When Yue Zheng woke up, it was already half past seven, and a familiar aroma and footsteps could be heard outside the door.
“Ah, you’re awake? I cooked two packets of instant noodles. Let’s have a little bit first.” Xu Song saw Yue Zheng wake up and hurriedly placed the saucepan he was holding on the desk. On his other hand, he had two bowls and two children’s sausages.
“Yeah, is everything okay?” Yue Zheng rubbed his face. He had slept much more comfortably this time, and his energy had also recovered quite a bit.
“No.” Xu Song’s voice sounded somewhat dull. In the morning, he wanted to go to the courtyard and see the ‘people’ who had died and help collect their bodies, but he didn’t want to see familiar faces.
As a result, he didn’t leave the house. Every time he thought of those people, he thought of his parents and wondered if they were in danger and if they knew about these events, and whether they would come towards Zhao Village.
Looking up, Yue Zheng noticed Xu Song’s downcast expression. He divided the noodles into two bowls and pushed one in front of him.
“We’ll leave soon and get to the city early.” He knew Xu Song was anxious, and he also had a situation to report to his superiors. Perhaps if they deciphered the text on the stone tablet, they would be able to unravel the clues to this incident. At the very least, the city had equipment that could analyze whether it was radiation or some kind of toxic gas.
The situation in Zhao Village was very dangerous, and he had to inform his superiors as soon as possible.
Xu Song nodded and began eating with his head down. The two bowls contained the same instant noodles with two additional eggs and two children’s sausages. It was enough to make two young and strong individuals only partially full.
“We’re out of noodles at home. I’ll buy some from the convenience store later…” Xu Song paused halfway through his sentence, realizing that the convenience store probably had no one either, right? Either they were dead or they had run away.
He quickly added, “I put all the biscuits and other edible things in the house into a bag. There’s still some left, I’ll give it to you later.”
Yue Zheng silently nodded. They didn’t know what they would encounter on the road, so it wouldn’t hurt to bring these supplies along.
The village remained quiet. The plants stretched their branches comfortably and only paused when they noticed the two passing by, pretending to be harmless. Little did they know that Yue Zheng, with his enhanced vision, saw through their strange movements and led Xu Song to avoid those suspicious plants.
There was no sound from the flying dog and the big rooster they had seen yesterday. The undead that came out to search for food in the middle of the night was nowhere to be seen. The two of them didn’t go to explore other households, who knew what was inside?
Walking one after the other onto the highway, there was no sign of the gold van in front or behind the convenience store. There was only a modified electric tricycle belonging to an unknown household. The tricycle wasn’t locked, and after studying it for a moment, Yue Zheng decided to make do with it and head to the highway.
(Insert photo.)
The door of the convenience store was half closed. Yue Zheng held an iron rod he picked up from the ground in one hand and gently pushed open the door with a creak. The scene inside unfolded before them.
Xu Song covered his mouth with his hand, almost vomiting the instant noodles he had eaten in the morning. The inside was covered in blood and shredded flesh, making it impossible to discern a complete body.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“It’s just like the situation in the lowest level of the ancient tomb,” Yue Zheng frowned. The convenience store wasn’t big, so the situation inside could be seen at a glance. Apart from the person who died in such an explosive manner, there was no trace of any other living beings.
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Judging from the sizes of the footprints, the patterns of the shoe imprints, the overlapping areas, and the order of appearance, there really seemed to be only two people… Wait, Yue Zheng was a police officer, so it was normal for him to notice these things, but what about himself?!
“…Could it be related to whatever caused the explosion yesterday?” Yue Zheng didn’t know what Xu Song was pondering, so he stood up and carefully walked inside, avoiding those traces.
“Are you saying that whatever caused the mutations and brought dead people back to life, had also made people who are far away explode?!”
Xu Song could understand that the people in the lowest level of the ancient tomb were blown into pieces, but here, so far away from the tomb, it could also make people explode?!
Yue Zheng looked at him and whispered, “When we left the village earlier, I noticed something. In certain places in the village and on the road, where they weren’t obstructed by those plants, there were also bloodstains and… shredded flesh.”
After his vision was enhanced, Yue Zheng could clearly see things up to a dozen meters away as long as there was nothing blocking his view. This ability seemed to be just as natural as his improved physical fitness and didn’t cause dizziness, except when he activated his night vision.
After seeing those things on the road, he naturally wouldn’t step on the blood with Xu Song, which is why Xu Song hadn’t seen it.
Nodding silently, Xu Song didn’t suspect anything and thought it was just his own distraction that made him not pay enough attention to the surroundings.
Seeing that Xu Song remained silent, Yue Zheng turned and entered the convenience store. He looked around and took several packets of unsoiled instant noodles and biscuits from the bottom shelf, handing them to Xu Song.
“Put them in the vehicle.”
Xu Song was momentarily stunned but quickly took them and turned to leave, placing the items on the electric tricycle.
These items were taken first. If the people from the convenience store were fine and they could make it out alive themselves, they would come back later to pay them.
Even though he had such thoughts in his mind, Xu Song felt that he probably wouldn’t have another chance to compensate for them.
Yue Zheng also moved several cases of mineral water, two cases of sugary drinks for replenishment, and some clean packaged food to fill up the back of the tricycle.
He then picked up a few axes and similar items and placed them on the vehicle before walking to the front of the tricycle. He looked at the tricycle’s handlebars, gathering his courage, and said, “I haven’t ridden one of these in years. I’ll give it a try first.”
