Yang Shiyun smiled and shook her head: "Big brother, let's stand here. We'll leave after Donna's live stream ends."
The chubby security guard stood up, carrying a rubber baton. He deliberately circled around Zhao Qiang: "Leave? This place is a paradise now. No one who comes here wants to leave. I don't know how you guys managed to sneak in, but once you're here, there's no reason for you to leave. The world is finished. From now on, only the strong like us can survive. I'm telling you, if you behave well, I'll bring you some food back with you. Otherwise, hehe, even if you manage to get into the TV station, you'll starve to death."
Zhao Qiang said, "We really didn't plan to stay here permanently. I think you've misunderstood."
The security guard, carrying a rubber baton, roared, "Shut up! You have no right to speak here!" He wanted to intimidate Zhao Qiang so that everyone could then do something to Yang Shiyun. It would be such a failure not to have some fun with such a beautiful oriental woman, in case she got infected tomorrow.
Zhao Qiang chuckled, completely ignoring the security guard's shouts. The security guard, enraged, swung his rubber baton at Zhao Qiang. He wasn't usually like this, but the constant scenes of bloodshed outside had numbed their senses, making them believe the world was ending and that as long as they lived, they could do whatever they wanted.
Zhao Qiang grabbed the rubber baton that had been pulled out. The security guard was much taller than him, his arms bulging like large stone slabs. But after Zhao Qiang grabbed the rubber baton, it seemed to be frozen in place, not budging an inch despite the security guard's forceful pull. Then Zhao Qiang lifted it upwards, and the tall security guard, surprisingly, stumbled back two steps before regaining his footing, the rubber baton being snatched from his hand.
"Kid, you've got some skills," the fat security guard shouted. He casually grabbed the stun gun from beside his pillow, pressed the button, and the crackling of electricity was frightening. But to the fat security guard's utter surprise, the beautiful Eastern woman simply waved her hand, and the stun gun in his hand went silent. He pressed it several times with force, but there was no response. Then, as if controlled by an invisible force, the stun gun flew out of his hand and struck him hard in the face. The fat security guard couldn't take the blow, coughing up blood as he collapsed onto the bed, his massive body crushing the bed frame.
Yang Shiyun smiled boastfully at Zhao Qiang: "Brother, look how well I'm utilizing energy now!" Yang Shiyun first absorbs the electrical energy from the stun gun, and then uses this electrical energy to convert it into controllable energy to control the movement of the stun gun.
Zhao Qiang said, "Not so great." With that, Zhao Qiang waved his hand, and a taller security guard flew into the air. Then, the force supporting him suddenly disappeared, and with a thud, the security guard fell to the ground. Even if his bones were strong, he couldn't withstand such a fall and immediately passed out. This was much more powerful than Yang Shiyun controlling an electric baton.
Yang Shiyun stomped her foot: "You've bullied me. Give me time, and I'll get my revenge on you sooner or later."
The remaining security guards were furious when they saw the couple flirting and completely ignoring them. Coupled with the fact that one of their comrades was injured, they rushed forward, intending to kill Zhao Qiang first and then keep Yang Shiyun around to vent their anger.
The strength of an ordinary person was nothing to Zhao Qiang, and he was very fast. Just after he threw two punches, a security guard's fist came right in front of him. Zhao Qiang grabbed the fist, kicked the man away, and then slapped the last guy across the face. The guard room immediately became quiet.
Donna had just finished her live broadcast when the TV station canceled all programming and began broadcasting the latest developments of the US government regarding the biohazard crisis in New York City. Because Donna was one of the first reporters to get in touch with the story, she was fortunate enough to participate in several live broadcasts.
Stretching her aching back, Donna stepped out of the live broadcast studio. A security guard waited respectfully outside the door. It wasn't that he was trying to curry favor with Donna, but rather that Donna had become familiar with people in the military because of the show. These days, those in power are the bosses. If the TV station were to fall one day, those connected to the military would definitely be among the first to be rescued.
"Is there something you need?" Donna asked lazily. She was hungry, but it seemed like it was still a long time before dinner.
The security guard said, "Two people came looking for you. I've been waiting for you outside the door. They're waiting for you in the duty room."
Donna gave the security guard an appreciative look: "Thank you."
Pushing open the door to the duty room, Donna was taken aback. She saw several security guards grumbling on the floor, a man sitting behind the table drinking tea, and a girl standing beside him chattering away.
"Zhao Qiang?" Donna didn't even notice what was going on with the security guard lying down.
