Chapter 13 - Fate Uncertain

On the highway near the urban area of Tianhang City, a dark green Hummer was driving down the once desolate road. However, as we got closer to the city, a few scattered, aimless zombies started to appear, wandering around. It seemed that Tianhang City wasn’t as safe as we initially imagined, with some areas already infected and overrun by zombies. The sound of the Hummer’s engine was like a dinner bell to them, and they surged towards the vehicle. However, the zombies were unable to keep up with the speed of the Hummer and could only watch us disappear into the distance.

After a half-hour drive into the city, we stopped at an abandoned supermarket on the outskirts of the urban area to have breakfast. A few zombies tried to disturb our meal, but Liu Yonglin took care of them with his gun.

After breakfast, we gathered a pile of food and loaded it all into the car. The girls really love their snacks.

The previous highway drive was smooth, but the city roads ahead posed some challenges.

“Wow! There are so many zombies here! I can’t handle this!”

Ye Ling, driving the car, crashed into a bunch of zombies along the way. Each time our Hummer plowed through a horde, she would let out a scream. It was hard to psychologically accept driving through those humanoid creatures, like a war trauma, damaging not just physically but more importantly mentally.

Experiencing so much gore leaves a lasting impact, causing negative effects and a distorted perspective of life, society, and everything around. It’s even more distressing when you’re just a few centimeters away behind the glass, personally hitting the gas pedal to smash them! Even though we knew they were no longer human.

Inside the passenger compartment, Shen Wei calmly directed Ye Ling forward, “Ms. Ye! Go straight, and take a left at the next intersection!”

Ling Qimeng and I clung on as chaos ensued around us, with pieces of shattered zombies occasionally flying over our heads. Seeing the increasing number of zombies, I frowned and said, “What’s going on here? Why are there more zombies as we get closer to Shen Wei’s house? There must be a reason!”

Another severed limb flew past, and I instinctively shielded Ling Qimeng in my arms. She squinted her eyes, trying hard to make out the road ahead, and murmured, “Hey? What’s that?”

The vague layer of something ahead on the road caught Qimeng’s attention. However, she couldn’t make out what it was due to the distance and the zombies obstructing her view.

After crashing into a few more zombies, she finally noticed a thin electric net stretched across the road ahead! If the Hummer drove straight into it, the outcome would be disastrous.

“Ms. Ye! Stop the car! Stop the car now!” Qimeng shouted urgently, but her voice was drowned out by the engine, the roaring of zombies, and the sound of them colliding with the vehicle. Ye Ling couldn’t hear anything from the passenger compartment.

At this moment, Xueqi also noticed the electric net ahead and leaned from the backseat to shout, “Ms. Ye! There’s an electric net up ahead!”

But Ye Ling was too stunned to react! Even braking at this distance wouldn’t stop the car in time before hitting the net.

“Ms. Ye! Why are you hesitating? Turn the car sideways now!”

Prompted by Xueqi’s yell, Ye Ling snapped out of her momentary daze, quickly slammed the brakes, and yanked the steering wheel! The car performed a sharp drift! In an instant, the zombies that had been blocking our way became a cushion between the Hummer and the electric net, violently crushed and torn apart on the taut electric wires! The foul stench of blood splattered all over the car! Inside the passenger compartment, Liu Yonglin tightly shielded Xueyang from any harm, covering her eyes, “Don’t look!”

Despite Ye Ling’s foot firmly on the brake, the situation was still dire! The wheels seemed to skid, and the vehicle continued sliding toward the electric net, causing Ye Ling to scream, “It’s too slippery! It won’t stop! Why won’t it stop?!”

Shen Wei urgently pointed out, “It’s the human flesh and fluids acting as a lubricant!”

In this critical moment, Ye Xiang shouted, “Ms. Ye! The wheels are locked! Release the brake and tap the gas pedal a bit!” At this point, we had no choice but to try it and hope for the best.

“What? Oh!” Ye Ling quickly released the brake and tapped the gas pedal, and to everyone’s relief, it worked! The car immediately regained traction!

However, a new crisis emerged. In the hasty maneuver, Ye Ling had accidentally floored the gas pedal! The car was now headed straight for a roadside house, and as I clung to the roof, clutching Qimeng, I was terrified beyond measure!

“Whoa-! Ms. Ye! Watch out ahead! Ahead!” Ye Ling bit her lip and sharply turned the steering wheel again, letting off the gas and slamming on the brakes. “I’m not cut out for this kind of stunt!”

