Chapter 126.2 – Life-and-Death Marathon (17)
◎ Good Brother and Bad Brother ◎
Yin Xiao moved extremely fast, almost passing through the iron gate. At the critical moment, a hail of bullets suddenly rained down from the direction of the city wall, smashing towards him in the direction he was heading. If he didn’t dodge, he would have been smashed into pieces.
Yin Xiao timely braked, leaping back, leaving deep marks on the ground with his military boots. He swiftly adjusted his sniper scope, blocking the aftermath of the explosion.
The splattered mud quickly dispersed, and he abruptly looked up, only to see a stern-faced man inside the defense walls, coldly staring at him. The man held a machine gun and was about to shoot at him.
Yin Xiao recognized the man; they had a chance encounter in the skies over Ferrara, seemingly… not on good terms.
Unfortunately, it was mutual. This dislike had no reason, just an intuition stemming from the instincts of male animals.
The two locked eyes from a distance, the smell of gunpowder lingering in the air.
A ruby earring flashed in the dark night as Yin Xiao brazenly raised two middle fingers at the other.
Zhuang Qingyan remained unfazed, tugging at the corner of his mouth, revealing an extremely mocking smile.
Just as Yin Xiao furrowed his brows, someone grabbed his collar. A tall figure exceeding eighty kilograms was hoisted up with one hand and was ruthlessly flung backward! His vision spun as Yin Xiao, with his slender figure, twisted mid-air, landing to maintain balance. When he looked up again, Song Ke’s leopard-like agile figure had already leapt away, slashing down nearby zombies, long gone.
Some people naturally disliked fragile white flowers, yet they found themselves defenseless against vibrant, thorn-covered iron roses. Yin Xiao was someone who walked a different path.
A smirk played at the corner of his mouth, but the next moment, he realized that Song Ke’s throw was exceptionally accurate, landing him amidst a heap of zombies.
The zombies emerging from the river, covered in algae and mud, shook their heads, splattering him with a river-scented mess.
“…” Yin Xiao’s smile vanished, expressionless as he drew his weapon from the holster on his thigh, efficiently dealing with the zombies.
…
“Aren’t you going after them?” Lu Xiaoyu witnessed the commotion from atop the city wall and kindly reminded Zhuang Qingyan.
“I can’t shoulder or lift anything,” Zhuang Qingyan pointed confidently at his legs. “Wouldn’t I just cause trouble if I went?”
Zhuang Qingyan thought of something, lips curling into a smile. “Don’t worry, when our captain gets serious, no one can snatch things from her.”
Lu Xiaoyu nodded. “Oh, then why did you just attack that person like a peacock spreading its feathers?”
“That person is probably top-tier A-level, and you, in any case, are an S-level awakener…”
Lu Xiaoyu trailed off suddenly.
Zhuang Qingyan sneered, “Finally figured it out? I thought you were so obsessed with shooting that even your intelligence went off with the bullets.”
Lu Xiaoyu ignored his sarcasm. He suddenly realized that since a while ago, Zhuang Qingyan had only been using firearms and hadn’t utilized any supernatural abilities. He initially thought it was out of laziness, but the truth was… he simply hadn’t had a chance to use them.
Up to this point in the battle, Haimen seemed to have an absolute advantage, yet both waves of zombies on the river and the plains were just ordinary ones. None of the mutant zombies, evolved zombies, or the Zombie King had appeared yet.
Where could they have gone?
“This Zombie King’s best tactic is guerrilla tactics,” Zhuang Qingyan calmly analyzed. “Using food airdrop containers as a cover to send in the Fallen, because they have no life signs. Once mixed with the food, it masks even radiation. Most importantly, they can control themselves and not make any noticeable movements.”
“But with such elaborate planning, is its only goal really to have the Fallen open three iron gates?”
“Since it can adjust tactics based on different abilities, why not organize a surprise attack?”
“If I were it, I definitely wouldn’t opt for a straightforward assault.”
“Oh, so you think your ‘good buddy,’ the Zombie King, would do what?” Lu Xiaoyu mocked.
“First, let other awakeners take the lead and call our people back,” Zhuang Qingyan said. “I’ll go meet this one, an interesting opponent.”
*
Inside Haimen City, all the floating screens lit up with official announcements from the municipal hall. The person responsible seemed quite frantic, lacking time to organize the language. Several announcements were bluntly expressed:
“Residents must heighten vigilance. Zombies have been discovered disguised as humans. Do not trust anyone!”
“Do not engage in conversation with strangers! Do not approach the iron gate booths! The booths are laden with explosives!”
“Zombies cannot read text. It’s enough that we know in our hearts! Don’t speak it out loud! Stay vigilant! Stay vigilant!”
A person with braided hair sprinted through the crowd, with Xu Xing panting as he chased after.
Soon, they reached the outer perimeter of the second line of defense, the back of the commercial street. Braided Head accelerated and intercepted a group of about thirty people.
Xu Xing realized something and hid behind a building, holding his breath as he peered sneakily.
Braided Head anxiously yelled twice, hoarse, towards the leader of the group.
The leader turned, lips moving, seemingly communicating with Braided Head. Xu Xing caught a glimpse of its sinister profile, murky grey eyes, and the zombie-like patterns extending from its chin down its neck. This was a Fallen!
