After Victor Hayes and the other three members of the rescue detail entered Unit Three, they carefully searched their way deeper inside.
Every zombie in the residential compound had now been alerted, and they did not dare let their guard down in the slightest.
The group passed through the unit lobby and reached the corridor on the first floor.
Victor Hayes and Gavin Cole took the left and right respectively, leaning out with practiced coordination to survey the situation.
The moment Victor poked his head out, he caught sight of Apartment 301’s security door standing open.
He quickly signaled, and the other three immediately understood. Lightening their steps, they slipped silently into the corridor like phantoms.
Tyler Grant and Felix Monroe then remained by the stairwell’s fire door as planned, standing guard.
Victor Hayes and Gavin Cole crouched low and slowly made their way to Apartment 301’s door.
Victor leaned in for a look, and the scene inside came into view.
Two zombies were crouched by a shattered window in the living room, continuously snarling outside through the security bars.
The gunfire outside had drawn all their attention, and they had not noticed anything behind them.
Victor Hayes would not let an opportunity like that pass. He flashed into the doorway, raised his weapon, and fired two short bursts.
Bang! Bang!
The rounds struck the zombies in the backs of their heads, and the immense impact blew open their faces. Black blood gushed from the two bloody holes as their bodies slumped limply against the security bars.
After clearing the threat, the four cautiously advanced upward along the stairwell.
Victor Hayes walked in front, his AK-12 rifle constantly aimed up the stairs. He took every step with exceptional care.
Suddenly, a burst of hurried, disorderly footsteps came from above. The group immediately stopped at the stairwell landing, their muzzles all snapping toward the second floor as their entire bodies tensed in readiness.
As the footsteps drew closer, Victor judged from experience that someone above was fleeing desperately, most likely with zombies in pursuit.
After all, zombies did not make human cries. They only snarled and roared wildly like mindless beasts.
The person fleeing upstairs was apparently terrified. He was running while crying loudly, his sobs echoing through the stairwell and sounding especially loud.
Only seconds later, a young man in a hoodie and jeans came charging down in a frenzy.
His hair was a complete mess, and his face was filled with terror and despair. He clutched a rolling pin tightly in one hand.
When he saw Victor Hayes and the others, fully armed at the landing, he froze for a moment. Then a look of wild joy appeared on his face, as if he had found a lifeline, and he rushed straight toward them.
Just as he reached the landing between the first and second floors, Victor stepped forward, grabbed him by the collar with one hand, and yanked him sharply into the corner.
He then pinned him against the wall and kicked the back of his knee. The man instantly lost his balance and was forced to the ground.
Victor pointed his gun at the man’s head and shouted, "Don’t move! Hands behind your head!"
The young man was clearly frightened by Victor’s actions. His rolling pin fell to the floor with a clang, and he tremblingly put both hands behind his head, repeating, "I’m not a zombie! I’m not hurt either! Please, don’t kill me!"
At that moment, the two zombies chasing him came snarling down the stairs as well. Their claws were outstretched, their faces grotesque, and a nauseating stench of decay poured from their mouths.
Felix Monroe, who had been waiting for precisely this moment, did not hesitate in the slightest and decisively pulled the shotgun’s trigger.
With a thunderous boom, a dense spread of high-speed pellets rained into the zombies, instantly blasting them into bloody pulp. Their bodies toppled backward like battered sacks.
Gavin Cole immediately stepped forward with his rifle and put two more rounds into the zombies’ foreheads.
After dealing with the zombies, Victor took a step back, still keeping his weapon trained on the man. He said loudly, "Keep your hands where they are and turn around slowly. Tyler, check him for injuries!"
The young man knelt on the floor and slowly turned around. His entire body trembled faintly, tears and snot mixed all over his face, leaving him in a miserable state.
Tyler Grant stepped up, carefully checked him over, and said, "Deputy Leader, he isn’t injured."
Only then did Victor Hayes let out a slight breath of relief and lower his muzzle. He then reported to Nathan Cole, "Commander, this is Victor Hayes. We rescued a survivor in the stairwell. How should we handle him? Please advise."
Nathan’s voice came through the earpiece shortly afterward. "Since you rescued him, bring him down with you when you come out."
"Yes, Commander!"
With Nathan’s orders, Victor turned to the man and said, "We still have a mission to carry out. Go wait by the unit entrance, and don’t wander off."
At these words, a trace of gratitude flashed through the man’s eyes. He thanked them repeatedly, frantically wiped the tears and snot from his face with his sleeve, then supported himself on the railing and stumbled down the stairs.
After sending the survivor away, the four made a brief adjustment and continued advancing upstairs.
They soon reached the fourth-floor fire door. Victor Hayes and Gavin Cole approached first and carefully inspected the area. Once they confirmed the corridor was safe, the four quickly arrived outside Apartment 401.
Victor stepped forward and pounded hard on the security door, shouting, "We’re a rescue unit. It’s safe now. Please open the door!"
After saying that, he stepped back, positioned himself directly in front of the peephole, and waited silently.
