Stirring Things Up in the Wasteland 46

Chapter 46

They were fugitives with nothing to fear. They knew that once the disaster ended, they would be wanted again, and that the law’s severe punishment awaited them. So, after gaining their freedom, they fervently hoped that this apocalypse would never end.

That way, they could live as they pleased, without restraint.

Smashing through the glass, they all jumped in. Looking around, the hallways were empty to the very end. The only thing in front of them was a locked door.

There was no other way. They had to break down this door. From the outside, they could clearly see that this building had several more floors. So, the stairs to go up should be behind the door.

Yan Qiang’s eyes were cold. He took the gun from his back, loaded it, and aimed.

A police-issue shotgun. They had stolen it after killing several prison guards. Because they had been in a hurry, they had only managed to grab three.

Yan Qiang knew how to shoot. He raised the gun and aimed at the lock on the door. Smashing it would take too much effort, and he didn’t have the patience.

The food at the security company had long since run out. On their way, they had robbed a kayak, killing the two people on it. Of course, the supplies they found had become theirs.

One after another, they had robbed seven or eight rubber boats. Although the supplies were mostly instant noodles and other fast food, they couldn’t be picky at a time like this.

They needed to eat and rest. Tomorrow, they would kill their way back into the city.

Bang bang bang—

Inside the door, after clearing the 15th floor, Song Xun was holding Ji Tang’s hand as the four of them were heading downstairs. They had just passed the halfway point of the 13th-floor landing and were about to turn towards the stairs to the 12th when they heard the sound clearly.

Bang bang bang—

Gunshots?!

Song Xun’s steps froze. She had handled guns before and was no stranger to the sound. Even Ji Tang, Ji Chao, and Shi Tou, living in this information-rich era with TV and movies, were not unfamiliar with the sound.

Even though they had never seen one in real life.

In an instant, all four of them held their breath. Ji Tang’s hand, held by Song Xun, couldn’t help but tighten.

Song Xun’s brow furrowed slightly. The four of them immediately crouched down. From their position at the corner of the landing, they could see the situation at the door.

The lock was broken. Yan Qiang kicked the door open, and the lock fell to the ground. The sound of the door slamming against the wall was deafening.

The sunlight was too bright, illuminating the empty 12th floor, which was messy and quiet. This was a place for planting traditional Chinese medicine, and other than the shelves, materials, and tools, there was nothing else.

Twenty-some people followed behind Yan Qiang. They looked around, and their faces all darkened.

“Damn it, this place is too clean.”

“What is this building for? Why is it all dirt and shelves?”

“Boss, look, the window is broken.”

It was clearly broken from the outside. There were glass shards on the floor. But it was impossible to tell if it had been broken by someone or by the tornado.

Yan Qiang gave it a deep look, then quickly turned his head to the stairs next to the door. “The stairs are here. Old Li, Zhang Er, go up and check.”

“Mazi, Tiger, you guys tear down the wooden shelves and start a fire to boil some water.”

“Yes, Brother Qiang,” his men replied.

Then they split up. Some went to dismantle the wooden shelves and chairs on the 12th floor, while others went up the stairs.

Sensing Ji Chao’s breathing quicken behind her, Song Xun stood up with Ji Tang, and the four of them slowly went back up.

“What’s wrong?”

“Qinglin Security. That’s the security company I work for.”

Ji Chao’s voice was low and hoarse. There were other security companies in Jingbei City, but there was only one with this name. And could he not recognize his own company’s uniform?

But why were these people wearing his company’s uniform?

On the day of the storm, June 28th, he had been off, so he had braved the wind and gone home. He didn’t know what had happened to the others.

But he knew that four or five of his colleagues, whose homes were out of town, lived in the company dorms. They were probably trapped in the company. When their phones had died, they had been talking in the group chat.

But now, their clothes were on these people. It was highly likely that his colleagues were dead.

Song Xun frowned.

The voices from downstairs, getting closer and closer, were still talking without restraint. It was too quiet, and the four of them could hear them faintly.

“Damn it, what bad luck. I thought we’d find some food in this building, but it looks like it’s instant noodles again.”

“Yeah, what is this building for? I haven’t been this hungry since I got out of prison. I want to eat real food.”

“It’s all Little Five’s fault, giving us bad directions. He said there was a rich neighborhood, but we ended up in a place like this.”

“Alright, stop complaining. Didn’t Brother Qiang say? We’ll rest here tonight and kill our way back into the city tomorrow. Then we’ll find a nice complex and take it over.”

“As long as we can eat our fill.”

“That’s all you can think about…”

In the end, there was nothing worth listening to in their cheerful chatter. Song Xun and the others retreated to the 15th floor.

Shi Tou couldn’t hold it in. “Big Sis, what do we do? They’re from a prison?”

Not only were there a lot of them, but they had guns.

Although Shi Tou was reckless, he wasn’t stupid.

Ji Tang was very calm. “We can’t fight them head-on. We’re no match.”

It was the truth. She had no fighting ability. Although Shi Tou and Ji Chao were skilled, that was relative. Compared to a bullet…

That was suicide!

Song Xun furrowed her brow. “Find a chance to escape.”

Although she didn’t want to, this was indeed the best way to keep them all safe.

If they really fought, their chances of winning were too low.

But the problem was, the only exit here was on the 12th floor. It would be easy to break the windows on other floors, but at this height, not only would it be dangerous to throw down the assault boat, but the risk of jumping was also too great.

