Chapter 54
(Connected with Chapter 29)
<Communication Terminated>
“Dam*it!”
He smashed a hanging piece of steel as the orange letters on the dangling screen made Chu Nan even more annoyed.
The corrupted electronic equipment sparked as the circuit was either shorted or destroyed. The shaking helicopter body made him hold his breath.
Once the helicopter body stabilized, he gritted his teeth as he pushed the metal frame on his body with all his might. He glanced at the assistant pilot beside him. That sucker’s condition was even worse as the bent steel frame directly penetrated through his ribcage, and his blood splashed everywhere. He looked at the metal frame that has stabbed through his arm and took in a gasp of air. Nevertheless, he felt lucky to be alive.
That distance was 1200 meters from the air.
Apart from his operating skills, it was pure luck to survive from falling that high up.
Chu Nan already used his best effort. When the machine lost its power, he immediately opened the mechanical revolving air turbine on the side of the helicopter. That was important because if he didn’t manage to open in the initial stage, then the high-speed air flow may have destroyed it.
Good thing that was still functional.
He connected to the backup circuit board, but the situation was looking grim. His assistant tried to establish a connection with the headquarter. However, he received no response.
He changed into manual operation as he used all his energy to stabilize the helicopter’s body. The automatic stabilization system was destroyed, therefore if they started to roll in the air or the back wing gets damaged, even God could not save them. The backup mechanical turbine began to spin rapidly due to the airflow as the high-speed force generated “held” onto the helicopter like a parachute. Under the force of gravity, the head of the helicopter began to tip forward. Once the body turned at a particular angle, Chu Nan immediately pulled the plane up and maximized the upward force of the helicopter.
The head of the helicopter instantly lifted up as the fallen force was broken by the sudden upward force from the mechanical turbine. It was about to land on top of the roof that they crashed into.
Then they crashed into the top floor.
The control was fine, but it was hard to select a landing spot in the city’s terrain.
Then warm blood splashed all over Chu Nan’s face as he witnessed with his own eyes his assistant being penetrated by the metal frames.
[This doesn’t make sense.]
The sudden Electromagnetic Pulse. It was not a simple EMP. The Helicopter-51 was equipment was EMP protective equipment that was the peak of the industry, but the helicopter was paralyzed without being hit directly.
[What was that thing…]
Chu Nan resisted the pain as he took out a dagger and slashed open the locked seatbelt. He carefully glanced at the view outside as he awkwardly untangled his legs from the deformed control panel and slowly crawled outside.
What did this helicopter look like now?
A small portion of the helicopter smashed through the walls of the 12 stories high building as it got pinned down by the protruding metal frames. The ends of the helicopter hung on the edge. The building’s quality was superb to be able to withstand the force of impact after a nuclear war. The metal frames cleared exceeded construction standard.
The smallest tremble of the helicopter body made his heart pump at full capacity. The friction noise made him even more nervous.
The bulletproof glass in front of the helicopter was completely shattered which eased his escape. When he was about to climb out, he hesitated and turned back to snatch the pendant on his comrade’s neck as well as the ammo clip.
After struggling, Chu Nan finally landed onto the hard cold concrete floor. He looked back at the deformed helicopter body as he quietly examined the pendant inside his palm.
The poorly made pendant was covered by a thick layer of blood.
<Carlo Billman>
He flipped to the back as a sentence was engraved there.
<If possible, I want to hang this in the Arlington National Cemetery>
The assistant pilot was a UA Spanish decedent. He was previously a pilot in NATO. However, the concept of a country didn’t exist anymore as plenty of foreigners live in Liuding town with most being NATO soldiers before the war.
When PAC, NATO, and CCCP led World Alliance Council and left the torn land by sending all the “hope” into space, no one believed in authority anymore. When faced with zombies and mutants, all humans belong to the same species.
Not including mutated humans or cannibals.
