Chapter 13: Bitten
However, when they drove inside and saw the scene before them, they were instantly dumbfounded.
Damn!
Why were there so many zombies in this factory?
“Didn’t the virus outbreak happen after dark last night? These workers didn’t get off work?” Old Wolf couldn’t help clicking his tongue at the sight of the zombie horde.
Talk about jumping from the frying pan into the fire!
“Old Wolf, you guys might not know since you came in early, but in recent years, factory shifts have pretty much all been over ten hours.”
The younger guy driving spoke with a whimper.
“Damn, the factory boss is a real piece of work!” Old Wolf cursed.
The driver, on the verge of tears at the sea of zombies ahead, asked, “Boss, what do we do now?”
“What do we do, what do we do—how the hell should I know what to do?” the bald man snapped. “Am I some kind of walking encyclopedia?”
Just as he was swearing, the little boy’s voice came again from the trunk.
“Drive toward the front right. Fuel barrels are usually stored against the wall. When you get there, shoot open the metal barrels, and when the fuel starts spilling out, set it on fire immediately.”
The bald man frowned. “And what about us? Are we supposed to burn to death with these things?”
“There’s a small door at the back of the factory, right around the corner from the fuel barrels,” Chaoyang instructed calmly. “Shoot the barrels first, then have the car behind you ignite the fuel. Once it’s lit, head straight for the small door. You’ll make it in time.”
…There was still risk.
But in this situation, there were no better options!
The bald man gritted his teeth, grabbed the walkie-talkie, and started giving orders to the cars behind.
The dense crowd of zombies surged toward them, with a swarm of zombie mosquitoes trailing close behind.
Gunfire and screams tangled together in the air—calling this place hell on earth would not be an exaggeration.
“Bang!”
The car slammed through the small door.
“Boom—”
The gushing diesel ignited and exploded.
“Damn it, you little punk! Behind the damn door is a river—glug glug glug…”
The bald man and the others’ curses were still audible.
Mibao couldn’t swim, and the moment she fell into the river, she panicked.
[Mibao, hold your breath!]
The system’s timely reminder made Mibao remember to clamp her mouth shut.
But she was just a little dumpling—though she tried hard, within seconds she was already struggling.
Just as Mibao was about to give in, and the system was preparing to use the energy it had just gathered to save her, a hand suddenly grabbed her arm.
The hand pulled her upward, swimming with effort.
The murky river water made it hard for Mibao to see the person holding her, but just by the shape of his figure, she could tell it was Chaoyang.
Splash—
Chaoyang hauled Mibao onto the bank, where she sat coughing violently.
He wiped the water from his face and gently patted Mibao’s back to help her breathe.
“You little brat, you dare play me for a fool!”
Just then, the bald man, who had also climbed ashore, seized Chaoyang by the collar, glaring at him with the look of someone ready to bash his skull in.
“What are you doing?!”
Seeing this, Mibao instantly wrapped her arms around the bald man’s leg and began pummeling him with her tiny fists.
Bald man: “…”
What’s this little runt doing—giving him a leg massage?
“Let go of Brother Chaoyang!” Mibao shouted, thinking she sounded fierce. “If it weren’t for Brother Chaoyang, how would you guys have even gotten out of there?”
Bald man: “…If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t have fallen into the river in the first place!”
“But we’re all still alive, aren’t we?” Mibao lifted her chin, speaking with righteous confidence. “Otherwise we would’ve been bitten to death by those giant mosquitoes.”
Bald man and the others: “…”
Huh… well, she wasn’t wrong.
“Those zombie mosquitoes won’t all have been burned,” Chaoyang said calmly, looking at the bald man. “Are you sure you want to waste time teaching me a lesson here? If we don’t leave now, they’ll be chasing us again.”
“Hmph, I’ll let you off this time, brat!”
The bald man snorted coldly and released Chaoyang’s collar.
Chaoyang staggered, only steadying himself when Mibao helped support him.
“Monkey, Old Wolf—get everyone moving!” the bald man shouted. “The faster, the better!”
Now that they had no vehicle, they could only rely on their legs.
Chaoyang and Mibao thought they would be left behind, but instead, the bald man glanced back at them, then simply scooped them up—one under each arm—and took off running.
Mibao: “…”
Chaoyang: “…”
The bald man’s underlings were quick on their feet too, and before long, they had all left the riverside.
Not long after they were gone, a small figure huffed and puffed as she climbed out of the water.
“Puh! Puh!”
Chaolu wiped the water off her face in disgust.
“Filthy.”
Luckily, she liked swimming and could hold her breath for a long time—otherwise, she would have been spotted.
“Damn Chaoyang, couldn’t you come up with a more dignified escape plan?”
She cursed under her breath while heading in the direction the bald man and his group had gone.
“This crappy river is disgusting!”
She was half-convinced she was going to have diarrhea tonight.
……
…
Over two hours later, a specially modified military vehicle pulled up in front of the factory.
“…According to SkyEye’s surveillance, that group came from this direction. Judging from the traces along the way, they should have come here.”
No sooner had one member of the special squad finished speaking than Ji Ruwen impatiently swung the door open and jumped out of the vehicle.
“Hey—” Xiao Bai reached out in a melodramatic slow-motion grab. “What’s the rush? There could still be danger down there!”
But at this moment, Ji Ruwen couldn’t hear a word he said—his only thought was to find Mibao as quickly as possible.
The factory was now nothing but ruins. The fire had long been extinguished, leaving behind only scorched debris scattered across the ground.
“SkyEye’s system broke down an hour ago due to an unknown magnetic field. The situation’s getting worse.”
This squad member was in charge of network intelligence and tracking. With large-scale network failure now in effect, and even SkyEye gone, he felt like he’d become nothing more than dead weight for the team.
So far, no one knew how exactly this disaster had started.
“All right, let’s get out,” Captain Liang Shaoqing said, slinging his rifle over his back and taking the lead out of the vehicle.
The rest of the squad followed one after another, stepping into the factory with utmost caution.
Meanwhile, Ji Ruwen, eyes red, scoured the ruins for any sign of Mibao.
Nothing…
He couldn’t find her at all.
But maybe—just maybe—that was good news.
That was the only way Ji Ruwen could comfort himself.
He squatted in front of a patch of charred rubble—so burned it was impossible to tell what it used to be—and let out a long sigh.
“Hey, uh… don’t be too upset…” Xiao Bai glanced at Ji Ruwen not far away, wanting to offer a few words of comfort. But the accident happened in an instant.
From within the silent blackened debris, a grotesque head suddenly shot out. Before anyone could react, it drove its half-burned proboscis viciously into Ji Ruwen’s arm!
“Ah!”
Ji Ruwen let out a scream of agony.
Bang!
Xiao Bai fired, blowing the half-dead zombie mosquito’s head apart in one shot.
Ji Ruwen’s face went ashen as he collapsed onto the ground, cold sweat instantly breaking out across his forehead.
“Hey, are you okay?”
Xiao Bai rushed forward in worry, wanting to check on Ji Ruwen’s condition—but was yanked back by Liang Shaoqing, who grabbed his arm.
“Wait—don’t go near him!”