Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 1183 - 61: Splitting into Groups

Chapter 1183: Chapter 61: Splitting into Groups

The newbies fell silent, looking at each other uncertainly, not knowing what to do. Of course, there were a few who immediately chose to support Tang Zheng.

"I believe you’ll be fine!" Song Xin stood by Tang Zheng’s side, and it went without saying for Tao Ran and Zhao Dongtao. Even Liu Man edged closer to him.

Dong Zixuan looked at these hesitant newbies and suddenly felt Tang Zheng was so pitiable. Saving such newbies, was it worth it?

"Tang Zheng, you’ll definitely be fine, don’t worry." Jing Lan took Liu Xi’s hand and stepped forward, "We support you."

"Hey, think it through, if this guy suddenly turns into a zombie, he’ll lead everyone down the path of death." Cao Rongxuan continued to bewilder the crowd. With Li Wenbo dead, and if they could discard Tang Zheng, the team would surely come under his control by leveraging the numerical advantage of his classmates. Then he could use some cannon fodder to pave a path for himself.

Uncle Wang looked at Dong Zixuan and, seeing her nodding subtly, immediately caught on, supporting Tang Zheng. Ding Jian and Nie Jianhua were cunning people, and upon seeing this, they also started to greet him.

"I’ll give you another thirty seconds to consider!" Tang Zheng was calm, not in a hurry to leave. He felt that this game must involve the newbies. Going it alone was too hard.

As time rapidly slipped away, the newbies were making their choices. More and more people stepped out to stand behind Song Xin, indicating their stance.

The traffic policeman didn’t move; he felt that with his ability, he could lead everyone to safety. Zhou Meng, for the safety of Su Su, refused to travel with someone infected with the virus.

"Brother Kong, what’s your choice?" Tong Dahong asked Kong Licheng.

"What a question, of course I’m with him." Kong Licheng wasn’t an idiot. After he said this, several more policemen, including He Lian, joined in.

Three newbies made up their minds, but as they were about to pick a side, Tang Zheng stopped them.

"Time’s up, and I’m sorry to see this outcome." Ninety people and, in the end, only twenty chose to trust him, which disappointed Tang Zheng. But he also breathed a sigh of relief; although it was a squeeze, they could definitely fit these people in.

The three newbies stood there frozen, completely at a loss, one long-haired woman frustrated, reproaching Tang Zheng.

"What do you mean by this? We chose you, and you still look down on us? Do you really think we can’t survive without you?"

"That’s right, let’s regroup now, leave the hotel, there’s not much time left." The traffic policeman saw the low morale of the newbies, clapped his hands, encouraging them, "I believe we can all make it."

Everyone had their belongings with them, so no preparation was needed, and they started discussing noisily, which made them feel like part of a team with a sense of value, even though what they said was useless.

"Tang Zheng, let’s move together, hope we can cooperate well." The traffic policeman extended his hand to Tang Zheng; his demonstrated ability in the fight had won the trust of some, and with the capable policemen gone, the rest felt too much pressure and couldn’t bear the burden, so he became the new group leader.

"Cooperate on what? We have a helicopter, we’re not going to die with you." Before Tang Zheng could reply, Susan, who couldn’t stand it anymore, jeered at those people, then clung to his arm, "Forget about them, they don’t support you anyway. If they die, they deserve it."

Susan was actually afraid of Tang Zheng too, but without him, she would certainly die there.

"Helicopter?" Hearing these three words, the newbies who hadn’t chosen Tang Zheng became unsettled, looking at him with renewed hope.

Song Xin and others were overjoyed. Zhao Yulian, holding her child, cried, having finally made the right decision.

"Lucky!" Nie Jianhua was delighted at the misfortune of the newbies, "What about old people? As long as you have brains, you can survive."

"Please, please help my son, he is only six years old." A middle-aged man ran out, holding his son, begging Tang Zheng.

"That’s your son, not Tang Zheng’s," Kong Licheng waved his hand impatiently, "Tang Zheng, let’s hurry."

Kong Licheng was worried that if they delayed too long, Tang Zheng would mutate. If he were piloting the helicopter when it happened, they would surely crash. In fact, other newbies had also thought of using Tang Zheng’s combat power to fight their way out, but were too embarrassed to say it outright. Besides, even if they didn’t pick sides, Tang Zheng would still have to fight. They didn’t expect he would have a helicopter.

"I know you’re a good person, can you bear to see my son die?" The man with a buzz cut clung to Tang Zheng, fearing he would leave.

"If you can’t even protect your son, do you deserve to be a father?" Ding Jian glanced at his watch, urging people to leave, "It’s time to go."

The long-haired woman who had reproached Tang Zheng wanted to make amends, to seek a spot, but couldn’t swallow her pride, so anxious she fainted.

Dong Zixuan supported her, pinching her philtrum.

"Tang Zheng, for the sake of being classmates, give us a hand," Zhao Yunshan pleaded with Tang Zheng, looking rather embarrassed, "To hell with it, when it comes to saving face or life, losing face doesn’t matter."

As soon as Zhao Yunshan spoke, the other middle school classmates who hadn’t supported Tang Zheng also changed sides one after another, discussing fervently. At this moment, Cao Rongxuan was irrelevant; no one cared about him.

The traffic policeman’s face turned sour, feeling completely helpless.

