Welcome to the Wasteland

Chapter 33: Amidst the Flames

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

In the midst of the flames, cars swooped up from the third floor one by one. They surged several meters forward before crumpling and becoming obstacles that blocked the way up into the second floor.

Bark fired shot after shot, but he had no way to deal with those cars. Zhou Qingfeng had not appeared, and firing at the cars was just a waste of time. That was not the greatest of their concerns. Although the petrol they poured inside was rapidly depleting the air on the third floor, it was the second floor that had to bear the heat of the blazing inferno.

“F*ck, this is completely different from what we expected!” Cursing, Bark left the barricade that he had erected. The heat had already curled his eyebrows. If he stayed any longer, he would be baked to death regardless of what happened to Zhou Qingfeng.

“Let’s retreat now. We only have to block this junction.” Bark could not do anything else. He could only retreat a dozen meters along with his subordinates, making sure to block Zhou Qingfeng’s escape route.

Below them, Zhou Qingfeng was also having a hard time. As the flames licked the area, the air was getting thinner and thinner, and it was getting harder to breathe. Feeling that he had already sent out enough cars, he ran out toward the curved path, holding in his hands his rifle and a fire extinguisher.

There were no bullets coming his way, but the fires were an even deadlier threat. Zhou Qingfeng twisted open the extinguisher and sprayed it at the fires on the floor. It was a race against time. He must extinguish all the flames before they combusted all the oxygen in the air.

The foam fire extinguisher could only produce foam for about ten seconds. After one was empty, he had to change to another. When Zhou Qingfeng started to put out the fires, fighting against the clock, a car suddenly rushed down from the path that linked to the second floor, sent the makeshift car-barricade flying apart, and hurtled toward Zhou Qingfeng from the air.

The car was speeding toward him with unparalleled momentum. Zhou Qingfeng could do nothing but curl up and hide under an upturned car. He heard the falling car crumple like a toy, sending fragments of trash and shrapnel flying hazardously.

On the second floor, the kidnapper Bark, who was in charge of the operation, was personally driving a car down the ramp. He shouted to his two colleagues, “Crash it, crash it. We have to block this exit completely so that he stays inside and burns to death.”

Bark’s subordinates crashed more and more cars. The upturned cars quickly blocked the entrances and exits. Some of those were petrol-powered too. When the fuel tanks were destroyed, they added on to the fire as well, fueling the burning flames with a series of explosions.

“Hahaha… It should be like this, this is how it should be! That cop is dead meat!” Bark, armed with his gun, approached the curved path again. He wanted to check if Zhou Qingfeng had perished to the car crash or the fire.

Thick, black smoke seeped out from the second floor. A few meters closer, and he could feel the inescapable heat of the flames. Seeing this scene, Bark laughed and heaved out a breath of relief. He even put his gun down.

No one thought that Zhou Qingfeng could survive the deadly conditions, in a sea of red-hot flames. Bark said to his leader through his walkie-talkie, “Boss Locke, that cop’s dead, we burnt him to death.”

“He’s dead! Good!” Locke’s maniacal laughter could be heard through the walkie-talkie. He shook his big head at the reporter from CNN and shouted happily, “That policeman’s dead, burnt to death! I told you my idea would work. No one can survive that. No one!”

Leila Fox was nearby. She had already gracefully polished her dinner and was waiting for a miracle to happen before her eyes. When she heard Locke’s raucous laughter, a wave of disappointment and grief washed over her.

‘That cop is already dead? Do I really have no hope of being rescued?’

Besides Miss Fox, the people all over New York, the US, or even the whole world who were following this case felt sorrowful as well. The gloomy feeling peaked when they saw Locke’s ugly face radiating glee; everyone felt like puking. No one longer cared that Zhou Qingfeng had killed the black man. Everyone only remembered him as the person who killed seven kidnappers when the police were at their wits’ end.

The live broadcast at CNN was following the latest developments of the kidnapping case. The news anchor addressed the camera in a heavy voice, “According to the latest news we’ve received, the young man who fought against the kidnappers in the Lower Manhattan Hospital kidnapping case might have already died.

“According to the kidnappers, the young man was trapped on the third floor of the underground basement, burnt to death by the kidnappers who used gasoline. This is truly lamentable. Let us mourn for this young man who was only eighteen.”

Seeing the anchor’s expression of grief, many viewers felt tears falling too. The average person would feel for the weak; the scene of Zhou Qingfeng facing the odds and challenging so many kidnappers was a sad and heroic one.

Another person who was grieving was Angie, who was still staying in Catarina’s. The little girl had been sternly instructed to return by her father. Now she was sitting on the spiral staircase, reading all the news reports on her phone. Her heart hurt when she read reports by the media claiming that Zhou Qingfeng had been killed.

“If you wanna cry, go ahead. This friend of yours has saved your life once. It’s normal to cry for him.” It was Catarina who spoke. At some point, she had walked over to stand beside Angie.

“But my father really hates him now. He took private photos of my mom.” As Angie said that, she felt a wave of anger toward Zhou Qingfeng for taking photos of her mother of all people. If he had taken photos of her instead, her father might not be that furious.

Catarina chuckled, seemingly unconcerned. “It’s not unusual for little boys in the age of puberty to be into more mature and sexier women. Your mother, hmm, has some of that charm, you could say. She’s quite attractive to ignorant little boys.”

Angie curled her lips. She wanted to laugh at that, but she could not. She wanted to cry, but she did not know what was the point of that, so she could only stare into space, sulking. At that moment, a flurry of screams could be heard in the live broadcast playing on her phone.

The news anchor from CNN was speaking rapidly. “Something seems to have happened. The reporter on the scene reports that the gang leader Locke has suddenly thrown a tantrum, but no one knows what is happening.

“Locke is smashing things left and right, he is. Oh God, our reporter has also become his target. The growls everyone is hearing is coming from the scene. It seems like Locke is beside himself with fury.

“What could have made him this angry? What made him lose his mind? What made him explode in ire? Please stay tuned. We are waiting for reports from our colleagues on the scene.”

Listening to the anchor’s fervent reporting, the people watching the case felt their hearts clench. What had happened?

Meanwhile, at the entrance to the curved ramp leading to the second floor, Bark was no longer laughing. He heard someone growl furiously on the path that was covered with flames. Then, a silhouette, cloaked in fire, dashed out from there. His deathly aura was similar to that of the burning flames. It was like a demon had descended to Earth!