Chapter 18

Xin Yan's helmet visor was already lifted, her teeth bared, and she clenched a strand of deep black hair between them. Her smooth forehead was covered in fine sweat. She stared intently at the zombie that had just been targeted through the scope, and pulled the trigger with all her might.

*Bang——*

The bullet hit the target's head accurately, and the zombie's body tilted, then fell over.

Scattered zombies shuffled over from the side and rear passages. The dozen or so corpses lying on the ground were enough to prove Xin Yan's achievements. She ran back and forth on the warehouse roof, constantly changing her shooting position. The recoil from the stock hit her shoulder, making it sore and painful. But she felt nothing, her eyes blazing with fire, while her heart was as cold as the gun in her hand.

She didn't know if she could escape alive——the number of zombies was enormous, at least a thousand, or even more. The assault rifle had only three full magazines. Although she tried to aim, letting these monsters get close before shooting, she was not a professional shooter and had no experience. About half of the bullets would miss.

For a beginner, this was already a good score.

However, Xin Yan could not forgive herself. Her eyes turned bloodshot, and the time she spent aiming grew longer, the shooting distance shortened from twenty meters to ten, even five...

Han Jing ran back and forth in the exhibition area near the wall, constantly searching for a usable vehicle.

Su Hao had taught her how to start the engine using a fuse box, but these new cars were locked, and the doors wouldn't open.

The helpless girl became increasingly desperate.

She cried, shouting and cursing, kicking and punching. The smooth car bodies were left with a series of messy footprints, but they didn't budge at all.

"Can't open... sniff... what to do? No keys... can't open! I can't open them——"

It was the first time she had faced such a tense and dangerous situation, and naturally, she felt fear. Even an adult man would not have performed better in such a situation.

"What's the use of crying?"

From the roof came Xin Yan's furious roar: "Smash the car window, use a brick, a stick, your gun, anything, just do it quickly——"

Without hesitation, Han Jing swung her pistol, using the hard stock to strike the window of the nearby SUV. Her body, driven by the will to survive, burst with unimaginable strength. The tough car window began to show marks, making a "crackling" sound, cracking like a spider web and shattering.

She was younger than Xin Yan.

For some reason, Xin Yan's curses had an inexplicable calming effect on Han Jing.

Han Jing suddenly became calm, and the speed at which she smashed the fuse box and connected the engine was faster than usual.

Han Jing felt as if she had become a different person, her body and mind completely separated, acting like a machine rather than a human. She instinctively sat in the driver's seat, closed the door, and honked the horn at Su Hao. Then, leaning back, she aimed at the zombies coming from the side, crying, shooting, reloading, and shooting again.

Su Hao threw away the dagger with a chipped blade, pulled out the M500 pistol from his back, and dodged the zombie lunging at him from the front. He rushed to the wall at an astonishing speed and stood still.

The scene was bizarre. Even Xin Yan and Han Jing forgot the danger, watching him with puzzled eyes.

There was no way out, just a wall, not an exit.

Suddenly, Su Hao's muscles bulged, and he took a step forward, roaring and punching the wall with his right fist.

The solid brick wall instantly collapsed, and broken bricks and gravel flew out from the impact point, creating a gap over two meters wide. Through the flying dust, the road and sidewalk outside could be seen.

Su Hao continued to widen the gap with his fists, turning to the two girls who were stunned and shouting: "Hurry up, we don't have much time——"

Han Jing gritted her teeth, stepped on the clutch, quickly released it, and then slammed on the gas pedal. The SUV, like a wild horse, charged out, rolling over the scattered bricks, and violently drove onto the sidewalk, stopping on the road.

Su Hao stood in front of the warehouse, looking at Xin Yan on the roof, and spread his arms, shouting fiercely: "Jump——"

Without any hesitation, Xin Yan felt her brain driving her to make the leap. Her thoughts became confused, her heart rate accelerated briefly, her consciousness was lifted high, but her body was falling rapidly... She didn't hit the ground, nor did she feel the intense pain she had imagined. Instead, she was caught by a pair of strong arms, which carried her and ran madly toward the outside of the wall.

Then, she was thrown onto the back seat of the car.

Sitting in the passenger seat and closing the door, Su Hao clearly saw——at the intersection directly ahead on the road, a black "Chery" sedan came from the left, traveling at about forty kilometers per hour. Several faces, first surprised and then terrified, appeared behind the front windshield without anti-explosion film.

The black sedan suddenly stopped, and after about three seconds of hesitation, the strangers suddenly seemed to wake up from a dream. The car, with the engine roaring, swayed and rushed to the opposite street.

Han Jing asked subconsciously, "Who are they?"

No one answered.

Including herself, the three of them clearly saw——at the rear of the black sedan, a long chain was tied, and a bloodied woman was attached to it. She was naked, cut in half from the waist, with her empty abdomen continuously dropping out intestines and organs, leaving a shocking trail of blood on the ground.