"Give Su Su a spot, and I’ll owe you my life," Zhou Meng, clutching Su Su, suddenly strode forward, blocking Tang Zheng and staring into his eyes.

"Zhou Meng!" Su Su was moved to tears, glittering in her eyes, but she did not refuse the kind offer; she didn’t want to die.

"There are no more spots on the airplane," Dong Zixuan frowned, glancing at the newbies. Honestly, she didn’t want her colleagues to die, but the others had chosen Tang Zheng.

"Don’t worry, I will make sure you survive," Zhou Meng stroked Su Su’s hair, comforting her, then turned his gaze to Nie Jianhua, whose heart suddenly tightened.

"Get that old man down; he’s not really supporting you anyway. Besides, Su Su has at least been to police school; she’s more useful than the old man," Zhou Meng wasn’t polite under the circumstances, his words dripping with the bloody reality of self-interest.

"Nonsense, I was also a soldier back in my day, shooting’s not a problem, and my son is a high-ranking official," Nie Jianhua, desperate to live, started making up stories, promising, "Tang Zheng, when I get back, I will definitely repay you."

"You won’t regret it? There’s at most room for one more on the plane," Tang Zheng, impressed by Zhou Meng’s courage to sacrifice for love, and as for Su Su, it was clear that the policewoman hadn’t fully fallen for him yet.

"I just want Su Su to be happy," Zhou Meng was resolute.

"Group Leader, you can’t abandon me; I supported you just now," Nie Jianhua, worried, stood on the high ground of morality, questioning Tang Zheng, "Are you going to throw me away just because I’m old and useless? Who would trust you if you do this?"

"Stop talking nonsense. Have you forgotten what you did along the way?" Tang Zheng waved his hand, emphasizing his words to interrupt Nie Jianhua, "I don’t despise you for being old, but I hate your selfishness and deceit."

"Selfish? Deceitful? It’s not just me; who here can say they would think of helping others under the threat of death? Good deeds? That’s a fairy tale for children." Seeing Tang Zheng iron-hearted about abandoning him, Nie Jianhua’s face twisted with viciousness, his finger drawing a big circle at everyone, "That policewoman named Dong is clearly inexperienced, an idealist, and you, all you want is to pick out people who are loyal to you. What a noble act you’re putting on!"

"Quit your nonsense," Kong Licheng rushed over, smashing his gun butt on Nie Jianhua’s forehead, causing blood to flow immediately, "Stop wasting our time, let’s go."

"Don’t worry, even without the helicopter, we can still escape Chicago," the traffic policeman clapped his hands, encouraging everyone, "Let’s get moving now."

Unfortunately, the traffic policeman had only taken a few steps when he realized nobody was following him; they were all waiting for his new decision, not wanting to give up even the slightest hope.

"Give me a spot, and my life is yours too," the miner Qin Liangping, copying Zhou Meng, along with several other men, quickly declared their stances.

"I won’t let down the people who supported me!" As soon as Tang Zheng spoke, those who chose him felt a reassuring calm, while the faces of other newbies were etched with disappointment. The thought of killing Tang Zheng and seizing the airplane had crossed some minds, but they knew that wasn’t a car; probably not one in a million could actually pilot it.

"Don’t be disheartened, I will charge down with you, gather in the lobby, and then I’ll blast that high wall with missiles, drive off all the soldiers, and help you snatch a few armored Humvees. Of course, if any of you can drive an Infantry Armored Car, there are some of those available too."

"Tang Zheng, you’re crazy, there’s no time," Kong Licheng was dissatisfied with Tang Zheng’s meddling, but the other newbies felt a surge of hope, thinking there might be a chance after all.

"To survive, every one of you must make an effort," Tang Zheng reminded them again, "If anyone is lazy, don’t blame me for abandoning them."

Tong Dahong wanted to advise too, but was stopped by Dong Zixuan.

"Licheng, Zixuan, take people and wait upstairs. Give me five minutes at most; I will come up. Oh, throw the hoisting cable to the front of the hotel, have someone watch it, and if I appear, pull up the winch," Tang Zheng instructed, then turned to the traffic policeman, "You, Huang Shan, and I will be the vanguard, Zhou Meng, Xu Zhifeng, the second echelon."

"Let’s just go," Kong Licheng, knowing he couldn’t persuade Tang Zheng, led the others to the rooftop. He himself wasn’t about to risk his life for others.

"I’ll come with you," Dong Zixuan stepped forward, watching her colleague who didn’t get a spot.

"No, you’ll slow me down," Tang Zheng refused, leaning close to the policewoman’s ear, "Take good care of Song Xin and Tao Ran for me."

"Alright," Dong Zixuan agreed.

"Let’s move," Tang Zheng was about to depart but was stopped by the traffic policeman.

"Wait, what about the rear guard? It was the rear that got attacked earlier, and our formation collapsed."

"I won’t slow down; I’ll keep charging ahead, and that shouldn’t give the zombies a chance to attack from behind," Tang Zheng glanced around, yet still selected a few policemen for defense.

With only twenty-nine minutes left, the team split into two, commencing their operation. If it were an ordinary situation, Tang Zheng would’ve left these ungrateful newbies behind long ago, but this time was the unfamiliar scramble for tickets; he had no choice but to swallow his frustration and help these people. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly passes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)