Chapter 11 – Second Rank
When the rescue team entered the city, Mo Chu was busy peeling a sausage for Xiao Jin. The golden-haired dog sat on the ground, gently wagging its tail, eagerly awaiting its treat.
Mo Chu heard the sound of a helicopter getting closer, until it seemed like it was right above them. Then, the orderly and heavy footsteps stepped onto the streets of the city, breaking the silence of dawn.
Mo Chu’s spirits were lifted as she threw the half-peeled sausage to Xiao Jin, who leaped gracefully in the air and caught it in its mouth. The dog thought it was just another game with Mo Chu, so it held the sausage and turned around, wanting to show off to its owner. But instead, it saw Mo Chu quickly setting up a folding ladder and climbing up.
Xiao Jin looked puzzled, tilting its head.
Mo Chu climbed the ladder, opened the top window of the warehouse, and peered outside. She could see a well-organized troop of soldiers marching down the street, led by a heavy tank, with approximately a platoon of soldiers following behind.
Mo Chu knew that this platoon was responsible for their block, and there were more troops scattered to enter other areas of the city. Today, the thousands of survivors in this city would never forget their figures.
When disaster struck, even the military couldn’t escape unscathed. In her past life, Mo Chu didn’t know how many people the military lost when they first reached out to survivors during that disaster.
However, after experiencing such a catastrophe, they were the first to extend their help to the people.
Wherever Mo Chu’s gaze reached, each soldier was fully armed, carrying guns that were considered invaluable in the future. Each of them was ready to strike.
Mo Chu wasn’t the only one looking at them with such anticipation. As soon as they stepped into the block, it seemed like the entire area came to life. Every window with surviving people had a pair of eyes gazing at them, eager, and even filled with tears.
Those were eyes filled with hope.
The first thing these soldiers did upon entering the block wasn’t to search for survivors right away. Their first task was to clear the zombies from the streets.
Only after clearing the zombies could they safely rescue the survivors.
A whole platoon of fully armed soldiers was overwhelming for the first-rank zombies. At this stage, the deterrent power of firearms was still significant. Coupled with the tank leading the way, the soldiers could almost move unimpeded. They left behind only the mangled bodies of the zombies they had crushed.
Although the first-rank zombies had low intelligence, they possessed animal-like instincts. When they realized that they couldn’t handle a particular group, they would retreat in groups. This was an animal’s instinct to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages.
As the soldiers demonstrated their might, the zombies that had been wandering the streets looking for food moments ago began to retreat in groups. They didn’t know where to go, but the soldiers chose not to pursue them.
The soldiers organized themselves and entered the buildings on both sides of the street, rescuing the survivors trapped inside. Under Mo Chu’s watchful eyes, more and more survivors were brought out. Some of them were lightly equipped, carrying only a large backpack, while others seemed to be packing up their entire homes, carrying multiple bags as if they were moving. There was even one person with four suitcases.
Mo Chu couldn’t help but laugh at the sight.
Naturally, the soldiers didn’t allow the survivors to carry such burdens. Apart from being impractical, these items would become a liability in dangerous situations.
Following the soldiers’ demands, some survivors obediently left behind their excess luggage, while others reluctantly complied, fearing the consequences. However, there were a few who acted like they were still in the pre-apocalyptic world, causing a scene and being uncooperative.
In the past, the soldiers might have tried to reason with them politely, but under the life-threatening circ*mstances, no one had the patience for that now.
Mo Chu witnessed a soldier forcefully take away a cloth bag filled with miscellaneous items from an elderly woman, who immediately held onto the bag and cried out, “Hey! This is outrageous! The soldiers are hitting and robbing people!”
Her daughter tried to calm her mother down and apologized to the soldier.
The scene quickly became chaotic.
At that moment, the soldier leading the group raised his hand and fired a shot towards a building. A zombie hanging outside a window on the second floor fell to the ground, and the whole crowd fell silent.
The elderly woman turned pale with fear.
In the quiet street, the leading soldier calmly repeated, “If you want to follow the main force, you are not allowed to carry extra luggage. Only two backpacks per person are allowed. Those who meet these conditions can follow us, and those who don’t can form their own groups and leave.”
