MERIDIAN OF THE DAMNED

Ch 06. The Red Path to the Merchant District

Krrrggghhh... KRAAAAA!

The chorus of hungry growls drew closer, echoing from every corner of the narrow alleys in the Common’s District. The muddy ground of Tingzhou seemed to tremble as hundreds of black silhouettes with glowing red eyes began moving rapidly, pouring out of shabby houses and dark passageways toward them.

"We don't have time to rest! Run, Xiao Yu!" Wu Chen shouted, immediately yanking the little girl's hand.

"B-big brother! But your shoulder... you're bleeding even more!" Xiao Yu cried in panic, staring in horror at Wu Chen's robe, which was now soaked with fresh blood and rainwater.

"Shut up! As long as my heart is still beating, I'm not dying in this dump!" Wu Chen barked, ignoring the stabbing pain that seemed to tear through his left shoulder with every step. "Run!"

They shot through the maze of filthy alleys, which were rapidly filling with thick smoke. In the distance, flames began rising high into the night sky. The kerosene torches dropped by the panicked military troops had set rows of dry wooden houses ablaze, turning the Common's District into a blazing sea of red fire.

"B-big brother! Something's coming!" Xiao Yu shrieked, pointing toward the bend ahead.

A zombie with a torn-open jaw suddenly emerged from the smoky shadows, lunging straight toward them with its claws extended.

"Get the fuck away from us!" Wu Chen shouted.

Although his hands were trembling violently and his vision was narrowing further because of the system penalty, Wu Chen's combat instincts remained razor-sharp. He swung the remaining piece of sharpened metal in his right hand in a swift motion.

Stab!

The metal tip pierced through the zombie's throat and emerged from the back of its neck. Wu Chen kicked the creature in the chest to free his weapon, then immediately grabbed Xiao Yu and resumed running.

"Hah... hah... shit! Which way now?!" Wu Chen cursed, his breaths short and scorching.

His vision was completely screwed. The thick gray ring around the edges of his sight continued expanding, leaving him with an extremely narrow and blurry field of vision. The path ahead seemed to sway and multiply before his eyes.

"Right, big brother! Through that collapsed roof! There's a shortcut to the gate!" Xiao Yu shouted, trying to guide Wu Chen as his steps began to stagger.

"Okay! You go ahead and lead! I'll follow behind!" Wu Chen replied hoarsely.

They crawled quickly beneath the burning wooden beams of the collapsed structure. The air around them was unbearably hot and suffocating from the thick black smoke. Behind them, the footsteps of hundreds of zombies running across the muddy ground drew closer, now less than thirty meters away.

"KRAAAAA!"

The roar of the zombie horde was so close that the hairs on Wu Chen's body stood on end.

As they finally emerged from beneath the collapsed structure, Wu Chen's legs suddenly gave out. He stumbled over a pile of bricks and crashed face-first into the mud, his wounded shoulder slamming against a stone.

"AAAGH! Fuck!" Wu Chen screamed, enduring an excruciating wave of pain that nearly knocked him unconscious.

"Big brother!" Xiao Yu immediately turned around and tried to pull Wu Chen's right arm with what little strength her small body possessed. "Come on, get up! They're already so close!"

Wu Chen stared at Xiao Yu through his blurred vision.

Amid the panic and agonizing pain, a cold and ruthless thought suddenly crossed the mind of the mafia boss.

Leave the kid behind, Wu Chen. Without dead weight, you'll be able to run faster. In your old world, you never hesitated to sacrifice other people for your own survival. Why should you bother saving a little girl who's completely useless to you?

Wu Chen stared at Xiao Yu's tiny hand still gripping his arm tightly, trembling with fear yet refusing to let go.

"Xiao Yu..." Wu Chen's voice sounded cold.

The little girl looked into his eyes.

As though she could see the hesitation and cruelty flickering in the young man's gaze, tears once again streamed down Xiao Yu's muddy face.

"B-big brother... don't leave me... p-please... I promise I won't make any noise..." Xiao Yu sobbed, her entire body trembling as the zombies' roars grew closer at the end of the alley.

Wu Chen looked toward the end of the alley behind them.

The silhouettes of hundreds of red-eyed zombies had begun appearing through the curtain of black smoke.

"Fuck," Wu Chen cursed at himself. "Is the most feared triad boss in Shenzing really going to kneel just because of some orphan kid's tears? Damn it! This is seriously ruining my reputation!"

With a violent jerk, Wu Chen forced his battered body upright.

He grabbed Xiao Yu's hand tightly.

"Shut up! Stop crying! Follow me if you still want to live!" Wu Chen barked, breaking into a run again with the last of his strength.

"Y-yes, big brother!" Xiao Yu replied, quickly wiping away her tears as she struggled to keep pace with her short legs.

The two of them ran as fast as they could through the final alley leading directly to the district's boundary square.

Ahead of them, the five-meter-tall iron gate separating the impoverished People's District from the magnificent Merchant District finally came into view through the smoke and fog.

"Big brother! The gate! I can see the gate!" Xiao Yu cried, hope shining in her eyes.

But that hope was shattered in an instant.

From behind the iron bars of the massive gate came the sounds of whinnying horses and panicked shouts from the royal soldiers. Several fully armed soldiers on horseback were pushing back a crowd of refugees from the Common's District who were desperately trying to force their way inside.

"Close the gate! Close it right now!" a mid-ranking officer shouted from horseback in a panic. "Don't let those plague-carrying rats from the Common's District cross over! Lock the gate!"

"Wait! Please, help us! Open the gate!" dozens of trapped civilians from the Common's District screamed, pounding desperately on the iron bars.

CLANGGG! CLANGGG!

The sound of massive iron chains being pulled rang out sharply.

The enormous iron gate slowly closed, sealing off the only safe route out of the Common's District.

The mounted soldiers on the other side immediately secured the locking bars from within.

"Hey! Open the fucking gate!" Wu Chen shouted at the top of his lungs, but his voice was swallowed by the hysterical screams of dozens of civilians.

Behind them, hundreds of hungry zombies had begun flooding into the gate square, ready to slaughter anyone trapped inside the dead end.

Wu Chen and Xiao Yu were now truly trapped, caught between a tightly locked iron gate and a horde of hundreds of flesh-eating monsters.