Capítulo 23: Chapter 23: Successful Evacuation, Negotiations Begin
"The weight of the crossbow bolt is about 350 grams, much heavier than a bullet. Now that we're beyond a thirty-meter drop, the shot will follow a downward parabolic arc, requiring an upward adjustment of about 10 centimeters..." Ryan estimated in his mind, slowly raising the crossbow slightly.
Once he reached his intended position, Ryan held his breath.
He only had one shot. If he didn't score a kill, the scream would surely alert the other scavengers.
If they managed to hide, it would be difficult for Leo to break through the line of defense.
Just then, the two scavengers prepared to smoke, their figures overlapping in front of each other.
Ryan raised the crossbow slightly again.
Leo felt a sense of foreboding and quickly intervened, "This isn't a game. Don't aim for the head! The skull is the hardest part, and besides, we're beyond the effective range!"
But Ryan still pulled the trigger without hesitation.
"Whoosh—"
The bolt shot out rapidly, like lightning across the night sky, precisely piercing through one enemy's neck and into the chest of the one behind.
"Ugh... cough cough cough!" The first enemy's trachea and arteries were pierced.
Blood gushed out quickly, his face filled with shock and fear as he clutched his neck wound tightly with both hands.
But it was all in vain.
His blood pressure plummeted rapidly, and everything in front of him began to blur.
His body was gradually consumed by weakness until he finally collapsed to the ground with a thud.
"Damn it, that guy has backup!" The one who had been shot in the chest was now sitting on the ground.
The scavenger gasped for air, but the blood pooling in his lungs made it increasingly difficult to breathe.
He wanted to call out to his companions to warn them, but he no longer had the strength to shout.
"Whoosh—"
Another crossbow bolt struck accurately, hitting the scavenger sitting on the ground.
He died without ever seeing where the enemy was.
Ryan looked through the scope and saw that both scavengers were completely dead. He was ready to hang up the video call and leave, but he noticed Leo staring blankly at the screen.
"Leo, what are you zoning out about?" Ryan reminded him, "Quickly evacuate through the front door. I'll drive and lure the zombies away from the perimeter. You need to get the car and leave here fast."
Ryan slung the crossbow bolt over his shoulder. "I'll send you the new rendezvous point shortly."
Leo on the video call suddenly reacted, "Okay, I—I'm on it!"
Ryan quickly climbed down the ladder and returned to the ground.
Buddy heard the noise and immediately came over, successfully reuniting with Ryan.
Ryan made his way to a spot where the barbed wire was damaged and crawled through with Buddy.
He pulled out the shrunk-down delivery truck from his body.
After retreating to a safe distance, he quickly disabled the "Portable Storage" feature on the system panel.
In an instant, the toy-sized truck expanded back to its original size.
Ryan opened the passenger seat and got in, then helped Buddy open the passenger door.
Buddy nimbly jumped up and settled into the passenger seat.
"There are just too many zombies..." Ryan said, looking ahead at the street, which was already crowded with a horde of zombies, resembling a pack of wild beasts under the cover of night.
Ryan started the car and pressed the horn hard.
"Beep! Beep beep beep—"
The loud honking shattered the night, ringing out for several seconds. Some nearby zombies began to move toward them.
But there were still plenty of zombies clustered in front of the factory's iron gate.
The blood from the two scavengers who had bled to death had already spread its scent into the air.
This bloody smell was a deadly attraction for the zombies with their keen sense of smell.
There were so many zombies that Leo couldn't drive out.
He would soon be surrounded by a large number of zombies. If the chassis or tires got stuck, that little car would become a can of human heads, and Leo would be waiting to die.
Ryan sighed, "No, we need to get a little closer."
The delivery truck began to move forward, avoiding being surrounded by zombies.
He reduced his speed, ready to escape at any moment.
After closing in another twenty meters, the number of zombies around Ryan's truck increased significantly.
He felt it was becoming difficult to continue moving forward.
Ryan opened the system panel and called Leo via voice chat, "There are too many zombies, my truck can't get in."
"I see you! I climbed up to the guardhouse at the factory entrance!" Leo shouted. "You can move toward your truck along the right wall and jump onto the roof!"
Ryan looked out the window and indeed spotted Leo.
He was just a few meters away now, if he drove the little truck forward about six more meters, he could reach the right side of the factory wall.
"Move faster! If there are any more zombies, we won't be able to move!" Ryan quickly drove the vehicle forward.
The truck began to bounce, he had already crushed quite a few zombies.
Fortunately, he had switched to off-road tires, giving the truck a relatively higher chassis.
This made it harder for zombie remains to get stuck in the wheels.
Leo stood on the nearly three-meter-high wall, arms outstretched like he was walking a tightrope, moving closer to Ryan's vehicle.
On his right was a dense mass of zombies, while his left was lined with a lot of cacti against the wall.
No matter which side he fell from, it would be an unbearable torment.
So Leo dared not make his movements too wide.
"That guy is running! Quick, catch him!"
Suddenly, the scavengers at the side door of the factory noticed Leo on the wall.
They rushed toward him, armed with fully loaded shotguns.
"Damn it!" Leo cursed under his breath and had no choice but to jog along the wall.
Ryan's truck was so close that Leo leapt up suddenly.
Fortunately, he landed safely on top of the truck bed.
"Clang!"
Ryan heard a sound coming from the back of the truck and knew that Leo was safely on board.
There was no way to turn around now, he could only reverse quickly.
At that moment, Ryan caught a glimpse of two scavengers weaving through the horde of zombies.
It seemed like the zombies were oblivious to their presence.
Ryan was surprised but had no time to observe closely, he quickly began to reverse.
One of the scavengers raised a gun and aimed at Ryan's vehicle.
"Bang!"
"Pop, clatter—"
Ryan suddenly ducked and closed his eyes, feeling glass shards flying above his head. Despite being at a distance, the small steel pellets shattered the car window.
Fortunately, the car windows had shatterproof film, the two layers of plastic held the glass in place.
So even though the glass was completely shattered, it didn't fall out of the frame.
However, the entire windshield now looked like a spider web, severely obstructing his view.
Thankfully, he only needed to reverse, so Ryan turned his head to look in the rearview mirror and slammed the gas pedal.
"Vroom vroom vroom!" The engine roared violently.
In low gear at high RPM, the vehicle instantly unleashed powerful torque.
This little truck was like a wild horse running free, continuously crushing the zombies behind it, with the sound of breaking bones echoing all around.
Leo, lying on top of the truck, held tightly to the gaps in the truck bed, fearing he might be thrown underneath.
Finally, Ryan broke free from the horde of zombies.
He had also created some distance from a few scavengers.
He pulled out a crowbar from his system backpack and pried open the already wrecked window before quickly completing the turn, heading toward the distant motel.
…
In front of a house near the motel,
Ryan parked the truck between two buildings, swiftly turned off the lights and engine, and kept quiet.
He opened the door and cautiously observed his surroundings.
Fortunately, there were no zombies nearby.
They had all been attracted to the commotion earlier near the park.
Leo slowly climbed down from the truck bed and plopped down on the ground, his face full of pain.
Ryan walked up to him and stopped two meters away, "What's with that pained expression? Did a zombie bite you?"
"Dammit, my back feels like it's about to break." Leo groaned, feeling sore all over from the bumps. He slowly stood up, using his hands to support his back while swaying gently, and couldn't help but complain, "You drive like a madman!"
"As long as you weren't bitten, that's good." Ryan replied as he jumped into the truck bed.
He turned around and urged Leo below, "Alright, it's time to talk about our collaboration."
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