Chapter 162 - 161: Like the Wind

Chapter 162: Chapter 161: Like the Wind

In a tent in the gas station’s main building, a guard stood at the entrance, but he couldn’t stop his eyes from darting toward the interior.

Because just a short while ago, Captain Xu Wei had led a woman inside.

He remembered that woman. She was from the bus, a bit thin, a bit dirty, but very fair-skinned.

When she went in, her head was bowed the whole time.

Listening to the sounds from inside, his mind began to wander. He licked his chapped lips. The smell of cigarettes and desire wafting through the tent’s flap made him feel hot and restless.

Back when that soldier surnamed Zhou was the leader, not only were they marching every day, but they also had to share the supplies they’d painstakingly scavenged with the civilians from the bus.

Although their rations were larger than the civilians’, they were still limited. If you were caught hoarding, you could even be exiled.

But now that Zhao Cheng was in charge, he not only gave extra food to the brothers from the squad he used to command directly, but he also promoted him to guard, which came with another share of rations.

This let him save a little something every day, so when he got off his shift at night, he could go "have some fun" with Captain Xu and the others. ℯℯ𝑙.

Just last night, Captain Xu had traded two cans of food for a female student who tearfully "kept him company" for half the night.

’Brother Zhao was right. In this world, the strong take everything!’

Heh... heheh.

...

"Heh... heheh..."

Zhao Cheng leaned back in his chair with a lecherous grin, his hands pressing down on the woman’s head.

"If you don’t want your daughter to die, then be fucking gentle... You’re a grown woman, but you’re acting like some clueless virgin!"

As he spoke, he reached out and groped the woman. Her shoulders shuddered, but she didn’t resist, letting him do as he pleased.

"You’re so filthy I can’t even get started. Later, I’ll take you to the pond to wash up... Serve me well, and I’ll have Doctor Liu get some medicine for your daughter..."

He then tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and savored the soft touch and the tingling sensation.

"Heh... heheh!"

"Enjoying yourself, are we..."

A deep male voice spoke right next to his ear, making his hair stand on end, a jolt of fear so sharp he felt himself shrink.

The voice was so close, it was as if it was pressed against the shell of his ear; he could almost feel breath ghosting over his skin!

But he hadn’t heard a single sound before that!

Zhao Cheng’s eyes flew open. He tried to lurch forward but a large, gloved hand clamped over his mouth and nose. Then, something cold and metallic pressed against his neck, followed by a sharp sting.

"Mmph!"

As his eyes opened, he saw that besides the person restraining him, another man had somehow entered the tent!

And this second man was moving with a ghostly stealth he’d only ever seen on TV, silent and fast as a cat as he lunged for the tent entrance...

"Mmph! Mmph!"

He tried to shout, but the large hand muffled him. Gradually, even breathing became difficult...

...

"Captain Zhao? Something wrong?"

The guard on duty at the entrance heard some strange noises, but he just assumed Captain Zhao was enjoying himself. Not daring to turn and look, he simply asked in a low voice.

But before Zhao Cheng could answer, a strong, large hand clamped over the guard’s mouth and nose, dragging him backward into the tent. Then, a cold, sharp object pierced his neck...

He felt a sharp pain, then a spreading cold. His vision went black. He didn’t even have time to draw another breath before his consciousness faded completely into darkness...

Just then, Zhao Cheng’s struggling knocked the woman over with a kick.

She turned her head and saw the guard’s body, warm blood gushing from the wound in his neck, staining the ground red...

She was about to scream when a man’s face appeared before her, and a hand gently covered her mouth.

"You know who we are, and you know what we’re doing. Don’t make a sound. If you understand, nod..."

Jiang Jing held one hand over the woman’s mouth, watching as her numb expression shifted to panic, then to calm. She slowly nodded.

"Good..."

He tentatively loosened his grip. The woman really didn’t make a sound. She just sat motionless on the ground, turned her head, and spat something foul to the side.

Seeing this, Jiang Jing slowly stood up, muttering to himself as he walked over to Zhao Cheng. He took the hand that had just covered the woman’s mouth and wiped it vigorously on Zhao Cheng’s clothes.

"You motherfucker..."

His job had been to eliminate the guard while Zhang Wenyuan controlled Zhao Cheng. For a better feel on his bayonet, he had deliberately taken off his gloves...

But the thought of the guard made him hurry back. He knelt by the corpse, placed one hand on its forehead, gripped his bayonet, and slowly plunged it into the body’s temple. He gave it a twist before pulling it out.

"Fucking hell, this part wasn’t in the training... I’m getting out of practice..."

"Oh, out of practice? Looks to me like you’re just getting soft."

Zhang Wenyuan choked Zhao Cheng unconscious, then relaxed and started talking smack.

