Chapter 275 - 230: He Runs, He Chases, Part 2

Chapter 275: Chapter 230: He Runs, He Chases, Part 2

[-322]!

He’d only been held up for a few seconds, but the "Boss" was already about to cross the bridge. Releasing the spear with his left hand, he made a grasping motion in the empty air.

WHUMMM—!

The greatsword, weighing over two hundred pounds, reappeared in his hand!

BANG!

He only had time to channel a little energy into it, letting the jets propel a downward slash with his arm!

[-1289]!

[965/3000]

The range was too close, making the strike barely stronger than a blunt slam. The bone spur zombie’s defenses were wide open, and the sword nearly cleaved it in two. It wasn’t dead, however—just pinned to the ground by the greatsword’s edge. No matter how much it struggled and tore at its wound, it couldn’t break free.

Lin Fan was finally free. With a flash, his weapon transformed from a spear into a giant axe. His biceps swelled to their absolute limit as he twisted at the waist, channeling all his strength into his arms. He aimed at the back of the figure about to leap and let out a furious roar:

"Strike!"

WHOOSH—!

The silver giant axe flew from his grasp!

Spinning at high speed, it transformed into a silver cyclone that tore through the curtain of rain. It let out a heart-stopping WHIR as it instantly crossed several dozen meters!

The smile had just bloomed on the Boss’s face; he didn’t even have time to let it fade.

SHLICK—!

"AAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"

A blood-curdling scream instantly drowned out the sound of the rain. The spinning giant axe hadn’t hit his head, but its wide blade had precisely buried itself in his left shoulder!

[-256]!

Blood gushed forth!

The Boss was thrown back by the immense force of the axe. Luckily, the rifle sling he was holding was caught firmly around the Mutated Zombie’s neck; otherwise, the blow would have knocked him right off the bridge.

Like a wedge driven into an old tree stump, the wide, thick axe blade was lodged deep in the bones between his left shoulder and chest, wobbling with his every movement.

And the black briefcase he had been clutching in his left hand slipped from his grasp due to the intense pain and nerve damage. It was flung outwards, tracing an arc through the air before slamming against the bridge’s guardrail.

"My case! Ah!"

The "Boss’s" left arm was useless. He could only let go of the rifle sling with his right arm and scream as he reached to his left. But with the giant axe pinning his shoulder, the moment he twisted his upper body, the agonizing pain nearly sent him tumbling off the zombie’s back.

The bone spur zombie beneath him buckled under the sudden impact of another hundred-plus pounds, but its four sharp claws quickly readjusted and stabilized it, faithfully carrying out the Boss’s last command:

Jump!

SWOOSH! Its four bone spurs pushed off powerfully. It carried the "Boss"—half-dead and gushing blood—and leaped across the gap in the broken bridge at the very limit of its range. Its sharp spurs even impaled several zombies as it charged right into the horde.

The bone spur zombie was extremely agile. Even as the other zombies smelled the blood, they had no time to react before the creature had already scurried away on its four long "legs" like a giant spider. Under the Boss’s control, it scrambled over the horde and ran deep into the streets on the other side.

All that remained were the zombies splattered with a trail of blood, pushing and shoving each other until they fell from the broken bridge like dumplings into a pot of boiling water, disappearing into the raging river below in an instant.

Lin Fan stood at the head of the bridge, watching the figure recede into the distance, and let out a soft sigh.

Although he didn’t know the area, he guessed there was an eighty-percent chance the Boss was fleeing toward the quarantine zone.

’Wherever there are people, there’s filth and darkness. It’s a shame I couldn’t finish him here, but...’

"Die!"

He summoned his spear and walked over to the greatsword embedded in the road. Gripping the spear in one hand, he aimed at the head of the bone spur zombie that had covered the retreat and delivered a powerful, downward thrust!

[-999]!

Its head shattered, and the zombie pinned beneath the greatsword finally stopped struggling. It went limp and collapsed to the ground, becoming just another corpse.

[Acquired: Swift Potion (Medium) x1, (Small) x1]

[Acquired Supplies: Canned Meat, Vegetable Packs, Cooking Oil...]

[Acquired Materials: Scrap Metal, Blade, Rare Metal, Leather, Plastic...]

