Chapter 70 - 69 Nightmare
Lin Wu dragged two 30-centimeter-tall cabinets from rooms 202 and 203 to block both sides, so wandering zombies would trip over them, and he could step forward to finish them off. The obstacles couldn’t be too high; if zombies couldn’t climb over them, they would desperately beat against them, not only making noise but also damaging the barrier. System barriers could be repaired, but non-system barriers lacked such functionality.
Something seemed off, though, as this meant he would have to guard for at least five hours. Boredom truly rendered humans exceptionally foolish. After entering the inner room and explaining the situation to Shana, Lin Wu dismantled the setup. Base 01 was declared closed, and Base 02 was established. Base 02 was located in room 203 with an escape tunnel.
The owner of room 203 was a burly man who, from the information left at the scene, seemed to be a single scull rowing enthusiast. His room was even more empty than 202, lacking even a copy of this novel. However, with the escape tunnel, Lin Wu felt at ease as he lay on the couch reading.
...
Perhaps because of the safety zone, or maybe the zombies hadn’t found the door, or possibly because zombies completely relied on their poor vision and hearing to locate humans. The night was much quieter than anticipated. Shana and Lin Wu had completely recovered their condition. But for exiting two bases within 24 hours, they received a penalty of 10% reduction plus an additional 10% for the period, effectively weakening their attributes by 20%.
By six in the morning, it was already light outside. Lin Wu explained the escape tunnel to Shana, who, well aware of Lin Wu’s decisiveness, spoke up before Lin Wu could put forward his idea of retreating through the escape tunnel, "You are very clever, not only thinking about the escape tunnel but also the rooftop escape plan you made last night was very good."
Shana further explained, "The widest distance between the two buildings is only three meters. Walking on the ground, it’s very difficult to know whether we’ll encounter zombies around the corner, and we could easily get surrounded. Considering the dense zombie population within the community, once surrounded, it would be hard to break free. The apartments are roughly the same height, which makes the rooftops as flat as a plain; we can see farther without any obstructions for Crossbow Arrow and Silencer."
Shana knew that Lin Wu wanted to choose the escape tunnel, and if she let Lin Wu share his thoughts first then contradicted him, Lin Wu would have a much harder time accepting it. Even if she persuaded Lin Wu, he would somewhat resent it internally, as he saw Shana as a rookie underling. Indeed, after several conversations, Shana had come to understand Lin Wu’s character quite well. He was someone responsible, yet simultaneously resistant to taking on responsibility.
For example, if Lin Wu were a father, he would dutifully fulfill the father’s role, but he would initially refuse to take on fatherhood. When faced with a crisis, Lin Wu psychologically accepted the responsibility to protect Shana, so he demanded control for himself. If Shana objected to his methods, it would be equivalent to shaking Lin Wu’s sense of control and responsibility, and he might step back, reducing his responsibility, and handing control over to Shana.