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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Ninety-One: Samurai Spirit, Aiming to Cease Hostilities (Part Two)
Wheat woke up halfway through the journey, finding herself slung over a young man's shoulder. Before she could comprehend the situation, she was shoved into a compartment.
Along with her were food, clean water, and various packages. After a brief moment of fear, the young girl regained her composure. Although her fighting skills were lacking, her mind worked quickly.
There were three people in the vehicle: two in the front and one in the back. She leaned against the seat, surrounded by large and small bundles. The three of them chattered excitedly about their experiences during the day, counting their gains and discussing where to find entertainment that night. No one paid any attention to the "unconscious" Wheat.
The vehicle moved swiftly, bouncing violently. Wheat fought against the urge to vomit while discreetly checking for injuries. When the minibus had flipped over, she had just been seated; the violent impact had thrown her against the ceiling, and then the vehicle was struck from the side, sending her body crashing around due to inertia. Ultimately, her body activated its self-protection mechanism, causing her to lose consciousness.
Fortunately, aside from feeling sore all over, Wheat had no other injuries. She was unaware of Luci, Cao Liang, and the others' circumstances but understood that these people intended to take her into a mine. Coming to this realization eased her mind somewhat; Jiang He and the others had not returned, suggesting they were likely below as well. Regardless of what had happened, being with them diminished much of her fear.
The car stopped in an open area surrounded by a row of single-story houses and some low buildings. The young man in the back lifted her up and walked with the others into Hemp Grass Field while joking and laughing. Wheat's long hair fell over her face as she secretly opened her eyes a crack to survey her surroundings, realizing that they hadn't traveled far from where they had started. This Hemp Grass Field seemed to be where they had seen during the day; thus, Daliugou Coal Mine indeed had people present—though contrary to Jiang He's earlier speculation, there were no troops here, and these individuals did not appear friendly.
After walking for a while, Artemisia Bush's group came to a halt. Wheat heard someone shouting something; however, since the person carrying her stood further back, she couldn't catch everything clearly. She vaguely heard phrases like "people coming from below" and "they're all dead."
"Did Jiang He and the others... die?" Wheat found it hard to believe her ears as she tried to block out the surrounding noise and focus on what was being said ahead.
Unfortunately, things did not go as she hoped; several young men ran back to the vehicle and tossed her along with some packages back inside before shutting the door and leaving.
Wheat lay quietly for more than ten minutes until she confirmed that no one was around before cautiously sitting up to examine her surroundings by moonlight.
Three Cherokees were lined up facing a small black hill; Wheat recognized it as the Coal Gangue Pile they had seen earlier that day.
The area was pitch black; abandoned houses stood with their doors wide open, dark and foreboding.
Both the car doors and windows were locked. Wheat climbed into the driver's seat and began rummaging through the glove compartment and storage box in hopes of finding something useful. She felt something under the passenger seat—a paper pulp bucket—and when she opened it, a strong smell of gunpowder hit her face, causing her to cough violently. Wheat quickly closed the lid and fumbled to open a nearby plastic bag. Inside were many small balls; picking one up revealed it was a ping pong ball—though these were unusually heavy as if filled with something inside. Each ball had a small hole that was sealed with wax.
Uncertain about what these items were, she placed them back as they were and tapped on the car window; the dull sound of tempered glass echoed in the cramped compartment.
"What should I do?" Wheat muttered to herself, repeating "calm down, calm down" as the faces of Ming Junwei and Chao Yifan flashed through her mind, trying to imagine what they would do if they were here. Before she could figure it out, she noticed a figure running in the rearview mirror.
Wheat quickly ducked down, staring intently at the mirror, where she saw a middle-aged man running alongside a woman. The night was dark as ink, making it hard to see the man's features. He hurried to the car, fiddled with the door for a moment, then dashed over to another vehicle and opened its door. The man and woman got into the car, and the Cherokee's taillights lit up as it spun around and sped away.
