“Fuck!” Chen Yexun let out a low growl, instantly alert as the cable car began to sway violently.
“Move the backpack aside—check what’s happening outside!” At his words, Li Chengyu hurriedly shifted the bag wedged against the window to open a small crack.
With just one glance, his blood froze solid!
“Th-they’re climbing up!” His voice cracked in sheer terror.
“The cable!
They’re climbing the cable!!” Strung along the thick main cable above them was a swarm of twisted, human-shaped ants.
Over a dozen maniacs were scrambling hand over foot, hauling themselves toward the cabin, their faces wearing the exact same manic, unhinged grin!
Even more terrifying, space on the cable was limited.
To snatch a better spot, the maniacs behind didn’t hesitate for a second to kick away the companions blocking their path!
The kicked-off maniacs let out long, hysterical laughs as they plunged into the mist below.
The victors cackled madly, filling the vacant spots and continuing their upward climb!
Li Chengyu was so terrified he slammed the backpack tight against the glass again, as if that could somehow keep them out.
Chen Yexun’s pupils shrank to pinpricks.
He made his decision in a flash, snatching up the axe on the floor and shoving it into Li Chengyu’s hands.
He spoke at a frantic pace: “Listen!
If they try to break in from the broken window on your side, don’t hesitate!
Aim for the neck!
It has to be a kill-shot—don’t give them a single chance!” The icy axe handle touched his hands, making Li Chengyu shudder, but he gripped it tightly and nodded in panic.
Chen Yexun immediately grabbed the battered backpack and tossed it to Chu Yao, who was standing beside them in paralyzed horror.
“Take out the canned yellow peaches inside!
When they get close enough, smash them right in the face!
Knock out as many as you can!” Chu Yao’s face was pale with terror, but pure survival instinct made her frantically accept the bag.
“O-okay!
Okay!” she squeaked out, her voice trembling.
Chen Yexun pressed against the window again to observe through the gap.
The swarm of maniacs was getting closer!
He could even clearly see the missing front tooth and facial ulcers on the lead guy!
“Do we have any extra clothes?
Cloth works too!
Hurry!
Cover up any exposed skin, especially your hands!
We absolute cannot touch their blood directly!” Chen Yexun whipped his head back and demanded.
Li Chengyu was nearly in tears.
“Did you forget?!
We just came for a day at the temple fair!
At most we were staying one night—who brings extra clothes?!” Just as Chen Yexun’s heart sank, bracing himself to face a high-risk infection melee, a weak but clear voice sounded out.
“I…
I have something!” Chen Yexun and Li Chengyu whipped around.
Chu Yao had pulled a compact first-aid kit out from her waist pack!
She rapidly pulled out several individually wrapped alcohol wipes, Band-Aids, and finally, a fresh roll of white gauze!
“I’m a nurse…
I’m used to keeping these on me, just in case…” she explained breathlessly.
Without waiting for her to finish, Chen Yexun snatched the roll of gauze.
“Do you have waterproof tape?” Chu Yao froze for a second, then shook her head frantically.
“N-no, only this.” *Good enough.
Better than nothing.* Chen Yexun quickly tore open the packaging.
“Take turns!
Wrap your hands!
At least it’ll block direct splatters!” He quickly wrapped his own right hand a few times and tied a tight knot.
Then he pulled over Li Chengyu’s left hand and bound it, finishing with Chu Yao.
The gauze ran out quickly, covering only a limited area, but their palms and the backs of their hands—the areas most likely to touch filth—finally had a thin layer of protection.
Though he knew the virus might easily infect through skin contact, rendering this water-permeable layer little more than a psychological comfort, any mental edge was vital at a time like this.
“They’re here!!” Li Chengyu suddenly shrieked.
The lead maniacs had already scrambled onto the roof of the cable car!
Unhinged laughter and vile curses exploded right beside their ears!
The cable car began to sway frantically under the sudden influx of weight and movement.
The three of them could barely keep their footing, forced to lean their backs against the cold iron wall to maintain balance.
For every meter a maniac climbed closer, two or three more jammed themselves onto the cable behind them!
Under the immense weight of so many bodies, the thick steel cable bent into an alarming, heart-stopping arc, emitting groans of strain as it buckled under the load.
Alarm bells blared in Chen Yexun’s mind.
The cable could snap at any second!