The zombies had already reached the gap in the wall, very close to the SUV.

At the end of the road, there were dense black dots expanding. Although they couldn't see the shape or appearance, they all knew what it was.

Han Jing started the SUV again and sped toward the bank building.

Xin Yan's expression was dazed, and she found it hard to believe what she was seeing: "They, they want to trap us... want to, want to kill us?"

"No! Not just us. Others, our people too."

Su Hao's voice was as cold as ice.

...

No one noticed when the sky had turned cloudy. The clouds slowly gathered from the horizon, blocking the sunlight and making the world dark. The wind grew stronger, dispersing the heat on the ground, bringing a slight chill.

It was going to rain.

Hu He sat in a pickup truck, squinting his eyes, and observed the bank building about a hundred meters away with a telescope, his eyes flickering, thinking about something.

This spot was exactly at the street corner, and due to the height and nearby buildings, it was in the blind spot of the guards on the rooftop.

In addition to Hu He's car, two other cars were also full of people. Next to them, over twenty men, armed with sticks, stood nervously. Du Tianhao, Liao Qiu, and Fatso were among them.

He closely monitored the movements inside the building. After Su Hao and the others drove out in the morning, Hu He ordered his men to follow them, using several imprisoned women as bait to attract zombies from different directions, completely blocking the exit of the car supermarket.

If his calculations were correct, there should be one man, two women, a baby, and an old bastard who wouldn't die in that building.

What's there to fear with guns?

I have dozens of people.

The great leader once said: "The American imperialists' atomic bombs are paper tigers, and they will be drowned in the ocean of people's war."

Use human lives to fill the gap, what's there to fear about bullets?

A sinister smile crossed Hu He's lips. He put down the telescope and smiled at Gouzi, who was standing outside the car, saying in a harsh tone: "Start! Make those guys move quickly, don't waste time. If anyone messes up... I'll use him as material for an open-air barbecue."

...

The observation post on the rooftop of the small building had a wide field of view. Using flower pots and bricks moved from downstairs, the survivors built several shooting positions at different angles. Although not aesthetically pleasing, they were very effective.

Old Song, wearing a loose round-necked sweatshirt and shorts, with slippers on his feet, stood in the shadow behind the protective wall, smoking with a deep expression. A large-caliber Barrett sniper rifle was placed nearby, within reach.

According to the Chinese perspective, seventy-two years old is considered a ripe old age. Compared to his peers, Song Zhizhong looked much younger and more energetic. He always stood straight, his mind was clear, and although his strength wasn't as great as before, he could still carry a few kilograms of watermelon or a bag of rice up to the sixth floor without panting or turning red.

Almost all the elderly who knew Song Zhizhong's real age would show an admiring and surprised expression. This gave him a very satisfied sense of pride, and he didn't mind explaining his daily diet, schedule, and activity patterns to those who asked. Seeing those people take notes like elementary school students, he always wanted to laugh. Honestly, even he couldn't explain why he looked younger than other people of the same age, why he was full of energy and had a ruddy complexion. He never took any supplements, and his monthly pension of over a thousand yuan wasn't enough to buy health products. Cucumbers, tomatoes, cabbage, tofu, pork, beef, mutton, chicken, duck, dog meat, frog, and bee larvae... He never had any dietary restrictions and occasionally liked to drink and smoke.

There were a few old men of the same age in the residential building nearby who admired Old Song and followed his daily diet for a while.

As a result, one of them developed high blood pressure from eating beef, another had a stroke from drinking, and another had a recurrence of bronchial asthma from smoking, and died within a week...

He was quite popular with women——many elderly ladies who danced in the square in the neighborhood liked him, and a few single ones even clearly expressed their desire to "live together." Old Song was satisfied with one of them, a retired teacher in her sixties, and had even considered getting married again. Unfortunately, the sudden outbreak of the virus changed everything.

That morning, Old Song watched her get infected, turn into a zombie, and then... then, he cut off her head with a kitchen knife and threw it out of the sixth-floor window.

She could make delicious braised pork, and she always folded the washed clothes neatly. The neighbors upstairs and downstairs were happy to have such a companion, and some well-behaved children had even started calling her "Grandma Song."

His eyes were slightly moist, and Old Song threw away the cigarette butt, wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, and picked up the sniper rifle.

This thing had no "Made in China" markings, and its power was astonishing. Old Song practiced for several days before finally understanding the structure and basic principles of the gun. He didn't know where Su Hao got so many weapons, but he and Tao Yuan never asked and didn't privately discuss such matters. He had experienced many things in life and knew that many things in the world were not as simple as they seemed.

Everyone has their secrets——the disciplinary inspection personnel might secretly enjoy watching AVs and jerking off, the respected male mayor might be a transvestite who loves to wear thongs and stockings, and the health bureau leader might love to pick his smelly feet and not flush the toilet after using it.

