Chapter 129.1 – Life-and-Death Marathon (20)
◎ The champion is born ◎
Xu Xing’s personality, described in four words, was “defying the heavens and earth,” creating a sharp contrast with his fluffy and cute appearance.
Among the members of V587, except for Song Ke, he didn’t respect anyone else. He kept a private notebook recording a “most disliked people ranking list,” adjusting the rankings according to the situation. The top spot constantly switched between Zhuang Qingyan and Lin Youyou.
Fang Zhixu had known him for quite some time, but when had he seen him so weak, even calling him “Uncle Fang”? This little rascal was usually so arrogant, always addressing him as “Lazy Old Man.”
“Well, then… I’ll give it a try,” Fang Zhixu couldn’t bring himself to say more.
He squatted down to observe Braided Head. No breath, no heartbeat. However, the fallen didn’t have a breath either. The shoulder tear was severe, the blood at the severed limbs had coagulated. Yet, the internal organ tissues were half-rotten, half-fresh, completely beyond ordinary understanding.
Such injuries, if on a human, even an awakener, he could only say, “Sorry, please accept my condolences.” But if it were a zombie, those creatures, even missing limbs, could still bounce around.
Fang Zhixu felt a headache, sensing it was his biggest challenge since he began this profession. He gritted his teeth, deciding to try something unconventional, injecting the shimmering white healing ability into Braided Head, only to find it was absorbed!
“The patient can’t move, so treatment must be done on the spot.”
Fang Zhixu was taken aback but quickly thought. If the ability worked, then the tragic condition of Braided Head might not be beyond help. Perhaps by bonding blood vessels and nerves, fixing the severed limbs and fractures with steel nails, then suturing skin and muscle, theoretically… it might work?
Fang Zhixu’s expression became focused, silently taking equipment out of his backpack, entering a surgical state.
Lin Youyou tapped Xu Xing’s forehead, softly saying, “Hey, hey, stop crying, looks like there’s hope.”
Song Ke wiped the tears from Xu Xing’s face, who resembled a crying kitten.
“Let Old Fang handle this, let’s go after the zombie king,” Zhuang Qingyan suggested.
“Is it safe for him alone?” Song Ke was somewhat worried.
“Quick, look, what are they about to do?” Lin Youyou suddenly exclaimed.
The remaining Fallen silently closed in, their murky eyes particularly eerie in the dark alleyway.
Song Ke wielded his knife defensively, uncertain of the intentions of these Fallen toward them, whether they were friends or foes.
Xu Xing choked out, “It’s okay, Dirty Chin is… the brother of Braided Head.”
Confronted by V587’s preparedness, Dirty Chin gave them a cold glance, picking up a gun from the ground, aiming it outward.
They encircled Fang Zhixu and Braided Head, taking on a protective stance.
Zhuang Qingyan also understood their intent. “Let’s go, no need to worry; Old Fang is safe here.”
Fang Zhixu had a unique constitution; without orders from the zombie king, ordinary zombies and evolved zombies wouldn’t attack him. While he treated Braided Head, his concern was only the humans, but with the Fallen guarding, this issue was somewhat resolved.
“Old Fang, keep in touch. Call if anything comes up,” Song Ke instructed, hesitating before turning, “Xiao Xing, you…”
“I’m going too!” Xu Xing wiped away his tears, knowing staying wouldn’t be helpful, taking the initiative to speak up.
After some delay, V587 headed towards the direction where the Zombie King had disappeared.
The civilians in Haimen had retreated to the sheltered area within the third defense line. Outside, it was either evolved zombies or awakeners wandering about.
Song Ke slashed down a few Level 2 zombies attempting to grab her ankles, feeling that the situation was deteriorating rapidly. The streets and alleys were overrun by a sea of zombies.
“The spatial-type zombie is dead, the anchor point has failed. Unless they have another one, the escape route for the Zombie King has been cut off,” Zhuang Qingyan said, switching to incendiary bombs, the scythe erupting with fiery tongues, forcing back the surging horde.
“Considering how fiercely it protected itself just now, I lean toward that spatial-type zombie being the only one,” Lu Xiaoyu said.
Zhuang Qingyan nodded. “That’s good news for us, but we need to be cautious. Its counterattack will only get fiercer.”
“Making a basic mistake like being separated, I don’t think it will make the same one twice.”
Su Cha smashed a window of a six-seater commercial vehicle, hunched down, jumped into the driver’s seat, revved the engine, and swiftly turned around.
“Lu Xiaoyu, you drive!” After shouting, he grabbed an assault rifle, climbed onto the roof, firing rapidly as shells scattered, barely clearing a path.
The group quickly jumped into the car, efficiently closing windows and locking doors.
Lu Xiaoyu floored the accelerator, showcasing wild driving skills as the commercial vehicle swerved and plowed through, engulfing the approaching zombies beneath it.
