“Zizi——”
Lu Cai tried to change the channel on the radio, but except for the music channel, all other channels were filled with noise.
She sighed. The sky had already turned pale, the sun rising as expected. After a night of speeding, she no longer knew where she was. The car stopped at a tunnel exit, half of the car body pressed against the sidewalk.
The surroundings were silent, like a dead body of water.
He took out a cell phone from his pocket, along with a gray pocket notebook with a matching pocket pen pinned on it.
This was all the belongings she had.
Unfortunately, my phone, either broken or out of battery, wouldn't turn on. The case had a Bumblebee Autobot design. The notebook only had the number "2222" written on it, nothing else.
A feeling of powerlessness came over him, and Lu Cai leaned back against the seat.
She was wearing a loose, pure black T-shirt with a round neck and no pattern, and a red vest, the standard uniform of the supermarket. The hem of the T-shirt was tucked into the waist of her green camouflage overalls, and on her feet were black sneakers that were old-fashioned in style but sturdy and comfortable.
Lifting his phone, Cai Lu saw a thin girl with a pale, sickly face and dark circles under her eyes on the brick-like screen. Her short black hair that reached her chin was messy and unkempt.
She felt very strange. She clearly remembered that her name was Lu Cai, she was twenty years old, she was a supermarket cashier, and she remembered what happened after work yesterday, but she didn't know anything else.
She couldn't remember where she lived, who her family was, or who her friends were. Perhaps this was the legendary amnesia.
Putting the notebook and cell phone back into his pocket, Lu Cai planned to walk around the nearby commercial street to see if he could get some food from the small supermarket.
She started the car and the fuel level displayed was not optimistic - if she couldn't find a usable gas station on the road, she might need to change cars halfway.
The gray city off-road vehicle drove out of the tunnel and set foot on the road leading to the city.
Cities are densely populated, so there are more zombies. Unless she is lucky enough, she can still find a small store with sufficient supplies without entering the city.
Usually there are some convenience stores in the single-family village area far away from the city center, but as she drove slowly along the way, the god of luck did not favor her again.
Gray cars entered the city roads, and the shops on the streets became more and more dense.
The streets were as chaotic and messy as expected, and the silence was so extreme that it reminded Lu Cai of her escape from the supermarket last night. She kept glancing back and forth at the alleys and streets, fearing that something terrifying might have emerged.
Fortunately, she hadn't encountered any accidents along the way. Then, she spotted a convenience store on the side of the road. After a moment's hesitation, she pulled the car over. She got out of the car, pulled a shopping basket from the trunk, and quickly crossed the sidewalk a few steps away.
The convenience store uses the common glass wall decoration style. At this time, the glass sliding door was obviously severely damaged, and the glass shattered into fine pieces and scattered on the floor tiles inside the store.
Cai Lu pushed open the door, took a quick look around after entering, and quickly came to the beverage area. He picked up two 4-liter buckets of drinking water and stuffed them into the shopping basket. He also grabbed a bunch of various biscuits from the biscuit rack nearby.
When I finally went out, I picked up a pack of disposable cups.
Throwing the water and biscuits into the passenger seat, she locked the door and prepared to go in again to carry them. She might not have such a good opportunity in the future, so at least she had to carry more drinking water.
When she put the first bucket of drinking water into the shopping cart, she heard messy footsteps and subconsciously squatted down, using the shelf to shield herself.
"Brother Shen, it's too late, go in and take shelter first!" It was the voice of a young man.
Cai Lu listened to the footsteps and knew there were three people.
The male voice that had spoken before rang out again: "Brother Shen, this dust storm is so severe that it might trigger a major cleanup—"
She heard a sneer, followed by a calm male voice: "First, find a place to hide."
"There's a bathroom over there." A thin and weak female voice came. Judging from the voice, she should be young and must be a weak and well-behaved girl.
Then, they walked towards Lu Cai. She turned her head and found herself squatting at the toilet door. Now it was too late to dodge, so she could only stand up suddenly.
The person quickly raised her gun. Looking at the two submachine guns pointed at her, she quickly raised her hands: "I am alive! I am alive!"
Cai Lu also saw the three people in front of him clearly. The one who attracted the most attention was a tall boy with outstanding looks, thick eyebrows, big eyes, a straight nose bridge, and wheat-colored skin. He looked to be about twenty-three or twenty-four years old, probably just graduated from college. He was wearing a black jacket and black sweatpants.
Next to the man in the jacket stood a thin boy who was a few centimeters shorter than him. He had fair skin and looked older than the man in the jacket. He was wearing a plaid shirt and gray-white pants.
The girl next to him was just as Lu Cai had imagined, with smooth black hair draped over her shoulders, delicate and gentle features, and very fair skin, not as pale as Lu Cai, but with a slight rosy glow. She was wearing a light blue T-shirt and a long floral skirt, and a pair of white sneakers on her feet. However, the hem of her clothes and skirt was stained with blood and mud, making the white sneakers look like "desert camouflage shoes."
