Rotting Land: Survive

Chapter 538 531: Night of Terror (Part 4)

Back in the massage room, Tang Xiaoquan, who had been holding it in for a long time, couldn't care about anything else and found a washbasin. He undid his belt and began releasing the "essence liquid" into it. To minimize the noise caused by urine hitting the basin, Xu Renjie had even thrown two towels inside.

Tang Xiaoquan was taken aback by this, as it was his first time seeing Xu Renjie being so cautious.

Once the "essence liquid" was fully released, Tang Xiaoquan felt a great relief throughout his entire body.

After the numbness and pain in his body faded away, he looked up silently at Xu Renjie.

Noticing that Xu Renjie was also looking at him at that moment, he immediately asked, "Old Xu, what do you think about tonight's events?"

Old Xu didn't answer but instead tossed the question back to Tang Xiaoquan: "Why don't you tell me what you think first."

"Me?" Slightly taken aback, Tang Xiaoquan quickly responded, "I don't quite understand the combat aspects, but from what happened, the opponents' skills seemed not bad, right?"

Old Xu nodded, secretly thinking that their skills were more than just not bad; they were well-trained indeed.

"Moreover, this doesn't seem like a simple murder or revenge case. Did you see the attire of the two murdered people? They looked very ordinary. Is it necessary to dispatch such professional killers for such modest people?" Tang Xiaoquan considered himself unqualified to confront the opponents, but anyone else in his squad could have easily taken out the two dead by hand.

To deal with these "rookies", sending such a well-equipped team to kill these two really shows the peculiarity of the situation.

"And from the stains on the deceased's clothing, we can analyze that these guys had been on the run for some time. Additionally, the killer was very cautious, firing additional shots after the initial kills, indicating the two deceased must have held some crucial information. All indications suggest this was an action to silence them. As for the purpose…" Tang Xiaoquan frowned and shook his head, spread his hands, and said with pursed lips, "That, I don't know."

Nodding in satisfaction, the young man's views aligned with his own, Xu Renjie agreed in a deep voice, "Indeed. It's hard to figure out the foreigners' motive for the killing."

"What!" Tang Xiaoquan exclaimed in shock and repeated uncertainly, "You say... they were foreigners!"

No wonder Tang Xiaoquan was so astonished. After all, he didn't have binoculars, and his vision was average. Coupled with the cover of night, he only vaguely saw a tall figure moving in the dark earlier.

As for the tall figure's skin color or appearance, he had no clue at all.

If what Old Zhang said was true, that the adversaries were foreigners, it would indeed be a significant matter.

Imagine, in apocalypse times, a well-equipped foreign team sneaks into our country's interior for murder. It would be obvious that there's an unspeakable secret involved.

However, Tang Xiaoquan wasn't particularly interested. After all, he was just an ordinary civilian.

He had neither the ability nor the possibility to confront that unidentified team, and he never saw himself as a savior or superhero capable of turning the tide.

The reason he was entangled was that some aspects of this event perplexed him, but as long as those doubts didn't threaten his survival or his squad's safety, what did a few deaths matter?

But Xu Renjie was different. After all, he was from the military, and witnessing two unarmed compatriots brutally gunned down by foreigners at his doorstep made him, a veteran educated by the Party and the military for years, inevitably start to feel guilty again for his inaction.

Tang Xiaoquan noticed Old Xu's vexed look and guessed that the latter might be feeling guilty for not saving them.

He wanted to offer some comforting words, but ultimately gave up.

Because he understood, sometimes, there are things deeply rooted in the soul.

For soldiers, their deep-seated belief is: loyalty to the Party! Loyalty to the people! Loyalty to the army!

Silently lying down, not wandering around for now, Tang Xiaoquan decided to "reenter the furnace" for a nap.

Perhaps he felt overly tense just now, but presently, he was overwhelmed by an irresistible drowsiness.

But just as he lay on the bed, ready to pull the thin sheet over himself, he suddenly remembered something—a very tricky issue—that made him leap up from the massage bed like a startled grasshopper.

"Damn!" he blurted out two simple words.

Xu Renjie, taken aback, raised an eyebrow and vigilantly asked, "What's wrong, Xiao Tang? Did you think of something?"

Due to the dim light in the room, Xu Renjie couldn't clearly see the young man's face; otherwise, he would have been more surprised by his fear.

"No, Old Xu, I'm not thinking about the killing. I'm thinking if those two unlucky bastards' corpses aren't dealt with promptly... it would be bad!"

"Hiss!" Xu Renjie took a sharp breath, and his entire body jolted immediately.

Indeed, Tang Xiaoquan was right. He was only focused on the killer's malicious intent, completely disregarding the freshly deceased bodies.

The two just-deceased fresh bodies, plus the enticing scent of blood, would practically be a dinner bell for the surrounding zombies. No doubt those beasts might have surrounded this area while they were discussing.

Once this thought crossed his mind, sweat immediately started dripping from Xu Renjie's forehead, rolling down his cheeks and forming small droplets on the sheet, leaving tiny water marks.

"No way! I'm going out to take a look!"

Old Xu sprang upright. Zombies blocking the alley wasn't a joke. If both alley ends were blocked, they'd really be cornered like turtles in a jar.

Even though he felt as anxious as ants on a hot pan, Old Xu controlled his emotions instead of rashly rushing to the window to look out.

The reason was simple; he worried that the instant he showed his head, a cold bullet might be waiting.

Being an active-duty soldier, he was very aware of a sniper's accuracy and patience, especially against a professionally trained veteran—not something he'd gamble his life with.

With cautious steps, he slowly moved to the wall's edge and pressed his ear against it to listen carefully for any sounds from below.

Sure enough, very soon he heard a series of soft, rustling footsteps approaching from below.

"I need to take a look!" (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. For mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)