Zhang Xiao Qiang had always felt that he feared death. How much hardship had he suffered in this apocalypse? Yet here he was taking the initiative to greet death. At this point, there was no fear. When he turned, all his fear and apprehension melted away like clouds. As the D2 got closer, the calmer he felt. It was like going back to his childhood. There was no worry, no stress, and all sorts of complicated thoughts and emotions were swept away. He wasn’t welcoming death, he was returning home, back to his parents’ side.
As he faced the D2, his brain seemed to spin with images of the past. His mother had just finished preparing dinner, the fish his father caught was huge! His sister liked to argue with him over the remote control of the television. Was the Ling’er that caused his heart to race still doing well? What about the older brother that had hidden in the toilet to smoke with him? The first time he felt his hands linking with his girlfriend, the first time he got drunk, and the pain of the loss of his parents.
All sorts of images flashed past his mind, as the joy, and the sorrow, the warmth, and the anger cut his heart deep. He had kept all of these locked deep the moment he stepped out of home. He felt the house key he hung near his collar, and as he watched the D2 approaching him, he suddenly leaned forward.
“AO~~~~~” The loud roar of the D2 shook him from his reverie, and his face was flushed red, as the single roar caused his blood to rush to his head. He stared at the D2 with his eyes bloodshot, as though he was a leopard looking at its prey. Even if he had to die, he would go down fighting like a man!
“I’ll wait for you outside! If you die, I’ll avenge you, or join you shortly in death!!!” From behind, Yuan Yi’s shout sounded, and her voice was so calm. There was the underlying tone of resolution, the willingness to live and die with him, and the hope she had of him.
He raised the Jing Wei Sword high up, and this time, a roar resounded from his own lips. He charged towards the D2 without hesitation, as though it wasn’t a huge and monstrous D2 in front of him, but Heaven.
His footsteps flashed across the ground that was dyed red with blood, and his heavy breaths came and went raggedly. He felt like he was running across the clouds, his entire body floating, till he reached the D2. The D2 was much taller than him, and his head could only reach the thigh of the D2.
It stood like a huge wall in front of him, giving him an even stronger suppression. It could feel Zhang Xiao Qiang near its body, and it swung down with its claw. Zhang Xiao Qiang suddenly increased his speed to dodge to its side and swung down viciously at its leg.
“Pu…” It was like trying to cut through multiple layers of cow leather. He felt the recoil from the body of the sword, and all his strike had done was to carve a small wound on the D2. The D2’s claw met thin air but could feel a small prick on its leg, and it tried to swipe at Zhang Xiao Qiang once more.
Zhang Xiao Qiang immediately dashed back the moment his sword was knocked back, and felt the claw swing past his front. “Ha!!” He barked out once, and the sword came swinging down on one of the fingers. “Ding Dang…” The blade came in contact with the claw and caused some sparks. As his hands stung from the impact and knockback, he saw the leg of the D2 moving towards him. There was no time to evade it. He quickly stepped back and executed a fall backward.
Although he tried his best to dodge, the D2’s speed exceeded his expectations, and it brushed past his chest and slammed into his shoulder. His entire body was sent flying by the D2’s immense strength.
“Pu…” Zhang Xiao Qiang landed on a body that had been torn in half by the S2 earlier. A strong scent of blood entered his nostrils, and he rolled a few times along the ground from the inertia. His hands and face were covered in scratches, from the countless glass shards. His entire body was bloody and he looked like a hungry ghost from hell. He could feel his shoulder hurting as though it had been shattered. He looked towards the D2 storming towards him with bloodshot eyes.
The towering D2 looked like an ancient demon, the tremors from each step it took shaking Zhang Xiao Qiang’s heart. Its frame loomed closer, like a cat toying with its food. He sucked in a deep breath and gritted his teeth while struggling to get into a half-kneeling position.
The D2 got closer, until it stood in front of it, and swiped once in front of it. “AH!!!!” Seeing the D2’s claw intending to smash his head, he let out a loud roar, his left hand supporting his weight while pressing on the glass shards. He pushed off and managed to duck under the D2.
His blade flashed past as he got between the legs of the D2, and “pa ta…” something small dropped on the ground.
“Ao…..” The D2 howled in agony. Its already minuscule ‘little brother’ had just been slashed off by Zhang Xiao Qiang, and it turned insane from the pain. It decided to stop toying with Zhang Xiao Qiang, and it swiped even faster and began to run. Like a huge coach, with its towering pressure, Zhang Xiao Qiang immediately began running. He wanted to evade its rage, Yuan Yi was still waiting for him outside. This little bit of time he had engaged the D2 for was more than enough for Yuan Yi to bring Yang Ke’er out.
If one could avoid death, who would want to die? Furthermore, if he died, Yuan Yi would not live alone. He continued to dodge the swipes, his past experiences with D2s helping him to dodge the constant swipes, but just barely.
His breathing was ragged, and each time he sucked in his breath, he would try to push his speed more. The D2 continued to chase him closely, not letting up, like a huge cat, while he was the small mouse. The little mouse struggled to dodge the claws of the cat, and it was not just a simple run. The sword he held would constantly slash at the claws, causing it pain. The cat became more furious, each time it reached out for the mouse, the mouse would slip out of its grasp. Zhang Xiao Qiang was making use of the surrounding and debris to obstruct and dodge the claws.
He was finally forced towards a corner of the carpark, where he ran up the roof of a Land Rover, before sliding down the bonnet and dodging to a side. The D2 was blocked by the Land Rover, and it grabbed the obstructing vehicle and tried to fling it away. The Land Rover rolled on its side and slammed into a concrete wall, as glass shattered.
Zhang Xiao Qiang ducked from the rain of the debris, and leaped onto another Land Rover, intending to use the same strategy. The D2’s speed was faster than he imagined, and as it spread its arms intending to grab Zhang Xiao Qiang, he hurriedly jumped.
Zhang Xiao Qiang was also becoming more anxious, he was coming too close to death each time. The D2 was tight on his heels, and he could not lure it out no matter what. Yuan Yi and Yang Ke’er were still waiting for him. If the D2 chased out, then their fates would be worse. The earlier game of cat-and-mouse with the D2 had greatly worn him down. His speed and stamina were depleted, and a few times, he almost caught sight of the sickle of the Grim Reaper. He did not know how long more he could hold out for, he just knew that if he could not take care of it within the granary, he would have to die with it.
As long as Yang Ke’er and Yuan Yi could live on, then treat it as the last thing he could do as a man for his women. A macho man would love his women and his love was not through words but through his actions. Regardless of the difficulty and hardships, he would continue to love and protect her. He would not say ‘I love you’, nor remember her birthday. He might not do the household chores, but the moment she was bullied, he would charge up with all his rage. If she was sick and could not move, he would stay by her side to protect her for life and care for her, never leaving.
At this crucial moment, Zhang Xiao Qiang was willing to use his own life to exchange for his women’s lives! Because he was unwilling to see them leave before him. Therefore, he would have to die with the D2 here!
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