Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 1157 - 37: Newbie Death_2

Chapter 1157: Chapter 37: Newbie Death_2

"No!" Hu Hong dodged to the side and tried to counterattack, but it was too late. The shotgun fired, hitting him directly in the thigh. He felt as if his body had been hit by a siege hammer and involuntarily fell forward.

Hu Liwen, panting heavily, her face covered in sweat and the flushed tension of having just killed someone, ran past the two injured men. Seeing their unlucky plight, she abruptly calmed down.

The two wanted to retaliate, but the first shot missed, and by the time they were ready for the second, it was too late—the zombie dogs had pounced.

"Are you crazy?" Li Zhilian watched in horror as the zombie dogs chased down Liu Miao and Hu Hong, biting wildly and splattering blood all over the walls, prompting her to scream.

Zheng Sheng looked down on his classmate Liu Miao, so he didn’t care about his death. He glanced back, then ignored it completely and focused on escaping, after all, Li Yumiao and Li Zhilian were still behind him, so even if Hu Liwen attacked, it wouldn’t be his turn yet.

"What are you doing?" Li Yumiao became unsettled, fearing that Hu Liwen might shoot him from behind.

"Bait." Hu Liwen wanted to explain that she did it to delay the zombie dogs and hoped for understanding, but she was too out of breath to speak.

"Keep running like this and we’ll only end up dead. While the number of zombie dogs has decreased, let’s shoot a round and take a break at the same time," Kong Licheng suddenly roared, commanding, "I’ll count one, two, everyone stop, turn around, and open fire. Anyone who runs, I’ll shoot first."

The newbies were intimidated by Kong Licheng’s brutality. Moreover, what he said was true, so after he counted to "two," everyone stopped and opened fire behind them.

Having everyone equipped with shotguns was indeed a good idea. The storm of bullets created by the pellets directly hit the six leading zombie dogs. Although it wasn’t possible to head-explode them, it turned them into sieves, effectively killing them just the same.

Apart from Kong Licheng and Dong Zixuan, the other six were too nervous and had never considered conserving ammunition or maintaining firepower; they had unloaded all their bullets. When they pulled the trigger and heard the click of empty chambers as seven zombies still approached, they turned and ran.

"Don’t run, reload quickly," Kong Licheng roared. He was using an AA12 with a 20-round drum magazine, which could ensure continued fire coverage. And with Dong Zixuan, who knew a bit about tactics, by his side, he hadn’t run sooner.

The two provided covering fire as the newbies tilted their firepower; they didn’t shoot blindly and took this opportunity to attack the second wave of approaching zombie dogs, killing them all.

The zombie dogs that had been feasting on the newbies noticed what was happening here and a few broke off to charge over, only to be shot dead before they could get close.

"Don’t panic, only five left, reload quickly," Kong Licheng felt immensely relieved; shotguns were indeed useful. One didn’t really need to aim, unlike with assault rifles, otherwise, he wouldn’t have dared to stop.

A minute later, all the zombie dogs were dead, and everyone sat down on the ground, breathing heavily, looking very ragged.

Hu Liwen was worried about being scolded and was racking her brains for an excuse, but she noticed no one was speaking and was somewhat puzzled.

Dong Zixuan and Kong Licheng exchanged looks, realizing the reason. Cheng He had died, Hu Hong was disliked, and he had no real connection with the rest of the team, so naturally, no one would stand up for him. As for Liu Miao, Zheng Sheng, and Li Yumiao might have some complaints, but they wouldn’t offend the police for an old classmate they hadn’t seen in years, especially considering a conflict would likely make the three acquainted police officers stick together. So, they left the matter for Tang Zheng to handle.

"I’m sorry, I was just trying to protect everyone," Hu Liwen heaved a sigh of relief, lowering her head and beginning to make excuses to lessen others’ wariness towards her, but unfortunately, she failed; no one wanted to deal with someone who might shoot their own people.

"Just don’t do it again," Gao Ming, being wise, advised her, pulling their relationship a bit closer, so even if Hu Liwen fired again, she would not be targeting him.

"What now?" Liu Binshi was eager to find Tang Zheng, deeming the current group unreliable. With the group leader around, it definitely wouldn’t be like this.

