Chapter 370: City Gate
Translator: Liu_Kaixuan Editor: Valvrave
In the stormy rain, Jiang Liushi's minibus dashed in the narrow streets. Under Jiang Liushi and Ying's coordination, the minibus was just like a fish swimming toward the city gate.
From far away, Jiang Liushi could hear terrible screams coming from outside as well as frightening roars. The survivors near the city gate were all running for their lives. They were terrified.
When the minibus arrived, Jiang Liushi and Xiang Xuehai got off. Zhang Hai and Sun Kun followed behind with Type 96 shotguns in their hands. When facing mutant zombies, it was necessary to be prepared for close combat quarter battles. Shotguns had an advantage over other guns in that regard.
In front of Wu Shui County's city gate were piles of sandbags, which could control the flood's level and even prevent it. The other side of the city gate had turned a strange scarlet color because of the earlier fire. Fortunately, the iron gate was so thick that it was not burnt down.
Out of the city gate, thick black smoke curled and screaming voices ceaselessly came. The survivors inside were struggling to move more sandbags to the direction of the city gate, and block it.
Jiang Liushi just walked a few steps, and a kind of familiar fragrance came to his nose. When he turned around, he saw his sister, Jiang Zhuying.
He felt helpless when thinking about his sister's eagerness to go into battle. She had yet to recuperate from her wounds and her hands, which were tied like a mummy's, couldn't even hold her special longsword.
"Zhuying, why did you come here? You are hurt. Go back quickly," Jiang Liushi said urgently.
"My dear brother, you know that this strong wind and heavy rain are the best conductors for my electricity, right?" Jiang Zhuying stuck out her tongue with her eyelids lifted, and then a blue electric current suddenly appeared in her palm.
"No, it's dangerous. Our enemy is a mutant zombie, and you can hardly move. You'll go and act as backup. You have to protect Li Yuxin and Ran Xiyu."
Jiang Liushi knew that it was impossible for his sister to do nothing. As a result, he had to give her something to do.
"Okay, I know what to do." Jiang Zhuying nodded. For her, everything was okay as long as she could help.
'Da!'
In the storm, Jiang Liushi heard an unusual gunshot.
Sniper rifle?!
Many veterans could distinguish the difference between gun sounds. Jiang Liushi's proffered weapon was the sniper rifle, and his brain was well developed, so he could also detect the differences subconsciously.
Suddenly, a guard fell from the wall and heavily landed into the mud below. The poor man could even cry in pain. Jiang Liushi noticed that the guard was missing a part of his body, which could be caused by large caliber sniper rifles.
"Be careful, there's a sniper!" Jiang Liushi made a gesture to warn Xiang Xuehai. Xiang Xuehai nodded. Of course, she knew how dangerous it was. However, there were already several corpses such as the guard on the bottom of the city wall. That sniper had killed them all with one shot. The situation had taken a turn for the worse, as a few elite survivors were outside, and they couldn't deal with them easily.
At that moment, some of the guards on the city walls ducked and didn't dare to get up again. They were all shivering behind the wall, but nobody dared to leave. Not only would they have to endure Xiang Xuehai's punishment if they failed, but they would also have to deal with the zombies' invasion. Some of them were locals, and their relatives were within Wu Shui County.
'Ran Xiyu, can you find that sniper?' Jiang Liushi said in his mind.
'No problem. The moment he acts, I will find him,' Ran Xiyu said.
Jiang Liushi nodded and then he climbed to the top of the city wall with Xiang Xuehai. They found a concealed gap and looked out. A hellish, chaotic scene was taking place outside of the city wall. Under the city gate was heavy truck which had turned to burning scraps of metal. A blazing fire had spread around the heavy truck's area, while the flood surged from the opposite direction. The water level had increased and spread over the high perimeter of the outermost man-made hills. At the same time, dense packs of zombies had surrounded the survivors out of the gate.
Farther afield were many zombies floating on the muddy yellow water. These zombies were headed upwards and floated down in the water. Some of those zombies lied on floating furniture and other things, roaring at Wu Shui County.
'Why didn't the flood kill them?' Jiang Liushi thought. Only now did he discover the zombies', without intelligence, potential threat.
"Oh?" Then he saw a group of wild dogs. Among them, the mutant dog in the lead, with a sharp horn in the middle of its forehead, was gnawing a survivor's corpse outside the city. They had met that group of wild dogs before. Those wild dogs were then hunted down by a huge mutant snake. If they had appeared outside the city, then that water monster... Jiang Liushi shivered.
