Free Web NovelChapter 220: Chapter 142: Desperate Straits 2
Paige Summers could just make out a sturdy defensive shield extending several meters around it, deflecting every falling clump of dirt and rock without fail!
The whole ordeal lasted for over ten minutes, and Paige’s heart was lodged in her throat the entire time.
It wasn’t until the screams of the Zombies that had disobeyed orders and run outside the shield completely ceased, and the thudding of heavy objects grew sporadic, leaving only the sound of small dirt clumps trickling down, that she finally let out a long breath and lowered the hands protecting her head.
Just then, the Zombie leader, its energy depleted, staggered a few steps and fell backward onto the ground with a THUD.
Paige Summers looked up and realized she was the only one still able to move...
Once Sheldon Reid let his guard down, he also collapsed to the ground from exhaustion, his hands trembling uncontrollably.
The cavern had been impacted by the Zombie leader’s energy, so it didn’t continue to collapse even after the shield vanished. Instead, the earth had formed an arc-shaped dome around them. It even looked quite sturdy.
She finally breathed a sigh of relief.
They hadn’t escaped, but at least their lives were no longer in immediate danger.
Compared to her and Sheldon Reid, the Zombies were in a much worse state.
Most of them had panicked and run around chaotically, and were now buried beneath the dirt and rock, with not even a trace of them visible. Besides the Zombie leader itself, the only other survivor was the one it had knocked to the ground. However, perhaps because the blow had been too forceful, that one was also lying prone, completely motionless.
Paige Summers first went over and gave Sheldon Reid one of the medicine pills to restore his stamina. After hesitating for a moment, she walked toward the Zombie leader.
Unlike the other poisoned Zombies, its body hadn’t turned purple; its skin was still the same cyan-gray color. Paige wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but she thought the cyan hue seemed to have faded slightly, revealing a hint of a human-like skin tone.
Zombies showed no signs of life to begin with, so as it lay there so quietly, she couldn’t tell if it was alive or dead.
After a moment of thought, she stood up and walked away. She just couldn’t bring herself to cut off its head.
Whether it had meant to or not, the fact remained that it had saved her.
’She couldn’t bring herself to deliver a fatal blow under these circumstances. It was better to focus on how to get out.’
The surrounding earth seemed to have solidified. She took out a dagger and started trying to dig a way out from one of the walls.
She didn’t dare use much force at first, but when she realized her digging didn’t seem to be causing another collapse, she gradually began to work with more vigor.
By the time Sheldon Reid let out a pained groan, she had already carved out a tunnel nearly a meter long—though it was only wide enough for a single person to crawl through.
Sheldon Reid’s eyes soon fluttered open, and he woke up.
Clutching his arms, he slowly sat up.
"You... You’re all right?"
Paige Summers turned her head. "I’m fine. You were the one in trouble, but it looks like you’ll be okay now."
Sheldon grunted, his gaze shifting to the Zombie leader lying on the ground.
After a moment of silence, he asked, "Why didn’t you kill it?"
Paige Summers remained silent.
’Isn’t it obvious?’
’You’re only alive thanks to this Zombie!’
Sheldon Reid seemed to read her mind and scoffed. "Misguided compassion! If you don’t chop its head off now, it’ll wake up and bite yours off!"
Paige Summers hated his tone and replied coolly, "If it tries that, I’ll deal with it then. As for you, instead of wasting time worrying about what might happen, you could make yourself useful and help me. We don’t have much air down here; talking is a waste!"
Sheldon Reid was left speechless, his expression turning sour.
His arms were completely devoid of strength. Seeing that Paige Summers was resolute and refused to kill the Zombie, he had no choice but to remain silent, though his eyes held a dark, inscrutable look.
He had reined in his arrogance over the past few days, but that didn’t mean he would accept being challenged like this.
But for now, he had no choice but to endure it.
Having said her piece, Paige Summers ignored him and went back to digging.
It was arduous work.
To conserve her strength, she dug the tunnel very narrow, just wide enough for one person to squeeze through. The deeper she went, the more she had to curl up her body, which made it hard to exert any force. Fortunately, the earth farther in wasn’t as compacted, and her dagger was sharp enough to dislodge chunks of dirt without needing large movements. She would then clear out the dislodged soil and repeat the process.
Once Sheldon Reid had recovered some of his strength, the first thing he did was grab a rope and tightly bind the Zombie leader.
Paige Summers didn’t stop him, though she felt it was a pointless gesture.
’If a mere rope could restrain the Zombie leader, they’d probably have been buried under all this dirt long ago, just like the other Zombies!’ freeweɓnovel.cѳm
As she dug, she simply kept an eye on the situation in the cavern. She had already run simulations in her mind, figuring out which weapon she could use to subdue the Zombie the instant it woke up and made a move.
’Her storage space was well-stocked with all kinds of weapons. The chances of success were high if she could catch it by surprise. She was quite confident in her own speed!’
She didn’t offer Sheldon Reid any explanation, however.
There was no need, nor did she have the desire.
She had never been able to muster any goodwill toward him.
From the very first moment she saved him, the man had shown not an iota of gratitude.
She didn’t care about his goodwill energy, but in her experience, people who lacked gratitude were usually either ruthless or incredibly selfish and arrogant. She was instinctively wary of such people.
Just like Evan Pierce.
’So, let him worry!’
Time trickled by, and the tunnel grew deeper. freeweɓnøvel.com
Paige Summers wasn’t digging horizontally, but was angling the tunnel progressively upward.
By the time she finally felt exhausted, the tunnel was over a hundred meters long. While she rested, Sheldon Reid silently crawled inside and slowly tried to continue her work.
One hundred meters became two hundred, and then even more...
And so they continued, silently and desperately digging a path to survival.
After they had dug for what felt like five or six hundred meters, Paige Summers thrust her dagger forward with all her might. Suddenly, the earth beneath her hand loosened, and with a RUMBLE, it began to fall away!
