Chapter 147

Chapter 147

Besides the Western Union soldiers stationed at the edge of the city, there were also sentinels and guides from two other armies collaborating in defense. Ordinary soldiers from the Eastern Union were dispersed throughout the city, blocking breaches and directing civilians to retreat.

Although the metal barricades were very sturdy, the central city was too extensive. Many of the plate connections had already fractured, resulting in small and large gaps. The Eastern Union soldiers were engaged in killing throughout, but they were short-handed. The city was shrouded in darkness, allowing many zombies to crawl in unnoticed through those gaps.

Everyone was running in panic, but in the dim light, no one knew if the figure running alongside was a zombie or a person. In those shadowy corners, zombies would suddenly lunge out, or ankles would be grabbed by a cold hand from below, dragging individuals down from the gaps.

Feng Chen and Yan Bubu proceeded along the main street, killing any zombies they encountered. But amidst the cries for help, the scenes were bleak, enveloped in darkness.

Sounds of footsteps came from ahead, a few people running toward them. Feng Chen raised his forehead lamp to illuminate and discovered that the foremost was human, but trailing several meters behind was unexpectedly a zombie.

The people ahead were unaware of being chased by a zombie. When illuminated by Feng Chen's light, squinting, they yelled, "Is that the Eastern Union? Are there zombies ahead? A few of us want to leave the city."

Binunu and Black Lion didn't wait for their words to finish; one leaped towards the trailing zombie. Upon hearing the scuffle and the zombie's roars behind, the people ahead realized they had been chased by a zombie and were terrified.

"Don't be afraid; we've just cleared the path from the city gate to here. You can go through here, but be quick," Yan Bubu hastily replied.

"Thank you, thank you."

Those few individuals continued running forward, still shaken.

Due to the shortage of manpower, the Eastern Union could only focus on the major resettlement points and rented dwellings. There were only two rows of rented houses along the street here, with a relatively small population, so there were no soldiers present.

This road was the only way to the east gate of the city. The sound of running feet continued. Zombies were attracted to noise. Despite the continuous gunfire from the edge of the city, which was relatively distant, many zombies lurked in this area, resulting in occasional wails on those dark roads.

"Quick retreat, move faster! We can't hold on much longer. Pick up the pace!"

In the distance, faint orders from the loudspeaker were drowned in nearby screams. Black Lion and Binunu charged out, Yan Bubu was about to follow when he heard an unusual commotion from a half-collapsed building nearby.

Feng Chen released his mental energy into the building, only to find no zombies inside. Instead, there was a young woman tightly embracing her child, tucked behind a cabinet.

Feng Chen entered the house, adjusting the angle of his headlamp to illuminate the space around the woman. Yan Bubu followed him.

Mistaking the noise for zombies, the woman initially recoiled but then abruptly lifted her head upon seeing the light.

Yan Bubu hurriedly said, "Sister, take the child and run. We've just cleared the zombies ahead, many people are heading to the city gate. You should hurry."

Clearly terrified, the woman, pale-faced and trembling, replied, "Can't make it to the city gate, there will be more. It's too dark outside, I dare not go. I'll stay here with my baby."

"You can't stay here. The military can't hold on much longer; they will retreat. You need to leave quickly," urged Yan Bubu.

The woman vigorously shook her head, cowered further behind the cabinet, tears streaming down her face. "We were a group, dozens of us came out from the resettlement area. Zombies kept emerging on the way. You didn't see the scene... I ran here, and now I'm the only one left. I won't leave; I'll stay here."

While Yan Bubu wanted to persuade her, Feng Chen held onto him and walked outside. Yan Bubu followed and quietly asked, "Are we just leaving her? Shouldn't we help her? She's just scared; she'll be fine in a while."

Feng Chen glanced around, "This won't work. Many areas of the city are dark, and zombies are attacking in the darkness. We must gather those scattered zombies; others can then leave the city."

"Gather them?"

Feng Chen replied, "Yes, zombies not only respond to sound but also to light. Just create some noise and light to attract them all together."

Yan Bubu immediately grasped Feng Chen's intent. He aimed to gather the scattered zombies nearby, clear the necessary escape route out of the central city.

While Black Lion and Binunu continued attacking the zombies ahead, Yan Bubu and Feng Chen started searching for something to ignite.

Most of the houses here had collapsed, and there was little on the streets except for a few bricks. Feng Chen decided to return to the house, took a lighter and an old book from the windowsill, and lifted a wooden cabinet to carry outside.

The woman, holding the child, originally hiding behind the wooden cabinet, dared not utter a sound when Feng Chen expressionlessly moved the cabinet away. She just squatted helplessly in place.

Feng Chen moved the cabinet to the ruins beside the house, smashed its surface with a punch, set up some wood, and ignited it using pages from a book.

