CH 34

Chapter 34: Zombie base

Looking at the mass of zombies below within the perimeter walls, Huo Zaiyuan freezes, evidently not expecting to come across this kind of situation.

"W - what in the world?"

Aiya, oh gosh, over a thousand zombies ah. If one is not careful even a little and drops from up here, one can bid farewell.

Amongst this sea of zombies, it is easy to make out quite a lot of ordinary clothed ones, meaning that the reason the two-way street outside is devoid of zombies is due to them all being locked in here.

"It is possible that when the first zombie outbreak began, everything became chaotic. The residents in the surrounding blocks nearest to the military district came seeking aid. Once the army got wind of the situation outside, they allowed the residents in and locked the gates shut. However, amongst the civilians who managed to enter, a few were already infected from scratches or bites. Once inside, they turned…" Crouching on the wall, Long Zhanye glowers as he realises their presence is attracting the zombies below to shamble over. "Or perhaps there were already infected people within the troops. When the civilians entered, they were attacked, resulting in the mess we see now."

"Un, that's reasonable." Huo Zaiyuan pauses as he debates on what to do next, then opens his mouth slowly. "Older brother Long, now that the entire military district is a zombie base, I'm afraid it wouldn't be easy to retrieve your car."

No matter how he looks, this Long Zhanye doesn't seem all that much older than him, which is why Huo Zaiyuan thought he ought to address the other as ‘older brother’ instead of ‘Mister’. If he simply calls the other by name, then he is being impolite.

"The military district's weapons warehouse has explosives and ammunition. We can walk along this perimeter wall to get to the second floor directly, then head to the third floor and take all the bullets we can carry. Although we have these knives, with the way things are in the base, getting to the garage will be a lot more difficult without using guns." Saying this, Long Zhanye turns to Huo Zaiyuan and holds out a strong, slender arm. "Come on, take care not to fall down."

Looking at the offered hand, Huo Zaiyuan smiles slightly, reaching out to grab it. (Author's note: Aiya, goodness, holding hands so easily.)

Ever since his mother passed away, no one has ever extended a hand towards him. In addition to having experienced two lifetimes, it will take something very rare to shock him. However, this stranger who he met just recently is paying such close attention, every movement careful and considering, he can't help but feel warmed to the bones. As expected, humans are not made to be solitary creatures.

Ignoring the howling of the gathered zombies below, the two men follow along the perimeter wall towards the second floor of the large building. Between that building and where they are currently located lies a three meters distance. To say it is far, it's not really. To say it's near, it's also not exactly close. Either way, it wouldn't be easy to cross that gap in a single leap.

"How are we going to get there?" (HZY)

If there is, like usual, a sufficient amount of space to run before jumping like athletes participating in long jumps, a physically fit individual will not have any problems crossing this distance. But jumping from a standstill with the threat of a large crowd of zombies below, mouths open and teeth itching for flesh, it puts a lot of mental pressure on a person.

"I'll jump over. This distance is nothing too difficult." Long Zhanye crouches down to tighten the shoelaces on his combat boots, his eyes gleaming with self-assurance. Clearly, this distance is truly nothing to him.

"The problem is the zombies occupying the second floor." Huo Zaiyuan lifts a hand to point. At this time, two zombies wearing military uniforms apparently took notice of them and are shuffling out onto the balcony. Even if Long Zhanye makes the jump, he will not be able to defeat the two zombies immediately after landing.

The two undead faces in their direction, arms akimbo, teeth gnashing and brandishing their claws. Long Zhanye simply draws his pistol.

"I'll jump now." As soon as he said that, he prepares to pull the trigger.

"That wouldn't do. Gunshots are too loud. From here, we cannot see the rest of the second floor. If we draw the attention of other zombies, it would be very inconvenient. Besides, you probably don't have many bullets left in your pistol." Huo Zaiyuan shakes his head, pressing down the arm holding that gun.

As a male, Huo Zaiyuan has never touched firearms before, but regarding the different types of guns, he has some knowledge. With just a glance, he knows that pistol is a Desert Eagle, and according to his knowledge, its chamber can only hold up to six bullets. If more than ten zombies come at them, he (LZY) wouldn't be able to shoot them all.

"True enough. But if we don't deal with those two things, there's no need to think about even jumping over." Although Long Zhanye can be said to be fearless, he still doesn't want to end up becoming one of those monsters.

