Chapter 28 Crisis

The seventh day, dawn.

Under a blood-red sky, the entrance to the air-raid shelter was bustling with unprecedented noise. The roar of engines, shouts of people, commands of soldiers, and faint cries intertwined to create a tragic prelude to a post-apocalyptic migration.

The massive procession began to move with difficulty, like a giant python slowly awakening.

At the forefront were several reinforced military armored vehicles and off-road vehicles equipped with heavy machine guns, like sharp spearheads, responsible for clearing the way and providing security.

Following closely behind were dozens of military trucks and requisitioned buses, fully loaded with soldiers, essential supplies, and some elderly, infirm, and disabled personnel. These vehicles formed the core and backbone of the migration procession.

Behind this relatively orderly convoy was an even larger and more chaotic convoy of private vehicles.

Hundreds of vehicles of all kinds—from dilapidated vans and private cars to simply modified pickup trucks and SUVs—converged like rivers flowing into the sea, forming a winding, endless torrent of steel that stretched for kilometers along the abandoned highway.

These vehicles were crammed with people, their roofs strapped with luggage of all sizes, and some people were even sitting on the roofs or hanging from the doors. Each vehicle carried several, a dozen, or even dozens of souls struggling to survive, along with all the belongings they could carry.

Ruan Ning drove her modified off-road vehicle, positioned in the middle to front of the private convoy.

Inside the car, Lin Yan, with sharp eyes, was sitting in the passenger seat, constantly scanning the outside of the window; in the back, Zhou Min was writing and drawing on a map and a small notebook, her brows furrowed; while the hooded woman remained huddled in the corner, seemingly isolated from the surrounding noise.

Their vehicle stood out conspicuously in the chaotic traffic—the reinforced front bumper, the steel mesh on the windows, the sturdy roof rack with their visible supplies and spare tire strapped to it, and the steady, powerful engine sound all exuded a fierce and well-prepared aura.

"Stay close! Don't let anyone cut in line!" Lin Yan's voice was low as she gripped her ever-present fire axe, her eyes scanning warily the vehicles trying to cut in and in a precarious situation.

Zhou Min didn't even look up: "At this rate, we'll be lucky to leave the outskirts of Jiangzhou today. Any roadblock ahead could cause a large-scale backlog, and we have to be careful that the horde of zombies isn't attracted here."

Ruan Ning remained silent, firmly gripping the steering wheel and calmly gazing ahead. Her mental focus was intense, sensing the flow of water-based energy within her body while simultaneously paying attention to everything around her.

The convoy moved extremely slowly, stopping frequently due to obstacles ahead, broken-down vehicles, or small groups of zombies.

Each pause triggered anxious sirens and commotion from the rear. Soldiers ran back and forth, shouting to maintain order and handle emergencies; the atmosphere was tense and oppressive.

Through the car window, Ruan Ning could see the numb and fearful faces of ordinary survivors on the military trucks next to him, as well as arguments and even shoving among people in some private vehicles over road space.

Despair and panic spread like a virus through the stalled convoy.

This is how the migration began.

There was no grand ambition, only a harsh reality and constant danger.

On the third day after leaving Jiangzhou city, the migrating group entered a relatively open section of provincial highway.

However, this openness did not bring a sense of security; on the contrary, the sights that appeared in their field of vision made everyone's hearts sink to the bottom.

Ahead lies a once bustling highway service area.

At this moment, the service area and its surrounding vast area have been covered by an endless gray-black tide—tens of thousands of densely packed, swarming zombies!

They seemed to have been drawn here by the fresh flesh and blood in the convoy. The ordinary survivors, who had little experience with zombies, instinctively screamed when they saw the horde.

"Massive horde of zombies ahead! Prepare for battle! All vehicles, accelerate, don't stop! Charge forward!"

The loudspeakers of the military vehicles ahead roared at the top of their lungs, but in the face of this boundless sea of ​​corpses, the order seemed so pale and powerless.

There was absolutely no way to get around! Steep slopes and dense forests lined both sides, and retreating meant being blocked by an unknown stream of vehicles behind us!

"Hold on tight!" Ruan Ning's eyes were sharp as an eagle's as he slammed the accelerator to the floor! The modified off-road vehicle's engine roared, and the speed increased instantly.

Almost simultaneously, the vanguard of that gray tide of death crashed against the very front of the convoy like a tsunami!

Bang! Bang! Boom!

The sounds of violent impacts were deafening!

