Chapter 121: The Most Magnificent Fireworks
“Pitiful is a deep affection from the past; the entire assembly of elders and officials is worn and aged. Tales of the netherworld never cease; plays without substance are hard to manipulate. After changing the act and starting anew, it is said that the hardest thing in the world is to let go...”
Shen Dong hummed softly through tears, his heart at peace yet unsettled. His life had been far from perfect, but to end this way could be considered a fitting finale.
*Click...*
He flicked his lighter, ready to light another cigarette, when suddenly the fuel tanker jolted as if hitting an obstacle, causing the cigarette to fall from his hand.
“Damn it! That was my last one—how frustrating!”
He hadn't turned on the headlights or worn night vision goggles all along, simply because the road ahead was a straight line. At the end of this stretch lay the Tianzhu district in the city center.
But now, the vehicle had stalled. With no other option, he switched on the headlights to see what lay ahead.
“Oh my goodness...”
Seeing the scene before him, Shen Dong gasped, his burning body temperature dropping significantly from the shock.
The city was overrun with reanimated corpses, orderly retreating toward the outskirts.
“What the hell is this—a strategic withdrawal? Why are they not surrounding Tianzhu and instead running outward? What's going on?!”
It had been these undead that blocked his path earlier. There were just too many, and since Shen Dong hadn’t floored the accelerator, the truck’s speed couldn’t keep up, causing it to get stuck amid the massive horde.
But Shen Dong had anticipated this; he had installed a makeshift battering ram on the front of the truck. Of course, such a temporary contraption was no match for the heavy armor on war vehicles.
Thankfully, the tanker’s sheer weight was enough to compensate for the lack of equipment.
As long as he floored the gas and pushed through, it would be no problem—provided he didn’t collide with any of the larger monsters.
It was well known that the nightmare beasts never appeared where the Tianzhu pillar stood.
Other mutated creatures paled in comparison to the nightmares.
With the headlights now on and clear visibility, Shen Dong pressed the accelerator to the floor, charging toward Tianzhu at full speed.
Ten minutes later.
Tianzhu finally appeared in Shen Dong’s view. Along the way, countless undead had been crushed under the wheels.
Without the enhancement of moonlight, these low-level corpses were powerless to shake the tanker even slightly.
“Closer! A bit closer! Just a little more!”
His eyes bloodshot, Shen Dong’s azure gaze shone with a fierce light amidst the veins.
Five hundred meters…
Three hundred meters…
Two hundred fifty meters…
One hundred meters!
Only a hundred meters left before he could reach the nearest point illuminated by Tianzhu’s sacred light!
If he could detonate the charge there, the road ahead would be... clear of obstacles!
Excited to the point of trembling, Shen Dong forgot to pick up the cigarette he’d dropped at his feet.
But fate chose that moment to strike.
*Bang!*
The violent impact nearly threw Shen Dong from the cab. Had he not been strapped in, he might not have survived.
He turned his head and saw a towering colossal corpse, some two or three meters tall, wearing an oversized steel helmet and wielding a massive skull-crushing hammer.
It had been this beast’s reckless charge that almost overturned the tanker.
“What the hell is this thing?!”
Before Shen Dong could react further, the giant corpse swung its hammer again, aiming straight at the cab’s windshield.
*Boom!*
The truck flipped over!
“Ugh... cough, cough... I can’t even die in peace...”
Fury overwhelmed Shen Dong. A control lever inside the cab had pierced his abdomen, rendering him completely immobile, blood gushing uncontrollably.
Lying inside the cab, he finally stretched out and retrieved the cigarette he had dropped earlier. In a moment of intoxicated bliss, he inhaled deeply before hurriedly lighting it.
“Ha ha ha ha...!! Ha ha ha ha...!!! What the hell are you all...!”
Grasping a wire in one hand, a look of disdain mixed with manic laughter adorned his face as he stared up at the giant skull-crushing hammer poised above him.
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Tianzhu Bridge.
The only gateway connecting Tianzhu to the outside world.
Bian Qiu led the way, followed by an innumerable squad of combat troops. Rows of towering gravity suits stood shoulder to shoulder, each soldier resolute and fearless.
If fate held no surprises, this would be their final battle.
But fate’s surprises came swiftly.
Before the troops behind could comprehend the situation, they heard the urgent roar of their revered leader and minister, Bian Qiu:
“Retreat! Fall back immediately! Withdraw at once!”
The crowd was stunned silent.
Bian Qiu’s fury burned bright as he glared at the dazed soldiers.
“Are you all deaf?! Don’t you understand you’re heading for death?!”
Only after everyone had retreated behind Tianzhu did Bian Qiu wipe the cold sweat from his brow and sigh:
“We went out at the wrong time. We’ll wait a bit longer.”
*Boom!*
*Boom!*
*Bang!*
A continuous barrage of explosions shattered the city, igniting a terrifying blaze that reached the heavens.
The city of ZZ, cloaked in darkness, was illuminated by the relentless thunder of blasts, as if the entire metropolis might be obliterated.
Cao Fusheng and his companions watched from the outskirts as the inferno stretched skyward, the atmosphere contracting into a colossal fireball that consumed everything within the blast radius.
Not a blade of grass remained; not a patch of soil was spared.
All was reduced to dust.
Cao Fusheng unclenched his fists, knowing full well he would never see Shen Dong again.
The man was gone, but with the final flicker of his life, he had carved a path to the heavens for those he considered family.
“Get in the vehicle!”
Cao Fusheng growled through clenched teeth. The SUV had been specially procured by Shen Dong, capable of navigating the city’s battered, uneven terrain.
They had prepared for this moment.
The group’s eyes burned with unprecedented determination. There would always be someone willing to burn themselves to light the way for others, especially for those they called family.
The road ahead had been thoroughly cleared. The remaining wandering undead no longer posed a significant threat to Cao Fusheng and his team.
Though the corpse tide still surged, the devastating explosion had fractured the ranks so thoroughly that regrouping anytime soon was impossible.
The SUV rocked and swayed across the cratered city avenue, its ride rough but every heart inside was ablaze.
Hope was within reach.
Now was the crucial moment!
Break through the Tianzhu undead blockade!
“Captain Cao! Just a few hundred meters left… watch out! There’s an undead on the flank—it’s airborne!”
Gao Yi shouted angrily. To be precise, the creature wasn’t truly flying but leaping nearly ten meters high, its legs spring-like.
“Looks like these are the high-level undead hidden within the horde. I’m driving and can’t shoot—guns are yours!”
Cao Fusheng dared not spare a moment’s distraction. Even with the raging inferno ahead, he pressed forward relentlessly.
He retrieved old-era firearms from dimensional storage and tossed them to the others. Gao Yi, Chu Wei, and Han Shuqing raised their weapons and opened fire.
Evidently, ordinary firearms were barely effective against these advanced undead, only able to temporarily hold them back—but that was enough!