Chapter 22 (1/2)

Chapter 22

The flashlight shone upon the fractured wall. Zhou Rong studied it for a moment, then signalled to the right. ”Here.”

The three people quickly pressed on, following the wall. Zhang Yingjie staggered a little. Chuncao turned back to help him, only to be avoided.

”I can do it myself,” Zhang Yingjie gasped, smiling self-mockingly. ”Later I will… no longer recognise you. Let's not harm our team, stay further away from me.”

Chuncao's little face was stained with tears, and she was silent.

Right in front, Zhou Rong's eyes were red. However, he did not turn back, and his voice was very steady, ”Yingjie, hold on for a while more. We'll get out within two hours, there's still time for you… to at least return back to open ground.

They pa.s.sed through a pa.s.sageway, going along the stairwell destroyed by the zombie gorilla. Zhang Yingjie smiled, ”Is there enough time? Actually, I'm fine with anything. When a person's life goes out, it'll be the same anywhere. It's just that I really want to know if my wife and child are still alive. If I could just see them one more time…”

They were now travelling through a long corridor with labs on each side. Chuncao suddenly stopped, s.h.i.+ning a light incredulously at a safety sign above their heads. ”Look, Zone E.”

They all looked up.

”North Zone E” was in white with a green background, hanging askew in the dark.

Did Si Nan somehow managed to stumble into Zone E while getting chased by the zombie King Kong?

Zhou Rong made an attempt at gallows humour. ”Very good, at least we saved time walking around.. This way.”

Zhang Yingjie stopped for a moment, wheezing a couple of times. Zhou Rong ignored his dodges, reaching out and supporting him, speaking in a low voice, ”Zone E has the latest antivirus research, there may still be some proto-antibodies left behind. From the estimated time when the base had collapsed, the antibodies may have yet to expire. If it's still effective…”

Zhang Yingjie instantly responded, ”Rong-ge, I'm not getting that injected into me. Don't joke about this. If the hope of the entire world is exchanged for my life, I will definitely descend all the way down to the 18th level of h.e.l.l in the future.”

”… If there are two samples.” Zhou Rong said hoa.r.s.ely, ”If there are, I'll definitely inject you with one of them.”

Zhang Yingjie still wanted to say something, but Zhou Rong tugged at him. ”Let's go.”

The fork ahead was lit up by the flashlight. On the ceiling six metres above, the air duct had broke and fell, hanging down like a python on a tree. Zhou Rong looked at the map on his tablet.

— The left led to a testing site, but it was not stated what sort of testing site it was; on the right was a cla.s.sified bio-information lab, and as it was important, it was ranked a red S-level.

Zhou Rong was unable to decide on which direction to choose, then Chuncao's ears suddenly perked up. ”I hear something.”

In the dark, Zhang Yingjie barely managed to stop his heavy pants.

Sound gradually drifted down from upstairs. It sounded as though a group of people were pounding towards them, and the noise they made was interrupted with the familiar sounds of suppressed gunfire.

The three of them looked up, and within a few seconds the chaos was right above their heads. Dust and dirt rained down on them.

”…” Zhou Rong suddenly realised something, and his face changed abruptly. ”f.u.c.k! No!”

But his yell was to no avail.

Loud, rapid bursts of gunfire could be heard from above, sounding no different to an exploding missile. The reinforced concrete ceiling suddenly collapsed, and Zhou Rong, Chuncao and Zhang Yingjie scrambled out of the way. Three other special force soldiers came cras.h.i.+ng down along with the concrete chunks!

Yan Hao rolled and stood up, his voice hoa.r.s.e from shouting, ”Don't let them come down! Shoot! Shoot! Captain?!”

Zhou Rong really wanted to kick him right on the spot, but by then it was too late. An unceasing ma.s.s of zombies followed them, tumbling right through the hole in the ceiling, and swiftly moved around the place!

Zhou Rong fired his weapon as he roared, ”Why did you guys come here?!”

Guo Weixiang, ”To provide you with a.s.sistance!”

Zhou Rong, ”f.u.c.k off!”

Ding s.h.i.+, ”… We were chased here by zombies!”

Yan Hao lifted the heavy a.s.sault rifle, tossing an ammunition bag half the size of a person out. In the midst of gunfire, he turned his head around and shouted, ”There was nowhere else to go! We could only go through the floor! Don't say anymore, it was all an accident!”

Zhou Rong hugged the ammunition bag with two arms, grabbing a grenade in the mess. Throwing it towards the crumpled ceiling, he yelled furiously, ”Everyone get down—!”

The sounds of an explosion thundered around them, and half of the corridor above them was blown to pieces.

The six people who finally managed to meet again did not even have time to reminisce before they were thrown into different corners by the impact of the explosion. Next, fragments of metal and concrete came raining down, blocking the pa.s.sage completely.

It took dozens of minutes before the ground stopped shaking. Dust billowed about in the dark.

Zhou Rong coughed as he pushed away the rubble pressing down on him with great force, standing up, looking wretched. ”Is everyone still alive?”

Some time pa.s.sed before a moan could be heard from nearby. It was his invulnerable daughter Chuncao, ”I'm alive…”