Gunfire rang loudly across the air, making me cover my ears reflexively. Bullets rained down upon the zombies and their bodies fell to the ground one after another.
However, it's not enough.
"Keep shooting. Don't stop until every last one of those bastards are dead." Miss Rika said from her hiding spot, firing at the approaching horde. Her rifle spat out lead at an alarming rate, and I could hear the empty shells hitting the concrete beneath our feet
Those who managed to get close were split in half or beheaded by Saeko. Her smile never faltered as she cut through the bodies of undead.
I joined in, taking shots at any zombie that I could spot. There were too many of them for our team to handle alone.
Fortunately...
"Fire in the hole!"
... Leon's team and the other soldiers were with us.
A grenade was thrown toward the mass of undead, creating an explosion that shook the ground beneath us. Pieces of flesh rained everywhere as limbs and heads were blown away. A few more followed it shortly after, and soon, the whole street was filled with smoke and fire.
"Move!" Leon gave out an order. "Make ways for the evacuation truck!"
Our group moved to clear the path. Miss Rika took position and fired her rifle, shooting precisely and accurately to the head of the zombies that approached the road.
The sound of gunshots echoed throughout the neighborhood, accompanied by the groans and cries of the zombies.
I also took shots at any of the undead I could spot, but it seemed that Miss Rika didn't need my help.
"Good."
I only had 3 magazines left, so I changed into my sword. The zombies had thinned out compared to before. I charged in, cutting down any zombie in my way. They were mostly just ordinary people that were unfortunate enough to get caught up by the horde.
"Damn."
I swore when my sword got stuck on the rib cage of one zombie, but I didn't panic.
My fist hit its face, shattering bones and sending the creature stumbling backwards.
With my current strength, crushing the skull wasn't difficult. With a quick pull, I freed my sword from the ribcage and moved on to another target.
"Behind you!"
Miss Rika shouted, drawing my attention. I turned around and saw a zombie approaching me from behind. It was fast and its hands reached out to grab me, its jaws opening wide as it prepared to bite my face off.
Easy.
When he was close to me, I elbowed it in the chest and sent it sprawling. Then, I stomped its head to kill it for sure before running toward Miss Rika and Saeko who had already moved forward.
The three of us were like the spearhead, leading the way for the evacuation truck and Leon's team, mainly because we had me and Saeko who were proficient with swords.
Miss Rika positioned herself together with Leon's team when we reached the open space of a highway.
"The secure route is ahead! Follow the plan and we'll be able to escape from here safely!" Leon explained through the communication device given to us by the soldiers. He added, "A bomb will detonate and destroy this place in 5 minutes. We have to move as far as possible."
"What the hell. You never told me about the bomb!" I shouted angrily. It was dangerous to know it so late.
Leon turned his face toward me and shouted back, "You didn't need to know! And you should be glad that I even let you know!"
"Shit."
I cursed.
While I knew why he hid the fact about the bomb, it was still frustrating for me. He probably wanted to avoid me panicking.
The reason why he told me about it now was because my adrenaline was at an all-time high. I would rather kill those zombies than panicking.
And he was so damn right. I had no time to think about the bomb.
Our evacuation had started, the trucks moved one by one. There were a total of 10 trucks to evacuate as many people as possible.
Considering the bomb would explode in 5 minutes, the range probably wasn't that big. I guessed it to be around 1 KM only.
And knowing Leon, he probably had the team set them in a way that would block these zombies from leaving the quarantine zone.
We had moved 1 KM away from the zone, but we had to cover 500 more meters if we wanted to be safe.
So… This would be quite hard.
"Daiki, focus!" Miss Rika's voice brought me back from my thinking. "More zombies are coming from the side."
Looking around, I noticed a crowd of zombies running toward us. Some of them were crawling at a fast speed, their long tongues hanging low.
Fucking Lickers! They were here!
"Miss Rika, target those with exposed brains. They are Lickers, and their strength can allow them to rip metal apart!" I quickly warned her.
Among us, she was the one who could shoot them with good accuracy. I could see around 3 to 5 of them among the zombies.
"Got it."
Trusting what I said, Miss Rika seemed to say something to Leon before taking a prone position while zombies still poured onto us.
'Is she crazy?' A thought flashed into my mind before I focused.
Right, she wasn't that crazy. She trusted the soldiers under Leon to cover for her.
As I cut the zombies down with Saeko, the soldiers also moved into formation to protect Miss Rika and her group from getting attacked. They provided suppressive fire and shot the zombies that were too close to the truck and the sniper team.
And then...
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The first two Lickers had their head shot and their bodies fell down, their brains scattered around them. They twitched for a moment before becoming completely still.
The third Licker, who had jumped high, also got his head penetrated, creating a small hole in the middle of its head. The fourth one had his skull blown apart.
And the last Licker?
It was fortunate enough to dodge a direct headshot, but its leg was blown away, making it stumble.
Everything was taken care of. Now we just had to run.