Ambush

Ten minutes later. Long Ming and Johnny's group of five made their way downstairs. They cautiously poked their heads out to scan the area. Seeing no corpse monsters in sight, they slipped out of Inpatient Building No. 5 and headed toward the hospital's back gate. Just as they reached the exit, however, they ran headlong into a corpse monster that had strayed from the horde, looking rather dim-witted. "Corpse monster!" Wu Qing backed away a few paces in terror. Johnny and the others hurriedly drew crowbars and whatever weapons they had, utterly tense, yet none dared to step forward. "Argh!" The corpse monster bared its teeth, staggering forward toward Long Ming and the others. "Give me the crowbar," Long Ming said calmly, holding out his hand to Johnny. "Ah, right!" Johnny instinctively handed him the tool. Long Ming swung the crowbar like a baseball bat, cracking it with pinpoint precision straight into the skull of the lunging monster. *Crack!* A gaping hole burst into the creature's head, and it collapsed in a heap. Johnny and the others stared, their eyes practically popping out of their heads. "Bro, you're that savage?" "Isn't this just basic mechanics?" Long Ming asked, looking at Johnny in mild confusion. "Bro, that's a bit of a humblebrag." "How is that basic mechanics? For people like us, not running away screaming the second we see those things is an achievement!" "Yeah, if we had that kind of mental fortitude, we would've joined the combat teams ages ago," Johnny and his companions replied with bitter smiles. "Right, let's keep moving." Hearing their words, Long Ming realized what they meant. Many people drifted in the Rat Squad not just because they lacked the money for proper gear, but because their nerves simply couldn't handle it—the game was far too realistic, after all. "Got it." Johnny and the others nodded vigorously. *** Elsewhere, Mila and her team were relentlessly pursued by the horde, constantly gunning down the corpse monsters charging at them. "Captain Mila, this can't go on! We're drifting off our retreat route!" Liang Feng shouted anxiously. "I know! Figure out a way to shake this horde first, or making it to the evacuation point won't mean a thing!" Mila was furious. The corpse monsters clung to them like leeches, refusing to let go. "Understood!" Liang Feng nodded. *** Meanwhile, in the lobby of a ruined hotel nearby. A burly, heavily muscled man wearing a bulletproof vest and gray combat uniform, sporting a thick beard and a blood-red cross tattooed on his neck, reclined on a plush leather sofa. He tilted back a bottle of strong liquor and took a deep swig. "Damn it!" "Lord Felonka, is the liquor not to your liking? Should I get another bottle?" asked a rat-faced man dressed in black combat fatigues, his teeth stained yellow, speaking with deep deference. "No need. I'm in a foul mood because I'm not full!" Felonka looked deeply irritated, like a famished predator. Although their scavenging run had gone decently, after deducting their expenditures, barely anything remained. "I understand. Still, Lord Felonka, the fog is getting thicker and the monster density is spiking. If we linger too long, our situation could get dangerous," Baier patiently advised. "I know that." Felonka knew Baier was right, yet the frustration gnawed at him all the same. Just then, a dense barrage of gunfire echoed in the distance. Felonka shot to his feet. Baier and the others jumped in alarm, looking at him in confusion. "Boss, what is it?" "Did you hear gunshots?" "Yes, and they seem to be getting louder." "Come on, let's check it out!" A sharp gleam flashed in Felonka's eyes as he led his men out of the derelict hotel, quickly moving toward the sound of the gunfire. A moment later. Felonka and his men lay flat on the roof of a five-story residential building, peering into the distance. There, they spotted Mila's force fleeing from the pursuing horde. "Whoa, that's a massive group. Looks like over two hundred people," Baier said in astonishment. Felonka didn't answer. His eyes locked onto Xiao Qi and the other members of the Rat Legion, his expression twisting into pure greed. Seeing that look, Baier's heart skipped a beat. Even with his eyes closed, he knew what Felonka was thinking—the boss had set his sights on this group. He ventured cautiously, "Boss, you're not thinking of taking them down, are you?" "Why not? When you're hungry, you eat." "Boss, they've got at least seventy or eighty combat personnel, while we only have around forty fighters. We might choke trying to bite off more than we can chew!" Baier warned, worried. "Not necessarily," Felonka replied, a vicious grin spreading across his face. "You have a plan, Boss?" "All warfare is based on deception. Being outnumbered doesn't mean you can't win. Aren't they being chased by a horde? That's our greatest advantage. All we need to do is trip them up and shatter their formation—then the horde will be our best teammate, won't it?" "Brilliant, Boss!" Baier flattered him respectfully. "Enough talk. Tell everyone to get ready for the ambush!" Felonka raised his rifle, issuing the order in high spirits. *** Before long, Mila and her fighters covered the Rat Squad's retreat into a dense residential district. By this point, several scavengers burdened with heavy loads could run no farther and collapsed right onto the ground. "I can't... I can't do this anymore." "Me neither..." Seeing this, Xiao Qi rushed to report to Mila. "Sister Mila, the people behind can't run anymore." Mila glanced back. They had managed to open up a bit of distance from the horde. She immediately commanded, "All Rat Legion personnel, rest in place for one minute! Combat personnel, watch the horde!" "Yes!" Cao Jie and the others answered in unison. Hearing the command, the scavengers sank to the ground where they were, or leaned against the building walls, gasping for breath. "I'm exhausted..." "God damn our luck, running into a horde at a time like this. I almost ran myself to death." "Stop whining and catch your breath." Just as everyone was grumbling, dark gun barrels silently poked out from the windows of the apartment building to their left. A girl happened to glance up and shrieked in terror. "Enemies!" Everyone froze. In the very next second— *Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!* A hail of bullets sprayed directly into Mila's ranks. "Aaargh!" In an instant, four combatants and seven scavengers were hit, screaming in agony as they tumbled to the ground. "Shit, ambushed!" Cao Jie and the others yelled in horror. "Move! Find cover!" Mila's face shifted drastically as she barked out orders. Everyone scrambled toward the dilapidated apartment buildings nearby to use them as makeshift cover, swiftly returning fire. Gunfire crackled back and forth without pause. At the same time, the horde behind Mila caught up. Liang Feng and the others turned their weapons around and fired frantically at the encroaching monsters. But there were far too many of them to wipe out! More critically, their ammunition was limited and extremely expensive. Blasting away like this would ruin them financially. "Sister Mila, the horde is on us! We're pinched!" "If this keeps up, they'll wear us down to nothing!" Cao Jie and the others looked to Mila, panic creeping into their voices.