Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 1149 - 32 Classmate’s Death

Chapter 1149: Chapter 32 Classmate’s Death

The Licker launched its attack, its intense stench flooding Tang Zheng’s nostrils with the pounce, and its peeled head and sharp claws rapidly closed in on his field of vision, brimming with a boiling intent to kill!

Wen Xiao was solely preoccupied with catching up, her attention diverted, oblivious to the Licker’s attack. Seeing Tang Zheng suddenly turn around, a puzzled look appeared on her face. There was nothing she could do; Tang Zheng had been through so many brutal fights that he had developed nerves as tough as Mount Tai’s unflappable presence. If he had shown a hint of fear, Wen Xiao might have sensed something was amiss.

"Dodge to the left," Tang Zheng roared aloud, his mind instantly flicking through several countermeasures. With the Licker pouncing fiercely from the ceiling, relying on a civilian semi-automatic assault rifle was out of the question; the firing rate and knockback force were not enough, so he decisively let go of the G36C Short Burst and grabbed the Benelli M4 slung at his side with his right hand. Aiming at the Licker, he grabbed the tactical handguard with his left hand and gave it a forceful pull.

Accompanied by a crisp ’click’, a bullet was chambered, and Tang Zheng pulled the trigger.

Bang, the muzzle flame erupted, and the shotgun blast hit the Zombie’s chest, sending it tumbling back. Blood splattered from the wound like a blooming rose, radiantly scattering and even splashing onto Tang Zheng’s face.

For safety, moving back quickly and creating distance from the Licker was the best plan, but for Wen Xiao’s sake, Tang Zheng did not retreat but instead charged forward. His first shot was even aimed at the Licker pouncing at his classmate, but his vision was completely blocked by the Licker lunging at him.

Tang Zheng leaned forward, thrusting the barrel out almost against the Licker’s body, and fired the second shot.

Bang, the Licker’s entire upper body was blasted into a sieve, knocking over its kin. Wen Xiao screamed, covering her ears, and dodged to the side.

The third Licker arrived, swooping down, its hard tongue shooting out, aiming for Tang Zheng’s face.

"Run forward," Tang Zheng roared once more, stepping to the right side and raising the barrel. The Licker had already pounced, with its head colliding with the muzzle and its long arm reaching for his cheeks.

The rotten claw grazing Tang Zheng’s nose, an immense force hit his arm, nearly knocking the shotgun out of his hands.

Bang, Tang Zheng fired the third shot. Up close, it blew the Licker’s head into a rotten watermelon, and the headless Corpse toppled amid splashes of brain pulp.

Wen Xiao was too slow to react, her mental strength too weak. Fear made her body tremble and her mind was a mess, incapable of clear thought. Hearing Tang Zheng’s shout, she reflexively ran forward, but unfortunately, she was still a step too slow.

The toppled Licker, without rising, spat out its hard tongue, like a crossbow arrow shot out, piercing through Wen Xiao’s calf.

Wen Xiao screamed as she fell, her cheek hitting the ground and causing a nosebleed.

The Licker was strong; with a flick of its head, it dragged Wen Xiao back.

Tang Zheng lowered the muzzle, firing violently, emptying the remaining four shots and blowing the heads off two Lickers.

"Save me, save me, I don’t want to die!" Wen Xiao struggled, her hands clawing wildly at the ground as she tried to crawl, tears streaming down her face from the pain in her calf.

"It’s okay now, all the Zombies are dead," Tang Zheng helped Wen Xiao up, reassuring her, while checking the Passage, fearful that more might come.

Wen Xiao was terrified and threw herself into Tang Zheng’s arms, crying incessantly.

The Passage quieted down, leaving only the pungent stench and the mangled Corpses, a filthy scene.

"Will I die? I’ve been bitten," Wen Xiao’s face contorted, looking back to see the Licker’s thick, reddened tongue embedded in her calf, almost fainting with despair, tightly clutching Tang Zheng’s clothes, seeking a negative answer.

"It’s okay, you won’t die," Tang Zheng drew his straight knife and cut away Wen Xiao’s pant leg. Then he grabbed the Licker’s tongue and yanked it out.

Blood flowed again, and Tang Zheng took out a bottle of mineral water, unscrewed the cap, and poured it over the wound before bandaging it tightly with bandages. These items were all brought from the Hotel, but they were of little use; once injured by a Zombie, there was basically no hope.

"You’re lying to me, the woman who got bitten before turned into a Zombie." Wen Xiao couldn’t calm down, she roared loudly, then continued crying, "I don’t want to die, I’m only twenty years old!"

"Can you walk? I’ll carry you," Tang Zheng finished bandaging Wen Xiao’s wound and tried to help her up, only to be pushed away.

"Get away from me, you swindler. You said you would help me, but what have you done?" Under the pressure of death, Wen Xiao was nearly breaking down, blaming both her own helplessness and accusing Tang Zheng.

"I’m sorry," Tang Zheng apologized, clenching his teeth and fist, and slammed it hard against the wall, "I’m sorry."

Watching Tang Zheng filled with self-reproach, the frenzied Wen Xiao suddenly quieted down, revealing a bleak smile.

"Let’s go, go after the others," Tang Zheng slung his backpack on his chest and picked up Wen Xiao.

The passage was silent except for the footsteps of two people.

