They passed the night in silence.
Early the next morning, the two grabbed the car keys and weapons, sneaking out of the door and heading downstairs.
The sun was shining brightly today, and the zombies were already basking in the sunlight. Luckily, they encountered no incidents. Xin Meng pressed the unlock button on the key, and the Range Rover’s headlights flashed twice without a sound. It was open. He got in the driver’s seat, threw his backpack onto the back seat, and Xiong Jiabao hurriedly climbed into the passenger seat, closing the door.
“Um…” Xiong Jiabao nervously glanced at the few zombies wandering outside through the car window. “Are we just going to rush out like this?”
“Yes,” Xin Meng didn’t start the car right away. Instead, he opened the car’s navigation system, hoping for a bit of luck to see if there was a map. Unexpectedly, there was indeed a map, albeit only of the small town they were in. Outside the town, the map was blank.
Is this really a game item provided by the system? The only key, the only vehicle that can be started, and the only visible map after starting the car. It seems they were heading in the right direction.
“After we get out, we need to find a mall or supermarket to grab some food. Ideally, it should be a tall building where we can set up a noticeable sign at the top to let others know to gather there,” Xin Meng analyzed while studying the map. He found a mall a few blocks away from their residential area. It looked quite large, but the height was unknown. They would have to go and check it out.
“Let’s go there first,” Xin Meng decided. He twisted the key, started the car, shifted gears, and hit the accelerator. The sudden inertia caused Xiong Jiabao’s head to hit the seat back, and he yelped in pain.
Xin Meng wasn’t driving recklessly on purpose. In fact, the moment he started the car, he noticed with a jolt that almost all the nearby zombies had turned their heads simultaneously, their terrifying pale blue eyes staring at the two of them with hunger and greed, attracted by the sound of the engine. Their eyes, red with bloodlust, were fixed on the two people, as if they were starved and had finally seen their favorite dish, rushing at them despite the holes in their stomachs.
Xin Meng, still haunted by the sheer strength of the zombie beasts, had to rush out before they could surround the car!
“Faster! Faster! They’re coming! They’re coming! Hurry, drive! Hurry up!” Xiong Jiabao couldn’t take it anymore. He trembled, holding his head in fear, watching the disgusting monsters slowly surround them. He screamed at Xin Meng, his voice shaking and cracking with terror.
Of course, Xin Meng wanted to drive faster, but it was easier said than done. Although zombies weren’t fast, there were too many of them. Soon, the Range Rover was surrounded on all sides, like a bull in a china shop. The heavy impact made the car sway dangerously, nearly flipping it over. The two inside were dizzy from the collisions. Xiong Jiabao was screaming, and Xin Meng was sweating profusely, his hands slipping off the steering wheel several times. But stopping now meant death. He gritted his teeth, gripping the wheel tightly, and floored the accelerator. The Range Rover shot forward, knocking three or four zombies aside and running them over.
Fortunately, it was a Range Rover. If it had been their previous Passat, it would have flipped by now!
The car bounced violently over the obstacles. Xin Meng hadn’t fastened his seatbelt in time, and his forehead slammed into the windshield, hot blood streaming down his face. The intense pain made his vision blur, but he couldn’t afford to stop. More zombies lay ahead. He quickly wiped the blood away from his eyes with the back of his hand and continued focusing on the road, heading for the main gate of the residential area. The zombies outside, smelling the blood, became even more frenzied, crashing into the car like moths to a flame, almost pushing it off course.
“We’re done for! We’re done for! Ahh! Save me! Mom! Mom, save me!” Xiong Jiabao curled up in his seat, hugging his head and screaming, driving Xin Meng to the brink of distraction. But he couldn’t spare the time to comfort him, so he endured it.
He fought to keep the car steady, his hands gripping the wheel, veins bulging, palms sweating cold. Finally, after running over about twenty zombies, the car shot out of the residential area’s main gate and onto the main road outside. It was a wide road lined with shops, all of them dilapidated as if abandoned for years. Xin Meng quickly turned the wheel, the Range Rover skidding as it accelerated towards the mall marked on the map. The zombies from the residential area chased after them relentlessly, and the ones already on the road heard the noise and started converging. But the road was much wider than the streets in the residential area, giving Xin Meng the chance to showcase his driving skills and the Range Rover’s performance, dodging left and right. The car zigzagged down the road, facing less interference than before. Gradually, the zombies on foot fell behind, and fewer were around. Xin Meng finally had a moment to catch his breath.
