With his hand pressed against the glass, Tang Xiaoquan leaned in to look inside the car. Despite the dark tint film obstructing his view, he could still vaguely make out a human figure reclining on the passenger seat.

"Phew!" Taking a deep breath, Tang Xiaoquan tightened his grip on the kitchen knife before placing his hand on the car handle. But just as he was about to pull the car door open, a large hand suddenly reached out from behind and pressed down on the back of his hand.

"With that dinky little kitchen knife? Save it, step aside! Watch how your brother Qiang does it!"

The slightly mocking words rang in his ears. Tang Xiaoquan turned to see Wang Qiang looking at him with a grin that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Damn it!" he exclaimed, flipping his middle finger without hesitation, pretending to be angry as he waved it in the air. His face was full of disdain and scorn for his brother, but deep inside, a warm feeling flowed gently through him.

"Zzzzzz~" A ghostly static noise crackled once again, halting both Wang and Tang in their tracks, and they immediately became vigilant, turning to look at the Volkswagen car.

Tang Xiaoquan and Wang Qiang stood ready, one holding the passenger door handle and the other gripping a "Long Spear," prepared to deliver a necessary strike to the "Black Shadow" on the car seat.

They exchanged a glance, and years of partnership had them instantly understanding each other's intentions.

Sunlight reflected off the glass onto Tang Xiaoquan's face, but he ignored the glaring discomfort and softly counted to three: "1! 2! 3!"

As soon as he finished speaking, his right wrist, which was ready to strike, suddenly exerted force.

At the same time, Wang Qiang, who had been waiting, thrust the spear forward without hesitation as soon as the car door opened.

The spearhead pierced accurately into the "Black Shadow's" spine. Wang Qiang didn't bother to check what damage he'd caused, fully aware that in this world, unless you destroyed the brain's central nervous system — the only effective means to stop these beings — all other injuries were pointless.

He swung his arm again, stabbing the "Long Spear" in before swiftly withdrawing it, inevitably dragging out some bits of meat and gooey filth from the black shadow's pierced skull.

However, the survivors, accustomed to this, showed little reaction. Wang Qiang merely shook the spear shaft twice out of habit and ignored it.

Before their eyes, the lifeless corpse was a man who appeared to be a traffic policeman, judging by his attire. As for why a traffic cop was in an armed police vehicle, neither Wang nor Tang gave it much thought because, as they scrutinized the man, the intermittent "zzz" sound arose yet again.

"There!" Wang Qiang, quick-eyed and deft-handed, pointed at the man's palm.

Looking in the indicated direction, Tang Xiaoquan saw a black cylindrical object clutched in the man's hand: "Is that..."

"A walkie-talkie!" Realization dawned on them, and they exchanged glances, almost speaking in unison, before Tang Xiaoquan eagerly reached over.

Without a doubt, the walkie-talkie wouldn't make noise for no reason; someone must be trying to contact the outside world. Judging by the signal's frequency range, the source couldn't be too far off, likely within a 5-kilometer radius.

Tang Xiaoquan, not very knowledgeable in radio technology, had only picked up bits from survival shows, so he wasn't sure if his assumption was correct.

But having some knowledge was better than none, and his team included individuals like Hu Xiaodong and Zhao Yunhai, who were older and possibly more experienced. Maybe they knew more.

Thinking of this, Tang Xiaoquan quickened his movements.

However, the man was clutching the walkie-talkie so tightly—likely due to an extremely important task he had to carry out before his death, reflecting his tension and terror.

Despite his biases from news reports, Tang Xiaoquan's perception of police had changed after experiencing so many events since doomsday. He believed most police officers were still competent. Take the man in front of him, for instance. Despite any unspeakable past, at this critical time when people and the nation needed them the most, they unhesitatingly, fearlessly stepped forward.

For this alone, they were worthy of the national emblem on their badges and deserving of public respect!

With difficulty, Tang Xiaoquan pried the man's fingers off one by one and finally managed to take the walkie-talkie, his face glistening with sweat.

Picking up a discarded tissue from the ground, he carefully wiped the bloodstains off the walkie-talkie's surface. But perhaps because the blood had soaked in for too long, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't completely remove the stains.

"Zzzzzz~" The static noise inconveniently sounded again. In a haste, Tang Xiaoquan abandoned his futile efforts, and, without stopping, darted towards where their GL8 was parked.

He was convinced that someone was nearby sending these radio signals, and hoped the two men ahead could offer some constructive suggestions on how to receive them.

Unfortunately, before Tang Xiaoquan could run more than two meters, he suddenly stopped because...

"Zzzzzz, this is..."

"Zzzzzz, factory..."

"Zzzzzz... need... heard... zzzzzz"

The signal grew weaker, and as the intermittent male voice was about to fade, Tang Xiaoquan frantically pressed the talk button, shouting urgently, "Hello! Hello, hello! I can't hear you clearly! Hello! My signal is bad! Hello, hello! Damn it!"

In frustration, he swung his arm in the air, stomping the ground in annoyance. The connection... had been severed!

Signal! That damn signal! He couldn't afford to waste time. Tang Xiaoquan knew he had to reunite with Hu Xiaodong and Zhao Yunhai and quickly figure out how to resolve the poor signal issue to ensure smooth communication next time the signal appeared.

Kicking into a run again, he once more heard the same "zzzz" sound emanating relentlessly after just a few steps.

He didn't pay it much mind and charged onward, continuing to shout to the caller, "Hello, hello! We've received your signal, but..."

"Anyone receiving this broadcast, please contact us immediately, contact us immediately! Over!"

...

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