Chapter 230: Nationwide Wanted
“Huff… huff…”
In the underground parking lot of a hotel in Quancheng, amidst the darkness, only the sound of ragged breathing could be heard.
After an unknown amount of time, the breathing gradually subsided, and a figure emerged from the darkness.
It was a middle-aged woman with a large burn scar on her face. Her right eye seemed to be nothing but an empty socket, and the bandage originally used to stop the bleeding was gone.
A flare gun was holstered at her waist, but only one flare remained.
She looked up at the sky. Under the bright sunlight, the blue sky was clear, with no “trace” whatsoever.
“They should have crossed the bridge by now…”
She took out the last Blood Crystal from her waist pouch, put it in her mouth, and swallowed.
She would make one last attempt to leave the city, walking towards another crossing point…
The thing in the city had also been severely injured by her. If she ran now, it might not be able to catch up.
After all, she was a close-combat Awakened, specializing in strength and speed. When it came to running, she was quite confident.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to fight and chase that monster in the city for so long.
As for the last flare, she would fire it as a decoy.
She raised the flare gun, aimed it at the distant sky, and fired.
“Whoosh—”
The bright red flare streaked upwards. The moment it fired, she turned and ran in the opposite direction.
Since any movement on the ground would be detected, it was better to create another heat source as a distraction.
“Boom—!”
Just as she was about to make her escape, a loud explosion echoed from the distance.
What was that?
Had it found her already?
The woman’s muscles tensed. She quickly turned, preparing to run in the opposite direction of the explosion, but another explosion stopped her in her tracks.
It hadn’t found her?
Was it attacking someone else?
That direction was…
The woman frowned.
That was the direction of the Yellow River Bridge.
Could it be that they hadn’t left with the people and the food yet?
On one side was the roar of battle at the bridge, on the other, a chance to escape.
Almost without hesitation, she turned and ran towards the bridge.
What if the convoy was trapped at the bridge?
She could gamble that it wasn’t the convoy, but she couldn’t afford to lose that bet.
Even if she escaped now, it would only be her own life. If that truck full of clean food seeds didn’t cross the bridge, more than just one person would die.
The entire north would be torn apart by famine, possibly even descending into cannibalism.
Running at full speed, in less than three minutes, she reached a wide-open section of the highway. There, in the distance, she saw the magnificent Yellow River Bridge, a marvel of pre-apocalyptic engineering.
A sports car was speeding across the middle of the bridge.
And behind the sports car, a humanoid creature, engulfed in flames, was chasing it.
It was that fire-spewing B-rank zombie.
From time to time, a huge pillar of fire would erupt from the zombie’s mouth, like a missile, arcing through the air and exploding near the sports car.
The sports car’s driver was clearly skilled, dodging every fireball.
It wasn’t the convoy…?
Seeing the sports car, the woman was slightly relieved.
It wasn’t the convoy. The convoy wouldn’t use such a gas-guzzling sports car that couldn’t carry much. Moreover, almost all the supercars in Beijing had been dismantled for parts and modifications. Seeing a supercar basically ruled out the Northern Alliance convoy.
It was just some unlucky passerby, caught in the crossfire.
At first, the woman thought her flare had attracted the convoy to rescue her, which had worried her for a while…
Just as she was thinking this, the sports car on the bridge drifted to avoid a fireball, and in a blink of an eye, one car became two.
This was…
“Damn it!”
The woman couldn’t help but curse.
“That damn Zhang Qian, pulling another stunt!”
The moment she saw the car’s “shadow clone,” she knew who was in the car.
It was Zhang Qian, the convoy leader.
Her flare had indeed brought the convoy to rescue her, but it was just a reckless C-rank kid.
She felt both touched and exasperated.
There was no escaping now.
The woman clenched her fists and stood in the middle of the road, waiting for the sports car and the zombie to approach.
She would settle any grudges after surviving this. Right now, the most important thing was to deal with the troublesome zombie in front of her.
Zhang Qian, in the sports car, also noticed the woman on the road.
He stepped on the accelerator, then slammed on the brakes, drifting to a stop in front of the woman and kicking open the passenger door.
“Get in, Auntie!”
“You little…”
The woman cursed as she climbed into the sports car. Zhang Qian immediately hit the gas, the car launching forward with a screech of tires and a puff of smoke.
“Haha! Gotta love a GTR! Auntie Long, isn’t this car I found cool?”
“Cool my ass, why did you come back?”
“Huh? I waited here for a whole day, finally saw your signal, and came to pick you up.”
In her urgency, the woman, known as Auntie Long, didn’t even bother correcting his form of address.
“Don’t you know there’s a B-rank here? It’s very danger…”
“Auntie Long, you saved me before, and this time you’re holding off the zombie alone. I couldn’t just leave you,” Zhang Qian said earnestly, his eyes on the road and the rearview mirror. “You understand, right?”
Auntie Long was exasperated by this thick-skinned kid. Knowing she couldn’t argue with him, she asked directly, “How much gas is left? There’s a road we can take to…”
“Out of gas, Auntie,” Zhang Qian said after glancing at the fuel gauge.
