Apocalypse: the Most Ruthless Person - Chapter 195 146: Racing Against Time

“Old Tan, the situation is complicated, don’t shout randomly later!”

As they ran, Zhang Su warned Tan Huajun. Others only heard a few shouts, but he heard more, worried Tan Huajun might lose control.

“Huh?” Tan Huajun instinctively asked, then nodded quickly after processing it in his mind, “Got it!”

Woosh!

Zhang Su yanked open the safety door and kicked the zombie guarding it over two meters away. Shining the flashlight inside, there were three zombies including the kicked one, and two more near the stairs. It was much better than outside, and they quickly dealt with them, everyone lending a hand.

“Hold on!”

However, just as they were about to go upstairs, Zhang Su raised his hand to stop them. He heard footsteps and a man’s urgent urging from above.

“Hurry, hurry up! You two bitches, if you don’t want to die, move it!”

Xiang Wei bounded downstairs in three steps, wishing he had a rocket on his rear, constantly urging the women behind him to speed up, but he stayed at the forefront, ensuring he was faster than the others to avoid getting caught by zombies!

The shouting in the stairwell was loud, everyone could hear it, but unlike Zhang Su, they couldn’t hear what the man said clearly.

Not long after, just a dozen seconds, a shadow appeared clumsily around the corner, bumping into the wall, clearly unable to stop after leaping down.

“Oh my! So many zombies! Go back…”

Xiang Wei slammed to a halt against the wall, pushing off with his hands, stumbling backwards onto the ground, scrambling to run back upstairs.

“Ah…”

Immediately following were two startled cries from behind.

“Xiang Wei, it’s me, Jia Shiqin, not a zombie!”

Jia Shiqin quickly spoke up.

“Jia Shiqin?” Hearing someone speak, Xiang Wei paused his running motion, turning around as two beams of flashlight illuminated his face.

“Ah, it’s people! No need to be scared, it’s Captain Jia leading people to rescue us!”

Xiang Wei felt relieved at this, quickly jumping down the stairs to join the crowd.

“Xiang Wei, Tang Xiaoxiao, Tang Xiu? Why are it just you three? We heard Uncle Tan and Xiaoma’s voices earlier!”

Jia Shiqin asked anxiously, seeing only three people come down.

Hearing Jia Shiqin’s question, Xiang Wei waved his hand frantically, appearing out of breath.

“Where’s my dad? Speak!”

Tan Huajun, seeing the other silent, urgently rushed forward, grabbing Xiang Wei’s arm and shaking it hard.

“Your dad?”

Xiang Wei questioned, secretly thinking this woman might be crazy.

“She’s Uncle Tan’s daughter, Lanlan’s mom. We just heard Uncle Tan’s voice, where is he?”

Jia Shiqin was incredibly anxious.

“Uncle Tan’s daughter?” Xiang Wei seemed like a human tape recorder, muttering Jia Shiqin’s words, uncertain if he was genuinely daft or pretending.

“Hey ya!”

Seeing this, Tan Huajun shoved Xiang Wei aside and ran upstairs.

“Bozai, Xinyu, Xiaopang, come with me. The rest tie these three up!”

Zhang Su shot a cold glance at Xiang Wei, issued the command, and then rushed upstairs.

Those named followed without hesitation, some others wanted to go too but, given the urgency, didn’t dare move recklessly.

“Hey, what are you doing? Darn, hey, why are you tying me up!”

Xiang Wei, knowing the crazy woman’s father was Tan Chengwu, began thinking of how to escape, but unexpectedly they tied him up first without a word. Was this precognition?

“You better behave yourself!”

Slap.

Zhao Dezhu swung his arm, slapping Xiang Wei, the crisp sound echoing in the stairwell.

No one understood why Zhang Su wanted to control these three, but now wasn’t the time for questioning.

Aside from Jia Shiqin and three others, everyone else easily tied Xiang Wei and the two women up securely.

“Captain Jia, who are these people? What is this? Why are they here to deal with me?”

Thrown to the ground, Xiang Wei felt extreme fear, uncertain if Old Man Tan and Lanlan had fallen victim to the zombies. If the truth were discovered by those dispatched for rescue, he’d be in danger!

“Well, um, don’t worry, Xiaoxiang. I bumped into Uncle Tan’s daughter along the way, they’re here to save Uncle Tan and Lanlan. They don’t know you, thought you were a bad guy, hence the misunderstanding. Wait till their captain returns to clear it up.”

Jia Shiqin stated, being an electrician, patience came naturally.

“Damn, what misunderstanding? I’m not a bad person! Untie me! I’m with Captain Jia, a member of the rescue team! You’re going too far, neglecting the many zombies outside to fight fellow humans; what kind of people are you?”

Xiang Wei twisted and squirmed on the ground like a big mudfish, resisting fiercely.

“Whether you’re a good person or there’s a misunderstanding, we’ll know when our leader returns. You better stay put, otherwise, we’ll gag you with a stinky sock, damn it!”

Zhao Dezhu quickly withdrew his knife, holding it dominantly.

These days, under Zhang Su’s influence, they’ve lost faith in the goodness of humanity.

Analyzing the scene, it’s likely that a group was fleeing together, and the weakest, elderly-and-child combo might’ve been abandoned during the escape. Thinking even dirtier, perhaps they pushed the old man and child towards zombies to buy time for themselves. These ugly acts aren’t surprising anymore, just their brains don’t spin at Zhang Su’s speed to react immediately.

