Chapter 167 Decision!
As dawn broke, the dim light struggled to pierce the haze.
The group was awakened by the cold. They quickly ate a few bites of potatoes with charred skins, which had been roasted with the embers of the previous night, and then hurriedly packed their belongings.
The biting wind was like an ice blade, even more intense than yesterday. The dust it whipped up stung our faces, and visibility was significantly reduced.
Fu Jinxing stood at the front of the group, his brows furrowed as he looked at the map in his hand that was rustling in the wind. He then looked up at the leaden sky that seemed to be pressing down on him, and decisively gave the order: "Luo Xiang!"
"Yes, Professor Fu!"
"Notify everyone to speed up today! Try not to rest along the way, and we must reach the next designated rest stop before dark!"
Fu Jinxing's voice remained clear and powerful despite the strong wind.
"Understood!" Luo Xiang immediately turned around, braving the wind, and shouted to relay the order.
The team set off again, and apart from a few scientists who were under tight protection, almost all the rest were people with superpowers.
The group also had several bicycles that had been scavenged, their chains creaking from the cold, which scientists who were too exhausted could take turns riding to catch their breath.
Although the newly converted superhumans are not yet proficient in using their powers, they all take the initiative to help with logistics and transporting supplies, striving to integrate into the team.
The other combatants were on high alert, forming a mobile barrier around the group, instantly killing any stray zombies that approached.
However, less than two hours into the march, Xie Jue, who was in charge of reconnaissance, turned back silently like a ghost. His still somewhat youthful face was unusually solemn, and his eyes were filled with coldness.
“Sister, Professor Fu,” Xie Jue’s voice was chilling, “the situation is not good. There’s a huge horde of corpses three blocks ahead, a really large number, and they’re moving straight towards us! They’re moving fast!”
A chill instantly gripped everyone's hearts, more biting than the fierce wind.
"Can we avoid it?" Josie asked immediately, her voice tense.
Fu Jinxing quickly unfolded the map, his fingers tracing across the frozen surface, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.
“No,” he said gravely. “If we try to avoid the path of this horde of zombies, we’ll have to take a huge detour to the south, which will take at least five more days! And that road is even more remote, making it difficult to travel by bicycle. Plus, the weather will be worse, and the researchers won’t be able to hold out.”
He looked at several elderly professors in the group, who were bundled up tightly and whose faces had turned blue from the cold.
"Then... let's find a sturdy building to hide in and wait for the horde of zombies to pass by?" someone suggested.
"The risk is too great!" Shen Han immediately rejected the idea, his brow furrowing. "What if the horde of zombies is attracted by something and blocks our way here, or what if a high-level zombie commands them to search for living creatures? We'll be trapped! Besides, the buildings here are no match for an organized, large-scale zombie horde attack!"
"But to force our way out of a city teeming with zombies, facing such a massive horde..." Luo Xiang's voice also became hoarse, "Even if we manage to fight our way out, the casualties and the time spent... will be unbearable!"
what to do?
A cloud of despair hung over the group. Time ticked by, and the heavy footsteps and howls of the horde of corpses seemed to be faintly audible. The chilling aura of death swept over them on the cold wind.
At this critical moment, Xie Jue, who had been silently observing the movement of the zombie horde, spoke again. His voice was unusually calm, but it carried a resolute power: "Sister, Professor Fu, I'll take some people to lure them away."
He pointed to a fork in the road on the map that formed an acute angle with the direction the team was heading. “I’ll have some men make a huge noise to lure them to that road. You guys can take that opportunity to get through this area quickly. After I’ve lured them away, I’ll find a way to get away and catch up with you.”
"Wait! Xiao Jue!" Qiao Xi's heart sank suddenly, and she subconsciously grabbed Xie Jue's cold wrist.
This is no ordinary horde of zombies; you can see a dark mass moving about from afar, and there must be a high-level zombie directing it.
The risks are enormous!
If one is not careful, even if Xie Jue is only a third-level ice-type ability user, or even if several other high-level ability users were to be caught in it, they would be instantly swallowed up by the endless sea of corpses.
This is a mission with an almost certain death!
"Sister, there's no time!"
Xie Jue's eyes were unusually calm. He gently but resolutely pulled away from Qiao Xi's hand and pointed to the faint outline at the end of the street in the distance, surging like a black tide. "They're here! If we hesitate any longer, none of us will be able to leave!"
His gaze swept over the anxious new faces in the group, and finally he gave Josie a deep look. "Trust me!"
Before he finished speaking, Xie Jue had already selected the two speed-type second-tier ability users who usually cooperated best with him.
The three of them shot off like arrows, without hesitation heading toward another narrow street, perpendicular to the direction the group was heading, filled with abandoned vehicles and garbage.
Each of them was holding a large white enamel basin with chipped edges, which they had somehow found.
The three rushed to a relatively open intersection. Just before the horde of corpses was about to surge in, they raised the porcelain basins in their hands high and, with all their might, slammed the two basins together!
"Bang!"
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The ear-piercing metallic clang instantly tore through the howling wind, echoing wildly above the desolate city ruins.
The voice was sharp and abrupt, carrying an undeniable sense of provocation.
The horde of corpses, which had been surging toward the main force like a black tide, was instantly drawn by the enormous noise.
Countless murky, bloodthirsty eyes turned in unison toward the source of the sound.
The low growls coalesced into a chilling wave of sound, and the zombies at the forefront suddenly turned around and pounced on the street where Xie Jue and his companions were.
The horde of corpses behind them was pulled in, and like a flood bursting its banks, they suddenly turned around!
The narrow street was instantly blocked by the surging tide of corpses, and the roars and crashes were deafening.
The main road where Xie Jue and his group were originally located, as well as a narrow alley next to it that connected to the direction the group was heading, were temporarily cleared away by the huge noise.
"Go!" Fu Jinxing didn't hesitate for a moment, seizing this fleeting opportunity, and swung his arm forcefully, "Full speed ahead! Through the alley! Quickly!"
Like a torrent awakened from its slumber, the group burst forth with unprecedented speed, and under the cover of powerful superhumans such as Shen Han and Luo Xiang, they plunged into the narrow alleyway that had been briefly ignored by the horde of zombies!
Everyone pushed themselves to the limit, their hearts pounding, their ears filled with the deafening roars of the horde of corpses not far behind them and the continuous, relentless, death knell-like pounding of their hearts.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
