Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 346 - 38: Each Harboring Ulterior Motives

Chapter 346: Chapter 38: Each Harboring Ulterior Motives

The two women fell like sacks, thunking hard upon the ground. To cushion the blow, was a body and protective clothing. Chris felt a slight jolt inside her, but enough to recover and get up. Kailin was far worse off. She was coughing non-stop, feeling like her organs had been rearranged, and her head was spinning, which all prevented her from rising to her feet.

Chris did not care for her. She crawled back up, and then staggered towards Tang Zheng’s side.

Six windows on the third floor were spewing Nazi zombies, Tripping over each other. They were wielding the MG42, nicknamed the "rag tearer," and keeping up a relentless hail of bullets towards the ground. Chaos rained down on the main street in the form of random shots everywhere.

"Switch weapons!" As he saw a few soldiers fumble with their grenades, Tang Zheng was quick to give a harsh reminder. There was no saving ammo now, he switched to the Thunderstorm rifle, and focused on the windows above Nicole. As for the others, they were left to their own devices.

A soldier was shot dead, and his grenade exploded in the window. Bursting rubble went flying in all directions, some even breaking ropes of climbing equipment. Stevenson and Derek, who were hanging onto them, plunged downwards. Despite falling from a height of three meters or so, neither suffered any injuries.

Nazi soldiers then gathered at the blown-out window and opened fire. Some Spartan warriors, only clad in leather skirts and revealing their bodies, jumped down from the window. Holding circular shields in their left hand and short swords in their right, they roared and charged.

The newbies, who had successfully taken cover by Tang Zheng and Robert’s side, began to fight back, only to discover that their bullets could not penetrate the Spartans’ round shields.

The sporadic crisscrossing of bullets on the street made Kailin’s face turn pale. She tried to struggle back on her feet and squeeze onto the lower part of the building while keeping close to the wall— that area was a dead zone out of the Nazi soldiers’ sight. But hadn’t she just crawled over when a bunch of Spartans jumped down. Unfortunately, three of them spotted her and threw themselves at her.

"Help me!" Kailin screamed, twisting her body in an attempt to escape. But it took the Spartans no more than three steps to catch up with her, and a sword cleaved into her back.

Although her protective outfit deflected the strike, and she wasn’t hurt, it was, unfortunately, damaged, and due to the force of the blow, she staggered back a few steps. While she was still struggling to regain her footing, another Spartan swung his short sword toward her neck. A thud echoed as her head, topped with long hair, bounced off and hit the ground. Blood gushed from her opened neck in a spurt.

There were so many enemies, and the newcomers on their side were too scattered, making it impossible for Tang Zheng to take care of everyone. He had initially planned to delegate tasks to David and Robert, but both of them prioritized people close to them, forcing Tang Zheng to do the same with Nicole and her daughter.

"Let’s detonate it," David said to Tang Zheng, when he saw Maggie running towards them. "Any later, and our plan will fail."

Just like the Spartans, some Nazi soldiers were jumping down as well. Tang Zheng didn’t wait any longer. He yelled "Run!", and then pressed the detonator.

A deafening boom echoed as the entire building erupted into a fierce explosion. Hot waves and flames poured out from the window, shattering glass, collapsing walls, and was accompanied by the sound of debris falling everywhere. Corpses on fire were being hurled out of the windows.

The Spartans rushed forward in rage, and the terrified newcomers, David, and Tang Zheng, though able to break their shields, did not want to be engulfed in the wave of enemies.

Rolin, unable to run due to a leg injury, thought of playing dead on the ground. Overcome by fear, she was uncontrollably shaking, and a Spartan discovered her. She let out a piercing scream as he swung his sword, decapitating her instantly.

No one cared about each other’s life or death; they were all just trying to escape.

Since nobody was coming to their aid, Tang Zheng gathered Lu Fan with his left hand and started to run. In his right hand, he was holding the Thunderstorm rifle to hold off the incoming Spartans. At this moment, Robert proved his worth. Once he found cover, the roar of the Gauss sniper rifle rang out as one after another of the terrifyingly ugly Spartans met their end.

Less than five minutes later, the remnants Punishment squad on the street had been cleaned up, finally allowing everyone to stop and catch their breath.

"The result isn’t bad—it’s just we can’t scour the battlefield now." David looked toward the burning buildings, clicking his tongue in regret.

"It isn’t bad? Two people died!" Stevenson, annoyed because he had been shot in the shoulder and still remembered how he had scrambled around earlier, was on the verge of anger.

"Oh, that’s not too far from usual. At least three people die whenever we encounter a Punishment squad. Moreover, the two who died did so because of their own problems. If they were a bit smarter, they would have come out of it alive." Robert spat out some saliva.

Upon hearing his words, a few people automatically turned to look at Chris. It was understandable for Rolin. She was injured and couldn’t do anything, but Kailin was solely betrayed and left to die by Chris. Some of them even saw Chris fall onto Kailin but didn’t help her up.

"Stop arguing. We need to get as far away from here as we can. This uproar must have notified the natives." Tang Zheng didn’t want to discuss any further, he moved to the building next door, brought out the Raptor, climbed on it, and left.

The newcomers didn’t look back at the two bodies they left behind, they chose to selectively forget.

"Leonard sure is damn lucky; he survived yet again." Lu Fan sneered, disapprovingly.

