Chapter 113 Zombie Swarm

Everyone in the town had been settled. At noon, the scorching sun hung high in the sky, making the asphalt road soft and hot, emitting a pungent smell.

There was no one on the street at this moment. Su Qing was driving the car quickly on the road. She held the steering wheel with one hand and wiped the sweat from her forehead with the other hand from time to time.

The car soon arrived in front of a bungalow. Su Qing stepped on the brakes and the car slowly stopped.

She got out of the car and felt a distinct sticking and pulling sensation when she lifted her feet. As she walked, the ground was sunken, leaving a series of clear shoe prints. Su Qing squinted her eyes and looked at the road. The asphalt was shining glossy under the scorching sun, and visible heat waves were rising all around.

Seeing that the wheel was deeply dented, Su Qing quickly put the car away. She was really afraid that the car would spontaneously combust and explode if left outside in the scorching sun.

Su Qing stood in the sun, and felt a stinging sensation on the skin not covered by clothes. She was so frightened that she hurried into the house.

Pushing open the creaking iron door, a stale and moldy smell hit me in the face. Broken furniture was piled on the floor in the house. Fang Qing and several managers were discussing matters inside.

"Damn weather..." Su Qing muttered as he raised his hand to touch his exposed collarbone. There were a few red marks there that were particularly obvious on his sweaty skin, and it was now slightly stinging and burning.

"What's wrong?" Fang Qing saw Su Qing come in, put down what she was holding and walked over. Seeing her face flushed and constantly rubbing the skin on her collarbone, she quickly took a closer look. "How... did this happen? Sunburn?"

"Well, I just stood outside for a while, that's all." Su Qing thought of the sunken ground at the door and continued, "Oh, it's so hot outside that the asphalt has melted. Please pay attention to the protection of your vehicles to prevent spontaneous combustion in high temperatures."

The vehicles used for the migration are mainly military vehicles, which are relatively strong and sturdy and can adapt to extreme environments. However, the number of military vehicles is limited and not enough, so some civilian vehicles are used as supplements.

"Before the apocalypse, a significant number of ordinary cars spontaneously combusted in high-temperature environments. They must be strictly monitored."

"Looking at the situation, if the road continues to be this hot, we'll have to stay indoors at night." Fang Qing said with a frown.

The danger level at night is much higher than during the day. No one wants to travel at night unless it is absolutely necessary. However, the scorching air during the day seems to be able to evaporate people. The conditions on the migration route are limited. It is extremely easy to get heatstroke and dehydration when traveling under the scorching sun, which will be even more troublesome.

"Currently, most zombies gather near large bases with dense populations. The number of zombies in small towns and villages has dropped significantly. I have looked at the map and there are no large bases within hundreds of kilometers along the way. The danger of night operations should be relatively low." Dong Wen continued.

Su Qing sighed, "Let's take it one step at a time. The climate is changeable, and who knows what we'll encounter in a few days."

Everyone discussed for a while, and after passing on the instructions, they went back to their respective places to rest.

It was very quiet that night and no accidents occurred, so everyone was finally able to have a good sleep.

…

At two o'clock in the morning, the convoy rumbled onto the national highway. It was pitch black outside, but the air was still very stuffy.

Su Qing lay on the folded passenger seat, her eyes slightly closed, motionless, as if the heat had no effect on her at all.

The soldier driving the car raised his hands from time to time to wipe the sweat sliding down his cheeks. He pursed his cracked lips, and his thirsty throat was dry and itchy, causing him to cough lightly from time to time. He glanced at the half-full bottle of water left in the car door storage box, but finally resisted the urge to drink water.

He was a private, earning a meager salary by driving, and only had one small bottle of drinking water a day. It was only the early morning, and he still had a long way to go...

"Cough, cough, cough..." The driver raised his hand to cover his mouth and coughed a few times. As he was coughing, a bottle of water suddenly appeared in front of him. He looked in the direction of the hand on the bottle and saw that Su Qing had sat up straight, looking at him with a worried look on his face.

"Drink something. I see your face is red. Don't get heatstroke again."

The driver repeatedly waved his hands to refuse, "No, no, no, Miss Su, I have water here, please take it back."

Su Qing threw the water in his hand into the driver's arms, and said in a tone that did not allow for refusal, "This is the electrolyte water I mixed myself. Drinking it will make you feel better. If you collapse from heatstroke, who will drive us?"

Fang Qing, who was sitting in the back, also leaned forward. "Xiao Li, our medical facilities are limited right now. Medicine is much more expensive than a bottle of water. Hurry and take it. If something can be solved by drinking water, don't take up the medical team's resources."

After hearing this, the driver didn't dare to refuse anymore. He thanked Su Qing and the others repeatedly, quickly picked up the water bottle, gripped the steering wheel with one hand, and drank from the bottle with the other hand.

Looking at the soldiers' appearance, Su Qing frowned worriedly. In the past few days, many people in the convoy had suffered from heatstroke. If this continued, she felt a little overwhelmed.

Don’t say that it’s hard to find a place to rest and cool off. Even if there is one, the large army cannot stop at will. Unless it is absolutely necessary, the most important thing is to hurry on. If we reach the new base earlier, all the hardships will be over. It is because of this idea that everyone can persevere.

