Undead

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Edited by: Cyndy

The crowd, stunned, looked at each other.

Zhou Rong did not give them any time to panic. In an instant, he had already given a series of clear instructions. “Everyone move to the upper north corner. Reinforce the wire fence. Chun Cao, call Dading and Xiangzi back.”

“I’ll drive the armoured vehicle and bait the zombies away. Si Nan, bring the explosives.”

“It’s just a few hundred zombies, we can defend against them. Everyone, don’t panic!”

The survivors who had experienced the siege in T City did not disappoint Zhou Rong. After a short moment of confusion and helplessness, everyone flew into action. They retrieved axes, hammers, metal rods and other various tools from the factory, then rushed towards the north where the zombies were incoming.

As the armoured vehicle shot ahead, Zhou Rong opened the passenger side door without decelerating. When he passed by, Si Nan grabbed onto the handle on the inside of the door, Yan Hao grabbed onto the ladder at the back of the vehicle, and the two of them leapt in.

“What’s in the bag?” Zhou Rong shouted.

Si Nan, gripping onto a school bag, slammed the door closed. “Fire meteors!”

Zhou Rong, “What?”

Zhou Rong pressed his foot all the way down onto the accelerator, and the armoured vehicle screamed out of the north entrance. Seconds later, Yan Hao jumped off from the back of the vehicle, rolling across the ground before getting up, and started to toss the nitrocellulose along the two sides of the road.

Chun Cao rushed out of the warehouse, carrying three dark green metal tanks half her height, tied together on her back. In her hand was a huge spray gun, and she efficiently made her way to the top of the wire fence. “Yan Hao, hurry! Come back!”

***

The screams of people and the growls of monsters could be distinctly heard. In the night, a dense mass of zombies pressed forward, grabbing the couple of women at the back of the group and tearing them apart. Cries pierced the night sky.

Behind the thermal binoculars, Si Nan’s pupils constricted slightly.

Zhou Rong yelled, “Open the back door, put down the ladder!”

The ten odd survivors on the road had noticed the armoured vehicle, and ran towards them, shouting loudly. Zhou Rong executed a perfect turn, the tyres shrieking. At the same time, Si Nan kicked the back door open, grabbed the custom-made pulley ladder, and used all of his might to throw it to the ground.

The man at the front of the group without fail grabbed onto the ladder and leapt up. With Si Nan’s help, he threw himself into the vehicle.

“Quickly!” Zhou Rong roared.

A few men were pulled up, and in the chaos, the moans of the living dead were drawing closer. Si Nan did not have the time to respond, only shouting, “Drive! The zombies are here!”

The armoured vehicle started moving forward slowly. About two or three steps away from the ladder, a big and tall bespectacled man ran as he wailed, “Don’t leave me behind!”

Si Nan’s brows were tightly knitted. He slid out from the back of the vehicle, one hand gripping onto the end of the ladder, and the other stretching out to the man.

Still, as the vehicle jolted about, the bespectacled man failed to grab Si Nan’s hand. He either couldn’t catch hold of it while running, or his grip would slip. At this moment, a zombie latched onto his back. The man staggered, his courage roused up, and he turned to harshly shove the zombie away.

“Grab hold of me!” Si Nan yelled.

The bespectacled man wheezed fearfully. He could see the army of zombies following behind him, and he knew that it was too late.

Si Nan stretched his hand out as far as he could reach. “Hurry!!”

The man ran as fast as he could, his mind completely blank, and finally managed to grab hold of Si Nan’s hand.

In the next second, he savagely pulled Si Nan towards himself—

The cruelty that a man could commit in a hopeless situation was beyond belief. Si Nan was caught off guard. He lost his balance and fell off the vehicle!

Zhou Rong’s expression changed drastically, and he slammed on the brakes.

The first man who entered the vehicle lunged at him and shouted, “Why are you stopping?! Quick, drive!”

