Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 1173 - 52 Enshrouded by Death

Chapter 1173: Chapter 52 Enshrouded by Death

Bang, bang, the gunshots echoed, slamming against their eardrums. The newbies plugged their ears, their faces full of terror as they watched the zombies, picking up anything they could use as a weapon nearby. A few smart ones ran into the bedroom and firmly shut the door.

Tao Ran exerted force with both arms, aiming the muzzle at the zombies as best he could. It took six bullets to finally shatter its head, but due to his poor shooting skills, other parts of the zombie were wrecked as well. One thigh lay not far away, beside it was a piece of shattered liver, and the large intestine was cut into sections, scattered everywhere.

Zhao Dongtao, Ding Jian, and Uncle Wang attacked the one outside, turning it into a mess and finally killing it, preventing further disaster.

Tao Ran, pushing himself, stepped over the corpse and ran towards the door. At the moment he closed the door, he felt a wave of disconnection and collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Glancing back at the bloody ground, Tao Ran could no longer hold back and vomited. When he had run over earlier, he had stepped on a lung, and the slimy touch made all the hairs on his body stand on end.

"Girl, you did well," said Zhao Dongtao as he armed with a gun and ran over, giving her a thumbs up before pressing against the cat’s eye to look outside.

"Are there any more zombies?" Song Xin asked, holding back nausea, stepping over the corpse, and helping Tao Ran up, immediately complaining about those who had left, "What are they doing? Not even letting us know when there’s a zombie—it wouldn’t have died if they’d said something."

"At times like this, looking after oneself isn’t quick enough, let alone caring for someone else’s life," Zhao Dongtao spat, glancing at the newbies peeking out from the bedroom door, "Come out, it’s safe now."

"We can’t clean up the corpses; we must be careful to avoid infection when we leave," Uncle Wang said as he reloaded the firearms, taking on the responsibility, "Let’s go to the room across the way."

"Haha, they’re encountered it too, wonder how many will die?" Li Wenbo, finding joy in the misfortune of others, sneered upon hearing the gunshots from upstairs, "It would be perfect if it attracted the other zombies here."

"Impossible. As long as we fire our guns, we’ll reveal our position," Tong Dahong, not sharing the same evil taste, said, carrying a shotgun and moving forward cautiously.

Over sixty newbies squeezed in from behind, not even daring to breathe heavily. Some looking back in regret for coming, but upon hearing the gunshots, they felt fortunate, believing they had made the right decision.

"No matter what you were thinking before, once you’ve made a decision, you must execute it with full focus. Hesitation will kill," the traffic police said among the team, seeing morale low and bellowing encouragement. He didn’t say not to leave; he just wanted to take extra care of the vulnerable.

"Shut up! Do you want to get us all killed?" Li Wenbo turned and scolded. He disliked anyone who showed favor to newbies, as it would decrease his own status.

Li Wenbo’s advancement wasn’t quick; it took a full three minutes to enter the stairwell.

"Hurry up, will ya? What are you waiting for?" the miner Zhang Tie was dissatisfied, blaming Li Wenbo, "Are you trying to delay us?"

"Delay my ass! You judge others by your own standards. I’m listening for sounds of any zombies," Li Wenbo cursed back, sweeping his gaze over the newbies, "You all shut the hell up, stay quiet. If anyone talks nonsense again, I’ll feed them to the zombies."

Unable to bear the dawdling, Tong Dahong sped up slightly, proceeding along the wall using tactical movements he’d learned at the Armed Police Academy, peeking around corners to maintain enough attack distance.

A zombie appeared three meters away, alerted by the noise above and climbing upward.

It was a woman, turned into a zombie in her sleep, thus wearing a strap nightgown, barefoot, with one large breast~ and thighs were exposed. As she moved, one could see she wore nothing underneath, yet Tong Dahong didn’t entertain any extra thoughts; the woman’s skin was mostly rotten, emitting a foul odor, such that even those with necrophilia wouldn’t find her appealing.

The female zombie spotted Tong Dahong and sped up a bit.

Tong Dahong was not yet at the point of engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the zombies, but after so much experience, his nerves had toughened. He raised the shotgun, aiming at the zombie’s head.

The few newbies who followed saw the zombie and instinctively backed away.

Bang, Tong Dahong pulled the trigger, and the buckshot blew off the zombie’s entire head and neck, leaving the stark white spine exposed.

As the corpse hit the ground, Tong Dahong kicked it a few times and then stepped over it, continuing onward.

"Just a single zombie, what are you retreating for?" Li Wenbo rolled his eyes and followed suit. Over the next two floors, they killed three more zombies; however, he did not lift a finger, all were killed by Tong Dahong.

It seemed that the situation was improving as the newbies gradually calmed down.

"Old Tong, hold up," Li Wenbo called out to his colleague, looking at the crowd, "It’s been eight minutes, time to rotate. Who’s next?"

The newbies remained silent, none stepping forward.

"Do you really expect others to protect you for life? The sooner you get used to combat, the greater your chances of survival," Li Wenbo lectured the newbies as if he had killed a horde of zombies himself.

The traffic police pursed his lips and silently cursed ’shameless’. But now that this guy, backed by a few colleagues, had become the group leader, even if he spoke up, no one would listen. At that moment, the traffic police began to miss Tang Zheng.

