Chapter 373 - 178: A Way Out

Chapter 373: Chapter 178: A Way Out

Xu Mo took the card and walked over to a nearby door, then placed the card on it.

Once the sign was in place, Xu Mo reached out and pushed the door open. A faint light flashed, and the surrounding scenery instantly transformed, replaced by an unfamiliar space.

It was a small warehouse, only about forty to fifty square meters. It was surrounded by metal shelves piled high with all sorts of equipment. More boxes were stacked on the floor, some open and others sealed shut.

Having become quite adept at using the door, Xu Mo wasn’t surprised by the result.

However, Xu Mo quickly noticed a problem: he couldn’t name most of the items.

He saw parachute packs of all sizes stacked together, bags tangled with all kinds of straps that resembled chairs, as well as helmets and other contraptions he couldn’t identify.

But time waits for no one. The 60-second countdown had already started.

’Screw it. Useful or not, I’ll just grab everything first!’

Xu Mo rushed to a shelf, grabbed a parachute pack, and tossed it through the door. Spotting a box labeled "Powered Paraglider Engine," he snatched it up and threw it out without a second thought.

Paraglider set? Tossed!

Helmets? Tossed!

Harness? Tossed!

Instruments? ’Can’t read them, but they must be important.’ Tossed!

Ropes? ’Definitely useful.’ Tossed!

Xu Mo zipped through the warehouse like a gust of wind, his speed astonishing. He snatched up one item after another, tossing them out. In moments like this, the physical prowess of the Iron Bone Realm was on full display.

seconds, 4 seconds, 3 seconds...

Xu Mo glanced around the warehouse. He had practically emptied the shelves. There were still a few scattered boxes on the floor, but he had no time to inspect them, simply grabbing whatever he could and throwing it out.

As the countdown hit zero, Xu Mo found himself back in the office building hallway. Behind him was the door, the card he’d written—"Paragliding Warehouse"—still stuck to it.

Xu Mo glanced at the door behind him, then at the mountain of equipment piled before him. He had basically emptied the entire small warehouse.

A smile tugged at the corner of Xu Mo’s mouth. Now he had the equipment; all that was left was to practice.

After a sip of water, Xu Mo crouched down and began rummaging through the boxes. He wasn’t looking for anything in particular, just booklets that looked like instruction manuals. ’Assembling this thing based on imagination alone would be way too reckless,’ he thought.

Finally, inside a box labeled "SKY-100 Powered Paraglider Set," Xu Mo found a thick instruction manual.

His eyes lit up when he saw what he was looking for, and he quickly flipped it open.

The manual was very detailed, with illustrated instructions for every step: from unboxing to assembly, from gearing up to taking off, and from maneuvering to landing. Although he couldn’t understand some of the technical jargon, he could grasp the general meaning.

Xu Mo rummaged through the other boxes and found several more manuals. Some were for the powered paraglider engine, some for the instruments, and others on how to use the ropes.

He set these manuals aside and began following their instructions, searching for each necessary component one by one.

...

After spending the better part of the day, Xu Mo finally finished assembling a powered paraglider based on the instructions.

Standing up, Xu Mo looked at the complete paragliding rig before him, a sense of accomplishment swelling in his chest. With this, he could finally escape Pinggu City through the sky.

He hauled the rig up to the roof, ready to start practicing. When it came to escaping this place, the sooner, the better!

The rooftop was spacious and the wind was light, perfect conditions for practice.

Xu Mo first tied a safety rope around himself to prevent an accidental fall, then he started putting on the gear.

After fiddling with it for a while, Xu Mo lifted the canopy, walked to the edge of the roof, took a deep breath, and sprinted forward.

As he ran, the fabric of the canopy billowed out behind him. But before he could even feel a spark of joy, the canopy tilted to one side and collapsed limply onto the ground.

First attempt: failure.

Second attempt, third, fourth...

Xu Mo tried again and again, but each time the canopy would collapse after just a few seconds. The wind on the rooftop was too light; he couldn’t get a feel for the controls before the glider fell.