Auntie Long: “?”
“You’re out of gas and you’re driving a sports car?!”
“Well, I was afraid the other cars couldn’t outrun the B-rank zombie…”
“#%＆＃￥@%＃￥”
As the car slowed and the zombie behind them drew closer, Auntie Long quickly glanced at the back seat.
This two-door, four-seater sports car, although uncomfortable in the back, could still hold quite a few things.
She saw several rifles and a few grenades there.
Reaching back, she grabbed a rifle, checked the magazine, and then tucked a few grenades into her belt.
“Stop the car,” Auntie Long ordered.
Zhang Qian also knew they couldn’t run much further. He glanced at the zombie in the rearview mirror, his eyes flashing red.
He quickly turned the steering wheel, and he and the car beside him, simulated by blood crystal threads, drifted in place.
“Boom—”
The drift dodged a fireball. During the drift, several more cars were simulated, neatly parked by the roadside.
“Click—”
Zhang Qian opened the door and got out, rifle in hand, followed by Auntie Long.
And from each of the other cars, a Zhang Qian and an Auntie Long emerged. The Zhang Qian from the car closest to the store even crashed into the glass, shattering into blood crystal dust.
The sudden appearance of so many heat sources seemed to momentarily confuse the zombie.
In its vision, there was a large area of blood-red powder in front of it, making it almost impossible to see anyone clearly. Everything was covered in blood crystal dust.
Quickly, it came up with a very zombie-like solution.
Since it didn’t know which one was real, it would just kill them all.
The flames on its body gradually intensified from red to crimson, its entire body like a bomb about to explode, accumulating energy.
Auntie Long’s pupils constricted. She raised her rifle and fired a burst at the zombie.
But the brass bullets melted into liquid metal before reaching the zombie, dripping harmlessly down its already scorching body.
It was like splashing water on it, completely ineffective.
“Run!”
Auntie Long instantly rushed to Zhang Qian, grabbed him by the collar, and ran towards the buildings.
“Boom—!”
The moment they ducked into a building, a violent explosion of flames erupted from the zombie.
The expanding flames, like a shockwave, devoured everything around them, incinerating the illusions into blood crystal dust.
Auntie Long and Zhang Qian, almost reaching the building, were thrown against the wall by the force of the explosion. Zhang Qian was almost completely engulfed in flames.
“Aaargh—!”
Zhang Qian screamed in agony, the flesh on his back being vaporized by the terrifying flames. Even his prized green ponytail was instantly incinerated. The immense pain made it impossible to think.
“Ha—”
Knowing there was no hope in delaying, Auntie Long shielded Zhang Qian, facing the oncoming flames, and charged towards the zombie.
“Thump—!”
A bloody fist smashed through the sea of fire, breaking through the flames, and struck the black zombie in the face.
The continuous flames finally stopped, and the zombie, its head askew, was sent flying backwards, crashing into a nearby shop with a loud “boom.”
The flames were quickly extinguished. This city had already been burned to the point where there was nothing left to burn.
Auntie Long’s hands trembled uncontrollably. She had consumed too many Blood Crystals in the battle just now… She didn’t have the strength to throw another punch, let alone escape.
It’s over…
Although she knew that even if Zhang Qian hadn’t come, she probably wouldn’t have escaped, but now, with another life lost, she felt a pang of grief.
Auntie Long looked at the rekindled flames from the shop and sighed.
“Damn it…”
Auntie Long cursed and weakly loosened her fists.
You idiot, don’t be so nosy in your next life.
The flames on the zombie, which had been punched in the head, weakened slightly, finally revealing its appearance.
It was a two-meter-tall, slender figure with no hands. Its body wasn’t composed of ribs and flesh, but of twisted, fire-spewing human faces.
Like a stone pillar embedded with human heads.
The zombie walked towards Auntie Long step by step, slowly straightening its head, and the seven orifices of the twisted faces on its body began to spew flames.
An astonishing recovery ability… this was a rare zombie that was stronger during the day.
A close-combat Awakened would be scorched by the flames if they got close; there was no way to deal with it.
In a while, even bullets wouldn’t pose any threat… and even if the bullets passed through the flames, they wouldn’t be able to harm it…
Auntie Long reached behind her and felt something.
Rather than being eaten alive by a zombie, it was better to end it herself.
Auntie Long brought her hands forward from behind her back, holding a grenade in each.
One for each of them, just right.
Just as she was about to pull the pins, a crisp gunshot rang out from the distance.
“Ding—”
A bullet hit the back of the zombie’s head, the slight impact attracting its attention.
It slowly turned its twisted, skeletal face, just in time to meet another spinning bullet.
“Clang—”
The bullet directly pierced its nasal bone, following the tiny hole, and drilled into its brain.
The zombie froze.
Auntie Long: “…”
She stared at the scene before her, dumbfounded, her worldview shattered.
This… troublesome, terrifyingly powerful B-rank zombie…
Was taken down by two bullets, just like that?
Who?
Who fired the shots?
In Auntie Long’s blurry vision, a car was slowly approaching. She saw the familiar, large figure driving, and a red-haired woman, perched on the roof, one hand holding a rifle, the other arm missing.
