With an initial plan already decided upon, there was just one more thing left for Danny to consider.

How he would get inside one of the factory buildings without being detected and swarmed by the zombies on the way?

Danny also had to make sure he had a clear escape route at all times, since locking himself in a room with no way out and a multitude of zombies banging on the door was a good way of building himself a nice and cozy deathtrap.

Soon enough, however, Danny found a viable option to infiltrate the place safely… well, kind of.

Danny’s idea was to get to the roof of the factory’s main building and work his way down from there, killing the zombies he found inside and any others that got in his way. Starting from the top of the building would allow Danny to take his time to whittle the huge number of enemies down in his own pace, clearing his path methodically and steadily.

Reaching that initial spot was not as difficult as it sounded as well.

Outside the fenced-off perimeter of the compound, there was little to take notice of in its close vicinity. The surrounding undeveloped field were covered with weeds, bushes and the like, a single structure being the sole exception.

There, just beside one of the wiry fences, stood a tall gray water tower. Its concrete and steel exterior a stark contrast to the vibrant vegetation that surrounded the factory for hundreds of meters.

The close proximity of the structure to the factory’s main building and their similar heights would allow Danny to jump across from one to the other in a single leap.

That was his way in.

Luckily for Danny, the water tower was not near any of the two opened gates, so there were no zombies in its vicinity. At least, all the zombies close to it were on the other side of the fence as far as he could see, so other than growl at him, they would not be able to do anything to stop Danny’s approach.

Given that, all he had to do to infiltrate the compound was to sneak closer to the water tower, climb it, before finally jumping from the top of it and onto the roof of the factory’s biggest building.

It was all very simple and straightforward. The only thing Danny had to watch out for was landing the jump, as failing to cross the gap would not end well for him.

The distance he had to cross in a single leap between the water tower and the roof of the building itself was considerable. In fact, the stretch was not as small as to allow any ordinary human to jump across it. Even so, with all his growth in strength, Danny was confident he could do it.

Having made his mind, Danny quietly approached the towering structure, making sure to not draw the attention of any zombie on his side of the fence as he sneaked closer and closer to his goal.

Once he reached the base of the water tower, Danny raised his head and looked up as the zombies stuck on the other side of the fence growled and chewed on the steel wire, fruitlessly trying to get to Danny and take a piece of him for themselves.

However, Danny completely ignored the undead standing a few meters away from him, unmoved by their threatening snarls.

Instead, as he placed his hand on the metal bars which would take him to the top of the water tower, Danny could only thank the heavens that he was not particularly afraid of heights. The path up the water tower did not inspire much confidence and the wet metal bars that led the way only made the climb trickier.

Nonetheless, Danny steadily made his way up and, in no time, he reached the very top of the structure.

Standing there, Danny slowly and carefully inched closer to the edge, taking care not to lose his balance and that he would not slip off the wet surface and fall down after having climbed all the way up. Once he got close enough to the ledge of the ledge of the structure, Danny stretched his neck and looked down.

‘Damn, look at that waiting crowd. All of them cheering for my downfall…’

As he looked at the gathering of zombies on the other side of the fence, Danny judged that he was around 10 meters high.

Falling from that height would hurt, but with his improved constitution and bolstered endurance, Danny figured he would not die if he failed miserably at his next acrobatic attempt. Maybe it would cost him a few broken bones depending on the way he hit the ground, but it definitely would not outright kill him if he didn’t fall on top of his head.

‘Better not to think about failure. Breaking my bones will be the least of my problems if I fall down…’ Danny gulped nervously as he stared down.

Landing in the middle of a pack of zombies would one hundred percent spell a terrible ending for him, so it was best to not think too much about it and just focus on the jump itself.

With slow but steady steps, Danny backtracked away from the edge, making some space so that he could build enough momentum to cross over the gap and onto the building.

Taking a couple of deep breaths, Danny calmed his heartbeat and focused solely on his goal, directly staring at his goal, the roof across the gap.

Danny filtered everything else and let it drift away from his mind. The raindrops, the sounds coming from the undead down below, the sweat accumulating in his palms, nothing else mattered. In his head, there was only the jump.

His concentration sharpened more and more with every passing second. His mind empty of distracting thoughts, waiting for the perfect moment.

Suddenly, and without any particular warning, Danny rushed towards the edge of the water tower with a running start. His instincts directing his every movement as each step brought him closer to the dangerous void that stood between himself and his goal.

