Chapter 83: Murder—The Ones Who Shouldn’t Have Died (Part Two)

The truck rumbled forward, the sun outside blazing like fire. Even with the windows tightly shut and the curtains drawn, the stifling heat filled the cabin.

Bian Changxi lay on the half-reclined passenger seat, eyes half-closed. The sweltering air didn’t seem to bother her; she still looked fresh and dry.

Zhang Bubai, who was driving, wiped away the sweat that kept dripping down his face. His lips were parched, but when he glanced at the nearly empty water bottle, he couldn’t bring himself to drink the last few sips.

As a civilian without a military rank, life in the army was tough for him. He relied on his meager daily “wages” from driving, and only got one bottle of water a day. Now it was barely past eleven, and there was still a long way to go.

He glanced enviously at Bian Changxi. “Miss Bian, you’re lucky. You don’t even sweat.”

“Who says I don’t sweat?” Bian Changxi opened her eyes, brushed aside some stray hair, revealing damp roots. “My cultivation isn’t high enough. In this weather, the whole truck feels like it’s steaming.”

She took a sip of water from her bag, frowning anxiously at the dust swirling in front of the truck and the relentless, scorching sun.

Several people in the convoy had already suffered heatstroke over the past few days. If this went on, even she would struggle to endure it. Not to mention, it was hard to find a place to rest and cool off. Even if there was one, the main force couldn’t just stop unless absolutely necessary. Everyone was pushing on with sheer willpower.

Today was the fifth day of their journey. If they didn’t reach Sucheng soon, or if the weather got any hotter, the whole convoy might collapse.

But she knew they were still far from Sucheng, and the heat would only get worse. It was only early June by the national calendar; July and August were the real scorchers. Right now, ice and water element users were in high demand, treated like royalty.

All she could do was hope for rain. But in the apocalypse, if it didn’t rain, fine—but when it did, it was always a torrential downpour, more like a flood. That was something a convoy stranded in the middle of nowhere could hardly withstand.

Suddenly, she narrowed her eyes and pointed outside. “What’s that?”

In the distance, there were mountains. At the foot of the mountains stretched a rolling grassland, though most of the grass was now yellow and withered. On the grassland, there seemed to be some buildings, surrounded by a mass of black, writhing things that looked, from here, like a swarm of ants.

Zhang Bubai carefully steered the wheel and leaned forward to look. “I can’t see clearly.”

They were on a winding, unpaved road, full of sand and yellow earth, so the convoy moved slowly and jolted constantly. Bian Changxi looked out. In the far distance, she could see the large armored vehicles at the front of the No. 1 team, and farther still, the silhouettes of patrol and reconnaissance vehicles.

They were closer to those black shapes. Bian Changxi leaned out, watching intently. Suddenly, the black mass surged toward the patrol cars. She sucked in a breath. “A zombie horde!”

Grasslands—a zombie horde. She remembered hearing from Bian Kuang in her previous life that they’d once passed a small grassland with a dairy farm, and encountered a zombie horde there. The horde itself wasn’t too dangerous, but among them was a particularly powerful leader zombie.

How much damage had that zombie caused the convoy?

She wasn’t the first to notice. Almost simultaneously, alarms blared from both the No. 1 and No. 6 convoys, followed by the other four. The convoys stopped and began to shift formation.

They’d drilled for this. During rest stops, officers would teach and instruct everyone on what to do. So after a brief moment of chaos, everyone quickly fell into their roles.

The armored vehicles formed the outermost ring, with military trucks, combat vehicles, and engineering vehicles moving out to form a defensive perimeter, while the rest of the vehicles clustered tightly together. The army and warrior squads took on most of the defense.

Bian Changxi’s truck, though not officially part of the formation and filled with civilians, was sturdy enough to be assigned to the outer ring.

This gave Bian Changxi a clear view of the situation.

By now, the patrol cars at the front were desperately trying to turn back to the main force, but the rough terrain slowed them down, and they were quickly overtaken. The vehicles had weapons, and they fired in a panic, managing to kill a few zombies, but the last patrol car was caught by a long-legged, high-speed zombie, which tore off the doors and windows, dragged the people out, and tore them apart in an instant.

A hush fell.

Because the ground there was higher, Bian Changxi could see everything clearly. The horrific screams echoed, chilling everyone to the bone.

So this was how fragile humans were before zombies. Even with guns and vehicles, in a head-on clash, they were still no match.

As fear and dread swept through the convoy, the second-to-last patrol car was about to be caught. Just then, helicopters and fighter jets arrived overhead, raining bullets down and quickly mowing down a swath of zombies. But they still couldn’t save the patrol car.

