Chapter 48: Chapter 48: The Mysterious Man (Part 1)
Running for one’s life is always extremely exhausting, especially on this highway swarming with zombies. Tang Xiaoquan had only sprinted a few dozen meters before he had to slow down, gasping heavily.
"Damn it, these cursed beasts!" Wang Qiang was similarly worn out. Due to the earlier exertion, his legs now felt as heavy as lead.
Unexpectedly, Du Jiancheng, who had been dragging his feet all along, showed no signs of discomfort.
Only 50 meters from the target location remained. As long as they crossed this distance, the survivors could successfully enter the "Harmony" noodle shop.
However, crises always occur unexpectedly. Exhausted, Tang Xiaoquan paid no attention to the path under his feet, and for this, he paid a heavy price...
"Ah!" With an exclamation, Tang Xiaoquan stumbled, his body suddenly lurching forward, losing balance almost instantly.
In fact, this stumble by Tang Xiaoquan wasn’t forceful. He should have been able to easily avoid it with a bit of adjustment.
But due to extreme fatigue, his nerve reaction speed had plummeted. Combined with the load on his heart and the labored breathing, by the time the evasion signal reached Tang Xiaoquan’s limbs, his downward momentum was unavoidable.
Watching the asphalt pavement enlarge in his eyes, a horrified Tang Xiaoquan quickly shielded his head with his arms. Thankfully, he acted in time, or else he would have certainly face-planted.
"Whew~" Letting out a long breath, seeing that he seemed unharmed, Tang Xiaoquan felt slightly relieved.
He struggled to stand up, but before he could lift his head, he heard urgent shouts from behind.
"Watch out! Xiaoquan!"
"Zombie alert! Brother Quan!"
Two phrases, nine simple words, though Tang Xiaoquan couldn’t see the expressions of the two behind him, the chill in their voices told him everything.
"Damn!" The crisis came sooner than expected. Almost as the shout fell, Tang Xiaoquan suddenly felt something hit his back. Then, rough hands grabbed his collar: "It’s over! It’s a zombie! I’m done for..."
Du Jian stood there dumbfounded, clearly caught off guard by the unexpected event.
Meanwhile, Wang Qiang was desperately sprinting towards Tang Xiaoquan, intending to save his good brother before the zombie could bite.
However, water eventually cannot save close fire. Just as Wang Qiang was sprinting madly, the crippled zombie that had fallen off the seat had already crawled to Tang Xiaoquan’s head.
In its cracked mouth, rows of yellow teeth awaited blood. Its bald head slowly lowered.
Tang Xiaoquan hadn’t thought about resisting. But when he clenched his right hand, ready to twist around and jab the zombie’s head, he suddenly realized his long spear had been discarded when rescuing Du Jian. So...
Helplessly, he closed his eyes. Though his back was to the zombie, he could still feel the gaping mouth edging closer to his neck.
The viscous liquid dripped down, sticking to his skin, ice cold. Feeling the chill of this hell, Tang Xiaoquan was utterly hopeless.
But suddenly, an almost imperceptible whooshing sound whizzed past Tang Xiaoquan’s ear. The crippled zombie on top of him suddenly slumped.
Feeling the cold contact of the zombie, Tang Xiaoquan’s heart dropped to the bottom.
Am I dead? Is this heaven or hell? Why can I still feel my heartbeat? Could it be that I’ve turned into a zombie?
These questions swirled in his mind. But the next second, Tang Xiaoquan heard: "Hey, Xiaoquan! Don’t play dead, get up now! Uh... Du Jian, come help!"
Everything happened so suddenly that Du Jiancheng had no time to react. It wasn’t until Wang Qiang shouted that he woke up in a daze: "Uh~ coming, coming, Brother Qiang!"
With one on each side, before Tang Xiaoquan could speak, Wang and Du had already lifted him up.
"Whoosh" Another whooshing sound flew by. Instinctively, Tang Xiaoquan turned his head and saw a zombie with a feathered arrow in its head fall limply.
What’s going on! Tang Xiaoquan looked at the fallen zombie in shock, not understanding.
"Look, there’s someone there!" Du Jian suddenly raised his hand to point forward.
Following his finger, they saw a man in a sports shirt standing on a delivery truck.
The man held a bow in his right hand and an arrow in his left. The black bow in his hand was already drawn.
"Whoosh~" As the man released the bowstring, Tang Xiaoquan heard the familiar whistling sound by his ear again the next second.
"That’s right, it was him, he just saved me." Tang Xiaoquan immediately concluded.
As the feathered arrow shot out, the man suddenly raised his hands and began waving them vigorously towards them.
"Brother Quan, Brother Qiang, that guy’s calling us over!" Du Jian said, his gestures full of excitement and enthusiasm.
It’s no wonder he’s so excited. After all, at this life-threatening moment, the man’s appearance was like a beacon in the sea, an oasis in the desert, making the already exhausted group feel reborn with high spirits.
Perhaps this is the power of "hope"!
"Let’s go, we need to get over there and meet him!" With that, Wang Qiang knocked down the zombie in front of him and, without hesitation, hoisted Tang Xiaoquan and began walking forward.
"Let, let go of me, Wang, I, I can walk on my own!" Tang Xiaoquan struggled to free himself, but Wang Qiang seemed as immovable as an ox, unwilling to let go. He gripped Tang Xiaoquan’s shoulders firmly and shouted angrily,
"Shut up, I have no time to worry about you now!"
Wang Qiang’s words were coarse, but to Tang Xiaoquan, they were as clear as a mirror.
Undoubtedly, Wang Qiang was concerned about his safety. Afraid he might get into trouble again, he insisted on keeping him by his side.
But as a result, their speed inevitably slowed. Fortunately, with the man’s precise archery providing constant support, the three were able to reach the delivery truck unharmed.