Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 1175 - 54: Escape

Chapter 1175: Chapter 54: Escape

Tang Zheng’s first reaction was fast, the backward attack saved him from a Licker’s bite, but it didn’t protect his back, as its claw tore his shirt, leaving several bloody marks.

"You’re injured." Tong Dahong didn’t help him up, and almost fired another shot reflexively.

"I know," Li Wenbo roared, his frustration worse than ever. He hated to think that he would become a zombie, and his face contorted angrily.

"Don’t do anything stupid, merely having scratches doesn’t imply infection," Tong Dahong advised, trying to stabilize Li Wenbo first. He knew his temper well—once he acknowledged certain death, he could drag everyone down with him.

"I said I know!" Li Wenbo appeared disastrously resigned as he stood on the staircase, first kicking down an approaching zombie, then randomly firing in quick succession. His shotgun created a barrage storm that turned four zombies into swiss cheese, splattering broken flesh everywhere.

Tong Dahong didn’t bother with the frenzied Li Wenbo and took the chance to retreat.

"Come on, come at me, dare to kill me if you can!" Li Wenbo raged, emptied his magazine, and swung his shotgun, smashing it into a zombie’s face, shattering its jaw.

The most terrifying thing wasn’t death, but the moment waiting for it to arrive. Li Wenbo’s mind turned to mush, seeking only to vent.

"How long can I still live? Ten minutes, or twenty?" Li Wenbo looked at the demolished zombies scattered on the stairs, his eyes suddenly red. He didn’t want to turn into one of those monsters, nor did he want to die so gruesomely, even failing to leave a complete corpse behind.

Another wave of zombies, stepping over their kin’s bodies, surged up, dozens of decaying arms groping wildly as if to drag Li Wenbo into hell.

"I’m not dying yet!" After a moment of frenzy, Li Wenbo calmed down and realized he was alone. He turned and ran upstairs, "Dream on if you think you can take advantage of me. Wait another ten thousand years!"

Three zombies rushed out from the stairwell, blocking his path.

The AA-12 clicked empty. Li Wenbo quickly discarded it to lighten his load, then grabbed the Benelli M4 on his back and blasted a zombie’s head in the lead right off.

With a bang, the skull flew and hit the wall. Li Wenbo continued shooting, taking down the other two and then ran past their bodies.

Zombies weren’t as fast as humans. Listening to the gunfire below, Tong Dahong was amazed, speculating how long Li Wenbo could last. He then saw him, face fierce, running up. In his left hand he wielded a gun, and with his right, he pulled shotgun shells from his pocket, quickly loaded the magazine, and cocked the tactical handguard before halting abruptly, turning around and shooting the pursuing zombies.

"Has he lost it?" Watching the zombies fall, Li Wenbo was awe-inspiring, Tong Dahong’s eyelids twitched, grumbling inwardly at the poor fellow grabbed by the zombies to just go die.

"Killing zombies is just too easy." Li Wenbo ran up to Tong Dahong, grabbing his wrist in one swift motion.

Tong Dahong jerked in a shock-like attempt to break free, but Li Wenbo’s grip was tight.

"What are you doing?" Tong Dahong’s face darkened, and had it not been for Li Wenbo’s murderous look, he would’ve beaten him severely.

"Tong, don’t tell anyone about my injury!" Li Wenbo stared deeply into Tong Dahong’s eyes, "Nobody can guarantee I’ll be infected. I believe I will survive!"

"What good does your belief do!" Tong Dahong wanted to avoid worsening relations, internally screaming, but outwardly he put up an understanding smile, "I don’t care."

"Doing this is for everyone’s good. If I get isolated, I’ll take a lot of people down with me." After threatening Tong Dahong, Li Wenbo ran off, "Hurry up, do you want to feed the zombies?"

"This guy has changed." Tong Dahong felt overwhelmed. He hadn’t expected Li Wenbo to become mature after being grabbed by the zombies, showing a sort of tyrannical prudence, "Forget it, it’s better to stay away from him. I don’t care about others’ lives and deaths."

Traffic police, Zhou Meng, and Xu Zhifeng taking the lead, finally managed to reach the ninth floor. Before, Li Wenbo had teased about the gunfire from Tao Ran attracting zombies, now it was their turn to suffer. The floor was swarming with several zombies, previously banging on the door of Black Long Straight’s room. Now, seeing this group, they immediately charged.

"Don’t panic, let’s just kill them." The traffic policeman ran out of shotgun shells and had to pick up the backup AK47 assault rifle. He wasn’t practiced in marksmanship, so most of his bullets missed, and those hitting the chest didn’t kill the zombies.

The newbies didn’t know what to do and some, with quicker reactions, started banging on neighboring room doors.

"Are you idiots? Any room is good for hiding." Li Wenbo rushed forward, ran to the nearest room, and turned the door handle. It was locked, so he fired a shot, busting it open, then dashed inside.

All the newbies squeezed in, the doorway was too small, pushing against each other, swearing while vying to get in first. Those who made it were falling onto the floor, gasping for breath.

