Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 336 - 30 Divided Paths

Chapter 336: Chapter 30 Divided Paths

Tang Zheng knew what the young woman was worried about, so he passed under her arm, supporting her and guiding her up the stairs.

With half of her body being supported by Tang Zheng, Julia indeed saved a lot of effort. However, because their bodies were very close, she wanted to break free from Tang Zheng’s arm. But she glanced aside and found that he didn’t even notice, but was frowning and watching around alertly. She felt that she had overreacted, as he clearly hadn’t even considered anything inappropriate.

Tang Zheng wasn’t so obsessed as to get infatuated just by brushing against a woman with his arm, and he was also a bit frustrated. Always looking after this blond daughter was too energy-consuming.

The top floor of the mall sold various types of video game consoles, which excited the two little lolis. Unfortunately, there was no power and they were unable to experience them.

"There are handhelds." Demi pointed at the game consoles in the glass showcase, and then tugged at Lu Fan’s arm, wanting to choose one together.

Lu Fan shook his head in refusal and found the staircase for this floor. He dashed towards it.

"Be careful." Tang Zheng was startled and quickly let go of Julia to catch up.

The young woman was taken aback, then watched Tang Zheng’s back with a bitter expression on her face. Indeed, people cared about their own people first. She then called her daughter over.

"Uncle, the door is locked." Lu Fan, holding her pepper grinder, cautiously walked through the hallway to the staircase to the top floor. But the door handle in front wouldn’t turn.

"Damn, I can’t see clearly."Lu Fan was crestfallen. She tried to jump up to look at the rooftop of the building from the window.

"Shush, keep quiet." Tang Zheng took a quick glance at the white-wall corridor, caught up with her and stopped her. Then he surveyed the rooftop carefully from the window. Not until he found nothing did he step back a bit.

With a thud, Tang Zheng kicked the wooden door, but it still didn’t open despite there being a big hole next to the door handle.

"Hehe, use a gun." Lu Fan pulled out a silver revolver and shot twice. The handle of the door blasted into pieces, and the lock core was shot out.

The little loli was becoming more and more skilled with the gun. She triumphantly put the revolver back into her wristwatch and whistled at Tang Zheng.

"Alright." Tang Zheng scratched Lu Fan’s hair and, after pushing the door, walked onto the rooftop.

The perimeter of the rooftop was guarded by a one-person-high iron fence. Apart from that, there was no other cover. Tang Zheng had to keep his body low to avoid being spotted.

Seeing Julia coming over, Lu Fan put her finger on her lips, indicating her to stay silent. She too bent over and went up to the rooftop. Demi, oblivious of the danger, shouted to go across. The young woman covered her mouth and held her in squatting position at the door.

Tang Zheng crawled to the edge of the rooftop, took out the telescope, and looked around. The entire city was devoid of any residents. It was unbelievably quiet, just like a ghost city.

"The view is indeed wide open, and the wind is strong." Lu Fan lay down next to Tang Zheng, took a look down and found the taxis as small as ants. She quickly drew back her head. "No good, I’m feeling a bit dizzy."

"Scared of heights?" Tang Zheng asked with concern, then he took out an electronic map and observed it by following the glowing line on it. "We don’t need to use the teleportation gate anymore. we need to keep moving."

"A little," Lu Fan, clutching Tang Zheng’s clothes, asked, "If we find the Dragonbone Bomb and blow up the teleportation gate, won’t that stop David and the others from coming over? Isn’t that considered mission failure and deletion? Or will we be sent to the teleporting room for deduction of points?"

When they entered the city, Lu Fan had already scanned the teleportation gate and had received this information.

"Unclear, but we must be prepared in case someone does." Tang Zheng frowned, and Lu Fan was reminded of certain crises.

"We shouldn’t have let Leonard go. It’s really tough now!" Lu Fan pouted and complained bitterly. "Where is that Dragonbone Bomb? Is it dropped by the boss? By that reasoning, there are definitely enemies in the city."

"Absolutely." This kind of enemy who hides is the most troublesome. Tang Zheng grumbled, "I wonder if they could be hiding in the sewer?"

"From what we’ve seen, they don’t seem to have that habit. I can’t stand it anymore, the dizziness. You continue watching, I’m going to select some game discs and take note of their production dates to pinpoint the era." Lu Fan laughed like a successful sly fox. "Maybe I can play a future computer game. Last time I went to Japan, I regretted not buying some games to bring back."

Lu Fan slowly crawled backward for some meters, stood up once she was sure she couldn’t be seen, and sauntered towards the staircase.

"Just stay on the top floor to play. Don’t go too far away." Tang Zheng reminded her, and then continued monitoring.

"Have you found anything?" Julia asked Tang Zheng. She didn’t regard this little loli as a normal person at all. In fact, she was more adaptable to this cruel world than many adults.

