Chapter 56: News of WH!
The 4 of them stared at Zhang Xiao Qiang, not believing their eyes. This guy had just taken down those zombies like it was nothing!
Zhang Xiao Qiang coughed slightly, looking at them.
The bow-carrying man had already perished at the hands of the zombies. The one who was carrying the .91 rifle looked about 25,26 and his clothes were filthy and the color indistinguishable. His face was fierce, and he looked the sort to get into trouble. Of course, he was extremely docile now as he looked at Zhang Xiao Qiang in awe, who knows what he was thinking!
The other 2 was normal looking, both had ordinary faces, those that would be lost in a sea of humans. They looked about 20-ish as well, and stood side by side, seemingly shrunk back. They glanced at the fierce man with the .81 rifle from time to time, it was obvious that he was their leader!
The one who held the Long Quan blade was the oldest, he had plenty of wrinkles and looked about 40. He looked like the honest sort.
“Who’s calling the shots here?” Zhang Xiao Qiang used a piece of cloth to clean the blade before putting it back on his waist. He looked to them and asked, while Yang Ke’er maintained her sniper crossbow on them.
The honest-looking older man had no response, he just stared at the blade hanging by Zhang Xiao Qiang’s waist, his expression dumbfounded. The other 2 looked towards the fierce man, both not speaking!
“Ke ke, I’m their temporary leader, is there anything that Brother Expert needs from us?” The fierce man smiled lightly, trying his best to keep his features less aggressive. It was a pity his looks were too impressionable, causing his smile to feel fake.
Zhang Xiao Qiang was not someone who judged others by appearances anymore. Xie Yuan Shan’s smile had seemed sincere, as though he was willing to go through knives and fire. In the end, he turned out to be some heartless monster.
“Oh? What’s your name!” Zhang Xiao Qiang got excited. The 4 of them didn’t have any bags, hence it was likely that they lived nearby. Furthermore, the fierce-looking man had said he was the temporary leader, which meant they had more people around!
“Ke ke, no need to stand on ceremony, you can call me He Wen Bin. Dare I ask what your name is, Brother Expert?” He Wen Bin nodded and bowed as he asked politely.
“You can call me Cockroach!” Zhang Xiao Qiang was reluctant to reveal his name, and what’s more his name was synonymous with the cockroach! At least it seemed like a sort of street name!
“Oh! Brother Cockroach! Is there anything you require of us? You have saved our lives, it’s the least we can do!” As he spoke, he went to pick up the .81 rifle!
Seeing the .81 returning to its owner, Zhang Xiao Qiang felt his heart bled! Forget it! Treat it as practice for next time! He couldn’t bring himself to snatch it over, and could only curse inwardly!
“You guys have your guns and swords, why were y’all chased by those zombies?!”
He was curious, as he felt the S-Types to be manageable, compared to the D2. Killing once was like killing an ant.
“Brother Cockroach, your skills are formidable, we can’t compare. Those freaks were too fast, other than their heads, they’re resistant to damage everywhere else. We had 10 men today, now it’s just us 4!”
As he spoke, He Wen Bin’s expression turned uglier by the minute. A 60% casualty rate was simply too devastating.
“Is there a survivor base around here?” Zhang Xiao Qiang saw his chance and casually approached the topic.
“Not that I know of! Other than the 40 of us, we haven’t seen anyone else!” He Wen Bin said hesitantly. Zhang Xiao Qiang also managed to get the information that he needed.
“Bro… Brother Bin, didn’t we pick up some news over the radio previously?” One of the ordinary-looking men quipped in!
“Oh! I remember! The radio had said that there were some survivor bases in the towns around WH City!”
He Wen Bin relayed the information that he recalled.
“How many people are there, is there some form of government?”
Zhang Xiao Qiang asked hurriedly. As long as there was some form of government, then there would be order. He didn’t want to live in some chaotic situation, and he wasn’t exactly confident in himself.
“Not sure, there should be a few hundred thousand people! In any case, the radio told us to get there, but Brother Long said not to listen to them, we might as well try to survive on our own. At least we won’t have to become other people’s cannon fodder.”
He Wen Bin wasn’t sure of the details.
