Chapter 58: Fury

Wang Ergou and Zhang Tieniu, after parting ways with Zhao Qiang, plunged headlong into the dense forest. Most of the zombies had been lured away by Zhao Qiang, so the two of them fought their way forward, dodging danger at every turn but escaping unscathed.

“Ergou, this can’t go on!” Zhang Tieniu gasped, struggling to catch his breath. Dueling zombies in the woods was pure torment for them—as ground crew from the air force, they weren’t part of combat units, let alone trained for close combat in the forest. Fortunately, the trees were as much an obstacle for the zombies as for them, so for the moment, the two men remained out of harm’s reach.

Wang Ergou slumped against a tree, panting as well. His gun barrel was scorching hot, his lungs felt as though they were filled with burning charcoal, and he struggled to catch his breath. “You’re right. At this rate, if the zombies don’t tear us apart, we’ll die of exhaustion. I wonder how Brother Zhao is doing. The commander told us to protect him, but in these circumstances… what are we supposed to do?”

Zhang Tieniu, with a better physique than Wang Ergou, recovered some strength after a brief rest. Glancing back, he saw a few zombies trailing behind them, their forms barely visible through the trees. He took aim and fired several shots, then said, “Ergou, Zhao's vehicle is still parked back there. It looks like those two Crushers chased him up the mountain. Let’s circle back to the car, drive up the hill, and try to meet up with him. What do you think?”

Wang Ergou nodded in agreement. “Let’s do it. Tieniu, it’s time to show some backbone! We’ve been chased all over by these zombies, and if we don’t fight back, we don’t deserve to wear this uniform!”

…

Zhao Qiang was deeply frustrated. He’d fought zombies for so long, but never had he faced such a troublesome opponent. After all this time, he’d sustained multiple injuries, yet hadn’t even glimpsed his enemy. Despite his extraordinary regenerative abilities, he’d lost so much blood that he could hardly recover by sheer will.

The attacks showed no sign of letting up. Zhao Qiang gripped his gun tightly, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t spot his assailant. All he could do was dodge the strikes that came from the shadows.

After exchanging blows for a while, Zhao Qiang gradually discerned a pattern: every attack came from within the courtyard. He returned fire based on his instincts, but to little effect; the whistling projectiles kept coming from the same direction.

To evade another unseen strike, Zhao Qiang rolled to the side. Something slammed into the tree trunk behind him with a sharp “thud,” then shot out the other side, flying several more meters before embedding in a large tree and coming to a stop.

A thought flashed through Zhao Qiang’s mind: instead of dodging endlessly, why not see what this weapon actually was? Acting on impulse, he sprinted toward the tree that had taken the hit. He soon found a gaping hole in the trunk, with a white object lodged at its center.

Perhaps the trees had blocked his attacker’s line of sight, for Zhao Qiang encountered no resistance as he pried the white object free with his knife. Retreating behind the tree, he examined it.

It was a tooth.

Zhao Qiang stared at the object in his hand, astonished. The tooth was as large as a bullet, conical in shape. It wasn’t especially sharp, but judging from its ability to pierce tree trunks, it was every bit as lethal.

Damn! Cold dread swept through Zhao Qiang. He flung the tooth to the ground in alarm. How could he have been so careless? Anyone bitten by a zombie turned into one themselves. If the wounds he’d sustained had been caused by zombie teeth, then…

The more Zhao Qiang thought about it, the angrier he became. To be undone in such a place, simply because of a lapse in attention! Bastard—if I die, I’ll take one of you with me! If you dare drag me down, I’ll slaughter you all!

Clenching his teeth, Zhao Qiang sprang from behind the tree like a bolt of lightning, weaving a strange and unpredictable path as he charged at the courtyard—moving even faster than before he was injured. The mysterious enemy in the yard reacted instantly, a hail of white fangs whistling toward him.

In the blink of an eye, Zhao Qiang covered the ten meters to the cement wall encircling the courtyard. Pressed against the wall, he suddenly wondered if he’d been too reckless. Blood loss and the intensity of the battle left him dizzy and seeing stars. In the distance, he faintly heard the rumble of a Humvee engine from down the slope.

Was he hallucinating? Zhao Qiang shook his head, trying to clear his mind. The brick wall behind him was being battered with sharp “thud-thud” sounds as the fangs slammed into it, the vibrations jolting him back to his senses. Straining to listen, he realized it really was the unmistakable roar of the H6.

He looked up hurriedly. His own Humvee was barreling toward him, the front bumper smeared with black blood. The two figures inside had clearly spotted him, bloodied and battered as he was, and were driving straight toward him.

“Get back! Stay away!” Zhao Qiang shouted desperately. The two fools had no idea what danger was lurking nearby. Through the windshield, he could see their anxious faces. No, he thought, they must not come any closer. Desperate, he waved his arms, hoping to warn them to steer clear of this perilous route.

Zhang Tieniu and Wang Ergou had already seen their blood-soaked comrade. Guilt gnawed at them as they watched the man they were supposed to protect in such a state. Safely inside the sturdy Humvee, they couldn’t hear a word Zhao Qiang was shouting. Seeing him wave his arms so frantically, they failed to grasp that he was signaling them to stay away—instead, they assumed he was calling for help. They floored the accelerator.

Zhao Qiang’s efforts were in vain. Not only did the two men refuse to retreat, they sped up, heading straight for him. As panic overwhelmed him and he raised his gun to fire a warning shot, it was already too late.

The sharp thuds behind him suddenly stopped, but the whistling projectiles did not. Instead, they veered toward the Humvee with a shrill scream.

In an instant, cracks spiderwebbed across the windshield. The vehicle jerked off course and plunged headlong over the cliff. After a brief clamor, all was silent.

Damn it! Zhao Qiang’s fury reached its peak as he watched his comrades—men with whom he’d recently shared drinks and fought side by side—slaughtered by the enemy. Yet his face became eerily calm. Silently, he unfastened his weapons and dropped them to the ground, discarding anything that would weigh him down. Reaching behind his back, he drew two kukri knives, gripping them in reverse.

The kukri, legendary blade of the Gurkhas, renowned for its curved, dog-leg shape and formidable chopping power, was forged from Carbon V steel. Its dark matte finish seemed to vibrate with excitement in his hands.

Now was his chance. Zhao Qiang had noticed that after each volley of fangs, there was a brief pause of two or three seconds—perhaps for reloading. He didn’t know what kind of zombie he was facing. That short break might indicate a reload, or perhaps a trap. But regardless, it was the only opening he had. The Humvee hadn’t exploded after going over the cliff, so maybe, just maybe, there was still hope for the men inside.