587: 9.57 Too Smooth

9.57 Too Smooth

It seemed like even the Goddess of Luck was siding with him today, Yang Tengfei thought as he ran past the crowd of immobile zombies with nine soldiers following behind him.

Because the abandoned airport was located in the suburb, as soon as it rained hard, the sharp scent of petrichor spiked, shielding the smell of humans from the zombies' nose. The same could be said with their footsteps. The ferocious downpour was akin to the perfect thick curtain for today's important operation, covering any tracks that they might make. Everything went smoothly until the team arrived at the entrance of the building. 

Yang Tengfei's tense nerves finally relaxed and he let out a quiet sigh.

He tapped on his earpiece and asked, "Scout, how is it going?"

"Reporting to the Commander, Professor Zhao is still on the third floor, doing something. Due to the low visibility, I am unable to discern what he is working on. The Zombie King is still nowhere to be seen. Over."

"Received," Yang Tengfei replied. "All teams, proceed according to plan."

"Yes, Sir!!"

As seconds ticked by, Yang Tengfei stuck his back to the damp and cold wall and gazed coldly at the rows of zombies standing on the runway. Heh, an army of undead… Even if they were powerful, they were still foolish creatures who only acted on instinct. Under difficult terrain, their so-called terrifying prowess would be reduced into nothing, just like now. In this battle, Yang Tengfei only needed to focus on the Zombie King. Although there was still no scientific explanation on the King's relationship with the other zombies, he had a strong hunch that once the Zombie King was killed, then every zombie in this world would perish as well.

Just then, fierce lightning struck, illuminating the dark area around. Yang Tengfei heard the soldier beside him suck in a harsh breath. His heart skipped a beat. "What's wrong?" he asked in a low voice.

"N–Nothing, Commander," the soldier said in a shaky voice. "It's just… this is the first time I have seen so many zombies."

Ah… Yang Tengfei nodded in understanding. Even though they had fifty capable soldiers with 'brawn' and 'brain', the sight of nearly a thousand zombies would still send chills down their spine. Yang Tengfei reached out to pat the man's shoulders. "Hang on a little more. We will obliterate them soon."

His firm words seemed to inject the soldier with a burst of courage and determination. He straightened up and exclaimed in a hushed voice, "Yes, sir!"

A buzz came from Yang Tengfei's earpiece. "Reporting to the Commander, everything's in place. Over."

Yang Tengfei finally straightened up and held his rifle tightly, his dark gaze brimming with murderous intent. "On my count…" he exhaled softly. The whole world seemed to halt as it waited for his command. "One… Two…" Another lighting struck followed by an ear-deafening thunder. He ordered, "Three, go!"

Right as his words fell, one explosion erupted after another among the crowd of zombies. Two teams, including Yang Tengfei's, rushed into the building, covering all possible exits. The old building used to be the airport terminal. On the first floor was a vast and empty lobby. Rapid footsteps sounded as Yang Tengfei and the soldiers crossed the lobby and diverged to the escalator and emergency exits in a systematic manner. But then, a number of zombies suddenly stumbled down the escalator to meet them! 

Yang Tengfei took the lead and lifted his gun, bellowing, "Charge!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Countless gunshots resounded through the air. If one did not know any better, it could easily be mistaken as thunder. Murderous intent oozed through every inch of Yang Tengfei's powerful body as he broke through the siege of zombies toward the second floor. 

Just then, another report entered his ear, "Commander, Professor Zhao is going to escape through the east emergency stairs!"

The corner of Yang Tengfei's lips curled coldly. He gave a command to the soldiers behind him. "Four of you, follow me to the east stairs. As for the rest, block the other paths. Don't let him escape!" Along with his cue, ten people separated into three directions.

There were only ten soldiers in the building as the others were blocking the army of zombies outside. However, using ten elite soldiers against a mere Zhao Bolin already spoke of how cautious Yang Tengfei was. If only the Zombie King was not there, then even one soldier was already more than enough to deal with him!

—Wait!

Yang Tengfei was startled. The Zombie King! They had already created such a great ruckus, it was not possible for the Zombie King not to show himself! Unless he was already by Zhao Bolin's side or… he was currently hiding somewhere to bid his time! For some inexplicable reason, once Yang Tengfei thought of the inhuman visage of the King, a subtle unease arose in his heart. If there was one thing he was certain of, it was that the Zombie King would not let them take Zhao Bolin away as easily!

He gave a stop signal just as the soldiers arrived at the base of the east emergency stairs. He tapped on his earpiece and demanded urgently, "Scout, report your location."

There was no answer.

Yang Tengfei's heart thudded heavily. "Scout!"

There was still no response whatsoever. His expression turned grim. The Zombie King had finally retaliated!

He plastered himself to the corner of the wall and looked out of the french window. Above, silver lightning shifted through dark clouds while below, sparks flew and flame arose as bombs and bullets were fired. From his position, he could see the tall building where the scout was supposed to be on standby. However, due to the low visibility, he was unable to guess what could have transpired on the other side. 

Yang Tengfei gave a grim order, "The Zombie King is coming! Hasten the plan!"

"Yes, sir!"

He made eye contact with the four soldiers around him and nodded. Without needing to communicate, they stood back to back, covering each other's blind spot as Yang Tengfei rushed up the stairs to intercept Zhao Bolin. Without the scout, he had no way to know whether the professor really took the east stairs in the end or he had escaped through another path. But it was okay, Yang Tengfei reassured himself. His plan was foolproof. They had already surrounded this building and they acted way faster than the Zombie King. This time, they would definitely catch Zhao Bolin!

