Rise of the Wasteland Chapter 74 - Building

Chapter 74        Building

The single bullet fired from afar sent chills down Zhou Qingfeng’s spine. It was his first time witnessing the cruelty of gunfights in this city. One second, you would be boasting your skill to the others, and in the next you would find yourself lying coldly on the ground.

That bullet also exposed the weakness of his ability ‘As Quick as Lightning’ – it only worked for short-range attacks and would not react against long-range attacks. If Butcher had not pulled him away, he would already be a corpse.

“Thanks,” Zhou Qingfeng said sincerely. His heart palpitated, and he breathed harder. He turned around and looked at Butcher, asking him, “How did you know that the sniper was going to shoot?”

“Because I’m experienced. I knew that I can’t stay in an open place more than three seconds no matter when.” Butcher pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and offered a stick to Zhou Qingfeng. “It was so stupid of you to put your head out, looking for snipers. You’re looking for death.”

“I don’t smoke,” Zhou Qinfeng rejected, yet his disgust toward Butcher had decreased significantly after he saved his life. “But still, thank you. You saved my life.”

“I thought you’d never say thank you.” Butcher took a few puffs of smoke and climbed to the place where Zhou Qingfeng got attacked. He put his head out, then down again quickly as the sniper opposite them fired once more. The bullet hit the same spot.

“A rookie, at around the twentieth floor. Doesn’t even change places after firing.” Butcher patted Zhou Qingfeng’s shoulder and said, “Go and kill him.”

“Me?” Zhou Qingfeng was a bit nervous. “I can’t even get near him.”

“Think about it; that dumb rookie who doesn’t even move is worse than you.” Butcher finished talking, discarded his unfinished cigarette, and walked toward another direction.

“Where are you going?” Zhou Qingfeng was worried and wanted to follow.

“Don’t follow me. Your job is to clear that building; it’s a test for you. I’ll think of a way to go around that building and try to contact David Lawrence earlier than planned,” Butcher rejected Zhou Qingfeng and disappeared with his PKM machine gun.

What the hell! You’re just leaving me alone here? How is that a test? It’s a punishment!

Zhou Qingfeng was stunned for a moment. In such a complicated environment, Butcher, although a little unfriendly as a teacher, was still very useful. Without Butcher to direct him, he could only hide behind a wall of a building and try his best to think of a way to counter the sniper.

Zhou Qingfeng got his armband computer out and check the accurate map of Downtown Manhattan. The map confirmed that the sniper was postioned at the building of the New York Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The building had around fifty to sixty floors, and the numbers of the rooms went beyond a thousand. No one could know how many people were in the building. With the current situation as it was, there should be at least a few hundred people in the building where the sniper had hidden.

However, if they were going to take over the police headquarters, that building was equivalent to the entrance: They had to conquer it if they wanted to enter. Zhou Qingfeng held his SCAR rifle and attempted to do what Butcher did to test the sniper. He had been thinking about it; he just did not have the guts to do it, so he put his helmet out instead.

The helmet had just barely appeared and almost instantly, the sniper fired again. Based on the angle of the bullet hole, the sniper was still at the same spot.

A rookie. He was a rookie who was worse than Zhou Qingfeng, though his aiming skill was not that bad.

Zhou Qingfeng heaved a sigh of relief and ran in another direction. Once again, he used his helmet to test the sniper out and quickly looked up before ducking down.

There was no reaction! Nothing went on at the opposite building too.

And so, Zhou Qingfeng ran across the street while using the abandoned vehicles on the roads for cover. Zhou Qingfeng observed and moved quickly to ensure that he did not expose himself for more than three seconds at a time.

After around twenty minutes, Zhou Qingfeng had travelled for about two hundred meters and finally arrived at the building. The glass wall at the ground floor of the building had shattered, and the windows at the lower levels were all broken. There were more than ten bloody corpses on the street outside the building.

“This is probably because there’s no one nearby. Nobody would dare to come closer after seeing all these snipers and dead bodies scattered all over the ground.” Zhou Qingfeng could even hear some noises from the broken windows of the building. It seemed like there were people quarrelling, fighting, and crying.

Zhou Qingfeng held his gun and ran into the building. There was no one on the ground level, only all sorts of broken pieces and messes on the floor. Bullet holes littered the misaligned decorations as well.

The elevators in the building failed to work, but the escalators still functioned. Zhou Qingfeng was not afraid of such a situation. As the escalator slowly went up, Zhou Qingfeng readied his gun, his eyes completely alert.

The floor area of the building was about five thousand square meters. Each floor had several rooms, and the floor plan was very complicated. Zhou Qingfeng searched through the second, third, and fourth floors. He spent more than an hour, yet he did not see anyone.

However, on the fifth floor, the sound of scolding echoed.

“D*mn it, f*ck off! I don’t have any food or drinks here. Leave now or I’ll shoot you.

“Go and find Korgan upstairs, they took away all the food and drinks.

“I’m not going to help you all, get out of here! Think of your own way to survive.”

The person cursing was rude and irritable. As Zhou Qingfeng arrived at the fifth floor by using the stairs of the fire escape, he saw a huge amount of people in the corridor.

Oh my gosh, is this refugee camp?

Zhou Qingfeng’s estimate was too conservative; there were at least a hundred people in the corridor. They leaned against the wall silently, worn out by exhaustion and hunger.

It’s only the first day of the cataclysm; harder days are waiting for you!

The people in the corridor were surprised by Zhou Qingfeng’s appearance. All civil servants should have already disappeared, therefore these people in front of him should be normal citizens.

Seeing the fully armed Zhou Qingfeng, a guy wearing a suit instantly rushed toward him and said with blinking eyes, “Sir, please save us, give us some food.”

“Back off!” Zhou Qingfeng said coldly with his gun pointing forward. “Tell me, what’s going on here?”

The man in the suit said hurriedly, “Sir, we have no idea what’s going on. The police and the civil servants have all disappeared, the roads are blocked, the train isn’t working, and there’s no electricity nor water supply.

“We wanted to leave here but it’s too dangerous out there. A gunfight happened last night and many of us were killed. This morning, the gangsters broke into this building and locked up the floors starting from the tenth. They moved away all the food and drinks in the building.

“The remaining small amount of food and drinks are controlled by a few security guards. However, they won’t share, no matter how much we beg and plead them. They don’t even care about the children. We’re really desperate and we need your help.”

The man in the suit cried as he talked, his expression and his words showing how truly heartbroken he was. However, Zhou Qingfeng remained unmoved as he heard the explanation. He only asked, “Where are those security guards?”

Chapter end