Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
In the blazing sun of the Spratly Islands, snow fell heavily, while Ming Junwei was struggling through the cold night of the Gobi Desert.
He had initially planned to use someone else’s hand to eliminate his enemies, but unexpectedly, the roles had reversed. He found himself thrust into the spotlight, becoming a perfect and conspicuous target for those pursuing him. Hou Xiong had not shown up as promised, which meant that Ming Junwei's next actions would lack support. But that was not his biggest headache; it was the Rebel Army surrounding him that posed the real problem.
“Brother, what do we do? They’re catching up!” A young man clung tightly to Ming Junwei, ignoring his curses as if he couldn’t hear them.
Ming Junwei was nearly driven mad. With such a large group running together, it would be strange if they weren’t caught. The end of Desolate Long Road was in sight, and the bright lights of the city were close at hand. Once they turned the corner, these fugitives would have nowhere to hide.
“Brother, how about we take them on?” The youth seemed either genuinely foolish or pretended to be so. Ming Junwei’s face darkened to match the night sky as he continued to be called “brother,” as if afraid he might forget who he was.
Ming Junwei suddenly stopped in his tracks, took a deep breath, and shouted angrily, “What the hell are you following me for? I still need to save people! The city gate is behind us; don’t follow me!”
The youth blinked in confusion and asked, “Brother, didn’t you just say for everyone to run into the city?”
Ming Junwei was momentarily speechless, his hand gripping the gun handle trembling with rage. If it weren’t for the pursuers closing in on them, he would have shot this idiot right then and there.
“Bang!”
The Pursuing Guards entered firing range without hesitation. Although the sky was darkening, their large group was too conspicuous. As soon as the gunfire echoed, a scream came from behind the Rebel Army. A Middle-Aged Strong Man fell to the ground, clutching his abdomen in agony.
Ming Junwei gritted his teeth, knowing that trying to shake off these people was futile at this point. Once the Rebel Army broke into the city center, it would inevitably cause greater chaos. At that time, he might find an opportunity to escape, but those exposed in plain sight would likely lose all hope of survival.
It wasn’t that Ming Junwei had suddenly developed a sense of compassion; initially, he had intended to use these fools as cover for himself. However, if they scattered as he had originally planned, it would certainly divert the attention of their pursuers. Moreover, if they fled individually without worrying about anything else and ended up exhausted before being captured again, at least their lives would be spared.
Seeing him frowning in thought, the youth urged anxiously, “Big Brother, they’re coming!”
“Damn it.” Ming Junwei spat out a curse and squeezed out a response through gritted teeth: “Since you don’t want to scatter, then let’s head into the city. Let me make this clear: once we’re in the city, I won’t have time to take care of you all. Look after yourselves.” With that said, he took off running and fired a few shots into thin air to slightly slow down their pursuers. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of brilliant lights shining from around the corner and immediately quickened his pace toward them.
The Rebel Army followed suit and raised their guns to fend off their pursuers. They had surrendered many weapons when they burst out of the gates and had a few capable hands among them before being captured. Although their aim was poor in the darkness, seeing flashes of light from this side made the guards hesitant to charge directly into gunfire. Thus began a chaotic chase where they shot and ran until they managed to create some distance from their pursuers while closely following Ming Junwei around the corner.
However, that corner was not the open path everyone hoped for. Although they could already hear the bustling sounds of city life ahead, a cold high wall cruelly separated them from their suffering land known as Flowering World.
Ming Junwei stood at the base of the high wall, his expression mirroring that of the others behind him—utterly bewildered. He had clearly seen the straight road leading into the city upon entering through the city gate. Why was there suddenly a high wall here? Did they anticipate such a day during the planning phase? Ming Junwei felt as if he had been played for a fool. The city gate led directly into the city, but security measures were also set up there. Those fleeing from the courtyard instinctively avoided the main path and chose this route, thus forcing a group of frantic Rebel Army members into a dead end.
On three sides, cold walls loomed, and although they were not as grand as city walls, their height was clearly insurmountable without proper tools. The Rebel Army members who had rushed in were in an uproar; some were stunned, others despaired, and some directed their anger at Ming Junwei, hurling vicious insults and panicked shouts. The sound of pursuing footsteps grew closer, and it seemed they were about to be trapped like fish in a barrel.
The young man shouted back at those cursing Ming Junwei. Many had already given up, collapsing to the ground in despair. To them, this escape attempt had ended before it even began.
"Brother, why don't we just fight them?" the young man spat out, seeing Ming Junwei remain unmoved. He leaned closer, raising the dagger in his hand and said, "We have numbers; let's charge out."
Ming Junwei nodded grimly; there was no other choice. He had underestimated the situation and failed to consider that things could go awry at such a critical moment.
"Those with guns, move to the front! Don’t stop; keep running!" Ming Junwei shouted, not caring whether anyone listened to him. He dashed around the corner with his rifle and without thinking fired off a volley of bullets. The pursuing soldiers stumbled momentarily in shock, and in the next instant, gunfire erupted. A group of Rebel Army members who followed him were immediately thrown into chaos by the bullets.
