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The Walking Dead: The Final Assault 2
墨書 Inktalez
Act 1: Night Blooming Jasmine
The sky had completely darkened, and distant beams of flashlight flickered, three long and one short.
Song Jiu glanced at his luminous watch; it was exactly on time. He turned to call out and reached down to pull out a slender steel knife made from Fang Steel from atop Zombie's head, striding purposefully toward the direction of the flashlight. Behind him followed a man and a woman, their faces obscured by the night.
It had rained just two days prior, and the trio's pant legs were dampened by droplets of water between the wild grass, the fabric clinging uncomfortably to their skin. The hurried travelers remained silent, with only the rustling of grass as they parted and their slightly heavy breaths breaking the stillness of the night.
This muddy path led to the train station, where flickering flames could be seen at Platform. The night wind whistled through the mottled trains, producing a mournful sound. Five minutes later, the three stealthily arrived at the edge of the Railway Track, crouching as they slipped under a Green Train, where a person signaling with a flashlight awaited them.
“ Brother Jiu, everyone is over at Platform three, on the White Harmony Train, in the first six carriages—fewer than twenty people,” said a young man in a low voice. He led Song Jiu and his companions forward along one side of the Green Train, swiftly entering a carriage. Song Jiu and his companions followed closely behind; inside the carriage, there was a crowd, and by the light of the moon, it appeared there were More than ten people.
This was a hard seat carriage, filled with a strong smell of blood.
Song Jiu moved his flashlight aside to glance into the restroom, where a man lay sprawled on the floor, his chest soaked in blood—he was already lifeless.
“This guy probably came out to relieve himself; unlucky for him to run into us,” explained the young man leading them. He continued, “This saves us time cutting through barbed wire; we can go directly into Platform from Cabin. There are patrols—counting that guy in the restroom, there are five in total, all on either side of Platform.”
Song Jiu turned off his flashlight and pondered for a moment before asking, “Are there many guns?”
“Two. The patrolling officer has one; the other should be with that old guy.” The young man pointed toward the front of the carriage and added, “We can go directly into Cabin from here; stepping outside leads straight to barbed wire. There are no Zombies inside. Dream Fan’s message means that if anything happens on our side, she can take down that old thing immediately.”
“What about the girl?”
“Don’t know; Dream Fan didn’t mention her. She probably hasn’t been found.”
“Alright then, let’s get started.” Song Jiu nodded and patted the young man’s shoulder, instructing, “Ziqian, you take your team straight to Cabin to assist Dream Fan. I’ll handle things outside with Luo Yu.”
"Got it." The young man nodded, pointing out five or six people. Before leaving, he added, "Water and food are in the cabin. Are you waiting for your group to join?"
"You all should leave first, take as much as you can, and move quickly. There are zombies near the railway; we can't afford to waste time."
After discussing, more than ten people swiftly surged into the passage, crossing several sleeper cars until they reached the cabin of the green train. From the driver's compartment, they could vaguely see the glowing lights on the platform. The Harmony Train lay quietly on the railway track, its white body standing out starkly against the night sky. Ziqian's team moved ahead, clearing away debris that concealed the entrance of the damaged driver's compartment before silently slipping out. Song Jiu stood by the window, waiting until they had all infiltrated beneath the railway before making his move.
" Jiu Jiu, I'm going left." A girl who had come with Song Jiu pointed towards the left platform and whispered, "I just saw a shadow; someone must have come down."
"Okay, be careful. Once you're done, head straight to the cabin; no need to wait for me." Song Jiu replied and led the remaining two young men toward the right platform.
This was a county-level city transfer station; the platform wasn't large, with four railway tracks flanking either side. The Harmony Train occupied the center, while an orange train blocked its rear section on the left side. Two green cars on the right stood parallel to it, completely obscuring the Harmony Train. There were no lights on the cement platform; the brightness they had seen earlier came from the cabin of the Harmony Train, which served as the lair for their leader at this station. The platform was about a meter lower than the railway track. Song Jiu and his companions crouched low against the rough concrete wall as they hurried forward, listening for any sounds above while keeping an eye on what lay ahead beneath the train.
It seemed that patrols had moved towards the exit. Song Jiu kept counting his steps and soon reached near the first six cars that Ziqian had mentioned. The two green cars obstructed his view; he couldn't see what was happening across from him but estimated there shouldn't be much trouble. He turned and signaled for the two young men behind him to go ahead.
Just then, as soon as they slipped past the train, Song Jiu heard footsteps approaching from above. Unsure of where another gun might be located, he couldn't afford to ignore it and had to wait patiently until he heard those footsteps pass overhead. Only then did he cautiously peek out to see what was happening with the patrolmen. The two burly figures seemed oblivious to anything unusual on the platform as they leisurely walked toward the entrance, one of them carrying a heavy iron bar and murmuring something quietly. They weren’t armed; their weapons were likely with that girl. After considering his options, Song Jiu decided not to waste time and quickly crawled under the train, giving both patrolmen a chance to escape.
Just as he ducked under the railway track, gunfire suddenly erupted, shattering the stillness of the night.
Song Jiu frowned but didn’t have time to worry about any patrolmen who might have heard that shot. Gripping his steel knife tightly, he hurried forward. The two young men were faster than him; they rushed up to Harmony Train and smashed a window with their axes before swiftly climbing onto its roof. At that moment, a commotion erupted inside Harmony Train—shouts and sounds of struggle filled the air as dim flames suddenly flared up inside, casting an orange glow through the windows onto the railway track below.
