Chapter 53 I am innocent

As a group of four descended the slope and arrived at the bridgehead, Xiang Weiguo, who was at the forefront, suddenly stopped and held up a fist.

"Hold your positions!"

After speaking, Xiang Weiguo cocked his head to listen for a moment before whispering, "Did you hear a dog barking?"

Gao Yuan exchanged a glance with Yu Shunzhou, then said quietly, "I didn't hear anything. Xiaoyu, did you hear it?"

Luo Xingyu looked perplexed, "I didn't hear anything."

Xiang Weiguo listened intently for a while then his face took on a doubtful expression, "Did I hear wrong? It's not likely; I just vaguely heard a dog barking."

After that, Xiang Weiguo said with conviction, "No, there definitely was a dog barking. The problem is that it's too far away, and I can't make out the direction of the sound."

Glancing towards the woods on the side of the riverbed, Xiang Weiguo gestured with his hand to get down, then said in a deep voice, "Sounds change direction after traveling through the woods, making it hard to pinpoint their origin, but if I can hear the sound, it means it can't be too far off."

Yu Shunzhou's face was downcast as he said, "Enemies have come knocking, but the problem is that I didn't kill their dog, let alone eat it. Brother Yuan, you know me. I never eat dog meat."

Gao Yuan nodded, "I know you're fond of dogs and don't eat dog meat, but try explaining that to the dog's owner. He'll lump you in with those people regardless of whether or not you ate his dog."

Xiang Weiguo kept observing the woods when two faint barks were heard again.

With sufficient attention, Xiang Weiguo finally made out approximately where the barks were coming from.

"To the person inside! We know you've got a feud with those who lived at the water station, but they're all dead now. We are..."

Xiang Weiguo didn't finish his sentence when suddenly a gunshot rang out.

The shot came from a completely different direction than the dog barks.

The barking was to the east, but the gunshot to the west; it was a classic feint.

Yu Shunzhou, who had been crouching, fell forward onto the ground.

Xiang Weiguo called out urgently, "Spotted him."

Quickly spinning his gun around, Xiang Weiguo aimed towards a spot not too far from their path they just had passed, where a small puddle lay, created after digging for sand, ringed with tall weeds and bushes. Even though the trees were bare in winter, the concealment was still good.

Xiang Weiguo fired a burst of bullets, then bellowed, "Come out! I see you, that was just a warning shot. We're not bad guys; we mean no harm!"

Yu Shunzhou, who had collapsed to the ground, let out a pained scream and then said faintly, "I've been shot... damn it, I'm innocent!"

Gao Yuan was furious and anxious, he immediately lined his gun towards the direction Xiang Weiguo was pointing at.

Luo Xingyu, already prone on the ground, urgently said, "Target spotted, he's moving; he can't get out of the pit. Should we take him down?"

Xiang Weiguo hesitated for a moment before saying, "Don't!"

With Xiang Weiguo and Luo Xingyu having the target in their sights, Gao Yuan no longer needed to cover, so he put down his gun and swiftly crawled over to Yu Shunzhou's side.

Yu Shunzhou was curled up on the ground, clutching his stomach. He looked at Gao Yuan, his face streaming with snot and tears, "I think I'm dying. How could I be this unlucky? I didn't eat his dog, avoided zombies, bad guys, only to be shot down by a dog owner in the end. It's so unfair. I've just met you..."

Gao Yuan moved Yu Shunzhou's hand from his stomach and saw a small hole in his clothes, from which blood was seeping out.

Gao Yuan panicked and immediately pressed his hand over the wound, then yelled at Xiang Weiguo, "Kill him, for fuck's sake, kill him!"

Whether the shooter was innocent no longer mattered; what did matter was that Gao Yuan's best friend had been shot, and therefore, the shooter deserved to die.

Supporting family over justice, a typical human choice.

But Xiang Weiguo still had his wits about him, as he yelled loudly, "Xiaoyu, don't shoot! I'll handle it!"

After speaking, Xiang Weiguo fired a short burst before he roared, "I see you now, don't think you can get away. Raise your hands and slowly come out with your gun above your head, or else I'll have no choice but to kill you. Let me tell you, we are soldiers here to clear out a gang of bandits plaguing the area. But if you refuse to lay down your weapons, we'll just have to kill you to eliminate the threat."

A moment later, Xiang Weiguo shouted, "This is your last warning, don't harbor any illusions about escaping. Don't make a mistake!"

"Bullshit, you've got both men and women there pretending to be soldiers!"

The person hiding in the sand pit spoke.

Gao Yuan turned around and furiously said, "I swear, you damn idiot, didn't you see us just kill all those bad guys? If you want to die with them, I can make it happen right now!"

They were about a hundred meters apart, yelling loudly enough for each other to hear.

"You can't fool me. I recognize that bastard in the red hat. They're all in cahoots with each other. If you're with him, you're definitely not good people!"

Well, Yu Shunzhou wasn't wronged by that bullet.

Xiang Weiguo shouted again, "I've spotted you. I could have killed you just now, but I only fired a warning shot. I'm a discharged soldier, and we're here to rescue a friend. The man in the red hat isn't with them; he's a prisoner. Don't get it mixed up. I advise you to come out now; I assure you no harm will come to you."

Luo Xingyu whispered, "I see his head now, he showed a little while observing us. Wearing a hat, hasn't moved."

"Warning shot, aim for his hat!"

Luo Xingyu didn't hesitate and fired. After a moment, she whispered, "Hit, he's ducked down."

Xiang Weiguo shouted, "If I wanted to kill you, you would already be dead. Hitting your hat is proof. Now come out!"

Luo Xingyu's shot served both as a warning and proof. Indeed, it convinced the person in hiding, who after a short pause, finally said loudly, "I'm coming out, don't shoot!"

A gun was raised, and Gao Yuan placed Yu Shunzhou's hand on his stomach, whispering, "Got it!"

Gao Yuan turned back to pick up the gun, and Xiang Weiguo whispered, "Xiao Yuan! Don't be impulsive. We can talk this out slowly, don't do anything rash."

Gao Yuan actually didn't want to kill the man hiding in the sand pit with one shot, but he really wanted to beat him half to death first.

A person slowly rose from the sand pit, and Xiang Weiguo shouted, "Bring your weapon over here, and make it quick."

With a gun in his left hand and a spear in the right, a man slowly walked towards Gao Yuan and the others.

Gao Yuan was furious and anxious, especially because Yu Shunzhou had been shot.

"Xiaoyu, keep an eye on him. Shoot if there's any trouble. I'll check on Pipe first."

Xiang Weiguo and Gao Yuan crouched beside Yu Shunzhou as the situation was now under control. It was time to examine Yu Shunzhou's wound.

After inspecting Yu Shunzhou's wound and noticing the radio lying beside him, Xiang Weiguo suddenly said, "The bullet hit the radio, went through it and then hit him. Hmm, this is a tricky situation."

Yu Shunzhou's voice trembled, "I won't die, will I?"

Xiang Weiguo hesitated before replying, "It's hard to say."

Yu Shunzhou sighed and with tears said, "Why am I so unlucky? That bastard, you hear me, I'm innocent... "

Gao Yuan was in a panic. He could only rely on Xiang Weiguo to perform a miracle. So, looking at Xiang Weiguo with a tearful voice, he said, "What do we do? What can we do?"

Xiang Weiguo frowned and said, "With our medical supplies, we definitely can't save him. The only hope is to get him to a large shelter—if he can hold on that long."