Only seconds later, the door was pushed open, and a man in his forties appeared in the doorway, looking at them with a face full of excitement.
Victor Hayes hurriedly asked, "Are you Director Martin Hale?"
Victor’s sudden question caught Martin Hale off guard. A flicker of confusion crossed his eyes, and he did not understand how the soldier before him knew his name.
Still, he quickly replied, "Yes, comrade. I’m Martin Hale."
"Good. Director Hale, please come downstairs with us. The commander is waiting for you."
Victor then reported over the channel, "Report, Commander. The target has been successfully rescued and is being extracted."
Martin Hale hurried downstairs with Victor and the others, his mind in complete turmoil.
He had originally come to visit an elderly person living alone, only to become trapped here.
At first, he had still been able to contact Director Cole in town by phone, but later the power went out and communications were completely cut off.
He had not taken Nathan’s promise of rescue seriously at all.
To him, it had been nothing more than words of comfort.
Rescue?
Who was supposed to rescue him?
The police station?
They did not even have any decent weapons. Were they supposed to crack zombies’ skulls with riot batons?
As for the town militia, he thought that was complete nonsense.
It might have been different in coastal regions or other places with a high level of combat readiness, but if one looked through the town’s militia roster, more than half the people were town officials. What fighting strength could they possibly have?
Yet in the end, a regular military force had come, and these soldiers even knew his name exactly.
Even now, he had never considered the possibility that these soldiers had been sent by Nathan Cole.
He was still racking his brains, wondering whether some friend or relative of his held a position in the provincial military district.
When he reached the unit entrance, he discovered that a young man was also waiting there.
The young man’s face was covered in tears and snot. He looked like an abandoned puppy, gazing at them with pitiful expectation.
Victor Hayes walked to the unit entrance and announced over the channel, "All units, attention. The rescue team is about to escort the target to the vehicle!"
He then gently pushed open the unit door and cautiously observed the situation outside.
Only after confirming there was no major danger did he escort Martin Hale out of the building.
By then, most of the zombies outside had already been wiped out. Only a scattered few that had run in from outside the residential compound remained, posing no significant threat at all.
When they reached Vehicle One, Nathan Cole had already dismounted and was waiting there.
Victor stepped forward, saluted, and reported loudly, "Report, Commander. Mission successfully completed."
Nathan returned the salute, removed his goggles, and pulled down his face covering.
Martin Hale had been staring absently at the Tigr-M armored vehicle when he heard the soldier who had rescued him address someone as commander. He instinctively turned to look.
Then he froze as if struck by lightning.
He rubbed his eyes hard, unable to believe what he was seeing.
He was not even fifty yet. His eyesight had not gone bad!
This young commander before him looked exactly like Director Cole from their town!
Could Director Cole possibly have a twin brother serving in the military?
Seeing Martin Hale’s stunned expression, Nathan Cole smiled faintly and said, "Director Hale, don’t just stand there. Get in the vehicle first. It isn’t safe here. We can talk on the way."
The instant Nathan spoke, that familiar voice brought Martin back to his senses. He finally confirmed that this young commander before him truly was Director Cole from town!
Suppressing the questions in his heart, he got into Vehicle One with Nathan first.
Victor Hayes looked at the somewhat helpless survivor, waved Julian Shaw, the grenadier, over, and gestured for him to take the survivor to the high-mobility cargo truck.
Ethan Blake and the others then shouted at the tops of their lungs, telling the survivors that they had an urgent mission and could not clear the buildings floor by floor for the time being.
They told them to protect themselves and wait for the next rescue!
Once they had finished shouting, everyone boarded their vehicles. The convoy slowly started moving again and headed for the east gate of Jinxiu Gardens.
The convoy’s departure plunged the survivors in the other buildings into profound despair.
They watched helplessly as the military convoy rescued someone from Building Two, only to tell them that they had to keep waiting.
At that moment, they felt as if the sky had fallen.
Before, they had still held onto a sliver of hope, expecting the military to save them.
But now, after finally seeing the military, the force had only shown itself briefly before leaving again.
The feeling of seeing hope turn into despair moments later caused many survivors to break down completely!
A young couple in the building opposite had been pressed against their window, shouting themselves hoarse in the hope of attracting the military’s attention.
Yet this was the outcome they received.
The girl covered her face, her legs gave way, and she dropped to her knees. Instantly overwhelmed by sobs, she cried, "They... they were clearly rescuing people, so... why... why won’t they save us too?"
The boy was equally distraught. After a long while, he crouched down and gently hugged the girl, quietly comforting her in a trembling voice. "They have a special mission. Since there’s still a military force out there, as long as we hold on, rescue will come sooner or later!"
His voice grew quieter and quieter, as though he himself did not truly believe those words.
In the apocalypse, hope of survival was like a guttering candle in the wind, wavering uncertainly.
Yet the instinct to survive made them cling desperately to that faint glimmer of hope, struggling bitterly in the darkness.
The convoy gradually disappeared into the distance, leaving behind a residential compound steeped in dead silence and despair...
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register