Would You Be Willing to Serve as Zombie Bait?

With the road ahead impassable, Cheng Jing and Li Kaiyun sought out the rescue team's leader to ask about other routes.

Also, when he learned that the rescue team was returning to South City Base as well, Li Kaiyun told them about his situation and used the military's satellite phone to contact his nephew.

After hearing the whole story, the rescue team leader invited him to stay and return to the base with them.

Li Kaiyun smiled and declined without much thought.

"I'll stick with my friends. It's more convenient that way."

If he were alone, he wouldn't mind either way. He would even be happy to help the rescue team when it mattered, but with a child in tow, he had more to consider.

Without Cheng Jing and the others, he would have chosen the rescue team without hesitation.

But the rescue team was responsible for too many people, which made it much less safe. Compared with Cheng Jing's group, the answer was obvious.

Honestly, the days since he had met Cheng Jing's group were the safest he had felt since the apocalypse began.

After his call with his nephew, Li Kaiyun returned to the group with Cheng Jing.

Cheng Jing didn't ask much, and Li Kaiyun didn't say much. They each had their own thoughts and understood each other without saying so.

Before dark, their group backtracked with the rescue team to the previous intersection and took another road, then stopped in a development zone on the city's outer ring road.

Construction in the area looked as though it had only just begun. There was nothing but a leveled, empty lot, a few modest piles of earth, and several excavators-no cover that could conceal a large number of zombies.

As soon as they stopped, the rescue team sent people to patrol the surrounding area. They also siphoned the excavators' fuel tanks and got a good haul.

"I was just thinking about that. They're fast."

Jiang Nian watched and murmured regretfully. They didn't need the fuel and couldn't use it, but they could have sold it at the base.

Cheng Jing and the others smiled without saying anything.

The night wind was bitterly cold, but the people who had lived through an earthquake that day shivered in the wind without daring to complain. They were glad to be alive, and they would reach the base soon.

The rescue team's officers and soldiers began setting up camp and settling the injured, then distributed food to the survivors.

Jiang Nian's group moved a little farther away and provided for themselves. They wouldn't take advantage of the rescue team's generosity, and they could avoid unnecessary trouble too.

The chances of running into all kinds of outrageous people had skyrocketed in the apocalypse. Staying away from crowds was a good way to spare themselves the aggravation.

The larger group was moving slowly, and they had no intention of following it. Now that they knew the route, they would set out on their own the next day.

Dinner was a large pot of noodles with eggs, meat sausages, and a packet of dehydrated vegetables, served with chili sauce. Everyone ate to their heart's content.

Everyone was tired after taking part in the rescue, and they went to rest soon after eating their fill.

The rescue team would patrol that night, so they didn't need to keep watch. They could sleep soundly and be well rested for the next day.

Early the next morning, the rescue team was still getting organized and preparing to leave, while Jiang Nian and his companions were already checking their vehicles for the trip.

Everyone was busy with their own tasks, and for a moment, none of them noticed the little bit of trouble that had come looking for them.

"Thank you for saving us yesterday. I suppose fate brought us together. Could you take us along? We're willing to trade the supplies we have."

The slightly awkward voice belonged to the family of three Cheng Jing and Zhao Lei had saved the day before: a middle-aged couple and their daughter.

The speaker was the father, a slightly plump man of average height with a smile on his face and a somewhat high hairline. He had a shrewd, worldly smoothness about him and looked like a businessman.

"No. That little bit of food and supplies you have isn't even enough for yourselves. What are you going to trade?"

Before Cheng Jing or Jiang Nian could speak, Zhao Lei rejected them brusquely. They only had to stay with the rescue team. What was their problem?

After what had happened to Jiang Nian the day before, he was now annoyed whenever a stranger approached them.

The man stood there awkwardly after Zhao Lei's rebuff. Sure enough, it wasn't easy to attach oneself to a team of ability users.

Beside him, the thin, haggard-looking woman held her daughter's hand. She caught sight of the half-eaten cups of instant noodles in Li Shuhui's and Xiao Ya's hands and swallowed, then looked at Li Kaiyun with a smile.

"We can do anything, and we all have children, so it would be convenient to look after one another."

Groups with women and children were usually easier to talk to.

"No one can do everything. You should go back over there. You'll have food and drink with the rescue team, and they can get you safely to the base."

After saying that, Li Kaiyun turned to check his vehicle and urged his daughter to eat faster.

He didn't look down on them for what they wanted, since he was much the same, but he wasn't the one in charge of this group.

"As long as you let us follow you, we really are willing to do anything. We'll even work for you once we get to the base..."

The woman refused to give up. This time, she addressed Huang Qian and Cheng Jing.

Cheng Jing and Huang Qian exchanged a glance. This was how many ordinary people joined teams of ability users, and how many ability users gathered underlings, followers, and people to use.

But their team didn't need any, and besides, this family's intentions were far too obvious.

Just then, Jiang Nian walked over. He took a piece of candy from his trench coat, unwrapped it, and tossed it into his mouth. After looking the middle-aged couple up and down for a moment, he asked:

"You're willing to do anything, right? Then would you be willing to serve as zombie bait? Say we run into zombies on the road. Would you go lure them away?"

At his words, not only did the family of three stand there dumbstruck, but even his teammates were taken aback.

The three members of the Li family in particular suddenly felt a chill circling around them.

Jiang Nian's appearance was unthreatening, but sometimes his attitude toward dealing with things and the way he spoke could send a chill down people's spines.

Most importantly, he was the one in charge of the entire team. If he meant what he said, it would be terrifying.

"You can't do it, can you? Then go back to the rescue team. Adults have to take responsibility for what they say. Blurting out anything that comes to mind will only hurt you."

With that, Jiang Nian turned and got into the front passenger seat, his expression cold. There was no point in going back and forth like this. One big move was enough to make them give up.

They had a rescue team but wouldn't follow it, choosing instead to pester his group. In his eyes, that was another kind of scheme to take advantage of them.

Seeing this, his teammates said no more and got into the vehicles one after another.

Only when the sound of the engines faded into the distance did the pale-faced family of three come to their senses. They shook their heads at one another and walked back to the rescue team.

After changing routes, the team traveled along a national highway and passed through several small towns and villages. There were quite a few roadblocks, so they couldn't pick up speed.

Still, they dealt with several groups of zombies along the way and obtained several ability crystal cores. They also saved quite a few survivors and kindly told them that a rescue team was behind them and would arrive if they waited.

They lost a lot of time on the national highway, and it was a day and a half before the convoy got back onto the expressway.

Fortunately, the closer they got to the base, the clearer the roads became, and the rest of the journey was smooth and unobstructed.

By then, the snow in most places had almost completely melted, and large numbers of zombies were emerging everywhere.

On top of that, the weather was growing hot and muggy. The central radio broadcast reported outbreaks of plague and deadly viral infections in many places.

People had finally endured the extreme cold, only for many more to die.

After hurrying along as best they could, Jiang Nian's group arrived safely at South City Base in early April, more or less on schedule.