"Damn it, Captain, even if my teammates became zombies and charged that way, here I am dilly-dallying, hesitant. If the Captain knew I was hesitating, he’d definitely kick me to the ground. My teammates would surely laugh at me,"
He didn’t think twice.
He rushed downstairs.
Donning his protective gear, he got into the fire truck and drove towards the scene.
He had driven a long distance when he saw the Captain and teammates running, their speed astonishing. He had never imagined the Captain and teammates could run so fast.
"Have you all been hiding your true skills before?" He Yong mumbled to himself.
Soon, when he arrived.
He was stunned by the scene before him.
The flames were raging, and thick smoke billowed.
"Can I really handle this alone...?"
The fire must be put out—if the poison spreads to the city, it will greatly affect the survivors.
He saw the Captain and his team members.
No... not just me, I have them too."
He realized something was wrong. His teammates were walking into the fire without even thinking of using any tools.
Anxious, he quickly drove the fire truck forward.
"Don’t go like that, you’ll get burned to death."
Without giving it too much thought, he actually jumped out of the truck. To his surprise, they didn’t attack him but kept moving forward.
There, in the forefront, he saw a zombie. He knew who it was, no matter how ferocious the face had become, he still recognized it.
"Dabao, don’t do this,"
Dabao didn’t listen, but growled ’hehe’ without any fear in the face of the flames. The burning cargo seemed like flammable material as Dabao opened his arms and slapped at the fire on it with his bare hands, scorching his palms even as a zombie.
The cargo continued to burn, and the flames rose like a fire dragon, instantly engulfing Dabao. Yet, being devoured by the flames, Dabao continued to fight the fire as it kept burning.
With a loud crash, Dabao fell to the ground, his body consumed by the flames.
He Yong’s eyes reddened slightly.
The Captain and the teammates kept advancing.
He grabbed the hose and began spraying. He knew he couldn’t put out the fire on his own, not even if all his teammates were there.
"Well, it’s quite a blessing to be able to fight one last fire with everyone,"
"Brothers, let’s coordinate one last time,"
Damn this apocalypse, it made him feel that surviving was an act of humility. Since it had come to this, he might as well go out with a blaze of glory.
He looked to the side, drawn by the sound. Zombies attracted by the noise were rushing towards him from afar.
Under the protective visor, he smiled.
He didn’t care about the approaching horde of zombies.
His attention was fully on the scene ahead.
Now he had to fight alongside his teammates one last time.
He heard the ’hehe’ sounds, getting closer. He knew the horde of zombies was near him.
Hoping it wouldn’t hurt too much.
The factory ahead roared again. The scorching heat wave hit him, and the powerful shock sent him flying backward, along with the approaching zombies.
He looked up at the sky, the clear blue of a sunny day, recalling the summer several years ago when he, a young and naive rookie, had joined the fire brigade with relentless determination. Maybe such a clear sky...
He felt himself being held in someone’s embrace.
A face appeared, a man’s face.
This reminded him of a domineering CEO drama he had once seen where, just before the Cinderella-like heroine was about to be hit by a car, she was held by the domineering CEO at the critical moment. Their first encounter was a deep gaze into each other’s eyes.
PS: Here’s a repayment of 2500 words, my apologies.