Rise of the Wasteland Chapter 62 - The Act of Snatching

Chapter 62        The Act of Snatching

Needless to say, there were tons of benefits in occupying the NYPD headquarters. Its location was very strategic, not to mention having its sturdy structure as a living base as well as having enough weapons to arm a large number of personnel.

It was still the early days of the cataclysm. Most of the criminals would normally choose to rob money that was now unprotected without custody. Meanwhile, the NYPD headquarters was located in Downtown Manhattan, an area where the wealthy from across the United States had gathered in.

There were over a thousand tons of gold that was stored within the underground vault of the New York Federal Reserve Bank near Wall Street. It contained the riches of people from all around the globe, and it was enough for anyone to drool over it.

Anyone can easily become a billionaire within a few days if they were to occupy the NYPD headquarters and make it their base, and loot all the buildings surrounding it. However, it seemed that a lot of smart people had already swarmed into Downtown Manhattan. There were already people who made their first move despite the fact that the cataclysm had only just begun.

Zhou Qingfeng hid behind the Broadway Theater as he watched the people engaging in gunfights behind a building that was over hundred meters away from him. He could clearly see that Katrina Riven’s team had numerical inferiority. Although their team was made up of only four to five people, they attacked in an orderly fashion. They kept moving and eliminating their targets.

Meanwhile, the other side had numerical superiority. Their opponents possessed over twenty guns. However, they were lacking in skill when it came to shooting, as they kept standing on the same spot. Thus, they were always killed by Katrina’s team within a few gunshots.

However, the shooting did not cease. Zhou Qingfeng can tell that their opponents almost had an unlimited amount of reinforcements when he observed the battlefield using his night vision device. It seemed that all of the reinforcement troops came from the nearby Brooklyn Bridge.

Due to the violent gunfight, a large number of stagnant people who originally stayed in Downtown Manhattan was fleeing toward Brooklyn. The flow of people that left on foot was extremely slow as the deck had been blocked by the vehicles.

Zhou Qingfeng tried to recall the details of “Wasteland” through his memory. However, he could not remember if David Lawrence had ever brought his team to Manhattan, let alone engaged in a crossfire with others.

According to the plot, the hero was supposed to be protecting his wife and daughter inside his house. He too was having a hard time. He would only reveal himself after three days, when everyone was desperate and New York had become a mess.

Damn it! I only stole a dog. How come the story took such a huge turn?

Zhou Qingfeng cursed silently as he turned around and looked at the six-man team behind him. They were shivering and huddling up in the corner. They would have already escaped for sure if it was not for DogMeat who was staring at them fiercely.

“Mr Hugo, are we still going to the NYPD headquarters? I don’t think it’s the right time.” Zogar was two meters tall, yet he was afraid of Zhou Qingfeng who was only one point eight meters tall, to an extent that he was willing to lie prone on the floor.

Zhou Qingfeng threw a glance at the useless giant as he sighed in disappointment. His rival’s team members were all loyal and powerful. On the other hand, his team members were all useless. He could only change his plan when faced with such a situation, as he said, “We won’t be heading to the NYPD headquarters for now. We’ll be changing our plan and we’ll go to a nearby area to continue our search.”

“Well, well, well.” Zogar was finally relieved as he nodded his head happily. He even praised Zhou Qingfeng, “Mr. Hugo, you’re truly a great and kind-hearted man! You’re also a brave warrior. We’re willing to serve in whatever capacity.”

“You’re so disgusting!” Zhou Qingfeng murmured. He switched on the armband computer on his wrist and opened the map of Downtown Manhattan. He searched for nearby pharmacies and hospitals. He then found out that the hospital where the kidnapping took place two days ago was just around the corner. “Let’s go, we’ll need to get ourselves some medicine as well as doctors and nurses.”

Lena Fox's kidnapping case lasted for two days in the Downtown Manhattan Hospital. In that time, Zhou Qingfeng shot Chief Bratton, the chief officer of NYPD, to death exactly in front of the hospital entrance at noon of the second day.

