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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 186: Night Stalker
"Look, the tire tracks here are very clear. The sandstorm has been strong these past few days, but it hasn't covered them up, which means they were left recently." The Short-Haired Man spat out a fruit pit and pointed at the distinct tire marks on the sandy ground, saying to the Soldier beside him, "It seems your little brother is quicker than you."
"This little brat." Shaoshan chewed on a Red Willow Branch, unable to deny his statement. He scratched his head and said, "No clue where he came from. We haven't found any traces along the way."
"Of course not. Mass Migration of the Undead; what else did you expect to find?" The Short-Haired Man laughed and scolded, "I still stick to my original thought—he must have come straight in from the provincial road at the Inner Mongolia border. Although it’s a roundabout way, it’s undoubtedly the safest method. If you had listened to me, we might have caught up with him."
"Nonsense. Why chase him? Don't forget our target is over there." Shaoshan stood up and gazed at the buildings shrouded in darkness, muttering, "That kid may be fast, but it won’t do him any good. I hope he’s smart enough not to get himself killed."
"So what do we do? The Gobi Desert is flat and open; with so many of us, it’ll be hard to sneak close." The Short-Haired Man turned back and instructed, prompting the weary Soldiers to lower their guard and spread out to rest.
"Why sneak around?" Shaoshan snorted coldly, twirling his pistol between his fingers like a windmill. "Strategically, we should underestimate the enemy; as for tactics... there's no need to elevate them too much."
"Stop beating around the bush and just say it." The Short-Haired Man lowered his hat brim, pulled out a rolled-up map from his waist pouch, lit it with a flare flashlight, and pointed to an opening on the map. "Enter through the airport?"
"No, we go through the front door." Shaoshan crushed his cigarette butt into the ground with his foot, turned to count his men, and muttered, "Zhong Yu, you’re going to the front lines this time too; split into two teams."
"I'm a Cultural Soldier!" The man named Zhong Yu rolled his eyes and sighed. "I knew there would be trouble coming out with you."
"Go back and complain to the old man." Shaoshan grinned and said, "Don’t worry; I won’t make you fight hand-to-hand. I remember the lab is set up in the Test Command Area, right? You take your team in through the Technical Zone; there should still be plenty of Zombies behind. Try not to fire your weapons; signal me when you reach the Safety Barrier."
"How do I signal?" Wang Zhongyu shot him a sideways glance and complained, "The Testing Area is right behind the Safety Barrier; the Armed Forces there will definitely be strong. If you can’t keep up your end of things, won’t I be exposed?"
"What are you panicking about?" Shaoshan pulled him down to squat on the ground and explained while comparing it with the map. "I’ll naturally help draw their fire; just move quickly. I’ll try to create a commotion; once you're in position, just fire a signal flare amidst the chaos."
"Wang Zhongyu raised an eyebrow, finding the plan plausible.
"I'll suppress the firepower while you find a way to get down there. We don't have heavy weapons, so we'll have to use our wits," Shaoshan said, licking his lips in regret. "It's a pity; I almost had a whole stash of explosives, but that bastard Cheng Long reported it all. Still, the old man was generous enough to give us a batch of TNT. Just focus on blowing things up, no need to hold back."
"Don't be ridiculous! If you don't clear the area above first, how am I supposed to get out from underground?" Wang Zhongyu spat, shaking his head vigorously. "No way, my mission is to find someone. Leave the killing to you."
"No negotiations; we need to move fast. Have you forgotten about the helicopter we saw that day? I suspect it's RCA's eyes watching us. If they find out we're here, none of us will escape," Shaoshan said, folding up the map. Ignoring Wang Zhongyu's protests, he quickly divided their fifty-person team into three groups—Wang Zhongyu would lead twenty, while he took another twenty to prepare ammunition and get ready for action. The remaining ten would stay behind as a reserve team for support.
Seeing that Shaoshan had made up his mind, Wang Zhongyu reluctantly accepted the mission. Most of the TNT was distributed among his group while Shaoshan's team went light, carrying only enough ammunition.
"There's no time to waste; let's go now!" Shaoshan lit a cigarette, took two puffs, then shoved it into Wang Zhongyu's mouth. He checked his watch and said, "You have thirty minutes. After that, I'll lead the team up and aim to finish before dawn."
