Chapter 271: Open The Door
Lingyun kept his word.
He lifted his hand and continued to fire until the pile of the dead zombies inside the entrance became thick enough to slow down anything trying to climb over it.
The focused flames were getting easier to control now that he understood how little power he actually needed to use to get the results that he wanted.
A shot through the eye, mouth, or temple was enough to stop a zombie without reducing the entire body to ash, and every corpse left behind made the next one work harder to reach the gate.
His wrist hurt, but it was not worth complaining about. They had already wasted too much time standing outside the store while the sun disappeared, and Lingyun had no intention of adding God only knew how many hours to their trip because his arm had started aching and they were forced to find someplace else to sleep.
Chenghai, having returned from the SUV with a crowbar, stopped beside the glass doors and studied the scene in front of him like he was going to be tested on it.
That was fine.
Knowing Zhenlan, Chenghai would probably be tested on what could have gone better.
Spoiler alert.
Not leaving home, and definably not leaving Rouxi would have made this entire thing go better.
But that was beside the point.
Lingyun watched from the corner of his eyes as Chenghai studied the zombie in front of him as it dragged itself over the bodies before Lingyun burned through enough of its forehead and dropped it across the others.
"You planned the pile?" Chenghai asked, raising an eyebrow. Lingyun was pretty sure that if he had the ability to take out a note book, it would already be in his hands along with a pen.
Lingyun rolled his eyes at the other man. "Clearly I planned to kill them. The pile was a happy accident."
Chenghai paused for a moment before he slowly nodded his head. "Actually, that sounds a lot more believable than if you had told me you had a whole master plan."
"I’m sure that I should be offended by how little faith you have in me, but most people can’t appreciate geniuses when they appear. I guess you are one of them."
"I think I’ll survive."
When there was a slight break in the incoming zombies, Chenghai pushed the end of the crowbar between the door handles and leaned his weight into it.
The doors started to open by several inches before the lock and security gate behind them stopped everything. Of course, because it was just one of those days, the movement from the door sent the zombies into another frenzy. Arms forced themselves between the metal bars, their fingers clawing through the gap while teeth snapped against anything that came close.
Lingyun burned through the two wrists that were the closest to Chenghai, resulting in both severed hands falling onto the pavement, still bleeding a black sticky blood.
Qin Fen made a disgusted sound from the covered rear of the truck. "Do you have to leave pieces everywhere?"
"In my defense, they were still attached when I started," called out Lingyun, not bothering to actually turn around and look at the woman.
"That does not make it less disgusting," she pointed out... like he should care about her opinion.
"It makes it someone else’s fault," Lingyun replied with a bright smile on his face. It was too bad that the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.
Time was ticking, and every second that passed was like claws digging into his heart.
He still wasn’t fast enough.
A few people behind her laughed, drawing Lingyun from his thoughts. Right, he couldn’t afford to get distracted.
Even as he thought that, another crash from inside the store reminded everyone why they were still on the outside instead of already inside. Old Chen struck the floor of the truck bed once with his pipe, and the laughter stopped almost immediately.
Zhenlan moved closer to the entrance but kept looking over his shoulder toward the road.
The SUV headlights lit the front of the store, but that wasn’t keeping the rest of the parking lot from already disappearing into darkness. Shapes that weren’t human were starting to move beyond the abandoned cars, drawn by the noise, light, and smell of burned flesh.
"More zombies are coming from the intersection," Zhenlan warned. "You need to move faster."
Lingyun gritted his teeth, forcing back the annoyance. He needed to keep his temper, he couldn’t afford to set the entire store on fire just because two men apparently forgot that they had super powers too. He fired a fire bullet through another skull without turning around. "Then use your wind," he sneered.
It wasn’t what he wanted to say, but it was close enough.
Zhenlan narrowed his eyes at the back of Lingyun’s head, but a strong gust swept across the parking lot a second later. Something slammed into the side of an abandoned car hard enough to dent the door, followed by another body tumbling across the pavement.
Lingyun smiled sarcastically as he aimed at the next zombie inside the store. Look at that, the man could use his little hot air for something other than to just annoy him. Wasn’t it was nice when people stopped arguing and became useful?
Chenghai forced the doors apart another inch, but there was no way for him to reach the lock in the center of the security gate. He shifted the crowbar, tried a different angle, and finally looked toward Zhenlan.
"We need Luo Qing."
Zhenlan turned toward the truck. "Luo Qing, bring your tools. Everyone else stays inside."
The broad-shouldered woman appeared at the rear opening with the bundle she had refused to leave at the base. Old Chen lifted his pipe before anyone could follow her.
"If he did not call your name, keep your ass where it is," Old Chen warned the others.
Luo Qing jumped down and hurried across the parking lot, keeping close to the military truck until she reached the light. She did not ask whether it was safe. She only crouched beside Chenghai and looked at the entrance.
"The glass doors open outward, but the gate slides sideways," she explained while unwrapping her tools. "The lock should be close to the middle. I can reach it if you give me enough room."
Chenghai looked at the dead fingers still pushing through the bars. "Enough room for your hand is enough room for them to grab it."
"Gee. Thanks. I noticed the zombies."
Lingyun’s smile curved a little higher, for one brief second thinking about what would happen if she lost those fingers to the not so dead undead. Then he shook his head. He had to do what was best for Rouxi.. not what was best for the devil on his shoulder.
"I will keep them away from you."