He checked the equipment on his body before he lifted his hands and touched the back of his neck with his fingers.
It was a chip called “dictator chip,” but because it has added complex functions such as long range communication, the chip was less effective compared to the Sixth Street produced “slavery chip.”
<Offline>
Chu Nan tried multiple times but did not manage to establish any connection.
“Dam* it, is this broken?”
The “bomb” behind the back of his neck was broken, but he couldn’t tell if he was content or sad.
Content that he was free.
Sad that freedom didn’t mean anything on the wasteland. There was food in Liuding Town so who cared about freedom.
Returning to Liuding Town was not a possibility since the people there probably recorded him as dead. A rescue was even more out of the question as only the metal debris of a previous one hundred thousand crystal equipment remained here. The pilot’s worth was not even greater than the chip on the back of his neck.
“Whatever, I’ll see.” He forced a smile as he put the pendant into the pocket and took out his pistol.
Including the one clip in the gun, he still had five magazines left. Two blood needles, a roll of bandage, EP was returning to normal, a dagger, and six B grade nutrient supply. Because he was part of the air force, the nutrient supply was higher quality.
He opened the EP radiation monitor system and determined based on the safe radiation level that this was a rural area, but he didn’t know where exactly he was.
EP did not download the map in the area.
He checked his equipment once again before he turned his head to look at the body and the crashed helicopter. He lowered his head and walked away.
Although he did receive ground training, he never encountered a situation like this. Ordinary survivors would never target planes. Air-based EMP weapons did exist but were extremely rare. Most of them were destroyed in the war.
It was also the first time he heard that a mutant could use an EMP or a similar pulse weapon.
Maybe his assistant pilot has encountered his situation before, but he didn’t manage to survive.
“Stairs cleared.”
Just like practice, Chu Nan mumbled as he directed with his pistol and moved downstairs.
[If it is a zombie, then use the dagger to stab the eye area. If it is a screamer, then use shock grenade for cover. If it is Roshan or Death Claw… let’s hope that never happens.]
The elevator was not functional. The building was an office complex before the war. The majority of the zombies were concentrated in the grand hall as the occasional straggler in the hallway was killed with his swift knife action. For small problems, it would be better to avoid using his gun. His body condition with the D level genetic vaccine easily handled the combat requirement.
The only disappointing fact was that he didn’t unlock a genetic ability.
When both of his feet touched the ground, Chu Nan let out a sigh. He gazed into the sky and determined it was around 3 in the afternoon.
5 o’clock was when the street was no longer safe. The night usually fell at 6 which meant that walking on the street would equal suicide.
The night in Wanghai City belonged to the zombies.
“I need to find a survival camp, or find a place to stay for the night.” Chu Nan scanned around as he walked to the end of the street.
The abandoned cars on the road still maintained the same look since the moment war erupted. Since the hotspot of the war was in the middle of the city, people would escape to the rural areas.
Therefore, most of the vehicles would point in the direction of the rural area.
He had examined the cars before he walked into the direction away from city center.
Anywhere is better than the city center.
That’s the one common conception every survivor had.
－
The sky began to turn yellow as the sun had fallen to the edge of the horizon. The cast of the yellowish green ray through the radiation dust had a vibe of ominous to it.
He didn’t know how long he walked before it began to turn dark. Chu Nan glanced at the zombies beside him as they’ve already begun to howl. In a while, those zombies would start to prey on living creatures.
[Should I find somewhere to stay for the night?]
Chu Nan thought as he began to hasten his steps.
When he turned around another corner, he saw a scene that shocked him.
A woman was tied to an electric pole in the middle of the street. She barely wore anything as zombies circled around. She was afraid to call help.
With his pilot vision, he could even make out the look of despair on the rather lovely face.
Someone obviously tied her.
“Fu*k, which bastard did such a disgusting prank,” Chu Nan cursed as he cautiously scanned around before he walked towards the woman.