As the kidnapping case had just occurred within the past twelve hours, the yellow tape barricading the scene of the crime as well as several police cars were still there. Zhou Qingfeng broke into the hospital and discovered that there were no people inside. He only saw a few nurses who were busy doing their jobs when he entered the emergency room.

"Sir, we're just getting ready and we’ll be resuming our health services in no time." A masked nurse walked up to Zhou Qingfeng and asked him to leave, "Now, will you please wait outside?"

Almost everyone inside the Downtown Manhattan Hospital had escaped during the kidnapping. However, it seemed that quite a few of the medical staff had realized the seriousness of the cataclysm. So they returned to the hospital and tried their best to resume operations.

“Perfect! I like responsible people, especially those who show kindness and hard work in this disorganized, bloody era. They truly deserve my respect. You guys are no doubt the glimmer of light in the darkness.”

The nurse however was unsatisfied with Zhou Qingfeng as she blocked him from entering the emergency room. She pushed his chest and yelled crossly, “The hospital does not welcome any armed personnel! Please leave this place if you only want to create a commotion. We’ll only take care of the casualties.”

“That’s all the medical staff you have?” Zhou Qingfeng ignored the nurse despite what she had told him. He counted the number of medical staff and found out that there were only seven nurses, and all of them were female. “Do you have a surgeon? Other doctors will be fine as well."

The masked nurse did not respond to Zhou Qingfeng’s question. In an aggravated tone, she yelled at him once again, “Please leave this place! There’s nothing valuable for you to steal in the hospital. I’ll say it one more time, the hospital is a sacred place, and people like you are not welcomed to enter this place.”

Her yell had attracted attention in the emergency room. Someone stepped forward and tried to stop the nurse by whispering in the nurse’s ear, "Nancy, you should not provoke this person!"

In spite of that, the nurse named Nancy ignored her companion. She continued to block Zhou Qingfeng from entering the emergency room and said, “I don’t know why the police had disappeared. I don’t even know what’s going on right now. But I do believe that God will not abandon us this easily. Thus, we need to save ourselves before it’s too late.

“My duty is to assist those who need our help, as well as to stop bastards like you from interrupting our job. I believe that my work will gain recognition from God. So I will not give in or give up!”

Nurse Nancy said with determination and momentum. She seemed like the kind of person who will always adhere to her own principles and boundaries. However, Nurse Nancy;s companion almost burst into tears as she pulled her hand once more. "Nancy, please stop it. He’s Victor Hugo, the criminal who killed Chief Bratton of the NYPD. "

What? Nurse Nancy was shocked on the spot. Westerners, just like East Asians, tended to be bad at distinguishing faces of people from races besides their own. It was obvious that she did not know Zhou Qingfeng’s identity at first. However, after the continuous warnings from her companions, she finally realized that she was actually facing a wanted criminal!

A hoodlum, a killer, an executioner, a lawless criminal! Zhou Qingfeng had been hailed by the media as the world's most dangerous criminal of the 21st century!

Nancy took a step back, but she still blocked Zhou Qingfeng from entering the emergency room. Although she had softened her tone, she remained stubborn as she said to him, “Mr Hugo, please leave this place alone. There’s really nothing worth stealing in here."

“No, no....!” Zhou Qingfeng stared at the masked nurse with admiration. "With the bravery you’ve shown in stopping me from entering the emergency room, your value is simply immeasurable. So, I’ve decided... to snatch you away!"

Zhou Qingfeng bent down after he finished talking. Then, he lifted Nurse Nancy and carried her over his shoulder, walking away with a prideful swagger even though the nurse kept on trying to struggle free from him.

"Asshole, put me down.

"Let me go, let me go now!

“Somebody save me! Help, help…!”

She kept shouting for help, but no one seemed to hear it. The other nurses who stayed inside the emergency room, as well as the six-man team who came along with Zhou Qingfeng were shocked when they saw the scene. It was an act of snatching!

Chapter end