Chapter 170 - A Story of Crashing into a Black Luxury Car
The Land Cruiser with the Leader and the others on board ran north through the base. Toward the boy's Pajero chasing it, as expected, bullets surged in no time. White spider-web-like cracks entered the window glass, and the rearview mirror was blown off.
"Shit, this is hard to drive."
Even without a license, it's this kind of world; even the boy has driving experience. But the large SUV Pajero he boarded was quite difficult to drive. It takes physical strength just to turn the steering wheel, and it's huge. Because he had scraped the car body against abandoned vehicles and walls many times since earlier, the side mirrors had vanished somewhere. Now, belatedly, he fastened the seatbelt and continued the pursuit of the Land Cruiser.
When he stepped on the accelerator, the car accelerated all at once along with the vibration of the diesel engine. On the Land Cruiser are the Leader and his guard. He doesn't know where the Leader intends to go, but he can't lose sight of him here. Currently, no one other than the boy is chasing the Leader; if he loses sight of him, that's the end.
The Leader's guard leaned his upper body out from the window and fired the submachine gun in his hand. The boy gripping the steering wheel also grabbed a handgun with one hand and fired toward the Land Cruiser ahead. He thought, I'm glad it's an automatic car. If it were a manual car, both hands would be occupied, so he couldn't even counterattack.
However, perhaps because they were firing from moving, shaking cars at each other, the bullets the boy fired didn't easily hit the Land Cruiser ahead. Similarly, the bullets the members in the Land Cruiser shot mostly flew to absurd places, but they didn't completely fail to hit.
"Ugh, shit, it's in the way!"
The windshield had become pure white from continuing to receive bullets, but it wouldn't break easily. When the boy struck the grip of the handgun from the inside, the windshield came off along with the window frame and rolled on the ground.
He tried to eject the magazine from the handgun that had run out of ammo, but the JSDF handgun is made so that the magazine cannot be removed without using both hands. He tried to release his hand from the steering wheel for just an instant to change the magazine, but the car immediately started zigzagging, so the boy hurriedly grabbed the steering wheel. He threw the handgun from which he had ejected the magazine onto the dashboard and somehow tried to take out a magazine from his pocket and load it.
The Land Cruiser running ahead suddenly changed direction and this time started running east. Just as the boy wondered what was happening, several infected jumped out in front of him. Apparently, infected are intruding from places other than the destroyed West Gate as well.
"Uwaah!"
He hurriedly turned the steering wheel, but he couldn't avoid one and hit it. The hit infected bent its body into a 'ku' shape, and the car continued running with the infected on the hood.
Even though the car hit it at high speed, the infected was moving vigorously. While leaning its upper body on the hood and having its legs dragged on the ground, it reached out both hands toward the boy sitting in the driver's seat. He thought about stopping suddenly to shake it off, but if he stopped now, the gap with the Leader and the others would increase further. While doing so, the infected was gradually crawling up onto the hood.
At that moment, perhaps to secure a field of fire, the Land Cruiser's tailgate ahead opened. Since the tailgate cannot be opened from inside the car, they must have been running with it not completely closed from the start. A member positioned in the rear cargo area inside the car fired an automatic rifle.
Immediately after he hurriedly lowered his head, the driver's seat headrest burst, scattering cotton. One headlight was crushed, making it one-eyed. But fortunately, it seemed that not a single hit had been taken by the engine or drive system. However, the infected was already riding up onto the hood and was about to jump into the driver's seat right now.
Just as the boy regretted that he should have broken the window... the Land Cruiser slowed down a bit to turn a corner. But the boy, without slowing down, forcibly turned the corner and, after finishing the turn, stepped on the accelerator further.
"A delivery for you!"
The rapidly accelerating Pajero vigorously rear-ended the Land Cruiser that was running with its tailgate open. The member who was changing the magazine of the empty rifle in the rear cargo area fell on his backside from the impact. On top of that, due to the impact of the rear-end collision, the infected that was on the Pajero's hood rolled forward. Just like that, the infected dove into the cargo area of the Land Cruiser with the open tailgate.
