Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Courage
The two of them crashed into the pile of steel beams. With his back against the steel, Long Ming throttled the Ghoul with both hands. He planted his left foot firmly, wrapped his right leg around its body, and used every ounce of his Power to hold it still. Then, he roared at Gu Yi.
"Now!"
"Where should I hit it?"
"Its back!"
"Ah, will it go through and hit you?"
Gu Yi asked uneasily.
"No, just shoot! I can’t hold on much longer!"
Long Ming roared, veins bulging on his forehead. This monster was about his size, but its Power was so much greater than his own.
Hearing Long Ming’s words, Gu Yi braced himself and pulled the trigger.
BANG!
The Ghoul’s back was hit instantly. A large chunk of it was blown away, spraying black blood everywhere.
"Aargh!"
The Ghoul cried out in pain.
Seizing the opportunity, Long Ming shoved the Ghoul away, scrambled to his feet, and rushed to Gu Yi and Chen Wei’s side. He panted heavily as he watched the creature.
Only now did he get a clear look at the monster. It was humanoid, standing about 1.6 meters tall. Its skin was leathery and tough, its hands had become claws, and its mouth was filled with sharp teeth.
The wounded Ghoul struggled back to its feet and, splitting its mouth wide, roared at the three of them.
"Holy crap, what the hell is this thing? It’s still not dead!"
Chen Wei said, extremely nervous.
"I don’t know."
Gu Yi broke open the barrel of the sawed-off shotgun, ejected two spent shells, and frantically reloaded it with two more rounds.
’I keep trying to tell myself this is just a game, but it’s way too realistic.’
Just then, the Ghoul charged toward Long Ming and the others.
"It’s charging! Quick, take it down!"
Chen Wei yelled, fraught with panic.
Gu Yi frantically raised the sawed-off shotgun, his hands trembling as he aimed at the charging Ghoul.
"Give it to me."
Seeing Gu Yi’s nervousness, Long Ming frowned. He snatched the shotgun from Gu Yi, calmly raised it toward the charging Ghoul, and decisively pulled the trigger.
BANG!
The Ghoul’s head exploded instantly. Viscous fluid and chunks of flesh flew everywhere as its body collapsed.
"Badass!"
Seeing the Ghoul was dead, Gu Yi and Chen Wei shouted in elation.
"Phew~"
Long Ming also let out a sigh of relief, seeing that the creature was finally dead.
But in the next second, Long Ming suddenly shouted.
"Watch out! There’s another one!"
Gu Yi and Chen Wei jumped in fright, frantically searching their surroundings.
Just then, with a dark expression, Long Ming turned to look at the pile of steel beams to his right.
A moment later, a two-meter-tall, much more muscular Ghoul walked out from behind the pile of steel, a wicked grin on its face.
"You’ve got to be kidding me... This one looks bigger and stronger."
Gu Yi and Chen Wei were terrified by the Ghoul before them, their voices trembling as they spoke.
Long Ming stared intently at the Ghoul, calmly holding out his hand to Gu Yi.
"Bullets!"
"I... I don’t..."
"What do you mean you don’t? Give me the bullets!"
"There... there are no more."
Gu Yi stammered in reply.
Hearing this, Long Ming’s face darkened, and he tossed the gun back to Gu Yi.
At that moment, the Ghoul before them fixed its scarlet eyes on the three men and began walking toward them, one step at a time.
"We should run."
Chen Wei and Gu Yi took a fearful step back.
Long Ming watched the approaching Ghoul, took a deep breath, his expression hardening with resolve.
He did not retreat. Instead, he reached down, picked up a discarded axe from the ground, and faced the approaching Ghoul.
Gu Yi and Chen Wei were stunned to see Long Ming raise the axe, preparing to fight. They asked in disbelief,
"Bro, you’re not running?"
"Can we even outrun it?"
Long Ming’s eyes were fixed on the steadily advancing Ghoul.
’The leg muscles on these things are insane. There’s no way we could outrun it.’
’If we’re dead either way, we might as well fight for it. And this axe might just give me a chance.’
"Damn it, let’s fight this thing."
Gu Yi snapped out of it and said, steeling himself.
"Yeah, let’s fight."
