"Damn it!" Wang Zhi slapped the steering wheel as he looked at the obscured glass.
After a hand grenade exploded, the surrounding Zombies grew in number. If they didn't accelerate and leave soon, the car would be completely surrounded by the swarm, leaving them with no escape.
"Hurry up and smash the glass!" Old He exclaimed, violently slamming the windshield with his rifle butt.
Wang Zhi quickly drew his gun, smashed a large opening, and immediately hit the accelerator.
As Wang Zhi drove forward, Old He began clearing away the remaining shards of the windshield.
Without the windshield, driving at speed caused the wind to howl fiercely into the vehicle.
After fighting through the initial horde, they drove on. Fortunately, they had steered clear of the downtown core, and no more large groups of Zombies appeared on the road.
Wang Zhi glanced down at the fuel tank; the gauge was already on empty! He had severely underestimated the vehicle's fuel consumption.
His original plan was to drive straight to the gas station for a seamless refuel, but the lack of a windshield meant the wind resistance, combined with the weight of their twenty-eight people, caused fuel consumption to skyrocket.
Less than a minute later, just as expected, the car began to slow to a stop.
"Why did it stop!?" Fatty asked from the back seat, clearly confused.
"We're out of gas."
"What? But you said we'd make it to the gas station?"
"That was before the windshield broke, wasn't it?"
"So we just walk there to get the fuel?"
"I estimate we are less than one kilometer from that gas station," Wang Zhi said.
"One kilometer... that's not close, but it's not far either," Old He considered for a moment.
"Let's go. We don't have any other tools to get fuel, so we have no choice but to go there," Ying said, opening the car door.
"Fatty, you stay here and protect them. The three of us will go get the fuel," Wang Zhi said, turning his head.
"Hey... wait! It's... it's just me here alone?" Fatty looked around at the Zombies occasionally appearing and started to feel uneasy.
"Aren't there still more than 20 people in the back? What are you afraid of?" Wang Zhi glanced at Jia Liuli inside the vehicle.
"Twenty... I..."
Before Fatty could finish speaking, Wang Zhi got out of the car and then yanked Fatty out.
"Don't forget why we came out."
"I understand, Captain Wang, but are you really planning to leave me here guarding alone?" Fatty looked troubled.
Wang Zhi looked around: "There aren't too many Zombies here. On this suburban road, as long as you don't make loud noises, staying here is relatively safe."
"Okay... then you guys better go quickly and come back soon..." Fatty said worriedly.
"Mhm."
After Wang Zhi and the other two had left, Fatty finally returned to the car.
"Don't make any noise, or if Zombies come later, I won't be able to manage you guys," Fatty said dismissively.
...
The three of them walked toward the gas station. Almost every car on the road contained trapped Zombies. To avoid being ambushed, they maintained a safe distance from the vehicles, cautiously probing their way forward.
The three stealthily reached the gas station. Many vehicles were still parked there, most of them large trucks.
Besides the cars, there were also many corpses on the ground; judging by the wounds, they had been killed by people.
"It seems this place has already been completely looted," Old He said, looking at the smashed convenience store in the distance.
"Let's go in and check it out first. Stay alert."
Wang Zhi spoke, and the three slowly moved toward the interior of the gas station, back-to-back, wary of a surprise Zombie attack.
When the three reached the side of a large truck, the Zombie behind it detected Wang Zhi and the other two, suddenly lunging out. The one facing the charging Zombie was Wang Zhi.
Having been prepared, he drove his Dagger straight into the Zombie's skull, killing it instantly!
After the three successively killed a few more, they moved into the convenience store at the gas station.
Just as Old He had said, it had already been completely ransacked.
However, the bottled gasoline was sitting there untouched.
Each of the three took two bottles and placed them in their backpacks.
"That should be enough. Let's head back," Ying said.
On the way back, Wang Zhi noticed Old He constantly frowning and asked, "What's wrong, Old He? Are you feeling unwell?"
"No, I just have a strange feeling," Old He replied.
"Strange? What do you mean strange?"
"Why would the people from the Dawn Tower know the Apocalypse was coming? It's like they could see the future," Old He voiced the doubt troubling him.
"There are two possibilities. The first is that they initiated the Apocalypse. The second is that they knew someone else was going to start it, but that party was too powerful for them to stop," Ying analyzed.
Wang Zhi fell into deep thought after hearing this speculation.
That's right, preparing in advance—no matter what, it meant they knew about the coming of the Apocalypse beforehand.
The crux of the issue was whether the Dawn Tower was the culprit.
"I actually hope it's the first scenario," Old He said.
"Why?" Wang Zhi was puzzled.
"If it's the second, it puts us at a significant disadvantage. And our enemies aren't just these brainless Zombies."
Wang Zhi felt a jolt in his heart; he understood that if it were the second case, it meant they would have to face an entity even more terrifying than the Dawn Tower!
"Now isn't the time to discuss this. Let's think about it slowly after we make it back alive," Ying said, already turning back.
When the three returned, there were several corpses near the vehicle; this must have been Fatty's handiwork.
Seeing the three approaching, Fatty immediately jumped down from the vehicle and ran over to ask them about the situation.
Wang Zhi poured all the retrieved fuel into the tank.
The vehicle started up again. Further down the road, there were increasingly fewer cars as they had completely entered the suburban area. Old He, in the passenger seat beside him, navigated while looking at the map and guiding Wang Zhi's direction.
"It should be around here! We walk about 2 kilometers straight in; it's somewhere near there," Old He said, looking toward the nearby rice paddies.
"Are you sure this is it?" Wang Zhi stopped the car to confirm.
"That's right," Old He affirmed.
"Good, everyone out of the vehicle!"
Hearing Wang Zhi's words, everyone in the car got out one after another, stretching their stiff limbs.
Being crammed into one vehicle with over twenty people was uncomfortable, but now that they had arrived at this deserted place, it felt like a paradise away from the world, and joy appeared on everyone's faces.
"Brother Hong, what is this shelter you mentioned like? Tell us about it?"
At this moment, some classmates gathered around Fatty and asked curiously.
"What's there to tell? You'll know when we get there. Focus on moving, and watch your surroundings," Fatty said impatiently.
In this rice paddy field, Wang Zhi did not spot any Zombies, but he remained vigilant—a habit he had to maintain.
Just then, Wang Zhi, who was leading the way, suddenly felt his backpack being pulled.
Highly tense, Wang Zhi immediately gripped his Dagger and spun around.
In front of him was not the Zombie he had imagined, but Jia Liuli.
"It's you," Wang Zhi said, lowering the Dagger he had raised mid-air.
"Next time you approach someone from behind, make a sound first, or people will mistake you for a Zombie," Wang Zhi continued.
"I'm sorry," Jia Liuli apologized, lowering her head slightly with some regret.
"Is something the matter?"
"In the future... can I still stay with you all?" Jia Liuli asked, looking at Wang Zhi with eager eyes.
"Probably," Wang Zhi replied honestly. "But let's discuss it once we get there. I'm afraid once you see the place, you won't want to leave."
"Alright!" Jia Liuli's eyes lit up when she saw Wang Zhi hadn't refused.
In truth, he had already planned to make Jia Liuli the fifth member of his team.
Now that she had proactively asked to join, it saved him the effort of having to persuade her.
One must understand that everywhere people form cliques; choosing sides is crucial. The people and the circle you align with directly influence your entire life.
Wang Zhi couldn't guarantee that choosing him would be the right decision for them, but he could guarantee he would never betray them.