Chapter 223: A Troublesome Situation

Bang!

"Run!"

Wang Longzhong picked up a musket from the ground—no one knew whose it was—and shot the zombie that had closed in on its head. The bullet sparked a trail of fire, and with a thud, the flaming zombie collapsed, spraying flames everywhere!

"Everyone run! I'll hold them off! Remember me—I'm Liu Shouyi from Tuwei Village!"

A villager with shredded clothing on his shoulder stopped running with the others. He'd been bitten—he knew escape was useless. A profound, unspoken heroism surged in his chest, and he turned resolutely toward the zombies!

The fearless spirit moved those fleeing.

"Brother Liu, I'll join you!"

Another man, blood gushing from his thigh, hobbled and limped over to join the effort to delay the zombies.

"Get out of the way! I've still got detonators—I'll blow them all!"

Xiao Quan, the one assigned to throw detonators, his eyes red with emotion, lit all three remaining detonators at once and hurled them toward the relentless horde.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The continuous explosions did have some effect—the flaming unit was forcibly halted in place. But it was only for a moment—less than twenty seconds—before, with furious roars, the horde began moving again!

As he ran in despair, Wang Longzhong suddenly heard Wang Xin gui laughing wildly—he noticed several glowing dots appearing to the north, unmistakable as car headlights in the darkness.

He had no idea that Wang Xin gui had urgently contacted Zhang Su the moment he rang the bell, but Zhang Su hadn't given a definite reply, so he hadn't dared tell anyone else…

Wang Longzhong saw hope and immediately encouraged those around him.

"Fellow villagers, Brother Zhang is here to save us! Push harder—run!"

Especially with the detonators added, things had improved slightly—but why, after the zombies caught fire, did the situation plummet so catastrophically?

Ahead lay endless darkness. Wang Longzhong looked back—it seemed as if countless demons were charging from a molten hell toward the mortal world, drawing ever closer, ever closer…

The distance from the village to the provincial road was only three hundred meters—but even with detonator explosions and villagers sacrificing themselves to block the zombies, the horde clung like leeches, impossible to shake off!

Once the flames burned out, their lives would end too.

"They're here, Uncle! Hahaha, the Lords of Hell have come!"

From above, the army of fire resembled a blade piercing the darkness, majestic and fierce—but who could imagine this mighty force was an evil horde feeding on human flesh?

"Brother Su, why the hell are they all flaming zombies? This… this is bullshit!"

"Charge!"

At first, everything was under control: sound lures, tripwires, musket fire, close combat—all linked in perfect sequence, clearly winnable. Even when some zombies proved harder to kill due to enhanced defense, it was merely an added difficulty—some would be injured, but victory was certain!

Instantly, five villagers who realized they were doomed after being bitten joined the effort to hold back the zombies!

"It's our turn now!"

Wang Longzhong didn't know that for the zombies, this was also their final battle…

When despair filled the heart, people naturally lost will—but with even a glimmer of hope, their survival instinct ignited. Upon learning help was coming, the villagers unleashed all their latent potential, running faster than ever before!

"Stop the car!"

If they kept running like this, even reaching the provincial road wouldn't let them escape the zombies, let alone make it to Tianmayu for shelter—their end would be nothing but charred ashes in the flames!

Even splitting up wouldn't help—the zombies were numerous enough to pursue every group. Unless incredibly lucky, it was a death sentence!

Lu Yu leaned half his body out of the Golden Cup's driver's seat, his face twisted in exaggerated fear—even he, never one to fear death, was unnerved by the blazing dragon ahead.

Facing the torrent of fire, five men stood on the narrow five-meter-wide cement road, forming a thin human wall, weapons gripped tight, facing their final battle for life!

"We'll remember you…" Wang Longzhong roared bitterly. "Run! Don't waste the sacrifice of these villagers!" He didn't understand how things had spiraled to this.

At the entrance of Beidong Town, Zhang Su gave the order, and both RVs, the minivan, and the Golden Cup came to a full stop.

"I'm Zhao Xungen—remember me!"

"Damn it, who the hell thought of using fire?"

Zhang Su hadn't expected the situation to be this dire.

After receiving Wang Xin gui's plea for help, he hadn't hesitated long before setting out. The United Village had just joined Tianmayu—everyone there was vital labor, potential fighters, key recruits to bolster their forces. He couldn't abandon them!

