Chapter 160: Spider-Man
The speculation about how people on the upper floors would come down has never stopped.
However, there's no doubt that the survival chances of these people would be much lower.
Although the height of each level of the stairs doesn't seem deadly right now, most people wouldn't initially know that, and not everyone can overcome the psychological pressure of climbing several meters high.
And by the time those people are prepared to take desperate measures due to food and other issues, their physical and mental state might no longer be able to cope with the upcoming brutal post-apocalyptic world. Even if they manage to come down eventually, their chances of survival would be extremely slim.
This time, Chen Mu embarked on a distant journey, which was much farther than the cafeteria. Moreover, the area was densely built, with complex terrain and unpredictable dangers.
On the contrary, He Ying had been running outside from the beginning, so her mentality was more positive.
Along the way, they encountered quite a lot of troubles, countless insects and ants, but He Ying displayed her agility, showing off her skills.
The most dangerous encounter was when a sparrow swooped down. If Chen Mu hadn't anticipated it in advance and activated the golden bell shield, He Ying would have been in a situation similar to Luo Hui's previous experience.
The circular green area between the three teaching buildings, which the students called the central garden, had a diameter of about thirty to forty meters, with a large banyan tree in the middle.
To save time, after discussing, they finally chose to cross the entire garden horizontally instead of taking the longer route around the outer cement road, which was also very thrilling.
Perhaps because there were no human activities anymore, Chen Mu clearly felt that there were more insects and animals on the campus than before. He even saw several wild cats sprinting by, wondering if they were related to Little Yellow.
It was full of dangers along the way.
However, the biggest challenge they had to face was the stairs of the teaching building, which had four floors.
Coming down was not easy, let alone going up.
With Chen Mu's abilities, climbing up slowly, as he used to do on the classroom desk, wouldn't be difficult. But the problem was the height of four floors, a total of 96 steps each 15 centimeters high. If he tried to do it the same way, his mental strength might hold up, but his physical strength wouldn't.
He was not Wei Dalei. Even though his physical fitness had improved considerably due to the intense labor during the apocalypse, it hadn't reached that level.
"You want me to jump up there?" He Ying looked at the height.
"Is it possible?"
"I have no problem, but what about you?"
"I have a way too."
"Then shall I go up first?"
"Yes."
Chen Mu had a clear understanding of He Ying's abilities. Usually, she would also jump onto the water tank to take charge of opening and closing the water pipes. The shelves seemed to be her home, and she would often climb up and turn around when she had nothing else to do. Unfortunately, while her agility was remarkable, her strength was quite average; otherwise, she could have moved the things on the upper shelves.
Witnessing He Ying slightly crouch down, then suddenly exerting force, she shot up like a bullet and landed steadily on the first step of the stairs.
This feeling was like having someone beside you suddenly jump to the height of a five-story building.
Chen Mu didn't waste any time, reaching to his waist and taking out a stainless-steel weapon.
In the next moment, the weapon transformed into a ribbon-like long dragon, climbing vertically along the surface of the steps, all the way up.
When it reached the highest point, it formed a hook shape at the end, firmly gripping the ground.
At first, He Ying thought he intended to use the stainless-steel ribbon to climb up, so she looked down from the edge of the stairs.
However, in the next moment, she saw Chen Mu grabbing the lower end of the ribbon with one hand, and he was suddenly pulled up.
As the length of the ribbon shortened, Chen Mu's body gradually rose.
This was the first time He Ying had seen the ability being used in this way.
In about twenty seconds, Chen Mu had already reached the highest point. With one hand holding onto the step, he flipped himself up.
"Not bad, Spider-Man!" He Ying laughed.
"Too kind, too kind."
"Shall we continue?"
"Yes."
Afterward, the two of them used their respective abilities to climb up step by step.
Chen Mu's speed was clearly slower than He Ying's, so she often ended up sitting on the ground and waiting for him to catch up.
However, perhaps due to his mental strength, Chen Mu's endurance was much stronger than He Ying's.
After climbing less than one floor in height, He Ying was already finding it a bit difficult to continue.
On the other hand, Chen Mu was still calmly climbing up step by step.
This method of using their abilities wasn't particularly difficult; the only resistance came from their own body weight. But in Chen Mu's opinion, this kind of rough ability usage was relatively straightforward.
"Let's rest for a moment."
Seeing He Ying's frown getting tighter and tighter, Chen Mu knew her mental strength was wearing out, so he suggested resting on the spot.
He Ying gritted her teeth and said, "I can still jump another three to five steps."
"But I can't go on," Chen Mu smiled. "Don't exhaust your mental strength, otherwise, if there's any danger, we'll be sitting ducks."
"Alright." Although He Ying didn't know where Chen Mu's limits were, based on their past combat experiences, she knew that this level of consumption wasn't too much for him. She just said that to save face.
Chen Mu made two plastic cushions, and both of them sat down cross-legged to rest.
They were currently at the middle of a staircase, and there were seven or eight steps to reach the second floor.
Chen Mu calculated the time and realized that they probably wouldn't reach the fourth floor until it was dark. In that case, they would have to spend the night outside.
He carried a small plastic bag on his back, like a childhood school bag. It contained some food: four tomatoes and six cooked potatoes. There was also a large bottle of water.
These were the dry rations prepared by Du Jiajia before they set off.
The weight was not light.
"Let's eat something," Chen Mu said.
"Right now?" He Ying was surprised.
"Yes, eat a little to lighten the load. It's almost 12 noon now, perfect time for lunch."
As he spoke, Chen Mu took out two potatoes and two tomatoes, giving half to He Ying.
He Ying's ability still consumed a lot of physical strength, so she was indeed hungry. She held the potatoes and tomatoes in her hands, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Shouldn't we save some for later?"
"No need. At a normal pace, these will be enough for a round trip. If something unexpected happens along the way, they won't be enough anyway. We'll have to find other food sooner or later."
"But, what can we find to eat in a place like this?"
"When the time comes, the solution will present itself." Chen Mu exuded confidence. "If we save food too much, we may not be able to handle danger due to lack of stamina or end up slowing down our journey. It will be a case of losing more than we gain."
"Alright."
He Ying nodded and carefully peeled the potato skin, taking a light bite.
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