This display of force had a much greater impact than the earlier persuasion. The few people who had stubbornly refused to discard their luggage a moment ago gritted their teeth and reluctantly put their belongings aside.
Sometimes, intimidation was much more effective than persuasion.
Mo Chu sighed and decided not to watch any longer. She climbed down the ladder and realized that Li Chen had been supporting it from below. He hadn’t said a word, and Mo Chu hadn’t noticed.
She felt a bit embarrassed about it.
Mo Chu had gotten used to being independent in her past life, so this time around, she tended to overlook the presence of another person beside her.
Li Chen, however, seemed not to have noticed anything. When Mo Chu climbed down, he reached out to help her and quickly retracted his hand.
Once she was down, Little Gold was at her feet, spinning around.
Mo Chu patted Little Gold’s head, pondered for a moment, and said to Li Chen, “Let’s go outside and take a look.”
Li Chen didn’t ask anything, he picked up his own bag and put Mo Chu’s bag on his back. He nodded and said, “Okay.”
Mo Chu wanted to pick up another bag to carry, but Little Gold quickly snatched it up and tossed it onto his own back.
Mo Chu ended up empty-handed.
She looked at Li Chen, then at Little Gold, feeling a bit confused.
Li Chen… Was he such an agreeable person in her past life?
He didn’t ask her anything, just said, “Okay”?
She tried to recall her impressions of him from her past life but found that she couldn’t remember much about her interactions with Li Chen.
Most of her impressions of him came from what others had said about him.
Ruthless, a killer.
She had never truly understood Li Chen.
With these thoughts swirling in her mind, Mo Chu followed Li Chen and Little Gold outside.
Mo Chu fell silent for a moment and then opened the locked warehouse door. While she didn’t plan to follow the troops, she still wanted to share some information with them. They knew more than she did, and that knowledge could be invaluable.
Moreover, she wanted to find the man named Xie Jinyuan. The name sounded familiar, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt she had heard it before.
Leaving the warehouse, they caught the attention of others, but no one observed them too closely. The survivors were resting under the organization of the soldiers, while the fully-armed soldiers stood on the periphery, and medical personnel checked the survivors for injuries.
Mo Chu and Li Chen found a corner and sat down to rest.
As the troops returned from the buildings where they had rescued survivors, Mo Chu overheard a soldier say with a frown, “Lao Li, something’s not right. Captain Jin and his team entered that office building a while ago, and we’ve already brought two groups of survivors out. Why is there still no movement from there?”
Before they could ponder further, a scream suddenly erupted from the building, followed by gunshots. The soldiers quickly raised their weapons, anticipating trouble.
The two soldiers who had spoken earlier exchanged glances and said in unison, “It’s Captain Jin and his team!”
Indeed, something had gone wrong!
The crowd started to stir, everyone moving away from the direction of the building. Mo Chu and Li Chen exchanged a look, and Li Chen nodded. They went against the crowd and moved forward.
As they reached the front, the gunfire from the building hadn’t ceased. The platoon leader held a telescope and observed the direction of the building, while keeping the rest of the soldiers in check. Meanwhile, another fully-armed squad of soldiers prepared to approach the building to provide support and rescue Captain Jin’s team.
Before they could get close, a person covered in blood stumbled out of the building, almost unrecognizable. The platoon leader recognized him and exclaimed, “Captain Jin!”
The fully-armed soldiers immediately prepared to approach and rescue the injured Captain.
However, before they could act, a dark shadow darted out of the building right behind Captain Jin. It resembled a zombie, but it was much more agile than any zombie they had encountered. The creature swiftly lunged behind Captain Jin and stabbed its claw through his abdomen.
As Captain Jin fell, Mo Chu heard him shout at them, “Run!”
“Captain Jin!”
“Damn zombie! I’ll fight it!”
The soldiers immediately opened fire, unleashing a barrage of bullets at the creature.
墨初 hesitated for a moment, then went ahead and opened the locked warehouse door. Although she didn’t plan to follow the troops, she still wanted to share some information with them. The soldiers knew more than she did, and their knowledge could be invaluable.
Another reason was that she wanted to find the man named Xie Jinyuan. After returning today, the name sounded increasingly familiar to her.
