Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 381 - 17: Outstanding Teammate

Chapter 381: Chapter 17: Outstanding Teammate

Tang Zheng’s most-used weapon was still the non-destructive version of the M4A1 carbine, equipped with a grenade launcher, an ACOG scope, and a laser indicator. Because it had a Pica Rail, he could easily add or remove tactical attachments at any time. However, after putting on his protective gear, it was impossible for him to switch weapons, and his movements were somewhat stiff and deformed. Therefore, he could only fight with the AK74M in hand.

"I’m going to put away the Velociraptor mount now." Once all three natives of the wasteland had entered the sewer, Tang Zheng told Chu Baichuan to hold his wife while he put away the Velociraptor.

Little Pavel was not suspicious about the dinosaur that appeared out of nowhere. He didn’t even know what the thing was. After a nuclear war in Wasteland World, there were so many mutated species that the surviving people only cared about whether they could eat and if there was any danger. As for where they came from? No one had leisure time to do research.

Tang Zheng swayed his tactical flashlight to confirm that the height of the sewer was only three meters. He jumped down instead of grabbing the ladder.

Thud. Although the landing noise was not loud, it was unusually piercing in the quiet, dark sewer. The three wasteland inhabitants were shocked and hurriedly stopped Tang Zheng’s reckless action.

"Keep your voices down. They attract radiation creatures." Old Pavel shushed and drew his chopper.

"What’s around?" Tang Zheng looked around and signaled those above that it was safe to come down.

Tang Zheng’s cautious behavior was actually a deliberate display to win the favor of the natives. Since the three of them were leading the way, there was basically no danger.

Even though the newbies weren’t moved by his actions, they got a tangible impression of Tang Zheng – he was a good guy!

"Radiation rats, roaches, scorpions, and such." Sholokhov explained when he heard someone scoff, "Don’t underestimate them. The largest ones are as big as tanks and have a strong attack power. In any case, be careful and don’t lose your lives because of negligence."

"But the most terrifying are the crawlers, the ghouls, and the mutants." After entering the sewers, Little Pavel lowered his body, cautiously scanning his surroundings with his crossbow while suppressing his breath to be barely audible.

Without anyone urging them, every newbie moved quickly, afraid to lag behind. Once everyone had entered the sewer, there was no noise except for rapid breathing. There weren’t even footsteps; the newbies just quietly observed their surroundings and gripped their weapons tightly.

"From now on, no talking or firing guns without an emergency, otherwise get out of the team. Okay, let’s go." Tang Zheng looked back, his gaze sweeping over each person and noting their locations. He didn’t want to waste time arranging formations, so he let Old Pavel lead the way.

As they moved further from the sewer entrance, their field of vision became darker and darker. After several dozen meters, they were engulfed in pitch black, making the beams of their five moving flashlight beams even more dazzling.

Tan Hui and Liu Heng couldn’t stand the oppression and turned on their flashlights. Since someone was willing to be a target, Tang Zheng couldn’t stop them.

Lu Fan returned to Tang Zheng’s back once again. One hand gripped the strong flashlight to light the way forward, while the other scanned the surroundings; she knew her uncle wanted to familiarize himself with the landscape.

This was a circular concrete drainage pipe with a diameter of three meters. The ground beneath their feet was made of solid ice blocks formed from sewage and sludge, covered in dust and slightly slippery. Thanks to the winter weather, the stench wasn’t too strong. The walls were full of various filthy items and rotting corpses, with a few rats occasionally scuttling around.

Tang Zheng noticed Little Pavel licking his lips, obviously wanting to catch a rat for cooking.

Old Pavel said nothing and stayed alert. From this, Tang Zheng realized the journey was not safe and became more cautious.

"Is this a radiation roach?" When Lu Fan’s flashlight shone on a black roach the size of a sedan, she felt chills run down her spine. The creature was truly disgusting.

"Fighting this creature is the most unprofitable business; they don’t have any valuable parts." Little Pavel explained, "Radiation rat meat is useful, twenty pounds can be sold for a nuclear bottle cap, but only poor people eat it."

"We have dozens of wild wolf corpses. What’s the price?" Hearing meat had the same price and intact fur was more expensive; Lu Fan was overjoyed. The Alice apron was good, it allowed them to carry a lot of stuff.

Tang Zheng looked at the winding sewer passage, confirming his suspicions. He wondered why Old Pavel, who was usually so cautious, was not worried about revealing a secret. It turned out that unless you walk it dozens of times, you can’t memorize the route. Besides, he was sure Old Pavel was taking them on a longer route to hide the shortest one.

Zongqi Dantai trailed in the rear. He initially tried to mark the wall but gave up after ten minutes, figuring out Old Pavel’s intention.

