Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 1140 - 25 Isolation

Chapter 1140: Chapter 25 Isolation

People who were already frightened and skittish immediately moved away from them, guns raised in warning.

"They’re going to turn into zombies," Xiao Hu cried out in terror, raising his muzzle and firing, blowing the head off an American who was convulsing after three shots.

"Stop, we can’t be sure yet," a man tried to stop Xiao Hu, "What you’re doing is a crime. Even if they must be killed, we have to wait until they turn into zombies."

Among the over two thousand people, more than two hundred with low immunity were infected. Though the airborne transmission rate was slow, after the citizens entered their residences, outbreaks still occurred, and compared to the main street, the troubles caused were greater since the soldiers couldn’t see them and had no way to attack.

"What are we waiting for, kill them." Tang Zheng pulled out his handgun and started shooting at the Americans lying on the ground, headshots every shot, this was a good opportunity to rack up kill counts.

This time no one stopped Tang Zheng because they witnessed a man turn into a zombie, leap up from the ground, and lunge at him.

Bang, before the zombie could pounce, Tang Zheng fired the bullet right between its brows.

"Uncle Wang, you’re in charge of commanding here, monitoring the situation on the main street. Li Wenbo, Kong Licheng, come upstairs with me." Tang Zheng then looked at the man who spoke earlier, "You find some people to come with me."

John did not want to act with Tang Zheng, this man was too violent.

"Among those people just now, some might turn into zombies. We must now ensure the safety of the entire hotel," Tang Zheng said before sprinting past him. Even if the power wasn’t going to cut out temporarily, he wouldn’t take the elevator. Who knows what he’d face when the elevator doors opened.

Hearing Tang Zheng’s words, John and the others turned pale, and more than a dozen screams already sounded from upstairs, mixed with calls for help.

"Hold my backpack for me. If you lose it, get the hell out of the team," Tang Zheng handed the backpack filled with weapons and food to Xiao Hu, who grimaced and cursed under his breath, but dared not throw it away.

After the outbreak of the biochemical virus, as time passed, it had spread here through the underground water recycling system, making drinking raw water a very dangerous act, which many people had not noticed.

"I’ll take the lead as the vanguard first. After two floors, we’ll switch!" Tang Zheng, holding an AA12 and carrying a Benelli M4 on his back, began to head upstairs.

"I curse you to get bitten," Li Wenbo muttered under his breath, unaware that Tang Zheng had played a little trick.

Tang Zheng volunteered to be the vanguard first, not only to set an example but also to avoid attacks. Right now, humans were turning into zombies, the number of zombies was relatively small, which was relatively safe. Soon, their numbers would certainly increase.

"I’ll go second," Kong Licheng also took the hint and immediately took a favorable position.

Li Wenbo lacked the courage and ended up being scorned once again.

Upon reaching the second floor, they saw a zombified chef incessantly knocking on the door of room 207 while someone inside was screaming, obviously under attack by zombies.

Just as a group was aiming to fire, Tang Zheng had already shot; the shotgun blast hit the zombie’s head squarely, completely obliterating its upper body, with broken flesh smeared across the wall leaving vivid traces.

"Dong Zixuan, are you there?" Tang Zheng called out, but with no response, he continued to ascend the stairs.

"Wait, why not save people?" John blocked Tang Zheng’s path.

"Who said we’re not saving them? What are you following me for? Don’t you have guns?" Tang Zheng retorted sarcastically, too many people crowded together could actually block the way back.

"Let’s do it ourselves," miffed, John cursed under his breath and led the Americans into the second floor.

"You cowards, if you’re afraid to go upstairs just say so. If you’re brave, go clear a floor each," Tang Zheng continued to provoke John, moving quickly without pausing, then slowed as he entered the third floor.

"Clear." Tang Zheng habitually called out for Dong Zixuan, still with no answer.

"My turn," Kong Licheng stepped up as the vanguard, but had bad luck. As soon as he stepped onto the fourth floor, he spotted a zombie squatting five meters away, gnawing at a woman. Just as he was about to fire, the zombie was already shot dead by Tang Zheng.

"Move on." Tang Zheng was not interested in clearing the floors; securing the newbie’s safety was his priority. His earlier words were intended to deceive John.

Li Wenbo was cowardly and did not want to take his turn, but with Xiao Hu and Xu Zhifeng both looking at him, he had no choice but to stiffen his resolve and go. Otherwise, his influence among his colleagues would hit rock bottom.

On the ninth floor, they finally got a response from Dong Zixuan; everyone let out a relieved sigh after hearing her answer in room 908.

"Why didn’t you signal us?" Kong Licheng chided the policewoman, frowning at the sight of over a hundred people crowded in the living room, "Why are you all together? You’ll suffocate, spread out, go to the rooms next door."

"Staying together means we can look out for each other," miner leader Liu Binshi came out of the restroom, having just washed the coal dust off his face, and replied to Kong Licheng.

The newbies said nothing and didn’t move; they didn’t want to separate, that was too dangerous.

"Didn’t you hear what was said? Fine, if you won’t move, then I will," ashamed and upset, Kong Licheng felt he had lost face, "Tang Zheng, let’s go next door."