Zhao Qiang said, "So it's reporter Donna. I'm so glad to see you. How are you? Are you feeling alright?"
Donna clenched her fist: "What do you think?"
Zhao Qiang said, "You're very strong. You seem to be fine. After all, you weren't injured. You only have a little blood on you, so it should be okay. In that case, we should go."
Donna stopped Zhao Qiang: "Where are you going? The whole of New York is now under the control of infected people. Although the government has repeatedly promised to send more troops to rescue, recent news has confirmed that the feasibility of rescue is extremely low."
Zhao Qiang became interested: "Oh, how so?"
Donna glanced at the security guards on the ground. There were some things they shouldn't know. Yang Shiyun understood and stepped forward, kicking them unconscious one by one. This would save them from making any more noise. If they really attracted American soldiers, Zhao Qiang couldn't stay here.
Donna said, "I learned from several officers in the station that the government did indeed mobilize a large number of troops at the beginning, but the defense line outside New York City was not stable, so almost all the troops stayed on the outskirts. The rescue work inside could not be carried out for the time being. The reason why the defense line outside the city was not stable was because a new virus variant appeared in the city."
Zhao Qiang was taken aback: "Are they infected animals?"
Donna said, "Yes, how did you know?"
Zhao Qiang said, "We encountered them at university. There was a chimpanzee and a wild boar. They were incredibly strong."
Donna said, "There's no data yet showing how they combine with the virus, but their attack and defense capabilities are extremely strong. The US government is afraid these monsters will break through the defenses and infect people outside New York City, so they're doing everything they can to keep them all inside New York City. I've also heard rumors that if necessary, they'll use nuclear bombs to destroy New York to completely eliminate the virus."
Zhao Qiang asked, "What about the research on virus treatment?"
Donna said, "I heard that Professor Martin has a treatment drug, but it cannot eliminate the virus. Military experts are conducting in-depth research based on it, but it will take time. I also heard rumors that a certain university has advanced research equipment, and the military has sent a large number of people to guard it. Experts will soon be able to enter the university's laboratory. If there are results there, then the treatment drug will be developed ahead of schedule."
Yang Shiyun said, "You really seem to know everything under the sun; the situation in New York City is practically under your control."
Donna said proudly, "Don't you even know what kind of job I do? And I also have to thank Zhao Qiang for reminding me. If it weren't for your initial encouragement, I wouldn't have been valued so much by the station."
Zhao Qiang said, "Then let me give you another scoop."
Donna asked, "Really?"
Zhao Qiang said, "There's big news: the infected mutants are planning a major offensive, and I think the target might be the military command headquarters in New York City."
Donna was taken aback: "Are you kidding me? That's the most heavily guarded place. Although the infected mutants don't have advanced thinking, attacking the military headquarters with their flesh and blood would be completely pointless and would only lead to their deaths."
Zhao Qiang said, "For them, death might be a good option. I think the reason they're considering attacking the command center is firstly because there are too many humans gathered there, which is a huge temptation for mutants—an irresistible temptation."
Donna thought for a moment and nodded: "Yes."
Zhao Qiang continued, "Secondly, you said that their flesh and blood bodies pose no threat to the headquarters, but don't forget, you just said that monsters have appeared in the city..."
Donna was startled: "You mean they can draw upon the monster's power?"
(Thanks to Chunjiang Xinyue for the oo coin reward)
Volume 2 [695] The Offensive
[695] Attack
Donna had only become familiar with the word "monster" in the last few hours, but according to the officers, the monsters were terrifying. They were not afraid of bullets and only heavy weapons could deal with them. However, these monsters were agile and heavy weapons lacked flexibility, making it extremely difficult to deal with them. If monsters were to assist infected mutants in attacking the military command headquarters in New York City, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Zhao Qiang pondered for a moment: "A large number of mutants are gathering around the headquarters. They are not in a hurry to attack. At first, I couldn't see their movements either, but after analyzing the aerial scan, I deduced that their target is definitely the headquarters. However, the headquarters is extremely well-defended. Although the mutants have very low intelligence, they should know that attacking is suicide. But they would rather silently endure hunger and wait than leave. There must be something wrong here."
Donna said, "But I'm afraid no one will believe it."
Zhao Qiang said, "Just like how the virus spread rapidly at first, who would believe it? You just need to spread the news, and the results will be revealed soon enough."
Donna said, "I'll try my best, but the TV station is now under strict control by the military, and not just anyone can send messages."