A flame rose in the darkness, illuminating the entire area. The zombies, once concealed in the darkness, were drawn out from behind broken walls and ruins by the firelight.

Feng Chen brought out a square table from the house, kicked it apart, placed the wood on the fire, then pulled Yan Bubu backward until they were backed against the wall, saying in a deep voice, "Stay close to the wall and don't move around."

Yan Bubu clung tightly to Feng Chen's arm, surveying left and right, saying, "I know. Keep your back safe. You focus on killing."

Feng Chen loaded his assault rifle and handed another handgun to Yan Bubu, saying, "Start shooting. Make as much noise as possible."

The zombies surged forward. Yan Bubu fired at the foremost one, attracting more zombies towards them with the gunfire and firelight. Black Lion and Binunu ran and leaped within the horde of zombies, continuously slashing with their claws, causing many to fall along the way.

While Feng Chen fired his weapon, he also released his mental energy. Yan Bubu simultaneously entered his mental realm, beginning to sort through it.

The zombies in the area rushed towards the fire and were then eliminated by the arrow-like projections formed by Feng Chen's mental power. The fire not only attracted the zombies but also illuminated the route, allowing those running in the dark to see the direction clearly.

When they saw someone dragging away the zombies' attention, they gathered in groups and ran towards the city gates.

Yan Bubu kept sorting through Feng Chen's mental realm, ensuring his mental power wouldn't exhaust. When he saw the zombies chasing the running people, he could control the zombies with his mental energy and shoot them down.

This section of the road had been cleared, but there were continuous shrill screams far in the city. Feng Chen shouted, "Sasaka, make the fire larger with Black Lion and Binunu. The bigger, the better."

The two Quantum Beasts received the order and immediately rushed towards the shaky houses on either side, dragging out various furniture and objects that could burn, stacking them all onto the fire.

Yan Bubu heard movement from the nearby house door and saw the young woman who had been hiding inside. He said, "We've cleared the zombies from this stretch of the road, and it's bright ahead from the fire. Take the child and go quickly; everyone is running. Hurry and follow."

"Okay, thank you... Thank you." The young woman finally gathered her courage again and ran towards the city gates with the others.

Black Lion and Binunu kept tossing items like tables and chairs onto the fire. Binunu even dashed into a distant house and dragged out a bed several times larger than itself. Carrying the bed towards them, the entire body was obscured, making the bed appear to float on the ground.

The fire blazed fiercely, and the flames ignited several houses below, illuminating half the sky. The rising flames could be seen throughout the central city.

More and more zombies howled as they dashed closer. Feng Chen's mental energy formed an overwhelming net, enveloping the approaching zombies before killing them.

Due to the excessive number of zombies, each release of his mental energy nearly emptied his entire mental domain. Yet Yan Bubu's sorting was both swift and professional, incredibly synchronized, allowing his mental domain to feel like a gushing spring that never ran dry. As soon as his mental power was depleted, new energy promptly replenished it.

However, even so, he struggled a bit because within the intervals of releasing mental energy, numerous zombies surged forward, gradually closing the distance between them.

Seeing the encroaching circle of zombies, Feng Chen shouted to Yan Bubu, "We'll run in a few minutes."

Yan Bubu aimed the gun at the foremost zombie, asking, "Aren't we killing them?"

"No. There are too many openings; we can't exterminate all the zombies. Our aim is just to restrain them, to give the retreating people a chance to escape. This location is on the evacuation route; attracting too many zombies here would be inconvenient. We'll move to a place with no one and start a fire to draw the zombies there."

"Okay."

After a few minutes, when Feng Chen saw the zombies approaching to within just a dozen meters of them, he loudly exclaimed, "Sasaka!"

Black Lion, in the middle of biting a zombie, immediately stopped, lifted Binunu from the head of another zombie nearby, and turned to run back.

Binunu stretched out in the air, thrusting a claw into the temple of another nearby zombie, allowing Black Lion to carry it away.

Feng Chen rushed to the fire, grabbed a chair leg with a burning end, and as Black Lion spun towards them like a whirlwind, he grabbed Yan Bubu and tossed him onto its back before following suit.

"Go!"

With the command given, Black Lion dashed towards the left.

On the left were buildings and ruins, with few zombies. Black Lion navigated through the rubble and debris, quickly leaving the horde of zombies behind.

Feng Chen raised the burning chair leg like a torch in the darkness, while continuously firing his gun. The gunshots and fire attracted the attention of the zombies, keeping them in pursuit.

The central area was filled with various factories and had no human traffic. Black Lion stopped in front of one of the factories, Feng Chen carried Yan Bubu as they jumped down and backed against the wall, ready.

In front of the factory was an open space, with only a narrow passage on the left to enter. The speed of the pursuing zombies varied, stretching into a long battle line, finally affording the two a chance to catch their breath.

