Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 1189 - 66: Withering Lotus (Third Update)

Chapter 1189: Chapter 66: Withering Lotus (Third Update)

"I’m not cut out for this!" Dong Tao knew that Tang Zheng wanted the best for him. He understood the saying ’don’t bite off more than you can chew,’ and decided to learn the essentials for survival first.

Five minutes later, the zombie soldiers were all cleared out. Tang Zheng quickly counted: there were roughly more than three hundred of them. These were insufficient to form a battalion, but he did not fuss over it. There always were some wandering zombies that left the small town, and possibly some surviving soldiers had already fled.

"So cool!" Zhao Dongtao climbed onto the tank on the left, caressing the barrel as though it were a lover’s skin, bubbles of excitement forming, then, unable to contain himself, he pulled open the hatch and jumped in.

"Wait, be careful there might be zombies inside!" Tang Zheng was startled, but fortunately, Zhao Dongtao was lucky. If there had been zombies inside, it would have been like throwing oneself into the net.

Zhao Dongtao popped his head out, all color drained from his face; he too had realized the terrifying consequences.

"Rest for a minute, then start collecting ammo clips and hand grenades." Tang Zheng took out some chocolate and canned food, handed it to the four people, then jumped off the tank and cautiously ran toward the military trucks nearby with his rifle at the ready.

Pulling off the waterproof tarp, the long ammunition boxes marked with rifle bullets appeared before his eyes. Tang Zheng opened one and saw the piles of yellow, glistening bullets inside.

"Ha, there’s also the AT-4, now that’s a treasure." Tang Zheng had initially been prepared to move a box of hand grenades, but when he saw the anti-tank missile, he could not help but beam with joy. Even if he were to face a Tyrant, he now had a fighting chance.

"About a hundred units, we’ve struck gold." Dong Zixuan followed over, climbed onto the truck, picked up one, aimed through the sight at Tang Zheng.

"These are all loaded, don’t point it at people, and keep your finger off the trigger." Tang Zheng frowned; if the policewoman accidentally fired, he would definitely be blown to pieces.

"You really don’t have a sense of humor." Dong Zixuan had only wanted to scare Tang Zheng. She found that, even in the face of the most dangerous situations, this man remained utterly calm, never showing a hint of fear.

"Enough talk, hurry up and move them. Put them in the tank." Tang Zheng tirelessly moved the ammunition boxes back and forth like a hamster preparing its winter food.

Tao Ran and the others didn’t dare to rest either. Although Tang Zheng didn’t say a word, they all took the initiative and in less than ten minutes, they had almost filled the tank’s interior space.

"If the armor gets penetrated and a cook-off happens, none of us would escape." Zhao Dongtao, who had played ’World of Tanks,’ had some understanding of this.

"I haven’t heard of zombies using RPGs, so relax. Okay, we’ll leave the rest for the other newbies to carry. You guys get in the tank, and let’s head into town." Tang Zheng jumped into the driver’s seat and started the tank. There would definitely be zombies in the town, and it was safer using this thing. "We’ll draw them out with the engine noise and then kill them with the vehicle-mounted and coaxial machine guns. No problem, right?"

"No problem," the four replied in unison. After clambering into the vehicle, it immediately felt crowded, and even moving around was difficult.

"This is really uncomfortable." Song Xin clutched her chest, feeling somewhat suffocated. She didn’t like such cramped environments.

"Get used to it. None of you get motion sickness, right?" Tang Zheng started the tank, "Keep a lookout, it’s pretty simple."

The moment his hands touched the steering wheel, all the tank’s data streamed into Tang Zheng’s mind, and he started to explain one by one. Due to the automatic loading system, the tank required only three crew members to operate.

"I want to be the gunner!" Dong Zixuan, peering through the periscope, surveyed the small town, feeling incredibly safe behind the thick armor.

"That’s a bit difficult. You can’t learn it without firing a few hundred shots." Tang Zheng wasn’t interested in training a gunner; he planned to take on that role himself.

"Look down on me, will you? I know things like key positions too. Want me to fire a shot to show you?" Dong Zixuan only had a passing familiarity but couldn’t show any weakness now. She turned the handle, adjusting the muzzle.

"All right then!" Tang Zheng would have been delighted if everyone knew how to operate a tank. He rotated the vehicle halfway and aimed its front towards the town.

Zhao Dongtao was like a student full of curiosity, asking questions left and right. Tao Ran stood on the roof, gripping the vehicle-mounted heavy machine gun, aiming at the zombies that dashed down the streets. However, she didn’t need to act; the tank rolled over them, squashing them into meat sauce, leaving only a layer of skin behind.

"Oh yeah, so cool!" Watching the remains of the zombies, Zhao Dongtao cheered excitedly, "We’re invincible now!"

No sooner had Zhao Dongtao finished his exclamation than the previously quiet town was suddenly filled with gunshots and the anxious cries of the newbies. They ran out of a tavern, looking totally disheveled.

"Why run, shoot!" Kong Licheng, wielding an M240 machine gun, was retreating and firing, blocking the main entrance. A Licker had just shown up but was forced to retreat under his barrage.

The newbies dropped their bottles and bread, just cocked their rifles when two Lickers broke through a glass window and leaped out at them.

Ratatat, the assault rifles opened fire, but alas, the newbies were too panicked to aim correctly.

