Chapter 101 I Am Wang Hu

The team continued to march, but by now, their numbers had greatly diminished.

Sixteen special forces soldiers, about thirty from the security platoon, plus Wang Hu and Xiang Weiguo—altogether there were just over fifty people protecting Xinghe.

As for Gao Yuan and the others, they were merely making up the numbers.

The power of an individual meant nothing in this catastrophe.

Or rather, the power of an individual meant nothing in this war.

Even the mightiest sixteen special forces soldiers of all of Shenzhou could only be treated as ordinary infantry. Their aim was more accurate, but they could only kill a few more zombies; their stamina was better, but they could only run a little further; they had more skills, but regretfully, these were completely useless now.

Without helicopters, without tanks or armored vehicles, without anything at all, how could the special forces stand against the sheer number of enemies?

The shouts were becoming fainter, but Gao Yuan and his group were still moving across the plains.

Ahead was the safe zone, a region cleared by the shelter well in advance, where they could be sure was free of zombies.

They could always faintly hear screaming behind them—those were the zombies catching up to the remaining survivors. They could also hear gunfire, but it was becoming sparser by the moment.

The survivors were leading the zombies towards them, but by now Wang Hu and his team couldn't turn back to direct the survivors to run in a different direction. It would be pointless, and no one would follow such an order at this time.

Suddenly, it went silent behind them—no sound at all, no artillery, no gunfire, no screams.

Looking back, the lights of the shelter were still on, but there were no sounds whatsoever.

Gao Yuan and his team could no longer call for artillery support. They had left the fixed coordinate area, and even if there were still artillerymen, even if the artillerymen still had shells, they could not deliver them accurately in a short time because using artillery was not that simple.

Everything was gone, all was lost.

All they could do now was pray that the zombies hadn't noticed them, that the alien monsters wouldn't follow.

The shelter was probably about five kilometers away. Da Hong Third Company couldn't hold the zombies for thirty minutes; they only managed fifteen. Now Gao Yuan and his team had used twenty minutes to run more than five kilometers. In theory, this distance should have been safe enough, but it wasn't because the survivors had drawn the zombies too close. They were only one kilometer away from the zombies.

Yu Shunzhou was already having a tough time running; he had reached the limits of his physical strength. Nie Erlong was also panting and struggling to keep up, but Gao Yuan was still fine as he had been training these days. Luo Xingyu also had good stamina, at least after running these five kilometers, she was still keeping up.

Wang Hu was also running without much strain. Although he was a brigade commander, he had never stopped his physical training.

"Mr. Xiang, I don't think this will work."

In mid-run, Wang Hu started speaking, Xiang Weiguo quietly responded, "Yes, we can't shake them off."

"You lead them and keep running. I should go now."

Xiang Weiguo looked at Wang Hu and said, "I'll go."

At that moment, the special forces team leader said, "We're here, it shouldn't be up to you two to do this. Colonel, you have more important tasks to handle; I don't think you should undertake the mission to lure the enemy."

It was true that the leader of the special forces group could speak to Wang Hu like this—he was a lieutenant colonel.

Yes, the leader of a sixteen-man group was a lieutenant colonel.

Special forces units were typically made up of eight-man teams, which were the basic combat units. However, for mission demands, two eight-man teams could be combined into one sixteen-man group, commanded by a group leader.

The leader of this special forces group was a lieutenant colonel, and the team leaders were majors; an officer commanded just eight men.

But the special forces soldiers were non-commissioned officers, just non-commissioned officers.

The group leader of the special forces had the right to offer his suggestions to Wang Hu, like during this moment.

"Your task is to protect Xinghe. Until the last one of you dies, don't let anything happen to Xinghe."

As Wang Hu ran, he finished speaking in a very calm tone, "My experience is useless in the upcoming fight against the aliens. My brigade is gone; now it's my turn to go. There is no brigade commander who has abandoned his brigade to flee alone. Never, there never has been!"

Xiang Weiguo just sighed deeply, then spoke in a solemn voice, "Go in peace."

"Mr. Xiang, you take over the command. It's up to you now."

"Mission will be completed!"

Just then, someone from the special forces group whispered, "A large number of zombies are rapidly approaching, less than eight hundred meters away and still closing in!"

Wang Hu took a breath and then, raising his voice, said, "Security platoon, follow me!"

Wang Hu turned and started running back while the security platoon silently followed him around the bend.

As Wang Hu brushed past Gao Yuan, he pointed at him and while running said, "Survive! Leave me a seed; we can't withdraw our number..."

Gao Yuan was now with Da Hong Third Company; as long as he lived, there would be someone from Da Hong Third Company. As long as there was someone from the Third Company, the Motorized Battalion of Regiment Three wouldn't be wiped out. If the battalion wasn't wiped out, then Wang Hu's 33258 regiment still had someone alive.

If nothing unexpected happened, Gao Yuan might be the only one left from the entire 33258 regiment.

If Gao Yuan could survive, that is.

As Wang Hu passed Gao Yuan, he left him with a special admonition, but what the outcome would be, he no longer pondered.

Wang Hu had a night vision device in his hand. He looked through it and then said, "Meeting them head-on like this won't work. We need tactics. Liu Siming, split the security platoon into three groups to entice the enemy. Try to lead them as far away as possible, head south."

"Yes! First squad, engage the enemy, move out!"

Following Liu Siming's order, the squad leader did not hesitate to say, "First squad, follow me!"

