Chapter 7

The roars of the zombies seemed to ring right beside the ear.

This mental pressure caused through hearing always made people feel the urge to turn back and confirm the distance...

But they could not look back!

At a critical moment like this, all they could do was run! Run with all their might!

Diverting around the dug drainage ditch, the three of them practically leaped into the convenience store's doors while Sister Wang, waiting anxiously inside the house, threw out a torch.

The zombies following behind got stuck in the dug ditch, and when the torch touched the ground, with a "boom" sound, it ignited a blazing fire.

The zombies were burned into fireballs, but they did not fear pain, still struggling to crawl up from the pit at the moment of death.

The number of zombies was truly too great; after Sister Wang successively threw two torches, there were still zombies pushing through the flames to rush into the house.

The succeeding zombies rushed into the house, and the aisle between the shelves was squeezed until it emitted tremors.

"Sister Wang, take him to the vehicle and get ready to go!"

Yan Yu and Su Cheng retreated together within the aisle while dealing with the leading zombies.

"Okay!"

Sister Wang pulled the panting Wang Zhiyang through the side door to head for the vehicle.

The moment they left on their front feet, more zombies poured into the convenience store. Fortunately, the aisle restricted their pouncing, and Su Cheng and Yan Yu only needed to mind the leading one, the two of them barely managing!

Su Cheng was no longer like the first time she killed a zombie where she only knew to attack the head and get her blade stuck in the cranium.

She specifically targeted the zombies' necks, delivering a fierce slash that separated the zombies' heads from their bodies!

Su Cheng was still afraid of zombies-afraid of the zombies' terrifying faces, afraid of the crimson blood, afraid of the gaze of zombies viewing her as food, afraid of zombies biting or scratching her...

Living creatures all had the instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm, and when encountering dangerous things, timidity would arise.

Yet Su Cheng would overcome the timidity within her heart. She was not a brave and fearless person, but she would definitely not be a cowardly person.

The two kept striking and killing the zombies stuck in the aisle, for a moment barely holding the defense line and buying time for Wang Zhiyang and Sister Wang to start the off-road vehicle.

Filthy blood splashed onto their bodies, just like getting stained with liquid from a pile of rotting matter, the stench pungent and piercing.

The zombies behind also squeezed in, pushing over one side of the shelf. The fallen shelf happened to rest against the cashier counter to form a triangle, briefly blocking the zombies' advance.

Yet this deliberately arranged restricted aisle was ruined in the end, and more zombies crawled through the shelves or scrambled over!

"Ah"

Su Cheng chopped off the neck of the female zombie that bit her arm with a single slash, a shallow tooth print remaining on the sleeve of her arm.

At the turn of the moment, the sneak-attacking zombie was finished off by Yan Yu with an axe.

That was close!

Tainted blood splattered on her face, with even her heartbeat stopping for an instant.

"Bzzzz--"

The vehicle engine sounded, and Sister Wang shouted anxiously from the side door, "You guys hurry over!"

"Quickly retreat!"

Yan Yu stayed behind to cover, Su Cheng rushed into the side door first, and the instant Yan Yu entered, she locked the side door from behind.

"Bang--"

A zombie slammed against the door.

The moment Yan Yu and Su Cheng jumped into the vehicle, the off-road vehicle charged out.

Most of the zombies were inside the convenience store, while a small portion were still squeezed outside the convenience store. Hearing the sound at this moment, they all rushed toward the outside of the convenience store.

"Sit tight!"

Wang Zhiyang slammed hard on the accelerator, knocking away the zombies that rushed out and carving out a bloody path.

"Bam--"

A zombie jumped onto the rear windshield and used its head to fiercely smash the glass. As the glass cracked like a spiderweb, Yan Yu stabbed with a long spear to finish it off!

The zombie's corpse slid down, and the windshield glass shattered and scattered, revealing a large hole.

Su Cheng groveled on the floor and felt the lighter under the seat; this should have been the original owner's item.

The moment the vehicle distanced itself from the gas station pumps, she fiercely hurled the lighter out from the hole.

Goddamned zombies, all go die!

Three seconds later--

"Bong!!!"

The dazzling light of the fire and the deafening sound caused everyone in the vehicle to close their eyes and cover their ears. The off-road vehicle was endangered by the aftermath of the explosion, the huge thrust causing the people inside the vehicle to lurch forward.

Su Cheng had been a skilled shot-putter during her university days; she had not expected this specialty to come in handy today.

The vehicle violently rose and fell, finally landing back on solid ground, speeding away without slackening from the "crime scene" blazing with fire.

"We're safe..."

Not knowing who spoke first, everyone except Wang Zhiyang, who was driving, slumped over.

Sister Wang stared at Su Cheng in surprise. "The hair on your back..."

Su Cheng touched her back. It stung.

At the moment of the explosion, Su Cheng, who had been closest to the hole in the rear window, had indeed felt a wave of heat sweep across her back...

Some of the hair that had been tied into a low bun had become deformed, like twisted iron wire.

Yan Yu asked Su Cheng to turn around. "Let me see."

"It's not too serious. Just put some ointment on it."

Yan Yu took a spray bottle out of her backpack and sprayed Su Cheng's back twice.

A cool sensation spread at once, and Su Cheng immediately felt much better.