"That kid Tang Zheng seems quite smart. I wondered why such a cautious person wouldn’t mark the path. Turns out, he had long realized that Old Pavel was playing tricks." With a snap, Zongqi Dantai broke the chalk in his hand. He felt a sense of failure, having been outsmarted by an ordinary person despite his age, training, and experiences. Should he say the Trojan Horse Game was a good way to refine people, or that Tang Zheng was a highly adaptable genius?

"It must be the latter, otherwise why would Pang Meiqin be so stupid?" Zongqi Dantai knew it was the latter and quickly adjusted his mood, calming down. Years as a special agent allowed him to discard emotions to the greatest extent and operate like a perfect machine.

"The underground drainage system is intricate. Don’t get lost, or you’ll never find your way back." Old Pavel reminded the wanderers as he decided to lead them to the subway gathering area. But after a while, he heard some tiny squeaks and was taken aback. Those were the calls of the radiation rats. Just as he turned to warn Tang Zheng, he heard Tang’s warning came first.

"Be careful, prepare for combat."

"Damn, how did he know?" Seeing Pavel’s stunned expression directed at Tang, Sholokhov was also startled. Pavel’s hearing had mutated and was extraordinarily acute. He had been feeding his family only due to that ability. How could Tang do the same?

"What kind of creature is it?" Tang asked softly. He understood the astonishment of the wasteland residents but didn’t explain himself.

"Hmm, Uncle probably didn’t hear anything since he hasn’t enhanced his senses. So, he must have judged based on Old Pavel’s reaction." Lu Fan, perched on Tang’s shoulder, murmured and reasoned.

People turned to look at Tang as they heard this.

"It’s simple. Old Pavel stopped, his shoulders tightened, his muscles tensed, and his ears pricked up. Anyone would know there’s danger." Tang lifted his rifle, "Fanfan, point towards the sound source."

Even if he was wrong, Tang wasn’t worried. After all, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

"A frightening observational ability and overall view." Dantai Zongqi again revised his judgment of Tang, then signalled Gao Yu to join him in guarding their rear against sneak attacks.

The three wasteland residents didn’t expect that and were immediately astonished.

"Damn, it sure is irritating to compare yourself to others," Sholokhov sighed. Usually, when they acted with Old Pavel, everyone would only react after Pavel gave instructions. But in this way, they were always a step behind. Sometimes when they were ambushed, Pavel often couldn’t even give a warning in time. Though such situations weren’t common, they would always result in casualties.

"No wonder their gear is so good, and they’re living so comfortably." Sholokhov glanced at the wanderers, his face full of envy and resentment. With a group leader like Tang, their chances of survival would be way higher. He also felt a deep sense of injustice for him. These people hadn’t truly understood how impactful Tang’s warning could be in certain situations and that it could potentially save their lives.

Old Pavel didn’t like the look on his face as he worriedly glanced at Tang. He suspected that his intention to take a detour might have been discovered.

"Cool, I want to be this kind of group leader." Little Pavel sniffed the air and explained, "Radiation rats stink, we can determine their presence by the air movement."

"Everything stinks here." Lu Fan jumped down from Tang’s back, took out two hand grenades, and asked, "Is the sewer sturdy?"

"Yep, but better to use fewer grenades. Besides being wasteful sometimes, the shockwave could also harm us." Little Pavel swallowed nervously and proposed, "We can take out all the radiation rats. You don’t have to do anything, just give me a grenade, how about that?"

"Who gets the corpse?" Lu Fan began to haggle again.

"Naturally they are yours." Little Pavel, not daring to push it too far, replied, "This price is very reasonable."

"But you’re our guides, right? We have to pay extra for combat?" Lu Fan pointed his finger and shook it, "Don’t consider me a fool. We chose you because we knew you first. I’m sure there are a ton of residents in area 12 who would want to earn our commission."

At a loss for words, Little Pavel turned his head grumpily, only to respond to Little Lolita’s call and turn it back again. Seeing a hand grenade being thrown over, he was rendered speechless.

"You know how to use it, right?" Little loli grinned, teasing him genially. After all, exchanging a hand grenade for bottle caps was less profitable than winning over a local native.

"I pull this loop, right?" asked Little Pavel, full of excitement. He kept wiping the grenade with his sleeve. This was the most valuable gift he had ever received, and he couldn’t help but have a better impression of Lu Fan.

"A shrewd, precocious little trickster." Dantai Zongqi watched the exchange and rated Lu Fan highly. He knew trying to win over the two middle-aged men would likely be counterproductive, but from the choice of the target itself, Little lolita had shown excellent observational skills.

"I wonder what traits the other conquerors possess." Dantai Zongqi tried his best to gather intelligence, not wanting to work with a bunch of idiots. At least from what he could see, Tang was doing a good job as the group leader. Although Little loli seemed like a bit of a burden, she had her own advantages in some respects.

"Here they come." When the fat rats appeared under his flashlight’s beam, Tang called out and started shooting! (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to qidian.com and give recommendation votes, monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)