Rise Of The Wasteland Chapter 28 - Callous

Chapter 28        Callous

“I’m not a cop.”

“But you’re wearing a uniform.”

“I stole it from the other cops.”

“But you fought against the kidnappers, and you killed them.”

“So what? I’m still not a cop.”

“Then you must be a good guy.”

“Little fella, I don’t want to waste any more time with you. You better go and hide in the corner, shut your mouth and wait for your rescue. G.o.d will decide your mother’s fate.”

The kid named Ronnie kept staring at Zhou Qingfeng with his pitiful eyes. He continued to beg Zhou Qingfeng to save his mom. Zhou Qingfeng, however, can only callously reject the kid. In the end, he impatiently headed toward the fire escape without turning his head back after he finished his words.

Zhou Qingfeng wished to enter the upper ground floor of the hospital as soon as possible. The situation over there was more complicated, and thus, he can easily hit, hide, or even kill people. It was much better than the underground parking lot as the lot provided literally no place to hide.

The kid stood in the same spot as he did not dare to move after watching Zhou Qingfeng leave without hesitation. He could only cry in silence. Zhou Qingfeng callously abandoned him because he knew that about half of the whole population of New York will be dead after the nuclear missile landed during the cataclysm.

The movie showed both bones and corpses scattered all over the place. That kind of scenario will definitely not suit kind-hearted people. Furthermore, Zhou Qingfeng did not even know who he can save. He probably cannot even save himself due to his limited power.

Zhou Qingfeng aimed his gun slightly above his chest as he stepped on the stairs of the fire escape and stealthily moved upward. He smelled a male’s cologne diffusing from the first lower ground floor after he finished climbing two flights of the stairs. 

Hmmm…. Foreigners usually had a strong body odor. They probably cannot even survive without using fragrance. However, for Zhou Qingfeng who had a weak body odor, there was no way that a strong smell can escape his notice.

What should I do? Zhou Qingfeng did not know the exact number of people camping behind the stairs. If there was only one person, he can rush toward him with his ability to get the first attack in. He can even silence his opponent irreversibly by pulling the trigger. However, he will be in a disadvantage if there were two people.

Should I retreat?

Zhou Qingfeng intended to retreat, but he immediately dispelled the idea. He knew that there will be even more people heading toward the underground parking lot. The people behind the stairs were still crouching, so they might be in a disadvantage in terms of their number, or else they would have already rushed down.

Zhou Qingfeng decided to wait patiently behind the stairs. He aimed steadily at his front direction, waiting for his enemies to jump out by themselves.

Ten seconds, twenty seconds, thirty seconds…. Zhou Qingfeng’s time was extremely precious. Sweat dripped from his forehead. He doubted himself with every single second that pa.s.sed as he thought that he had mistakenly smelled the odor. This mistake will cost him his life if he was just wasting his precious time waiting instead of escaping.

Zhou Qingfeng's blood pressure can make him nervous to the point of convulsions, because he knew that he was in an absolute disadvantage in terms of the number of people. Although he knew that he might be surrounded by the enemy, he can only patiently wait for his enemy to make the first move.

Zhou Qingfeng moved as un.o.btrusively as possible. He tried to readjust his breathing so that it can be slow and steady. Two minutes later, he heard a sudden burst of a child’s cry down the stairs.

d.a.m.n it, it’s the little boy named Ronnie. He must’ve encountered a problem.

Zhou Qingfeng became nervous as he heard the sound of weeping. He was not hard-hearted. Hence he felt worried about the weakling. He will definitely save Ronnie if he was in the original world. However, there was currently nothing he can do about it.

“I can’t save him. It will cost me my life if I were to save him. Calm down, calm down…” Zhou Qingfeng tried to convince himself so that he would not act without thinking. However, he shed tears after hearing Ronnie cry even louder.

“I really can’t save him!” Zhou Qingfeng tried to control his emotions. He wanted to stay callous so that he will not be disturbed by the boy’s crying. “I need to save myself first. I have to stay selfish right now.”

Just as Zhou Qingfeng was about to go crazy, a loud bang! ended his chaotic mood. Ronnie’s cries halted along with the gunshot.  He felt as if the bullet landed on his own chest. He felt pain in his heart.

After the kid’s cries stopped, Zhou Qingfeng heard the door of the fire escape open. Someone was approaching from downstairs. He felt extremely nervous at that moment, and his heartbeat kept rising.

The people from downstairs are approaching. I’m being surrounded. Should I dash toward them? Should I?!

Zhou Qingfeng kept sweating all over his face as his eyes turned red and his shirt was soaked through. Just when he was about to lose his will, a sudden noise from a walkie-talkie resonated from behind the stairs. It sounded like the kidnappers were communicating with each other.

Zhou Qingfeng instantly calmed down as he heard the sound. His hand no longer trembled and his heartbeat no longer pulsed in anxiety. 

As expected, there was someone crouching behind the stairs. My decision is correct. Luckily I didn’t dash toward them, or I would have been beaten to death. My daughter, daddy’s here!

The ‘daughter’ eventually came out, and furthermore he was on his own. The ‘daughter’ was holding an a.s.sault rifle in his hand, but he was inattentive. He was shocked when he turned around and saw Zhou Qingfeng who had already been crouching there for quite some time.

Oh, daughter, that’s what daddy wants.

The ‘daughter’ was scolding Zhou Qingfeng for sure after he saw him crouching: Oh Lord, how the h.e.l.l can a person crouch behind me without making even a single sound? 

The ‘daughter’ instantly became Zhou Qingfeng’s target under this kind of situation. As the distance was too close, not even more than half a meter, he hit his target with a single shot. His enemy fell to the ground and died on spot.

Zhou Qingfeng used the corpse as his shield once the hapless kidnapper died, turning around and aiming at his back. The walkie-talkie made a sound right after the shot was fired. The kidnappers from downstairs were asking about the situation.

As he did not get any response after asking for several times, the kidnapper asked his other partner. However, his partner told him that there was no trace of Zhou Qingfeng. Therefore, he was almost certain that his partner from upstairs was dead.

s.h.i.t! That d.a.m.n cop managed to escape despite being surrounded by so many people.

The kidnappers from downstairs were leaning against the corner of the fire escape.  One of them even held an a.s.sault rifle in his hand. He tipped his head toward his other two partners and said, “The cop’s probably up there somewhere. I’ve already called for reinforcements. Let’s camp here for awhile….”

The kidnapper’s idea was quite brilliant, but before he can finish his words, he heard something fall from above. The kidnapper who was leading the team from downstairs was instantly shocked. He aimed his gun at the thing that fell from above and his line of sight automatically shifted to the ground. It was actually the corpse that of their fellow kidnapper that fell.

At the same time, Zhou Qingfeng dashed toward them from behind the stairs. His ability to always get the first attack in was activated when he glided through the air within a few milliseconds.

Zhou Qingfeng’s weapon this time around was no longer a weak Glock 17 pistol. Instead, it was a fully automatic M4A1. The muzzle of his gun roared in vengeance as thirty rounds of ammunition in the magazine were fired.