"One more thing—what about your little brother?" Wang Zhongyu scratched his head and said seriously, "We need to synchronize our timing; I can't help you look for him."
"Don't worry about it; just stick to the plan," Shaoshan replied calmly, lowering his voice as he repeated the mission details. He muttered to himself, "If that kid is smart, he'll know what to do when he hears gunfire..."
Wang Zhongyu, with his thick eyebrows and small eyes, looked dejected as he mentally reviewed the terrain map. Taking a deep breath, he led his team into the night.
"Hey!" Shaoshan suddenly remembered something and called out urgently.
"What?"
"Don't die."
"Thanks for the reminder."
Ming Junwei and Shaoshan had a decent opinion of Jiang He; perhaps they couldn't find any other merits, so they unanimously agreed that he was somewhat clever. However, this clever boy often found himself doing incredibly foolish things. For instance, right now, he thought about the fact that there must be an entrance for people inside the Launch Site, but he failed to consider the presence of Zombies. Thus, Jiang He once again cleverly pushed himself into a corner.
There was indeed a door, but behind it lay more wandering Zombies. Because of his actions, all the Zombies inside the Launch Site were alerted; one group turned into two, and two groups became a swarm, completely sealing off the passage behind him. This meant that he only had two options: either turn back and kill all the Zombies or rush through the door to eliminate the Zombies inside.
Both options posed a five-star level of difficulty without alerting potential enemies. The Zombies favored group attacks, and he couldn't handle them with just one knife. Even if he used a gun now, the hope was slim because the number of Zombies clearly exceeded his ammunition supply. The only stroke of luck was that, since he hadn't made too much noise, the Zombies behind the door remained relatively calm and had yet to notice the fresh food outside.
Time was running out for him. After weighing his options, Jiang He estimated that rushing in offered a better chance of survival. So he decided to go for it, rummaging through his backpack to find a box of thirty-shot fireworks. In a flurry, he lit the fuse and tossed it behind him.
These small fireworks were designed for children under twelve; they were about the size of a pencil case and square like a Patriot missile. Once lit, thirty small firecrackers would shoot up and explode with a whoosh. Unlike large artillery fireworks, these only made noise without producing any smoke or flames, and their height was limited. Jiang He figured this wouldn't attract the attention of those armed individuals.
The small Patriot shot out in a parabolic arc and before it even hit the ground, it began to crackle loudly as tiny firecrackers shot off in all directions with sharp sounds echoing in the air.
It must be said that this kind of thing had a deadly attraction for low-intelligence creatures like Zombies. Almost instantly, the tide of the Horde retreated without hesitation, turning their attention towards the firecrackers that had fallen to the ground. Jiang He couldn't afford to mock the foolish Zombies because the thirty-shot display wouldn't last long, and there was no guarantee that some wouldn't fizzle out.
The Zombies behind the door were drawn out. Fortunately, Jiang He had already calculated his position and managed to reach the door before they fully emerged, climbing onto a building whose purpose he didn't know. The building wasn't tall and had safety rails around it, making it easier for Jiang He to scale its walls. The roof had three directions with "Cauldrons," and an antenna stood prominently in the center with clear Radar features.
Jiang He held his breath and crouched on the rooftop, watching as more Zombies poured out from inside. He couldn't help but applaud his own cleverness. Unfortunately, this good fortune didn't last long; soon enough, the thirty-shot display fell silent. The taunted Zombies lost their target and began to stagger away in disarray again. Meanwhile, not all of the Zombies inside had emerged yet; they wandered both inside and outside without leaving any passage open.
Jiang He rummaged through his backpack and found only a few colorful fireworks and some firecrackers—too noisy for his needs. He regretted not bringing more firecrackers along initially. Looking around at various steel frames but finding no combustible materials, he waited for a while until the Zombies below calmed down and gradually returned to their indifferent demeanor. Cautiously peeking over the eaves of the building, he thought up another plan. He used his knife to crush the clay seal at the back end of one firecracker and dumped out the clay debris before flipping it around to climb over to the other side of the Radar building, lighting its fuse before tossing it down below.
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