novelhk Chapter 304 Hughie's Unlucky Day
Chapter 304 Hughie's Unlucky Day
Chapter 304 Hughie's Unlucky Day
The ruins of Los Angeles, bathed in the glow of the setting sun, possess a desolate beauty. The broken overpasses resemble long swords pointing to the sky, and beneath the shattered skyscrapers, shards of glass reflect a crimson glow.
Hughie carefully examined the gas mask on his face, then cautiously stepped over a pile of twisted steel bars and broken concrete. Perhaps due to prolonged concentration, or perhaps due to prolonged hunger, he experienced a moment of disorientation.
The boots made a faint crunching sound as they stepped on the broken glass. Three years ago, such a sound wouldn't have carried more than three meters in Los Angeles, but now, the faint sound seemed particularly jarring in the current environment.
Damn!
Hughie cursed inwardly, but his body moved swiftly. He quickly ducked, cautiously scanning his surroundings. The groaning sound carried far through the ruins, and the Terminators were equipped with sufficiently sensitive audio sensors. But Hughie had a reason not to be discovered.
His backpack contained his day's haul: half a bottle of antibiotics, two dented but still well-sealed cans of food, and a multi-purpose Swiss Army knife that was barely usable. These things used to be everywhere, but now they were worth more than so-called gold.
Hughie took the modified shotgun from behind him, his face tense beneath the gas mask. His heart was pounding, and his finger involuntarily pulled the trigger. He trusted his instincts, which were screaming at him to get back.
Do not!
Hughie pursed his lips. This amount of supplies was not enough. He looked at a hospital building that was half-collapsed not far away. It used to be a medical center in Los Angeles. People working there could earn half a month's salary with just a few words. But now it had become a treasure trove for scavengers.
He found a medical kit here last week, so he wanted to try his luck again today, hoping to find some medicine, or even some guns and bullets in a place like the security room.
Hughie wanted to try his luck in the city that used to be called New York, now called New Hope. He'd heard that heroes like Homelander were there, and that the damned robots couldn't do anything to the survivors. Everyone there was living like they were before Judgment Day. But before that, he needed to get enough supplies for his small group. The journey from Los Angeles to New Hope required crossing almost the entire United States, and if he didn't prepare supplies in advance, Hughie and his team might die on the way.
So Hughie started walking quickly to the front of the building and began moving close to the wall. His recent lesson made him pay close attention to his footing, trying his best to avoid stepping on anything that might make a sound.
The main gate of the hospital building had long since disappeared, leaving only a dark hole. The dilapidated building had completely lost its power, making the hole resemble the gaping maw of a monstrous beast ready to devour anyone.
Hughie pulled a small flashlight from his pocket. Most of the light-emitting surface of the flashlight was wrapped with tape, leaving only a gap to let out a faint light. This allowed him to see his feet clearly without attracting too much unnecessary attention.
Walking cautiously through the lobby, Hughie could smell a faint musty odor and the scent of some kind of oxidized metal. Occasionally, he could see a few long-dried corpses, which had long since lost their stench and whose clothes had been stripped off. Therefore, Hughie did not want to look at them for long and instead turned around to look for any useful supplies. Unfortunately, there was nothing there.
Just then, Hughie heard a sound, a chilling sound—the faint sound of metal scraping against metal. He felt his blood run cold. In this state of extreme fear, Hughie calmly turned off his flashlight, held his breath, and slowly retreated behind a load-bearing pillar.
The metallic scraping sound was coming from the second floor, and it was slowly but steadily moving towards the stairs. Hughie knew what it was—the Terminators. These abominable mechanical products had the appearance of human skulls, and their purpose was to wipe out humanity, or at least that's what Hughie thought.
At this moment, his brain began to spin rapidly. Should he hide where he was and gamble that the other party wouldn't notice him? No! The other party wasn't human, and they had thermal imaging capabilities. Hiding would most likely result in death.
Or should he strike first? No! The shotgun in his hand was far too old; even an older model of the Terminator could easily ignore its bullets.
Sneak out?
Good idea. Hughie thought to himself, and began to walk quickly toward the lobby entrance. The sound was getting closer and closer, and Hughie could even hear the unique sound of the hydraulic system in operation.
The good news is that this Terminator is clearly an older model. The bad news is that even if it's an older model, this machine can still tear him to shreds.
Just as Hughie was about to reach the door, his foot stepped on a loose tile, which immediately made a crisp click under his foot.
Time seemed to stand still for a moment, but immediately, the sound of the Terminator turning up its power came from the second floor, and Yu Yu's voice instantly spread throughout the entire hospital building.
"FXCK!" Hughie no longer bothered to hide himself. He cursed and took off running. As he rushed out of the hospital, the wall behind him shattered into pieces, and a metal skeleton emerged from the dust. Within the gleaming alloy skeleton, a pair of scarlet electronic eyes locked onto the target.
As he ran, Hughie fired back at the Terminator. Luckily, the shot hit its target, the bullet sparking in the Terminator's chest, but it couldn't even slow the Terminator down. Hughie could only grit his teeth and turn into a narrow alley, trying to restrict the Terminator's movement through the confined space, but the Terminator simply chose to smash through the wall and walk in a straight line.
Hughie ended up in a desperate situation because of his own cleverness. Although demolishing the wall did slow down the opponent, the Terminator travels in a straight line, and overall, the Terminator is still much faster than him.
"Warning: Human target locked. Termination procedure initiated."
The mechanical being pronounced the death sentence on the organic life form in a cold voice, but Hughie clearly did not want to surrender.
The long run made his heart pound and his lungs feel like they were on fire. Hughie knew he couldn't outrun the machine, but he couldn't stop until he turned into the next area and entered a dead end.
Swallowing hard, Hughie gasped for breath, raised his shotgun, and loaded it. He knew he was about to die, but he was determined to take someone down with him.
The sounds of metal rubbing and hydraulic presses made Hughie gasp for breath. He knew these robots couldn't possibly have human emotions, much less do anything cruel like toying with humans, but the feeling of waiting to die was more painful than being tortured.
Finally, the Terminator came into Hughie's view. He leaned against the wall, raised his shotgun, and fired until he was out of ammunition. The weapon in the Terminator's hand also began to fire. Hughie recognized this weapon. This rotary machine gun was generally used on naval cannons or anti-aircraft machine guns. Its rate of fire could generally reach more than 1000 rounds per minute. Ordinary humans could not hold it at all, but the Terminator could use this weapon with ease.
Hughie roared and brandished his shotgun, charging forward, but his heart was much calmer. Perhaps it was the tempering he had undergone in the past three years that had allowed him to calmly await death.