The Three Brothers

Was Su Huan afraid of dying?

Without a doubt, he was very afraid.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have wanted to build an iron shell to hide inside.

But just like the genes that had grown restless and unstable from constantly evolving in the apocalypse, madness had become part of everyone's makeup.

Caution and madness, chaos and order intertwined within every person.

Su Huan liked the brief calm of the kitchen's clatter in the afternoon, but he also craved the thrill of racing his motorcycle at 120 kilometers per hour across the roof of a vehicle, with the wind roaring past his ears.

He had always thought he'd done a good job of holding on to his humanity.

Keeping a journal, paying attention to the time, loving good food, staying optimistic, and talking to himself when there was no one else around...

But when the engine roared, and that uncontrollable itch deep in his bones surged up,

he realized that maybe he'd gone mad a long time ago.

Mad on some endless acid-rain day, in a heap of cold corpses.

Or maybe on top of some soft body.

Who knew?

"Bang!"

Another Butcher lumbered out from the side of the street, its massive frame gripping a road sign.

As he watched the metal pole swing down through the air, Su Huan didn't stop his wandering thoughts, even though a single hit would turn him into mincemeat.

A sick smile still played at the corner of his mouth.

"I'm in a hurry."

Feeling the gust of wind kicked up by the road sign, Su Huan twisted the throttle all the way and charged forward instead of backing off.

The supercharger let out a howl more terrifying than a zombie's, and his speed shot up again.

The silver motorcycle flashed like lightning, riding straight onto the hood of the car in front. Using its sloped surface like a ramp, it leaped high into the air.

He narrowly dodged the road sign in the Butcher's hands.

"Boom!"

The road sign slammed into the car's hood, and the little sedan crumpled like a biscuit tin.

The Butcher looked down with a strange smile on its face.

Huh?

Gone?!

A look of humanlike astonishment appeared on its plump face.

It laboriously turned its head and saw that the silver mouse was already racing farther and farther away across the car roofs.

With a roar, the Butcher dragged the road sign behind it and chased after him.

If he hadn't been so pressed for time,

Su Huan would have liked to compliment the Butcher's taste. He'd always thought a road sign was the perfect weapon for a Butcher, both for its length and the satisfying feel of the impact.

But he didn't hold out much hope that it would catch him.

A nimble type like a Night Demon or a Blood Hound might have a shot, but a Butcher? Forget it.

That hulking body, more than two meters tall, probably couldn't move much faster than an eighty-year-old woman.

Inside the fire truck.

Three men sat huddled in the cabin. The floor was a little cooler than the seats.

They'd spent several days working to get onto this fire truck, planning to rest a bit before driving away.

A muffled voice came from the far left.

"I'm going out to take a piss."

"I wouldn't go out if I were you. If a zombie bites you, I won't open the door for you, even if you're my own brother."

"Cut the crap. Why don't you tell the zombies not to bite me?"

The man snapped back irritably, but didn't get out right away. Instead, he cautiously opened the window and peered outside.

A buzzing sound grew closer.

When it reached the cabin, all three froze, then scrambled to their feet and hid by the window, peeking outside.

A silver motorcycle came speeding toward them from the distance.

The three exchanged glances.

Lao Er said, "That's a living person!"

Lao San, who was holding in a piss, snapped, "No kidding. Zombies can't ride motorcycles."

"I thought all the living people out there had died," Lao Er said.

Lao Da tugged up the hem of his T-shirt and wiped his face. With a hard look, he said, "If he's just passing by, leave him alone. If he's here to steal our stuff, take him down. Come on, let's get our weapons."

Su Huan had been keeping to the middle of the road.

That was because zombies like Night Demons preferred lurking in dark places.

The scorching sunlight made the eyes on their bodies uncomfortable.

With Pan-Energy Perception turned up to its limit, Su Huan checked his direction from the roof of an SUV. Several brightly painted red fire trucks sat in the middle of the street, with no room to move at all.

He twisted the throttle and slid down from the vehicle, crashing into a Corpse Cocoon by the roadside in the process.

Before the evolving zombie inside could react, his rear wheel slammed into it with a squelch.

It was like crushing a cockroach.

He picked his way between the vehicles, stopping and starting, and took out a few zombies that got in his way. At last, Su Huan reached the fire trucks.

He casually parked his motorcycle on someone else's car roof and jumped down, heading toward the fire truck.

Three fire trucks were trapped in the street, one of each type, built for different situations.

A water tender, used for firefighting, usually carried water cannons, hoses, and a large supply of clean water.

A ladder truck, built specifically for high-rise rescues.

Before the apocalypse, you could even find videos of water cannons blasting people who wanted to jump from buildings back onto the roof.

Last was the rescue fire truck, equipped with an enclosed medical cabin, its own power supply, and a set of rescue tools.

With all three together, they made an excellent fortress for surviving the apocalypse.

And they were definitely much better equipped than the Armed Train.

If Butchers and the like couldn't evolve, Su Huan might even have considered putting together a convoy.

Just as he was about to approach the driver's cab, Su Huan paused, then continued forward smoothly.

He muttered, "The windows are all open. Looks like they left in a hurry."

As soon as he got close, three black gun barrels poked out through the windows. Three remarkably similar faces crowded behind the door, staring at him coldly.

The man in the middle asked in a low voice, "What do you want, brother?"

Su Huan glanced at the metal cabin and immediately raised both hands, putting on an awkward, frightened expression. "I'm just an ordinary survivor. I came out looking for supplies. Please go easy on me, sirs."

The man looked a little more reassured. "If you're just passing through, keep going. Don't even think about taking this truck."

Su Huan frowned to himself.

At first, he'd only wanted the guns on the truck, but now he wanted the truck and the guns.

How could he get them if they didn't drag him aboard?

He was just about to make up an excuse when the man beside him cursed, "That's all bullshit. There's a store right across the street. If you're looking for supplies, why are you wandering down the middle of the road?"

The other two immediately caught on. They opened the door, looked around, then grabbed Su Huan and hauled him inside.

They didn't notice the look of relief on Su Huan's face.

In the cramped cabin, Su Huan found himself facing three gun barrels. The one asking the questions had changed to the short-tempered man.

The three looked so alike that, if they hadn't been dressed differently, he wouldn't have been able to tell them apart.

"Are you from out of town or a local?"

"I escaped from the south with the train."

The three exchanged glances, surprised they'd actually managed to dig up some information.

There was really a train in the apocalypse?!

The gun barrels lowered a little without them realizing it.

Lao Da hurriedly asked, "What train? Was it a government-organized rescue?"