"You moth—"

Before Jiang Jing could finish, the woman suddenly stood up, strode over to Zhao Cheng, lifted her leg, and kicked him in the crotch with all her might!

THUD!

"Urgh!"

The powerful blow actually jolted the unconscious Zhao Cheng awake from the pain. But before he could make a sound, Zhang Wenyuan, who was behind him, clamped his hand over his mouth and nose again, holding him down tightly!

"Whoa, hey, lady, don’t make trouble..."

Jiang Jing, who was in front, quickly went over and stopped the woman as she postured to kick again. He restrained her, dragged her aside, and said, pointing,

"Calm down, calm down. You cause any more trouble and I won’t be so nice. Stay put. When this is all over, Colonel Ye will take care of your daughter’s situation..."

The woman wasn’t a fool. Hearing this, she calmed down. She recognized them; they were the female officer’s people.

Jiang Jing and his partner had been listening from behind the tent the whole time, waiting for the right opportunity to slip in. Naturally, they knew the whole story.

Seeing the woman finally quiet down and stand aside, he walked over to Zhao Cheng and helped Zhang Wenyuan tie him up, stuffing a large wad of rags into his mouth.

The woman had provided the rags. They were so filthy you couldn’t tell what they were originally...

From start to finish, aside from Zhang Wenyuan’s first comment, there was no communication between the two men and Zhao Cheng.

"Zhang, so the team members who joined with him are all out on a support mission with that Deputy Captain Li. The only ones in the camp you could call his men are this guard and that guy Xu..."

"Get Xu over here."

"Me?"

"Make him do it."

"You think he’s going to cooperate?"

"I think he’ll start screaming the moment you take that gag out."

"So what’s the plan?"

"Hmm... have her do it?"

"Good idea..."

Jiang Jing nodded, picked up a walkie-talkie from a nearby folding table, and handed it to the woman.

"Could you do us a favor..."

...

Xu Wei was sitting on an ammo box, polishing a pistol.

This was an officer’s sidearm, a high-quality piece. Unfortunately, the supplies those soldiers brought out of the quarantine zone didn’t include any pistols like this, only some bullets.

This one probably belonged to some soldier who had died earlier. It hadn’t been officially issued, just stored here.

But he’d found it while taking inventory of the ammunition.

’Heh... heheh... must be fate.’

He tucked the clean pistol into his waistband, feeling incredibly smug.

After a moment’s thought, he dug another one out of the box, preparing to take it to Zhao Cheng.

’We’re officers now. It just doesn’t feel right for an officer not to have a pistol on his hip. It’s a matter of status.’

"Ksshh... C-Captain Xu... Brother Zhao wants you to come over..."

A woman’s voice came from the walkie-talkie beside him. It sounded nervous, but also a little excited.

’Damn this Zhao... getting his rocks off and still has to act all high and mighty... aigh, but what can you do, he’s the captain...’

After all, if he hadn’t become the big boss, Xu Wei would never have been made a captain.

He stood up, dusted off his rear, and before leaving, he didn’t forget to stick the pistol meant for Zhao Cheng in his pocket. Then he swaggered toward the gas station’s main building.

Crossing the open area, he saw one of Ye Qingzhou’s soldiers by the military truck, still in a standoff with the guard assigned to watch them.

The two who were surrounded by zombies last night still hadn’t returned by morning.

According to the guards who came on shift in the morning, a woman and a girl, along with four other soldiers, had spent the entire night in the truck, barely getting out except to use the restroom.

’And they call themselves elites. A bunch of cowards...’

Xu Wei spat silently and walked to the entrance of the military tent in the main building, only to find the guard was gone.

’Where the fuck did that kid go to take a piss?’

A sense of unease welled up inside him, but he dismissed it and lifted the door flap on his own.

His vision swam for a moment as he went from the bright outdoors to the dim interior. The woman was standing in front of Zhao Cheng’s chair with her back to the entrance, blocking Zhao Cheng from view. ’What kind of game are they playing?’

But then the thick smell of blood hit him full in the face. His pupils contracted, and a primal sense of danger made him instinctively reach for the pistol at his waist!

But another hand was faster!

No, more than one!

Four hands shot out from either side of the tent flap. In an instant, his hands, mouth, nose, and neck were clamped in an iron grip. Immense force was used to drag his entire body into the tent.

Only then did he see the guard’s body, slumped against the side of the tent entrance, with trickles of blood still flowing from his neck and temple.

And Zhao Cheng was hog-tied to the chair, his mouth gagged. Snot and tears streamed down his face as he stared wide-eyed at Xu Wei, his expression filled with panic and despair...

The brawny arm wrapped around his neck tightened, and his vision grew darker.

Before he lost consciousness, he saw the woman he himself had brought here... smiling.