Rapid footsteps echoed around the empty space as Yang Tengfei climbed the stairs, taking two to three steps at once. There was nobody on the stairs. He cursed loudly. His hunch had come true. Professor Zhao had indeed chosen another path!

Without any hesitation, he sprinted to the third floor, kicked open the door and took aim. 

Lightning struck, blinding the space in that split second. However, that split second was already enough for Yang Tengfei to get a clear glimpse on the third floor's situation. This place should be the boarding hall. The vast area was separated into a few sections. Overturned metal chairs were strewn haphazardly on the floor. One side of the wall was made into floor-to-ceiling windows, overlooking the runway outside. 

At the moment, there was a slender figure standing in front of the window as he gazed at the chaotic battle downstairs.

Yang Tengfei's team of ten people arrived at the same time, surrounding the thin figure from all sides. The figure was wearing white lab coat with long brown hair obscuring his face. The silver chain of his glasses reflected the sparks from the bombs and bullets. 

"Freeze!" The soldiers exclaimed. "Turn around and put your hands up!"

Zhao Bolin did not move, nor did he show any signs that he had heard the soldier's command. All of a sudden, Yang Tengfei's eyelids twitched as an ominous premonition filled him. A question sprung up in his mind, unbidden. 

…Would it really be this easy?

If he were Lu Yizhou, would he let the soldiers have their way just like this?

Chills ran down Yang Tengfei's spine and loud warning bells rang in his mind. The answer was… no. 

Something was off. Something had clearly gone wrong. They had had it too easy. Everything had been going smoothly for their entire operation, from the preparation to the launch… too smoothly, in fact. Sometimes, logical explanations or reasons were not needed to make a decision. Impulse, instinct, gut feeling… it could be the incentive to decide someone's fate. 

In that split second, Commander Yang chose to believe in his instinct. He lifted his gun and aimed it toward Zhao Bolin. 

Bang! 

The momentum from firing at a close distance caused Zhao Bolin's slender body to slam into the window in front of him, creating web cracks which spread all over the thick window. Crimson blood splattered over the glass and stained Zhao Bolin's pristine white coat. 

For a few seconds, the world turned silent. The soldiers stared at Yang Tengfei, jaws slacked and eyes wide as saucers, unable to come to their senses. Their faces were painted in incredulity and confusion.

Yang Tengfei, however, was in deep thoughts. He recalled the scout's report.

—Zhao Bolin is on the third floor.

—Zhao Bolin is doing something.

The low visibility made the scout unable to discern what Zhao Bolin was doing. Then… how could the scout confirm it was really Zhao Bolin? His body frame? His hair color? His glasses? Everything could be faked!

Just as the soldiers intended to open their mouths to inquire, 'Zhao Bolin', who was slumped on the ground with blood pooling around his body, suddenly twitched violently like a fish who was out of water.

"Ah—!" The soldiers cried out in shock as they watched 'Zhao Bolin' stagger to his feet with jerky movements. "He… He is not Zhao Bolin!" 

That was clearly a zombie whose body frame resembled Zhao Bolin at a glance! Unfortunately, the lack of light as well as the scout's report made them subconsciously take this zombie as Professor Zhao! Now that the zombie turned to face them, they could clearly perceive the difference between this zombie and Zhao Bolin!

Yang Tengfei cursed out loud. At that time, he had no time to ponder on why there was a zombie posing as Zhao Bolin here or how the timing could be so coincidental as if there was a force controlling everything behind the scenes. Did he even need to think about it? This was clearly a trap! From the start, they had entered the meticulous trap Lu Yizhou laid for them! Goddamnit it!

Yang Tengfei gave a decisive order, "Retreat! Everyone, get out of here as soon as possible!" His feet moved as he was speaking. 

However… it was already too late.

Through the cracked glass window, he watched in horror as zombies… countless zombies rushed out from the dark shadows, lunged down from the tall trees, and besieged the soldiers who were still fighting on the runway. If the zombies lining on the runway could be considered as a bowl of water, then this time, the number of zombies surging out was akin to an overturned bucket! From the third floor, it was as if they were looking at the spider's nest which was being poked, causing tens… hundreds of long legs spiders to crawl out from the dark hole! It was both revolting and terrifying! 

Yang Tengfei's scalp turned numb. No matter how skillful he was, he still froze at a split second at this nightmarish scene. However, this was no time to lose his cool! He was the Commander, he had to lead everyone out of here safely, as soon as possible! 

Alas, before he could react, a dark shadow was seen flying across the sky with a speed too fast to be caught by naked eyes. It was throttling straight toward the window! The sound of glass breaking resounded through the air as the figure rolled inside and came to a halt right in the middle of ten soldiers.

The figure lifted his head and revealed a pair of pitch black eyes darker than the night. Behind him, the tail of silver lightning made a vertical zigzag down the sky, illuminating his ghastly pale complexion and the bloodthirsty grin on his face.

It was the Zombie King!2

Yang Tengfei opened his mouth, "Shoot his head!"

At his command, the soldiers snapped out of their trance and lifted their guns. However, Lu Yizhou abruptly disappeared from his spot only to show up behind one of the nearest soldiers. That speed of his was truly Heaven-defying! Nobody could even catch his shadow as he moved! He grabbed the soldier's upper arm using one hand while the other tilted his head aside. Then under ten pairs of terror-stricken gaze, he leaned down and tore out a chunk of flesh out of the soldier's fragile neck!

"Ahhh—!" The soldier screamed out in pain and despair.

Lu Yizhou lifted his bloody face from the soldier's neck and issued a loud, ear-deafening roar!

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