The military vehicles leading the way used their weight and reinforced bodies to smash and crush countless zombies, but there were simply too many zombies!

Fearless, they used their bodies to block the wheels, crawled onto the hood and roof like ants, and frantically pounded on the windshield! The windshield of a military truck was smashed, the driver was instantly dragged out, his screams stopped abruptly, and the out-of-control truck veered and crashed into the roadside, causing a chain of collisions and even greater chaos!

The heavy machine gun mounted on the roof spat out long tongues of fire, and bullets swept towards the densest part of the zombie horde like a metal storm. The zombies in the front row fell down layer by layer like wheat being cut down, and bits of flesh flew everywhere.

The soldiers stood in the swaying carriage, relying on the reinforced barriers, and used automatic rifles to fire precise bursts, eliminating as many zombies as possible that approached the vehicle.

The military-organized team of superhumans took action under unified command.

Fire-type ability users joined forces to create a raging wall of fire on the flanks of the convoy, temporarily preventing the zombie horde from encircling them; earth-type ability users worked hard to raise low earthen walls, which, while not completely blocking the zombies, effectively slowed their speed; and some wind-type ability users even tried to sweep away zombies that had climbed onto the roof of the vehicles.

However, their energy was depleted very quickly, and their faces turned pale rapidly.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Zombies rained down on Ruan Ning's SUV, slamming into its reinforced front bumper and sides. Dark red blood and bits of flesh instantly covered the windshield! The wipers swung wildly, but visibility remained poor.

"Lin Yan! Left side!" Zhou Min shouted a warning.

Several swift zombies clung to the left-side car window, their rotting faces pressed against the steel mesh, their murky eyes fixed on the inside of the car, and their withered arms trying to reach in through the gaps in the mesh!

"You're asking for death!" Lin Yan roared, rolling down the car window abruptly. The fire axe in her hand shot out like a venomous snake, precisely piercing through the gap and retracting! With a few splattering sounds, the heads of the zombies were pierced, and they fell to the ground.

But more zombies surged forward! The vehicle's speed noticeably decreased due to the constant impacts and crushing of corpses, and the engine roared under the strain.

"This won't do! We'll be trapped to death!" Zhou Min's face turned pale as she gripped the handrail tightly.

Just then, a sickening scraping sound and a heavy pressure came from the roof of the car—a zombie had climbed onto the roof!

The hooded woman suddenly moved! She had somehow acquired a slender dagger that gleamed with an eerie light in her hand. Without even looking up, she simply flicked her wrist, and the dagger, as if it had a life of its own, pierced through a gap in the roof lining and stabbed upwards!

puff!

With a muffled thud, the noise on the car roof abruptly ceased. Dark red blood dripped down from the slit left by the dagger.

Ruan Ning focused intently on maneuvering the vehicle, struggling forward through the mountain of corpses and sea of ​​blood. She spotted the rear of a military truck ahead, which was engulfed by zombies but seemed to have gaps, and suddenly swerved the steering wheel, attempting to use the truck's "wake" to reduce the frontal impact.

However, just as she changed lanes, a powerful mutant hidden in the horde of zombies suddenly shoved aside the ordinary zombie next to it, like a raging bull, and punched the side door of the SUV hard!

Boom!!

The immense impact caused the entire vehicle to shake violently, and a large section of the side panel visibly dented! The people inside were thrown about by the shock.

"Watch out!" Lin Yan's eyes widened in horror.

The mutant raised its twisted arm, preparing to smash down again! If this blow landed, the car door could very well be broken open!

At the critical moment, a cold glint flashed in Ruan Ning's eyes! She couldn't use her wide-range abilities, but—

She steadied the steering wheel with her left hand, and suddenly stretched her right hand out of the car window, launching a high-pressure water balloon compressed to its maximum, straight at the zombie's head.

With a "bang," the zombie's head exploded.

Taking advantage of the gap, Ruan Ning slammed on the gas pedal, and the off-road vehicle roared as it narrowly squeezed through the gap between the military trucks, temporarily leaving the wave of death behind!

The car was deathly silent, save for heavy breathing. Lin Yan watched Ruan Ning withdraw her hand, her eyes filled with complex emotions. Zhou Min patted her chest, still shaken. The hooded woman silently wiped the blood from the dagger.

They broke through the core area where the zombie horde was most concentrated, but the crisis was far from over.

In the rearview mirror, the gray tide of death was still surging, swallowing up the vehicles and lives that couldn't get out in time.