Chapter 9

During the half-hour of the fierce thunderstorm over the square, Liu Qian felt as if he had spent a whole year in hell. Every lightning bolt and every thunderclap made him think he was about to be struck. He clutched his body, trembling, waiting, praying, and suffering. Finally, the thunderstorm gradually weakened and clearly moved to another place with the wind.

The torrential rain turned into a drizzle, and Liu Qian wiped his face again, his vision becoming clear once more.

He was still alive.

Life was truly precious. Liu Qian felt that in his previous twenty years, he had never experienced such a profound sense of it as he did today.

The thousands of zombies in the square were drenched, and some of the female zombies with thin clothing even showed signs of wetness, but there were no signs of lightning strikes on the ground. Liu Qian looked into the distance and saw another massive bolt of lightning fall from the sky, but it did not land on the square. Instead, it was attracted to the top of a skyscraper with over a hundred floors on the edge of the square.

The top of that skyscraper must have had a lightning rod, which likely attracted and guided all the lightning to the ground. Fortunately, this skyscraper existed; otherwise, with so many lightning strikes, at least one would have hit the billboard where Liu Qian was hiding, making it impossible for him to survive the thunderstorm.

As the rain gradually decreased, lightning still occasionally fell from the sky above, but the frequency and intensity were much lower. As long as the lightning near him was attracted by the lightning rod on the skyscraper, it did not seem like it would hit the billboard.

Liu Qian panted heavily, the continuous extreme tension had drained a lot of his energy, leaving him extremely exhausted. The iron frame of the billboard did not provide enough space for him to lie down and rest, so he could only continue to sit there, occasionally changing his position to make himself slightly more comfortable.

After the heavy rain, the zombies below the billboard resumed their meaningless climbing and stacking actions. Listening to their roars and seeing their grotesque faces, Liu Qian felt somewhat depressed and hopeless. Would these damned things continue to gather in the square and not leave?

If they stayed here, Liu Qian would be trapped and unable to leave.

Another continuous rumbling sound came from the sky, not like thunder. Liu Qian followed the sound and saw a helicopter appear near the top of the skyscraper.

Liu Qian was overjoyed and immediately waved his arms at the helicopter. Worried that the people in the helicopter might not see him, he climbed to the top of the billboard and stood there, waving his arms at the helicopter.

After leaving the skyscraper, the helicopter lowered its flight altitude and circled around the nearby blocks. When it approached the square again, it either saw Liu Qian on the billboard or was planning to fly over this area. In any case, it flew straight toward Liu Qian, and soon it was hovering near the square. With the rain now intermittent, Liu Qian could even see the pilot and the passengers in the helicopter.

On the side of the helicopter, a white logo with three rings was clearly visible. This was the logo of the Three Realms Company, which Liu Qian was very familiar with from playing their games.

No need to say, this was definitely the rescue team from the Three Realms Company!

"I'm here! Come and save me!" Liu Qian stood on the top of the billboard, maintaining his balance, and waved his arms and shouted at the helicopter. Regardless of whether they could hear him, this was all he could do now.

Although he was slightly worried that this might be a conspiracy by the Three Realms Company or that he might be captured as a lab rat, staying on the billboard would definitely not end well. Liu Qian knew he needed to leave here first to consider his next steps, so he decided to get on the helicopter if he could.

The helicopter clearly spotted Liu Qian and approached the billboard carefully, slowly hovering above it. A woman in a Three Realms Company uniform leaned out and threw a rope ladder down to Liu Qian, who was standing on the billboard.

Liu Qian was extremely excited; he had finally survived until the rescue arrived! He was glad he hadn't given up; otherwise, even if the helicopter had come, he would have been torn apart by the zombies like the other players.

Although the thunderstorm had almost stopped, the wind on the ground was still strong, and the wind direction near the skyscraper was erratic, making it difficult for the helicopter to stabilize. The rope ladder was a few meters away from the billboard and a few meters higher, a distance Liu Qian did not dare to jump. Fortunately, the female staff member was continuously observing and directing the pilot to correct the direction, and the rope ladder gradually approached the billboard.

Another blinding flash of light appeared in front of Liu Qian, blinding him. At the same time, the helicopter, which was trying to hover above the billboard, emitted a terrifying creaking sound. A moment later, a thunderclap followed, deafeningly loud. The helicopter suddenly flew away from the billboard, rose several dozen meters, and then smoke billowed from its tail as it lost control and began to spin in the air.

"Damn! No way! Can't be this unlucky!" Liu Qian watched in shock as the lightning bolt seemed to have hit the helicopter directly.

In the next moment, Liu Qian had no time to marvel. After a few spins in the air, the helicopter lost power, its rotors gradually stopped, and it tilted and fell toward the billboard. Seeing that he was about to be hit, Liu Qian quickly jumped off the billboard and grabbed the iron frame below, suspending himself from it.

Just as Liu Qian jumped, the heavy metal body of the helicopter crashed onto the billboard, hitting the spot where Liu Qian had been standing. With a loud 'bang,' the billboard was shattered, and the helicopter continued to roll and fall to the ground.

PS: New week, new book, seeking recommendations from my fellow readers. Thank you!