Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 1169 - 48 Deadlock

Chapter 1169: Chapter 48 Deadlock

"I disagree," Tang Zheng rejected without a second thought, "You want us to serve as bait and risk our lives without even a strategy, not knowing their names or what they look like? Do you think everyone is a fool?"

"Right, are you playing us?" The short-haired man was about to refuse and immediately seconded Tang Zheng, confronting the policeman aggressively.

"No way," Susan screamed, not wanting Tang Zheng to leave. Besides him, no one else wanted to protect her.

"You’ll only survive if you listen to me," the policeman’s tone conveyed strong confidence.

"Humph, we might as well part ways. I’m going back the way we came," Tang Zheng would never entrust his life to someone unfamiliar; he would rather go it alone.

"Let’s go on our own," Susan grabbed Tang Zheng’s arm, feeling that without these burdens, their escape would be faster.

"We won’t have enough time; the monster will keep chasing us," the policeman started to jog, surveying the surroundings for a tactic, but Tang Zheng cut him off.

"The three of us men will serve as bait, draw the monster’s attention, and lead it to the electric room or the hydrogen production area, then create an explosion. Yuliya and Susan, you’re in charge of support," Tang Zheng said as he opened the map, pointing out the most dangerous spots in the power zone, quickly giving orders.

"Look at this command, even if it costs me my life, I don’t mind," the short-haired man blamed the policeman, not comparing himself to a woman, and Tang Zheng had always been reliable.

The policeman shrugged his shoulders, no objections, Tang Zheng had said exactly what he wanted to say, except that he wasn’t familiar with the electrical systems.

"Let’s move," the opportunities were few. If Tang Zheng didn’t act, others were likely to slack off or fail the mission, so he had to take the initiative. Moreover, leaving Yuliya behind was also to earn some favor; he hadn’t forgotten about the control potion.

In such a large-scale underground laboratory, an independent power plant separate from the city’s power system is built to handle sudden blackouts and ensure the power supply; Tang Zheng had seen the map, its insides clear, but walking there was still perilous.

It was best to stay away from high-pressure pipelines, but Tang Zheng wasn’t very familiar with these, relying on luck and trying to choose wider paths. Also, he had to avoid touching any equipment accidentally, as it might electrocute him.

The overall color scheme of the power zone was black, thick cables crisscrossing like pythons ready to strike, creating an oppressive atmosphere that made one’s teeth itch. Many electrical devices were constantly buzzing, and some damaged cables were sparking.

"This is the main battlefield for the female anchor," Tang Zheng led the team at a run. The distance between them was short, so if trouble arose, no one could escape.

Screams kept coming from below, and various broken bodies scattered along the path—it seemed no one had escaped the monster’s grip, and the survivors panicked, crying out for help.

Yuliya could tell Tang Zheng was half-knowledgeable about electrical equipment, but even so, he was much better than those who knew nothing, quickly devising tactics to prevent total confusion. He was truly excellent.

Because of the support proposal, Yuliya had a much better impression of Tang Zheng. Looking at him, she realized that his face was still calm and confident, his steady steps providing a sense of security to others.

The policeman twitched the corner of his mouth. It had been a long time since he’d seen such a compelling figure. He noted it was worth paying attention to.

Running until now, three people were left below. The threat of death had finally smartened them up; they no longer thought of running out as quickly as possible but scattered into hiding spots.

Tang Zheng saw that the policeman didn’t care about the deaths of the citizens, which wasn’t surprising. Estimating the distance was about right, he called out to the closest Southeast Asian.

"Hey, run this way!" Tang Zheng saw the guy nervously shrinking into a corner, who clearly hadn’t heard him. He fired a bullet their way.

Ding, the bullet hit the equipment, awakening the Southeast Asian man, who saw Tang Zheng. Although he couldn’t understand what was being said, the gesture to come over was clear enough.

"Policeman, you take charge of the recovery team. Short hair, go lead the white lab coat along the set route. Yuliya, Susan, watch out for zombies," Tang Zheng was for the first time a bit hopeful for the Licker to appear quickly—it would mean another helper.

"Go to hell, you monster." The recovery team guy was unlucky, chased down by the monster. Relying on biochemical bullets, he had managed to hold on. He took out a Type-3 hand grenade, bit off the safety pin, and threw it.

Boom, the grenade exploded at his feet, releasing a green biochemical mist that dissolved the monster’s muscles, like ice cream melting under high heat.

Ratatat, bullets continuously struck the monster, each hit creating a small crater. The monster, squatting under its own body, then charged out like a cannon shell.

The man retreating while reloading his ammo clip tried desperately to dodge to the side, but was a half-step too slow and got hit by the monster, then pinned against a piece of equipment. Half of the man’s body was crushed.

The monster’s broken teeth widened, biting off his head, devouring the brain pulp, feasting as it listened. Three seconds later, it chased after the direction of the Southeast Asian man.