Wheat wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or regretful. Just as she sat up again, another figure appeared in the rearview mirror. She recognized him as the young man who had carried her; he was heading straight for her car and had already unlocked it from a distance.
With a click, the car window lock popped open. Wheat froze for a moment before quickly pushing her seat back and reaching for the barrel of gunpowder, lifting the lid.
Dick the Cowboy rushed over, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, his long hair blowing wildly in the night wind. He didn't bother fixing his hair as he pulled open the back door and climbed into the seat, rummaging around for something while letting out a puzzled "Eh?"
Wheat pressed herself tightly against the door, her nerves at their peak. She had thought he would come through the front door; her plan was to throw this barrel of powder right at him and escape in the chaos. But Dick the Cowboy instead crawled into the back seat. The girl held her breath, her palms sweating around the barrel.
There was some rustling in the back seat when Dick's head poked through from between the front seats. He didn't notice Wheat so close by; smoke from his cigarette wafted into his eyes as he twisted his body to reach under the passenger seat for a plastic bag. Suddenly he froze, catching sight of a dark shape moving in the moonlight filtering through the window.
In that split second when Dick turned his head, Wheat let out a sharp scream and flipped the barrel of gunpowder upside down.
The powder exploded all over Dick's head; sparks flew from his cigarette as an explosion erupted inside the car with a loud bang!
Wheat screamed again, barely managing to raise her hands to shield her face as a blinding light flashed before her eyes and a wave of heat rushed toward her.
Dick's entire head was engulfed in flames as he screamed and fell from his seat, thrashing like a tortured spirit before collapsing onto the ground.
Wheat trembled as she lowered her hands; strands of hair on her forehead had been singed away by the flames. The interior of the car was filled with a stench of sulfur and burnt flesh. The girl fumbled to open the car door but collapsed to her knees, gasping for cold air brought by the evening breeze.
Not far away, Dick lay on the ground convulsing for a few moments, green flames flickering on his head before gradually extinguishing in the wind, leaving behind curling wisps of smoke.
Wheat shakily crawled over to him and pulled out his car keys from his charred pockets. Unable to resist glancing at what remained of his burnt head, she felt her stomach churn and turned away to vomit on the ground.
Jiang He peeked out from the abandoned cave, glancing around to ensure no one was in sight.
"This is the place, right?" Jiang He pointed at a Brick Wall diagonally across the arched passage and shrugged his shoulders. "Is Ming the Great Hero still awake?"
"Yes, that's right." Ming Junwei patted him on the back, signaling him to let him down.
The two of them supported Ming Junwei as they hurried to the front of the Brick Wall.
"What is this place?" Song Yao asked, confused and unaware of why Ming Junwei was so intent on finding this particular thing.
"You two need to hurry up. Yi Fan and the others are probably still looking for me and Zhuzi at the Coal Gangue Pile. You need to leave this area as quickly as possible," Ming Junwei said, suppressing the urge to cough as he spoke slowly and deliberately. Seeing their puzzled expressions, he added with a smile, "This place is filled with explosives; it could blow up the entire Air Raid Shelter."
Jiang He snatched the torch from him and exclaimed, "Can you have a bit of awareness as a cultured person? It's either blowing up the Cooling Tower or the Air Raid Shelter. Your thinking is too extreme."
"I can't get out. While I still have some strength left, I'll cover for you one more time," Ming Junwei said weakly with a smile. "Listen, gunshots and Zombies. You’ve turned this place into a mess; do you think they’ll let you go?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? I'm taking you out right now. Dr. An is outside; let her see where you're hurt. As for what happens here, it has nothing to do with me; I haven't done anything," Jiang He protested vehemently. "I killed someone, but that has nothing to do with the Zombies. I've just been wandering around this abandoned cave for hours."
"Huh?" Ming Junwei frowned in surprise. "Didn't you shoot their leader?"
"How could I have that ability!" Jiang He glanced at Song Yao, who also looked bewildered. "Ming the Great Hero, are you out of your mind? Let's go already; no more talking. We're not far from the tunnel. Whatever chaos they're causing is their problem, not ours."
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