Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 38: Car Jacking

When the security guard led the four to the side door of the mall, mysteriously handing over two items, they all wiped a cold sweat from their hearts. They had been too engrossed in selecting weapons and almost forgot the key point of this stage: Deliver vaccines… But first, they needed the vaccines!

Fortunately, the NPC of the mission line was diligent.

“All other doors are sealed. Only this one is accessible. Hurry up! Run towards the sunset of victory—”

After giving this “encouragement of love”, the security guard disappeared at the end of the mall; his great deed remained hidden.

The two items were a mini metal briefcase containing vaccines and a city map drawn on oil paper.

Outside the side door, there wasn’t a pedestrian street but a road. At that moment, several cars were parked haphazardly, looking as if the drivers had abandoned them in an emergency. Bloodstains on the ground spoke of the gruesomeness of their escape.

According to the map, their current location was in the southern part of the city, and the hospital was in the north. A river horizontally divided the south and north. To reach the north, they must cross the river, either by water or over a bridge.

Taking the waterway would be a straight line north through the commercial district, dock, and to the hospital, which was the shortest route. Taking the bridge would mean going east, then north, and finally west once they reached the north, a thrice-fold path doubling the journey.

Qian Ai looked at the clear map and said without hesitation, “If everyone has this map, then surely all teams would choose the waterway.”

“So the competition at the docks will be fierce.” Xu Wang carefully placed the vaccine box into his backpack.

“Then let’s do the opposite and head east to cross the bridge.” Qian Ai decisively changed his mind.

Wu Sheng shook his head. “Teams thinking like us might all swarm to the bridge to avoid the fray.”

Qian Ai was exasperated. “So it’s a vicious cycle?”

The captain and advisor looked at him. “We’re going to the dock.”

Qian Ai: “…Why?”

Captain Xu: “Shorter route, faster speed.”

Advisor Wu: “Even if we encounter competitors, they’ll regret why they chose this unfortunate path—one of no return.”

Captain Xu looked at his advisor, giving a rare affirmation during his moment of arrogance. “I admire your confidence.”

Advisor Wu accepted the praise with a smile. “You’re also quite decisive.”

Qian Ai: “……”

Kuang Jinxin, who had been silent, patted his teammate’s shoulder comfortingly. “See, this is why I never interrupt.”

Qian Ai felt genuinely hurt, still not understanding the principle and desperately needing his teammates to clarify. “Why not?”

Kuang Jinxin blinked blankly. “No reason. Just a gut feeling.”

Qian Ai: “……”

He felt as if the whole world had abandoned him.

“Bang—Bang—Bang—”

The thunderous collision noise was deafening, as if exploding right next to their ears. It not only made their scalps numb and their bodies shudder but also caused the entire glass door to tremble!

They all looked up sharply to see a heavy cargo truck crazily advancing on the road outside the door. The haphazardly parked cars were being knocked aside, spinning off to the roadside. The truck, with its sheer weight and speed, was clearing a bloody path through the congested two-lane road!

Finally, the truck cleared the last obstructing vehicle. But at that moment, all four heard the sound of a large group of people running frantically, getting louder as they approached!

After the truck cleared the obstacles and floored the gas pedal, just as it was about to leave the four’s field of vision, a horde of zombies chased after it from behind!

Their faces were swollen, drooling profusely, with wounds on their faces, necks, chests, and limbs. It seemed like endless pus and blood oozed from their wounds. Their skin turned a non-human, cyanotic hue, making them look like bloated corpses soaked in formalin for years.

Yet, their speed was unmistakable, like a group of adrenaline-charged people running wildly on the dusty road, crazily chasing the truck.

Perhaps, in their eyes, the truck wasn’t a vehicle but a moving meal box.

Finally, the truck left the four’s line of sight, but at that last moment, a tall, thin zombie, like a frog, leaped up and clung to the rear of the truck. Its legs dragged and scraped on the ground for a few meters due to the truck’s high speed before it managed to climb onto the cargo area.

And so, the truck drove away with that one zombie, leaving behind the chasing horde. Some persistently followed, while others stopped, standing around in confusion.

Suddenly, one of the zombies turned towards the glass door, tilting its head slightly and sizing it up in a daze. Then suddenly, with a howl, it charged towards them at full force!

