Chapter 189

Chapter 189: The Door to Rebirth in the Apocalypse – Full Novel Website

Chapter 189

Hearing the captain’s shout, Zhang Jun’s heart almost stopped! He didn’t dare to look back, just desperately ran forward! However, the speed of those two water weeds was like lightning! In the blink of an eye, they caught up to Zhang Jun’s heels, and as soon as they touched his feet, they immediately started winding upwards! In an instant, they wrapped around Zhang Jun’s calves! Zhang Jun, with no ability to resist, was suddenly pulled to the ground. He wanted to get up and cut the weeds, but he was dragged rapidly towards the lake, with no chance to stand up.

“Break them!” the captain urgently shouted! Then, without hesitation, he pounced towards the fallen Zhang Jun again, successfully grabbing his arm once more! However, this time, the strength from the two water weeds was twice as strong as before! Adding the weight of another person didn’t slow them down; instead, it dragged the captain along towards the lake at an astonishing speed!

The others immediately turned their guns towards the water weeds, firing wildly! Only four people were left shooting at the zombies. However, the water weeds’ targets were too small, and with their panic, their accuracy was greatly reduced. Despite the continuous gunfire, Zhang Jun and the captain were still sliding towards the lake! At the critical moment, one person drew a knife and rushed to Zhang Jun’s feet, grabbing the weed with one hand and cutting with the other. However, the weed was slippery and extremely tough. He struggled to cut it, and the more anxious he became, the more frantic his hands got. Suddenly, with a crisp snap, the weed broke, and he felt a surge of joy, immediately grabbing the other side of the weed.

“We can’t hold on anymore!” the person helping to pull Zhang Jun shouted from behind!

“Captain! We can’t hold on here!” the team members responsible for sniping the zombies also shouted in panic.

“Quick, call headquarters!!! Get help!!!” Captain Lin Chun’s veins bulged on his forehead.

A team member hurriedly ran to Lin Chun, fumbling to pull the walkie-talkie from his waist, then shouted into it: “Headquarters, headquarters! This is the 4th squad of the 8th brigade! We’ve encountered mutated water weeds by the lake! Requesting backup! Requesting backup!”

“Received, hold on a bit longer, I’m coming right away!” a calm voice quickly responded from the walkie-talkie.

As soon as the voice from the walkie-talkie fell, a team member who was cutting the weeds on the ground suddenly screamed: “Zhou Wang, be careful!!!”

The young team member who had just shot a zombie in the head turned around, but before he could react, something grabbed his leg and yanked him back. He instantly lost his balance, falling forward heavily, his chin hitting the gun, causing intense pain. He couldn’t help but scream, then was dragged rapidly towards the lake by the weeds—straight into the water, splashing violently, screaming and struggling in terror. However, the weeds from the lake bottom quickly wrapped around his body, and in an instant, he disappeared beneath the surface—

The team members on the shore watched helplessly as their comrade was swallowed by the weeds. The despair and fear in his eyes sent chills down their spines.

As he sank into the water, countless weeds surged from the lake bottom, crawling onto the shore like living creatures, extending wildly towards the people by the lake!

“Run! Run!” Zhang Jun shouted in despair!

But where could they run? Zombies were swarming towards them from all directions, drawn by the gunfire. The continuous gunfire echoed as they retreated, firing wildly at the weeds. However, the zombies behind them were still closing in. They had nowhere to retreat; their only choices were to be dragged into the lake and drowned by the mutated weeds or to be bitten to death by the zombies.

One by one, people screamed as they were entangled by the weeds and dragged towards the lake.

“Captain! Let go!” During this time, Zhang Jun had gotten much closer to the lake, his feet already touching the water. Another weed had wrapped around his leg, pulling taut. Knowing he couldn’t escape, he had given up on any hope of rescue, but he couldn’t bear to let Lin Chun die with him: “Don’t worry about me! Run!”

Except for Lin Chun, everyone else stood up, firing at the zombies or the weeds. Two or three team members had already been dragged into the lake by the weeds “crawling” out. The others were too busy to help, only able to watch helplessly as their comrades, who had trained and fought alongside them, were dragged into the lake. They couldn’t help but feel deep despair, knowing they might be next.

“Hold on! Help is coming soon!” Lin Chun shouted, his face red, veins bulging on his forehead, his feet desperately hooked onto a protruding rock beneath the snow, his hands tightly gripping Zhang Jun’s arm, refusing to let go, struggling fiercely with the mutated weeds. However, his feet hooked onto the rock were slowly sliding apart. Seeing that he was about to lose his grip, he stretched his toes, using all his strength to hold onto the rock, but suddenly felt the weight on his feet loosen. Instantly, he and Zhang Jun were rapidly sliding towards the lake!

With a splash! Zhang Jun was completely submerged, and Lin Chun plunged headfirst into the water! Yet, even then, his hand didn’t let go, still gripping Zhang Jun’s arm like a vice. Just as his hand was about to touch the water, with a whoosh! A green vine shot out from the snow, lightning-fast, wrapping around his legs, quickly coiling several times, firmly anchoring him to the shore. His sliding body suddenly stopped, and even Zhang Jun, still tightly held by the captain, ceased being dragged underwater. With all his strength, Zhang Jun struggled to break free from the water, gasping for air—

Another team member, whose neck was strangled by the weeds and was being dragged headfirst into the water, had his face already touching the water but was abruptly suspended above it. Similarly, green vines wrapped around his legs, anchoring him in place. No matter how hard the weeds pulled, they only made his neck redder but couldn’t move him an inch.

Lin Chun turned his head with difficulty and saw that all the team members were anchored in place by green vines that had burst from the snow. The weeds trying to drag people into the lake couldn’t move them at all.