Outside the back door, the zombies had been blocked by Si Nan. The bespectacled man finally got the gap he needed, and caught the ladder with a leap!

“Si Nan!” Zhou Rong roared.

Si Nan rolled across the ground, and fell in front of the zombies. With a twist of his hand, he pulled out a military knife from the side of his thigh, and in a flash sliced off a few rotting hands reaching out to him, then rose immediately.

The few men in the back of the vehicle were shouting madly.

“They’re coming!”

“Don’t let them come over!”

“Quick, close the door! Hurry!”

The bespectacled man was about to close the door. Zhou Rong did not say a word, and instead pounded a certain red button on the dashboard with a fist.

Buzz—

An electric current transmitted through the door and electrocuted the bespectacled man. He convulsed, and fell head down!

Si Nan raised his hand to look at it. His palm hurt intensely, and blood slowly oozed out from a wound.

A few steps away were zombies disorderly pushing their way forward. Even in the dark, those rotting faces and reeking mouths were distinct. Twenty metres away, the armoured vehicle backtracked, and Zhou Rong drove towards his direction.

In a split second, Si Nan made a decision. “Zhou Rong! Don’t come over!!”

Si Nan quivered as he opened the school bag and retrieved a glass bottle with a bumpy surface. Retreating, he threw it into the crowd of zombies, then immediately turned and crouched down, tucking his head into his body.

—Boom!!!

The earth trembled, flames lit up the sky, and the shockwave threw Si Nan forward, making him cough up blood.

The heat from the blast of the nitroglycerin caused the thermite to quickly react. Molten iron mixed with countless glass shards and in the night, bright and terrifying flames shot out, clearing out the front row of zombies instantly!

Bits of corpses scattered all over the ground. Zhou Rong’s startled eyes looked into his rearview mirror, and he finally understood why this thing was called fire meteors.

“Si Nan!” Zhou Rong slapped the car door. “Get on!”

Wearily, Si Nan stood up. He almost fell down, and took two stumbling steps.

“Quick, get on!”

Si Nan shook his head, finally becoming more alert. However, he did not enter through the back door of the vehicle, but climbed the ladder and went onto the roof of the car.

Out in the distant industrial zone, the moans and footsteps of the zombies rang out, and they soon gathered into a new army of living dead. The armoured vehicle spun on the spot, crushing a few swaying zombies under its wheels, then sped down the road.

***

On the road in front of the fertiliser plant, the sound of a speeding car drew closer. Yan Hao placed the last bag of nitrocellulose, then lunged into the front yard like a robust cheetah. Almost right behind him, the armoured vehicle shot in, and stopped abruptly.

The survivors had been waiting for a long time already. Males, females, young and old, they worked together to push the wire mesh together, then secured them with metal chains. In the next moment, a thick mess of dark shadows appeared at the end of the road. Moans surrounded them, and the sound of shuffling feet poured in like the ocean’s tide.

Their numbers were more than they had imagined!

They knew there was a wire fence separating them, but seeing so many rotting and putrid living dead coming towards them, their level of fear still exceeded what they had expected. Many people’s knees turned weak, and they started shrieking.

With a face full of sweat, Yan Hao shouted, “Don’t be scared! Our defenses will hold!”

That yell had a queer strength to it, and stopped the crowd’s fearful retreat.

The next moment, the zombies had made their way onto the road, entering the two hundred metres stretch of nitrocellulose.

— Chun Cao raised the spray gun and brazenly pulled the trigger.

A boom shook the earth. Flames spewed out, reaching up to the night sky under everyone’s astounded eyes, roaring towards the zombies.

With the flames, the nitrocellulose exploded!

Two hundred metres of tarmac erupted, cement powderised, and trees flew up into the air. The zombies were ripped apart in the blaze that mimicked daylight, and flesh and blood rained from the sky.

When the explosion occurred, everyone cried out hoarsely, then started cheering madly!

The few rescued men in the armoured vehicle were flabbergasted. They stared at the spectacular sight, speechless.