Feng Chen calmly dispatched the lead zombies, then instructed Black Lion and Binunu, "Go, continue to find something to set on fire."

Behind the factory produced a type of construction board, similar to plastic, highly flammable. Black Lion and Binunu quickly gathered a large pile of these boards, stacking them into a small mountain in the open space in front of the factory.

Feng Chen hurled the nearly burnt-out chair leg towards the pile of boards. Within half a minute, flames began to soar, igniting a towering blaze like the one earlier on the roadside.

"Make the fire even larger, keep adding more boards. The more zombies we attract, the better!"

Following Feng Chen's orders, the two quantum beasts continuously added boards to the bonfire, drawing zombies from distant corners towards them.

Yan Bubu didn't stop for a moment from sorting Feng Chen's mental domain. As he watched the zombies rushing out from the left passage, he asked, "What if there are too many zombies here for us to handle?"

"Then we move again." Feng Chen replied in a deep voice. "But here, there's only one passage. Unlike the initial place with no cover, even if there are many zombies, they can't all rush in at once. We'll last a bit longer."

After saying this, he turned to look at Yan Bubu. "Are you afraid?"

Yan Bubu met his gaze, promptly replied without hesitation, "I'm not afraid."

Firelight danced in his eyes, brimming with trust. After staring at him for a few seconds, Feng Chen swiftly pulled him into a brief embrace before letting go just as swiftly.

"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to us," he assured, turning back, composed.

"I know."

Gunshots rang fiercely within Zone C's relocation point because many junctures of the colossal metal panels had fractured, allowing some zombies to infiltrate the relocation point. East Union soldiers could only guard the major breaches, shooting until the people inside withdrew.

Chen Size, the East Union Governor, stood at the entrance of Zone C's relocation point, commanding battles in other areas through the intercom.

"Most residents from Zone A's rental point near the west city gate have evacuated the city. You can allocate half of your forces to support Zone Three's rental point. Zone B's second rental point soldiers don't need to assist Zone A due to the distance, as it would delay both journeys. Head quickly to Zone B's relocation point to assist with evacuations..."

Chen Size put down the intercom and glanced to the right, noticing that even the central area across a few streets had ignited into a large fire.

"How did it catch fire there too? Wasn't that a factory?" he asked, astonished, turning to his aide. "The entire central city has no electricity, there shouldn't be fires everywhere."

The aide responded, "Just now, a soldier reported that upon reaching near the east city gate, they discovered deliberate arson."

"Deliberate arson?" Chen Size's expression darkened.

"However, it's a bit strange," the aide continued. "The soldiers mentioned that it was originally a route for the evacuating civilians, and many were attacked by zombies on the way. But when they arrived, there were no zombies on that path. After they sealed the breach, they found many zombie bodies near that bonfire."

"There couldn't be no zombies; there's no way there'd be none..." Chen Size pondered for a moment, then immediately looked towards the blaze erupting in the central area. "That's probably the work of the arsonists. They killed zombies near the east city gate first, then took all the zombies, bringing them to the factory."

The aide suddenly realized, then continued, "Are they our soldiers? The West Union Army is busy blocking the massive metal nets; they can't spare any troops."

"No news about that; it shouldn't be them," Chen Size shook his head. "Killing this many zombies, and if not the East or West Union Army... it has to be the Lookout Academy students."

"That makes sense. The students have performed well at this critical moment, coming up with such a method to help civilians evacuate faster," the aide said.

Chen Size nodded approvingly. "Indeed, it's commendable. They've grown into a new force for our army."

With Binunu and Black Lion continuously adding boards, the fire on the open ground grew increasingly vigorous, its flames and thick smoke reaching high into the sky.

Feng Chen unleashed his mental power without restraint. Under his robust and sustained mental assault, swathes of zombies were slain. However, with numerous breaches in the central city, zombies kept pouring in, rushing into the square from the left passage, and their numbers were increasing.

"Brother, are we going to move again?" Yan Bubu asked, looking at the square surrounded by zombies.

Feng Chen replied, "We can hold on for a little longer. Let them move forward about ten meters, then we'll go."

"Okay."

"Bubu!" A familiar voice suddenly echoed from the rooftop. Yan Bubu looked up and saw Wang Suizi crouched up there, peering down at her.

"Wang Suizi!" Yan Bubu exclaimed, surprised and delighted. "What are you doing here?"

Wang Suizi also shouted back, "It's really you! Haha! When Ji Yi and I passed by nearby, we noticed all the zombies rushing over here. We figured they were being led here and wanted to take a look. I just peeked from the roof far away and thought the people here seemed like you and Brother Feng."

"Where's Ji Yi?" Yan Bubu immediately asked, "Quick, call her to help my brother!"

"Don't worry, darling. I've been killing them already," Ji Yi appeared on the rooftop as well, standing beside Wang Suizi. "I started killing them as soon as they started running this way."