"Who told you to rest? Everyone come and help barricade the door." Li Wenbo shouted, finally giving some right instructions.

Zhou Meng originally intended to enter the same guest room with everyone else, but as they hadn’t finished off the common zombies, two Lickers appeared at the end of the hallway on the ceiling and quickly crawled over.

With a bang, Zhou Meng stepped back, fired at a door, shattered the lock, and pulled Su Su inside with him.

"Come on in, what are you dazing for?" Xu Zhifeng, not daring to face the Lickers head-on, followed inside since he saw the traffic policeman was a decent person, and called out to him.

"Alas!" Glancing at those still crowding at the door, the traffic policeman sighed reluctantly, but under the threat of death, he chickened out, rushed into the room, and closed the door.

With three fewer policemen providing firepower suppression, the zombies surged forward again, the Lickers moving even faster.

"Hurry inside, the zombies are coming." A couple, out of fear of crushing their child, did not forcefully push their way through and ended up falling behind, now facing the zombies directly.

Leaping down from the ceiling, a Licker, carried by the inertia of its sprint, landed precisely on a man, biting through his neck in one bite.

Another lunged at a woman, biting her cheek.

"Run!" The woman screamed with all her might, calling out to her son like a blood-curdling cry.

The child, oblivious, seeing his mother in peril, burst into tears and dashed by the Licker’s side, continuously hitting it.

"Let go of my mom!"

Thump, the Licker dropped the woman and turned to pounce on the child, biting his throat.

"I’ll go down fighting!" Seeing blood spurt like a fountain from her son’s neck, drenching his small body, the mother went mad. She leaped onto the Licker, clawing and biting in a desperate attempt to save her child.

"Close the door." Tong Dahong bellowed. He didn’t want the Licker charging in; the monster was too fast and tough to kill, promising certain casualties.

Huang Shan and the miner Qin Liangping shoved the door, struggling to close it.

The Licker crashed against the door and, upon failing, crouched over the man’s corpse and began to feast. The woman’s resistance was feeble; as the zombies approached, they engulfed her and her son.

Complete silence filled the corridor, with only the chilling sound of chewing remaining.

Some newbies, peering through the peephole, saw the grisly scene of those three people, their faces turning ghostly pale.

Li Wenbo immediately loaded his weapon with ammunition and, seeing that the Licker could not get in for the moment, he entered the bedroom to attend to his wounds, trying his best to keep it from the others’ notice.

The traffic police officer sat against the wall, pulling up his knees, burying his face deep into them. Although he occasionally exploited his authority for small bribes, he considered himself a good person. However, when surrounded by death, he chose to flee instead of saving others. At that moment, his long-held beliefs crumbled.

Hearing the zombies chewing on human flesh outside, the traffic officer bit his lip, feeling utterly useless.

In the room where Tao Ran and his group were, the panicked shouting and dense gunfire in the corridor terrified many, who clung to their weapons.

"Some people come and guard the door." Zhao Dongtao, emboldened, ran to the door and glanced through the peephole.

Tao Ran and Song Xin came over, aiming their guns at the door, and Uncle Wang also stepped up. However, Ding Jian positioned himself at a safe distance, ready to flee if danger approached.

"What’s happening outside?" One of the newbies couldn’t handle the pressure and asked.

"Shh, be quiet," Zhao Dongtao lowered his voice, "Do you even need to ask? Obviously, Li Wenbo and the others were chased back by the zombies. I’ve said it before, they aren’t up to it."

"How many died?" Ding Jian felt secretly relieved, glad he made the right choice.

"Don’t know, but from the looks of it, at least a dozen," Zhao Dongtao resented that these people didn’t trust Tang Zheng, feeling happy to see their misfortune, but also a bit reluctant to witness such deaths.

The newbies shuddered; quite a few had died.

"Is Li Wenbo still alive?" Uncle Wang asked solemnly, hoping in his heart that Li Wenbo would succeed, as just waiting wasn’t an option, with less than forty minutes left.

"Alive, and Cao Rongxuan too, they’re tough." Zhao Dongtao laughed, "Good news, the zombies have been diverted there; we’re safe now."

Li Wenbo came out from the bedroom and saw the newbies in an uproar. Now that they were safe, they began blaming each other, complaining about the shoving during their escape.

"Everybody shut up." Li Wenbo yelled, his fierce gaze sweeping over them.

"What the hell are you pretending for? If it weren’t for your wrong command, none of us would have risked it, and so many wouldn’t have died." Wu Xiao, who had injured his arm, complained bitterly; the recent tumult had aggravated his wound, and he even had a slight fever—all caused by Li Wenbo.

Li Wenbo walked up to Wu Xiao.

"What are you doing?" Wu Xiao, sitting on the ground, was shadowed by Li Wenbo’s figure and got nervous, trying to stand up.

"Don’t blame others for your own mistakes!" With that, Li Wenbo suddenly raised his leg and fiercely stomped his military police boot on Wu Xiao’s face.

......

PS: Crucial moment and it freezes, that’s so frustrating!! (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to qidian.com to vote for it and give it monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)