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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Sixty-Five: Fire Hazard
Jiang He and the others ultimately did not venture deeper into the cornfield to evade the Zombies.
When they noticed the Farmhouse was on fire, it was still just a plume of black smoke swirling. By the time Ming Junwei climbed back up, bright orange flames were shooting into the sky. From their vantage point, it seemed as though the entire Small Building was about to be engulfed by the inferno.
"We need to go back," Jiang He said, feeling as if his heart was being gripped tightly by a large hand. He immediately turned to rush back.
"Don't be impulsive," Chao Yifan blocked his path, watching the approaching Horde and the dazzling flames. "We need to get higher."
Ming Junwei rubbed his cheeks, which had grown numb from the cold wind, and silently ran up the slope.
Most of the Zombies on the back hill had already flowed down into the Zombie horde. Some scattered Zombies occasionally tumbled off the cliff, crashing onto the roofs of old houses below, leaving them in ruins.
Jiang He and his companions sprinted up to the Clifftop as quickly as possible, not caring about conserving ammunition. After a chaotic barrage of gunfire, only the three of them remained standing on the not-so-wide Clifftop.
The Horde of Zombies was being led by the three of them like a dog on a leash, now swaying unsteadily as they passed between two rows of old houses. The gunfire from the Clifftop acted like a beacon, illuminating the Zombies' dinner.
"How did this fire start?" Ming Junwei pondered in confusion. As they passed behind the Small Building, they observed that the cramped backyard had been completely consumed by flames. Through the flickering firelight, they could see that the second-floor window frames had exploded from the heat.
"The backyard is full of flammable materials, and with such strong winds today, how come they haven't come out yet?" Chao Yifan was also stunned by the fire. The Firestorm crackled loudly beneath their feet, but there was no sound coming from inside.
Jiang He stood at the edge of the cliff, his frozen cheeks burning from the heat of the flames. The light was blinding, and when he turned to look elsewhere, everything began to fade into darkness.
Zombies were already peeking over from where they had come up. The group checked their ammunition and took a wide detour around the Zombies before heading back down.
On the path leading to the Farmhouse, a few Zombies lingered aimlessly; it seemed these were latecomers who hadn’t joined up with the main force. Chao Yifan peeked down at the dirt road at the bottom of the slope; there were still Zombies there, but not many.
The three raised their guns and fired in quick succession, swiftly clearing away the Zombies in front of the iron gate before banging on it vigorously to call out to their companions inside.
Chao Yifan stepped aside, watching the Horde of Zombies pass by Clifftop, sweat pouring down his face.
"Climb over!" Jiang He exclaimed anxiously, snatching the Rifle from Ming Junwei's hands. He turned the gun upside down and swung it like a club, knocking the shards of a bottle embedded in the top of the concrete wall down to the ground.
At that moment, the sudden roar of an engine erupted from behind the door. Before the three could react, the two iron doors burst open with a loud crash, slamming into Ming Junwei and knocking him to the ground as an Armored Truck barreled out.
Chao Yifan, standing opposite the gate, reacted swiftly, instinctively raising his handgun. However, the headlights of the truck flashed brightly, blinding him. With his vision obstructed, Chao Yifan instinctively pulled the trigger and dove to the side.
The Armored Truck maintained its speed, leaving a long skid mark on the ground as it sharply turned down a slope, taking the brunt of Jiang He's bullets with its rear compartment.
Both men were completely disoriented. Chao Yifan muttered something before getting up and chasing after it, seemingly firing another shot.
Amidst the chaos, Jiang He finally regained a shred of composure. He slipped his arms under Ming Junwei's armpits and dragged him back into the yard. Ming Junwei had been caught off guard standing behind the door and was knocked out by the forceful swing of the iron door. He had no visible injuries but was uncertain if he had any internal damage.
Jiang He dared not move recklessly. Seeing Ming Junwei dazedly open his eyes, he hurriedly asked a couple of questions.
"How are you? Did you break any bones?" Jiang He glanced at the open doorway leading to the living room and felt a chill run down his spine.
Ming Junwei seemed stunned from being hit; he sat on the ground for two minutes before coming to his senses. "I... I'm fine. You go inside quickly..."
Jiang He's legs felt weak as he crawled up the steps using both hands and feet.
The living room was filled with thick smoke, making it impossible to see anything clearly. Jiang He groped his way up the stairs and heard cries coming from above.
Praying in his heart, he rushed upstairs and pushed open one of the bedroom doors. An Zheng lay unconscious on the floor, while Wheat and a little boy struggled to lift him up.
"What happened!! What happened!! Who did this!!" Jiang He stared at the scene in front of him in shock, frantically shaking An Zheng. When he saw that An Zheng did not respond, he quickly reached out to check for breath. Thankfully, although weak, he was still alive.
Wheat held the little boy close, tears streaming down his face. "You weren't here just now; a man came in and shot Dr. An."
"Where? Where?" Jiang He felt his head was about to explode as he quickly turned An Zheng around, searching for gunshot wounds. Suddenly, he felt a warmth in his hand, a sticky sensation at his fingertips.
Jiang He hurriedly pushed An Zheng's hair aside and discovered that blood was smeared around An Zheng's temple.
