“Today, the road conditions are bad. Along the way, many vehicles have been abandoned halfway. The first few cars ahead are busy clearing debris, so we can’t drive fast at all. If we continue at this speed, it might take us a month just to reach City S!” Wang An took out a cigarette, lit it, and offered one to Xu Song, who declined with a wave of his hand.
Zhao Enyi took the cigarette and lit it. “Anyway, we’re following the main force. Whether it takes one month or two months, we’ll keep going. I’m just worried that the food in the car won’t be enough, and we’ll have to head north afterward.”
“As long as we can make it to City S, that’s all that matters. Hopefully, the situation there will be better, with sufficient supplies. Otherwise, we’ll be in trouble,” Wang An sighed. Although they were following the main force, there were still some things they had to figure out on their own.
Yue Zheng silently divided the cooked noodles into bowls and handed a pair of chopsticks to Xu Song. “How are we going to take turns keeping watch tonight?”
“Don’t worry. There are many people from the military who came along this time, with over a hundred people on the armored vehicles. They will take turns keeping watch, so we don’t need to.”
Xu Song shared his own bread with the two others. A few grown men couldn’t possibly satisfy their hunger with just instant noodles.
“Hey? Is this from your car? You should keep it. We still have…”
“Brother Yue said that the bread can’t be kept, so you can help us finish it,” Xu Song smiled and said to the two of them. They had picked up the bread while collecting supplies, and it was probably past its expiration date. It would be a shame to throw it away, so it was better to consume it quickly. It was getting hot, and if they didn’t eat it soon, it would grow moldy.
The group chatted by the campfire for a while, then each set up their tents. Yue Zheng had chosen a two-person tent, which was not very spacious. Sleeping in the car was extremely uncomfortable, and they had endured two whole nights in it. If they continued, their backs would suffer.
Yue Zheng set up the tent while Xu Song went to the car to get the sleeping bags. The two squeezed into the tent with their sleeping bags, but it was still better than sleeping in the car. They were all grown men, and no one would complain about the hard ground.
After laying out the sleeping bags, Xu Song greeted Yue Zheng and found a relatively secluded spot among the trees for some privacy. Today was the first day out of the city, and the convoy had only traveled a little over ten kilometers. There was still a long way to go, and the road conditions weren’t optimistic. They might encounter a place where even vehicles couldn’t pass, and then they would have to continue on foot…
Lost in thought, Xu Song stared absentmindedly at the scar on a tree trunk in front of him. Suddenly, there was a rustling sound from a nearby bush. Startled, Xu Song quickly pulled up his pants and drew the military knife he carried with him, slowly stepping backward.
Rustling… rustling… The bush shook again, and a person cursed as they emerged from the bushes. “What a damn bug! Daring to bite my ass…”
“What are you doing?”
“Who?!”
The person jumped back and assumed a defensive fighting stance.
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.
“Qtja’r ublcu bc?!” C cfjgys rbivlfg bc veas klat j reywjmtlcf uec jrxfv ibevis.
“Pa’r cbatlcu, pera j qfgrbc.”
Fqbc tfjglcu We Vbcu’r gfrqbcrf, Oeb Qfc’jc gbiifv tlr fsfr. “Yo mbegrf la’r j qfgrbc. Ljnf sbe fnfg rffc j hbwylf jr tjcvrbwf jr wf?”
We Vbcu mtemxifv jcv rjlv, “Qtfc sbe aegc lcab bcf bo atbrf atlcur, kbc’a P yf jyif ab rff bcf?”
“Hey, say something nice. Otherwise, I won’t dare to get up close and fight those things anymore!” Luo Wen’an said, tilting his head to look at Xu Song. “Oh, it’s you, the one in Yue Zheng’s car?”
“Xu Song.”
“Right, right, Xu Song.” Luo Wen’an’s car was even further ahead than Xu Song’s. They walked back together, passing by the soldier on duty, who glanced at them several times to make sure everything was normal before resuming his post.
“Is your buddy also in that line of work?” Luo Wen’an pointed to the young soldier.
Xu Song thought for a moment before answering, “More or less…” Yue Zheng’s situation could be considered semi-transparent. After all, they were operating with the police team, and anyone with a brain could figure it out.
“He’s good with his moves,” Luo Wen’an said, admiringly glancing at the military knife at Xu Song’s waist. “That’s a nice piece of equipment. And what about you?”
“I’m a student.”
“No wonder. Otherwise, why wouldn’t you be riding in military vehicles?” Judging by Xu Song’s appearance, it was clear that he wasn’t a soldier. If he were an ability user, he would naturally qualify for a military vehicle. Since they were driving a private car, it meant that Xu Song was likely a tag-along, hitching a ride.
“What about you guys? You and Su…”
“Daji!”
Although Xu Song couldn’t remember the surname of that person named Su, he felt speechless about Luo Wen’an confidently spreading his friend’s nickname. Skipping the person’s name, Xu Song asked, “Why aren’t you riding in a military vehicle?”
“Hah, it’s just the one we’re bringing, my girlfriend. We’ve been together for a few years. She doesn’t have any abilities, and with the current messed-up world, how could I dare to leave her in Y City and go on my own? So we’re taking our own car. It’s not bad anyway,” Luo Wen’an casually explained.
Although Xu Song wasn’t accustomed to his manner of speaking, he couldn’t help but feel a lack of animosity towards him after their interactions over the past two days.
The two arrived outside Yue Zheng’s tent, and Luo Wen’an smiled at Yue Zheng. “Brother, thanks. We’ll find a chance to thank you properly someday.”