From dawn to dusk, and then to dawn again.

After a full day of practice, Xu Mo finally learned to operate the powered paraglider. His body began to develop muscle memory; when to pull the control toggles and when to release them became natural and proficient.

By the evening of the second day, Xu Mo began his final practice run.

As the paraglider inflated, his body lifted lightly off the ground. Xu Mo felt the time was right.

...

「On the morning of the third day」 Xu Mo awoke at the crack of dawn.

He walked to the edge of the roof and looked down on Pinggu City below.

Zombies still roamed the streets. In a distant plaza, countless more stood motionless, occupying the area as if waiting for a new challenger to arrive.

Xu Mo’s gaze swept across the entire city as he put on his gear and planned his route.

A standard powered paraglider has a range of about one hundred kilometers. While high-performance models could go further, Xu Mo’s wasn’t one of them. It could manage one hundred and twenty kilometers at most, but that was more than enough to get him clear of Pinggu City.

After gearing up and grabbing his personal belongings, Xu Mo started the paraglider’s engine.

WHIRRR~

With a low hum, the paraglider’s propeller began to spin.

With all preparations complete, Xu Mo walked to the center of the roof and began to run.

As he ran, the canopy spread out behind him, catching the morning breeze. Xu Mo felt a powerful upward pull.

As the lift intensified, Xu Mo’s feet left the ground. A moment later, his body floated weightlessly into the air.

This time, no safety rope tethered him.

The office building shrank beneath his feet, and in no time at all, the entire structure looked like a tiny block.

Xu Mo pulled the control toggles, adjusting his direction. The paraglider sailed smoothly through the air like a giant bird. Its colorful canopy was a striking sight in the morning light, like a banner proclaiming his freedom and departure.

From the air, Xu Mo looked down upon Pinggu City.

The city was even clearer from above. Streets crisscrossed like a giant web. Buildings were packed densely together, some soaring into the clouds, others low and dilapidated. Down on the streets, the zombies wandered about like dense swarms of ants.

Seeing the sight, Xu Mo felt a wave of relief. ’Thank god I didn’t try to escape on the ground.’

Xu Mo then turned his gaze to another part of the city. He saw an area of low-rise buildings, but a faint, ethereal mist seemed to hang over them, strikingly similar to what he had encountered in the Red Star Industrial Zone.

Xu Mo’s pupils constricted. He guessed that must be one of Pinggu City’s world-overlap zones. That would explain why zombies were constantly spawning in the city.

Just as Xu Mo was observing the mist-shrouded area, he suddenly sensed something.

Someone was watching him.

’No, not a person. Gazes... have locked onto me!’

Xu Mo’s back went rigid as a chill shot up his spine. He didn’t turn his head, but the feeling of being watched was unmistakable. Furthermore, he sensed the gazes weren’t coming from a single direction, but from all around him.

Down on the streets, dozens of hidden pairs of eyes simultaneously locked onto Xu Mo in the sky.

Sensing the gazes fixed on him, Xu Mo began to count silently. ’One, two... ten... fifteen...’

’Just how many advanced zombies are hiding in this godforsaken place?!’

Realizing dozens of eyes were on him, Xu Mo felt the hair on his arms stand up. He was more grateful than ever that he hadn’t tried to break out on foot; otherwise, he would have most likely been ambushed.

In fact, Xu Mo even suspected some zombies had noticed him long ago and were just waiting for him to try a ground escape so they could attack.

Xu Mo had originally planned to fly over and check out the mist-shrouded area, but he changed his mind. It was too dangerous. Now was not the time.

Pulling his gaze away, Xu Mo continued flying forward. The paraglider flew further and further, and Pinggu City gradually shrank until it became just a small dot on the horizon.

Ahead lay a boundless, desolate plain. Patches of withered, yellow grass and newly sprouted green blades swayed together in the wind.

Xu Mo soared through the air, feeling the cool wind against his cheeks. ’This feeling of freedom is incredible!’