The man in the jacket glanced at the shopping basket at Cai Lu's feet, put away his gun, and reached out to push the bathroom door.
The restroom was large enough for four people to squeeze in. After the man in the jacket went in, the girl in the long skirt pulled Lu Cai's arm and rushed in together, followed by the man in the shirt who closed the wooden door.
The man in the jacket quickly pulled down the towel curtain that was visible in the room and blocked the gap in the door tightly.
The bathroom was silent for a moment. The man in the shirt looked at Lu Cai. She pretended to be unaware and stared at the closed door.
Did they just say "Dust Storm"?
"Are you a local resident?" the man in the shirt spoke first.
Lu Cai nodded without further ado. These two people gave her a very similar feeling to the leather jacket woman and tattooed man from yesterday.
He was carrying a gun, was very aware of what was happening outside, and attacked and dodged in a planned manner. He didn't look like an ordinary person at all.
"Cheng Mushen, the duration of the storm has been shortened..." The girl's voice trembled slightly, she was very scared.
Lu Cai turned his head slightly, wanting to hear more about the topic of "Storm".
The man in the jacket frowned: "This is not in accordance with the rules of procedure."
"Brother Shen, has the dungeon become more difficult?" The man in the shirt shivered a little.
Cheng Mushen glared at him coldly: "You won't fight if things get difficult?"
The man in the shirt said nothing more.
Lu Cai remained calm, as if he didn't hear what they were saying.
Copies, program rules, NPCs... Lu Cai had a crazy guess in his mind.
Another silence.
After an unknown amount of time, Cheng Mushen spoke: "Follow me closely." He said to the girl in the long skirt.
The man in the shirt looked at Lu Cai and hesitated for a moment before finally speaking: "Can you shoot a gun?"
Cheng Mushen looked at the man in the shirt sharply.
The man in the shirt began to stutter: "I can barely protect myself..."
Cai Lu looked at the man in the shirt and knew that he was not lying, and that she did not expect them to protect her, but she did not mind him giving her a gun.
"I can try." Lu Cai had only played shooting games before. Her accuracy was pretty good in the game, but the guns in the game were simulated toy guns after all. She might not be able to do it with a real gun.
Cheng Mushen shifted his cold gaze to Lu Cai, who pretended to be calm.
The man in the shirt stretched out his hand, and a pistol fell from the air and landed right in his hand.
"Try this, and then you'll be on your own." He handed her the pistol.
Lu Cai took it and weighed it. It was heavier than the real gun. Following the steps in the gun game, she loaded the pistol—a click. She paused. It really worked...
"My name is Lu Cai..." She felt that since she had grabbed someone else's gun, she should also fight back. "I drove a car and parked it on the side of the road outside."
"Fuck!" the man in the shirt exclaimed in disbelief. "If I don't give you a gun, are you going to run away?"
Lu Cai rolled his eyes at him and said, "Maybe." She noticed that Cheng Mushen's eyes were getting darker as he looked at her.
"My name is Lin Yong—" The man in the shirt adjusted his mindset, but there was still some hesitation in his eyes. "Brother Shen, this is Zhao Manman."
Lu Cai looked up at the two of them and nodded slightly, indicating that they were acquaintances.
"How far is the car from the supermarket?" Cheng Mushen asked her.
Lu Cai raised his gun and said, "At the main entrance, about five or six steps away."
"Is there a skylight?"
Lu Cai nodded.
"How old?"
Lu Cai: "It's no problem to squeeze you and him out." She glanced at Lin Yong.
"You rush to the driver's seat, start the car and rush northwest, and leave the rest to us." Cheng Mushen said.
"Okay." Lu Cai thought about the storm they were talking about. "What is a dust storm?"
Lin Yong looked at her strangely: "You didn't encounter the 'Dust Storm'?"
Lu Cai recalled that except for leaving the supermarket, she had not encountered any zombies head-on. It can be said that she was surprisingly lucky.
"A 'dust storm' is a smog storm that typically occurs every three days. Dust particles within the storm carry a mutated virus, which can infect people if it comes into contact with their skin, transforming them into zombies," Zhao Manman explained. "But once the mutated virus escapes the storm particles, it must find a host within three minutes. Otherwise, it will rapidly wither and die, unable to sustain its own intense division activities due to lack of nutrients."
"They just starved to death—" Lin Yong added, "Usually, after a 'Dust Storm', a large number of zombies will appear."
Lu Cai was silent for a while. If she hadn't hidden in this convenience store, would she have encountered the zombie horde after the storm alone?
After a brief exchange, several people entered a state of preparation for battle.
According to the plan, Cheng Mushen would take the lead, Zhao Manman would follow Cheng Mushen, then Lu Cai, and finally Lin Yong would bring up the rear.
Cheng Mushen opened the tightly closed wooden door with one hand. Lu Cai looked out through the crack in the door and saw that the shelves and the ground were covered with a thick layer of gray dust.
The group walked out slowly. Lu Cai stepped on the dust and felt a strange fluffy feeling coming from the soles of his shoes.