No, these thirty people… they should all be Fallens, the “bad faction” mentioned by Braided Head.
After pondering for a moment, Xu Xing decided to nickname the leader “Dirty Chin.”
After Dirty Chin finished communicating with Braided Head, it rudely shoved Braided Head aside, as if saying, “Get out of the way.”
Braided Head stumbled, growing more anxious, and clumsily retrieved something from around its neck that resembled a broken fang, somewhat like… a zombie’s tooth?
As Dirty Chin observed the fang, its initially calm expression turned into rage. It flipped Braided Head over with the butt of its gun, then lifted its foot to stomp on the person’s head.
Braided Head struggled desperately, her hat and scarf falling off, revealing unmistakable zombie features. Dirty Chin let out an enraged roar from its throat, lowering its head closer to Braided Head’s face.
Xu Xing was extremely nervous, tightly gripping an ice spike, ready to intervene at any moment.
Fortunately, Dirty Chin didn’t intend to harm its fellow beings. It reached out and took away Braided Head’s pendant, stooped to pick up the hat and scarf, covering the Braided Head’s face, then gestured for it to leave.
Dirty Chin silently led the Fallen deeper into the street.
Remembering the direction they disappeared, Xu Xing discreetly recorded a video and shared it in the V587 group chat.
“Xiao Xing, where are you?” came Song Ke’s voice through the earpiece.
“Sister! Come quickly, I’ve made a big discovery!” Xu Xing initially wanted to send his location but remembered that his sister couldn’t distinguish directions, so he shared both their positions.
“I’m on my way,” Song Ke replied.
After informing Song Ke, Xu Xing jumped off the wall and hurried toward Braided Head, his short legs moving swiftly.
Braided Head looked dazed, seeming stunned and dispirited.
Xu Xing helped fix its hat and scarf and patted off the dirt. Then, squatting in front of it, he asked, “Are you okay, Braided Head?”
Braided Head seemed absent-minded and didn’t respond.
Xu Xing continued, “What did you say to your bad buddies? Why were they so angry?”
Braided Head glanced up, then silently drew something on the ground—a drawing of three tightly clustered ghostly symbols.
After staring at it for a while, Xu Xing exclaimed in surprise, “Ah? You’re saying Dirty Chin is your brother?!”
Braided Head looked puzzled.
Xu Xing struggled to explain, “Dirty Chin… uh, has a dirty chin, tall…”
Braided Head understood and protested against Xu Xing’s nickname-making behavior with a series of “ahh”s.
“Don’t worry about the details,” Xu Xing chuckled, brushing it off. “Then what about this one? Is he also your brother?”
Braided Head nodded, saying “ah.”
It quickly added a few strokes to the drawing.
Xu Xing understood this time. Braided Head had drawn a scene of zombies playing football, and then he got agitated!
“It turns out that your brother is the bad guy who took the lead in bullying me last time!”
Braided Head: “…Ahh!”
“Where did it go? Did it also come to Haimen?” Xu Xing snorted, deciding not to hold a grudge against them for their past actions.
Braided Head quieted down and slowly drew a severed zombie.
Following suit, it connected “good brother” to Xu Xing and drew the Zombie King, connecting it to the “bad brother.”
Xu Xing also grew silent, recalling Zhuang Qingyan’s cold remarks. He had mentioned that Fallens were a race outside humans and zombies, their characteristics of transformation making them unacceptable to humans. Their retained consciousness prevented them from becoming complete zombies.
During the Tongwan outbreak, Braided Head, following its “good brother,” chose to hide and evade rather than actively attack humans. However, the next day, Braided Head’s good brother was mistaken for a zombie by the awakeners and was killed. The half-body Braided Head had dragged away likely belonged to its brother.
Not knowing how to comfort Braided Head, Xu Xing simply sat there with it in silence.
Sudden footsteps approached from behind, and Song Ke arrived on the scene. Seeing that they were both unharmed, she sighed with relief. Before she could fully relax, a smoke bomb flew in, exploding as it hit the ground, causing Xu Xing to cough violently, covering his mouth.
In the thick smoke, a hand with a fingerless glove lunged aggressively toward Braided Head, intercepted halfway by Song Ke, twisting it in the opposite direction.
Yin Xiao fired a shot from his other hand, forcing Song Ke to release her grip. Both took a step back.
“As the captain of Tustan, I must take this mutant zombie back to the client,” Yin Xiao’s expression showed some helplessness.
“It’s not a zombie, it’s a Fallen, a new species,” Song Ke explained seriously.
“New or old, higher-ups want it. You better not intervene,” Yin Xiao’s nonchalant expression turned serious. “One wrong move, and it’ll cause you trouble.”
Song Ke was taken aback. More trouble? Zhuang Qingyan said that, and now Yin Xiao too? Why was Braided Head’s existence so important?
As the deadlock continued between the two, Xu Xing jumped in. His hands clenched, face red from coughing, and he blurted out unexpectedly, “Why do you have to catch Braided Head?! There are so many Fallens here. Can’t you just catch the bad ones and be done with it?!”
Song Ke: “Uh…”
Yin Xiao: “Huh? So many?”