*THUMP!!* A heavy, dull impact resounded violently right above their heads!
The lead maniac had arrived!
Immediately after, above the glassless window behind Chen Yexun, an upside-down, half-dangling face plastered with a manic grin lunged into view!
Bloodshot eyes locked straight onto Chen Yexun’s gaze!
“Found you!
Haha!” Almost the exact instant the creature opened its mouth, Chen Yexun’s knife thrust out!
It plunged with precision right into the madness-filled eye socket!
A twist, and a pull!
The grin instantly frozen, the corpse went limp, let go, and plunged into the abyss.
But the crisis was far from over!
The dull thudding on the roof ceiling multiplied, echoing like a frantic war drum!
The cable car swayed so violently it threatened to shake apart at any moment!
*CRACK, SHATTER!!* Disaster struck on Li Chengyu’s side as well!
Two maniacs clinging to the cable slammed their bodies heavily against the broken window, instantly shattering the remaining glass edges into a gaping hole!
A filthy, blood-stained hand lunged inside, clawing wildly!
“Aaahhh!!!” Li Chengyu almost lost his mind in terror, but his instinct for survival overrode everything!
He unleashed a roar that was half fear and half fury, raising his axe to hack wildly at the arm and the head poking in behind it!
*SQUELCH!* The first blow buried deep into the first maniac’s neck, nearly severing it in half!
The creature’s grin twisted into a grotesque contortion as it tumbled off the edge.
The second blow struck the second maniac squarely in the forehead!
The blade embedded deep into its skull!
And yet!
“Hahaha!
Got you!” The maniac with an axe lodged in its forehead wasn’t dead!
Laughing hysterically, it grabbed the axe handle jammed in its own head with both hands and yanked back frantically!
“I’ll use this…
to chop you all to pieces!!” Li Chengyu tried desperately to yank the axe back, but the creature possessed terrifying strength, dragging his entire body stumbling toward the window!
In the nick of time!
Chen Yexun pounced like a leopard from the side, driving his fruit knife straight through the creature’s temple!
The maniac’s movements instantly seized, its strength vanishing.
Li Chengyu seized the chance to kick the corpse hard, using the recoil to finally yank the axe free, pulling out a spray of red and white that splattered across his gauze.
Before he could catch his breath, a scream erupted from Chu Yao behind him!
Chen Yexun spun around, only to see another maniac attempting a daring leap from the other side of the cable car to squeeze through the glassless window!
Chu Yao squeezed her eyes shut in terror, screaming as she hurled the can of yellow peaches she had been clutching with all her might!
*BANG!* The can struck the maniac dead in the center of its face, shattering its nose bridge and sending blood spurting everywhere!
“Hahaha!
Awesome!” Instead of stopping, the maniac grew even more excited, laughing madly as it tried to force its way inside!
Without a second thought, Chen Yexun delivered a heavy side-kick straight to its chest!
Cackling madly, the maniac was sent flying back out, falling into the valley below.
Maniacs kept losing their footing and falling from above due to the violent shaking of the cabin, but new ones immediately filled their places!
They seemed endless!
The three of them scrambled back and forth across the blood-soaked, frantically swaying cabin, running themselves ragged just to stay alive!
Stabbing with knives, chopping with the axe, hurling cans!
Miraculously, they managed to hold this tiny square of space for the moment.
Chen Yexun’s chest heaved violently, his arms so numb he could barely lift them.
But looking at the temporarily repelled assault, a faint, fragile ember of hope flickered in his heart.
Maybe…
maybe they could hold out…
The very instant the thought crossed his mind— *SCREEEEEECH—!!!* An excruciatingly sharp, warped groan of tearing metal rang out from above the cable car!
The deafening noise instantly drowned out all the insane laughter and fighting!
Chen Yexun, Li Chengyu, and Chu Yao froze simultaneously, a grander, primal terror seizing them in an instant.
As one, they slowly and painfully raised their heads.
Following the sound, their eyes landed on the cable—bent to its absolute limit and long past its breaking point.
Time seemed to stretch endlessly in that single moment.
Reflected in their horror-stricken eyes, the steel cable bearing all their weight, hope, and despair stretched to its absolute limit as its inner core fibers snapped one by one…
And then.
*BANG!!!!!* A earth-shattering roar exploded!
The world lost its final support.