Not only did he believe immediate rescue was necessary; Yu Wen also believed saving people in peril would win hearts. If there was even a sliver of hope, they should rescue—unless it endangered their own safety.

Leaving six behind to guard Tianmayu, Zhang Su gathered his combat-ready team and drove to rescue them. Less than fifteen minutes had passed, yet the situation had deteriorated so rapidly, it was unbelievable.

"What the hell did the United Village do? Did they have zero defense?"

Wang Xin, who often guarded the Tianmayu Shanmen, voiced the doubt in everyone's mind.

On the way, everyone had imagined the United Village villagers trapped in a street, fighting desperately, while they flanked and picked off zombies from behind. But what was this?

What the hell was this?

"This… Brother Su, do we save them or not? This is terrifying!"

Qi Xiaoshuai held his rifle, sweat beading on his forehead.

Even one flaming zombie was ferocious—they'd just seen a horde stretching over a hundred meters, like a fire dragon crawling across the earth.

Save them? Or not?

Two choices lay before Zhang Su. Everyone stared at him.

The others couldn't see the distant scene clearly, but Zhang Su could. Before visibility vanished, he'd counted roughly fifteen or sixteen survivors in Wang Longzhong's group—not many; three vehicles could easily hold them all.

"Listen to my orders!" Zhang Su leapt onto the vehicle. "Everyone except the drivers—get on my vehicle!"

He swiftly angled the RV sideways across the road, its front facing Tianmayu. "Open all three vehicles' doors and prepare to receive them. Everyone else, get on my vehicle, take your positions, and shoot from the windows!"

"Brother Su, what if they don't make it in time?"

Liu Tianji, driving in place of the sharpshooter Tan Huajun, was extremely tense.

"If they can run here, there's plenty of time to board. If they can't… there's nothing we can do."

Zhang Su had already unlocked the safety on his assault rifle. If possible, he didn't want to abandon the villagers fleeing from the United Village—every single one was vital labor, essential to the camp's growth. But he could never let his own team be trapped in despair.

Flames now appeared ahead, and closer still, a group of villagers ran desperately.

Zooming in, Zhang Su could see the twisted expressions on their faces—hope ahead, death behind. Even if their lungs burst, they pushed forward with all their strength!

"Except for Tan and Teacher Yu—everyone else wait until the villagers are within ten meters before firing!"

Zhang Su warned. He estimated the fire dragon was less than three hundred meters from the convoy. He jumped out of the driver's seat, gripping a hand grenade.

All windows on the side of the Mercedes RV opened, revealing thirteen dark gun muzzles lined up in a row. Even those who had faced a zombie horde before felt their hearts tighten!

Thump-thump-thump-thump.

Zhang Su could hear the zombies' footsteps pounding the ground, thunderous and overwhelming—he knew they must not engage. Only escape remained.

"Tan, Yu—open fire!"

When Zhang Su judged the flaming zombies had entered the two-hundred-meter range, he tapped the vehicle, signaling the two expert marksmen to fire early. He trusted their skill—they wouldn't hit the villagers.

If they did hit one by mistake…

Then it was his bad luck.

Tap-tap, tap-tap, tap-tap…

Tan Huajun and Yu Wen fired without hesitation the moment they received the order. The flaming zombies glowed like lanterns—no visibility issues. Each controlled burst struck true.

Puff-puff, puff-puff.

Every shot hit a zombie's head, sending up a spray of fire. No one had the heart to admire the spectacle.

The Type 95's effective kill range was four hundred meters. The charging zombies were barely one hundred fifty meters away. Bullets flew at over nine hundred meters per second—time from muzzle to skull-shattering: one-fifth of a second!

Onlookers stared in awe. Yu Wen and Tan Huajun's precision left them speechless. Having teammates like this raised their sense of security tenfold!

Whether startled by the gunfire or not, a seventeen-year-old boy in the fleeing crowd stumbled, tripped, and fell flat on his face. But he didn't need help—he rolled forward instinctively and kept running, awkward but relentless.

Many held their breath at the sight.

The distance between the fire dragon and the villagers kept shrinking—every ten meters the villagers ran, the flaming zombies covered twelve or thirteen. As the villagers slowed further, without Zhang Su's rescue, they'd be fully engulfed within another three hundred meters, reduced to ash together.

(End of Chapter)