"No." Tang Zheng turned and walked away. Demi called out for mama, trying to break free from Julia’s hold, hoping to play with Lu Fan.

"Don’t disturb my uncle," Lu Fan said over his shoulder before stepping out with his pepper grinder, leaving the increasingly agitated Demi behind with even louder cries.

Julia was startled; she feared disturbing Tang Zheng and attracting a monster. But keeping her daughter quiet proved difficult, and before she knew it, the girl had bolted away with the young loli. By the time Julia decided to chase them, the little lolitas were already out in the corridor.

Julia eyed Tang Zheng, 30 meters away on the rooftop. She hesitated a moment before stealthily moving closer. With no one around to bother him, she thought it was a good time to foster a rapport.

"Find anything?" Julia tried to strike up a conversation after several ignored attempts. Disappointed but undeterred, she rallied herself and pushed to make a connection.

"No." Tang Zheng replied succinctly, then said no more, plunging them into another awkward silence lasting over ten minutes.

"Shouldn’t we alert Miranda? They must be worried sick." Julia squirmed uncomfortably.

"Let them wait, then. I refuse to run up and down again. If you want, you can notify them." Tang Zheng pointedly glanced at his wristwatch. "Only half an hour has passed. Let them stew."

Tang Zheng understood that waiting could be torture. He wanted those guys to experience it - the anxiety and the restlessness. He suspected some of them weren’t all that concerned about the pioneers’ safety. Therefore, he felt he had to level the field.

Indeed, at that moment, David and others were debating whether they should step into the teleportation gate out of concern for Tang Zheng’s safety.

"We should catch up to them as soon as possible. Tang may have left without us already." Miranda tried persuading the others by arguing Tang’s strength and reasoning that, given half an hour, he could solve whatever trouble he ran into.

"I agree." The sentiment was popular among the newcomers. They regarded Tang Zheng as a strong ally they wanted to stick with, regretting their earlier hesitation in following him.

"Hey, aren’t you giving him too much credit?" Danny, discontent with their faces, said resentfully, "He could be dead for all we know."

"Even more reason we should follow! What good is sitting here doing? Wasting time?" Sending everyone away, especially the dim-witted T-Rex, was Miranda’s preference.

"Let’s wait. Nicole is still here." Robert pointed out to Nicole, who was indulging in a catnap, then continued, "Didn’t Tang say he liked her?"

Nicole didn’t mind the teasing. She sat beside her father, constantly glancing at the teleportation gate, worried about Tang, her rescuer. She had some affection for him, but not to the extent of liking him.

"It would be better if we left early. Don’t forget, the light-up path is fixed. Someone is there clearing the monsters along the path. Isn’t that good?" David glared at them all and shouted, "Stay alert! Don’t let the chameleons sneak up on you. I’m going to get some sleep."

David didn’t arrange for a patrol because he knew nobody could sleep.

Upon hearing David’s explanation, the newcomers calmed down. Miranda wanted to argue further but found she had lost her voice - no one was supporting her anymore.

"These heartless guys." Miranda cursed inwardly while contemplating her next move. She decided to follow them and would be abandoned sooner or later.

The conquerors looked calm but were anxious inside. They regretted not going with Tang Zheng and feared what would happen if he ran into trouble.

Tang Zheng guessed they’d be worried. Imagining their miserable faces brought him joy. Furthermore, living in the city might prove safer than wild camping. Furthermore, he considered staying the night in the area.

"Haha, I get a house, and they have to put up with sleeping outside. Sounds pretty sweet to me." Tang Zheng’s only regret was not having Nicole around. After all, she would have kept him warm at night.

"Hmm. There’s more than one benefit to this. After spending a night here, David and the others should be pretty restless. They’ll certainly enter the teleportation gate. If they just quickly do a search and then follow the lit path forward...why shouldn’t I follow behind and reap the benefits?" Tang Zheng originally wanted only to play a prank. But after some careful thought, he realized this plan had plenty of advantages. He wondered, "Is it feasible? The only complication is that if they go first, they’ll probably find the Golden Horn and the Dragonbone Bomb."

"Is Tang considering abandoning me?" Julia twitched nervously. Seeing Tang Zheng smile, then furrow his brow, she became even more worried. Sneaking a glance at the door, she decided it was time to offer something in return for his help.

"That’s a golden opportunity to part ways and every man for himself. They go ahead and die, and I collect the spoils of war." Tang Zheng mumbled to himself, resolute. The only thing left for him to do now was wait.

Julia only heard the first half of Tang Zheng’s monologue, and she was immediately shaken. She was convinced that her worst fears were coming true. In order to grasp her last lifesaving straw, she instinctively gripped his clothes.

"What are you doing?" Tang Zheng looked surprised. "Are you sick?"

Julia was still torn. For a relatively conservative woman like her, making a move on a man was embarrassing. (To be continued. If you enjoy this novel, please visit qidian.com to show your support. Your encouragement is my greatest motivation!)