Chapter 53: The Younger Sister Hands Over the Medicine
After watching Zoe and her group depart, Li Changsheng methodically slaughtered the walking corpses on the bridge, then strengthened the fortifications and left behind a rope walkway for pedestrians.
At this hour, the sun hung at its zenith, but the sky was somber, clouds gathering and winds howling, as if a tempest was about to break. Without further delay, Li Changsheng leapt from the bridge and followed the bank of the Mississippi, heading west. He hadn’t driven, but at the G1 stage, his stride was swift, covering several kilometers before he spotted a yacht ahead.
The yacht was pure white, like an elegant bird, motionless by the shore. Li Changsheng glanced at it, then looked away, kneeling down by the river to wash his face. As his hand touched the water, a low, mournful sobbing drifted from the yacht.
The sound was plaintive, almost like a young woman's lament. Yet Li Changsheng felt his skin crawl, and without hesitation, abandoned his intention to wash and turned to leave.
He knew that behind those sobs, there was no frail maiden—only witches.
Witches, commonly known as “Witch,” were the second most formidable special infected in the world of Left 4 Dead, just behind Tanks. If angered, they would attack the one who provoked them, relentless and merciless. In the game’s realistic difficulty, a single swipe meant instant death.
Fortunately, they only craved solitude, wishing only to weep and would not attack unless disturbed.
Li Changsheng walked several dozen meters, then halted, unwilling. Should he go back and take a look? Perhaps this very yacht was the one Louis had mentioned.
Curiosity gnawed at him. Just a glance, he thought.
He returned to the riverbank, first observing the yacht carefully. Next, he mapped out an escape route and set up a few obstacles—just in case things went awry, he could run.
He climbed aboard the yacht in silence.
The yacht had three levels. The top housed the control cabin and guest rooms. The middle, connected to the deck, was spacious, lined with polished wooden floors. The lowest level, beneath the deck, served as the cargo hold, with several glass windows and a hatch.
The witch’s cries came from the cargo hold.
Summoning his courage, Li Changsheng edged up to one of the cargo windows. In the dim light, a dozen witches knelt inside. Their clothes were tattered, their skin pale. They looked frail and small.
But to think them weak would be a fatal mistake. If you foolishly provoked them, their twenty-centimeter claws would mercilessly pierce your arteries and teach you a brutal lesson.
Li Changsheng took one look and felt his scalp tingle, instinctively leaning away from the window.
Fortunately, his movements were barely perceptible and the witches below took no notice.
Suddenly, Li Changsheng’s eyes widened in astonishment.
There, in an inconspicuous corner of the hold, a few tiny flowers bloomed. Each was no bigger than a palm. Without his enhanced vision, he might never have noticed them.
The flowers were bright yellow, round, and adorable, but most miraculous of all, they grew directly from the ship itself, emitting a faint glow.
Glowing flowers, surrounded by witches—an uncanny, inexplicable sight.
These flowers were definitely unusual… He needed to get them.
A new thought sparked in Li Changsheng’s mind.
He decided to act immediately. Carefully, he began to open the cargo window, all the while watching the witches for any reaction.
The window creaked.
Suddenly, the witches’ sobbing stopped. All at once, they looked up, a dozen pairs of blood-red eyes boring into him.
Li Changsheng froze, rooted in place, not daring to move a muscle.
Luckily, they merely glared at him, then lowered their heads once more.
Even so, being stared down by a group of witches left him shaken, cold sweat breaking out on his back.
Clearly, he would have to use his wits.
Li Changsheng closed the window, then jumped off the yacht and scrambled up to higher ground, scanning his surroundings for anything useful.
His eyes lit up as he spotted a factory building several hundred meters away, right on the riverbank.
The factory was spacious, with a row of shipping containers lined up outside.
Maybe he could use those containers to build a trap…
With that in mind, Li Changsheng headed toward the factory, dispatching a few stray zombies along the way. Soon, he reached the building.
Through the iron mesh gate, he saw there weren’t many zombies inside.
Not bad. Less trouble.
He climbed over the locked gate, deliberately making noise to draw the zombies out and dealt with them swiftly.
Afterward, Li Changsheng circled the shipping containers. Some doors were open, revealing piles of rocks of various shapes. Even with his strength, he couldn’t budge them.
He nodded in satisfaction. If even he couldn’t move the containers, witches certainly couldn’t.
He was about to store the containers in his inventory.
But after surveying the area, he noticed plenty of surveillance cameras, and the spot could be easily observed from higher ground.
To avoid detection, he decided to postpone storing the containers until nightfall, when the place would be deserted.
Resolving this, he pulled a clock from his inventory and set the time. Only then did he realize that, since dealing with the bridge at dawn, nearly eight hours had passed and he was famished.
He took out a dozen loaves of bread, paying no attention to flavor, and wolfed them down. After eating, he found a room in the factory, collapsed in a chair, and rested.
When he awoke, night had fallen and rain was pattering outside.
He peered out the window; visibility was less than five meters. He hesitated.
He actually liked rainy days—especially staying home playing games while it poured outside.
But venturing out to become a soaking mess was not his preference.
A great man does not sweat the small stuff.
Besides, in this weather, no one would notice him.
He steeled himself, donned a raincoat, grabbed a flashlight, and got to work.
He swiftly stored five containers in his inventory, then, feeling mentally exhausted, took a brief rest before heading straight for the yacht.
At the riverbank, the water was turbulent, the rushing sound mingling with the witches’ cries—an eerie, chilling atmosphere.
Shaking his head, Li Changsheng began his preparations.
He placed three containers ten meters from the yacht, arranging them tightly in a U-shape.
Then he set a fourth container atop them, leaving only a single entrance facing the yacht. Above the entrance, he placed a one-ton rock as a makeshift door.
Thus, his “trap for luring the enemy” was complete.
Next, Li Changsheng tied a zombie inside the trap, fixing three high-powered flashlights to its body, with their beams directed at the yacht’s deck.
This ensured that, once the witches emerged from the yacht, they would be drawn to the light.
Once all the witches entered the trap, Li Changsheng would pull the rope tied to the entrance, causing the massive rock to fall and seal them inside.
He ran a few simple tests. Once everything was ready, Li Changsheng silently boarded the yacht, tying a rope to the hatch of the cargo hold.
He placed several alarm clocks atop the hatch.
Hundreds of meters away, Li Changsheng gripped the rope tightly, eyes fixed on the yacht.
Then—
A harsh ringing sounded.
Li Changsheng yanked the rope, and the cargo hatch was flung open, alarm clocks tumbling into the hold.
A piercing shriek erupted.
You have disturbed the Witch…