Chapter 108 Unable to Save
"F*ck！"
At that instant, Zhou Qingfeng was crouched on the top of a building that was located in the intersection between Broome Street and Central Street. He was dressed in a camouflage outfit that was made from rags and was responsible for monitoring the surroundings. He knew that Katrina had successfully persuaded him to do something which he was not willing to do in the first place.
The streets nearby were very quiet and occasionally, there were shadows swaying in the streets. They might belong to the trapped residents who were looking for supplies. Without the help of their peers, even if they could find supplies, they would not be able to keep them for long.
More than hundreds of people were moving at that moment and various pieces of debris had been moved into the car. Zhou Qingfeng discovered that most of these people were either weak or old. Rumor had it that these men once formed a team to find their way out of the area. However, only thirty men returned, even though two hundred men headed out. The ones remaining were wounded.
Old man Chavez was actually a priest in a church in the neighborhood hence, he had gained considerable prestige. He was ordering the people to clear up the streets, otherwise none of the vehicles, including Zhou Qingfeng's fire truck, would be able to leave Broome Street. That was the reason Zhou Qingfeng offered shelter to the hundreds of people - he needed the extra manpower.
That's right, Katrina had finally persuaded Zhou Qingfeng to bring the hundreds of people along. One of the main reasons he agreed was because there were plenty of restaurants and shops in Broome Street. The area was quite rich in resources.
Zhou Qingfeng was guarding the post as the day passed. All of a sudden, he noticed some movement behind him. He immediately adjusted the position of his muzzle and aimed at the rooftop. A young, busty girl soon appeared on the rooftop.
She was afraid when she saw the muzzle and she only spoke after she blanked out for quite a while, "Mr. Hugo, I… I… I'm here to serve you dinner. We've made you some fried prawns, some taquitos, and some sushi too."
Housewives made up the majority of the population in Broome Street. Moreover, most of them ran restaurant businesses. Therefore, they were pretty skilled in culinary arts.
"Just put them down," Zhou Qingfeng said coldly.
The young, busty girl put the lunchbox down on the floor of the rooftop. However, she saw that there was still a distance between Zhou Qingfeng and the lunchbox. She then decided to move the lunchbox closer to Zhou Qingfeng. She continued moving the lunchbox forwards after noticing that Zhou Qingfeng did not stop her. She was already by Zhou Qingfeng's side within a few seconds.
"I made the taquitos myself, I hope that you'll like them. I originally wanted to bring you a bottle of beer, but my mom said that you can't drink when you're on duty," the young, busty lady spoke to Zhou Qingfeng. However, he did not seem to respond. Thus, she stared at him with a foolish face.
Zhou Qingfeng had no choice but to remind her once again, "You may leave now, it's too dangerous here."
"Oh……" the young, busty lady nodded, turned around, and left. Before leaving, she also expressed her gratitude to Zhou Qingfeng, "Thank you for saving me, you're a good man."
Zhou Qingfeng frowned as he vaguely recalled that the lady was actually the young, busty girl who he previously saved from the hands of the thugs. But, he did not say anything to her. He opened the lunchbox and found out that they even prepared a pair of chopsticks for him.
"They taste good," Zhou Qingfeng picked up a taquito with his chopsticks and put it into his mouth. However, he felt even hungrier once he started eating.
"I'm glad you like it." The young, busty lady decided to stay after hearing his praise. She sat together with Zhou Qingfeng and watched him eat his meal, "You're much more handsome than you were on the television. I really like you, can I go to your room tonight? I feel like you can provide me with a sense of security. My mom has agreed too. She said that we can have sex as long as we practice safe sex."
The young, busty lady even blushed and she shrugged. But, her dewy eyes indicated that she really wanted to get close to Zhou Qingfeng.
Zhou Qingfeng was shocked when he heard what she said. He did not even know how to respond to the lady who volunteered herself to have sex with him. He simply started a topic and said, "You're not an adult yet, right?"
"I'm fourteen. But, I've already had two boyfriends before. I know a lot of things, so you don't need to worry too much about morals. My mom said that in our current society, every woman needs a reliable man. We'll be fine as long as I don't get pregnant."
"Is that true? Then maybe we could try if we get the chance," Zhou Qingfeng felt that puberty went well for her. The fourteen-year-old lady was actually mature enough to think independently. She even knew things that should not be known by people her age. It's actually against the law to have sex with this kind of lady in 2016. But, it'll be a great loss if I didn't get to f*ck her once in the Wasteland.