Zhao Qiang said, "Actually, it doesn't matter whether it's public or not. You just need to tell the people in the army."
Donna said, "I'll go try. By the way, what happened to those guys?" Donna was referring to the unconscious security guard.
Zhao Qiang said, "We didn't get along very well. They had designs on my friend, so they just went to sleep. Well, since you're alright, we'll leave to avoid causing you any trouble. Goodbye, and be careful. If you can leave New York, try not to stay here."
“I will,” Donna stopped Zhao Qiang, hugged him, and then gave him a deep kiss on the cheek. Yang Shiyun remained silent with a gloomy face. This kind of etiquette was common in Americans, and she really couldn't find any reason to say it.
The clatter of Donna's shoes as she left seemed to confirm her smug satisfaction with her farewell kiss. Yang Shiyun said to Zhao Qiang, "You're going to get a scolding when you get back to China. You've got your hands on other girls again."
Zhao Qiang said, "You're thinking the wrong thing. We're just ordinary friends."
Yang Shiyun snorted and turned her head away, ignoring Zhao Qiang. Zhao Qiang said, "Let's go, let's go to the big one."
The two had only walked a few steps down the corridor when someone shouted from behind, "Stop! That's them! Grab them!"
The security guard who had been knocked unconscious in the duty room was discovered. Zhao Qiang and Yang Shiyun, being unfamiliar faces, immediately became prime targets. A large number of soldiers with guns rushed into the corridor, blocking Zhao Qiang and Yang Shiyun from both sides. They really should have jumped out the window earlier; now it seemed there was no way to escape unless they destroyed the building or killed the American soldiers.
Yang Shiyun asked Zhao Qiang, "What should we do?"
Zhao Qiang said, "Stop resisting. Wait for the right opportunity to escape."
So the two raised their hands, and the security guards were woken up. Seeing Zhao Qiang and Yang Shiyun being arrested, they were excited to confront them, but were stopped by the soldiers. They took Zhao Qiang to see the captain guarding the TV station.
Donna was drinking tea in the captain's office when the captain's expression turned grave: "You said there will be mutants attacking headquarters?"
Donna said, "Yes, I can assure you that this is absolutely true."
The captain smiled and said, "Miss Donna, your assurances will be of no use whatsoever."
Donna hurriedly put down her teacup: "Captain, we don't believe in the end of the world, but it has already happened. Someone saw the mutants secretly gathering forces. This should be their first intelligent action."
The captain emphasized, "Miss Donna, are you too tired from hosting the live broadcast? Don't forget that headquarters is heavily guarded and has the strongest firepower. If those mutants dare to attack, they're just asking for death."
Donna asked, "What if monsters help them?"
The captain was speechless. If that was the case, it was indeed very serious. However, there was no evidence to prove that Donna's guess was true or reliable. But since the matter was important, the captain decided to report the intelligence to headquarters, so he picked up the phone.
"...Absurd!" This was the first rebuke from the headquarters staff officer on the phone. "Captain, I'm issuing you a serious warning: you must not use any rumors to undermine morale. This is a state of war; everything must be based on evidence and cannot be treated lightly."
The captain, blushing, hung up the phone and said to Donna, "Miss Donna, I think you've heard it. Nobody believes that mutants would attack headquarters, and we're not allowed to spread this news anymore. What do you think we should do?"
Donna's good intentions backfired. She planned to say a few more words during the live broadcast to remind the viewers, but there was nothing she could do about the captain. Donna stood up: "Captain, you will see my words come true."
Before Donna could even move, someone opened the office door, and a soldier came in to report: "Captain, we've apprehended two suspicious individuals who injured several security guards at the TV station. They've been subdued."
Donna exclaimed, "That's my friend!"
The captain glared at Donna. He was now the highest-ranking officer here, and someone dared to cause trouble right under his nose. Wasn't that asking for trouble? He stood up and said to Donna, "Let's go take a look."
Then Donna saw Zhao Qiang again; he and Yang Shiyun were being held in an office, with several guns pointed at them. Donna said to the soldiers, "It's a misunderstanding, they are my friends."
One of the security captains who came in snorted, "A misunderstanding? They injured our men, and you call that a misunderstanding?"
Donna said, "It was your security guards who tried to seduce this young lady."
The captain blushed but still argued, "Nonsense, I really didn't know you were even American, yet you're siding with a foreigner?"