Song Xun made a decisive decision. “Hide. When they come up, we’ll take them out one by one. Be quick, and don’t make a sound.”

This was the first time they had faced armed criminals. This was not the same as the brawls in their complex. It was impossible not to be nervous. But Song Xun’s calmness helped to steady them.

The sound of footsteps, muffled by their curses, was getting closer and closer. Shi Tou and Ji Chao looked around and quickly found places to hide. There were many cabinets and dirt barrels on the 15th floor, and although they didn’t know what they were for, they were good for hiding.

Song Xun pulled Ji Tang and also hid on the other side of the door, pushing her in and then standing in front with her blade.

Her eyes were fixed on the doorway.

The sound of cursing grew closer. Ji Tang’s heart was pounding, and she was sweating with nervousness, but she held back from making any sound.

She was afraid of dying, and she was afraid of causing trouble for Song Xun.

As the two overlapping voices got closer, time seemed to stretch on for Ji Tang. She could even hear her own heartbeat, a booming in her ears.

But as she looked up at Song Xun, who was standing in front of her, her slightly thin frame in her black sportswear seemed as reliable as a mountain.

At that moment, she somehow felt less afraid.

If they were really going to die, then dying together would be a good choice.

Closer, closer…

The three of them tightened their grip on their weapons, holding their breath.

There were too many of them. They had to take out as many as they could while they were unprepared.

They had no way out.

Perhaps he had accidentally bumped into a wooden block in front of the stairs. The male Alpha cursed and kicked it forward.

“Damn it, what is this place? It’s not for growing grass, is it? Using such a good place for this, what a waste.”

“You’re wrong, it’s a waste of…”

The male Beta, who was a step ahead, only saw a flash before his eyes. Before he could finish his sentence, the sharp blade had already pierced his heart.

He could no longer speak.

The moment Song Xun made her move, Ji Chao, with his quick reflexes, also pounced, even a step ahead of Shi Tou. He held a watermelon knife to the man’s neck and at the same time, covered his mouth.

He had been struggling, raising the knife in his hand to stab, but Shi Tou, who had caught up, grabbed his hand, twisted it back, and snatched the knife.

Seeing his companion in front of him being cleanly stabbed in the heart by Song Xun and then dragged to the side and hidden…

His heart turned cold.

There was a row of black barrels here. It was easy to hide a person. As long as you didn’t get too close, you wouldn’t see them.

Song Xun’s movements were fast, and no blood had dripped on the floor.

The watermelon knife was pressed directly against the male Alpha’s neck. The cold steel was tight against his skin, and he could even feel the stinging pain of the blade’s edge.

Without resisting, he was also pushed to the side by Ji Chao.

“How many guns do you have in total?”

The male Alpha hesitated for a moment. Ji Chao applied pressure, and blood flowed down.

“Speak if you don’t want to die.”

Sensing that Ji Chao was serious, the male Alpha immediately didn’t dare to move. “Just three guns.”

This was probably right.

From the stairs, they had seen that only three people had guns on their backs. One was the first to enter, the one called Brother Qiang. The other two were a male Beta and a female Alpha.

“How many bullets are in the guns?”

The male Alpha hesitated again. Song Xun had no patience. With a cold face, she swung her blade and cut off one of his fingers. Ji Chao pressed down hard on him, preventing him from crying out.

“Be honest, or your neck is next.”

The male Alpha’s eyes were full of terror. He nodded, his voice tinged with pain. “An Jie and Ba Ge’s guns have two bullets each. But Brother Qiang’s has more. All the bullets are with Brother Qiang. We brought them when we escaped.”

This time, the man’s expression seemed normal, as if he wasn’t lying. But Song Xun couldn’t completely trust him. She gave a look, and Ji Chao didn’t hesitate. He turned the watermelon knife in his hand and stabbed down hard, slitting his throat in one go.

After dragging the body away and hiding it, Ji Chao asked Song Xun, “What now?”

“Wait. As long as they don’t go down, someone will come up. We’ll try to kill two more.”

Same old story. One less enemy is one less enemy.

They continued to hide without a sound.

Sure enough, in less than ten minutes, seeing that the two hadn’t come down, more people came up. This time, there were four of them. It seemed that Yan Qiang was suspicious.

But among these four, a male Beta was holding a gun, at the very back.

Song Xun remained motionless, her grip on her long blade tightening slightly. Her entire body was in a state of tension, ready to explode with extreme speed at any moment.

The 15th floor was too quiet, unnaturally so.

The male Beta with the gun was at the back, frowning. For some reason, he felt a little uneasy. But the thought of the gun in his hand reassured him a little.

Just as the four of them stepped in and were about to pass the black barrels where they were hiding, for some reason, they all stopped.

A pity…

Song Xun cursed inwardly. She couldn’t wait any longer. She pounced decisively.

The black barrel she was hiding behind was some distance from the four of them. Three were standing in front, two to the left and one to the right, with some space in the middle. The male Beta with the gun was standing behind the three of them.

And he was Song Xun’s target.

Song Xun’s movements were very fast. In reality, the male Beta didn’t see her clearly, but he instinctively raised his gun. As if by instinct, just as Song Xun’s blade was about to fall, he pulled the trigger.

Bang—

Song Xun twisted her body, and the bullet hit the wall.

The deafening sound of the shotgun echoed through the silent building, sending a jolt through the people on the 12th floor.

A gunshot?!