A loud roar came from the direction of the broken window. Cai Lu turned his head quickly and saw a man with half of his face torn off. He was wearing a security uniform. The remaining skin was shriveled and ashes. Black veins bulged on his temples, and the wound on his throat had rotted and turned black.
Lu Cai hesitated. The situation was unclear. If she shot directly, the noise would surely attract all the zombies around her. She recalled the time when she was almost surrounded by her car during her initial escape.
With a gunshot, the man's head exploded, black liquid splashed everywhere, and his body twisted a few times before falling to the ground with a bang.
She glanced sideways at Lin Yong, who was trembling with fear but holding the gun very steadily, then raised her eyes to meet Cheng Mushen's.
He frowned and said quickly, "Get in the car!"
As Lu Cai walked, he took out the key from his pocket and pressed the unlock button. The front and rear lights of the dusty gray car at the door lit up. Needless to say, they all knew where the target was.
A dozen twisted figures emerged from both sides of the convenience store, and the stench of decay mixed with the smell of blood rushed into the convenience store.
Lu Cai took aim and fired a shot at a young "girl" in a denim skirt, a direct blow to the head. Without even having time to see her reaction, Lu Cai moved the muzzle and pressed the trigger.
Sparks raised a thin cloud of gunpowder and the sound of gunfire was incessant.
A shadowy head also appeared across the street, but Lu Cai remained unmoved. He retreated from the convenience store while shooting swiftly.
Even at this moment, she could still squeeze out one thought - every bullet hits the target. How many shooting games has she played...
After leaving the convenience store, even though it was only a few steps away, the situation worsened. The three men practically surrounded Zhao Manman in a protective circle, dealing with the figures rushing towards them from all directions.
They were too fast and too numerous. Even if Lu Cai stood still, he could barely keep the distance between himself and the zombies at about five meters, not to mention that he had to clear the way for Lin Yong on his left.
At this time, Cheng Mushen said sternly: "Lin Yong, drive!"
Lu Cai shot the zombie that was already two meters away from Lin Yong, cursing inwardly. She certainly understood what Cheng Mushen said. He asked Lu Cai and Lin Yong to swap tasks, with Lin Yong driving and Lu Cai clearing the zombies.
He felt like he was being ripped off, but he still managed to pull out the key and stuff it into Lin Yong's arms. He was distracted when a zombie pounced in front of him. Lu Cai quickly dodged and fired, practically pointing the gun at the zombie's head.
Black, rancid liquid splattered all over her. Without even the slightest chance to wipe it off, she raised her gun and continued firing.
She and Cheng Mushen controlled the zombie swarm and covered Lin Yong and Zhao Manman as they got into the car. Hearing the sound of the car starting, Lu Cai turned sideways and saw Cheng Mushen had already opened the back door and slipped in.
The firepower of the three people was suddenly reduced to her alone. The zombies suddenly pressed forward. She shot continuously and had no way to dodge into the car door.
Dense crowds of people surrounded the car, just like food scraps dropped on the ground and surrounded by a large number of black ants.
Cai Lu heard Zhao Manman scream, and then the sound of the car door being closed.
Damn! She gritted her teeth, but couldn't concentrate on cursing. The car's sunroof was pushed open, and Cheng Mushen stood up, shooting at the zombies around him.
The dense barrage of bullets forced Lu Cai to take two steps back, and the zombies were indeed forced to retreat.
"Drive!" Cheng Mushen shouted coldly, but the car did not move. He cleared the zombies while cursing with his head down.
Cai Lu heard Lin Yong arguing with him.
The backseat window opened, revealing Zhao Manman's pretty face: "Chef Lu!"
A zombie lunged forward, and Lu Cai fired quickly, splattering slime on Zhao Manman's face. She dodged for a moment, then reappeared with red eyes, weeping profusely. She reached for the door, but Cheng Mushen held her back.
There was no time to waste, and the car finally started moving slowly.
Lu Cai took a cold look at the car window, which was still wide open. She shot a few zombies in the head, then turned and ran after the car. The moment the car left the sidewalk, Lu Cai leaped up, stepped onto the window frame, and grabbed the wide-open sunroof with her free hand.
At this moment, she saw a string of red digital codes suddenly appear on her left arm that was pressed against the roof of the car, flashed, and then disappeared.
Cheng Mushen seemed to know her intention and shrank back into the car.
Lu Cai flipped the car hard, and the car's speed increased. She flipped through the sunroof into the back seat, still standing, and shot at the zombies clinging to the car body, as if this could calm her anger.
She shot a zombie, but his hands were still clinging to the open rear window.
She lowered her head and aimed at its wrist, firing a shot. The arm bone broke and the bullet grazed the car body, sending sparks flying on the ground.
Zhao Manman pulled off the severed limb that was swaying in the wind with trembling hands, then closed the car window.
The car was speeding, the wind blew away the accumulated gray dust, and in the sunlight, the girl stood against the light, tightly gripping the gun in her hand, looking at the devastated streets and the zombies chasing and blocking the car, in silence.
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