As they stepped out, they caught the attention of others, but nobody paid them too much attention. The survivors were resting under the organization of the soldiers, while fully-armed soldiers stood around them, and medical personnel checked the survivors for injuries.
Mo Chu and Li Chen found a corner to sit down and rest.
As the soldiers who had rescued the survivors returned from the building, Mo Chu overheard one of them saying to his comrade with a furrowed brow, “Lao Li, something’s not right. Captain Jin and his team entered that office building a while ago, and we’ve already brought two groups of survivors out. Why is there still no movement from there?”
As they were discussing, a scream suddenly came from the building, followed by the sound of gunfire. Everyone knew something had gone wrong, and the soldiers quickly picked up their guns.
The two soldiers who had spoken exchanged glances and said simultaneously, “It’s Captain Jin and his team!”
Indeed, something had gone awry.
The crowd became restless, and everyone started moving away from the direction of the building. Mo Chu and Li Chen exchanged a glance, and Li Chen nodded. They went against the crowd and moved forward.
As they reached the front, the gunfire from the building hadn’t stopped. The platoon leader used a telescope to observe the building’s direction while keeping the rest of the soldiers under control. Another fully-armed squad prepared to approach the building to provide support and rescue Captain Jin’s team.
However, before they could get close, a person covered in blood stumbled out of the building, barely recognizable. The platoon leader recognized him and exclaimed, “Captain Jin!”
The fully-armed soldiers immediately prepared to approach and rescue the injured Captain.
But before they could act, a dark, agile figure dashed out of the building right behind Captain Jin. It resembled a zombie, but it was much more agile than any zombie they had encountered. The creature swiftly lunged behind Captain Jin and pierced its claws through his abdomen.
Before Captain Jin fell, Mo Chu heard him shout at them, “Run!”
“Captain Jin!”
“F*cking zombie! I’ll fight it!”
The soldiers immediately opened fire, unleashing a barrage of bullets at the creature.
But this zombie was surprisingly agile, completely subverting their concept of slow-moving zombies. It even used Captain Jin’s body as a projectile. Facing their fallen comrade, the soldiers’ firepower hesitated.
However, Mo Chu knew that now was not the time to stop firing. They were facing a second-order zombie!
When she saw this zombie, Mo Chu was equally shocked as the soldiers. It had only been less than ten days since the apocalypse began, and a second-order zombie had already appeared. Its speed had significantly increased, and it even exhibited some basic intelligence. Treating it like a first-order zombie would be a grave mistake, and the consequences would be terrifying.
To evolve to the second-order so quickly, this zombie must have devoured a lot of flesh and perhaps even other creatures of its kind. It was uncertain whether there were any survivors left in the building that Captain Jin had entered.
With the soldiers ceasing fire, the second-order zombie could now approach them. A single swipe from its claws could be fatal, and they had no healers capable of neutralizing the zombie virus.
Mo Chu didn’t hesitate any longer. She quickly picked up a handgun from a soldier’s waist, loaded it, and fired a shot at the zombie’s shoulder.
This unexpected shot also snapped the soldiers back to reality. The platoon leader quickly glanced at Mo Chu and immediately ordered, “Open fire!”
Following the military command, the soldiers, with eyes bloodshot, gritted their teeth and opened fire at the zombie, even though it was now using the body of their comrade as a shield.
As they fired, the platoon leader noticed the young woman who had taken the gun. She was composed, had a standard posture, and her aim was no worse than any of his soldiers. She seemed like an experienced shooter.
On the other side, the zombie watched as the soldiers unhesitatingly opened fire on it. It immediately abandoned Captain Jin’s body and leaped to the wall of the adjacent building. Its jumping power was incredibly strong, and it demonstrated remarkable agility by leaping from the wall that was over three meters high.
With its claws aimed at the nearest young soldier, Mo Chu quickly adjusted her aim, but it was too late. Just at that moment, a bright red line of fire materialized in mid-air, binding the second-order zombie. The fire line rapidly spread and forcefully threw the zombie back onto the ground.
Mo Chu looked quickly at Li Chen, who remained calm. But as a first-order, he couldn’t hold the struggling zombie for long. It quickly broke free from the fire line.
However, it couldn’t escape the fire that clung to it like a bone rot.
Meanwhile, the hail of bullets was right on target.