“Deal with the zombies first,” a cold voice commanded.

Everyone by the lake shore turned to look, immediately spotting Gu Ning standing on the slope by the lake, her golden hair shining, followed by Fang Fa, Xiang Xu, and a dozen team members holding guns, panting from running too fast.

Intense gunfire erupted again, zombies falling one after another, while Fang Fa had already turned into a blur, charging down.

The joy on Zhang Jun’s face didn’t last long before it twisted into a grimace of pain. A piercing scream escaped his lips, his face contorted in agony, as if enduring unbearable pain. He screamed in terror: “Help!!! Something’s biting my leg! Ah!!!!”

However, Lin Chun had no strength left to pull Zhang Jun up. In his desperation, a slender, clean hand firmly grasped Zhang Jun’s wrist. Lin Chun turned in surprise to see Gu Ning’s calm profile and her cool command: “Let go.” Zhang Jun instinctively released his grip on Zhang Jun’s hand, and with a slight bend of her wrist, Gu Ning effortlessly pulled Zhang Jun out of the water! The weeds in the water were so strong that even three people together could barely resist them! Yet this seemingly soft, powerless hand hid unimaginable strength—

With a splash—Zhang Jun was completely pulled out, his body gradually emerging from the water. Gu Ning felt the immense force from the other side, her expression slightly changing. She shifted her right leg back, adding more strength—Zhang Jun’s lower body slowly emerged from the water. His face was pale, covered in either water or cold sweat, his eyes tightly shut, teeth clenched, but he couldn’t suppress the painful groans escaping through his gritted teeth, unable to endure such extreme pain.

As Zhang Jun’s entire body was pulled out of the water, Lin Chun quickly saw what was “biting” Zhang Jun’s leg—a weed clinging to his leg, wrapping around both legs, with rows of sharp thorns growing on it. The thorns pierced Zhang Jun’s calves, and the previously flat weed swelled as it sucked his flesh and blood. In such a short time, Zhang Jun’s calves had shriveled—what kind of pain was this, making anyone who saw it feel a chill through their body.

Zhang Jun’s legs were ruined.

Lin Chun thought with a pale face.

These weeds seemed to only feed in water. Once exposed to air, the thorns instantly retracted, but the weed’s body still clung to Zhang Jun’s leg, unwilling to give up this delicious meal, while the other end remained anchored in the water.

Gu Ning held Zhang Jun with her left hand, while her right hand pulled out an iron rod from her leg, flicking it. The rod extended, a blade snapping out from the tip. Gu Ning slashed downwards, and the weed reaching her feet was instantly severed. The severed weed seemed to lose all moisture, withering instantly. The long blade spun deftly in her hand, then slashed towards Zhang Jun’s legs—

A flash of white blade light, and the weed wrapped around Zhang Jun’s leg was cut in two by Gu Ning, falling into the lake with a splash.

“My legs! My legs!” Zhang Jun, carried away from the lake, still pale, closed his eyes, screaming in pain, not daring to look at what had become of his legs.

Liu Xin, who had just arrived, was shocked by Zhang Jun’s shriveled legs but didn’t waste any time. She quickly opened the medical kit, knelt beside Zhang Jun, and injected him with an antidote, then had him carried onto a modified ambulance bus for further treatment. She then rushed to a team member bitten on the arm by a zombie, swiftly cutting off his sleeve with scissors, injecting an antidote, and also had him carried onto the ambulance.

By the lake, the earth-type special ability user, Zhang Bo, following Gu Ning’s orders, used earth walls to enclose the entire lake. Gu Ning couldn’t think of a better way to deal with the mutated weeds, so she decided to isolate them for now.

The lake shore was littered with zombie corpses and severed, withered weeds. The zombies in the vicinity had been cleared.

Lin Chun, with a sorrowful expression, said: “We’ve lost five brothers.” His left arm was dislocated, but he felt little pain. Over the past three months, they had trained together daily, occasionally going out to kill zombies, building deep bonds through life and death. Seeing five vibrant lives disappear before his eyes, in such a horrifying manner, Lin Chun’s grief was palpable.

Gu Ning pursed her lips, guilt and self-reproach swirling inside her, making it hard to breathe: “I’m sorry, we were too late.”

Lin Chun shook his head, wanting to say something but not knowing what.

Jia Daozhang walked over, knowing Gu Ning wasn’t good at handling such situations. He nodded to her, indicating he would take over, then patted Lin Chun’s shoulder: “Condolences. Rest assured, the settlement point will take good care of their families. We will all remember their sacrifice…”

Gu Ning couldn’t bear to look at Lin Chun’s pale face any longer, dragging her heavy steps towards the ambulance.

“How is he?” Gu Ning called Liu Xin down from the vehicle to ask.

“He keeps screaming in pain. I gave him a painkiller shot and some medicine, now he’s asleep. His temperature is normal, probably not infected.” Liu Xin paused, a hint of sadness on her still youthful face: “But his legs are beyond saving.”

Gu Ning was silent for a moment, then said: “Take good care of him.”

Liu Xin nodded vigorously: “I will.” Then she returned to the vehicle to tend to the injured.

Gu Ning stood by the vehicle, watching the troops below as they regrouped. The team that had encountered the mutated weeds was somewhat dispirited, still mourning the loss of their comrades. Gu Ning felt a heavy weight in her heart. During their reconnaissance, she had sensed something off about the lake but dismissed it as her being overly sensitive. If only she had investigated further, perhaps those five vibrant, young lives wouldn’t have been lost.

“Gu Ning, we can’t protect everyone,” Jia Daozhang, who had somehow appeared beside Gu Ning, said earnestly: “Nor can we expect no one to die in this war. Some sacrifices are unavoidable. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”