"Allow me." Huo Zaiyuan seems to have made up his mind about something, reaching a hand into the pouch at his waist, drawing forth two coin talisman. Since he is going to stick with Long Zhanye for an indeterminable amount of time, he understands that he wouldn't be able to conceal the use of talismans all the time. Might as well reveal it now. Injecting spiritual energy into the wood, which flashes silver, he flicks them forth to pierce through the two zombies' brains.

Following the collapsing bodies, Long Zhanye's eyes fly wide in astonishment, because no matter how sharp his eyesight is, he only manages to glimpse two fine streaks of silver shooting from Huo Zaiyuan's hand. He wasn't able to see what the object is clearly, but he is certain they weren't throwing weapons of any kind.

So it seems this child is a hidden master ah!

A curious light entering his gaze, Long Zhanye glances at the youth. "What was that just now?"

Not hiding anything, Huo Zaiyuan reaches into his waist pouch again and draws out two coin-size peach wood talisman. Laying them in his palm, he holds it out for Long Zhanye to inspect.

"These are peach wood talisman. By using spiritual energy to activate them, they are extremely effective against zombies." Hearing the light awe in the older man's tone, for some unknown reasons, Huo Zaiyuan feels rather proud of himself.

Picking up one of the two talisman to study it closely, Long Zhanye notices the runes carved into the surface. It reminds him of the characters he saw written on yellow paper and hung around Grandfather Long's friend's place, the Elder Taoist Tian Jizi. The only difference is Huo Zaiyuan uses wood, not paper.

"You are a Taoist priest?"

Although Long Zhanye considers himself to be an atheist, his grandfather is a superstitious person, not to mention his Elder Taoist friend. He doesn't exactly trust things like exorcism and magic, especially after having his fortune told by Tian Jizi which resulted in Grandfather Long chasing him away from home. Nonetheless, he is appropriately amazed by the object Huo Zaiyuan used to kill the undead.

"I'm not a Taoist priest." Although he does practise the Taoist art from his ancestor's manual, he cannot be counted as an authentic Taoist priest. At most, he is just someone who practises Taoism.

"I originally thought matters like ghosts and gods that my grandfather often mentions are just things used to trick people, but apparently it's not entirely false after all." Long Zhanye returns the talisman.

"Hehe…" Giggling softly, Huo Zaiyuan imbues some power into the two coins and tosses them towards the balcony. As though glued to the surface, the coins stick solidly on the wall of the second-floor balcony on both sides. "Using those two talismans, I've created a simple array on the balcony. This way, even if zombies suddenly appear, they will be stopped in their tracks."

"Un. Wait here for a moment. I'll jump first, then you follow. I'll catch you." Clapping a hand on Huo Zaiyuan's shoulder, Long Zhanye displays a dazzling smile full of self-confidence.

Crouching at the edge of the wall, hands placed on either side of his body, muscles bunching in preparation similar to a bow drawn taut, expression extremely calm as he regards the three-meter gap. The wind seems to still, and even the chilling clambering of zombies below fades into the background. The atmosphere becomes stifling and filled with tension. Huo Zaiyuan's eyes are locked onto the tall form, wide with anticipation.

In an instant, the slender figure soars into the air, heading towards the balcony, as though he had suddenly acquired a pair of wings. His calculation was near perfect, dropping accurately into the balcony on both feet. As soon as he lands, a faint clang sounds from the sudden weight. In order to reduce the impact of his landing, Long Zhanye reaches out to brace his hands on the ground.

"Litte Yuan, come on."

Rising, Long Zhanye clamps a hand around the balcony's bannister and a leg firmly hooked between the gaps of the railing, stretching his other hand out towards Huo Zaiyuan, facial expression carefree enough to make people jealous.

What kind of monster is he? Really superhuman ah!

Fixing his gaze on Long Zhanye, he sucks in a deep breath, his heart beating faster. He knows deep down that he will never be able to achieve Long Zhanye's level of physical capabilities, but he ought to have no problems clearing a two meter plus jump. He only needs to grip onto the outstretched hand. Bending into a half-crouch, Huo Zaiyuan gathers his spiritual energy to pacify his rapidly pounding heart.

Then…jump!

His lean body rises into the air and towards the outstretched hand with every intention of grabbing it, only to see the man whose foot is hooked between the railings had no intention of pulling him up by the arm. Tall slender body leaning forward, hand drawing back, strong, muscled arm curling around Huo Zaiyuan's slim and soft waist, pulling him directly into Long Zhanye's embrace.

(Author's notes: Holding hands and even being embraced…our little Huo shou cannot escape anymore ~ )