The four instinctively retreated, and Qian Ai, moving too quickly, stumbled and fell to the ground. Simultaneously, the zombie slammed into the tempered glass door, causing a loud thud!

The side door wasn’t chained, but luckily, its automatic lock was relatively sturdy.

If it had been a person, they would have shattered their bones with such an impact. But the unsuccessful zombie continued to scratch and bite at the door in vain.

“We need to find a car…” Xu Wang, overwhelmed by the visual shock, tried to steady his trembling voice.

“Captain.” Qian Ai wanted to cry. “We can’t even get out right now. Can you not think so far ahead!”

“We’ll die without a car even if we get out,” Wu Sheng said. “So ‘getting out’ and ‘getting in a car’ must seamlessly connect.”

“How do we get out? Where are the cars? You mean those wrecked ones?” Qian Ai regretted it and really wanted to suggest to his teammates to just sit here and wait until 5 p.m. so they could all go home. TAT

“Screech—”

Suddenly, the sound of tires screeching against the asphalt resounded.

Xu Wang looked at his teammates, surprised, as if he had brought them this good luck. “Lao Qian, the car’s here!”

Qian Ai: “……”

Why did his wish come true now after being so unlucky for so long?!

Following the screech, the dozen or so stranded zombies collectively howled, like a carnival. The zombie that was pressed against the door immediately turned around, rushing back to the road and joining its brethren.

Only then did the four clearly see what stopped: a pink Beetle car, but unlike the normal single-door Beetles, this one had two doors on each side and was slightly larger overall. The two front lights even had eyelashes stuck on them, resembling a pair of eyes, flirting with pedestrians at any time.

This was the “Owl”, where seeing a car model not available in the market wasn’t strange. However, unique as it might be, without the weight of a truck, it needed the audacity of “whoever blocks it gets rammed”. Unfortunately, it lacked both, so its arrival was akin to a free head delivery*.

*Online term, usually in gaming, where it means to feed your opponents (by either purposefully or inadvertently getting yourself killed). Basically, a free kill.

“Xiao Kuang, give me some of your explosive balls,” Wu Sheng suddenly said.

Xu Wang immediately understood. “You want to distract the zombies?”

“Let me throw one to test the waters.” Wu Sheng took a handful of small balls from Kuang Jinxin. “If it works, we’ll scatter them all at once and make a run for it. We can’t let that car get away.”

Xu Wang felt conflicted, sensing that both they and the zombies were bad news for the Beetle’s owner.

The dozen or so zombies had already shifted their attention to the pink car, which was now surrounded. Several zombies had even jumped onto the car’s roof, bouncing with force as if celebrating.

Wu Sheng quietly disengaged the automatic door lock, grabbed the door handle, pushed it open with a forceful thrust, then quickly closed it again!

Click.

As the automatic lock clicked into place, the explosive ball landed on the road, about a dozen meters away. It first bounced half a meter high, then hit the ground and bounced again before exploding with a “bang”.

The noise was intimidating, yet what burst out was a colorful display.

“These are fireworks, aren’t they?” Qian Ai said, holding a screwdriver and finally feeling a bit relieved.

Wu Sheng frowned, obviously surprised that he had miscalculated the type and amount of explosive.

“It’s fine,” Xu Wang said. “The noise is enough.”

The trio looked up, and indeed, a third of the zombies that were surrounding the Beetle had now, fast or slow, moved towards the lingering smoke of the explosion.

Wu Sheng no longer hesitated, quickly reopened the door, and once again threw a handful of the colorful explosive balls towards the same spot!

The balls fell like rain, bouncing and exploding in a brilliant display.

“Bang, bang, bang—”

The splendor of the explosions was undeniable.

The zombies still around the car couldn’t remain calm and rushed towards the explosion site, and the first third of the zombies that had run over were now blasted into the air!

“I said it was an explosive.” Wu Sheng turned back, glancing coolly at Qian Ai. “And it definitely is.”

Qian Ai: “……”

Xu Wang was at a loss for words. “Let’s not boast at a time like this. Focus on the car!”

Just as the four focused on the Beetle, the last zombie on the car roof jumped down and ran towards the “rain of color”.

The path to the vehicle was clear.

