Jing asked curiously, "Xiaonan, how did you know there was a research institute here? Did you already know about this before?"
Everyone looked at me with surprise in their eyes.
I smiled wryly and said, "I found this phone before. I thought it would be fine to leave it idle forever, so I put it in my suitcase. I only saw the photos on it by chance. I didn't think much of it before, but now that Zhang Xue has mentioned it, I understand what this map means."
Lu Yun asked curiously, "You didn't pick this phone up from a dead person, did you?"
I raised an eyebrow and said, "I guess so."
Lu Yun looked at me with disdain, "Your habit is really peculiar."
"..."
Now that we know where Wen Guochao and his family are headed, we all breathe a sigh of relief. At the same time, we are also filled with curiosity about this biological research institute on the outskirts of Mingzhu.
Did they really develop a vaccine for the zombie virus a very early time ago?
I always felt it was a bit unrealistic.
If vaccines were so easy to develop, they would have been developed long before the zombie outbreak. Why would they only appear after the outbreak?
Zhang Xue looked at us and asked, "I've already told you our destination. Are you willing to go?"
Jing and I exchanged a glance and said, "Let's go. Anyway, the four of us have nowhere else to go. We might as well go to the research institute to see if their zombie vaccine is real."
Wen Guochao asked, "Could this zombie vaccine possibly be fake?"
I shook my head and said, "I don't know. It might be true, or it might be false. We can't draw conclusions until we see it. And there's something I want you to understand: if the research institute has really developed a vaccine, it will definitely be widely distributed. But now, a full six months have passed since you received the news, and there's still no news of distribution. I seriously doubt whether that research institute has really succeeded."
Both Wen Guochao and Zhang Xue showed signs of worry.
I said, "However, this is just my own guess. As for the specific situation, we can only see when we get there. There's no point in guessing here. Let's go and make some preparations first, and then we'll set off this afternoon. The outskirts of Mingzhu City are quite far from us, and it will take some days to get there."
"Okay, let's get ready now."
We had prepared our belongings for the four of us long ago and loaded them into the car. The family of three didn't have much stuff, as their luggage had been lost on the road. The things they had now were collected in the last two days, mostly just some changes of clothes.
Around 1:30 pm, the seven of us boarded the bus and officially set off.
This time I learned my lesson. I covered the back of the pickup truck with a waterproof tarp, the kind of poncho fabric, so I don't have to worry about rain.
After setting off, Fei Lichao, Wen Guochao, and I sat in the pickup truck, while the remaining four women were all in the car behind. Although this arrangement was a bit illogical, we'll leave it at that for now.
Once we left the village and got onto the road, we didn't move quickly. Mainly because we weren't in a rush, and the research institute was just outside Mingzhu City; we wouldn't have to run away. Moving slowly also allowed us to observe our surroundings and make timely adjustments.
In the car, Fei Lichao sat in the back seat for comfort, while Wen Guochao sat in the front passenger seat.
"Thank you so much for taking us to the research institute this time," Wen Guochao said.
I chuckled and said, "No need to thank me, there's nothing to thank me for. The four of us have nowhere to go since we left Jiajiang. Now we have a goal to move forward with, so we won't be too bored."
Wen Guochao pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and said, "Want one?"
"Can."
We lit cigarettes, and Fei Lichao in the back seat didn't come over to ask for any. I guess he knew his wound hadn't fully healed yet.
Wen Guochao asked, "By the way, you just said you came from Jiajiang City. Were you all from Jiajiang City before?"
I shook my head and said, "No, I was an intern at a hospital in Hangzhou before. Then the zombie outbreak happened, and I heard that there was a safe zone in Jiajiang, so I came here with the rest of the group. But when I got here, I found that the safe zone was long gone, so we found a school in Jiajiang to settle down."
"Oh, I see. So why are you out again? Is it because there are too many zombies in Jiajiang City?"
I gave a wry smile. So much had happened in Jiajiang City that I didn't even know how to describe it.
So all I could say was, "This is a long story, I'll tell you about it later when I have time, I won't say it now."
Wen Guochao nodded: "Oh, okay."
In the time it takes to smoke a cigarette, we've already traveled quite a distance.
The journey was smooth and there were no unexpected incidents.
...
Half an hour later, we were already close to the area of Sanyang City.
Actually, on the way to Mingzhu City, we will pass through many county-level cities and towns. To avoid being surrounded and intercepted by zombies in these cities, we have no choice but to bypass these urban areas. Only in this way can we achieve the greatest safety. If we insist on going through these urban areas, we will only face certain death.
A few zombies aren't scary, but if there are too many, then it's no joke!
However, sometimes there are unexpected situations, and large numbers of zombies can be encountered on provincial and national highways on the outskirts of the city.
I originally thought we wouldn't encounter them, but to my surprise, we actually did run into a large group of zombies.
I stopped the car and looked at the horde of zombies walking towards us. Feeling a bit helpless, I picked up the walkie-talkie and said, "Sister Jing, there's a horde of zombies ahead of us. We'll have to take a detour."
Jingjie asked, "Can't we stop and wait for these zombies to pass by?"
I said, "I don't think it will work. There are a lot of cars parked on the road ahead. It looks like there was a car accident. We can't get through from here."
Jingjie said, "Alright then, let's take a detour."
After deciding on the detour, I turned the car around and drove back. When we came to a fork in the road, we entered this fork.
The fork in the road was a narrow cement path, and it was unclear where it led.
But we have no other choice now, so we can only take this route and see if we can get around it.
After taking the fork in the road, Wen Guochao said, "This road is quite clean; there aren't even any zombies."
This side road was indeed quiet; we didn't see any zombies along the way, and there was no danger.
But this makes me feel a little uneasy. Why are there no zombies here?
There are quite a few buildings around this alley, so why aren't there any zombies? This isn't normal!
Something unusual must be going on!
I slammed on the brakes and picked up the walkie-talkie to say to Sister Jing, "Sister Jing, step back, something's not right here!"
(End of this chapter)
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