She glanced at the plain white spray bottle in Yan Yu's hand. It had no label or name, so she guessed it was from the apartment supermarket.

"Thank you."

"No problem."

[Ding~ Rescue mission completed. 300 points awarded. You will enter settlement when you leave the instance.]

Su Cheng leaned against the seat in front of her, feeling a little more at ease.

Although they had left the peaceful convenience store, at least they had gained something.

"Thank you all. My name is Wang Zhiyang."

Wang Zhiyang's voice was full of gratitude. If he hadn't been driving, he would definitely have bowed to thank them.

If Su Cheng and Yan Yu hadn't stepped in to save him in his moment of crisis, he would probably have died among the zombies.

Yan Yu gave a slight nod and briefly introduced them. "I'm Xiao Yan, she's Xiao Su, and this is Sister Wang."

"Oh, hello."

Su Cheng quietly sized up the young man in the bloodstained white shirt. He spoke and carried himself with great refinement. "How did the zombies start chasing you?"

Wang Zhiyang sighed deeply. After hesitating for a moment, he decided to tell the truth. "Actually, I'm with the authorities. One of my companions was bitten by a zombie..."

"I remembered there was a gas station nearby, so I ran this way, hoping to buy time until help arrived. But I didn't expect the car to run out of gas so quickly..."

When Sister Wang heard that Wang Zhiyang was with the authorities, her expression grew more eager, and she couldn't help asking, "When is the government planning to start a rescue operation? My son and husband are both in the city..."

Wang Zhiyang shook his head. "Sorry, I don't know. But the situation in the city isn't looking good..."

Sister Wang thought of her family in the city and of the roaring, savage zombies. She had already anticipated the worst. Her straight back slumped a little as she turned away and wiped the corner of her eye...

"Beep, beep."

Wang Zhiyang shuddered. Steering with one hand, he took the walkie-talkie out of his pocket.

"This is Captain Liu. Wang Zhiyang, are you all right?"

A deep male voice came from the other end of the walkie-talkie.

Hearing the familiar voice, Wang Zhiyang was so moved he nearly cried. After coming so close to death, he couldn't hold back the sob in his throat. "C-Captain Liu, I'm safe now, and I haven't lost the supplies. Someone saved me, but your man sacrificed himself to protect me..."

Wang Zhiyang raised the hand holding the walkie-talkie to wipe his tears, but when he saw the dirty blood on his sleeve, he could only give up.

Seeing him like that, Yan Yu patted him on the shoulder. "I'll drive. Pull over."

Wang Zhiyang lowered his head, awkwardly hiding his reddened eyes. "Okay. Thanks."

Wang Zhiyang moved to the passenger seat.

Su Cheng noticed that Wang Zhiyang had been holding onto a box the entire time. Ever since she had met him, he seemed to treasure it, never letting it out of his sight.

Yan Yu was clearly a much more aggressive driver than Wang Zhiyang. When she came to a turn, she didn't slow down at all, but took it at full speed.

Sister Wang's already pale face turned even paler. She gripped the overhead handle tightly, afraid they would flip over, and several times she looked like she wanted to say something but stopped herself.

Wang Zhiyang and Su Cheng adapted fairly well. The former was used to driving, while the latter had ridden in Yan Yu's car before.

Wang Zhiyang's fingers curled slightly against the box as he lowered his voice toward the walkie-talkie. "There's one more thing. The sealed special container seems to have broken. Maybe its contents leaked out, attracting zombies from far away and making them change their target to chase me..."

"What? It leaked?!"

Captain Liu's voice suddenly rose, sounding especially stern through the walkie-talkie. "Turn around immediately! According to the locator in your body, there's a village that may have infected people 500 meters from you. There may also be wandering zombies within 100 meters of you!"

Maybe it was just her imagination, but after Captain Liu finished speaking, Su Cheng faintly heard the sound of zombies roaring...

Author's note:

None

Chapter 7

Without Wang Zhiyang having to repeat it, Yan Yu immediately turned the car around as soon as she heard Captain Liu.

"The rescue team is heading your way. Turn left and go straight for six kilometers. There's a tunnel. We'll meet you there! You must hurry!"

The voice on the other end of the walkie-talkie grew noisy. Su Cheng could vaguely hear Captain Liu urging people on and giving orders...

Su Cheng stared at the box in Wang Zhiyang's arms. "Is there something inside that can attract zombies?"

Wang Zhiyang saw Su Cheng hit the nail on the head and gave an awkward smile. "More or less..."

"If it was leaked, why didn't you say so sooner?"

"Uh... It's classified information, after all."

Su Cheng was about to ask more when Yan Yu made a sharp left turn, forcing her to grip the handrail tightly.

When she came to her senses, her sharp eyes spotted a black dot where the road and sky met behind them...

One, two, three, six, ten...

The zombies were coming after them.

Su Cheng's face darkened as she pointed at the box in Wang Zhiyang's arms. "How far away can this attract zombies from?"

Wang Zhiyang shook his head. Feeling he had dragged everyone into this, he lowered his head in guilt. "I haven't had time to study it yet, but I'd guess somewhere between 500 meters and one kilometer... The box is important. We have to get it into the authorities' hands so they can develop weapons against the zombies."

Su Cheng said no more and turned to look out the rear window.