Realizing it wasn't a gunshot wound, Jiang He breathed a sigh of relief. He grabbed a pillowcase from the bed and pressed it against the injury, urgently asking, "Where are the others? Where's Sister Yao?"
"Downstairs..." Wheat was frightened by Jiang He's fierce expression and spoke hesitantly.
"Get out quickly! Wait in the yard!" Jiang He lifted An Zheng in his arms and called for the two startled children to follow.
As they ran outside, they found Ming Junwei crouched on the ground, pressing hard on Pan Luo's chest.
Jiang He gritted his teeth and gently laid An Zheng on the ground. Just as he was about to turn back, he was suddenly pulled by Pan Luo's sleeve.
"The kitchen..." The little girl’s face was covered in soot, blood congealed behind her ear, her breath faint.
Jiang He's head buzzed; it felt as if his ears had suddenly malfunctioned. He scrambled into the living room, relying on memory to navigate.
Ming Junwei helped Pan Luo up and saw that An Zheng was slowly regaining consciousness. He quickly asked, "What happened? How did this happen?"
"Zhou Huai," An Zheng said as he propped himself up with one hand on his forehead. A wave of dizziness hit him, and he slumped back down.
"Who?" Ming Junwei didn't hear clearly.
Suddenly, there was an inappropriate banging on the iron door. Ming Junwei stood up with his gun drawn and looked out through the crack of the door, only to see a horde of zombies pressing against it, roaring and pounding.
Ming Junwei struggled to suppress the feelings of despair rising within him as he clung to An Zheng and Pan Luo, making his way to the wall, momentarily at a loss: What should I do? What should I do?
In the living room, Jiang He was crawling on the floor, feeling a heaviness in his chest as nausea washed over him.
He crawled to the front of the sofa and suddenly bumped into something hard. Reaching out, he discovered it was a handgun.
Jiang He instinctively aimed at the window and fired, but instead of the sound of shattering glass, he heard something else. He got up and ran over, stifling tears as he coughed, desperately knocking over a bookshelf. The strong wind rushed in from outside, sweeping away the thick smoke in the room and finally clearing his vision a bit. As he looked up, he saw Luci's Tabby Cat scratching at the closed sliding door.
Jiang He gagged twice and hurried over to unlock the door, pulling it open with all his strength.
The sight before him struck Jiang He like a bolt of lightning, causing his legs to give way as he collapsed to the ground.
The back door of the kitchen had been reduced to ashes, with fierce flames licking at everything in their path. The food stacked against the wall was consumed by fire, and flames curled up the wallpaper on the porcelain Brick Wall. One side of the stainless steel cabinet glowed red from the heat.
By the back door lay two twisted plastic barrels, with two bodies sprawled beside them, still ablaze. A foul odor mixed with the scent of burning flesh filled Jiang He's nostrils.
He felt as if his throat was constricted; he wanted to scream but couldn't make a sound. Using all fours, he crawled closer to the charred remains, overwhelmed by grief. Finally, he let out a wail and collapsed onto the ground.
The Tabby Cat silently slipped inside, leaping onto Jiang He's leg before jumping onto the stove. Jiang He stared blankly at the cat as it stealthily approached the water tank, shaking its head: "Meow~"
With a splash, two figures suddenly emerged from both water tanks. The Tabby Cat jumped in fright and leaped off the stove onto Jiang He.
Jiang He was completely stunned, gaping as two drenched girls climbed out of the tanks.
" Jiang He!" The short-haired girl spotted him leaning against the wall and rushed over to throw herself into his arms.
Luci shook her hair dry and bent down to pick up the bewildered cat. "We need to get out of here; it's too dangerous."
Until the three of them and the cat returned to the courtyard, Jiang He still wore a dazed expression on his face.
Pan Luo and An Zheng had woken up, and Ming Junwei felt relieved to see that both women were safe, but he couldn't understand Jiang He's expression.
Song Yao brushed her damp hair aside and patted Jiang He's face. "What's wrong? Did you cry?"
"No!" Jiang He finally snapped back to reality, hurriedly turning away to wipe his face, the earlier sorrow vanishing in an instant.
"Damn, you scared me! I thought you all were dead!" He said he hadn't cried, but two clear tear streaks remained on his ash-covered face. "By the way! Where's Brother Cao? Why are there two corpses in the kitchen?"
"The corpses are zombies that fell from Clifftop. I don't know where Brother Cao is. The fire was raging, and we couldn't open the door at all. There were zombies outside the window, so Brother Cao told us to hide in the water barrel." Song Yao wrung out her wet jacket; underneath it was just a small tank top, completely soaked, revealing her curvaceous figure.
"Someone's up to no good! What exactly happened?" Luci noticed that An Zheng and Pan Luo were both injured and suddenly recalled the shadow she had seen at the window earlier.
"I don't know; it was too smoky. I wanted to go upstairs, but then someone knocked me out." Pan Luo had been carried out of the living room by Ming Junwei and had inhaled quite a bit of smoke. Fortunately, the front door had been left open, and the sofa was near it; otherwise, Pan Luo's life would have truly been in danger.
"What about that graduate student?" Jiang He looked around but didn't see Chao Yifan, their new recruit.
"He disappeared a long time ago." Pan Luo covered her head with a towel and angrily recounted what had just happened.
"The car..."
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