Pulling the roll-up door would make a noise, so now she didn't dare move.
Due to the gap left by the door, both of them spoke and moved extremely cautiously.
It had gotten dark outside.
The power outage in the town left everything pitch black.
The night breeze blew in through the door, bringing with it a decaying, foul smell. It was eerily quiet, broken only by the occasional growl of zombies.
Chu Yian sat beside Lu Qingyuan, keeping watch. She was tired, drowsy, and afraid.
She worried that more zombies would gather outside,
worried that one might crawl through the door's gap.
The fear kept her in a state of groggy alertness until a piercing scream from somewhere in the town completely woke her up.
The scream drew a chorus of zombie growls, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps rushing away in the distance.
Just half a minute later, the scream stopped. The town returned to its previous stillness. The fate of the person who screamed was obvious.
Fear. Dread. Despair.
Chu Yian pressed her arm to her mouth and bit down hard, tears streaming down her face. The night was the hardest time for emotional breakdowns. She was so scared. She was so afraid that she, too, would be bitten by one of those zombies outside.
"Your turn to rest."
Just as her emotions were about to collapse, a voice suddenly spoke from beside her.
Hearing the voice, Chu Yian immediately felt she couldn't hold it in anymore. "Teacher Lu."
"Mm."
"Can I lean on you for a bit?"
Lu Qingyuan, sitting next to her, looked impassive. He didn't seem to understand her action, showing no empathy whatsoever.
Seeing that he didn't say anything, Chu Yian gathered her courage and gradually inched closer to him.
She rested her head on his arm, tears and mucus falling silently. In such a sad moment, she choked up and quietly said, "I'm sorry, I've intruded."
Lu Qingyuan, who had been about to pull his arm away, paused for a moment. "It's fine."
His voice was emotionless.
The third day in the game, Chu Yian woke up from a nightmare.
She checked her phone— it was just 6 AM. Although she had only slept for four hours, she felt completely awake now.
The power was still out everywhere, and other than listening to the radio and using her phone when Lu Qingyuan was undergoing surgery, Chu Yian had kept her phone in power-saving mode. It was still at 68% battery.
The sense of collapse from last night was now completely gone. Chu Yian put on her headphones and turned the radio on again.
"Hello, listeners. This is 11th District Radio."
"Currently, a global viral disaster is unfolding…"
"Please note: X City's Furen County is the only safe rescue area in District 11."
The radio broadcast stirred Chu Yian's spirits once more.
She noticed Lu Qingyuan looking over at her, so she held the headphones to his ear as well. The two listened to the radio broadcast together. Afterward, Chu Yian switched her phone back to power-saving mode.
"Feeling energized again?"
"It's alright." Lu Qingyuan turned his gaze away, lowering his head to change the dressing on his wound.
Chu Yian had already noticed Lu Qingyuan's cold demeanor from yesterday. She didn't mind; she stood up to stretch and then lay back down to look outside. It seemed that the scream from last night had drawn the zombies away, and the area outside had become quiet again.
"Teacher Lu, there are no zombies outside anymore. Let's get ready."
A few minutes later, the two stepped out.
The streets, which had been trampled by a horde of zombies yesterday, were now even more destroyed. There wasn't a single undamaged vehicle left on the road.
They had originally planned to find a high-clearance, well-performing SUV, but now they had lowered their expectations to any functioning two-wheeled vehicle and still hadn't found one.
"Let's go."
Lu Qingyuan had given up on searching for a running vehicle on the streets. Compared to the small town, there were likely more vehicles left on the highways.
"Wait! I know where there are vehicles!"
Chu Yian suddenly raised her finger, her eyes gleaming with a spark of insight.
"Where?"
"A car dealership."
It wasn't easy to find a 4S shop in a small town, but there were definitely stores selling electric bikes and tricycles.
Using her experience from living in the town for years, Chu Yian quickly spotted a car dealership. It was obvious that zombies had been there too. The vehicles outside had been trampled beyond recognition, but the ones inside seemed unaffected.
One particular brand-new X-series van stood out.
Of course, the three zombies outside the shop, snarling at them, also stood out.
Their stiff, dark muscles were swollen, and as soon as they saw the two humans, they rushed toward them at lightning speed.
Use the handgun?
Chu Yian's first instinct was to do just that, but reason stopped her.
No.
If she fired, the sound would attract all the zombies hiding nearby.
While she hesitated, Lu Qingyuan's voice sounded in her ear, "Rush."
Rush?
Chu Yian's body reacted before her brain. She grabbed Lu Qingyuan's arm and draped it over herself, running toward the van.
But the three zombies were faster than her.
In the blink of an eye, the nearest zombie had already lunged at her, just a few meters away, claws bared, ready to pounce.
Who cares about the sound of a gunshot when death is so close?
Chu Yian decisively pulled out her handgun and fired twice at the attacking zombie. But both shots missed.
The zombie's mouth stretched wide, its face torn open, its teeth bared as it lunged for her gun-wielding hand.
The distance was so close that Chu Yian could see its exposed fangs and smell its nauseating, infected flesh.
Her mind went blank, and she felt she was moments from death.
A single shot rang out, and the zombie's head was pierced by the bullet, ending its life.
At that moment, Lu Qingyuan, who had just dealt with the zombie on his right, raised the handgun he had taken from the vehicle and used his last bullet.
The roar of zombies filled the streets.
More zombies were awakened by the sound of gunfire, rushing out of houses and down the streets, heading straight for the source of the noise.
"Move quickly!"
Lu Qingyuan's voice rang in her ear. Chu Yian grabbed his arm, increased her speed, and dragged him toward the van. The zombies were right behind them, relentlessly slamming into the van's door.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The brand-new van's exterior was immediately dented and damaged.
"Drive!"
"I'm driving!"
Chu Yian looked at the van's various parts and began to start the vehicle using the method her instructor had taught her…
Lu Qingyuan furrowed his brow and looked at her tightly. "You squashing ants?"
Chu Yian slammed the clutch to the floor, gripping the steering wheel and shouting, "This is my fastest speed! I haven't even learned the third exam yet!"
She had no idea how she ended up sitting in the driver's seat. She felt both frantic and desperate.
Why was Chu Yian in the driver's seat? Because Lu Qingyuan had deliberately pushed her into it!
His thigh was injured, so he couldn't drive, and he had chosen to let her take the wheel. Who would have guessed that her driving skills still had… so much room to improve.