As for Su Hao... he saved everyone in the building but didn't use it to inflate his own value. He was humble, always smiling, and very handsome.

He was a good person.

That was enough.

Feeling a bland taste in his mouth, Old Song took out a cigarette from his pocket and was about to light it.

Just as he flicked the lighter, Old Song suddenly heard a shrill and piercing scream from a distance.

He stood up abruptly, raised the sniper rifle, and peered over the rooftop wall, nervously watching the direction of the sound.

On the east side of the street downstairs, a woman, who looked extremely panicked, was running. She was about thirty, wearing a large coat with only a few buttons casually fastened, revealing plump, white breasts. Apart from her shoes, she seemed to be wearing nothing else. She might have been injured, as her left sleeve was soaked with blood, which dripped continuously onto the gray asphalt, forming a broken line.

Old Song subconsciously moved the scope along the direction of the woman's run——about fifty meters behind her, several zombies were chasing her closely. They clearly smelled the blood, and the woman's screams continuously stimulated their empty stomachs. These terrifying mutated creatures howled, excited like desert travelers seeing an oasis, and their pursuit speed increased.

Old Song bent down and grabbed two glass bottles from the ground, throwing them heavily toward the inside of the building. A moment later, the rapidly falling bottles made a "bang" sound, shattering on the ground.

The rooftop was scattered with empty cans. The noise from these discarded items was very loud, and the survivors in the building used it as an alarm.

"Hey! Come here, quickly——"

Old Song waved his hands forcefully, shouting at the top of his lungs.

The woman might have run out of energy, and her speed began to slow down. The zombies chasing her gradually closed the distance. Feeling death approaching, the woman's face was full of despair. She struggled to move forward, screaming and panting heavily, her body rapidly consuming the oxygen she inhaled, her lips and limbs trembling violently, and her face as pale as a corpse.

*Bang——*

The 12.7mm bullet hit the leading zombie's chest accurately, the massive kinetic energy tearing its body into two pieces. The lower part of the body staggered a few steps and fell by the roadside, while the upper part stubbornly and viciously crawled forward, with thick, yellow fluid continuously flowing from its mouth.

The gunshot gave the woman hope.

Her eyes lit up with joy, and she immediately changed direction, running toward the building.

The Barrett's recoil was significant, and after only two shots, Old Song felt as if his entire shoulder had been hit by a high-pressure forging machine, ready to fall apart. He staggered, put the sniper rifle aside, pulled out his pistol, turned, and limped down the stairs.

Tao Yuan was collecting fungal hormones in the trap yard.

The noise here was loud, and he would quickly come over when he heard it. Now, only Han Ying and Li Xiaomei were in the building. If they wanted to help the woman outside, they needed to open the door quickly and let her in.

Old Song didn't think there was anything wrong with this——zombies were the common enemy of all survivors. As long as she wasn't infected or mutated, she was one of them and needed to be saved.

...

Hu He watched this scene from the street corner, his face showing an extremely enthusiastic and excited expression.

He had been planning and waiting for a long time, enduring for a long time.

Now, the old man on the roof, who was responsible for the lookout and had a soft heart, had disappeared. If he guessed correctly, he must have gone downstairs to open the door.

Alright! I'll give him a surprise, let him know what a real surprise is.

"Hehehehe..."

He licked his lips triumphantly, snapped his fingers at the subordinates waiting for orders, and laughed wildly: "Quick! Now. Go! All of you, go——"

...

The small building was in chaos.

Han Ying, holding a police shotgun, ran out of the room, meeting Old Song, who was coming down the stairs. Without time to explain, Old Song, out of breath, said: "Outside, outside, someone... help her... quickly!"

Li Xiaomei stood on the side of the first-floor hall, which had been converted into a dining room, tightly hugging the baby in her arms. This usually quiet woman looked tense, clearly unsure how to handle the sudden situation. She curled up in the corner of the sofa, her mind repeatedly calling for her husband to appear quickly. Her pale, thin right hand instinctively reached for her pistol and gripped it tightly.

Her husband and Su Hao had both told her: when alone, this was her best and most reliable partner.

Moving the heavy cabinet, Old Song opened the back door, which served as a temporary passage, and rushed outside with his pistol.

At this moment, the fleeing woman was only about twenty meters from the building.

Her steps were getting slower, her almost drained body swaying, looking extremely exhausted, and she could fall at any moment.

Old Song's eyes turned red with urgency. He took large strides, grabbed the woman's arm, and helped her forward.

The zombie horde was very close, only four of them. Old Song turned, leveled his gun, and aimed at the nearest zombie's head, pulling the trigger. Without waiting for the headless body to stagger and fall, he already had the woman's waist in his arms and was walking toward the open door a few meters