When he approached her, the pleading eyes full of hope locked onto him. He took out the dagger and cut open the rope.
Perhaps because she had just escaped the terrifying experience that chained her there, the woman hugged him as she cried.
“Thanks, Thank you.” It was a soothing voice.
“Ok, don’t worry, you are okay now.” It was the first time he encountered this situation which made him unsure of what he should do. He only patted the woman’s back clumsily to comfort her.
[The survivors in Wanghai City are cruel to this point?]
He cursed at the heinous act that people committed to her as Chu Nan was just about to ask where the nearest survival camp was.
But at this moment, a barrel-like object pressed against his head again.
“Ha, buddy, you are the first dumba*s to fall for it.”
Sweat began to roll down his back as his hand slightly move, but he realized a dagger was pressed against his back.
That dagger was held by a delicate hand.
At the same time, a bunch of men in mohawks and tattoos walked out from the empty shops. They held some knock-off rifles and one simply carried a bat.
The bald head, holding a cigarette, was the head of the group as he walked in front of Chu Nan. He raised his eyebrows as he patted the woman’s face and said in a mocking voice.
“Nice job, bit*h.”
Just like a dog.
An unhealthy red flush appeared on her face as she tried to please the man that just embarrassed her.
The cruel reality sent a shiver down Chu Nan’s spine while cold sweat rolled down his face.
Despite living in the apocalypse for so many years, it was the first time he saw anything like this.
[Is she still a human being?]
“Two blood needles, one bandage, damn, six B-grade nutrient supply! Boss, it’s a big fish!” A man who took off his pistol and searched him shouted in surprise.
The zombies mindlessly looked in their direction, but despite the noise, there was still two hours before night fell.
The bald head looked at Chu Nan full of interest.
“Name?”
“Chu Nan.” There was nothing to hide since his EP had all the information.
“Where are you from?”
“Liuding Town. Pilot.”
“Where’s your plane?” Greed flashed through the bald head’s eye. He did not look cautious at all when he heard Chu Nan say that.
“Crashed.”
“Hehe.” The bald head smiled and didn’t say anything. He signaled his men to tie him up.
“If you are only here to rob me, you have already achieved that. You can have everything, let me go?” Chu Nan said calmly.
The bald head raised his eyebrows as he suddenly threw a punch in his face.
He suppressed his anger as he resisted the sharp pain on his left cheek. Chu Nan glared at the bald head.
“You are a captive so shut up,” he cursed as he extinguished the cigarette on Chu Nan’s face before he waved his hand. “Take him back.”
He looked at the dumba*s that took the bait as he laughed mockingly. He then kicked the half kneeling woman in front of him, but the same unhealthy flush of red and a smile to please appeared.
The woman had no name and was just a slave. Perhaps she just an independent traveler before? He didn’t remember when she was captured, nor did he care how they trained her to be like this. But he remembered clearly how she became part of his asset.
Last month, he managed to find a target and proved it was a big fish.
His boss sent an entire raid team, but the Lu Renjia dumba*s ruined everything. How confident was he to order all those men to go into a confined building? He didn’t even check if there were other entrances or sewerage exits.
Only one person returned out of a group of a dozen.
Although his boss was angry, he didn’t blame him as he provided the clue. He took Lu Renjia and the other captain’s woman and distributed all their assets to other subordinates.
It was a form of discipline, but also an incentive. For the bandits like Huizhong Mercenaries, they needed this type of brutality to bond together.
So, this dog like “thing” was given to Zhou Guoping. Although this boss didn’t punish him, he did remove him from the easy job of staying in the Sixth Street and made him rob survivors.
It was harder to capture a survivor on the wasteland than a mutant rat. Most of the people that survived till now were as sharp as a knife edge. The dumb ones were the people that never left the camps. Their return for this month was almost zero.
Pilot? That’s a big fish
Zhou Guoping put the rifle on his shoulder and led his men to the camp.