My Sniper System in a Zombie Apocalypse World - Chapter 151: The City is Changing
Chapter 151: Chapter 151: The City is Changing
From the edge of the city, another group moved silently. Jaxon and his team shifted from corner to corner, their eyes alert as they took in the eerie stillness around them.
“I don’t see any of them,” Na-rin muttered, glancing around. “Did the infected retreat underground… or are they waiting to ambush us?”
The thought sent a shiver through the group, but none dismissed the possibility. They’d already seen how intelligent and capable the infected could be.
“Don’t overthink it,” Jaxon said calmly. “If they were setting an ambush, there’d be signs. I can’t detect everything, but they won’t be able to perfectly hide from my senses.”
The others nodded, the tension in their shoulders easing slightly.
They moved from street corner to street corner, slipping past buildings along the route Natasha had marked for them earlier.
Soon, the five of them arrived at the abandoned gas station.
Dust clung to the ground, and silence hung thick in the air. No lights, no sound, just the faint creak of loose metal swaying in the wind.
“Watch for any movement around,” Jaxon whispered.
The others spread out slightly, their eyes scanning the empty roads and nearby buildings.
Jaxon walked past one pump… then another. Some were badly damaged, screens cracked, hoses torn off, metal bent out of shape. He kept going until one caught his eye, still mostly intact.
“This one might work,” he muttered. He grabbed the handle and squeezed it out of habit. But nothing happened, no click, no fuel, nothing.
“Yeah… power’s completely out,” he muttered under his breath.
He looked around the station, already thinking of another way. “We’ll need containers… and a manual pump.”
“There’s a convenience store over there,” Natasha said quietly, pointing beside the station. “We might find something.”
Jaxon nodded, and the group moved together toward it.
The glass door was half open, hanging loosely on its hinges. He stopped at the entrance and scanned inside, though no movement nor sounds came.
“I’ll check inside. Stay here for a bit.”
He stepped in carefully. The shelves were either empty or knocked over. Broken bottles crunched under his boots as he moved deeper, eyes sweeping every corner.
“Anything useful?” Cindy called from outside.
“Still checking,” Jaxon replied. He crouched behind the counter, opening cabinets one by one. Most were empty. Then one creaked open, revealing a few plastic containers and an old jerrycan, dusty but intact.
“Found something.” He picked them up and checked the lids, still usable.
Near the back, he noticed a small storage area. Hanging on a hook was a length of rubber tubing. Beside it sat a manual siphon pump, probably used for maintenance.
Jaxon’s eyes lit up slightly. “This’ll work.”
He grabbed both and headed back outside.
The others stayed on guard as Jaxon returned. Once he gave a small nod, they regrouped near the pump.
He crouched at its base, near where it met the ground. A small metal panel sat at the lower part of the machine, slightly rusted, but still sealed.
Jaxon pulled out a pry tool and wedged it into the edge. With a bit of force, it gave way with a dull clang.
Inside was a cluster of thick rubber hoses and metal pipes, fuel lines leading straight to the underground tank. At the same time a sharp gasoline smell hit him immediately.
“Good… there’s still fuel inside.”
He got to work right away. Loosening one of the lines just enough, he inserted a rubber tube. The other end went into a jerrycan, with a siphon pump in between. He started pumping.
At first, nothing but air passed through. Then came a faint gurgle.
A second later, gasoline began to flow.
“Got it,” he said.
The others relaxed slightly but kept watch as the container slowly filled. As soon as one container filled, he swapped it out for another. When they ran out, he had them bring anything that could hold fuel.
By the time they finished, they had gathered five hundred liters. One by one, Jaxon stored everything into his storage space, leaving nothing behind.
He stood up and dusted his hands lightly. “That’s done. Let’s move to the next.”
Natasha gave a short nod and took the lead again, guiding them toward the mall as the group fell back into formation.
….
After planting the bombs, Cade’s team pushed deeper into the city.
Kael remained at the front, acting as their eyes. His drone hovered high above, feeding him a constant stream of information. The rest followed in tight formation, moving through empty roads as the surroundings gradually shifted, more buildings, more signs of dense urban structures.
Then Kael suddenly slowed… and stopped.
Cade halted at once. “What is it? You see something?” he asked calmly.
Kael shook his head. “No movement. But the road ahead…” He paused, narrowing his eyes behind the lens. “It’s covered with some kind of… web-like flesh. Not just the road, the structures too.”
Cade’s gaze sharpened. He studied the path ahead for a moment, then gave a small nod. “Keep going. That just means we’re close.”
Kael gave a small nod and moved again.
A few steps in, the change became impossible to ignore.
The streets, buildings, abandoned cars, everything was wrapped in dark, vein-like growths. Thick strands of flesh crawled across surfaces, spreading like roots, pulsing faintly under the surface.
“Captain… this is disgusting,” Lyra muttered, grimacing as her boots stuck slightly with each step. There was no way to avoid it, it was everywhere.
“Tch… I’m throwing these boots out after this,” Cassian added from the comms, his usual calm tone carrying a hint of irritation. “I actually liked these.”
“Focus,” Cade said flatly, not even looking back. “Unless you want to fail the mission over a pair of boots.”
That was enough to quiet them.
Lyra let out a quiet sigh. “You really know how to kill the mood, Captain.”
No one replied, but they kept moving deeper into the infected heart of the city, where the air felt heavier with every step.
