Chapter 30: Beating Them to It—Two Tanker Trucks

Before and after the appearance of toxic zombies, most water sources became black, foul, and polluted. At the same time, regional and eventually widespread power outages plunged human society into a primitive state. Soon after, most households ran out of stored food, forcing people to venture out in search of water and something to eat.

What followed was the looting of malls, supermarkets, and grain depots everywhere.

But Bian Changxi wasn’t here for that.

She had a farm, so the lure of ready-to-eat food wasn’t as strong. With seven years of experience, she knew that rather than scrambling for food that wouldn’t run out anytime soon, it was far more important to secure limited, critical consumables.

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

Ammunition was nearly impossible to get unless you raided the city’s police stations, but fuel was much easier. She had already circled all the gas stations on her map and picked out a few valuable targets.

By “valuable,” she meant tanker trucks. Filling up a car’s tank and taking away a few barrels of fuel was fine, but getting your hands on a fully loaded tanker truck was a one-and-done solution. Of course, tankers weren’t like fire trucks—they didn’t just sit around waiting in the yard. Usually, once they finished unloading, they left. Bian Changxi had rarely seen a tanker parked at a gas station.

Places like Sinopec depots or branch offices had plenty of them, but those locations 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 owned several tanker trucks and made a fortune selling fuel. She found out that one of their members was a tanker driver. He and two coworkers had stopped at a gas station due to an accident while transporting fuel. That very night, the apocalypse hit, and both the trucks and their cargo survived intact.

Bian Changxi’s team leader had slapped his thigh in regret—they’d passed right by that gas station.

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

There was a reason she’d chosen to rent in Xinfeng Community: proximity meant first dibs.

She stood in the wind, observing for a while, and frowned slightly.

This was one of the main roads from the old city to the new development zone, with the highway just ahead. There weren’t many buildings on either side, making it a good place for action. The gas station itself was large, with staff dorms, a fast-food restaurant, and a convenience store. She could see plenty of zombies wandering inside the buildings, and two more out in the open. She couldn’t handle that many at once.

It was only 6:30 a.m. Soon, more people would be passing by, and things would get complicated.

Speak of the devil—just as the thought crossed her mind, 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 “Tiger Squad” that got rich selling fuel?

She immediately jumped on her motorbike, sped down the grassy slope into the gas station, and left the two zombies chasing after her in the dust. She hopped off, stowed her bike, slapped her left hand on a tanker, and in one go, stored two trucks away. 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 ran into the convenience store. The place was a mess—shelves toppled, drinks and bread scattered everywhere, dried bloodstains leading all the way to a VW Sagitar outside. She guessed the car’s owner had come in for food, only to be attacked by zombies and, unable to escape, was bitten to death in their own car. That explained why the zombies were outside.

She quickly swept the last standing shelf’s cookies and instant noodles into her farm space, all the while keeping an eye on the situation outside. The two zombies had been chasing her, but with the arrival of the convoy and the scent of more people, they gave up on her and turned to attack the newcomers. Angry roars echoed from the fast-food joint and the dormitory.

“Shit, 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 screwing with me? Do you know how far out of the way I came for this?”

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

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

A chorus of voices, then orders being given and the sounds of fighting. Two people entered the convenience store, and Bian Changxi quickly hid behind the checkout counter.

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

“What do you know! I came straight here for these three tankers, didn’t even bother with the supermarkets. I was counting on this fuel… Chen Dabing, you bastard! No, this is all the fuel we’ve got, and we don’t have much food either. There are barely any supermarkets in the new development zone, and who knows what’ll happen on the way to Sucheng. Huzi, take some men and go back to grab more supplies.”

“Meng-ge, go back?”

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

In the convenience store, Zhang Hu stood alone and let out a cold laugh. “Leaving me behind to handle logistics so you can go schmooze and build connections? So I’ll have to rely on you even more in the future? What a great idea.”

But then he remembered Liu Meng’s almost magical powers and grew frustrated again, muttering, “Just wait till I get powers too. I’ll show you…”

Bian Changxi raised her eyebrows.

In her previous life, the Tiger Squad had been quite famous at the Sucheng base. They’d made their first fortune selling fuel, arrived at the base early, and were savvy with networking, so they seized the golden opportunity for growth and even founded the Tiger Hunting Group, which became fairly influential. But rumor had it that the top two—Liu Meng and Zhang Hu—never got along. When the group was at its peak, 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 Tiger Hunting Group soon fell apart, and Zhang Hu vanished.

Would her stealing the tanker trucks cause their conflict to break out early this time?

The three men in the store started gathering supplies. Zhang Hu walked over to the checkout counter and suddenly shouted, “Who’s there!” With nowhere to hide, Bian Changxi had no choice but to slip into her farm space. Zhang Hu, worried it was a zombie, quickly retreated. After waiting a while and seeing no movement, he sent two men to check, but they found nothing.

Zhang Hu frowned. He was sure he’d seen someone ride a motorbike into the gas station, only to disappear. He trusted his own sharp eyes.

Last time, Bian Changxi had felt suffocated after five or six minutes in the farm space. But after using a white core that morning, something seemed to have changed—she lasted ten minutes before feeling unwell. Still, it was tough. She couldn’t check what was happening outside and just gritted her teeth until she couldn’t take it anymore and finally emerged.

The convenience store was empty, and the whole gas station deserted. Well, that made sense—ten minutes in the farm space meant over an hour had passed outside. Bian Changxi waited a long time but didn’t notice anything unusual, so she finally and cautiously stepped out of the store."