"Go back the same way, look for Tang Zheng," Kong Licheng compromised. He didn’t believe he could complete the mission alone. About twenty zombie dogs had already caused them to panic, and they were a pitiful sight. If they encountered any other trouble, death was certain. He thought they ought to calm down and plan gingerly, "Trying to play the hero and being conceited will only get you killed faster."

"I agree, but do you guys still remember the way?" Li Yumiao had focused solely on escaping earlier and had completely forgotten.

The laboratory’s layout was as complex as a spider’s web, and there were no clear markings on the walls. Anyone coming here for the first time would definitely get lost.

"We’ll figure it out one step at a time." Liu Binshi glanced at the map, only to realize it lacked some details about the area.

A group of people headed back, trying to confirm if they were on the right path, when suddenly, faint footsteps could be heard from a fork in the road a hundred meters away. Then, a Recovery Team dressed in black security uniforms and wearing gas masks, armed with assault rifles, appeared and immediately opened fire upon seeing Kong Licheng and his group.

"Run!" Kong Licheng felt that it was his unlucky day, with everything going wrong.

Tang Zheng’s pursuit also encountered trouble. There was standing water on the ground, as well as chaotic footprints, which made it impossible for him to discern the direction. After wasting ten minutes, he gave up.

"Forget it, the mission is more important." After checking the map again, Tang Zheng headed to Area 6, where the vaccine and pharmaceutical storage rooms were located. The Virus Strain might be stored there, though he would’ve preferred to catch a few staff members to interrogate for intelligence. Unfortunately, those he found had either escaped or turned into zombies, and he hadn’t encountered a single survivor.

As he passed through the living area, Tang Zheng spotted a ten-person Recovery Team. Seemingly relying on their familiarity with the terrain and their own formidable strength, they were careless, not even bothering to conceal the sounds of their footsteps.

"The equipment is settled." Lying in ambush inside the kitchen, waiting for them to pass, Tang Zheng suddenly burst out, holding an AK74 and firing at them, instantly killing two and blowing their heads open.

The Recovery Team panicked, returning fire to suppress him as they retreated into the diner to find cover. Tang Zheng saw they still had hand grenades on their shoulders, and without hesitation, he pulled out one, removed the safety pin, and hurled it along the floor, perfectly rolling it under a dining table.

Boom, two unlucky guys hiding behind it were killed, their bodies thrown out.

Tang Zheng shifted his position, hidden behind another dining table, and after changing his ammo clip, he suddenly emerged and fired a short burst, hitting a guy right between the eyebrows, lifting off his skull.

The sudden attack that killed five tumulted the Recovery Team, with several newbies screaming non-stop, revealing their positions. Tang Zheng threw another hand grenade, killing two more.

"So foolish, I’d rather face a dozen than meet a single Group Leader." These were either retired soldiers or security trained on Anlanke’s dime; many hadn’t seen combat. In front of Tang Zheng, they were completely outmatched. He fired to suppress the enemy while moving, then ran towards the bodies.

"Lucky!" Tang Zheng picked up three hand grenades from a body’s shoulder and threw them in succession, the shockwaves causing the remaining three to cry out in pain. They were scared and tried to break out.

"Just the moment I was waiting for." As soon as the first guy ran out of the diner, Tang Zheng took a few more steps before hitting him as he was about to take cover. The man was wearing a bulletproof vest, so he didn’t die from falling, but he did break several ribs and struggled to crawl.

Tang Zheng ignored him, targeted the second one. That guy saw his companion escape the diner and thought he was safe, but the next second he was shot down, panic-stricken.

Bang, bang, Tang Zheng fired a short burst that broke his legs. The third person was the smartest and didn’t dare come out at all.

"Take it slow." After killing the first person, Tang Zheng changed his ammo clip and shot at the soldier with broken legs, using his screams to provoke the last guy to come out.

Two minutes later, Tang Zheng killed the last person with a hand grenade.

"Fool, thought you’d be safe hiding behind cover?" Tang Zheng discarded his AK74, picked up an M4A1 Carbine equipped with an ACOG scope, Tactical Flashlight, and Laser Sight. After putting on a bulletproof vest, he stuffed the ammo clip and a total of twenty hand grenades into his backpack. This ammunition was enough for a small-scale encounter, albeit a bit heavy. (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to vote and recommend on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)