Chapter 23
Chapter 23
As soon as darkness fell, the group sprang into action.
Qingshui, An Xiaolin, and Ji Feifan took one car. Li Wei’an and Zhou Shaocheng drove the other vehicle from the underground garage.
The two cars sped toward the residential district at the foot of the mountain, one behind the other. A drone swept through the air above them.
Only a few days had passed, yet even more severed limbs littered the streets. The group waited in the darkness for instructions from Lin Hao.
The drone skimmed low over the road ahead, transmitting footage to the screen in Lin Hao’s hands.
“Turn right at the intersection ahead. The convenience store is on the left, but there are more than ten lunatics… gathered on that street,” Lin Hao whispered.
“Draw them away, just like we planned,” Qingshui said into her phone.
“Got it.”
The other car abruptly accelerated, its engine roaring. Zhou Shaocheng slammed on the horn, shattering the deathly silence with a long, piercing blast. Li Wei’an leaned out the window and thrust out an iron pipe, hammering it wildly against the inside of the car door to create an even more chaotic din.
“Clang! Clang, clang, clang!”
The crude provocation instantly caught the attention of the lunatics copulating openly in the street.
“Piggy!”
“You little bastard, my little bastard! Get back here!”
Shrill laughter and boiling roars echoed through the streets.
Back at the villa, Lin Hao watched the lunatics race away and continued piloting the drone. “You’re clear to move. They’re gone.”
Only then did An Xiaolin step on the gas and follow Lin Hao’s directions to the convenience store. She pulled up in front of the entrance and popped the trunk.
The three of them got out and cautiously approached the store.
The thick stench of blood and a foul, fishy odor assailed them at once.
“Wait.” Qingshui motioned for the other two to stop, then slowly advanced alone.
Peering past the shelves, she saw dozens of lunatics reveling amid the wreckage. They were tormenting several lifeless bodies, low chuckles issuing from their throats.
“Feels so good… So good, so good…”
“Tear you apart… Tear you all apart…”
Qingshui silently mouthed, “Back out.”
They retreated to the entrance without making a sound. Qingshui took out her phone and whispered, “Lin Hao, fly the drone around to the window at the back of the convenience store and get those lunatics’ attention. We’ll ambush them from behind.”
“No problem!”
Lin Hao carefully guided the drone around the back of the store, where its camera captured the dark, grotesque revelry inside. The drone swooped down in front of the window, hovering so close it nearly brushed the lunatics’ faces.
The strange device instantly captured their attention.
Qingshui and the others raised their crossbows and hurried up behind them.
“Thwip! Splat!”
“Thwip!”
One lunatic after another collapsed.
The remaining three seemed momentarily confused by their companions’ sudden silence. They quickly recovered, darted around the shelves, and lunged straight at Ji Feifan and An Xiaolin as they reloaded their crossbows.
An Xiaolin’s nerves, taut all this time, abruptly snapped, only for instinct to seize control. She screamed and swung her shovel with all her strength, hacking its edge straight into the lunatic’s gaping mouth.
The blow was so powerful that it sheared away half its head.
Ji Feifan had already finished reloading and shot a bolt through another lunatic, but he couldn’t stop the last one from tackling him to the floor. Before he could struggle, a military spike burst through the center of the lunatic’s forehead.
The overwhelming stench of blood was almost suffocating.
“Hurry! High-calorie food, anything with a long shelf life, and water!”
Qingshui was the first to move. She grabbed an entire case of instant noodles, dragged over a large box, and began sweeping supplies into it. Her movements were fast and steady, and she never once looked at the grisly “decorations” beneath her feet.
She immediately tossed everything into the trunk.
Ji Feifan grabbed several large bags of nuts and energy bars from the nearest shelf and stuffed them into his backpack. Then, copying Qingshui, he snatched up a box and swept everything off the shelves in the corner.
An Xiaolin pushed deeper into the store, grabbed two large unopened boxes of chocolate, and rushed back out. Ji Feifan dashed in after her and emerged carrying two boxes of instant noodles!
Time raced by amid the deathly silence and the faint murmur of voices in the distance. Every passing second was punctuated by the frantic pounding of their hearts.
…………
In the distance, Zhou Shaocheng and Li Wei’an, who had been tasked with luring the lunatics away, kept circling the streets in their vehicle.
In the rearview mirror, the scarlet figures that had once been pursuing them in a dense pack seemed to spot something and gradually scattered.
With the pressure easing, they were about to rendezvous with Qingshui when, after a sharp turn, they suddenly found themselves facing a snack shop.
Zhou Shaocheng slowly brought the vehicle to a stop.
Li Wei’an frowned at him.
Staring at the small shop, Zhou Shaocheng said hoarsely, “There’s food in there.”
Li Wei’an wanted to refuse. Deviating from the plan now was far too risky.
Zhou Shaocheng licked his cracked lips and repeated, “Let’s take a look. The more food we have, the better our chances of surviving.”
After several seconds of silence, Li Wei’an ultimately gave in to her longing for supplies.
She nodded, quickly took out her phone, and set an alarm for thirty seconds later. Then she opened the car door, swiftly placed the phone on the road directly in front of the shop, and nimbly ducked back inside the vehicle.
Ring, ring, ring!
The alarm went off.
The next second, four or five lunatics staggered out through the snack shop’s pitch-black doorway. Cocking their heads, they crowded around the phone.
“Now!” Zhou Shaocheng’s gaze hardened as he slammed his foot on the gas. The SUV shot forward and plowed straight into the lunatics gathered around the phone!
Bang! Thud!
The two exchanged a glance, leaped out of the vehicle, and rushed into the shop. They quickly picked up whole boxes of instant noodles near the entrance, turned around, and shoved them into the back seat.
Just as Li Wei’an lifted a second box of food, a low chuckle sounded beside her ear. Her heart sank, but before she could retreat…
“Get back!”
A tremendous force shoved her aside.
Zhou Shaocheng kicked the shelving unit with all his might. The heavy shelves crashed to the floor, temporarily blocking the dark figures charging out from deeper inside.
They seized the chance to sprint for the entrance, but Li Wei’an’s foot suddenly slipped.
She had stepped into a puddle of liquor that had spread across the floor at some point. Losing her balance, she toppled backward!
Zhou Shaocheng, who had been running ahead, had already reached the entrance. At her cry of alarm, he looked back and saw Li Wei’an sprawled on the floor, with several lunatics behind her already pushing past the obstruction and slowly closing in.
He came to an abrupt stop on his way to the car. After only an instant of hesitation, he swore, spun around, and charged back. Grabbing Li Wei’an by the arm, he hauled her to her feet with all his strength!
The two stumbled and scrambled toward the vehicle. Zhou Shaocheng desperately shoved both Li Wei’an and himself inside, then yanked the door shut.
Just before it closed, a hand smeared with filthy blood thrust through the gap and clamped tightly around the doorframe.
A twisted face pressed against the window, teeth gnawing at the glass.
“Don’t go… little piggy. Why are you running…?”
“Why are you running why are you running why are you running why are you running?!”
Without a second thought, Li Wei’an, sitting in the passenger seat, pulled out the knife she had kept clenched in her hand and drove it into the face gripping the door with all her strength.
The blade plunged into its eye socket, spraying filthy blood everywhere.
The vile taunting stopped instantly!