Chapter 104:
All of a sudden, the hairs on Zhang Xiao Qiang’s back stood on their ends, and the sense of danger reached a peak. His heart hammered furiously and it felt like it was trying to beat right out of his chest. The overwhelming sense of danger caused his mouth to go dry. ‘It’s coming.’ He couldn’t afford to think so much, and immediately stomped with his right foot, ducking to the left. His shoulder came in contact with the ground and he rolled once twice before he felt the sound of air ripping from behind him. Although the first attack had missed, with Zhang Xiao Qiang’s perception, the danger was not over. His chest tightened as though prepared for the next attack.
He raised his body, half kneeling on the ground. His left hand which was wielding the military knife smacked towards the ground, and he sent his Jing Wei Sword slicing to his back. “Dang…” A short, black silhouette blocked the blow, before disappearing in an instant. The thing’s speed was crazily fast. Zhang Xiao Qiang was still in his half kneeling position, and his scope of vision was limited after that shadow zoomed past the corner of his eye, it did not reappear.
He straightened up fast, panting and observing the surroundings. He did not know what it was, and the earlier danger had caused him to be extremely nervous. He raised his sword while turning on the spot, hoping to seek out the enemy. The entire field and stalls, even the quiet marketplace, the lack of sound now made it more desolate, to the point of chilly.
His surroundings had become calm again, but Zhang Xiao Qiang dared not let down his guard. He was afraid that the sneak attack from the back would happen again. He wasn’t afraid of a frontal assault, even if it was a D2. However, this ghost-like thing was really creeping him out. For the first time, he had felt more danger than from a D2. Who knew where it was hiding right now, and when it would just attack him again. Danger from the unknown was the strongest factor for his anxiety.
Zhang Xiao Qiang slowly placed the military knife back into his pouch, while he held the Jing Wei Sword single-handedly. He probed around to reach for something to help himself. The thing was too quick, and his weapons would just be enough to cause a distraction. He had to find some way of slowing the thing down.
Zhang Xiao Qiang swept his eyes across every stall slowly. His brain whirled, thinking of solutions for him to deal with the situation. The thing was speedy and not entirely small. He had to find some way of trapping it. He glanced at the various goods and products until he saw thick dark curtains hanging on the wall of a furniture shop. His eyes lit up, and the scenes from 2 days ago of the usage of a bedsheet came to mind. Once when he had used it on the assassin, and the other when Yuan Yi had used it against himself.
Zhang Xiao Qiang slowly inched towards the furniture shop, and with a tug, he pulled the thick curtains down.
By now, he was already past the alley and was near the bridge. The bridge was still messy from the blood and meat all around, but he wasn’t in the mood to be revolted. He was focusing so hard since his life was in danger.
Zhang Xiao Qiang then assessed the surroundings once more, noting that there weren’t any strange movements. He took a deep breath, and shouted out once, before turning around to run towards the opposite bank. He still felt the stickiness of the meat paste beneath his feet, but as a result of his haste this time, the gruesome parts splattered up and outwards, getting on his body, hands, and face.
Zhang Xiao Qiang ignored all other feelings, with only the car park at the opposite bank in sight, his movements quick. He did not engage in any useless movements and just ran with all his might, not even daring to look behind.
From an aerial view, one could see that on the roof of a small building near Zhang Xiao Qiang, a black figure was crouching silently at a corner. It would sniff in the air from time to time, then adjust its position accordingly. Right as it was about to pounce towards Zhang Xiao Qiang earlier, he had suddenly shouted once and turned to run. The black figure was jolted, by the time it could react, Zhang Xiao Qiang was halfway across the bridge. It became angry, and without caring for its advantage in stealth, it immediately chased after Zhang Xiao Qiang, leaping out from the building and pouncing forwards.
Zhang Xiao Qiang reached the carpark and he turned back to look. He immediately caught sight of the black figure charging towards him. The running posture was like a wild dog, its speed fast. In just a blink of an eye, it had crossed the bridge. The uneven platform of the bridge did not even hinder its movement in the slightest, by the time it reached the opposite bank, it had leaped up to claw at Zhang Xiao Qiang.
He finally knew what it was. This was an S2. Its speed was terrifying, and its agility was truly beyond anything he had seen. Compared to the S-Types he had seen previously, the contrasts were the speed, the efficiency in movement, and the amount of caution it possessed. It liked to attack from the back, and while Zhang Xiao Qiang did not know how the S2 could tell the back, he knew that the attacks weren’t light. This was a natural assassin, and finally, it had made its appearance.
Zhang Xiao Qiang saw that the S2 was already right in front of him, and he raised his Jing Wei Sword, hollering out as he swung at it. This was a strike that carried all his force, as though it could split mountains. At the same time, the S2 raised its claws to swipe at him, and the sword met the claws.
Zhang Xiao Qiang felt like he had just swung down on a piece of wood. The Jing Wei sword was a weapon that could even slice through steel beams, and yet, it was stuck in the claws of the S2 now. The S2 had obviously not experienced something like this before, and it did not attack Zhang Xiao Qiang again. It began to shake, trying to wriggle free. Zhang Xiao Qiang took the opportunity to drag downwards, swinging in order to slice away one of the fingers.
The S2 was dragged along with the force of the swing. When it regained its footing, it turned around to pounce at Zhang Xiao Qiang, its speed even faster than before, enraged at having lost its claw.
“Beng…” The S2’s head slammed into the curtain that Zhang Xiao Qiang had opened up. The curtain was huge, and it was able to cover the S2 entirely. The zombie immediately got tangled within and rolled around on the ground like a ball.
Zhang Xiao Qiang immediately aimed and was preparing to stab out, when a hand with only 4 fingers ripped the curtains. Zhang Xiao Qiang faltered, knowing that it was possible that the S2 might retaliate furiously if he missed and hit a wrong spot.
He grabbed the corners of the curtain and begun to drag it towards the burning pit. The claws of the S2 dug into the ground and mud, unwilling to be dragged. However, all it served was to leave some claw marks on the ground. Zhang Xiao Qiang continued to pull while the S2 tried to resist, to no avail. In fact, it looked comical if the situation wasn’t serious.
The pit was still burning strongly, it was just that the flames were slightly smaller. Bearing the high temperatures and lack of oxygen, Zhang Xiao Qiang tugged the bundle of curtains and swung it towards the pit. With a kick, he sent it tumbling into the pit.
Chapter 104: S2 makes its appearance!