“It’s nothing.” Yue Zheng nodded at him while arranging the bowls and chopsticks.
Luo Wen’an didn’t say much more, just greeted them and left. Xu Song, feeling puzzled, approached Yue Zheng. “What did he thank you for?”
Yue Zheng tilted his head and looked at Xu Song. The red glow of the fire cast a faint red light on his face. “You’ll know when the opportunity arises.”
“Tch.” Xu Song rolled his eyes in frustration and bent down to crawl into the tent. He chose a sleeping bag and crawled into it, not caring if Yue Zheng explained or not.
After tidying up their belongings, Yue Zheng also crawled in. “I checked the rechargeable batteries. One of them is fully charged today, and our phones are charging in the car.”
“Mm, let’s sleep. We have to get up early tomorrow.” Once they left the city, there would be no signal in the wilderness. Who knows when he would be able to call his moms again? Hopefully, there wouldn’t be as many zombies at the B City airport, and certainly no hailstones the size of chicken eggs… But at least the airport terminal was spacious; the people there shouldn’t be as desperate as those in Y City, who didn’t even have tents.
The night was dark, and in the distance, the howling of wild dogs could be heard. Most of the people in the convoy couldn’t sleep soundly, even those who were in the extended cars, sleeping on luxurious carpets.
On the other hand, Xu Song and Yue Zheng, who had spent several days sleeping in the car and on hard ground, slept through until dawn without being disturbed by the wild dogs and cats outside.
When Xu Song woke up, he realized that he had slept in a contorted position, with his body arched, his butt squeezed against the tent, and his head pressing against the back of Yue Zheng’s head… Luckily, the tent was sturdy; otherwise, he might have slept outside.
“Awake?” Yue Zheng wasn’t awakened by the noises outside. He had been woken up by someone headbutting him in the morning, but now he saw Xu Song stretching, so he turned his head and asked.
“…Sorry, haha, I didn’t expect to end up sleeping like this… I usually sleep pretty straight.” Xu Song blushed and laughed it off.
“It’s fine. You only woke me up at 4:30. I slept well for the first half of the night.”
He actually looked at his watch? Night-vision watches aren’t supposed to be used like that!
Taking a deep breath, Xu Song decided to get up.
The two retrieved some bread from the car and decided to finish off the perishable items. The smell of boiling frozen dumplings came from not far away, outside the extended car.
“They actually brought frozen dumplings? Aren’t they afraid of them defrosting?!” Xu Song looked puzzledly at the bonfire outside the extended car, where a tripod was set up with a volcanic pot hanging from it.
“They have a car refrigerator.” Wang An replied while brushing his teeth, his speech slightly muffled.
“But that must consume a lot of power…” Zhao Enyi patted Xu Song, who was still amazed, and pointed to the row of solar panels on the roof of the extended car… Well, their roof area was several times that of their own car. As long as there was sunlight, they didn’t have to worry about power consumption.
Silently sighing in his heart, “Damn rich people,” Xu Song suddenly remembered that his parents were also in business and his family was considered well-off. He had been teased by classmates about it before. But compared to these truly wealthy and influential people, his family didn’t count for much.
At least my parents couldn’t afford an extended car.
Smelling the aroma of Shrimp Emperor frozen dumplings while eating expired bread, Xu Song silently followed Yue Zheng, helping to tidy up their belongings. Within the designated time, they finished dealing with the miscellaneous items, got in the car, and set off.
The long convoy of cars followed one after another, bumping along the supposedly wide and smooth highway. Before long, the leading extended car suddenly pulled over, and a delicate and soft-looking girl in a dress got out and squatted by the roadside, vomiting.
Could it be that she ate too many dumplings? Xu Song felt that his thoughts were somewhat unkind and quickly adjusted his expression, putting on a righteous face. Yue Zheng, on the other hand, didn’t even glance in that direction, simply driving past the extended car.
The cars behind them also veered around the stopped vehicle. The armored car that was guarding the rear also came to a halt, waiting for the people inside to settle back into their positions.
There were quite a few vehicles following Xu Song’s car, and after a few cars passed by, the extended car was no longer visible. Xu Song and Yue Zheng discussed, “brother Yue, if we have time later, can you teach me how to use a gun?” Well, men naturally liked guns. They had their own share of weapons in the car, but since Xu Song didn’t know how to shoot, Yue Zheng didn’t allow him to carry one with him, only giving him some close combat weapons for self-defense.
“When we have time, mainly because ammunition is limited.” Popular items are fed with bullets. Since ammunition is limited now, Yue Zheng didn’t teach Xu Song how to use a gun. “If you’re interested in close combat, I can teach you some self-defense moves.”
“Yes! Yes! Yes!”
Xu Song had seen firsthand how skilled Yue Zheng was. He didn’t possess Yue Zheng’s abnormal speed and strength, but wouldn’t it be good to learn some self-defense techniques?
Suddenly, a few dog barks came from not far behind. Xu Song looked in the rearview mirror and saw a huge white dog leaping out from the side of the road, pouncing onto the pavement. A miserable cry rang out, followed by the sound of machine gun fire. The large dog didn’t even look back, swiftly carrying something in its mouth and running to the other side. A line of blood was scattered on its white fur, faintly revealing that it was holding onto a human-like object in its mouth…
Another scream came from the extended car. A middle-aged woman rushed out of the car, trying to run into the dense forest where the dog had gone, screaming desperately, “Wenwen! Wenwen! My Wenwen!”
R.I.P. Wenwen…
Is that WenWen the 🤮 girl? Humans are no longer top in the food chain instead they’re top in the menu.
Wenwen did her last vomit before kicking the bucket!