บท 72: Chapter 67
"Miles!"
The woman's piercing scream echoed over the highway, reverberating through the air, causing all the birds and beasts in the surrounding woods to scatter in panic.
Brian and his companions hid nearby, witnessing everything. They were stunned, feeling sorry for the young black man and incredulous at the ruthlessness of the disguised soldiers turned hunters.
The commotion at the center was so loud that even though the presence of the black youth was unexpected, these people were prepared in advance, yet none of them used their rifles to shoot. Instead, they were being held at gunpoint and subdued by the black youth. It was surprising.
They couldn't understand how such a group of people could massacre so many at the off-ramp.
Before they could ponder further, the situation changed again. The female survivor, upon seeing her companion fall, angrily lifted her gun and began firing wildly at Ogden.
"Hehe!"
Ogden emitted a strange laugh and, after being attacked, immediately squatted down, showing no intention of retaliating.
Everyone around reacted, despite their varying psychological endurance. Realizing they had taken lives and still had rifles in hand, they became infuriated with their previous cowardice, aiming their guns towards the direction of the checkpoint and opening fire.
The man who had been rescued quickly pulled the woman behind the truck for cover. Bullets pelted the truck, sparking countless fires.
At that moment, a fierce-looking bald man rushed out from the woods, carrying a blood-stained chicken in his hand. Angered by the situation, he yelled, "Bastards, how dare you shoot!"
His roar made those shooting tremble, hastily stopping their gunfire, even nearly dropping their rifles.
The bald man viciously threw the chicken on the ground, then grabbed a skinny young man from behind the truck, cursing at him, "Damn it! You idiot! Others are shooting at people, and you're firing randomly into the sky! If the military inside notices, we're all screwed!"
Without giving the other any chance to respond or beg for mercy, he kicked the skinny young man's head fiercely.
The kick was so powerful that the young man screamed, blood flowing from his forehead as he fell backward, his head hitting the snow with a thud. He immediately went silent, blood streaming from the back of his head, staining the surrounding snow.
Watching the appearance of the bald man and his brutality, Brian frowned slightly. He hadn't expected these people to attack even their own so casually.
He began analyzing the situation. On one side were the four motorcyclists, one captured, another knocked down and likely incapacitated, leaving two hiding behind the military truck at the checkpoint, armed with a rifle each. However, after the woman's wild shooting, they probably didn't have much ammunition left.
On the other side were the hunters. Counting carefully, including the sudden appearance of the bald man, there were a total of ten.
Two were knocked down by the black youth's gunfire, now lying on the ground and likely unable to fight back. However, they still needed to be cautious. One was knocked unconscious by the woman; it seemed he wouldn't be getting up anytime soon. The bald man disabled another, who was bleeding heavily and appeared to be dying.
That made it four down out of ten.
Currently, they were running out of ammunition, isolated and outnumbered by six survivors. But the bald man seemed formidable, and there was...
Thinking, Brian shifted his gaze to the chicken-headed Ogden. From his behavior earlier, he seemed patient and fond of playing it cool.
Comparing the two sides in his mind, Brian assessed that the current situation was nine for the hunters and one for the survivors. Unless there was outside intervention, the survivors were likely at a disadvantage.
"Let's go help them..."
Just as Brian was thinking about this, Wyverld, beside him, unexpectedly spoke up, surprising him. He didn't understand why Wyverld would suggest this. In Brian's opinion, self-preservation would have been the best option.
But Wyverld thought differently. Having seen how weak the hunters were... No, the killers here, after what happened, his mindset had gradually shifted. He wasn't a cold-blooded person, and seeing the vast difference in strength, he couldn't just ignore it. Besides, he was worried about any trouble from the military inside, so he needed an escape route. The trucks and supplies here were his best choice.
"Right!"
"That's the spirit!"
Upon Wyverld's words, Anna and Silvia beside him chimed in, their faces filled with excitement. Even Sarah and Alan seemed eager.
"Why are these guys suddenly so gung-ho about justice?" Brian couldn't help but roll his eyes, feeling a bit exasperated. Although he didn't fancy the risk, seeing everyone's excitement, he didn't voice his opposition.
Thinking for a moment, he unzipped his backpack, took out a grenade, and handed it to Wyverld, saying, "You hold onto this. It might come in handy."
"A grenade? Where did you get it from?"
Wyverld was astonished as he looked at the grenade Brian handed over, curious.
It was Silvia who, upon seeing the grenade, immediately remembered the ones they had during the Vascombe incident, though she had passed out afterward and wasn't sure what happened. She asked uncertainly, "Was it you who dealt with it that day?"
Brian understood what she was asking but decided to include Wyverld in the explanation. So he briefly recounted what happened that day.
"You mean... Sarah killed..."
Silvia looked at Brian, then pointed at Sarah, her expression one of disbelief. Truth be told, Brian wasn't as surprised as she was, but he hadn't expected this apparently delicate girl of twelve or thirteen to be the one wielding a shotgun and killing people.
Seeing the conversation veering off, Wyverld frowned, glanced down at the situation below, and said softly, "Enough. Since we've decided to act, let's not waste time here. Brian, are you and Sarah coming?"
Once they had decided to help the survivors, Brian knew he had to go. It was also an opportunity to gain real combat experience. But he was aware of his limitations and wouldn't overstep. He only said they would provide cover fire with firearms.
Hearing Brian's agreement, Wyverld nodded without objection. He led the group, preparing to take action. As for the youngest, Alan, they didn't let him come along. Instead, they left him behind to monitor the situation.
Though Alan was quite unhappy about it, he understood he couldn't handle a gun properly, so he reluctantly accepted.
Afterward, the group retraced their steps, returning to the highway from a slope. At this moment, all the hunters' attention was on the survivors; there was no one guarding the off-ramp. This made their movement easier.
In just a few minutes, they arrived at their planned position, hiding behind an abandoned car near the off-ramp.
Peeking their heads out, they observed the current situation. The hunters had all changed positions, with two sneaking forward, apparently preparing to ambush. Ogden was nowhere to be seen, likely also preparing to attack the survivors.
The bald man stood on the captive survivor, shouting loudly, seemingly trying to draw the attention of those hiding behind the off-ramp.
Brian and his companions saw everything clearly from their hiding spot. They
understood these people were about to make a move.
....
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