Xu Song chuckled, “You go ahead and try. I’ll get on once you’re sure you can ride.”
The tricycle was similar to a bicycle, but it had slight differences in balance. It had been a long time since Yue Zheng had touched one of these, and he bumped into the wall three times before getting the hang of it. The two of them got ready and set off.
“Shua la shua la, shua la shua la,” a rustling sound came from the bushes. A figure peeped out slightly from the small road at the village entrance, watching the gradually receding figures of the two.
Sitting in the back of the tricycle, Xu Song felt his whole body ache from the bumpy ride. What was once a good road had been deformed by the rampant plant roots, creating bumps and hollows here and there. When they encountered areas where the vegetation grew too thick, they had to get off and push the tricycle through.
The road passing through Zhao Village was relatively narrow. It took about half an hour for the tricycle to reach the proper highway.
This section of the road was wider, and even if some places were affected by vegetation, it wasn’t as difficult to traverse as the previous stretch.
With a smoother ride, Xu Song looked around and said to Yue Zheng who was driving ahead, “I don’t see any cars on the road.”
This highway was a crucial route connecting the southern city of W and the northern city of Y. If they continued straight without turning, they could reach the capital city, making it a major transportation artery for Province F. Xu Song had traveled on this highway several times, and each time it was bustling with traffic.
“Yeah, it’s probably related to that incident.”
Both of them knew deep down that the explosion in the ancient tomb didn’t just affect Mountain and Zhao Village. Otherwise, it had been a whole day already, and there hadn’t been any people coming to check on the situation in Zhao Village.
Their spirits were low throughout the journey as the tricycle continued to bump forward. It wasn’t until they saw faint traces of vehicles ahead that they regained some composure.
Xu Song stood up and leaned on Yue Zheng’s shoulder in the cargo area, pointing ahead, “Are there a few vehicles over there?”
“Yeah.”
“Why does it seem like they’re not moving?”
Yue Zheng fell silent for a moment before speaking in a deep voice, “Several vehicles have overturned, and a few others are blocking the road. Doesn’t seem like there are people around.”
His vision had been significantly enhanced, and now Xu Song could only see the presence of vehicles ahead, while Yue Zheng could clearly make out the general models and conditions of the cars as long as there were no obstacles in his line of sight.
The hand placed on Yue Zheng’s shoulder stiffened, and Xu Song’s mood plummeted once again. Yue Zheng’s voice came through the electric motor sound beneath them, “Let’s assess the situation first. Maybe it’s just the cars that are broken?”
“Yeah, maybe.” One shouldn’t only think pessimistically, as it could drive a person crazy.
The closer they got to the vehicles, the lower their mood became. The vehicles on the road remained motionless, and they couldn’t see any signs of people walking on the road.
From afar, they noticed some dark red colors on the ground. Yue Zheng took a deep breath, lifted his guard to the fullest, and cautioned, “Hold onto your weapons, be prepared for anything.”
Xu Song also realized that something was amiss. He nodded silently, bent down, and picked up an axe and a sickle.
There were bloodstains all over the ground, with vehicles spread throughout the road and the slopes at the roadside.
As they got closer, they could see some things resembling internal organs and bones, and a wave of blood smell made both of them involuntarily grimace.
On this broad highway, the smell of blood was even stronger than in the convenience store they had encountered earlier.
Yue Zheng slowed down the tricycle and eventually frowned, stopping by the side of the road.
“I’ll go and check the situation. You stay here and guard our belongings.”
Xu Song opened his mouth, wanting to say that he would go along, but considering that the items were relatively important and that this place didn’t seem to have anything, he instructed, “Be careful.”
Yes, although there were many vehicles here, it didn’t seem like there were any people around. Upon closer inspection, most of the cars were empty. Some car doors were wide open, revealing empty interiors and a few car doors seemed to have been forcibly torn off, with blood splattered inside the compartments.
With a somewhat rigid expression, Xu Song looked around. He had seen his fair share of zombies and blood in the past few days, but almost every inch of this road was soaked in blood. Some car fronts and bodies were smashed, and he had no idea what had attacked them or how many people had died…
“No one here, no animals either. I picked a car. Let’s switch to it. The tricycle is falling apart, and I’m afraid it won’t hold up until we reach the city.” Yue Zheng turned around and came back to discuss with Xu Song.
Xu Song nodded without saying much. At this point, he just wanted to get back to the city quickly. Whether there were dead bodies in those cars or not, it didn’t matter at the moment.
The two of them pushed the tricycle next to an SUV. The vehicle had a relatively intact exterior, no visible bloodstains, and the doors were still securely attached to the body. It seemed that the owner had driven here and voluntarily got out of the car, leading to some kind of accident.
They first checked the trunk, finding nothing much inside except for half a case of mineral water and two packets of potato chips.
The two of them quickly moved the items from the tricycle into the vehicle’s cargo area. In no time, the trunk was half full.
Finally, they placed the weapons in a convenient spot near the front seat. Yue Zheng sat in the driver’s seat and started the car.
I’m hoping those marks were due to zombie attacks, and not spontaneous explosions. Zombies are good, we know zombies. Spontaneous explosions would be terrible.
Thank you for the update!
Very strange story. Thanks for the update ❤️🤣❤️🤣❤️
Bruuuh r all the zombie equipped with the same base strength & can run…they sound just as bad as WWZ zombies or The Last of Us 😭😭 but if we get superpowers then I wont mind taking a chance in a world like tht😩😂