Once he reached the edge of the water tower, Danny gathered all the strength he could muster on his legs and knees and, without hesitation, threw himself into the air.

As his feet sailed over the factory’s fencing and over the heads of the crowd of zombies that anxiously waited below, it was as if time had slowed to a crawl. Every second stretched indefinitely as his enemies rooted for his failure beneath him and Danny’s heart pounded his chest with increased vigor.

The illusion of being stuck in time broke soon after, when his feet touched the concrete comprising the roof of the building. Unfortunately for the waiting undead, Danny did not miss.

Once his feet registered the feeling of solid ground, Danny rolled over his shoulder to disperse his built-up momentum. The maneuver was made awkward by the extra bulk Danny carried on his back, but it did not impact it too much other than making it extremely ugly-looking for any potential witness.

‘I made it…’ Danny thought while releasing a sigh of relief once he managed to completely stop.

Even if he had dealt with the situation with confidence and composure, it was still nerve-racking knowing that a single mistake could spell unavoidable tragedy for him.

Being eaten alive was a very terrible way to go and the slippery wet surface where he stood moments ago did not inspire much confidence. There was little he could do to recover if his feet slipped at the last second.

Fortunately, Danny had succeeded and what could be never came to pass.

He had much to thank his new boots and their slip-resistance properties for his success. Danny reminded himself to thank Ben once he returned for the great gear recommendation.

Now, however, he had zombies to kill.

From his vantage point at the top of the water tower where he stood moments ago, Danny already knew that he had two zombies wandering the roof he was currently at for company. Taking care of them was his immediate priority.

However, despite Danny’s less than stealthy entrance, his enemies had failed to register his presence yet.

As both zombies were on the opposite side of the roof from where Danny stood, and since they were not facing his way at the same time, his enemies had failed to notice that they were not alone anymore.

The rain had also worked in Danny’s favor this time around, given that it had muffled the sounds of his conspicuous landing, keeping both his enemies unaware of his presence.

Crouching low to hide himself behind one of the exhaust vents that occupied the building’s roof, Danny grabbed his crossbow which was strapped to his bag, before loading it with a bolt.

After that, he left his cover and stealthily approached the closest of the two, aiming at its head when he was close enough before finally pulling the trigger.

The bolt flew through the air, unimpeded by the drops of water in its path, before piercing the back of that zombie’s head and killing it instantly and silently in a single shot.

‘One down, one more to go.’ Danny mumbled to himself. No emotions perceivable on his face.

He then calmy grabbed another bolt from his quiver before loading his crossbow with it once more. His quiver was strapped to his bag as well, just like his ranged weapon had been, for easier access and a speedier draw.

This way, whenever the situation demanded their use, Danny was able to arm himself with his crossbow and load it as fast as possible, rather than having to take the time to retrieve it or its ammunition from the confines of his backpack.

A difference of just a few seconds might not seem like that big of a difference, but when push comes to shove, every single second counts. A single instant might be the difference between life and death, so Danny made sure to always keep his weapons close at hand.

With slow and steady steps, Danny approached the back of the remaining zombie on the roof until he was only a few meters away from it and could ensure with complete certainty that he would not miss his shot.

Thereafter, Danny rose from his crouching position and, without ever being noticed by the shambling undead, shot it in the back of the head, securing the top of the building for himself with the kill.

Obviously, Danny could have killed both his enemies with his hammer in order to save his bolts. He was perfectly capable of doing that without even sweating.

However, killing zombies with a hammer was loud and messy, and Danny preferred to keep things quiet just in case there were any more enemies listening nearby.

Since the only door on the roof that led into the building proper was closed, he could not be sure whether or not there were more zombies just waiting for him on the other side. Thus, it paid to be cautious and keep things quiet for now.

Though the rain would help him by muffling any sounds coming from combat, he was not confident that it would be enough in case he engaged into a melee fight, therefore, he chose to dispatch both of them with his much quieter crossbow. Just in case.

As luck would have it, after checking the corpses of his enemies, Danny found out that the bolts he had used to kill them were still in working condition. Ater cleaning the blood off them, Danny placed them back into his quiver.

He did not extract the crystals from the heads of his downed foes this time though. As he would probably spend a long time completing his mission and clearing the factory from its undead occupants, Danny decided to leave all the soul gem collecting for later, doing it all at once after he finished the job.

Looking around and seeing that he had not missed anything, Danny headed to the door.