Several drop notifications flashed before his eyes. Then, he reached into the bloody mess, rinsed his find in the rain, and a crystal appeared in his hand—translucent and shimmering with a purple halo.

[Sharpening Crystal]

[Energy Level: 1]

[Quality: Rare (Fuseable, Effective Channel Structure 50%)]...

"Whoa! Fifty percent!"

’Wild, ordinary bone spur zombies usually drop ten-percent crystals. Getting a twenty-percent one means it was powerful. But I’ve never seen one that was fifty percent right off the bat. This is the rarest of the rare. If I fuse it with the one I already have, I’ll hit one hundred percent.’

The appearance of this rare crystal washed away Lin Fan’s annoyance. It even made him look forward a little to his next encounter with the "Boss."

’After all, he still has that one he’s riding...’

’The "Boss" isn’t dead, but he’s taken a heavy blow and is now a commander without an army.’

"You’re lucky to be alive."

Lin Fan pulled his gaze away from the dense cluster of health bars on the other side of the river. Compared to that defeated dog, he was far more interested in the object the Boss had clutched onto for dear life.

He retracted his greatsword and looked around, finally spotting the black briefcase.

He picked it up and weighed it in his hand. The case was heavy and had a combination lock.

’But this is just a normal briefcase, meant to deter a gentleman, not a scoundrel. I refuse to believe some crappy case from the Chilled Meat Factory has a high-tech self-destruct device or something.’

"...He escaped, but left the loot behind. I can live with that."

Lin Fan patted the muddy water off the case, a satisfied smile playing on his lips. He glanced around, hoping to find a dry spot to open his prize, but he was surrounded by open ground.

The Power Potion had four minutes of duration left. This meant he was probably far from the Chilled Meat Factory. They had been chasing and fighting the whole way, making several turns and covering at least ten-plus kilometers.

He looked at the broken bridge before him and recalled the map from before...

’This broken bridge must be the second cross-river bridge that was scheduled for demolition as part of the northern extension plan.’

’If they ran north from that intersection, they should be...’

Lin Fan immediately thought of the armored vehicle’s previous direction. If they had driven this way, they should have turned onto this main road and then headed east to find a hidden spot to treat their wounds...

After all, their initial plan was to check out this bridge first. If they wanted Lin Fan to find them, they would surely regroup at the predetermined objective.

But there was no armored vehicle in sight. They had probably hidden it somewhere to avoid being followed or seen.

At this thought, Lin Fan grabbed the case in one hand and his spear in the other, and started running west along the road from the bridgehead.

’As for that "fat pig" from the Chilled Meat Factory, it was so big... now that it’s finally out, it probably won’t be crawling back into the factory anytime soon.’

’And as for any potential survivors... they can hold on a little longer. A few more minutes won’t make a difference.’

With the potion’s power still active, he didn’t need to stick to the beaten path.

Sometimes he’d leap from the roof of a bus stop shelter; other times he’d bound across the tops of wrecked cars. He even occasionally launched himself high into the air from the concrete dividers in the middle of the road, surveying his surroundings from mid-air like a falcon.

"Found it!"

Sure enough, Lin Fan had only run a few kilometers when, launching himself into the air, he spotted the familiar steel behemoth.

The armored vehicle was currently parked quietly behind the blue construction fence of an unfinished building site.

The spot was cleverly chosen—well-hidden, yet allowing for a quick getaway. However, the vehicle wasn’t in a good situation right now. Seven or eight zombies in safety vests and hard hats were clawing at its exterior, wandering back and forth. They feebly slapped against the thick armor plating, making dull THUD THUD sounds as they tried to dig out the living people inside.

’Looks like they’re still here.’

"Cheng Qi, Cyan Bird, are you in there?"

Lin Fan vaulted over the fence, landed next to the vehicle, and called out.

His hands didn’t stay idle. He made short work of the surrounding zombies. As he was flinging the blood from his spear tip, he turned his head and saw a large face pressed against the bulletproof glass of the driver’s seat, distorted from the pressure.

Cheng Qi was staring with wide eyes, his entire face squashed against the scarred glass. His features were so distorted that he looked both comical and overjoyed, like he’d just seen a long-lost relative.

"Brother Lin!"

Even through the glass, Lin Fan thought he could hear his shout.