“Why aren’t you two talking? After I saved you, this is how you repay me, by being ungrateful? Hurry and tell them exactly what’s going on, tell them what happened to Uncle Tan and Lanlan!”

Xiang Wei kicked the two women who escaped with him.

Tang Xiaoxiao and Tang Xiu lay quietly on one side, not struggling much. After a few kicks, Tang Xiaoxiao stammered, “Brother Xiang, we were busy running for our lives, how could we know about Uncle Tan and Lanlan’s situation? Wait, wait a bit and the truth will be revealed.”

What truth? If we wait for the truth to be revealed, we’ll be dead meat!

Xiang Wei didn’t expect Tang Xiaoxiao to betray so quickly. His venomous gaze almost materialized, glaring at Tang Xiu: “Tang Xiu, speak.”

“Speak, speak about what, Brother Xiang, I don’t know either.” Tang Xiu pretended to play dumb.

“All of you are ungrateful bitches, ungrateful bitches!”

Xiang Wei nearly fainted from anger, swore once more and stopped talking. It was pointless to say any more now; escaping was key. He changed his position, attempting to use the broken tiles along the stair edge to cut through the ties on his hands.

Just as Xiang Wei made a move, a flashlight shone on his face.

“Mr. Xiang, I advise you to be honest and not try any tricks!”

Yuwen warned severely.

“Why would I need to play any tricks? Tch, a bunch of lunatics.”

Xiang Wei displayed a disdainful expression, hummed a tune, and shook his leg to mask the movements of his hands.

“Ah… Dad, Dad!”

At this moment, everyone heard a blurry shout, wailing and mournful.

“Grandpa! Sob sob…”

In front of a store selling children’s desks on the third floor, Mo Qianlan screamed heart-wrenchingly, while a group of zombies gnawed frantically about ten meters away.

“Go, you all go, ah…”

Amid the zombies, Tan Chengwu’s face twisted; he had been sabotaged by Xiang Wei earlier and was bitten by a zombie in the leg. Now, he threw himself towards the zombies, hoping to buy time for his daughter and granddaughter. Not only did he not try to escape, but he also pulled the zombies more tightly.

“Dad…”

“Grandpa!”

Lanlan couldn’t even have a moment to cherish with her mother before being plunged into pain.

“Good folks, thank you for saving us, thank you, ah…”

With a defiant roar, Tan Chengwu was swallowed by the horde of zombies.

“Brother Su, they’re coming from both sides!”

In the firelight, Lu Yubo’s expression turned anxious.

It’s rare to see such an expression on his face; there are indeed too many zombies encircling them, or perhaps they are just too short-handed now.

“Old Tan, let’s go, don’t let Uncle Tan down, go! Otherwise, more people will die here!”

Zhang Su grabbed Tan Huajun’s shoulder, dragging her toward the safety passage while shouting, “Bozai, get Lanlan out, quick!”

Saying it is faster than doing it, Zhang Su hauled the weeping Tan Huajun calling “Dad, Dad,” while Lu Yubo picked up the collapsed Mo Qianlan. Pang Dakun and Zheng Xinyu covered the rear, swiftly moving toward the safety passage.

However, zombies block Zhang Su’s group’s escape; they are closer to the safety door. Calculating speed, it’s likely both sides will meet at the safety door.

“Quick, Xiaopang, go open the door!”

Zhang Su almost dragged Tan Huajun while running; behind, Lu Yubo horizontally carried Mo Qianlan running slower, and Zheng Xinyu held the rear.

“Ah!”

Xiaopang roared, rushing towards the safety door with astounding speed.

Finally, he reached the safety door when the zombies were about five meters away, crashing through it ahead of them.

“Old Tan, if you keep this miserable attitude, I’m dumping your daughter here! Move it!”

Zhang Su felt that if this continued, everyone except for Pang Dakun who was already in, would be in danger. They must fight now.

“Ah!”

Tan Huajun finally snapped out of her grief. She pushed Zhang Su’s arm away, used the recoil to quickly step forward, swung a giant caliper down on the fastest zombie, taking it out directly.

Thud.

Her seemingly cumbersome body had become more agile with training over the days, kicking towards another zombie nearby. Finally, she held the caliper horizontally with her body’s force, slightly halting the advance of the zombies behind.

But it wasn’t enough; the zombies coming side by side were at least five or six rows. Blocking only two rows wasn’t sufficient.

Luckily, there were companions around. Zhang Su didn’t idle; he performed a flying kick and then swung his arms—holding a tactical knife in the right, and a striking axe-hammer in the left—blocking another two rows of zombies.

“Ah!”

Bang.

Zheng Xinyu followed closely, swung a stick, didn’t kill a zombie but took it down successfully, causing those behind to trip over.

The three of them managed to momentarily halt the zombies’ advance.

If it weren’t for more zombies chasing from behind, Zhang Su believed with their combat prowess they could use the terrain to slay the twenty to thirty zombies in front of them.

Unfortunately, there’s no if; the zombies crossing old man Tan Chengwu’s body were quickly closing on them.

“Hurry, hurry up! Uncle, Aunt, Come!”

Pang Dakun, holding the door, saw his team fighting the zombies and almost panicked. He waved tirelessly to urge everyone inside.