The Lickers made a successful leap, overpowering a man and biting down on his neck, tearing a large chunk of flesh and blood spattering everywhere. The newbies became frantic and once again fled, none wanting to stay as zombie fodder.

"Get out of the way!" Dong Zixuan roared, too many people were around, she couldn’t use the coaxial machine gun or she would hit her own people.

"Zhao Feng is dead!" Song Xin shouted, that unlucky guy was one of their classmates.

"I see it," Tang Zheng sped up, tracks crushing the street, making a thunderous noise, "Adjust the muzzle, target the tavern with one shot."

"Okay," Dong Zixuan followed Tang Zheng’s instructions, turning two hand wheels, first rotating the turret to the right, then lowering it, and aligning the tavern to the center on the aiming screen. Just as she was about to shoot, she realized no round was chambered, "Where’s the loading button?"

"The green one, next to it is the fire button," Tang Zheng, gripping the rifle, leaned out the upper half of his body and shot at the Lickers. These creatures, having gorged on the Tavern’s food, had not attacked the survivors aggressively, but they were provoked when Kong Licheng and others entered in search of food.

Ratatat, Tang Zheng killed one, but another was still chasing the group. Kong Licheng, that bastard, had no intention of covering the rear; after momentarily blocking the main entrance and repelling the zombies, he turned tail and ran, relying on his tall stature and excellent physical strength, quickly outpacing Zhao Yulian.

Zhao Yulian, carrying a child, was running the slowest and became the target of the Lickers. Without any suspense, she was knocked down, and another one from inside the door burst out again, joining the pursuit.

"Run fast," Zhao Yulian held the child to her chest, and at the moment she was tackled by the Licker, she pushed him out, then grabbed hold of the Licker. She was giving her last bit of life to her son.

"Mommy!" The child screamed, bewildered. After hesitating for a moment, he decided not to listen to his mother and ran towards the Licker.

"Run, do you want to drive me mad!" Zhao Yulian yelled, tears streaming down her face, her expression one of utter despair, terrified that the child would do something foolish. She was bitten by the zombie but endured the pain rigidly, tussling with it.

Kong Licheng passed by the child, hesitated, but ultimately did not save him. He turned around and shot at the Licker that was entangled with Zhao Yulian.

The bullet went through Zhao Yulian and also hit the Licker, successfully killing it.

"Give me back my mommy, you villain." The child angrily turned and glared at Kong Licheng, then, without further hesitation, ran towards Zhao Yulian, but in the next moment he was tackled by the Licker too.

All this happened in just three seconds, and with the dark sky, by the time Tang Zheng killed the Licker, the child’s neck had also been bitten open, blood spilling far across the stone floor.

The newbies ran towards the tank, their souls barely back in their bodies. This time, they swore they wouldn’t leave Tang Zheng’s side. Kong Licheng and Tong Dahong might seem strong, but when danger struck, they exposed their true colors, always putting their own safety first and ignoring others.

"Bastard!" Tang Zheng jumped out of the driver’s cabin, furious. Seeing Tong Dahong approaching, he slapped him across the face, "What are you running for?"

Tong Dahong, covering his cheek, mumbled with his lips but remained silent. Tang Zheng passed by him and stormed toward Kong Licheng.

All the newbies stopped and watched Tang Zheng, who was losing it.

"Do you even call yourself a man?" Tang Zheng roared, delivering a kick to Kong Licheng’s belly. The policeman staggered a few steps but then stood firm, looking at the child’s barely breathing corpse, without rebuttal.

"If you pull something like this again, we go our separate ways," Tang Zheng grabbed Kong Licheng by the collar, stared into his eyes, and gave him a stern warning before pushing him away and running towards the boy.

Kong Licheng knew Tang Zheng had seen through his actions. He could have stayed behind to block the Licker; with his strength and Tang Zheng’s quick response, there was no need for the mother and child to die. But he had feared being bitten himself, so he retreated, using the two lagging individuals to distract the Licker, maximizing his own safety.

"Mommy, Mommy!" The boy, paying no attention to Tang Zheng who approached, fixed his gaze on Zhao Yulian, reaching out with blood-stained tiny hands, longing for his mother’s embrace.

Tang Zheng picked up the boy and placed him next to the dying Zhao Yulian. The mother’s breath was failing, her lips moved slightly, blood gushing out, unable to speak. Her tears fell like pearls cut loose, soaking her cheeks.

Tang Zheng placed Zhao Yulian’s blood-soaked right hand on the boy’s face. The mother, feeling her son’s fading body temperature, was in such agony she nearly died. She suddenly stared at Tang Zheng, a look of regret and profound loathing in her eyes; she blamed Tang Zheng for not being able to save her son.

Tang Zheng felt terrible. He didn’t blame Zhao Yulian; she simply loved her child too much.

"Mommy!" The boy whispered, then closed his eyes, losing his breath.

Boom, Dong Zixuan finally fired, launching a shell into a building next to the tavern, blasting it apart, and a flame ascended, crackling intensely as it burned, like a grand campfire.

Zhao Yulian, looking at Tang Zheng, her face filled with pleading, then turning to resignation, gave Tang Zheng an apologetic look before focusing on her son. She longed to hold him tight.

Tang Zheng placed the boy in Zhao Yulian’s arms.

Zhao Yulian smiled, kissed her child’s forehead once, and then died, her black hair stained with bright blood scattering on the floor, casting about in the light of the flames like a withering lotus! (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for it, your support is my greatest motivation.)