"Okay, I'll find you tonight when I'm free," she smiled. She finally left happily with the empty lunchbox.
"All hail capitalism! It seems like not everything about the Wasteland was terrible," praised Zhou Qingfeng. He then turned his head around and continued guarding the post. However, the next thing that happened was no longer wonderful.
A woman was escaping from the intersection of Central Street with a parcel in her hand. Three strong men followed her. The woman screamed and cried loudly for help, but no one in the surrounding was willing to lend a helping hand.
"Victor, I hear someone screaming."
Katrina was responsible for guarding the post on the other side of the intersection. She communicated with Zhou Qingfeng via the wireless radio.
"That's right, it's happening right in front of me. Three men are robbing a woman and it seems like there might be rape," Zhou Qingfeng said calmly.
Katrina fell silent for a moment. She then asked, "Would her life be in danger?"
"I'm not too sure. Probably," Zhou Qingfeng saw that the girl who was robbed had already been pushed to the ground by the three men. The three men dragged the woman to the corner of the alley and were getting ready to rape her.
There was an endless stream of vehicles and the clamor of pedestrians on the street. The woman's pleas and screams had clearly reached not only Zhou Qingfeng's ear, but also Katrina's.
The woman kept emphasizing her difficulties in front of the three thugs. She emphasized that she still had kids to raise, but everything was useless… the tragedy was simply inevitable.
Meanwhile, Zhou Qingfeng did not react to the whole situation. With his SCAR rifle, he had a clear vision of the three thugs. Nevertheless, he did not pull the trigger despite the rape. Katrina asked him again via the wireless radio, "Victor, can't you just help the pitiful lady? I can't stand her pleas anymore."
"Do you want me to kill her?"
"Stop kidding, you know what I meant. I want you to save her."
"I can't save her, there are more and more thugs appearing. They're riding motorcycles and they are coming in a large group. I believe that this is the Zetas which you've mentioned. After all, this area belonged to them. They're back."
Hundreds of gangsters emerged from the streets and the number continued to increase. They surrounded the poor woman and even enjoyed watching the rape. The woman's screams were initially loud and clear, but the scream soon got weaker. In contrast, the whoops of delight by the gang members were getting louder and louder.
Zhou Qingfeng turned his head around after he heard the sound of someone dashing and leaping behind him. He then saw the ferocious Katrina approach him in anger. She was able to tread on the rooftop like she was walking on a flat surface due to her powerful legs.
However, when the ferocious lady finally came to Zhou Qingfeng's side, she saw that the gang members had already gathered in circles. As for the woman who got harassed, it was very likely that she was already dead.
Katrina sighed when she saw the scene. Meanwhile, Zhou Qingfeng remained calm as he said, "Don't blame me, I really couldn't save her."
Chapter 109 Evacuation
The death of the poor woman had gained them over thirty minutes for the evacuation of more than a hundred people in Broome Street. Meanwhile, more than four hundred gang members had gathered at the intersection of the street within that same thirty minutes. These gang members were all armed with guns and they looked fiendish.
Zhou Qingfeng might be able to save the woman if he fired a shot at the thugs. However, he would soon have to face more than four hundred gang members. There was no way he would be able to handle their attack if they attacked him all at once. By then, he would have no choice but to escape the area, leaving hundreds of people in Broome Street behind.
"Sometimes, I really hate myself for not being strong enough to kill all the people I hate," Katrina was crouched beside Zhou Qingfeng. Both of them were wearing camouflage clothing made from rags and they looked exactly like a wall of tents. Katrina was staring at the members of Zetas during the same thirty minutes.
"Fortunately, you're not that kind of person, or else I definitely would not partner up with a completely crazy lady. Stop talking nonsense, the bastards are here," Zhou Qingfeng turned his head around and saw Chavez. The old man was waving at him to indicate that the people had finished moving under the tremendous pressure. "You drive, I'll try to delay them for another ten minutes."
"No… I'll delay them, you drive." Katrina wanted to take over the responsibility. She saw the gangsters leave the place. She also saw the poor woman who was initially surrounded by the gangsters, or let's put it this way… she saw the corpse of the poor woman.
The Mexican gangsters had always been known for their vicious and merciless ways. They were the ones who always enjoyed opening up, chopping, and burying their victims' brains. Sometimes, they would try to stay hidden when the police were involved. However, as the cops of the United States had completely disappeared, they were trying to bring the same practice from their hometown to the United States.
Once the crowd dispersed, even Zhou Qingfeng lowered his head gradually. He had witnessed the entire killing process of the poor woman. The woman was now nothing more than a mutilated corpse, lying on the ground, soaked in blood.