The captain said, "Alright, let's not discuss these trivial matters now. Lock them up here first. I want your TV station's security to increase patrols and surveillance on each floor. Report any situation immediately instead of acting on your own. At the same time, you should also send people to conduct reconnaissance outside the TV station building, paying special attention to the movements of the mutants..." The captain didn't completely disbelieve Donna's words, otherwise he wouldn't have sent people to scout outside.
The security captain shouted, "What? You want us to go outside the TV station to scout? If we don't go, we're just throwing our lives away."
The captain's face darkened: "Captain, my men are bleeding and sacrificing themselves outside. If you're unwilling to take on the reconnaissance mission, how about sending your men out to guard the area?"
The security captain remained silent. Although the soldiers had weapons, the mutants were insane and didn't care about bullets. As long as they weren't killed on the spot, they would charge forward relentlessly. They didn't need much force to hurt humans; even a tiny cut could infect a normal person and turn them into their kind. If the untrained security guards were sent out to defend, the TV station building would definitely fall within hours. In the past two days, even the sporadic attacks had already resulted in more than twenty deaths among the troops. This level of death was far beyond what the security guards could afford.
The captain left, and the security captain also left, but there were still two soldiers with guns guarding the room. Donna said to Zhao Qiang, "Please calm down. I'll ask the captain to let you leave after he calms down."
Zhao Qiang said to Donna, "Go ahead and do your thing, we're fine. We won't say goodbye when we leave."
Donna glanced at the two guards, and hesitated. Zhao Qiang urged her, "Let's go, go do your work."
Donna could only hesitate before leaving. In fact, she had nothing to do except broadcast a few news reports. She was just starving, and the cup of Chinese tea she had just drunk in the captain's office made it even harder for her to suppress her hunger.
Yang Shiyun asked Zhao Qiang, "Shall we go?"
Zhao Qiang said, "Okay."
Just as the two were about to strike down the two guards, a sudden burst of gunfire and shouts rang out outside. Zhao Qiang and Yang Shiyun froze, both of them stopping their actions. Hearing the gunfire, the two soldiers nervously rushed to the window to observe. Zhao Qiang stepped forward, pressed their heads together, and their bodies immediately went limp to the ground.
The sunlight outside the window had faded, night was falling, and flashes of light appeared in the direction of the gunfire. A reinforcement team rushed out of the television station building and headed towards the scene, causing the gunfire to intensify. Zhao Qiang said to Yang Shiyun, "Let's go take a look."
Yang Shiyun nodded. This time, the two of them didn't use the door; they jumped directly from the window. Even before reaching the scene, they could feel the atmosphere of battle. Countless mutants were charging forward madly, leaving behind mangled corpses under machine gun fire. However, the mutants behind them didn't care about the deaths of their comrades. They continued to attack the defenses outside the TV station building at great speed. If reinforcements hadn't arrived, these soldiers would have surely lost their position.
Thump, thump, thump—the sound was like the beating of drums, shaking the ground as people did so. A monster charged out from the mutated crowd. It had long horns and eyes larger than copper bells. It charged at the defensive line, bullets hitting it without causing any damage. Soon, it was the first to crash into the makeshift bunker. Boom! The bunker made of cement blocks and sandbags collapsed. Two soldiers hiding behind it were trampled to death by the monster. Then, it bit a soldier, flicked its head in the air, and snapped the soldier's waist.
"Attack key targets!" With this command, all gun barrels were aimed at the monster, but the bullets had no effect on it. It trampled or bit soldiers to death one after another, and even had the corpse of an American soldier hanging from each of its two horns. This monster was too powerful. While it was wreaking havoc in the defensive line, the mutants attacked. Even without this monster, so many mutants rushing in at once were no match for the American soldiers. The surviving American soldiers fled back desperately. The second line of defense in the TV station building took over the defense. They used machine guns to suppress the mutants while setting up rocket launchers to aim at the monster.
"Launch!" the commander shouted, and the rocket shot out of the TV station building. However, the rocket's speed was clearly not as fast as the monster's reaction. After seeing the rocket, it still had time to easily dodge it. The rocket hit the mutant crowd behind it and exploded, sending blood and flesh flying everywhere, making the battlefield look even more bloody.
Upon receiving the report, the captain arrived at the scene immediately. He was also terrified by the monster there. It took him a long time to remember to call headquarters. At the same time, he ordered the two Black Hawk helicopters on the roof of the TV station to take off, intending to use the heavy weapons on the Black Hawks to deal with the monster.