Chapter 882: Chapter 882
Zhang Ke gasped for breath, his chest heaving with dissatisfaction as he glared at Chen Hong. Yet when he caught the concerned gaze of the company commander, he didn’t know what to do and, in frustration, yelled out loud, crouching down with his hands clutching his head.
"Valuing friendship is good, but I think the fallen Squad Leader Tong would rather you stayed alive than collected his corpse," Tang Zheng said in a low tone, as trouble was imminent.
The azure sky, originally dotted with white clouds, now seemed to have a patch slapped on it, as a blanket of darkness rapidly moved across it.
"It’s the bugs!" Chen Hong inhaled sharply; their number was definitely over a thousand, "Maybe they’re not after us."
Chen Hong still harbored some hope, but unfortunately, Tang Zheng dismissed it.
"No way, they’re flying in a straight line toward us. Get ready to fight," Tang Zheng said, taking out the Beetle Chariot and climbing inside.
"What are you dazing off for? Stop wasting time!" Chen Hong roared at Zhang Ke, finding the young soldier so dim-witted she wished she could just shoot him dead.
Indeed, the target of the swarm was Tang Zheng and his group. Normally, the bugs would only come out to hunt in the evening, but the earlier commotion had stirred them up.
In this post-apocalyptic city, besides the plants, the overwhelming insects were the true masters.
The swarm flew swiftly, reaching the airspace above the Beetle Chariot in less than two minutes.
The Bullet Nest opened, and two hundred rocket shells with orange-red tails streaked into the swarm, exploding and filling the sky with fragments of carcasses, limbs, and blood splattering down like a fresh red carpet.
The standard crew for the Beetle Chariot was three, but with Cheng Cheng aboard, Zhang Ke, who was last to climb up, could only sit on the turret. He was about to shoot, but then the chariot suddenly leaped, clearing a pile of cement and debris on the highway. The maneuver nearly threw Zhang Ke off.
The poor soldier didn’t dare to fire anymore, holding onto the barrel to stabilize himself. Then his luck ran out again as the machine gun began to thunder, heating the barrel instantly. Fortunately, Zhang Ke’s protective clothing was up to the task, or he would have scorched his skin. Nonetheless, as the turret rotated and fired, he was dragged down.
"Help me!" Zhang Ke yelled in fear, grabbing the barrel and crying for help, just as the swarm launched a collective assault.
The invading insects, with thick and rough leaf-like shells, suddenly folded their wings and plummeted like cannon shells from the sky, aiming for the chariot.
Boom, boom, the beetles’ impact was so fierce that they cracked the cement ground, burying half their bodies into it. Missing their target, they rolled over, recovered, and with the pulsing of their underbellies, charged forward like tanks.
Tang Zheng set the chariot to autopilot, opened the hatch, climbed out, grabbed Zhang Ke, hauled him back up, then pulled out the First Bow from the East Island, drawing it to a full circle, and unleashed a barrage into the sky.
The speckled arrows flew out, hitting the falling swarm and clearing a small area instantly.
Whoosh, as if in a downpour, blood rained down, drenching everything in its path.
All four men were of no help; Tang Zheng was the only one in action. Luckily, the First Bow’s group killing power was strong, taking out the bugs that were plummeting toward the chariot one by one.
The beetles’ scampering, coupled with the flapping of their wings, produced a rustling sound reminiscent of silkworms devouring mulberry leaves, a chilling sound.
The leading dozen or so beetles, after rushing forward five meters, opened their wings fully and suddenly accelerated, leaping towards the chariot.
"Die!" With a single swing of his arm, Tang Zheng sent the first one flying, causing a dent in its shell, and with a swing of the First Bow, he flung another away.
Tang Zheng prepared to shoot, but the insects’ onslaught was too dense; before he could fire his speckled arrows, he’d be overwhelmed, so he resorted to throwing punches, becoming a meat shield to withstand the attack.
The beetles charged with massive kinetic energy akin to tanks; after Tang Zheng knocked back two, he entered an explosive state. His fists, like cannonballs, pounded against the insects.
Bang, bang, in a moment, the beetles were toppled down by the strikes, and due to the recoil, Tang Zheng almost fell off the chariot several times, but he managed to equip the Hellfire in time.
"Move it!" Chen Hong shouted, pushing aside two soldiers, poking her upper body out of the hatch, and opening fire with the Thunderstorm rifle, finally buying Tang Zheng some time.
Tang Zheng fired rapidly with the bow, and after a few rounds, the number of insects decreased dramatically, leaving piles of corpses behind.
"Disgusting!" The bugs were stubborn, pursuing their prey with single-minded ferocity, driven by a hunger that wasn’t satisfied until death. Tang Zheng was also fired up; the energy cannon on his chest charged up, carving a trench in the ground and vaporizing the remaining insects.
After speeding along for twenty minutes, the chariot burst into a building. The Gatling gun opened fire, killing the indoor insects; Tang Zheng then called everyone out.
"Proceed with caution and clear out the bugs inside the building," Tang Zheng said. He wanted to leave Cheng Cheng with Chen Hong but considering her temperament, he decided to carry the little girl himself. After all, a small girl wouldn’t be much of a burden, as long as he kept her from harm.
"I’ll take point." The company commander volunteered, stepping forward with the Type 81 rifle ready to lead the advance.
"Wait up," Tang Zheng said, leading the group to the corner of the lobby, then he started unlocking the captured Space Wristwatch. A few minutes later, a list of items appeared.
