Fierce Battle

"If you've got something to say, spit it out!" Qian Yu was on the verge of exploding.

"What good would it do that old bastard if he got us all killed?"

Qian Yu's hand froze around the radio. His first thought had been that Tang Hai wanted to use the air-raid siren to lure monsters onto the survivors, then help himself to their equipment and supplies after they died. But now that he thought about it, if Tang Hai wanted everyone dead out in the fog, why tell them to come to his shelter? He could have waited for them to die and picked up the spoils afterward. None of them could escape the fog anyway.

The deeper Qian Yu thought, the harder he frowned. Then a far more terrifying possibility struck him.

Click!

Qian Yu trembled all over. His eyes went blank as he shouted into the radio, "Fuck! That bastard wants to use all of us as bait to draw the monsters away so he can escape!"

A chill ran through everyone in the convoy.

Gather all the survivors, use them to attract the monsters in the fog, then seize the chance to flee. What a vicious plan!

The stone barriers and chevaux-de-frise at the entrance had all been a smokescreen. Their real purpose was to make the survivors run!

"Fuck!"

Qian Yu cursed through gritted teeth. Now that he understood, rage surged through him. He made his decision on the spot. "Turn around. We're going back to hit them where it hurts! Even if I die, I'm not letting that bastard get away with this!"

For all his fury, Qian Yu was smart.

He knew that the farther they fled, the more they played into Tang Hai's hands. It was night, and the dense fog made the danger worse. Their chances of survival were vanishingly small.

But if they went back, they might catch Tang Hai off guard. The more chaotic things became, the better their chance of breaking through!

Whatever happened, they would not give Tang Hai's people what they wanted by leading the monsters away for them.

Screech!

At the order, every vehicle began turning around at the intersection.

The other convoys following behind were thrown into disarray. Some hurried after them, while others scattered into the streets. Faced with disaster, everyone was out for themselves.

Elsewhere, with the Corpse Tide drawn toward the town by the convoy, the outpost had become a bloody ruin.

A freight locomotive slowly emerged from the thick fog and pulled into the station, hauling several passenger cars packed with supplies. The doors opened, and more than a dozen armed men who had been lying in wait stepped out. They began picking off the Zombies still inside the outpost.

Rat-tat-tat!

Several military jeeps arrived from another direction. Their occupants seemed prepared; they began clearing the area as soon as they got out.

Tang Hai and Feng Yuming, who led them, came up from a secret underground facility in a small elevator.

Tang Hai looked over the devastated courtyard, worry on his face, and hurriedly directed the others. "Grab whatever you can! Get those vehicles loaded too."

"Move!"

The locomotive had brought several flatbed cars fitted with chains, made specifically for transporting vehicles.

Everyone sprang into action. Tang Hai directed the loading of the supply vehicles onto the train. As the former stationmaster of Beiwan Station, he knew exactly how to handle the job, and the work soon proceeded in an orderly fashion.

"Where are those two?" Feng Yuming asked several of his men.

"Couldn't find them," said the men who had entered the air-raid shelter with guns. "Brother Feng, we've taken care of the useless ones inside."

To make the other convoys believe the shelter was genuine, Tang Hai had deliberately left some elderly people, women, and children from his own group inside to allay their suspicions.

He and Feng Yuming had hidden in another underground garage, while their men split into two groups and lay low. They meant to use the fog to make a killing, send the danger after everyone else, and slip away unnoticed.

At that, Tang Hai looked at Feng Yuming.

"Couldn't find them? Did they go out with the others?"

Feng Yuming glanced back at the open shelter door, his eyes flickering. "I'll go in and look."

"All right!"

But just as they were preparing to shed their shell and move everyone out, the roar of an engine sounded in the distance. Tang Hai's expression changed instantly.

"This is bad, Yuming! They've come back!" Tang Hai shouted. His people swung their guns around.

Boom!

The giant truck's orange headlights tore through the fog. Zombie limbs covered its windshield and plow blade as it roared back into the outpost!

Rat-tat-tat!

Feng Yuming's people opened fire at once. The Black Flood Dragon convoy fired back without hesitation, charging in with fury as gun barrels jutted from the windows.