The four immediately rushed out the door. Xu Wang, running at the rear and still wanting a real weapon for defense, gritted his teeth and selected the [Lightning Gun with Unerring Accuracy], which he had been eager to try since he got it.

The driver inside the Beetle, still bewildered by the explosion, saw four “villains” running out of the nearby mall: one wielding a scythe, one holding a screwdriver, one carrying a plastic bag, and one holding a crystal-clear, diamond-bright pistol in the sunset!

The Beetle’s driver instinctively knew he needed to flee, but his body was too stiff to move. Then, a scythe hooked directly onto his car door handle!

“Open the door—”

The villain with the scythe even yelled at him! TAT

Huh?

Can talk?

Can communicate?

Is it a person?!

Facing the “civilized driver” who could even brake sharply when zombies blocked the road, he immediately opened the door for his fellow human.

The one with the plastic bag and the one with the screwdriver squeezed into the back seat, while the one with the gun sat in the passenger seat without hesitation. Only the one with the scythe remained motionless until the other three were settled. Then, he pushed the scythe into the back seat. “Can’t put it in front. Hold it for me.”

Qian Ai, avoiding the blade with all his flexibility, reached out to grab the handle, but just as he did, the scythe was yanked away!

A zombie, coming from nowhere, pounced towards Wu Sheng from the side!

Advisor Wu instinctively made a horizontal slash with the scythe. The blade directly hit the zombie’s neck. With a “whoosh” the zombie’s head was cut clean off!

The head rolled forward a couple of times before coming to a stop, eyes still wide open in death.

Wu Sheng was no less shocked than the “victim”.

Firstly, decapitating someone—even a zombie—isn’t like chopping vegetables; it requires a physiological and psychological adjustment.

Secondly, severing a human neck isn’t so easy, especially since his hands were more accustomed to typing on a keyboard than wielding the godlike strength to cleave someone in two with a single blow!

“Wu Sheng—” Xu Wang leaned over, urging through the rear car window. “Hurry up and get in the car!”

Advisor Wu, who had just “killed” his first zombie, came back to his senses and immediately stuffed the scythe back into the back seat.

Qian Ai, who almost got cut by the scythe’s blade, finally managed to lay across the wooden handle, but with a desire to cry without tears. “I mean, can’t you choose a safer weapon, like a screwdriver? It’s quite good!”

“It’s not cool enough.” After passing the scythe, Advisor Wu left this simple and clear reason, then decisively slammed the rear door shut, pulled open the front door, and squeezed into the driver’s seat.

“Hey, hey, hey—” Just as the Beetle’s driver was about to protest, he was pulled over by four arms stretching from the back seat.

The Beetle’s driver was about to have a breakdown. “Be careful with the scythe. Ahhhh—”

Finally, Qian Ai, Kuang Jinxin, and the Beetle’s driver settled in the back seat. Captain Xu in the passenger seat had already fastened his seatbelt. Seeing Wu Sheng so naturally taking the driver’s seat, he casually asked, “Are you good at driving?”

Wu Sheng was holding the steering wheel in one hand and shifting gears with the other. “Let me put it this way, if Qian Ai’s [Mr. Thirteen of the Middle Ring] were mine…”

Xu Wang: “Like adding wings to a tiger?”

Wu Sheng: “Straight to scrap.”

Xu Wang: “…You’re better than Mr. Thirteen of the Middle Ring?”

Wu Sheng: “I knew you’d understand.”

Xu Wang: “I, do, not!!!”

As Captain Xu roared, Advisor Wu floored the accelerator, and the Beetle charged forward towards the zombies!

“You’ll hit someone if you rush like that—” the driver in the back seat panicked.

Qian Ai finally understood how he had been previously stopped. “Open your tiny eyes and look carefully. Are those still people?!”

“But still…” The young driver understood, but he couldn’t get past the psychological barrier.

Qian Ai couldn’t stand his hesitance. “You’re a grown man, brave enough to drive such a flamboyant car. How can you be so timid at a critical moment?!”

The young driver felt extremely aggrieved. “This isn’t my car! It’s my boyfriend’s!”

Qian Ai: “……”

Kuang Jinxin: “……”

Xu Wang: “……”

Wu Sheng: “……”

Why does every NPC have to have their own subtle emotional storyline!

Amid the chaotic conversation, the Beetle broke through the zombies blocking the road and sped away.

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