Leading the first squad straight toward the direction of the zombies, the squad leader shouted, "At least we didn't let the brigade commander die upfront. We're much stronger than the second and third squads! Comrades, let's brighten things up!"

The squad leader turned on his rifle's tactical light and then stopped in place, loudly saying, "Prepare to face the enemy, or rather, embrace death!"

True warriors dare to confront death.

The eleven men huffed and puffed heavily, and when the beam of the flashlight hit the first zombie, their breathing paused abruptly.

The squad leader roared, "Fire!"

The rifles fired in unison.

The squad leader yelled, "Head south, follow me!"

The gunfire behind them suddenly intensified. Wang Hu did not look back; he only sped up his steps, wanting to get as far away as possible, further away.

The gunfire lasted for two minutes before it finally ceased completely.

Liu Siming roared, "Second squad, engage, draw the enemy over!"

The squad leader immediately roared, "Second squad, follow me!"

Wang Hu continued to run, still in the lead, sprinting at the fastest speed he could manage.

The gunfire of the second squad lasted longer because the zombies were sparser, allowing the second squad to hold out for more time.

Wang Hu was very satisfied with the situation because if it had been a massive horde of zombies, neither the first nor second squad could have held out this long.

The longer he held out here, the safer Xinghe would be.

But the gunfire of the second squad finally ceased, and Wang Hu thundered, "Light it up, open fire, keep running, draw the enemy over!"

After speaking, Wang Hu drew his pistol from his waist and fired a shot into the sky.

"From now on, don't stop! Run as far as you can, hold out as long as you can, and drag the zombies around with you. Whoever can last ten minutes, I'll put in for a first-class merit award for them!"

Liu Siming, who didn't know where he found the courage, said with a smile, "Commander, you've promised dozens of second-class merits and a dozen first-class merits now, haven't you? But not one has been received."

Wang Hu also smiled and said, "It's enough that you know you've earned a merit. Don't worry, some will record our merits."

"Who, Gao Yuan? Commander Xiang?"

"No, as long as Xinghe lives, our brigade will definitely be awarded a collective first-class merit, believe it or not? Do you believe it?"

"Let's hope so..."

Wang Hu took a breath, "Stop talking, it's a waste of energy. Now, run faster. Liu Siming, I order you to run ahead. Whoever has the strength should push to the front as far as they can run. This is an order!"

A young soldier immediately said, "Commander, I'm going ahead. Don't forget, a first-class merit."

After that, the young soldier took off running, being young, he ran even faster than Wang Hu.

"Commander, a first-class merit!"

A second one, then a third.

"Commander, a first-class merit."

"First-class merit."

"Commander... goodbye."

The last soldier ran ahead; they were not deserting – they just wanted to last longer.

But Liu Siming didn't run, and Wang Hu got a bit angry, loudly saying, "I told you to go ahead!"

"Commander, I am the captain of the guard. I can't let you die before me. I beg you, don't make me fail in my duty again."

Wang Hu said angrily, "You... fine, I agree."

"Thank you, Commander. Commander, the zombies are coming."

"No more running, face the enemy!"

"Yes!"

Wang Hu stopped in his tracks, looked back with his night vision goggles for an instant, and saw a massive beast hurtling towards him.

"There's also a monster, Liu Siming, follow me. Our brigade won't lose a single man. As we depart for the Underworld to call upon old comrades, a hundred thousand banners will slash... the Great Snake!"

As he whimsically recited the verse, Wang Hu discarded the night vision goggles. He stood in place, facing the zombies. He took a few deep breaths, then straightened his military cap, pushed his glasses up his nose, and brushed the collar of his undershirt.

Behind him, Liu Siming straightened out Wang Hu's clothes, patted them smooth, and then brushed off the dust from Wang Hu's shoulders.

Then, Liu Siming holding his gun, took his place in front of Wang Hu.

"Step aside, who is the commander here, you or me? We're going to die together anyway, so why worry about who goes first. What else do we have left?"

"Oh."

Liu Siming silently moved to the side.

"Flashlight!"

Liu Siming handed the flashlight to Wang Hu, who took it, turned it on, and then he fired a shot in the direction of the zombies.

Wang Hu shouted with all his might, "I am Wang Hu!"

Wang Hu wanted to sing a line from a play, but he could not find a fitting one.

"I am... Wang Hu of Changshan!"

He fired another shot towards the zombies.

"I am the Armored Tiger!"

The zombies appeared in the beam of the flashlight, and Liu Siming raised his gun and fired.

Headshot, headshot, and another headshot, Liu Siming truly had excellent marksmanship.

Wang Hu threw away the pistol, took a grenade from Liu Siming's chest, and pulled the pin.

A huge shadow passed over the zombies, and Liu Siming raised his gun, firing continuously at the monster.

The monster was upon them.

If it weren't for the aliens, Wang Hu would probably have received his promotion to major general by now; if it weren't for the aliens, he might also have been in command of a division.

Regrets? No, no regrets. Since Xinghe made it to Shimen Shelter No.2, there were absolutely no regrets.

Wang Hu relaxed his hand and laid the grenade flat in his palm, bringing it before his eyes.

Now he could rightfully shout out the sentence that had lingered in his heart since childhood.

"I am General Wang Hu!"

As Wang Hu shouted for the last time, and before the monster's limb could strike Liu Siming, the grenade in Wang Hu's hand exploded.

Boom.

The clamorous night, for a moment, fell silent.