Welcome to the Wasteland

Chapter 22: The Hospital

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The hospital corridor was constantly full of bustle and clamor. All kinds of people ranging from patients, family members, doctors, and nurses were coming and going all the time. Although nobody made a huge racket, there was always a low buzzing noise of people chattering.

Zhou Qingfeng followed closely behind a black female nurse who was slowly and unhurriedly walking out of the hospital. The nurse was pushing a wheelchair in front of her. She seemed to be heading somewhere but her large, plump body blocked most of the walkway so Zhou Qingfeng had no choice but to stay behind her.

Right as he was about to reach the entrance, Leila Fox’s voice came from behind, telling Zhou Qingfeng that he was going in the wrong direction. However, Zhou Qingfeng simply ignored her and quickened his pace in an attempt to pass by the nurse.

That was when everything happened in a flash.

About seven or eight men with unfriendly expressions sprang out from the other end of the corridor. Both parties recognized each other the instant they made eye contact. Leila screamed at the same time. Zhou Qingfeng identified one of the men standing before him as one of the kidnappers he had engaged in crossfire earlier.

The sudden encounter made conflict inevitable but the kidnappers had a clear numerical advantage. The moment Zhou Qingfeng saw the kidnappers reaching for their rifles, he knew that it was fruitless to put up a fight.

Despite having the power of Wittier than All, it was impossible for him to fight against all his opponents and their firepower! However, this attribute did not only enable Zhou Qingfeng to strike first, but it could be used to make a quick escape as well!

Seeing that the thugs were preparing to open fire, Zhou Qingfeng deftly tucked his chin in, and he instantly heard the crack of numerous gunshots coming from the other end. Within seconds, the plump nurse who was in front of him shook violently as splashes of her blood soared into the air.

Agh…! After the gunshots sounded, the hospital erupted in pandemonium—fearful screams and shouts filled the air as everyone began to run all over the place like headless chickens. Zhou Qingfeng watched as the female nurse’s body slowly fell and he quickly stepped forward to grab her by the collar. Using her as an improvised meat shield, he slowly backed away.

Gunshots continued to ring in the air while the female nurse’s corpse juddered from being struck by more bullets. Fortunately, the large nurse had a strong and durable build. Weighing at least a hundred and sixty or seventy kilograms, the bullets could not penetrate through her body. However, the fresh blood oozing out from the bullet wounds left two trails of bloodstains on the ground.

Agh… Leila Fox was still standing by the door of the emergency room. She covered her mouth with both hands as she tried to muffle a shrill scream after witnessing the violence unfold. Behind her, her bodyguard, Raj, hastily said, “Miss Fox, we must leave this place right now.”

“What about Officer Hugo?” Leila Fox continued shouting as she was being half-dragged by her bodyguard out of the emergency room. “Shouldn’t we help him?”

“There’s nothing we can do.” Raj sheltered Leila Fox and dashed for about ten meters before finding a fire exit stairway and quickly shoved her through the door. He could do nothing but reply to her question in an apologetic tone, “Officer Hugo has his duties, so we should just have faith in his capabilities, right?”

Have faith in Zhou Qingfeng capabilities? After seeing his extraordinarily sh*tty gunmanship? Even Leila Fox noticed how terrible Zhou Qingfeng’s shots were earlier, which did not give an impression of a well-trained policeman.

Zhou Qingfeng was running out of breath by just dragging his meat shield that weighed more than a hundred kilograms. Seeing how unrelenting the kidnappers were, he pulled out the Glock from his holster and stretched his arm holding the gun above the corpse’s shoulder and pulled the trigger at the gang of thugs.

The return fire was powerful enough to deter the kidnappers from closing in, and Zhou Qingfeng quickly seized the opportunity to retreat. Right then, the elevator door beside him opened and a doctor was about to walk out.

“Get back, get back! There’s been a shooting!” Zhou Qingfeng roared at the doctor loudly. Using the corpse to protect himself once again, he rushed into the elevator and frantically pushed the button to shut the elevator doors. By the time the doors were closed completely, the gunshots had nearly smashed the door frame into pieces.

Fortunately, the elevator doors closed successfully and the elevator moved downward. Meanwhile, several kidnappers rushed forward and slammed on the steel doors that were riddled with bullet holes.

The gang leader walked up from behind, a cold and murderous look on his face and an assault rifle in one arm. With one glance at the elevator lights that indicated its gradual descent, he said in a low growl, “Don’t worry, the entire hospital is under our control. We’ll get the chick and that d*mn cop.

“John, bring a few people down to the parking lot and finish off that policeman. Bob, get some people and gather the hostages. Block off the main entrance and tell the cops outside that if they take one step toward us, we’ll kill the hostages one by one. The rest of you follow me, our lovely Miss Fox is still waiting for us.”

There were already several bodies littered around the corridor outside the emergency room. Many of the patients and medical staff were either hiding or squatting on the floor with their arms around their heads. The kidnappers yelled and kicked the hostages around, ordering them to gather at the lobby near the hospital entrance.

Meanwhile, Zhou Qingfeng panted heavily as he tried to catch his breath. The doctor raised both his arms up and stared at Zhou Qingfeng with horror as he asked, “What happened?”

“A group of gangsters broke into the hospital to kidnap Leila Fox and they killed a lot of people in collateral,” Zhou Qingfeng quickly explained. “We need to escape now or we’ll wind up dead.”

“They’re here to kidnap that Fox lady? The one whose net worth is 50 billion dollars?” the doctor asked. Then he pointed at Zhou Qingfeng’s wireless police radio in his front pocket and added, “Mr. Policeman, have you called for support?”

“I’m not a f*cking… Alright! Yes, I have already called for backup and the New York Emergency Service Unit is already on their way. Don’t worry, you’ll be saved soon, but it’s best if we can get out as soon as possible.”

The elevator doors opened with a ding. Zhou Qingfeng kept his gun close to him as he peeked out to check the surroundings before exiting the elevator with the doctor. There were only a few lights illuminating the entire underground parking lot, making it seem even quieter and more deserted.

After getting some directions from the doctor, Zhou Qingfeng made his way to a brand new BMW Sedan. He immediately smashed the car window and opened the door to the driver’s seat.

The BMW security alarm instantly began wailing and the doctor called out in shock, “This is our director’s car! Is that even legal?”

“If you think that what I’m doing is illegal, you’re welcome to report me,” Zhou Qingfeng replied airily as he found the spare car keys from the visor. He quickly silenced the alarm and pressed the start button, and the engine revved up automatically right away. “Thank you, technology, for making it easier to drive cars.”

Seeing that Zhou Qingfeng had started the car and was about to leave, the doctor hurried forward in front of the car and shouted, “Hey, where are you going? You’re a police officer! Now that there’s a shooting going on at the hospital, it’s your duty to keep me safe!”

“I…” Zhou Qingfeng was utterly speechless. It was aggravating to be constantly recognized as a policeman. He had no choice but to shout back, “Alright, get in the car, we don’t have much time now.”

The doctor quickly opened the door to the front passenger seat and sat down, and Zhou Qingfeng wasted no time and stepped on the accelerator. The BMW Sedan zoomed forward, heading for the parking lot exit.

Zhou Qingfeng was desperate to leave this d*mned place as soon as possible but as the car reached the barrier gate, he was greeted by the gory scene of a parking lot security sprawled on the ground near the guardhouse, covered in blood.

“D*mn it, get down!” Zhou Qingfeng shouted, just as a storm of bullets came from behind the guardhouse, pumping the BMW Sedan full of holes.