Chapter 18: Bunker Mishap (4)

The comrades he once fought alongside had turned into monsters that resembled humans, but were no longer human. His heart was heavy as his superpower wildly gathered in his hand, flung forward non-stop, in an attempt to maintain some distance from them.

However, with their overwhelming numbers, they were forced to retreat toward the door, little by little.

Su Mo sidled up close to Lu Chen, picking up a chair next to her and kicking it forward to block a zombie's advance, as her Tang Blade drove into its head, "Jianxiong, move the table over to block them!"

As a strength-type superpower user, Jianxiong lifted a massive office table with one hand and positioned it in front of the zombies, then moved two more to encircle them.

The three of them backed against the coded door, each defending with a table to maintain their final distance from the zombies.

Without any enhancement, Su Mo's face flushed red from the strain as she braced against the door, her feet pushing against the table's edge. The force feedback nearly overpowered her, her blade continuously stabbing forward.

Every so often, Lu Chen would divert a fraction of his power to alleviate her burden. Jianxiong was punching one after another; in that short minute, the three of them fought with enough ferocity to turn their eyes red, and the bodies piled high upon the table.

"Ding, the main door is restarting"

Backed against the door, Su Mo fell backward into the corridor as the coded door slid open. She scrambled to her feet just in time to see Lu Chen holding back two tables with one hand, his voice laced with barely concealed endurance as he said to her, "Go press the elevator button; we'll be right there."

"Got it," Knowing there was no time to waste, Su Mo dashed toward the elevator.

The elevator was on the first floor, clearly, Ye Lei had already run. She frantically pressed the up button, anxiously waiting in place.

It would take at least two to three minutes to go from the first floor to the basement. Several times she thought about running back to help, but ultimately refrained, praying incessantly for the elevator to hurry up.

"Ding".

The elevator door opened, and she stepped inside, one foot on the edge of the entrance, shouting back into the corridor, "The door's open, hurry up!"

The echo spread through the corridor.

The first to burst out was Jianxiong, rushing toward her so quickly that Su Mo stepped aside to let him into the elevator. She then leaned out anxiously to check the corridor—no sign of Lu Chen.

"Where's Lu Chen, where is he?"

Jianxiong collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath like a bull, "He's... he's behind."

Her eyes fixed unwaveringly on the corridor, seconds ticked by, yet the man's figure was nowhere to be seen.

Just as she was about to step out to look for him, a dense shuffle of footsteps sounded in the corridor. Lu Chen was leading the way with a dense crowd of zombies behind him.

"Close the door!" he yelled to Su Mo, his pace quickening as he ran harder.

Su Mo retreated into the elevator, pressing the close button. The doors began to slowly close, her heart lifting high with anxiety, watching as the corridor narrowed, "Hurry, Lu Chen!"

The man sidestepped into the elevator, and at that moment, the doors were not yet fully closed, leaving a small gap. The approaching horde of zombies was about to reach them.

"If a zombie touches the door, it will reopen," Su Mo said anxiously. Elevator safety features are reliable; they would open immediately if something obstructs their closing.

Lu Chen was well aware of this, and with the last bit of his energy, he accurately shot into the head of the leading zombie. The elevator doors sealed shut right before the first zombie could reach them.

They began to ascend. Su Mo, no longer able to hold on, sat down hard on the floor like Jianxiong, "What do we do now?"

"Find people," Lu Chen said, leaning against the door. The journal in his hand was crumpled from his grip; he tossed it into the Space, his heaving chest recounting the peril they just endured.

"Do you have a place to go?" he asked Jianxiong, who sat paralyzed on the ground.

Pulling himself up by the elevator railing, Jianxiong's blood-stained face was serious, "I've been serving at the Jiang Residence since I was a kid. Apart from a house I bought in City A, I have nowhere to go. Take me with you, Admiral Lu."

Lu Chen nodded. He knew that most of the special forces soldiers from the Jiang Residence were outstanding seeds taken from orphanages when they were young.

"What about you?" he turned toward Su Mo; he seemed to have never asked her about where she would go, an unconscious thread of anticipation weaving through his heart for her answer.

"What's this, you do the job and ditch me once you're done? No chance of that," Su Mo pouted with hands on her hips, puffing up indignantly at him.

She truly had nowhere to go. Even aside from the question of whether she could reach City B, she longed to stay as far away as possible from her parents' disdainful faces.

A flicker of amusement passed through Lu Chen's eyes as he flicked the girl's forehead with his finger, "Ugly to death."

An inexplicably warm atmosphere enveloped them, making Jianxiong's eyes widen even further, "Admiral Lu, what's the deal with this sister?"

He had no idea when the high and mighty admiral had become so close to a little sister.

"Me?~" Su Mo dragged out the last note, blinking at Jianxiong, "Guess."

Jianxiong, utterly puzzled, met Lu Chen's darkening expression and chose the sensible option of silence.

The elevator stopped on the first floor.

They exited the elevator one after another, and the stark contrast of temperatures made them all uncomfortable. However, they were surprised to find that the car, which they had assumed Ye Lei had driven away, was still there.

Inside the car.

Seeing their figures, Zhao Xiweng grabbed Ye Lei's arm incredulously, "Didn't you say they were all dead?"

Ye Lei was shocked too. He had thought they were sure to die, which was why he agreed to wait there for Zhao Xiweng for a while, but now these people had come out alive.

Immediately, he started the car to drive away, but Zhao Xiweng held on to him tightly, her water balls smashing continuously on Ye Lei's head, incapable of causing injury.

"How can you do this! Admiral Lu is still alive! Stop the car!"

Ye Lei pushed her into the back seat, his voice fierce, "Don't provoke me."

Sweat dripped from his forehead as he floored the accelerator, planning to burst out, but Zhao Xiweng, toughened by military discipline, climbed back up, her hands locking onto Ye Lei's neck from behind and yanking back with all her might.

The feeling of suffocation around his neck caused Ye Lei to lose control. He slammed the brakes and crashed headfirst into the wire fence beside them, stirring up a cloud of dust.

Jianxiong clenched his fists, his neck cracking as he swiveled his head side to side, his voice growling fiercely, "I'm gonna beat him to death."

Taking big steps towards the car, he yanked the man out and swung his fist into Ye Lei's chest with all his might, "Betraying your brothers, you won't die a good death! I'll beat the life out of you."

Ye Lei felt like he could hear his ribcage shattering; he was in so much pain he couldn't utter a word, kneeling on the ground as Jianxiong held him by the neck.

Lu Chen and Su Mo also came over, their expressions grim. Zhao Xiweng climbed out of the car and sat on the ground, asking the group in a trembling voice:

"What happened down there? Ye Lei said that all of you died down there."

"Died down there?" Jianxiong was so furious that he punched Ye Lei's face again, "I was locked down there by this damn thing."