A large number of survivors had gotten wounded by the barbed wire, and they relied on abandoned cars or tires on the ground, as well as various kinds of ravines, to fight against the zombies.
There were plenty of obstacles so the zombies could not move as they wanted. As a result, they kept roaring. Unfortunately, some ordinary survivors were indeed miserable. They originally belonged to some other groups, but they were forced out because of the flood. They all looked at the tall walls hopelessly.
The closed city gate was the border between life and death.
"Open the gate. I beg you to open the gate. Do it!"
"Please, please! I have a child. I have…strength, and I can work, just let me in!"
Many people knelt down before the city gate, shouting and crying. In the face of death, human dignity seemed worthless.
"Baby, dear baby. Don't be afraid. Death is also good. At least, we won't starve anymore. No danger… You can finally meet your parents again… Grandpa will you to them…" An old man cried.
"Grandpa. I don't want to die…" His grandson was little, but he understood…
Jiang Liushi was lying in the gap of the city gate, and he let ice cold rainstorm pour on his head. After hearing the dialogue between the grandpa and his grandson, Jiang Liushi felt sad and let out a sigh.
He looked sideways and noticed a trace of sadness in Xiang Xuehai's eyes.
"When will this terrible world come to an end?" Xiang Xuehai said quietly. It seemed as if she was talking to herself, but it also seemed like a question directed to Jiang Liushi.
Jiang Liushi just stared at her, but he didn't answer. And then he bit his lips and took out the Type 81 gun behind him. He continued to concentrate on the front.
"F*ckers! Xiang Xuehai. I'm the Wild Man Squad's Captain, Ying Haosen. Open the door at once! Otherwise, I will continue hitting the gate! When the mutant zombies come, we will all die together!" Suddenly, a guy shouted.
About 30 meters away from the city, the flood had already covered the land. At the same time, the survivors were fighting against the zombies, preventing their advance. They had used debris and lined up some off-road vehicles and trucks, creating a defensive wall.
Amongst those survivors, a man with fumes coming out of his body was fighting against a few zombies. He was Ying Haosen. Except for the fumes, his skin had turned red. As long as he caught a zombie, the zombie would immediately turn red, and catch fire. He could burn everything he came in contact with. Although it was an amazing and weird power, it needed a lot of energy. He had been fighting for hours, but he could not hold on for much longer. The closed city gate annoyed him.
"Boss, we can't go on like this. We need to breach the gate. Zombies are not our only opponents now. Strange things are in the water too!" Someone next to Ying Haosen said urgently.
"Sh*t up! I know," Ying Haosen shouted and walked quickly toward the defensive wall made of cars. Many ordinary survivors were hidden there.
Ying Haosen pulled up a man, and shouted, "Drive that truck and hit the gate. Go! Immediately!"
"Please! Don't force my husband," A woman, holding her baby in her arms, held Ying Haosen's legs and begged. Ying Haosen kicked the woman and the child several meters away. The woman screamed and fell into the bloody mud.
"If you don't go, your woman and your child will die!" Ying Haosen pulled out his gun, aiming at that woman, and shouted.
"Stop! I agree…Don't hurt them," that man shouted in desperation. And then he climbed to a truck at once.
Jiang Liushi and Xiang Xuehai had seen everything clearly. Although it was chaotic, they knew what had happened.
"Terrible guy!" Xiang Xuehai said suddenly.
"Boss Xiang, I suggest opening gate," Jiang Liushi said suddenly.
Hearing his words, Xiang Xuehai was shocked. "Do you know what will happen if we do that? If the zombies get inside, a lot more people will die," Xiang Xuehai explained. She was a kind-hearted woman, but she had to consider the overall situation.
"We'll open the gate for a small period of time. I can assure you that during that time, Shi Ying Squad will not let any mutant zombie come in…" Jiang Liushi said in a low voice. In this terrible world, Jiang Liushi thought that he had to protect the weak and innocent in situations like this.
When Jiang Liushi faded, he aimed at that truck with his Type 81 gun. The torrential rainstorm suppressed the guns' sounds. Although the people outside had heard nothing, that heavy rushing truck suddenly slowed down and staggered several times before it finally stopped.
"What?" Ying Haosen was enraged when he saw that.
"Boss, the tire was shot!"
Ying Haosen knew that someone from Xiang Xuehai's side had done it, and he wanted to shout but he was immediately shocked by what happened next. A buzzing sound came from both sides of the tightly closed thick iron gate.
What was happening!?