Zhuang Qingyan grabbed the handle, asking, “Does Yan Biao know about the super magnet?”
Lin Youyou’s voice shifted due to the speed, “He knows! He already sent sentries to dismantle the perimeter, ah, slow down!!”
“But there are still 157 within the defense line,” Zhuang Qingyan’s expression turned serious, “just in case, it’s best for the people of Haimen to check themselves.”
To disseminate the message to all the people in Haimen, only the hacker, Lu Xiaoyu, could manage it.
“Don’t look at me, no equipment!” Lu Xiaoyu shouted while driving, “The terminal broke during the fight.”
Zhuang Qingyan pulled out a shabby, outdated terminal from somewhere and forcefully thrust it into his arms, “Use this. Don’t tell me you can’t do it, 5.0?”
Lu Xiaoyu hesitated, “…”
“If I’m not allowed to buy rhenium blocks, can I request a new type of terminal?” Lu Xiaoyu pressed the horn discontentedly, “I refuse to use this senior citizen terminal!”
“Beep-beep!” The noise attracted the horde, causing them to turn and lunge forward. Desiccated hands shattered the side window, wildly reaching inside the car.
“I’ll buy it! I’ll buy it for you!” Song Ke shattered a zombie’s head with a knife but unfortunately, the putrid black matter splattered on her face.
“Ugh!” The stench made her retch, and Lin Youyou sympathetically handed her a tissue.
With a nod from the team leader, Lu Xiaoyu finally felt content. The ice-blue eyes shimmered strangely as his fingertips swiftly typed in code on the terminal.
On the phones, TVs, screens, and projections of all the people in Haimen, a new announcement appeared.
“Good evening, people of Haimen. I am a great hacker who is about to save you. Here’s an important message interrupting your routine: this thing is called a super magnet. Have you all seen it clearly? If you want to stay alive, hurry to the substation near you and dismantle it.”
In this race against time, Lu Xiaoyu not only hacked into the system to deliver a spiel but also effortlessly created a model. The lifelike super magnet was presented from multiple angles, exhibiting every detail vividly in front of everyone’s eyes.
“Have you found where the Zombie King is?” Lin Youyou shouted against the car’s back.
Zhuang Qingyan hesitated for a moment, then… opened the screen and calmly entered the live broadcast of ‘Shunxing Tea House,’ starting to peek at the screen.
Lin Youyou: “…6”
He even casually explained, “This is the fastest way. How do you think Mr. Xiang abducted the Zombie King? A shameless person like him probably spends 24 hours spying on all the participants’ live broadcasts. This is tit for tat.”
The people in the car fell silent: “…”
To say or not to say, Zhuang Qingyan’s audacity was truly something.
“Found it.”
Zhuang Qingyan pressed pause, zooming in on the screen, swiftly pinpointing the corresponding location based on landmark buildings.
“Music Square, hurry and follow—”
*
At the same time, “Tustan” tossed the captured two Fallen into the floating car.
These two mutated zombies showed their ferocity, their eyes filled with malice, constantly gnashing their teeth and howling, attempting to bite the restraining rings on their bodies.
“Bang!” Yin Xiao accurately shattered their fangs with the Hellcat pistol, finally quieting them down.
He muttered under his breath, “That little brat was right; this thing really has its ‘good and bad’ factions.”
Compared to the calm Braided Head, these two in front of him were downright vicious.
“Captain, the mission is over-fulfilled, can we head back now?” a team member urged cheerfully.
“You all go back first, leave me with two cars,” Yin Xiao flashed a bright smile, “I have some personal matters to take care of.”
These two mutated zombies were caught thanks to Song Ke’s blessing, but he hadn’t fulfilled his promise of not suffering a loss yet.
Yin Xiao picked a few submachine guns from the armory, tore open the tab on an energy drink with one hand, and took a gulp.
As he opened the car door, about to step out, a pair of slender hands tightly gripped his thigh, a sparkling crystal ring gleaming on the fingertip.
“Daddy, where are you going? Please take me with you!”
“Jennifer, wasn’t it you who was pestering to go back for a beauty sleep? Why aren’t you leaving now?” Others teased.
“What do you know!” Jennifer turned back angrily and then clasped her hands, her expression dreamy, “I’ve fallen in love again.”
“What?!”
“I’ve developed a crush on a girl from V587, oh, she is so lovely…”
“Pfft—”
Yin Xiao sprayed out the drink, coughing violently, “Daughter, this isn’t acceptable; you, you, you… liking the same person as your father, saying it out loud is utterly against morality and ethics, it’s the degradation of humanity!”
Jennifer rolled her eyes at him, “Don’t worry, I’m not into that kind of mommy-daughter plot.”
After hearing Jennifer’s explanation, Yin Xiao grinned, finally relieved, “Alright, come along then, Dad will take you for some fun.”
One of the floating cars broke away from the convoy, changing direction toward the inner city of Haimen.