"Save me, please!" The man from Vietnam looked at Tang Zheng, frantically waving and shouting at him. When the monster appeared behind him, he completely lost his composure, looking around in panic for a ladder to climb onto the platform above his head.

"This is bad; it’s losing control," Tang Zheng raised his gun, leaning out from the railing, and opened fire at the monster. "Run this way."

Bullets didn’t even scratch the Monster, let alone slow it down; the Vietnamese man didn’t trust Tang Zheng and continued searching for another path.

"Have to waste some then." Tang Zheng switched to biochemical bullets. After hitting the Monster’s head and making a bloody pit, it roared furiously and started using its left arm as a meat shield.

Seeing the effectiveness of the bullets, the Vietnamese man finally ran following Tang Zheng’s instructions.

The Monster’s belly surged; Tang Zheng remembered this was a sign of it spewing acid.

"Watch out!" Tang Zheng shouted in time, but the Vietnamese man was too foolish—instead of dodging, he turned back to look at the Monster, trying to figure out how to dodge, only to be sprayed directly with acid that instantly corroded his flesh.

The Monster’s massive mouth pointed upwards, spraying towards the metal bridge, and massive gushes of acid continuously hit the bridge, corroding large holes.

"Idiot," cursed Tang Zheng, quickly moving away as the Monster still targeted him below.

"Policeman, short hair, hiding with white lab coats, I’m going to lure the Monster." The bait had died too quickly, so Tang Zheng had to do it himself.

"What do you mean?" the man with short hair looked confused. There was still one white lab coat; why was Tang Zheng risking himself?

"You go and support him." The policeman understood and continued moving towards the hydrogen production area with the white lab coat but also worried; the damage was too extensive and might blow everyone up.

The Monster couldn’t reach Tang Zheng and could only eject acid, posing no immediate danger. Tang Zheng backed off safely, calculating the distance left until from behind a piece of equipment, a Licker suddenly emerged, attacking his back.

"Yuliya!" Tang Zheng yelled, shifting his feet and turning halfway, but still couldn’t avoid it and was struck, his momentum knocking him down from the seven-meter-high platform.

"Tang!" Yuliya blamed herself terribly; distracted, she had slipped up. Watching the Licker and Tang Zheng entangled and falling from mid-air, she quickly took control.

"Tang!" Susan screamed in terror, the Monster was only a dozen meters away, falling now was certain death.

When Tang Zheng fell off the bridge, he knew he was in trouble. Grabbing the Licker’s body, he exerted force with both arms, planning to use it to cushion his fall—or else the fall would injure him severely, greatly reducing his combat effectiveness.

The Licker’s body had no skin, only bare muscles that were slippery and disgusting to touch, like grabbing raw pork smeared with snot, but the most troublesome was its gaping mouth. Luckily, Yuliya controlled it in time, otherwise, he definitely wouldn’t have dodged it.

Thump, Tang Zheng crashed down, landing on the Licker, his head jolting violently, nearly damaging his cervical spine. The shock made him momentarily winded, feeling as though his lungs had been struck by a heavy weight.

Coughing, Tang Zheng was unable to get up.

The Licker’s resilience was much higher than Tang Zheng’s. Yuliya did not let it attack the Monster to buy time, as that was futile. Instead, she dragged Tang Zheng away, but this action was also perilous. The Licker could only understand simple commands, so it did not grab the backpack as Yuliya intended but clutched at his chest.

Fortunately, Tang Zheng wore a bulletproof vest, or the Licker’s scratches would have likely infected him.

"Do you want the Zombies to scratch Tang Zheng?" Susan blamed Yuliya, extremely worried about Tang Zheng dying since she needed this bodyguard.

"Stop talking nonsense, better to open fire." Yuliya was also frustrated, enough to kill someone.

The Monster took a few steps then sprinted, swiftly closing the distance to five meters. Tang Zheng, dragged on the ground by the Licker, saw the broken flesh between the Monster’s teeth clearly.

Short-haired man and Yuliya opened fire, suppressing the Monster, buying time for Tang Zheng to escape and recover.

Tang Zheng tested himself, feeling somewhat numb. His ribs weren’t broken, but he might have sustained internal injuries, as there were blood strands in his vomit.

Pulling out a type three Hand Grenade, Tang Zheng threw it to block the Monster. His prior performance had finally won him a slim chance at a critical moment; otherwise, the short-haired man and Yuliya wouldn’t have rescued him. As for Susan, although she was firing too, unfortunately, all missed.

After throwing the type three Hand Grenade, leading the Monster by eight meters, Tang Zheng saw the creature squat down, a clear sign of a sprint attack.

"Let me go!" Tang Zheng roared, planting his feet and dodging to the side.

Yuliya, puzzled, nevertheless complied. The next moment, the Monster arrived like a tank with the sound of wind tearing through the air, knocking the Licker flying, its left arm swinging onto its head, bursting its brain pulp.

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