"With his seed abilities and equipment, it’s not that easy for him to die." Tang Zheng frowned."If we properly defended ourselves, the punishment squad would simply be a minor threat. Their weapons could hardly touch our superior protective clothing."

"Is Trojan not aware of this situation? It can’t always arrange Nazi zombies to give Conquerors brush points, can it?"Lu Fan said, "These things are a disaster for newcomers, but for conquerors, they’re just garbage that could be cleaned up with a little more time."

After the survivors had found a new hotel to rest in, it was already one in the morning. Tang Zheng did not arrange for anyone to keep watch at night. Everyone was fatigued at this point, and he did not want to do such an unpopular task. David, however, singled out Jenny, obviously in retaliation for her absence throughout the day.

Jenny pleaded with Tang Zheng, who responded by casually tossing her a canned food.

"Lu Fan, you and Julia and Nicole stay together, don’t wander around. Miranda, come over, I have something to discuss with you." Tang Zheng handed out ten cans of beef to the still-present newcomers. "Supper," he said.

All eyes were fixated on Tang Zheng. Particularly when Miranda shrugged nonchalantly and followed him outside, the men looked on with envy, while the women frowned.

"Tang is not that kind of person," Jack muttered, starting on his canned food. He couldn’t fall asleep after enduring such a violent scenario.

Tang Zheng made his way up to the fifth floor, confirmed that there was no one following him, and disappeared into a room.

"Look, they have misunderstood," Miranda teased as she walked in. She surveyed the room with a casual glance. Even when Tang Zheng shut the door, she did not flinch, for she knew that he was not one to be carried away by lust.

"Misunderstanding is good. Saves them from speculating. You should know why I brought you here." Tang Zheng didn’t want to be direct, for that would put him at a disadvantage.

"Hmm? Isn’t it to keep you company?" Miranda spun around, wrapping her arms around Tang Zheng’s waist and pressing against him.

"Let’s get to the point." Tang Zheng grabbed Miranda by her shoulders and pushed her away.

"We killed the Armed Tyrannosaurus and recovered four Gold Single Horns. We, the Conquerors, split them equally. Leonard of course didn’t get any," Miranda gave a scornful smile, "even though he originally claimed the most."

"What’s the weak spot of the Tyrannosaurus?" Tang Zheng walked over to the window and looked down. A full moon hung in the sky, amplifying the silence of the city.

"Why should I tell you?" Miranda sniffed disdainfully. "What’s in it for me?"

"I can get you a Golden Single Horn." Tang Zheng knew that such information would not be given up for nothing.

"Something that the five Conquerors achieved together, you think you can accomplish single-handedly? You’re blowing your own trumpet." Miranda laughed sarcastically, looking at him with a dismissive expression, and thinking that Tang Zheng was being boastful.

"Don’t compare me to them." Tang Zheng frowned.

"Okay, let me do the math. You, Lu Fan, plus Nicole and Julia, that’s fifteen. Maybe you’ll have to help Jack too, making it necessary to kill four of them. Do you think you’re a god of war?" Miranda counted on her fingers, "Unless each Tyrannosaurus drops a prop, you’ll have to kill even more. Plus, you’ll have to share with David and the others who helped."

"That’s my business. You’ll be compensated." Tang Zheng spoke decisively, his tone as calm as if he were blowing on hot porridge.

The confident look on Tang Zheng’s face left Miranda at a loss. She studied his eyes, and, after finding no signs of deceit, she gritted her teeth and said, "One is too few. At least three."

"You’re too greedy, aren’t you?" Tang Zheng jeered. "In fact, you don’t really believe in my abilities; you just want to take a chance. Besides, you’re worried that if you refuse to talk, I’ll negotiate with someone else."

"Then why didn’t you ask Nicole?" Despite having her thoughts exposed by Tang Zheng, Miranda’s expression remained unchanged, as she knew she was being observed.

"Because you’re more coquettish, and a better actress. If I asked Nicole, it would blow our cover". Tang Zheng said truthfully, "Now speak. I don’t have all day."

"The weak point of an Armed Tyrannosaurus is its head. Leonard and the others distracted it and Robert killed it," Miranda recounted the morning’s battle, "But when I examined the corpse of the Tyrannosaurus afterwards, the skin on its abdomen was soft, unable to withstand a bullet."

"Hmm, why was Leonard injured then? And what is each of their Seed Abilities?" Tang Zheng attempted to disguise his intentions with the first question, but he couldn’t afford not to ask them straight. He tried to maintain his composure, but his intentions didn’t escape the sharp-eyed Miranda.

"They, um?" Miranda looked at Tang Zheng suspiciously, "You’re not planning to kill them, are you? That way, all the spoils would be yours."

"We get a thousand-point penalty for killing people." Tang Zheng denied.

"Didn’t you abandon Brant after disabling him? It would be easy for someone as intelligent as you to kill David and the others." Miranda turned cold, fixed her gaze on Tang Zheng’s eyes, and accused, "Are you planning to kill me too? That way you won’t have to deliver your promise!"

"So, are you going to cooperate or snitch?" Tang Zheng’s tone remained unperturbed, yet it sent chills down Miranda’s spine. (To be continued. If you like this story, please visit qidian.com to vote or recommend. Your support gives me the greatest motivation.)