Zhang Xiao Qiang sucked in a breath of cold air. The original 9 million population of WH City had dwindled to only a few hundred thousand?? Even if the rate of infection of the zombies was 90% there should have been at least close to a million survivors! Does that mean the actual survivability ratio was only about 1%?!
“Who is Brother Long?” Zhang Xiao Qiang was curious about this man, someone who can gather over 40 people in such a world was truly someone who had capabilities!
“It was Brother Long who saved us from the gallows.” By now, He Wen Bin was more open about his information, he seemed to understand the situation and knew they weren’t enemies.
Zhang Xiao Qiang knew there was a farm nearby here, and he had a relative who could still be alive.
“Do you know a Cai Quan Yong?” Zhang Xiao Qiang looked at He Wen Bin with hope, if he could find a relative, it would be great!
“I don’t think so, I was in a solitary cell!” He Wen Bin thought for a while but had no recollection. He turned towards the honest-looking man and asked: “Old Frank, do you have any idea?”
The honest-looking man was actually called Old Frank. He thought for awhile before replying: “We don’t use our real names in there, most of us have callsigns. Without the room number or call sign, I wouldn’t recognize who you’re referring to!”
“Did many escape then?” Zhang Xiao Qiang clung on.
“The larger holding cells were the first to be thrown into chaos. I was a thief in the past, and I was near the door. The moment things got awry I had smashed the lock and escaped. I didn’t see anyone else make it out, plus the officers were all turned. I ran to the single cell area and released all those who had not turned before we all escaped!”
Old Frank spoke as he reminisced, it seemed like he was the savior of all those criminals who were still alive then!
By now, Zhang Xiao Qiang gave up, and he eyed the men in dispirits: “Who is a local here?”
One of the common-face replied carefully: “Me, I am a local! What can I do for you?”
“Other than going through J City, are there other ways to reach WH City?”
Zhang Xiao Qiang still decided to go to WH City, after all, there was safety in numbers.
“From here towards the east, all the way till West Lake Village, then northwards till Gou Jia Dam, after which you can follow the main road further west and you can reach the center of the city. Most large trucks that carry coal use this path!”
After that, he seemed to hesitate, as though there was more he wanted to say.
“Is there a problem?” Zhang Xiao Qiang naturally wanted to get hold of all information. This was related to his life, he wanted to be as informed as possible.
“WH isn’t broadcasting anymore. It seemed that there were many people who decided to drive to WH, but something scary emerged there. Of every 10 that went there, 8 would be killed, and 1 would be driven crazy!”
He paused momentarily, before continuing.
“I heard from those who managed to come back, that the roads are all blocked. The monster is very powerful, it was able to tear apart a huge coach, and many have died at its hands!”
After finishing, he looked towards Zhang Xiao Qiang, awaiting his reply.
“Are there other roads then?” By now, Zhang Xiao Qiang’s heart was in his throat, as he looked at Common-Face, hoping.
Common-Face did not say anything more, just shaking his head.
Zhang Xiao Qiang suddenly felt as though he lost his goal, not knowing where to go now. Will he really have to return to the cave and live a life with Yang Ke’er from now on?
He Wen Bin looked at Zhang Xiao Qiang’s despondent look and had a thought.
“Brother Cockroach, why not come over with us to our place? We can wait for a chance to go to WH together?”
He Wen Bin suggested this carefully, afraid that Zhang Xiao Qiang might flare and turn his anger on him.
Zhang Xiao Qiang thought for awhile and decided to go along. Even though the Brother Long wasn’t some decent character, he wasn’t exactly to be taken lightly. He had killed the S-Type in front of these men here, furthermore, he had Yang Ke’er and her monstrous strength!
He nodded and He Wen Bin got the rest to hurry back towards their location.
“Brother Bin, Old Three and the rest are still stuck in that small building there, who knows, they might still be alive?” Old Frank suddenly spoke, reminding He Wen Bin.
He Wen Bin looked at the rest of them, one old the rest weak, as he touched his empty .81 rifle, and turned his gaze towards Zhang Xiao Qiang.
Seeing the hopeful gazes of these grown men on him, Zhang Xiao Qiang began to feel a headache coming on. Was this what it was like to be a hero?