An S-level Light Defense Shield, of course, went to the main forces first. Qin Yan and Lin Weiguo had given the S-level Armor to Bai Guo, while they were still wearing the Level A Unicorn Protective Clothing, which was pretty shabby. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ Novᴇl_Fire(.)net
An S-grade Gauss sniper rifle, capable of rapid firing, that Tang Zheng could keep for himself. After all, the three female musketeers were good at shooting and needed good Firearms to unleash their power.
An S-Class Moon Blade, by now, Tang Zheng had gathered four of these, allowing his ambush techniques to become even more varied.
The S-grade Firefly couldn’t be worn, better to exchange it for some Points and then there were two First Aid Kits, ten Nanoinjection Liquids.
"You take this one first." Indeed there was a Level A Thunderstorm rifle, which Tang Zheng tossed to the Company Commander. The rest were ammunition worth more than two thousand Points.
An armored and reinforced Leopard 2A6 tank, a few sports cars, and even a yacht, which might come in handy.
"Thanks." After receiving the Ammo Clip, the Company Commander test-fired a shot, observed the power while adjusting the rifle, and was very pleased when he saw the Wall collapse under the impact of the Thunderball. On the Aircraft Carrier, when he saw others using such high-tech Rifles, he had wanted one for himself.
It took nearly two hours for Tang Zheng and his group to clean up half of the building that used to be a Hotel. As the sky darkened, he found a room that was relatively intact and allowed everyone to rest and recuperate.
The Campfire was lit and porridge began to simmer. Tang Zheng also distributed canned food to everyone. Zhang Ke, who was by the Window, suddenly shouted.
"Bugs, it’s all bugs." Zhang Ke, hiding behind the Window, couldn’t help but gasp.
Night had fallen, and it was hunting time for the bugs. The entire sky was a dense mass, group after group flying to the east. Various Crawlers also emerged from the nests dug into the buildings, got on the Highway, and formed a river of bugs flowing eastward.
When they passed through another bug’s territory, several types of bugs engaged in battle, and those killed were devoured immediately.
"Let’s eat first. Looks like they hunt at night. We’ll rest tonight and set out tomorrow," Tang Zheng said as he cut open a Canned Beef with his Straight Knife and then handed it to Cheng Cheng.
"I’ll take the first watch of the night, who’s up for the second half?" Tang Zheng wasn’t intending to take advantage of the Newbie’s situation.
"Zhang Ke takes the first half of the night, I’ll take the latter half," the Company Commander waved his hand, stopping Tang Zheng. "Don’t be shy, let us do what we can."
At this point, all four small teams had been Teleported to the abandoned Green City. Luckily, apart from those who had died, no one was left behind on the Aircraft Carrier due to exceeding the time limit.
After dinner, Tang Zheng took out three Sleeping Bags and distributed them to the group. Zhang Ke was supposed to take the night watch, but after two days of brutal combat and witnessing the death of his Combat mate, this Soldier was too mentally and physically exhausted and had developed a high fever.
Tang Zheng gave him some fever-reducing medicine, then took his Rifle to keep watch for the night. As for Cheng Cheng, she was exhausted and fell asleep as soon as she crawled into her Sleeping Bag.
"Company Commander, am I really that useless?" Zhang Ke was full of self-reproach, his Arm over his face, crying.
"Sleep, you’ll feel better after sleeping," the Company Commander consoled Zhang Ke with a sigh, then turned to the Window, wondering when this disaster would end. They were lucky to come across Tang Zheng; under Xu Changtai’s command, he guessed even more Soldiers would have died.
"Whew, I wonder how many of us will make it back in the end!" the Company Commander took a deep breath, added some wood to the Campfire, then bowed his head in heavy guilt. To speak of incompetence, it was really about himself; watching his own men die one by one, and as a Company Commander, he couldn’t be of any help, not even able to recover their Corpses.
This strong man finally shed tears when no one else was watching.
Keeping watch didn’t mean just staying put; Tang Zheng also had to patrol to prevent bug ambushes and check out their nests to gather intelligence and understand their habits. After all, he knew the Company Commander wouldn’t be able to sleep, otherwise he wouldn’t dare to stray too far.
"Chen Hong?" Two floors down, Tang Zheng heard footsteps behind him; inevitably, in the quiet of the Black night, Chen Hong didn’t know how to Conceal her presence.
"Tang Zheng, I’m scared." Chen Hong didn’t want to stay with the Company Commander, and she knew Tang Zheng had Captured an S-level Light Defense Shield, a life-saving tool, so she wanted to come over.
"Seeing Qin Yan and the others, I’m sure I’ll get nothing. Best strike first," Chen Hong didn’t need to pretend to be scared; she was already terrified of walking in the unfamiliar darkness of the building.
Unaware of what was beneath her feet, Chen Hong stumbled and fell down the stairs.
Tang Zheng was quick to react, catching her by the waist and preventing her fall. But the next moment, Chen Hong clung to him tightly, seeking out his lips.
"Don’t push me away." Noticing Tang Zheng was about to push her off, Chen Hong quickly held onto him tighter, "Just for a while, just hold me. I’m cold."
Chen Hong clearly wasn’t content with just that, her hands caressing Tang Zheng’s back.
PS, My desktop broke again, what a pain! (To be continued. If you work, you’re welcome to vote for it with recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.)