“We’re going to be eaten! We’re done for! Ahh! Mom, save me!” Xiong Jiabao continued to scream hysterically for his mother to save him.
“Stop shouting!” Xin Meng snapped, hitting him on the shoulder. “Do you want to attract all the zombies?”
“Phew! Phew!” Xiong Jiabao finally stopped screaming, his mouth wide open like a frog’s, panting heavily. His face was as white as paper, his eyes wide and unfocused. “Are… are we still alive…?”
Xin Meng couldn’t spare the time to comfort him. He quickly checked the state of the Range Rover, and his heart sank. As expected, the zombies were incredibly strong. Although the car was still running, it was covered in dents from the impacts. If they hit a person at this speed, the outcome would be disastrous, likely rendering the car inoperable and making them easy prey for the zombies.
And he had noticed earlier that even when run over repeatedly by a car, the zombies would still get up, unscathed, and continue chasing them.
This was a terrible realization, meaning they couldn’t let the zombies get close.
“When we get to the mall, make sure to find a long weapon. Don’t let the zombies get too close to you,” Xin Meng advised Xiong Jiabao, who seemed too frightened to hear him, staring blankly outside.
The Range Rover sped through the streets. From the surroundings, it was clear that the entire town had fallen. There were no bustling crowds, no bright lights, no lively streets, only decaying buildings and walking corpses, not a single living person in sight. Even the plants were withered, like a dead city, or a prison.
Soon, a tall building, over ten stories high, came into view. It should be the mall marked on the map. This small town wasn’t economically developed, so tall buildings were rare, making this one stand out, visible from a distance.
This was one of the few good things, making it easy for other teammates to find.
When Xin Meng saw the mall, they were still separated by a street. Surprisingly, there weren’t many zombies nearby, only a few stragglers. With his previous experience, he easily avoided them. Xiong Jiabao, seeing Xin Meng’s face covered in blood, took out a handkerchief and handed it to him, telling him to wipe his face. Xin Meng took it and thanked him.
“You’re bleeding a lot. Are you okay?” Xiong Jiabao hesitated to ask. He had also bumped his head, but it wasn’t serious, just a bruise. Xin Meng’s face was covered in blood, looking a bit scary.
“I’m fine, just a scratch. The bleeding has stopped,” Xin Meng smiled at him.
Xiong Jiabao scratched his head, awkwardly shifting his feet off the seat, “It’s unbelievable. You’re younger than me, yet so brave. You have no idea, I almost wet my pants back there!”
“Good thing you held it in, or we’d have to change cars,” Xin Meng joked, turning the wheel. The car smoothly crossed the last street, and the mall entrance appeared in front of them. But something seemed off. Xin Meng quickly hit the brakes.
A large crowd of zombies was blocking the mall’s revolving door, clawing and howling to get inside, as if something inside was attracting them.
“So many zombies!” Xiong Jiabao was startled, quickly urging Xin Meng to take a detour.
Xin Meng thought further. What was attracting these zombies? With the sun shining brightly, it couldn’t be a light issue. The only thing that could excite zombies this much was… humans!
“There’s someone in there, maybe one of our teammates,” Xin Meng moved the car closer to see more clearly. Xiong Jiabao, even more anxious, stretched his neck to look and saw a figure waving a long knife.
“It really is someone,” Xiong Jiabao quickly rolled down the window and shouted, “Hey, buddy!”
Xin Meng was too late to stop him. The zombies heard the noise, and about twenty of them turned around, abandoning their previous target and charging towards them!
“Damn!” Xiong Jiabao quickly pulled his head back in and rolled up the window, looking at Xin Meng with a tearful face. “They’re coming…”
Xin Meng’s mouth twitched. With that loud shout, of course they would come!
But it was also good, as it dispersed the crowd of zombies. Xin Meng didn’t turn back but instead floored the accelerator, charging at the zombies with the Range Rover. He hit a few zombies, knocking them flying, and drove over them, heading into the crowd, revealing the revolving door and the person inside.