"What is this guy!?"
The Brotherhood members in the Land Cruiser made a big fuss at the infected that was suddenly thrown into the cargo area. The man in the cargo area struck the infected with the butt of his rifle and fired the automatic rifle continuously from literally point-blank range. The infected, whose body became full of holes, rolled out of the cargo area, but in the gap when the Land Cruiser's speed dropped slightly, the boy's Pajero increased speed all at once and began running side-by-side with the Land Cruiser.
He turned the steering wheel vigorously just like that and slammed the car body with all his might. The Land Cruiser's body, pushed from the side by the Pajero, contacted the warehouse wall and scattered sparks.
"Die!"
The Brotherhood members sandwiched between the wall and the Pajero thrust the muzzles of handguns from the windows and fired. Before that, the boy hurriedly pulled the car away, but the bullets fired from a stone's throw away all landed on the Pajero's body. One of the bullets dove in through the window and grazed the tip of the boy's nose. A bullet that penetrated the door stuck into the passenger seat just like that.
"Open the North Gate quickly!"
The executive sitting in the passenger seat of the Land Cruiser was shouting into a transceiver. At the words "North Gate," the boy had a memory. The North Gate is where Aki and the others were let escape.
But if Aki and the others had moved according to Sato's instructions, by now they should be at the convenience store near the North Gate, or perhaps have already left there and moved to the safehouse Sato prepared. The possibility of the Leader and the others encountering Aki and the others like this is low.
At the same time, the boy understood that the Leader was trying to leave from here. Already inside the Brotherhood's base, infected are intruding. Furthermore, defense facilities such as watchtowers and sturdy gate leaves, and equipment such as armored vehicles and firearms, were being lost because the boy and Sato ran amok. He might have judged it useless to be fixated on maintaining this base.
But he thought, It's not good that you guys are trying to escape first. Furthermore, he couldn't let the dangerous person, the Leader, escape like this. Even if he lost the majority of his current henchmen, if he remained, he would eventually revive the Brotherhood again. And he would continue to make many people suffer. He could not tolerate such a thing. He had to defeat the Leader here no matter what.
The interior of the base has already turned into a crucible of chaos. Gunshots are thundering everywhere, and the roars of infected vibrate the air. Perhaps they failed to extinguish the fires, as the flames are gaining momentum again, dyeing the night sky red.
The boy realized that this base was already finished. Until now, even if they were found by infected, they had the facilities, equipment, and personnel to not allow intrusion. But now the majority of those are being lost. The Brotherhood had wiped out the infected around the base and created an environment where it was no problem even if they made some noise. But the thundering explosion sound reached the distant city, and from there, infected are surging toward this base one after another.
It's nearly impossible to eliminate all of them and protect this base. The most sensible judgment would be to escape from here. But he couldn't let the Leader and the others escape no matter what.
Perhaps because the member had just barked instructions over the radio, the North Gate of the base was flung open. But the figures of the members who were supposed to be guarding there were not seen. They might have already escaped.
The Pajero and the Land Cruiser, while slamming their car bodies into each other, passed through the North Gate at high speed and went out into the city that had become a ruin. But the Pajero, which had received over a dozen bullets, was already close to its limit. Since earlier, the engine had been making sounds like it was coughing, and the speed wouldn't increase easily. Even if he tried to get out and change to another car, he didn't know if there was a moving car nearby, and in the meantime, the Leader and the others would escape.
Already only one magazine's worth of handgun bullets remained. On the other hand, the members are leaning out from the windows and still continuing to fire. Both car bodies had become dented from hitting cars and walls, but even so, the Land Cruiser was still running.
The two SUVs came out to the street. Perhaps because they heard the explosion sound, the figures of infected can be seen here and there on the wide road. The Land Cruiser ran through the wide road at high speed, avoiding and sometimes hitting and flying infected. In contrast, the boy's Pajero had finally taken a hit to the engine, as it was becoming so that the speed wouldn't increase easily.
"This bastard...!"