Chen Wei looked around on the ground, then snatched up an iron hammer.
Gu Yi also squatted down to find a weapon. A screwdriver, a saw...
"Crap, why isn’t there anything useful?"
Long Ming glanced at them from the corner of his eye, a little surprised. ’These two actually didn’t run.’
Just then, the Ghoul roared and charged forward. Without a hint of hesitation, Long Ming raised his axe and ran to meet it.
The moment they met, the Ghoul raised its sharp claws to tear into Long Ming.
Holding his breath, Long Ming twisted his body, perfectly dodging the claws.
Then, he swung the axe with all his might, hacking viciously into the Ghoul’s chest.
THUNK!
The axe sank partway into its flesh, but the immense feedback numbed Long Ming’s arms. ’It feels like I hit solid bone.’
Struck by the axe, the Ghoul let out a cry of pain.
Long Ming struggled to pull the axe free and raised it for another strike, but the enraged Ghoul kicked him squarely in the stomach.
THUD!
The heavy blow sent Long Ming stumbling backward onto the ground.
He clutched his stomach with one hand. The searing pain nearly knocked the wind out of him, but he still forced himself to try and get back up.
The Ghoul didn’t pause for a moment and charged at Long Ming again.
But just then, Chen Wei swung his hammer at the Ghoul.
"Eat this!"
The Ghoul whipped its head around to face Chen Wei and caught the hammer with its clawed hand.
Chen Wei’s eyes widened in shock.
Then, the Ghoul, still holding the hammer, flung Chen Wei aside.
CRASH!
Chen Wei slammed hard into the nearby pile of steel beams before crashing to the ground, groaning in pain.
"Ugh, that hurts!"
The Ghoul turned its head back to the now-standing Long Ming and charged once more.
Gripping his axe, Long Ming kept his eyes locked on the charging Ghoul and decisively rolled to the right, dodging its lunge.
He quickly rose to his feet and attacked the Ghoul from its flank, swinging his axe once more.
But the Ghoul spun around and met him with a slash of its claws.
CLANG!
The axe and claws clashed. A tremendous force shot through the axe, sending Long Ming stumbling back several steps.
The Ghoul grinned, just about to rush forward and tear Long Ming to pieces.
Just then, Gu Yi rushed up from behind, carrying a heavy iron bucket, and slammed it down over the Ghoul’s head.
Its vision gone, the Ghoul frantically reached its left claw toward the bucket on its head.
Seeing this, Long Ming immediately shouted.
"Grab its left arm!"
Gu Yi immediately lunged, grabbing the Ghoul’s left arm from behind with both hands to stop it from removing the bucket.
The Ghoul then raised its right claw.
Fortunately, Chen Wei saw his opening and rushed in, grabbing its right arm with both hands.
The Ghoul thrashed wildly, but Gu Yi and Chen Wei held on for dear life, their faces flushing red with exertion.
"Hold on!"
Long Ming’s eyes glinted. He charged straight at the Ghoul and swung his axe down hard onto its neck.
CRUNCH!
But the axe only sank halfway through its neck, failing to sever it.
With a roar, the Ghoul thrashed violently, sending both Gu Yi and Chen Wei flying.
BAM!
They both slammed onto the ground, groaning in pain.
"Oww~"
But Long Ming didn’t panic. He ripped his axe free, took a few steps back, and locked his eyes on the wound. Unleashing all his Power, he leaped into the air and brought the axe down on the Ghoul’s neck with all his might.
KRACK!
This time, the Ghoul’s head was chopped clean off.
After killing the Ghoul, Long Ming bent over, panting heavily, his chest rising and falling.
Clutching their aching backs, Gu Yi and Chen Wei got to their feet, sucking in sharp breaths of pain. Seeing the Ghoul beheaded, the way they looked at Long Ming had completely changed. They both gave him a thumbs-up.
"Dude, you’re freaking incredible!"
Long Ming calmed his racing heart, then spoke to them in a cool tone.
"It’s not safe here. Let’s hurry, spread out to find more supplies, and then get out."
"Right."
Gu Yi and Chen Wei nodded quickly.
Then, the two of them hurriedly left the warehouse, leaving Long Ming by himself.