"How do you plan to explain my injury to them? Once they know it was caused by zombies, they will definitely ostracize me!" Wen Xiao wasn’t foolish, especially when it came to her own interests.

"Don’t worry, I’ll say it’s a gunshot wound, we already have an unknown enemy to take the blame." Tang Zheng tried to keep his tone light to ease Wen Xiao’s anxious mood, but the thought of his middle school classmates turning into zombies soon filled him with unease.

"I’m sorry, I was just too afraid, so I spoke like that. Thank you, otherwise, I would surely be dead by now." Wen Xiao thought of Tang Zheng’s reaction just now. If it had been Cao Rongxuan and his group, they would’ve run as far as they could by now, instead of fighting to save her, so she was genuinely grateful to him.

"It’s okay." Tang Zheng was rather magnanimous.

"Tired, aren’t you?" Wen Xiao reached out to wipe the sweat from Tang Zheng’s forehead. Together with the backpack, she probably weighed around one hundred and thirty jin, and his steps had obviously slowed down a lot.

"It’s nothing." Tang Zheng smiled, wanting to comfort Wen Xiao but couldn’t find the words.

"Back in middle school, you and I were just acquaintances. Why would you go to such lengths for me? It can’t be that you like me, right?" Wen Xiao suddenly joked, catching Tang Zheng off-guard.

"Heh, you’re still so reticent. I guess you didn’t find a girlfriend in university either." Wen Xiao licked her dry lips and rambled on. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the Glock pistol, "I’m so ordinary, you surely couldn’t like me. So, what about Song Xin? She’s pretty and has a nice personality. Why didn’t you accept her confession?"

"I’m not pursuing love." Tang Zheng suddenly remembered his goal. After graduating from university, to amass a fortune large enough to splurge for a century within ten years. But now, it had become about taking down Trojan, destroying this game.

"Hmm, I know, men have ambitions." Wen Xiao nodded seriously, looking at the sweat on Tang Zheng’s forehead, yet his determination in his steps made her smile, "I’m starting to understand why Song Xin liked you, Tang Zheng, you really are gentle and strong!"

"Don’t praise me, I’ll become complacent." Tang Zheng felt her gesture and turned to look, "What are you doing with the gun?"

"Learning to kill zombies. You have to pull the slide to chamber a round and then switch off the safety. Look, I’m quite smart; the policewoman only said it once and I remembered. But why couldn’t I make it into high school then?" Wen Xiao chambered the Glock as Dong Zixuan had taught her.

"It’s too dangerous. Don’t have an accidental discharge," Tang Zheng frowned but perhaps the gun could give Wen Xiao a sense of security, so he did not ask her to put it away.

"Tang Zheng, I realized back in middle school that you are actually a soft-hearted person. Whenever a classmate was in trouble, you’d help. Remember, in the eighth grade, a group of students suddenly broke into our class to beat up Zhao Xiong? You were the first to help. After you shouted that no one could pick on our classmates, the other boys joined in too. After that, the whole grade knew our class was united," Wen Xiao recounted the interesting stories from middle school, seemingly calming her mind, "I heard Song Xin started to like you because of that incident. She thought you were responsible and manly."

"I don’t like fighting." The reason Tang Zheng stepped in that time wasn’t just for Zhao Xiong, but also to defend their turf. If other students came into the classroom, beat someone up, and then left triumphantly, that would’ve been embarrassing.

"Tang Zheng, you should change your personality a bit. You take relationships too seriously and are a soft-hearted person. Otherwise, once you graduate, you’ll suffer. My social experience, after all, is more than yours," Wen Xiao said with a sob in her voice, trying to hold back her tears, but they fell down her cheeks like pearls off a string.

"Hmm." Tang Zheng entered the lobby, saw the floor covered in zombies, and the dead Long Face.

"Heh, there’s someone who’s even more unlucky than me." Wen Xiao pressed the Glock against her temple, "Tang Zheng, I don’t want to turn into a zombie..."

"You won’t..." Tang Zheng couldn’t get the word "die" out as a gunshot plugged his throat, and warm, fresh blood splashed across half of his back and onto his head, seeping into his collar.

A thud—Wen Xiao’s arm dangled down, and the Glock fell to the floor.

"Hey, Wen Xiao, would your husband mind if his son had a godfather?" Tang Zheng’s body stiffened, he took a deep breath, and kept moving, joking to Wen Xiao as he went on. He knew the smartest thing was to leave her behind to save energy, but for some reason, he just couldn’t do it.

Drip, drop, drip, drop—their clothes quickly became soaked with blood, dripping onto the floor, leaving behind a cruel trail!

"Trojan, why don’t you just bring all my classmates into the Trojan Room?" Tang Zheng bit his lip, wishing he could smash it to pieces. He didn’t go far after passing the glass doors and hadn’t yet seen the whole of the office area when suddenly he heard a clang as if metal struck something.

"Huh?" Tang Zheng slowly crouched down, set Wen Xiao down, unshouldered his backpack, and took up the assault rifle, perking up his ears to listen intently.

The sound of high-heels striking the ground echoed twice before stopping; the person was clearly observing the surroundings. Within a minute, the sounds resumed.

"They’re in the lobby," Tang Zheng whispered to himself, looking around, then silently moved into an office on the left side.

......

PS: Three updates tomorrow! (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you’re welcome to offer your support with recommendation tickets and monthly votes at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)