The last bit of explosives flashed brightly. The zombies were completely cleared, and smoke from the explosions covered the road strewn with flesh and blood. The blaze finally dissipated into the industrial zone.

Zhou Rong jumped out of the driver’s cabin, and moved to the back of the vehicle.

The men all came out. The leader was covered in dirt, but with one glance it could be seen that he was wearing a tailored and expensive suit. He extended his hand, revealing a diamond studded, white gold watch on his wrist. “You’re the head of this group? Many thanks, I am...”

Zhou Rong ignored him, yanking out that bespectacled man from within the vehicle.

Like carrying a chicken, he dragged the bespectacled man to the foot of the wall, shoving him against the bricks. With his elbow against the man’s neck, he pushed hard, and lifted up that bulky man!

The rest of the people were still badly shaken from what had just happened. The feet of the bespectacled man scrabbled in the air, his throat under pressure from Zhou Rong’s elbow, and his face swiftly turned from purple to black.

“Bro,” Zhou Rong stared at his bloodshot eyes and spoke leisurely. “You’re not a very upright person.”

The leader hurried over. “I’m sorry, it’s a misunderstanding, it’s all a misunderstanding! Please calm down...”

“Calm down?” Zhou Rong laughed. “My man was thrown into a pack of zombies by him. It’s not going to be easy for me to calm down.”

The crowd did not known what had happened. Hearing them, their faces changed. Yan Hao, Chun Cao and the rest immediately headed towards them.

“Sorry, I’m really sorry. When running for our lives, it’s possible that our hands may slip. We owe you our lives, and we’ll remember that for the rest of it.” The leader smiled, looking very apologetic, and he continued earnestly. “They’re my bodyguards, and we’re all Alphas — Please at least give us some face...”

The expressions of the crowd all turned a little peculiar.

Zhou Rong did not release the pressure on his elbow, but he gave a laugh.

Zhou Rong’s facial features tended to look wicked, but when he laughed, he gave off an air of refinement. Seeing that, the leader also relaxed — however, at that moment, he saw Zhou Rong reach out with his other hand and pull off his subordinate’s glasses. He tossed them onto the ground, and with a crack, ground them into dust with his foot.

“No wonder,” Zhou Rong smiled. “I was wondering how you guys managed to attract all the zombies around this area.”

When the leader saw Zhou Rong’s breezy smile, a chill ran through his body.

“...” The eyes of his subordinate rolled back in his death-throes, and the cracking of bones was heard from his throat. The man was silent for a moment, as though he was weighing the situation. Suddenly, with a swing of his hand, he slapped his subordinate!

“You inhumane piece of shit, you should’ve just died alone. You even dragged others down with you. No one would’ve been able to save you, this heartless bastard!”

Then, the man turned towards Zhou Rong, and smiled humbly. “Please cool down. Call your man over, I’ll make this callous thing kowtow to him and apologise. His life or death will be up to you.”

The dozens of survivors and the few Alpha bodyguards stood facing each other. The burnt, rotten stench in the air had yet to fade away, and the atmosphere was so tense, a fight could break out any moment.

After some time, Zhou Rong’s elbow shifted slightly. That subordinate coughed harshly, and his face turned into the colour of liver.

“Si Nan,” Zhou Rong called indifferently. “Come here.”

There was no reaction from the roof of the armoured vehicle.

Zhou Rong turned his head and signalled with his eyes. Yan Hao turned and walked to the vehicle, knocking on it. “Si Nan! Don’t be angry, come down!”

On the roof, Si Nan panted silently, and swallowed a mouthful of blood-laced saliva.

He looked at his hand. Half his palm was abraded, and the blood kept oozing out, breaking through the heavy restraints of the inhibitor, and gave off the concealed and sweet —

Scent of an Omega’s pheromones.

After a long moment, Yan Hao still did not receive any reply. He felt that something seemed wrong, and wanted to climb up onto the vehicle roof. “Si Nan? Are you ok?”