The car executed another dramatic drift! Seriously, other people drive for money; Ye Ling drives like it’s a death wish!

The turn was way too sharp, and the brake was too sudden! Qimeng was flung from the roof due to the car’s inertia, and I didn’t have time to react-my instincts kicked in, and I reached out, following the momentum toward Qimeng. All I could think of was saving her.

Time seemed to stand still. Qimeng’s pale face slowly overlapped with a vague image buried deep in my memory. As I wrapped my arms around her frail body in mid-air, I saw an infinite sadness in her dark eyes. That sorrowful gaze struck a chord deep within my memory, and something seemed to break in my mind.

But before I could think any further, I heard a loud “thud!” and felt a sharp pain on my left side. It was obvious that my left side had hit the hard concrete ground, and although Qimeng was shielded by me, the impact was still brutal, leaving her temporarily unable to move!

The zombies, however, wouldn’t give us any time to rest. They couldn’t possibly pass up such an opportunity! Seven or eight zombies were slowly closing in on Qimeng and me.

Seeing the zombies approach, I quickly let go of Qimeng and grabbed the Ithaca M37 Riot Shotgun that had fallen next to me, scrambling to my feet. “Scope, chamber a round, aim for the head, fire!” I mentally ran through the steps Liu Yonglin had taught me as I followed them. But with a loud “bang!” I fired my first shot, only to prove I’m no natural marksman. The shotgun’s pellet merely grazed the zombie’s scalp! The sudden, powerful recoil pushed me back several steps. Damn, what a failure for my first attempt!

“What the heck! I was aiming at the head! Why didn’t it do more damage?!”

I hastily pumped the gun, ejecting the spent shell. At this moment, Liu Yonglin rolled down the window of the Hummer and shouted, “Too clumsy! With recoil, the muzzle shifts above the target! Lean forward and aim around the chest area!”

“Aim for the chest, shoot in that area!”

“Bang!”

I pulled the trigger again! Following Liu Yonglin’s advice, I easily blew the zombie’s head off, even managing a two-for-one shot! Two zombie heads with one blast! “Wow-that’s awesome!” I couldn’t help but exclaim.

Though effective, there were just too many zombies!

My gunfire attracted even more zombies to our location. While I was briefly stunned, Liu Yonglin had already grabbed the only Type 95 Assault Rifle left in the passenger compartment and was firing at the approaching zombies from the car window. “Tiankuang, don’t just stand there! After the first shot, don’t release the trigger! Just adjust your aim and slightly lower the muzzle!”

Under Liu Yonglin’s guidance, I quickly got the hang of using the Ithaca M37 Riot Shotgun. With each shot, at least two zombies would fall.

“Ha ha! This is awesome!” The real gun was far more exhilarating than any shooting game on a computer!

But I had forgotten one thing: the shotgun only held five rounds! In video games, you just press R to reload, but in reality, you have to do it yourself. And with a shotgun, you have to load each shell individually!

In this tense moment, I wasn’t calm enough to handle it smoothly. As I fumbled for ammo in my pocket, my hand shook, and the shells fell out, scattering on the ground. To make matters worse, shotgun shells are cylindrical, so they rolled everywhere.

“Damn it, you’ve got to be kidding!” I muttered, quickly crouching to pick them up. Xueqi noticed I was struggling and, despite the danger, got out of the car with her wooden sword. Ye Xiang followed her immediately!

“You two are crazy! Against so many zombies, a wooden sword and a steel spike are useless!” I shouted at them.

Xueqi gave a wry smile and deftly swung the hilt of her sword, knocking out all the teeth of a zombie trying to sneak up on her. “Of course we know that! But-”

“We’re in this together, aren’t we?” Ye Xiang and Xueqi said in perfect unison. These two were so in sync, they might as well be a married couple.

But now wasn’t the time to get sentimental. The shotgun shells scattered on the ground were beyond retrieval. I glanced at Qimeng, who was still lying there unable to move, and gave her a slight smile, saying, “At least if we die, we die together.”

“Tiankuang.”

Watching the zombies get closer and closer, I silently cursed and tossed the shotgun aside. I pulled Ling Qimeng into my arms, saying, “Qimeng.”

But at that moment, I felt something-a Type 99 Sniper Rifle strapped to Qimeng!

“Oh, this will do!” I wanted to pick up the sniper rifle and start shooting, but realized that Qimeng had tied it across her chest to prevent it from falling. When I lifted the sniper rifle, Qimeng was lifted up too, and her chest was awkwardly pulled, causing her to scream. There was no time to untie it from her body, so I quickly said, “Sorry!”