All the newbies turned their gaze to Tang Zheng.

"Let’s just stay here, don’t worry, it’s unlikely anyone is infected with the virus," Tang Zheng reassured Kong Licheng, then turned to Liu Binshi, "You didn’t drink raw water, did you?"

"Ah? Will there be a problem?" Liu Binshi’s complexion went pale as he realized why Tang Zheng had asked that question.

"The water in this hotel is really good, even better than purified water." Li Xizhu said with admiration, shaking the water off his hands as he walked out, "I can’t even figure out how to use that faucet."

Behind him, five other miners crowded into the restroom, thirsty from the long bike ride. Others had been complaining about them hogging the restroom, but now they let out a sigh of relief.

The newbies collectively took a step back, distancing themselves from Liu Binshi and Li Xizhu, while Zhang Antai and Hu Hong, who had intended to go in, stopped dead in their tracks and quietly walked away, secretly relieved.

"It should be fine, just a precaution. From now on, we must drink bottled water and eat food in packaging that isn’t damaged," Tang Zheng said, taking his backpack back from Xiao Hu and looking at Dong Zixuan, "What about the mother and son?"

Xiao Hu gazed at the two large bags of food, swallowing hard, reluctant to let go.

"I’ve moved them next door," Dong Zixuan replied, frowning slightly, clearly noticing the tension in the team’s atmosphere.

"I’ll go check on them. You guys rest for a bit, and oh, send one person down to tell Uncle Wang to come back. Also, keep an eye out for trouble," Tang Zheng said, as he prepared to leave. He knew that soon, under pressure, Liu Binshi would leave the room. As a group leader aiming to maintain a good image, he wouldn’t issue such an order. Besides, who could guarantee none of the newbies would turn into zombies? It was safer to stay hidden for the time being, though the likelihood was small. Of course, observing the zombification process of the mother and son was of utmost importance.

"What’s there to see? Let’s sit down and figure out what we should do next," Kong Licheng suggested.

"That woman was bitten by a zombie dog, she’s likely to become a zombie. I’m going to observe," Tang Zheng shook his head and left promptly.

"It’s better if he’s gone," Li Wenbo couldn’t wait for Tang Zheng to leave, as he wanted to use this opportunity to win over the people and take command.

When Tang Zheng opened the door, he saw the woman slapping her son’s bottom, urging him to leave, but the boy refused to listen.

"I’m not leaving, I want to stay with Mom."

Hearing her son’s concerned voice, the woman hugged him, overcome with pain.

Tang Zheng didn’t disturb them and sat down on the sofa. He turned on the television but, as expected, there were no programs. He took out some canned luncheon meat, placed them on the tea table, cut a triangular opening with his straight knife, and while eating, he walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window.

"Are we going to die?" the woman asked Tang Zheng, clutching her son, tears streaming down her face.

"Most likely." Tang Zheng knew she wanted to hear a negative answer, but he couldn’t come up with one.

"You’re lying, my mom isn’t going to die," the little boy glared at Tang Zheng, accusing him of cursing his mother, "You’re the one who’s going to die."

"Sorry," the woman hastily covered her son’s mouth, apologizing to Tang Zheng.

"It’s okay," Tang Zheng didn’t mind. He had wanted to let the boy take something to eat, but upon seeing the fresh blood on him, he decided against it and instead personally picked out two cans of canned food and a bottle of water for them.

"Thank you," the woman expressed her gratitude.

"What do you do for a living?" Tang Zheng returned to the floor-to-ceiling window, using an innocuous question to put the woman at ease. He actually wanted to check her wound, but he expected she would refuse.

There were hardly any zombies left on Main Street by now. Those not killed had run into the residences on either side. Occasionally, citizens would run out in terror, but they couldn’t last long before being tackled.

The woman needed Tang Zheng’s help to look after her son, so she answered straightforwardly.

"Mom, eat," the boy opened the can and tried to feed his mother, "It won’t hurt once you’ve eaten."

"Let me bandage your wound," Tang Zheng hesitated but decided to risk infection and offered to treat her injury.

"No need," the woman stroked her son’s head, "you go outside and wait for me."

"No, I want to be with Mom," the boy refused.

"Be good and let me talk to big brother for a bit," the woman wanted to entrust her son to Tang Zheng after her death, but the child seemed to sense her intentions and clung tightly to her, refusing to leave.

"I’ll go sleep in the bedroom," Tang Zheng was confident he could deal with her if she turned into a zombie, but he was still cautious and made an excuse to leave.

"Tang Zheng, teach me how to use a gun," Liu Man entered the room and immediately covered her nose, avoiding the mother and son as she approached Tang Zheng.

The mother and son felt awkward.

"Why haven’t you gone to stay in the bedroom? Even if she turns into a zombie, she won’t be able to hurt the child," Liu Man tried to send the woman away.

The woman, realizing the severity of the situation, looked at Tang Zheng with a pleading gaze.

"I’ll tie you up, so even if you turn into a zombie, you won’t be a threat. Your son can continue to stay with you," Tang Zheng knew the woman wanted to stay with her son. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommend tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)