At this rate, the distance will only open. The boy released both hands from the steering wheel and took the automatic rifle that was leaning against the passenger seat. He gripped the grip of the gun with his right hand, pressed down on the steering wheel from above with the handguard with his left hand, and readied the rifle. He pressed down on the steering wheel, which tried to move to the right and left on its own, with only his left hand and fired the rifle in three-round bursts.
However, because he was firing from a forced posture, naturally it didn't hit. The bullets mostly flew to absurd directions, and several hit the Land Cruiser's body.
One of the Land Cruiser's rear tires went flat due to the gunfire, but they were still running. Perhaps they were wearing run-flat tires that could run to some extent even if flat, as although the speed had dropped, there was not much hindrance to driving.
He threw the rifle that had run out of ammo onto the passenger seat and stepped on the accelerator again. The Land Cruiser was still running.
The boy placed the somehow reloaded handgun on the dashboard. But at that moment, the car body bounced greatly on the road surface where the asphalt had peeled off, and the handgun fell to the feet of the driver's seat.
He reached out his hand, but he couldn't reach the gun. The boy gave up on picking up the handgun. He became unable to counterattack the members' gunfire, but originally it was firing while driving; the bullets wouldn't hit.
The Pajero the boy was driving was also in a state close to its limit because it had taken bullets many times. Countless bullet holes were pierced in the car body, making it just like a car-shaped Swiss cheese. Although the engine was still moving barely, the reaction when stepping on the accelerator had been becoming dull since earlier.
The Land Cruiser with the Leader and the others is running while avoiding infected to the right and left. Although it's sturdy and can run off-road, the Land Cruiser is ultimately a passenger car. It's not made to be able to run while hitting dozens of humans.
Even so, since they are occasionally hitting and flying infected they couldn't avoid, a single path was being made after the Land Cruiser passed. Before the car becomes scrap, he had to decide the match. Fortunately, the Land Cruiser's driving speed was also dropping. In terms of relative speed, this side was faster.
The boy made up his mind and stepped on the accelerator with all his might. Swarms of infected are also crowding around the Pajero the boy is driving, but at a course that barely grazes them, he closes the distance to the Land Cruiser all at once.
"He's chasing us, that idiot."
The moment he approached a distance where even such words of the members could be heard, the members in the rear seat and cargo area fired toward the Pajero all at once. Ricochets flew around inside the car, and finally the engine also seemed to have become junk as the tachometer's RPM approached zero in no time, but the momentum of the car body, nearly two tons, cannot be stopped by a few grams of bullets.
The Pajero rear-ended the Land Cruiser's rear part again and became in a form where it continued pushing just like that. On top of that, unfortunately for them, a large hole was open in the road surface in front of the Land Cruiser. Perhaps it was during water pipe construction; a deep hole that could fit a light car perfectly was dug in the middle of the road where excavators and trucks were left.
But the driver of the Land Cruiser was looking back, distracted by the boy's Pajero that had rear-ended them, and didn't seem to notice the large hole approaching in front. The boy continued pushing the Land Cruiser by stepping on the accelerator just like that and knocked the Land Cruiser into the hole in the road surface.
The Land Cruiser that fell into the large hole during piping construction didn't fall completely into the hole thanks to its long nose. But the hood part hit the edge of the hole, and the Land Cruiser's body half-rotated around the front part and was slammed onto the road from the roof.
On the other hand, the Pajero the boy was riding had also become junk this time. The Pajero, which became uncontrollable, rushed into the construction site while maintaining its momentum and rode over the construction materials left on the road surface.
Because the engine had blown, not much speed was out, but even so, the car body that stepped over the piping of the material storage yard tilted greatly and overturned vigorously.
The inside of the Pajero shook greatly just like a washing machine. Everything that wasn't fixed was blown away, and a large impact attacked the boy. The handgun that was supposed to have fallen to his feet rained down from above his head and hit the boy's forehead directly.
It's a handgun with weak power, but if used as a blunt instrument, it was a different story. The boy raised a silly voice and lost consciousness.
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