"Charge!" Ming Junwei roared. The shooters among the Rebel Army retaliated as well. Those who had hesitated now lost their resolve and followed suit, rushing forward into the fiery chaos of the street.
At that moment, however, the soldiers blocking their path suddenly became disorganized. Their gunfire aimed at the Rebel Army shifted direction as if they were being attacked from behind by another enemy. In an instant, the long street descended into chaos; flashes of gunfire lit up both ends while bullets whizzed past their ears. People fell to the ground as they were hit, and both sides quickly closed in on each other.
Ming Junwei sensed something amiss. Cyclops scanned his surroundings and took advantage of the melee to blend into the ranks of pursuing soldiers thanks to his uniform.
The young man was right; in this sudden turn of events, there were indeed fewer guards than those trying to escape. They had been caught off guard for just a moment, but their formation was already disrupted. The Rebel Army's will to survive surged; once they broke free from the guards' firing range, they fought back fiercely—those with knives stabbed while those without used their fists. Before they could fully comprehend the chaos around them, another sound emerged amidst the turmoil.
Ming Junwei pushed through the crowd and burst out into open air, only to be met by a gust of wind. In his panic, he couldn’t tell whether he faced guards or fellow Rebels; instinctively swinging his rifle butt towards whoever was in front of him, he struck hard against someone's skull with a resounding crack that was drowned out by screams. In an instant, an enemy he had just repelled lunged at him again with a roar.
Ming Junwei's scalp prickled with alarm; he realized his earlier actions had taken effect. In this critical moment, he didn’t know whether to feel relieved or mournful. He quickly turned his weapon around and thrust it into an enemy's eye socket. There was a brief sensation of resistance before he felt that new Zombie collapse before him.
As gunfire began to subside around him, neither side managed to gain an upper hand in their close-quarters combat. They soon realized that Zombies had infiltrated their midst; Zombies were a common enemy because their attacks were indiscriminate—they wouldn’t follow commands or recognize uniforms; any living flesh could become their target.
The situation unfolded so suddenly that Ming Junwei couldn’t ascertain how many Zombies had appeared now. Logically speaking, that Squatting Pit Guard should have been the only one transformed; others hadn’t been exposed to the virus and thus had little chance of becoming infected. However, Ming Junwei couldn’t be sure; their understanding of Zombies was limited at best. The virus-carrying Hou Xiong had vanished without a trace, and these suddenly appearing Zombies likely had something to do with him.
Whether guards or Zombies made no difference to Ming Junwei; chaos had arrived as expected. He saw no reason to linger any longer and seized upon this opportunity amidst the confusion where both sides were too preoccupied with fighting each other. Ming Junwei continued to stir up trouble by shouting loudly: "There are Zombies! Go protect the civilians inside the city!"
Ming Junwei shouted casually, knowing that the city must have its emergency mechanisms in place. However, he could not allow those mechanisms to function normally for the time being. If his guess was correct, once zombies appeared on the outskirts of the city, the inner city would be immediately sealed off. This would undoubtedly affect his plan to infiltrate the city. Since he could not control the emergency response, he might as well stir things up himself and create as much chaos as possible.
As expected, the overall quality of the newly formed guard teams was far inferior to that of the others. Ming Junwei blended into the crowd and shouted again, instantly drawing a large number of responses. Almost without needing to incite further panic, the guards began to flee back along their original path.
The Rebel Army needed no further explanation; they were already a group of indecisive individuals. With a fight against the guards still lingering in their minds, their courage diminished at the mention of zombies. The two groups collided in confusion, hurling insults at each other as they hurried back toward the main road at the city gate, leaving a trail of chaos behind them on the desolate side streets.
Just as Ming Junwei had anticipated, there were not many zombies on the long street earlier—at most three or five. A few had even been killed in the scuffle. As both enemy and ally fled, they left behind a scene littered with shell casings and unfortunate souls who had been struck down by stray bullets. Watching their comrades escape one by one, only two staggering figures remained on the road, causing panic among the injured.
Injured A dragged himself toward a tree pit with a bullet wound in his leg, his body scraping against the asphalt and leaving a long trail of blood.
The wandering figure paused for a moment, stiffly turning around and stumbling toward the tree pit.
Injured B lay on the ground pretending to be dead alongside Guard A, both watching in terror as the figure approached. Injured A seemed unaware of the danger and was trying to prop himself up against the tree trunk while cursing incessantly.
Injured B wanted to warn him, but another wandering figure was also moving toward him. Guard A sensed his companion's tension and quickly covered his mouth with his hand. In the next moment, Injured A, who had managed to stand with support from the tree trunk, was surrounded by two figures and fell to the ground amidst screams and curses. They heard the horrifying sound of flesh tearing apart as two figures hunched over Injured A like clumsy workers. The pale moonlight elongated their shadows while Injured A's cries faded away into silence. In the darkness, faint sounds of biting and chewing could be heard.
Comment 0 Comment Count