Fortunately, there was no further gunfire.
Song Jiu felt relieved but then heard movement behind him. He turned around without thinking and threw his serrated steel knife. The two patrolmen had just crawled past the train when they were caught off guard by Song Jiu's thrown knife that struck one in the chest with a pained cry before he collapsed.
One down; there was still another.
The second man was startled by his companion’s fall but seeing that Song Jiu was now unarmed gave him newfound confidence as he picked up an iron bar and charged at him with a shout. Song Jiu snorted in response and lifted his coat hem to reveal a belt full of steel knives strapped around his waist. As he drew his knife while bending low to avoid a sweeping blow from the iron bar, he lunged forward two steps and plunged his blade into the patrolman’s chest. With a muffled sound of impact, without protective gear, it pierced deep into him—a chilling thrust that wouldn’t easily be pulled out again. Not caring about losing his knife, Song Jiu swiftly drew another blade and stomped down on the leg of the patrolman who had been hit by his thrown knife as he attempted to flee before swinging at his neck.
A spray of blood erupted into a bright arc against the green car wall as dark red pooled beneath them on the railway track, merging with dirt below.
When Song Jiu entered the Harmony Train carriage, Ziqian had already wrapped things up, but he hadn’t followed Song Jiu’s instructions to leave first. Torches flared up on both sides of the carriage, and about ten people squatted in the business class passage, half of them still not dressed. A few corpses lay sprawled in the front passage, all the work of Ziqian and his crew. Close to the cockpit, a girl in revealing pajamas sat chatting animatedly with Ziqian and the others.
“Where’s Luo Yu?” Song Jiu scanned the area. Aside from a few young men who were injured, everyone else seemed fine, but he couldn’t spot the girl who had gone to the left platform.
“The one with the gun ran away; Sister Luo chased after her,” replied a buzz-cut young man.
Song Jiu frowned and strode forward, interrupting the pajama-clad girl and Ziqian. “Didn’t I say to leave first? What’s going on?”
“ Master Jiu, the little girl isn’t here,” the girl raised her two pale arms in a gesture of surrender, her pajama neckline revealing a glimpse of skin. She blinked her long lashes with big eyes and feigned innocence. “I’ve been stuck sleeping with that old guy for a week.”
“Where is she?” Song Jiu pressed his lips together, feeling a twinge of irritation.
“Inside,” Ziqian gestured toward the cockpit and muttered, “Dream Fan didn’t hold back; he’s dead.”
Song Jiu walked over to take a look. The cockpit had been converted into a bedroom with a mattress where a middle-aged man with graying hair lay on his back. His throat had been slashed open, blood soaking most of the mattress—he was clearly beyond saving.
“Everything’s packed up; let’s grab a live one and get out?” Ziqian noticed Song Jiu’s displeasure and felt uneasy. He exchanged a furtive glance with Dream Fan, signaling her to speak up quickly.
“Wait for Luo Yu,” Song Jiu pondered for a moment before stepping in front of a row of men squatting down. He slapped the face of the one at the front with his steel knife.
The man froze for a moment, trembling as he looked up at this thin young man who seemed about the same age as his son.
“Where’s the little girl?” Song Jiu asked.
The man appeared confused by the question, glancing around before stammering, “W-what little girl?”
Song Jiu exhaled slowly, then suddenly thrust his arm forward, pressing the sharp blade against the man’s carotid artery. The man let out a strange cry as he clutched his throat and collapsed to the ground, convulsing violently while blood gushed out like water, slowly spreading across the floor.
Stepping over the corpse, Song Jiu stood before the second man. This one seemed more alert; before Song Jiu could say anything, he hurriedly confessed, “I know! I know! That little girl was sent by the boss to those guys by the river… they traded her for gasoline.”
“Damn it!” Ziqian shouted in fury, lifting his foot to stomp the man down onto the seat, raising his hand ready to strike.
Song Jiu quickly intervened, leaning close to the terrified man and coldly asking, “What do you know about those people?”
“I—I don’t know! I really don’t know! All I know is they have gasoline and a vegetable garden. Everyone in the city trades food with them,” the man, in his forties, sobbed uncontrollably, sitting in a pool of his companion's blood, shaking like a leaf.
“Are there many Survivors in this city?” Song Jiu asked an unrelated question.
“There are some, not too many. I haven’t seen that many…”
“What do you trade gasoline for?”
“There are Zombies in the city! My—my boss said we need to move; we can’t stay here.” The man cried like a broken-hearted child, pleading, “Please don’t kill me! We didn’t touch that girl; it was our boss who sent her to trade… I beg you…”
“Zombies?” Ziqian paused for a moment, applying more pressure with his foot as he asked, “With so many of you, why do you need to hide from Zombies?”
“No, no! It’s not just Zombies; it’s those Zombies that can talk!” The man was on the verge of breaking down, crying out, “We escaped from the north and saw them. They’re different from those ‘Kidnapper Ghosts’ outside!”
Before Song Jiu could ask more questions, gunfire erupted outside the vehicle. A shadow flashed by the window, and then Luo Yu appeared at the door.
“Let’s go! The Zombies are coming!”
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