The convoy has been traveling day and night for more than a week and is still halfway to the new base. If the weather continues to be so hot, the entire team will probably collapse.

We can only hope that it will rain someday, but in this apocalyptic world, if it doesn't rain, it will be continuous and heavy rain. If we encounter a flood in this place where there is no village or shop nearby, the team will not be able to bear it.

Su Qing looked into the distance. Suddenly, she narrowed her eyes and pointed outside the car, "What is that?"

There was a mountain in the distance, and the edge of the mountain was pitch black, which seemed to be a plain. On the outermost side were many black things that were still moving. From where she was standing, it looked like a nest of ants that was constantly shaking.

Xiao Li carefully controlled the steering wheel, leaned out of the car to take a look, and then retracted his head. "It's too far away, I can't see clearly."

They were now on a winding national highway. The road was dilapidated and there were obstacles from time to time. The convoy was moving very slowly and was shaking violently. Su Qing held the door handle with one hand and looked carefully. The red brake lights on the rear of the armored vehicles leading the way at the front were now lit up.

Fang Qing in the back seat gasped, "It's a swarm of zombies!"

Almost at the same time, the convoy ahead honked its horns to warn people. A patrol car weaved into the group and shouted loudly on its loudspeaker, "Zombies ahead! Everyone, pay attention! Maintain formation and do not act without authorization!"

Soon, each convoy stopped in turn and changed formation. These had been rehearsed. During each break, Chief Liang would send professional officers to demonstrate to people how to deal with emergencies. They had also experienced several actual combat experiences along the way, so everyone was only confused for a while at the beginning, but soon knew what they should do.

The outermost area is composed of armed vehicles, which have been quickly arranged to form a defensive line. The vehicles in the team are turning from the back to the front, but the convoy is too long and it is difficult to evacuate in a short time.

The roar of artillery fire resounded all around, and the fire had already started in the front.

In a short while, the zombie swarm was entangled with the troops in front.

The sounds of gunfire, roars, and screams were endless.

Fang Qing and Su Qing jumped out of the car, and the two graceful figures went in opposite directions, one rushed to the front to support, and the other ran to the back to comfort.

The closer Su Qing got to the battlefield, the clearer the sounds of fighting became.

Someone's miserable howling shook the world and made everyone feel cold in their hearts.

Humans are so vulnerable when facing zombies. The two sides fought at close range, with armed vehicles for defense and guns and cannons in hand, but casualties still continued.

At this time, artillery fire from the armed helicopters in the sky also poured down. A group of zombies quickly fell down, and were then replaced by a new group.

Liang Zheng, who was commanding from the front, had a sullen expression on his face. "We must stop these things and buy time for the people to evacuate!"

Ji Chengan ran up from the back and saluted, "Commander! A battalion of soldiers transferred from the rear is already in position."

"Set up a second line of defense immediately!"

"yes!"

The military trucks at the rear rushed to the front with several teams of soldiers. Hundreds of people quickly jumped out of the vehicles. They moved in an orderly and quick manner, forming groups of dozens of people. They assembled in just a few tens of seconds.

Then the order was given and the soldiers dispersed instantly, setting up shelters and carrying weapons and equipment. In just three to five minutes, the second line of defense was opened.

Once the two lines of defense were established, ammunition was thrown out like it was free, and soon the zombies' attack became noticeably weaker.

Su Qing had already run to Liang Zheng's side at this moment. Seeing the situation gradually stabilize, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. However, not long after, the situation began to get out of control again.

"Zizi... Zizi... Mutated zombies have been discovered on the first line of defense! We... can't hold on anymore!" An urgent voice came from the walkie-talkie in Liang Zheng's hand.

As soon as he finished speaking, Su Qing saw several black figures in front of him jumping and shuttling quickly in the traffic. The armored vehicles were completely unable to stop these things. As they rose and fell, several vehicles were overturned.

The mutated zombies approached, and there was a cry of terror. With a wave of their sharp hands, the windows of the vehicles beside them shattered. The people in the cars were pulled out by the zombies and torn apart, and then they took a few bites like hungry wolves and threw them away.

"roar!!!"

The mutated zombies roared a few times and ran all the way, splashing blood mist. People screamed one after another. Some zombies jumped onto the roof of the car, grabbed the soldiers holding heavy machine guns above and threw them away, or directly ripped them open. Wherever they passed, people and horses fell to the ground. It was a tragic scene.

Seeing them getting closer, Su Qing took out an automatic rifle from his backpack and fired a series of shots. However, the mutant zombies were extremely fast, and even the upgraded automatic aiming rifle could hardly hit them.

The planes in the sky fired a burst of "da da da" sounds, the ground was covered in dust, and ordinary zombies fell down again.

Su Qing's face was covered by the raised sand. She squinted her eyes and coughed several times. When she opened her eyes again, she saw a shriveled and rotten zombie jumping onto the roof of the armored vehicle parked opposite Su Qing. The zombie looked at her and the convoy behind her that was running around like ants moving house with a contemptuous attitude.