When the third-to-last vehicle was about to be lost, the armored vehicles they’d dispatched finally arrived. The patrol cars scrambled to take cover behind them, and people were just starting to breathe a sigh of relief when the massive leader zombie picked up a smaller zombie and hurled it like a missile, smashing a patrol car and caving in its side. The patrol car careened out of control, crashing into the one in front, while the one behind rammed into it—three vehicles totaled at once. Zombies flanked the armored vehicles, pounding on the doors and crawling inside…

By this time, the troop carriers loaded with soldiers and warrior squads finally arrived, but faced with such a powerful zombie, none dared get out. They fired from a distance.

“My god, it’s so strong…”

Zhang Bubai was stunned. Bian Changxi pulled her head back from the window, her face grim, and patted his shoulder. “Go forward.”

The engineering vehicles at the front were moving. Zhang Bubai snapped out of it and quickly drove forward to fill the gap.

Meanwhile, in the command vehicle, the unit commander, Qu Shangjin, watched the live feed on the screen, his face dark as thunder. “So many people, and you can’t stop a few zombies? What a disgrace! Relay my orders—no matter what, stop those things!”

The adjutant gave a wry smile, saluted, and left.

Two more military trucks brought up a second wave of reinforcements—these were ability users. Fortunately, the zombie horde wasn’t too large. With two defensive lines, and a barrage of ammunition and abilities, they barely managed to contain the threat. Soon, the zombies were cleared out—except for the tall, long-legged leader.

That zombie was clearly a speed type—extremely fast and intelligent. Even the armored vehicles couldn’t stop it. In a few leaps, it overturned two more patrol cars, smashed the front of a military truck, then darted along the convoy, as if probing for a weak spot.

As it drew closer, panic spread. With a sweep of its long arm, it shattered the windows of several outer vehicles, sending blood spraying inside—no one knew if the people within were dead or alive.

A military officer who’d gotten out to direct traffic didn’t dodge in time. The zombie grabbed him, tore him open, took a few ravenous bites, then tossed him aside.

“Roar—!”

It howled, facing the snaking convoy with a look of hatred and contempt. Bian Changxi felt her eardrums ache, her head swell and grow dizzy. She was startled—was this a psychic attack?

Speed and psychic power—this zombie must be third-tier.

Many people were stunned by that roar, their minds going blank. Vehicles in motion crashed or overturned. The zombie leaped onto several trucks, kicking soldiers manning heavy machine guns off the beds, or disemboweling them on the spot. It was a massacre—wherever it went, chaos followed.

As it drew closer, Bian Changxi immediately picked up the heavy sniper rifle Gu Xu had given her, bracing the barrel on the window. She peered through the scope, but there were too many obstacles, and the zombie was moving too fast—she couldn’t get a clear shot.

A fighter jet swooped down, firing a powerful shot at the zombie. It missed, but the impact sent dirt and sand flying into the truck, covering Bian Changxi’s face. She closed her eyes, coughing and waving the dust away.

“Arrogant thing!”

Just then, a woman’s voice rang out. Those still conscious saw the zombie suddenly jerk back—its entire arm fell cleanly to the ground.

Through the haze, Bian Changxi’s eyes flashed. Space Blade!

It was Su Chensi again.

She stuck her head out the window and used binoculars. Sure enough, she saw a woman standing beside a vehicle in the No. 4 convoy, facing the zombie from afar.

It was Su Chensi.

Bian Changxi shook her head. “Foolish.”

If you’re going to attack, at least do it from a distance—Space Blade could reach far. Yet Su Chensi had gotten out of the car and was standing there in the open, as if she thought she was some kind of invincible marksman.

As expected, the zombie didn’t die—it got enraged. Waving its remaining arm, it charged straight at her. The people nearby, either stunned by the psychic attack or paralyzed with fear, did nothing to stop it. Someone from the car behind Su Chensi rushed out, dragged her back inside, and slammed the door. But before they could drive away, the zombie launched itself at the vehicle like a cannonball.

Boom—people could imagine the carnage, but the expected explosion didn’t come. Mid-air, the zombie was blasted aside by a huge fireball, crashing into the yellow earth.

Another blazing fireball struck it. The zombie, engulfed in flames, still tried to rise. A black sedan rolled up slowly, a gun barrel extending from the window. Two shots rang out—bang, bang—shattering its skull.

Everyone watched in silence as the flames writhed and burned, then finally went still. A tall, slender figure in black got out of the car, standing out starkly in the blazing sunlight. He reached toward the fire, gently closing his fingers, and the flames miraculously shrank and went out.

A charred corpse lay on the ground. The man crouched, tapped the zombie’s skull with his knuckles, dug out something, and suddenly smiled, glancing in Bian Changxi’s direction.

ps:

Just checked and saw Long Shao ll1 sent a sachet as a gift—so touched! Hug and a kiss~ \(≧▽≦)/~"