"This is actually the ceremony for a new member who joins a Mexican Gang. They always let the newbie conduct this kind of inhumane torture."
Katrina's face was as cold as snow when she explained it to Zhou Qingfeng.
"Enough, stop talking about it anymore." Zhou Qingfeng bowed his head and he released a depressing, husky roar in his throat, "I hate myself too for not saving her. I don't like killing people and I'm not a cold-blooded creature. I don't need you to remind me of how damned these thugs are. But, for now, you drive and I'll delay them."
Due to anger, even Zhou Qingfeng's expression had become a little distorted. Katrina slanted her head and threw a glance at him, "I'll wait for you in the barricaded area of the Chinese, but you must come back within ten minutes."
The members of Zetas used the building near the street as their stronghold. After raping and killing the female, the brutes then began to go their own ways. There were around fifty men who left in Zhou Qingfeng's direction.
From the sound of their laughter, Zhou Qingfeng knew that they were particularly fond of burning and plundering the world. This group of people did not care about the development of an area. Instead, they moved on to the next place after they finished destroying the current one.
Every building on the street was occupied by either a few gangsters or dozens of them. Based on the current situation, Zhou Qingfeng and Katrina seemed to have accidentally broken into Broome Street - an area which the Zetas were trying to expand on.
The gangsters were separated into groups. Among them was a group of ten people who had headed to the five-story building which previously imprisoned the hostages. The leader was a buff guy with the letter 'Z' tattooed on his forehead. He was joking around with his subordinates in Spanish and they were actually discussing about the poor woman who just got killed.
In the meantime, the hundreds of people in Broome Street had begun their evacuation. The rumble of the vehicles started to appear out of place in the quiet neighborhood as no noise from vehicles could be heard in Manhattan following the massive roadblocks.
"What happened?"
"You, you, and you, follow me."
"The remaining person, inform the others to come and help. Something's not right."
Under the leader's command, his subordinates had been separated into two groups. The majority of them raced towards the direction of Katrina and the rest while three people went back to call for help from their other members.
"Katrina, twelve men have headed in your direction. I'll need to eliminate the other three before I can come to help you." Zhou Qingfeng reported the situation to her via the wireless radio.
Katrina responded, "Roger that. Remember, you have to leave within ten minutes."
The three members of Zetas ran past the building where Zhou Qingfeng was located. They shouted loudly as they intended to raise the attention of the other members. Mobile phone communications no longer existed in the Wasteland and wireless radio was not common equipment for the public. Therefore, the only thing they could do was shout.
Zhou Qingfeng swiftly moved down from the top of the building. He hung on the window sill with just the raw power of his hand. He then landed on the floor quickly, but silently. He did not put the silencer on his pistol. Instead, he dashed directly towards his target.
Among his three targets, the third member in the back was carrying an old-fashioned M16A2 rifle. He was following his companions closely, but it seemed like he was not trying at all while he shouted.
Zhou Qingfeng straightened his face and dashed forwards like a hungry tiger hunting for its prey. With just a single punch, the sound of the third member's neck being broken could be heard clearly. Meanwhile, the two members in the front were still running foolishly. It was already too late when the second member heard the sound and turned his head around.
The first member finally sensed that something was not right when both of his teammates were attacked. He swiftly pulled out a gun from his holster as he tried to turn around to fire a shot. However, a dagger suddenly penetrated through his forehead and he was killed instantly.
Triple kill!
Zhou Qingfeng hurriedly picked up the ammunition and hid the corpses away. He reported via the wireless radio, "I'm done over here. I'll come find you once I settle the remaining issues."
Katrina replied, "These bastards have already discovered our evacuation truck. They seem to be waiting for reinforcements. They're trying to block us now."
"Just let them wait then." Zhou Qingfeng found a few abandoned vehicles on the roadside. He used his dagger to poke through the fuel tank. After the petrol covered up most of the ground, he lit up the vehicles from a distance.
Boom… In just the blink of an eye, the whole street was blocked by a wall made of fire. The explosion had attracted the attention of the Zetas, but no one had reported back to them. Therefore, even the gangsters did not know what had happened.
Zhou Qingfeng ran past several streets and did the same thing to the other streets too - he had set up walls of fire to block the streets. Throughout the whole process, there were people who noticed him and tried to shoot him. He was forced to retreat into a house nearby. However, the fire had been set and for at least a short period of time, there was no way the reinforcement for the Zetas could get anywhere near them.