"Zhang Tie, you lead the way with this guy. Don’t worry, we’ll back you up," Li Wenbo, calling on him, had not forgotten Zhang Tie’s earlier defiance and immediately sought revenge.

"Why me?" Zhang Tie glared at Li Wenbo, and another youth with slightly darker skin was also dissatisfied, "I don’t even know how to use a gun."

"Whose fault is that for not learning earlier?" Li Wenbo retorted righteously, adept at stirring up the crowd, "If you don’t do it, then get out of the team."

"Then why not them?" The young man pointed at Xiao Hu and Huang Shan, both of whom were supporters of Li Wenbo.

"It’s got to be our turn, and you really don’t act like a man, all whiny, plus you’re a coward. If you won’t do it, then just scram." Xiao Hu ridiculed the miner, feeling utterly delighted inside. Surely supporting Li Wenbo was the right choice, at least he didn’t have to risk his life anymore.

The newbies didn’t know each other and couldn’t band together. Li Wenbo was exploiting this fact, ensuring everyone focused on staying out of trouble. By the time they thought of resisting, his status and power were already established.

"Don’t waste time, get out of the team, or take the lead. Choose one!" Tong Dahong’s face was overcast as he stared at the two unlucky ones selected. The other newbies didn’t speak up; they didn’t want to offend Li Wenbo, otherwise, they’d definitely be chosen next.

Zhang Tie didn’t know the young man, and their cooperation would definitely be awkward. However, Li Wenbo didn’t care about that. If he chose two miners, he might anger them, and if they banded together, it would be troublesome. So it was better to defeat them one by one.

The team, that had paused for nearly five minutes, moved forward again, with the youth and Zhang Tie moving slowly, hoping to last the five minutes to switch with someone else.

Three zombies appeared, rushing over with hideous faces.

"Take deep breaths, stay calm, and then shoot when you’re ready." Tong Dahong knew he couldn’t hold on by himself and wanted to train the others too. Just as he was imparting experience to Zhang Tie and the youth, gunshots came from nearby.

Li Wenbo hit a zombie in the head, laughing smugly, "See, it’s easy."

Zhou Meng snorted coldly, pulling Su Su’s armature, his expression disdainful. He knew Li Wenbo was so reckless in killing zombies because he had meat shields, and was also practicing his shooting. If he faced the zombies directly, he definitely wouldn’t be so composed.

Zhang Tie hit a zombie in the chest, but the monster got up from the ground again. He was about to fire another shot when he saw the youth miss, and another zombie pounced on him.

"Don’t panic, stay calm." Li Wenbo killed the zombie, putting on a show of being an expert, teaching them a lesson.

The zombie on the ground wasn’t dead yet but was finally killed by the combined efforts of Zhang Tie and the youth. The team moved forward again and safely descended to the fifth floor.

"Can we switch now?" The youth’s face was pale, covered in sweat. He felt like he was about to pass out.

"Yeah, you two step out. Don’t be afraid. Just learn like this and you’ll be able to stand on your own too." Authority over personnel indeed mattered. Li Wenbo coaxed everyone, feeling that he held the power of life and death.

A short, dark-faced miner and the last remaining tourist were chosen next because they saw that killing zombies seemed easy, so they didn’t resist much.

The team moved on again, everyone’s nerves taut, alertly and warily watching for sudden attacks.

On the fourth floor, four zombies blocked the way. The dark-faced miner and the tourist each killed one and were thrilled, growing bolder.

"See, I told you it’s easy, right?" Li Wenbo boasted proudly.

"Something’s not right," Zhou Meng frowned, feeling something was off but couldn’t put his finger on it. When he was at the police station, he was known for his meticulous thinking, having solved a major case that had been unresolved for years.

"Never mind that now, let Li Wenbo do his thing. As long as we’re okay," Officer Su Su clung to Zhou Meng’s arm, looking very distressed.

They had just established a romantic relationship. Zhou Meng had pursued Su Su before, but she didn’t set her sights on the somewhat ordinary him, hoping to snag a wealthy husband. However, once in the game, seeing him constantly protect her, Su Su was slightly moved. Since she also needed a man’s shoulder for support, she agreed.

"As long as he doesn’t provoke me, let him do whatever he wants, otherwise, he’ll regret it." Zhou Meng was no weakling. In this group, aside from Tong Dahong and Kong Licheng, his strength was the mightiest, of course, not counting Dong Zixuan, as he didn’t bother comparing himself with women.

While Zhou Meng pondered what unexpected situation might occur next and how to deal with it, he suddenly heard a scream from behind and immediately snapped to awareness.

"Damn, we forgot about the rear guard." Zhou Meng turned around only to see four zombies emerge from the doorway on the fourth floor, launching an attack on the rear of the group.

Two newbies were immediately pinned down by the zombies, bitten on the neck. The others panicked, scurrying around on the stairs in disarray, Tong Dahong wanted to help but couldn’t make his way through.

Chaotic gunshots erupted, as the newbies shot at the zombies, with various screams echoing through the stairwell.

"Be careful." Zhou Meng hugged Su Su, placing his girlfriend in front of him for protection.

......

PS: Time for a sip of water before I continue writing! (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to cast your recommendation votes or monthly votes at Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)