easily be discovered.

　　So, he simply took off the coat that Zhang Jinlong and the others had seen, smeared himself with zombie blood, and swayed behind them!

　　Now, Zhang Jinlong and the others were obviously going to observe the hotel with survivors first, which made Duan Lei breathe a sigh of relief. It would at least buy him some time. If this was an empty hotel, it would be a real trouble.

　　However, looking at the mutated crystal nucleus in his hand, Duan Lei was very conflicted. This should be the crystal nucleus written about in novels. He had read a lot, and basically after eating it, he would become stronger.

　　But the problem is... the crystal nuclei in each novel are different, especially in terms of strengthening time. Some are instant, and some take several days. What if he ate this and had to be unconscious for a few hours, or even a day or two?

　　Duan Lei couldn't help but cursed himself inwardly. He had always been reminding himself to always keep a clear head, so when he learned that the apocalypse was coming, he quickly analyzed his current and future situation and made accurate judgments, which is why he was accepted by Li Chenzhou as a follower.

　　But when Duan Xue was taken away just now, Duan Lei was still flustered. Otherwise, he would have at least asked about the crystal nucleus.

　　He looked back and didn't see Li Chenzhou, which didn't surprise Duan Lei.

　　When he left, there were at least two hundred zombies nearby. If the boss continued to shoot, the number of zombies would increase. Even if they could really break out, it definitely wouldn't be so fast.

　　"Duan Lei, you never gave up when your legs couldn't be used. Now that you've stood up, there's even less that you can't do. Calm down! There's still time!"

　　Duan Lei stared at the scarred face carrying Duan Xue and muttered to himself. Then he looked at the crystal nucleus in his hand, and a hint of determination appeared in his eyes.

　　He came to a car with the door open, looked inside, and then sat in it. After closing the door and locking it, he flipped to the back seat, then took out a tissue from the car to wipe the crystal nucleus clean, lay on the back seat, and put the crystal nucleus in his mouth…

　　"Brother Long, they are all civilians inside, men, women, old and young, and some look like families. There are about forty or fifty people that I can see! But I saw that a few people seem to have guns!"

　　After observing for a while, Huang Mao said softly.

　　"Mm!"

　　Zhang Jinlong nodded. He was also observing the inside.

　　"Do we go in?"

　　The scarred face carrying Duan Xue asked.

　　"Go in!"

　　After watching for a while, Zhang Jinlong said decisively:

　　"Looking at the way those few people walk, they should all be policemen. They won't do anything to us. Although the entrances and exits of the hotel are closed, the people inside are free. Some people are even chatting with those guys, which means they are just trying to defend against zombies and haven't restricted the actions of others!"

　　"Police? Then we still go in?"

　　Huang Mao was stunned.

　　"Nonsense! It's because they are police that we have to go in. If it were all people like us, would you dare to go in?"

　　Zhang Jinlong cursed:

　　"Although it's the apocalypse, it's just the beginning. At this time, the police and soldiers are the most trustworthy. As long as we don't say what we did before, they will definitely not make things difficult for us!"

　　"That's right! When the time comes, we'll seize the opportunity and grab their guns! In this damn world, you can only live longer with guns!"

　　The scarred face said with a ferocious look.

　　Zhang Jinlong turned to look at the scarred face, and a fierce smile appeared on his face. Obviously, these two guys had the same idea.

　　"Brother Long, what about this woman? If she wakes up after we go in, then we'll be in trouble."

　　Huang Mao pointed to the unconscious Duan Xue and said with a lewd smile:

　　"Why don't we just do her here first, and then kill her!"

　　"No need!"

　　Zhang Jinlong looked at Duan Xue. Although she was unconscious, her stunning face still made him feel a little thrilled. So he waved his hand and knocked her hard on the back of the head again:

　　"Okay, she won't wake up for at least three or four hours. After we go in, we'll just ask them for a room and it'll be fine."

　　As he said that, Zhang Jinlong looked at the other two, his eyes grim:

　　"Listen carefully, after we go in, we'll say that we were eating together last night, and then the chaos happened. We hid until now and wanted to escape. I'll say everything. If anyone dares to talk nonsense, don't blame me for being impolite."

　　"Don't worry, Brother Long!"

　　The two nodded repeatedly. The two of them followed Brother Long out of that community. Brother Long was not from that community. He was a gangster leader. He went to a family in the community that day to collect money, but he was trapped inside. Thanks to Li Chenzhou and the others, he saved his life.

　　After coming out, he met his two younger brothers, Scarface and Huang Mao, and formed this temporary team.

　　After discussing, Scarface carried Duan Xue again, and then they all pretended to be panicked and rushed to the entrance of the hotel.

　　"Captain, they are coming over, the target is here. Before they came, they discussed for a while. It should be three groups of people, three together, and the other two are new additions. The kidnapped woman shouldn't know any of them, and she was hit again just now! Over!"

　　Just as they rushed to the hotel, on the roof of the hotel, a person hidden in the dark, who had been observing Zhang Jinlong and the others, said softly into the walkie-talkie.

　　"Received, continue to be vigilant! Over!"

　　In the headset, a deep baritone voice replied briefly…