“Where’s that noisy green-haired kid?” the red-haired woman asked calmly.
“Sister Long!” The large figure hurriedly got out of the car. Hearing his voice, Auntie Long finally relaxed.
“Thump—”
Auntie Long collapsed backwards, but she didn’t lose consciousness. Her eyes were fixed on the red-haired woman, who jumped down from the car roof and walked towards her.
“It’s okay now, rest,” the red-haired woman said, crouching beside her.
For some reason, Auntie Long found the red-haired woman’s voice incredibly calming, with an air of leadership, her every move exuding an aura of reassurance and reliability.
And her eyes were deep and melancholic, her face pale and thin due to malnutrition, a kind of sickly beauty.
Was this the target…?
“Tha…” Before she could finish her thanks, Auntie Long lost consciousness.
…
“A combat unit… Indeed, we have too much manpower now. It would free up the Awakened to do other things…”
Kun City, at the border between the Oasis Area and the ash area, Lin Xiwan leaned against the vines behind her, watching Wan Zi, who was deep in thought.
“I think the bigger problem is the Awakened’s mindset. I don’t think they’ll be willing to go out and fight anymore.” Lin Xiwan sighed helplessly.
Only she and Wan Zi were present, so Lin Xiwan was much more relaxed.
Lin Xiwan listened to the melodious music coming from the ash area while waiting for Wan Zi’s response.
In the center of the ash area, a large loudspeaker had been set up for broadcasts and announcements, but during downtime, it played music from the radio.
It added a bit of spice to their otherwise monotonous lives.
“That’s true… but it’s not a problem. If we’re forming a combat unit for patrols, I’ll talk to each of them personally.” Wan Zi looked up at Lin Xiwan.
Actually, Wan Zi didn’t think forming a combat unit would be too difficult.
In fact, after these days of farming, many Awakened were getting restless.
After becoming Awakened, they more or less felt different from ordinary people, unwilling to do the same work or eat the same food.
Most of them still wanted to fight safely under the leadership of the strong and gain Blood Crystals to become stronger.
Wan Zi only needed to register the existing Awakened and talk to each of them.
Wan Zi had anticipated that the Oasis Area organization would want to form a combat unit from the Awakened outside.
After all, Awakened were still Awakened, a force to be reckoned with. They couldn’t just be kept farming here forever.
It would be a waste of their potential.
“Is there anything else? Xiwan, if not, I’ll go make the arrangements.” Wan Zi looked at Lin Xiwan and asked.
“No, that’s all.” Lin Xiwan shook her head and smiled.
The matter was settled, and it was time to go back and see her sister. Her sister would be very happy to see the combat unit formed and ready to earn Blood Crystals.
Her sister couldn’t be “surprised” by just one or two Blood Crystals anymore.
It would probably take twenty or thirty Blood Crystals piled together, like before, to surprise her sister.
Lin Xiwan nodded slightly, determined to bring back thirty Blood Crystals next time to give her sister a little shock.
Just as Lin Xiwan was about to say goodbye to Wan Zi and leave, static suddenly came from the loudspeaker that was playing relaxing music.
“Buzz—”
The sudden noise caught everyone’s attention, and even Wan Zi looked up at the loudspeaker.
They all knew that the content broadcast on this loudspeaker was controlled by the high-level members of the Oasis Area organization.
“Buzz—”
“Hello? Can you hear me?”
“Buzz… serious… okay…”
“Buzz… Mommy said there will be a large-scale zombie outbreak by the sea recently, and the land might also be affected…”
“If any place within China is invaded or threatened by seabed or land-based B-rank zombies, you can contact our radio station…”
“At the same time, we are collecting information on the movements of B-rank zombies by the sea and on land…”
“We will send people to deal with them…”
The voice on the radio was soft and childish, but the words were undoubtedly a bomb, directly exploding in the hearts of all the survivors listening to the broadcast.
What was going on?!
Even at its peak, Survivor’s Light wouldn’t dare to claim that it would definitely send people to deal with B-rank zombies wherever they were found. Was the organization in Kun City that powerful?!
Now, after this broadcast, even the most ordinary farmers in the ash area would unconsciously puff out their chests when introducing Kun City.
They were ecstatic.
Wan Zi was equally shocked, and at the same time, she looked at Lin Xiwan, who seemed unfazed.
Did Lin Xiwan already know about this?
No wonder she wanted to assemble a combat unit at this time of development… With this broadcast, it was estimated that many Awakened would want to join the combat unit without Wan Zi having to persuade them.
Being led by a B-rank who could hunt down the Voodoo Cult to hunt B-rank zombies, saving others while also getting a generous share of Blood Crystals…
“As expected of you, Xiwan,” Wan Zi smiled bitterly and shook her head, “You easily achieved what I couldn’t.”
“Huh?”
Lin Xiwan, listening to the broadcast with a dumbfounded look, looked at Wan Zi and blinked.
Wait, her sister hadn’t mentioned this at all?
No, she had to go back and ask.
“I’ll be going back now…” After saying goodbye, Lin Xiwan hurriedly walked towards home.
