Chapter 24: Rescue—No Further In

Before and after the appearance of toxic zombies, most water sources became polluted—black and foul-smelling. At the same time, there were regional and even citywide power outages, plunging human society into a primitive state. Soon, most households ran out of food, forcing people to venture out in search of water and something to eat. What followed was a wave of looting at malls, supermarkets, and grain depots.

But Bian Changxi wasn’t here for that.

She had a farm, so the lure of ready-to-eat food wasn’t as strong for her. With seven years of experience, she knew that, compared to food that couldn’t be snatched up all at once, the truly crucial things were limited, high-value consumables.

Number one: fuel. Number two: guns and ammunition.

Guns and ammo were nearly impossible to get unless you raided the local police stations, but fuel was much more accessible. She had already marked all the gas stations on her map and picked out a few valuable targets.

By “valuable,” she meant tanker trucks. Compared to simply filling up a car’s tank or taking a few barrels of fuel, getting a whole tanker truck full of gas was clearly the ultimate solution. But tanker trucks weren’t like fire engines—they didn’t just sit around waiting. Usually, once they’d delivered their load, they’d leave. Bian Changxi had rarely seen a tanker truck parked at a gas station.

Places like Sinopec depots or branch offices had plenty of them, but those places were far away and dangerous. It was better to try her luck at a large gas station.

In her previous life, Bian Changxi had encountered a team that had several tanker trucks and made a fortune selling fuel. She learned that one of their members was a tanker truck driver. He and two colleagues had stopped at a gas station due to a minor accident while transporting fuel, and that very night the apocalypse began—so both the trucks and the fuel remained untouched.

Her team leader had slapped his thigh in regret when he heard this, because they’d passed right by that gas station before.

After driving twenty kilometers, Bian Changxi pulled over and looked at a large Four-in-One gas station by the roadside. She immediately spotted three tanker trucks parked in the yard and breathed a sigh of relief—thankfully, they hadn’t been driven away yet.

There was a reason she’d chosen to rent in Xinfeng Community: it was all about being in the right place at the right time.

She observed the area for a while, frowning slightly.

This was one of the main roads connecting the old city to the new development zone. The highway was just ahead, and there weren’t many buildings on either side of the road, making it a good spot for action. But the gas station itself was huge, with staff dorms, a fast-food restaurant, and a convenience store. She could see quite a few zombies wandering inside the buildings, and there were two more in the open yard. She couldn’t handle that many zombies at once.

It was only 6:30 in the morning. In a little while, more people would definitely show up, making things much more complicated.

And sure enough, just as she was thinking this, three vehicles approached from her direction: an SUV, a bus, and a truck. The more she looked, the more familiar they seemed. Damn, wasn’t this the very “Fierce Tiger Squad” that got rich selling fuel?

She immediately jumped on her motorcycle, sped down the grassy slope, and charged into the gas station. The two zombies lunged at her, but she left them behind, jumped off her bike, stowed it away, and placed her left hand on a tanker truck—quickly storing two of them in her space. After a moment’s thought, she decided to leave the last one for the others.

She could already hear engines approaching. Without stopping, Bian Changxi dashed into the convenience store. Inside, it was a mess—shelves overturned, drinks and bread scattered everywhere, and dried bloodstains on the floor leading to a Volkswagen Sagitar parked outside. She guessed the car’s owner had come in for food, been attacked by zombies, failed to escape, and died in their own car. That would explain why the zombies were outside.

She quickly swept the remaining cookies and instant noodles from the only upright shelf into her farm space, all the while keeping an eye on what was happening outside. The two zombies had started to chase her, but the arrival of the convoy brought more human scent, and they immediately lost interest in Bian Changxi, turning to run toward the newcomers instead. Angry roars echoed from the fast-food restaurant and the dormitory building as well.

“Damn, that’s a lot of zombies!”

“Weren’t there supposed to be three tanker trucks? Why is there only one left? Chen Dabing, are you trying to screw me over? Do you know how far out of my way I came for this?”

“Meng-ge, I think I just saw a motorcycle rush in, but now there’s no sign of anyone.”

“Meng-ge, let’s deal with these zombies first.”

The group argued noisily, then began issuing orders and fighting. Two people entered the convenience store, and Bian Changxi quickly hid behind the counter.

“Meng-ge, don’t be too disappointed. Even one truck is pretty good—eight tons of gasoline isn’t something just anyone can get.”

“What do you know! I skipped out on looting the supermarkets just to come here for these three tanker trucks—I was counting on this fuel… Chen Dabing, you bastard! No, this is all the fuel we have, and we don’t have much food left. There are barely any supermarkets in the new development zone, and who knows what’ll happen on the way to Sucheng. Huzi, take some people back and grab more supplies.”

“Meng-ge, you want us to double back?”

“Yeah. We’ll split up. I’ll take some people to the new development zone, you stay here and handle our supplies. That’s it, I’ll go arrange things now.” He strode out. “Two of you, go grab some food!”

In the convenience store, Zhang Hu stood alone and sneered, “Leaving me behind to handle logistics while you go schmooze and make connections—so I’ll have to depend on you even more in the future? What a great idea.”

But then he remembered Liu Meng’s almost magical powers and grew dejected again, muttering, “Just wait till I get my own powers—I’ll show you…”

Bian Changxi raised her eyebrows.

In her previous life, the Fierce Tiger Squad had been quite famous at the Sucheng base. They made their first fortune selling fuel, arrived at the base early, and were good at networking, so they seized the golden opportunity to grow and even established the Fierce Tiger Hunting Group, which became quite influential. But rumor had it that the top two leaders—Liu Meng and Zhang Hu—didn’t get along. At the height of their power, Liu Meng died on a mission, and some suspected Zhang Hu had a hand in it. Bian Changxi didn’t know the truth, but the hunting group soon disbanded, and Zhang Hu disappeared.

Would her stealing the tanker trucks this time cause their conflict to erupt earlier?

The three men in the convenience store began gathering supplies. Zhang Hu walked over to the counter and suddenly barked, “Who’s there!” With nowhere to hide, Bian Changxi had no choice but to enter her farm space. Zhang Hu, worried it might be a zombie, quickly retreated. After a while with no movement, he sent two of his men to check, but they found nothing.

Zhang Hu frowned. He was sure he’d seen someone ride into the gas station, but then they’d vanished. He trusted his own sharp eyes.

Last time, Bian Changxi could only stay in her farm space for five or six minutes before feeling short of breath. But after using a white core that morning, it seemed the farm had changed—this time, she lasted ten minutes before feeling uncomfortable. Still, it was tough. She couldn’t check what was happening outside and had to grit her teeth and endure until she couldn’t take it anymore and came out.

By then, the convenience store was empty, and there was no sign of anyone at the gas station. That made sense—she’d spent over ten minutes in the farm, so more than an hour must have passed outside. Bian Changxi waited a long time, saw nothing unusual, and finally crept out of the store, cautiously.

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