Chapter 773: Chapter 758: A Spine-Chilling Grand Gift
"You say the two inside are still sleeping, but can you be sure the last one isn’t near the other two?"
To this, the subordinate nodded confidently and said, "I just took special note of the surroundings where they are sleeping, there is absolutely nothing unusual."
"Okay, you’re in charge of leading the way. You four, follow up. The rest stay outside. If anything happens inside, you need to rush in to support immediately. Understood?"
The subordinates all nodded in agreement.
Including Qiao Shan, the six of them crawled like six writhing worms, constantly twisting their bodies, slowly crawling forward in the snow.
The subordinate who was searching for food and drink upstairs was completely unaware of the commotion downstairs and the impending danger.
He felt pretty bad right now. Besides overcoming the visceral fear from the silent and dark confined space, he was repeatedly making meaningless attempts to open doors.
However, ever since he entered the office building, he hadn’t found a single door that could be opened, let alone enter to search for resources.
"Damn that He Lei, damn it. He left, and didn’t even bother to leave the doors open. Now all TMD locked up, making me do useless work in this place. When I go back empty-handed, there’ll be another round of beatings and scolding for sure. Just my damn luck!" The subordinate grumbled angrily, cursing non-stop, while his right hand unconsciously gripped the handle of yet another wooden door in front of him.
He was already used to the results after turning handles, so once he mechanically completed the action, he didn’t even think before lifting his foot to walk forward.
But just as his foot left the ground by less than 10 centimeters, he stomped back down and incredulously pushed the wooden door lightly with his hand.
"Creak!" The door opened.
"Wow! What the hell is this smell!" The subordinate had no time to be excited about the door opening before he was nearly overwhelmed by a nauseating stench, almost making him retch.
The subordinate raised his flashlight warily. Although the beam was weak, this minimal light gave him a little more courage in the eerie atmosphere.
The subordinate tightened his grip on the cleaver. He Lei made it very clear: all doors and windows were locked, and all captured people were killed. Yet the door to this room surprisingly opened.
Coupled with this acrid odor, the only reasonable explanation was that there was someone inside. No, to be precise, it might not be a person, but a zombie. Not the zombies about which our ancestors spoke, but those man-eating zombies running all over the place now.
Driven by some unknown force, the subordinate cautiously stepped towards the room. The flashlight beam moved quickly around the room, which was eerily quiet, showing no signs of any moving object.
The subordinate hadn’t been attacked. This slowly brought him out of his state of fear.
Once a little calmer, he marveled at his own overreaction.
"Sigh! How stupid of me, how could there be zombies! Those mindless things can’t even open doors. Spooking myself!" After muttering to himself, the subordinate sheathed his blade and began his task in the room, searching for supplies.
"Ah!" A piercing scream jolted Spring Xiu from his sleep. He instinctively reached for the gun at his waist, but someone pinned him to the sofa, and the sensation at the back of his head made him realize it was a gun pointed at him. He had been taken hostage.
"If you don’t want to die, then don’t damn well move!" The pig-sounding scream from upstairs had quite startled Qiao Shan and the others.
They had just moved close to Spring Xiu and the two others, hadn’t even caught their breath before this inexplicable scream nearly scared them to death.
Fortunately, he reacted quickly, restraining Spring Xiu immediately, and the accompanying brothers promptly subdued the remaining person.
"Brothers, don’t get agitated, all right? We can talk this out, can’t we? Meeting in this post-apocalyptic world is fate in itself, haha, if you have any requests, just ask, if you brothers fancy this factory, just take it, I won’t say a word." Spring Xiu tried hard to control his nervousness, attempting to manage the situation to bargain for his life.
Qiao Shan had no interest in wasting time talking nonsense with the person he had just captured with their own words like "our factory," he must die. But before all that, there were a few things he needed to confirm with this person.
"Is it just the two of you here? Is there anyone else? What’s with that scream upstairs?"
Spring Xiu assumed the other party was passing through the area, trying to get some resources or find a place to stay. He felt there was no fundamental conflict between them. As long as he listened to the other and met all their demands, perhaps he could save his own life.
So he held nothing back and told the truth, "Brother, it’s just me and two brothers, the three of us in total. We just found this place today. That scream must be my brother checking things out upstairs."
"What’s your name?"
"My surname is Spring, named Spring Xiu. May I know who this brother is? We really don’t need to be this tense; we can sit down and have a good talk, haha!"
"Heh heh! Having a good talk, huh? Very good!" Qiao Shan twisted Spring Xiu’s head around, confirming closely, "Indeed it’s you, Spring Lao Da, long time no see, hope you’ve been well, huh!"
"Qiao... Qiao Shan!" No wonder the voice sounded so familiar; Spring Xiu’s eyes widened hugely as his heart sank to the bottom.
Qiao Shan’s appearance was self-explanatory.
He Lei’s previous words came together, making him realize he had been played by the former.
What about He Lei running the factory and on his way to meet him, it was all that bastard He’s lies fooling him.
Capturing Spring Xiu alive so easily put Qiao Shan in a great mood; the previous effort now seemed worth it. He lightly slapped the other’s face and said, "Spring Lao Da, are you still in the mood to have a good talk with me now!"
"Haha! I wondered who it was, turns out it’s you Qiao Shan playing a joke on me!" Spring Xiu laughed, wanting to make one last struggle for himself. He just hoped this Qiao Shan wasn’t with He Lei; if not, he might have a slim chance of survival.
At least in his mind, he had no direct conflict of interest with Qiao Shan, nor had he borne any grudge, so perhaps...
"Oh oh oh, Spring Lao Da, you sure know how to talk big! Joking, huh? Do you think I set up this huge operation as a joke with you?"
"Ah, Brother Qiao Shan, listen to what you’re saying, I think there must be a misunderstanding between us? Brother Qiao Shan, feel free to tell me, let Spring Xiu understand where I offended you, and give me a chance to apologize and correct. If we happen to be victims of a malicious third party sowing discord, then isn’t that just..."
"Enough! You have the nerve to say this factory is yours, Spring Xiu. You have quite an appetite, huh? With that lousy mouth, do you think you can chew this down?" (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote for it on Qidian (qidian.com), your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)