"Don't leave a single one alive! Kill them all!"

Qian Yu roared into his radio.

"Yuming, watch out!" Seeing how things were going, Tang Hai hurriedly ordered his men to fire too.

The independent convoys that had followed them also poured in. Lou Ye and Lou Shasha drove their pickup up the slope from one side.

"Brother, they have a train!"

Sha Sha pointed ahead from the passenger seat and shouted. Lou Ye hit the accelerator, ready to drive straight onto the tracks. But a dozen gunmen on Tang Hai's side opened fire, sending bullets raining down. He had no choice but to wrench the wheel around and loop into the courtyard instead.

"Argh!"

Zombies and Corpse Hounds lunged at them. Lou Shasha pulled a modified lever beneath her seat. Several spikes shot from the side of the pickup, sweeping away the Zombies clinging to it.

"Brother, focus on driving! I'll look for Kiki and the others!"

The two sides traded volleys of gunfire. At the same time, Zombies and Corpse Hounds streamed out of the surrounding black fog without end. The scene descended into utter chaos!

The Black Flood Dragon convoy had the advantage in both numbers and firepower. It caught Tang Hai's people off guard, and the battle quickly became one-sided. Feng Yuming went down in the hail of bullets.

"You think you can play games with me? I knew there was something wrong with you bastards!"

Qian Yu strode forward and planted a foot on Feng Yuming's chest. His eyes cold, he raised his pistol and put a vicious shot through Feng Yuming's head.

Bang!

Then he looked up and saw that Tang Hai had already loaded a number of vehicles onto the train. He immediately understood what the man intended.

"Trying to run? Not a chance! Old Eagle, take him out!"

Qian Yu was about to get back in his vehicle and charge Tang Hai. But as the Corpse Tide began swallowing the convoy around him, a thought took shape: if he could seize Tang Hai's train and break out, they might still have a chance. Compared with their lives, the rest of the supplies meant nothing!

Squelch!

Just as Qian Yu was about to climb in, a muffled sound of something piercing flesh came from behind him. He spun around. Old Eagle stood facing him, a black claw driven through his chest. Bloody foam poured from his mouth, and his eyes bulged with terror. He could not make a sound!

"Who did you say you were going to take out?"

A hoarse voice came from behind Old Eagle. The black claw slowly withdrew, revealing a face twisted into a savage grin.

Feng Yuming!

One of Feng Yuming's hands had become a black insect claw. Half his face was caved in, and two spikes had grown from his head. He no longer looked human at all!

"You!"

Qian Yu's mind went blank for a moment. Hadn't he just shot Feng Yuming in the head?

Only then did it hit him: Feng Yuming was an Esper!

Bang, bang, bang!

Qian Yu reflexively drew his pistol and emptied it. Feng Yuming raised his black, shell-plated claw to shield his face and chest. The bullets struck it like steel, throwing sparks without injuring him in the slightest.

"Quick! Kill him!"

Panic seized Qian Yu. He called for the gunmen beside him to fire on Feng Yuming.

Rat-tat-tat!

Gunfire rattled, but none of the shots struck Feng Yuming.

Qian Yu stared in disbelief. A cold sensation spread through his chest. He turned and saw the fat leader of the convoy that had been following his own. The man was aiming a dark gun barrel at him, his gaze sinister.

Bang!

A bullet struck Qian Yu between the eyes. His vision went black, and he collapsed, his eyes still full of unwillingness.

At the same time, the dozens of his people fighting the Zombies came under surprise fire from another force. With their leader dead, they were soon trapped in a desperate situation.

Feng Yuming looked at the fat man and gave a cold laugh through his distorted face. "As agreed, leave half behind. You can drive the rest away."

Bang, bang, bang!

The fat man shot several Zombies. His face was pale, and he looked at Feng Yuming with frightened eyes. "Get in the vehicles," he told his men, his voice shaking. "We're leaving!"

They had made a secret alliance long ago. If they killed the Black Flood Dragon convoy's people, the fat man would get half of its weapons and equipment.

With the Corpse Tide all around them, the fat man had no idea how likely he was to survive the night. But after watching Feng Yuming turn into a monster and kill Old Eagle, he had no choice but to gamble.