Chapter 52: Crisis

Screams were audible, piercingly shrill.

The screams persisted without any sign of weakening, indicating that the person inside was injured, but not so severely—at least not enough to die immediately, which meant they wouldn't lose the ability to threaten.

By this point, Yu Shunzhou was utterly stunned.

From any angle, Yu Shunzhou was not a man to suffer in silence, but he certainly wasn't the sort of ruthless person who could kill someone and remain unfazed.

Therefore, seeing Gao Yuan and the others, in just a brief exchange of words, eliminate all the villains who had tormented him for a long time, it was false to say Yu Shunzhou wasn't shocked.

Yu Shunzhou was more than just frightened now.

"Bro... you've really become... powerful," he said.

They were brothers after all, with no scruples in their speech, teasing and joking with each other was the norm, but now, Yu Shunzhou choked back the word "bastard" when addressing Gao Yuan.

Gao Yuan was looking at Xiang Weiguo, but Xiang Weiguo was listening intently to the screams inside the courtyard. After a moment, he waved at Gao Yuan.

Gao Yuan hurried over to Xiang Weiguo, scampering along.

"The person inside is injured, but not dead, likely just minor injuries. The screams are real but too exaggerated," said Xiang Weiguo.

Screams could reveal the severity of injuries?

Xiang Weiguo didn't bother explaining further to Gao Yuan. He simply whispered, "Throw another grenade, but this time make it explode mid-air inside the building."

Gao Yuan quickly pulled out another grenade, returned to the front gate, and, using the courtyard wall for cover, pulled the pin, waited for two seconds, and then tossed the grenade into the building.

This time, Gao Yuan threw it with a swing; the grenade wasn't thrown from a raised position but at the lowest point in the swing.

The grenade traveled over ten meters, tracing a trajectory from low to high.

With a boom, the grenade exploded inside the building, and this time, even Gao Yuan could tell that the explosion occurred in mid-air, as the blast wave was different.

The screaming ceased abruptly.

Xiang Weiguo nodded in satisfaction. He drew his pistol, chambered a round, then reversed the grip and handed it to Yu Shunzhou.

"Take this, go inside and put a bullet in the head of anyone who's seriously wounded but not dead."

Yu Shunzhou took the gun, staring blankly at Xiang Weiguo, then turned to look at Gao Yuan.

"What are you dawdling for, go on."

In these apocalyptic times, one couldn't afford to be too weak or too timid. Whether Xiang Weiguo wanted Yu Shunzhou to toughen up or to get used to his new life, Gao Yuan thought it was a necessary measure.

Yu Shunzhou took the pistol and strode inside.

Xiang Weiguo followed close behind Yu Shunzhou, ready to provide protection if needed.

A person lay prone in the yard, a rifle pressed under him, motionless, yet Yu Shunzhou did not hesitate to fire a shot.

"That's for bullying me!"

After taking two steps, they came upon another person lying prone on the ground, the rifle in his hand had been flung far away, yet Yu Shunzhou followed with one more shot regardless.

"That will teach you, bastard, to bully people, you son of a bitch!"

This was kicking a man when he was down, but Yu Shunzhou was still filled with killing intent.

Xiang Weiguo spoke into the walkie-talkie, "Xiaoyu, keep an eye out for any zombies coming from the direction of the village. If there are any, notify us immediately, over."

"Received, over."

Yu Shunzhou entered the room where the men dealt with by Gao Yuan's two hand grenades lay, and he shouted loudly, "You've got your comeuppance now, haven't you?"

Bang bang, three more shots followed, one of which was wounded, not dead but unable to move; thus, Yu Shunzhou truly made one count.

Yu Shunzhou came out, and Xiang Weiguo said in a serious tone, "If there's anything we must take, grab it quickly. We need to leave this place—the gunshots are loud and might attract zombies."

Yu Shunzhou was now in an excited and joyful state. He waved his pistol and exclaimed, "We must take the radio, and my walkie-talkie, my go-bag is still with them, the bastards stole my stuff, and my knife!"

Xiang Weiguo stepped forward, grabbed his own pistol, and after taking it back from Yu Shunzhou's hand, said, "Stop the chatter. Go get your things, you have five minutes. Xiao Yuan, the two of us will go out and stand guard. Make sure to pick up all the guns, we can't leave them behind."

There were three rifles here, two had fallen in the courtyard, but the third rifle was missing.

While Yu Shunzhou frantically searched for any valuable items, Gao Yuan, after shouldering both rifles, called out, "Fatty, why are there only two guns? Weren't there supposed to be three?"

Yu Shunzhou yelled from inside the house, "Someone got robbed of one."

Gao Yuan immediately looked towards Xiang Weiguo, who was on guard at the door. Xiang Weiguo's face paled as he said, "Why only mention something so important now? Who snatched it?"

Yu Shunzhou, with a radio in his hands and carrying his backpack which had originally belonged to him, came out looking pleased and said, "There's nothing else left, no food either; these guys were starving."

Gao Yuan grabbed Yu Shunzhou by the clothes in anger and demanded, "Who took the third gun?"

"I don't know, man. A few days ago, they went out hunting and came back with a large pit bull, huge one. They ate the dog, and then the day before yesterday, some son of a bitch went out to take a dump, was stabbed to death from behind, and got his gun stolen too. So these past couple of days, I've had to wander around with them every day, trying to track down the guy who stole the gun."

Gao Yuan, anxious, said, "And you still dared to walk around outside? Weren't you afraid of getting shot dead? Why didn't you speak up about something this serious sooner?"

"Stay alert! Xiaoyu, keep an eye on our surroundings. If there are armed people who pose a threat to us, give a warning shot upon detection, do not engage directly, over."

As Xiang Weiguo urgently instructed Luo Xingyu, Yu Shunzhou responded with a look of helplessness, "Talking is useless, man; we've already searched the area several times. I reckon that the person has long run off."

Gao Yuan asked Xiang Weiguo, "What do we do now?"

Xiang Weiguo, with a grim expression, replied, "If the person who stole the gun is nearby and saw what we did, he's unlikely to be hostile towards us. Let's not worry about him for now, we need to retreat."

After surveying the terrain, Xiang Weiguo then said, "Let's first rendezvous with Xiaoyu, then head back the way we came. Move quickly."

The three men started towards the hill where Luo Xingyu was located. Gao Yuan and Xiang Weiguo walked on either side, constantly looking around, and as for the rear, they didn't have to worry too much since Luo Xingyu would keep a lookout for them on the road.

There weren't any tall plants on the hillside, just low shrubs, not good for hiding, so that shouldn't pose much of a problem.

No zombies came chasing after them, and it was unknown whether the nearby village had no more zombies or if the zombies hadn't heard the sound.

Eventually, the three of them met up with Luo Xingyu. Xiang Weiguo spoke in a low voice, "There's someone lurking around with a gun, possibly with hostile intent toward us, so don't dawdle. Stay alert and get out of here quickly."