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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 185: Launch Site
Although his ability to predict danger was poor, after a long time of crawling and rolling, he had developed a bit of quick wit that was just enough to get by.
At the moment the cable snapped, Jiang He desperately clung to the frayed end, and after a brief free fall, he swung out with the dangling cable. Accompanied by Jiang He's frantic screams, a Zombie peered out from the Power Distribution Room and lunged forward, trying to intercept him mid-air. In a makeshift imitation of Tarzan, Jiang He swung his knife, soaring over the Zombie's head and cleaving off a shriveled human head in the process.
"Awesome!" Jiang He shouted in exhilaration, but as he saw himself about to crash into the wall along with the cable, he quickly let go and fell to the ground, covering his head. Fortunately, there were piles of Meadow scattered in the corner, and although he landed with a head full of grass, he was relatively unharmed.
The dazed youth scrambled to his feet, brandishing his knife in front of him while scanning the area warily. To his left was the Power Distribution Room, next to it lay a headless corpse with the Zombie's head rolling at his feet, its murky eyeballs still spinning. In front of the Power Distribution Room stood a Blue-Topped Low-Rise that resembled a miniature version of a Power Station's storage facility. Beside it was a dark alleyway casting shadows under the moonlight, obscuring what lay within.
Jiang He swiftly dispatched the still twitching Zombie head with his knife and bent down to retrieve the flashlight he had dropped. Upon inspection, he found that the flashlight's cover had come off and two batteries were missing. This old-fashioned flashlight had a bright Light Bulb; Jiang He had prepared several spares but had only taken one for himself before leaving, giving the rest to his graduate students. Luckily, he still had a lighter and some candles in his backpack, so lighting up wouldn’t be an issue.
After pondering for a moment and feeling it was too wasteful, Jiang He pulled out his lighter and began searching for batteries. Anyone who has used an old flashlight knows that D Cells are quite noticeable; they feel heavy and solid in hand. Holding the lighter above him, he scanned around on top of the Meadow until he spotted a large battery that he had pressed into it earlier. His heart leaped with joy as he bent down to dig it out and quickly retrieved it.
"Huh?" Jiang He paused for a moment, sensing that he might have touched something while digging for the battery. He quickly stepped back two paces, shoved the battery back into the flashlight, then cautiously approached with his knife drawn. He was well aware of the saying "those who are too curious often meet an early demise," so he restrained himself from checking immediately and held his breath as he waited. Eventually, he heard a muffled growl.
It wasn’t from beneath the Meadow but from outside the blue-topped building.
Jiang He swiftly turned around and directed his flashlight towards it; there was nothing unusual in the narrow alleyway in front of the Power Distribution Room—no Zombies attacking from either side. He guessed that he had stumbled into something serious again and felt uneasy about it. Therefore, he dimmed his flashlight slightly and lifted his knife to pry up some of the Meadow.
Beneath the dry grass lay a grotesque human face with hollow eye sockets staring directly at Jiang He!
Jiang He gasped in shock and instinctively jumped back but accidentally stepped on the body of a headless Zombie. He tumbled backward with a crash against the metal railing outside the Power Distribution Room. Cursing under his breath while clutching his head, he stood up. Thankfully, he wasn’t carrying any touch sensors; otherwise, after all these falls, things would have blown up by now.
Jiang He steadied himself before approaching the body. It wasn't that he was particularly interested in the corpse; rather, he had noticed something peculiar earlier. Meadow had been thoroughly mangled by his previous attempts, and now Jiang He carefully brushed aside the debris covering the corpse to reveal its skeletal form.
The body had completely dried out, with the skin on its face sunken tightly against the skull. The eye sockets were dark, filled with what appeared to be cotton-like material. What piqued Jiang He's interest was not the desiccated corpse itself, but rather the helmet it wore. Yes, this person buried beneath the meadow was still wearing a helmet.
Jiang He glanced around cautiously, aware of the increasingly clear sounds of zombies growling nearby, knowing they could make a dramatic entrance at any moment. He forced himself to calm down and attempted to remove the helmet marked with a red star on its forehead. He knew that dried corpses were fragile, so he proceeded with extra caution. However, as soon as he unfastened the strap embedded in the neck, it snapped with a brittle sound. Holding one end of the strap, he apologized to the lifeless head.
The helmet was severely faded, with most of its outer paint peeling away to reveal a black interior. A few patches of off-white paint remained, still discernible despite their dirtiness. The prominent red star on the forehead stood out clearly. The helmet had a hemispherical shape, tapering at the bottom, with ear protection on either side and an additional thin shell at the front. It resembled a motorcycle helmet but featured three circular holes at the top front, akin to those found on a bowling ball.
Such a place was unlikely to have seen off-road biking activities, especially considering the sky-blue uniform and gloves worn by the dried corpse... Jiang He couldn't help but swallow hard as thoughts of "pilot" crossed his mind. An Zheng had mentioned that someone would be waiting to escort them out of the country for refuge, yet here lay a pilot who had dried up in this corner beneath Meadow... Jiang He dared not think further.
The growling of zombies grew closer, and Jiang He knew he couldn't linger any longer. He hurriedly searched the pilot's body for anything useful but found nothing else; upon closer inspection, he realized that even shoes were absent.
A soft crack echoed behind him, like a dry twig snapping. Jiang He turned to look back.
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