Chapter 280 Thirst<b>, </b>Sweat, and Steel,
Chapter 280 Thirst, Sweat, and Steel
The wall in front of them wasn’t your average brick and mortar. It was solid–poured concrete reinforced like ad mu bunker.
Normally, Theresa would’ve just blown it to bits and been done with it. But Bennie’s warning echoed in her head: No explosives. Not underground.
One wrong move down here and they’d be trapped in a death tunnel with a thousand zombies storming in. And <b>in </b>a ce like this, there’s no running, no hiding. Just a one–way ticker to hell.
Theresa clenched her jaw and exhaled.
“Then we’ll do it the hard way, <b>she </b>muttered.
She pulled out every <b>power </b>tool she had stashed in her space gear–electric drills, concrete cutters–you name it. Everyone got one.
“Start drilling,” she ordered.
Dust filled the <b>air </b>in seconds as metal bit into concrete.
Meanwhile, on the other side of that wall, in the pitch–ck basement….
Lucas and his group were also digging like their lives depended on it–because they did.
<b>But </b>unlike Theresa’s crew, they had no <b>fancy </b>gear, no drills–just rusty shovels, crowbars, and hammers. It was pure manpower. Sweat, blood, and grit.
Still, no one backed down. They rotated in <b>teams</b>–one group digging, the other watching the ceiling for zombies that might crash in any minute.
Their motto<b>? </b>
If we rest, the shovels don’t<i>. </i>
By dawn, they’d wed through twenty meters of solid wall.
But digging wasn’t even the worst part.
They only had three bottles of water,
That’s it.
By the second day, thest drop was gone. Lucas tried to ration it, but let’s be real–over a hundred people? Everyone barely got a lick
Thankfully, Lucas had one ace left–his triple–ability, including an ice–based power. I massive icicles and began melting them for water.
“mmoned
But ice–based powers weren’t meant for hydration. His <b>skill </b>was more for <b>attack</b><b>, </b>not survival. Melting one
Chapter 280 Thirst, Sweat, and Steel
spike took ten hours–and produced just half a basin of water.
It kept them alive, barely. <b>But </b>for most people, sucking on a melting icicle was starting to look worse than well, other options.
“I wish Kyle was here,” Graham groaned after a full night of digging. His throat burned like fire<b>. </b>‘<b>I’m </b>seriously dying of thirst.”
“You’re out too?” Dave asked.
“Bone dry.”
Dave handed him a small canteen. “Take mine.”
Graham stared at him, suspicious. “You serious<b>?</b>”
“Come on, don’t be shy. Drink it. I’ve got more where that came from, Dave said with a grin.
Graham took the bottle, opened it, and instantly regretted it
He paused, then slowly <b>handed </b>it back. “No thanks. I’ll go chew on some ice.”
“It’s not even that bad” Dave called after him. The next batch will smell worse!”
Graham didn’t look back. He just made his way to the corner where others were huddled, gnawing on ice like half–frozen rats.
Lucas‘ ice wasn’t just slow–melting–it was bone–chilling. One lick could numb your whole mouth. But when you’re this dehydrated, logic doesn’t matter. Survival does.
By now, they were all so parched their throats felt like sandpaper. <b>Most </b>couldn’t even pee anymore. Their lips were cracked, and their skin was king off. But still, not a single soulined. After a quick rest. they picked their tools back up and went straight back to digging
They had to.
Zombies could break through the ceiling at any moment. Stopping wasn’t an option.
They all wanted to live.
Back on Theresa’s side, things looked better.
They had tools. They had water. They had Kyle’s water abilities actively cooling the drill heads and walls as they bored forward.
<b>There </b>were just eleven of them, but by morning, they’d cut through thirty meters.
That’s when it happened.
Theresa paused, her body going still. Her mind power flicked out like sonar, scanning the area beyond the
wall.
Chapter 280 Thirst, Sweat, and Steel.
Something pinged.
“Wait,” she said sharply.
Everyone stopped.
Theresa pressed herself against the deepest part of the tunnel. Her mind power red out again
Ten <b>meters</b>….
Twenty<b>.. </b>
Thirty.
Fifty!
She whipped around, eyes bright.
“That direction!” she pointed slightly to the left. I sense people–real people!”
They weren’t alone. Lucas and the others were digging too. They were close.
Everyone’s heart lifted. A new wave of energy surged through them.
Without another word, they turned and started drilling toward the left.
Time ticked by. Minute after minute, hour after hour,
By now, <i>it </i>had been over twenty–four hours since the zombie tide had flooded the surface above Lucas and <b>his </b>team.
And that tide?
Still surging.
Still pressing.
Still waiting
But just one wall away…
Salvation wasing.
93