Chapter 22: Dash

Was he the one who persuaded Uncle Zhang to enter the gates of hell?

The blood flowing to his chest suddenly started boiling with unusual heat. It burned his previously cold body, causing him to tremble.

He shut his eyes and swiftly covered his sister’s mouth with his shoulder. Neither was he able to listen anymore, nor did he have the courage to turn around. However, the sector wall was huge. How long would he take to sprint to the end?

The tears that rolled out from his eyes dried when he lowered his head. What right did he have to cry in such an era?

Gradually, the agonizing wails of the people started to dim down. Were they all dead? Tang Ling’s body boiled, but his heart was colder than before.

However, the sudden roars from the zombies harshly dragged Tang Ling back to reality. He turned around swiftly and realized a cruel fact — the zombies were behind them!

Those Purple Moon Warriors seemed to only care about killing people and were unwilling to clean up the zombies.

The faint scent of conspiracy that he sensed earlier instantly thickened. All their unreasonable actions stated the problem clearly.

Still, regardless of what the problems were, the ones getting sacrificed were ants like them.

What choice did he have left? All he could do was continue running until his death. Tang Ling clenched his teeth hard as he moved closer to the wall and ran even quicker.

Seconds turned into minutes. He might have run for 40 minutes. Or was it 50 minutes straight?

Tang Ling was numbed by the running. The only comfort that he was left with was the fact that he fled the earliest and had the advantage of distance.

The downpour had unknowingly turned into a light drizzle. A bone-chilling cold sprinkled over his body while the air had an indescribable fishy stench that choked him.

His sister seemed to have fallen asleep as she remained quiet throughout the running. The silence scared Tang Ling. He did not know what kind of trauma would the cruel scene of the night bring to her.

He had no cause to ponder about it anymore as though thinking about it would waste his precious stamina in his sprint that was a matter of life or death.

The sector wall seemed endless. He had only crossed three-fourths of the wall up until now. Even though Tang Ling’s stamina was astounding, he was reaching his limit. Each breath he exhaled was like a pulling wind box that made his lungs hurt.

Behind him were wails of despair that echoed continuously. Every single cry that he heard stung him, causing his hatred to boil!

Without even considering it, he knew those were the last few voices left on Earth from the refugees with whom the zombies had caught up to.

“Just let me go.” Grandmother’s steps were staggered as she tried to keep up. Even Tang Ling had pushed his body to its limits, let alone his grandmother.

“No!” A single word spewed out of Tang Ling’s lips, yet it represented his persistence in not giving up.

Grandmother did not argue anymore. She let Tang Ling tug her and continue forward.

Irregular footsteps that were unique to the zombies were getting closer. If Tang Ling kept pacing like this, the zombies would eventually catch up with the three of them.

“If we don’t climb up the tree before that…” More distance had gone by, and Tang Ling’s panting grew heavier. In order to force himself not to slow down, his clenching even caused his gums to start bleeding.

Nonetheless, his persistence did not go to waste. Gradually, he could already see the transfer hub. As long as he could enter the transfer hub, he could get a window to catch his breath.

‘The zombies are faster than me. They are shortening the distance by around 17 meters per minute. Now, the zombie at the front is around 200 meters away from me. As for the rest of the distance, if I can maintain at my current speed, it will only require five and a half minutes to reach.’

A glimpse of hope appeared. Tang Ling’s Precise Instinct was precisely calculating the outcome and the results turned out decent.

Five and a half minutes passed, and Tang Ling dashed into the transfer hub without hindrance.

Then, he swiftly dove behind a wall to catch his breath. Given the zombies’ intellect, they would take a while to locate him.

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Inside the transfer hub, the choking fishy stench in the air was heavier. The broken sheds were burned down to a single row, revealing all sorts of miscellaneous items in the sheds.

A broken water pail, a slanted table, a rug that had not completely burned away… All the signs represented the traces of someone living here before, and now, in a single night, everything had gone far beyond repair.

Tang Ling dared not feel sad even though he thought about the tent that he, his sister, and his grandmother once lived in. He thought of every single item in the tent, including all the warm memories they carried.

Even then, so what? Everything could never go back to the way it was. How much effort should he give in exchange for the bits and pieces of the past?

As a matter of fact, entering Safety Sector No. 17 was not a temptation anymore. What else was more precious than being beside his family and relying on each other to survive?

Unfortunately, he understood this saying a little too late, and the cost of understanding it was too heavy for him!

After resting for a bit, Tang Ling’s breathing slowed down. The transfer hub was not entirely safe either as more and more wandering zombies started to head their way.

He ought to be more careful about the upcoming road!

Hearing his own heavy breath, Tang Ling slowed down his steps slightly within his own acceptable range. He chose to stick close to the outer walls of the transfer hub which lowered their chances of running into the zombies.

Grandmother seemed to have reached her limit as well as she practically was being dragged along by Tang Ling.

Fortunately, luck finally favored them. They had moved more than half of the 500-meter distance and did not see any zombies. Not a single zombie was in sight even at the farthest point where their eyes could reach.

Another 100 meters went by.

Tang Ling felt a thin veil of hope. Even though the blood from his gums had mixed with his saliva and rolled down the edge of his mouth, so what?

It was less than 200 meters, and that slightly slanted south gate was already in sight. Tang Ling spat out the saliva mixed with his blood!

The last dozen meters!

Tang Ling almost smiled in delight. He decided to dash for it. Tearing forward with his last bit of strength, he wanted to escape as soon as possible! Although temporarily staying on top of trees was not exactly comfortable, it was safe.

The morning dew that the tree leaves caught in the morning was comparable to Level 3 drinking water. There were many in the past who fought for the morning dew, but there would not be any for sure tomorrow morning.

Drinking water was no longer a problem to worry about. Tang Ling was also very familiar with what kind of bugs on the tree that could be eaten.

If I could build a fire…

Tang Ling overthought things for a moment there. The slanted south gate in Tang Ling’s eyes was getting closer.

“Aaah… Ji Seng! No, let go of him!” However, at this particular moment, a sharp shriek of a woman broke the peace. The abrupt scream suddenly frightened Tang Ling.

Tang Ling’s forehead was covered with his cold sweat instantly. His sister, who had been quiet all the time, suddenly spoke in his ears calmly, “The guy with her was caught by the zombies. They bite his arm off.”

There was not an emotion or color in her words as though she was an indifferent viewer explaining to Tang Ling why the woman cried.

Huaa! A series of breaking noises sounded in Tang Ling’s left ear.

Tang Ling turned around, and his heart instantly fell into the abyss.

A zombie hidden in the broken and burnt sheds stood up with a rotten foot in its mouth. It was less than two seconds when the unexpected events unfolded.

Tang Ling’s face was absent of any emotion. He lowered his head, arched his body and dragged his grandmother fiercely towards the south gate. It was just less than 20 meters, was it not?

He could not think anymore. After he charged through the 20 meters, would the startled zombie chase after them without a second thought?

If that was the case, how could he make the time to climb the tree, and even more so with his grandmother and sister with him!?

However, he could not blame that woman. She had lost someone, probably her lover, and her own screams followed. It was almost certain that she had fallen into the mouths of the zombies!

Run, run… Run over there!

Tang Ling’s eyes turned red with exertion! Unfortunately, he was no faster than the zombies.

The more unfortunate thing was that the startled zombie that stood up from the rubble was closer to the south gate than Tang Ling. In fact, it was less than a dozen meters away.