“Huh?” Before Qimeng could react, I leaned over her, grabbing-I mean, grabbing the sniper rifle, and shouted to Liu Yonglin, “Liu Yonglin! Quick, tell me how to use this thing!”

“Tiankuang, first push the small lever outside the trigger guard! That disengages the safety! Then pull the bolt on the right down! That’ll let you shoot! Damn, I’m running low on bullets! Can someone get me a magazine?”

“Woof!” Only Kiku responded to his request. Shen Wei was in the passenger seat, and Ye Ling was in the driver’s seat, muttering, “Why is the engine on but it’s not starting?!” So Ye Ling couldn’t help either. Xueqi and Ye Xiang were outside engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the zombies. The only one in the back of the car was Xueyang, who was holding Kiku and didn’t dare lift her head.

“Can someone get me a magazine? Like this one!” Liu Yonglin shouted, handing an empty magazine to the back while still shooting. Kiku broke free from Xueyang’s embrace and rummaged through the bag, pulling out several magazines. Xueyang, having somewhat recovered, still had tear marks on her cheeks but managed to pick up two of the magazines Kiku found and handed them to Liu Yonglin, saying, “Brother, here, these.”

Liu Yonglin was surprised that it was Xueyang who handed him the magazines. Seeing her innocent face, forced smile, and tear-stained eyes ignited a fire of anger within him. A child who should have been carefree, growing up under her parents’ love, now orphaned and handing him the tools of death.

After silently taking the ammo from Xueyang, Liu Yonglin erupted, yelling at the zombies, “Die! All of you, just die!”

His shooting seemed to reach another level. Previously, one bullet would take down one zombie, but now he could shoot through two zombies in a line with just one! This eased a lot of pressure off the three who were fighting outside.

Shen Wei, sitting in the front passenger seat, bit her lip and said to Ye Ling, who was trying to start the engine, “Ms. Ye, I’m going to get the shotgun Tiankuang dropped! I’ll use it!”

Ye Ling immediately opposed, “No! That’s too dangerous!”

Shen Wei smiled and said, “Of course it’s dangerous, but sitting here safely while watching my friends fight zombies outside? I can’t do that!”

Ye Ling looked deeply at Shen Wei and said, “I understand! Be careful!”

Just as Ye Ling finished speaking, Shen Wei opened the door and leapt out. She grabbed the shotgun I’d tossed aside, scooped up some bullets from the ground, and rolled back to her feet.

Seeing Shen Wei run out, Liu Yonglin shouted, “Shen Wei! Do you know how to use it?!” Shen Wei, while loading the shotgun, glanced back and replied, “Of course I do, I’m a genius!”

Just as Shen Wei was turning back, a zombie took advantage of her distraction and lunged at her. Thankfully, Ye Ling swiftly reacted and smashed the zombie’s head with her wooden sword. However, Shen Wei was too close to the zombie, and when its head burst open, its insides splattered all over Shen Wei’s face and hair. This seemed to push Shen Wei into a frenzy. She rapidly loaded the shotgun with bullets, pulled the pump-action back fiercely, and shouted, “I’m not a coward! I’m not a coward! No one is allowed to die here! We can’t die in a place like this! My home is right there!”

Shen Wei’s shooting skills were clearly much better than mine! With each shot, at least three zombies fell. But even so, I was out of bullets, and so was Shen Wei. Ye Xiang’s steel spike got stuck in a zombie’s head and was lost in the crowd; Xueqi’s wooden sword broke, and Liu Yonglin was running low on bullets, while the number of zombies kept increasing!

Liu Yonglin set down his Type 95 Assault Rifle and climbed onto the roof of the Hummer with Xueyang and Kiku. Smiling, he said to Xueyang, “Why don’t you and Kiku jump over this electric net together?” Xueyang, looking anxious, asked, “But what about everyone else?”

Liu Yonglin kept smiling and said, “They’ll catch up soon.”

“You’re lying!”

“Huh?”

“Brother, your face right now looks just like Dad’s did when he died! No, no, no!” Xueyang shook her head emphatically, like a little wind-up toy.

“Xueyang doesn’t want to be alone! Xueyang wants to be with brother and all the sisters! Together forever!” Seeing Xueyang’s tear-streaked face, no matter how hard Liu Yonglin tried, he couldn’t bring back that fake smile.

As the zombie horde drew closer, our fate, whether it be life or death, hung in the balance.