Chapter 106, Part 6: Female Supporting Character in a Zombie Novel
The threats, though blustering, were utterly ineffective, and the group of men, women, and children surrounding the truck were trembling but trying to put on a brave face.
They didn't resemble plunderers; they were more like a group of trapped beasts driven to the brink, with no other way out, desperately trying to fight back.
The men in the truck bed gripped their weapons tightly, ready for battle, waiting only for Xu Qingzhou's order.
Xu Qingzhou's gaze swept over the survivors blocking the way, landing behind the roadblock, his eyes filled with contemplation.
He raised his hand, signaling Lang Ge to turn off the engine.
Lang nodded, the truck engine went out, and an eerie silence instantly descended, leaving only the mournful sound of the wind blowing through the ruins.
Xu Qingzhou got out of the car, spreading his hands out to his sides to indicate that he had no weapon.
"We mean no harm, we're just passing by and want to get to the survivor base ahead!"
He deliberately emphasized the words "survivor base" and carefully observed the other party's reaction.
And indeed, a slight commotion arose on the other side.
The faces of those disheveled and emaciated people revealed even more complex expressions.
Fear, despair, and sorrow were mixed together.
There were even a few suppressed sobs and choked cries.
This reaction made Xu Qingzhou feel a little gloomy.
The man who was standing on the roof of the car shouted a few times, his throat bobbing, and his body hunched over, as if all his energy had been drained away.
"Base? What base is left? There's none left, none at all! We can't get any further! Leave the food and weapons behind and get out of here!"
Yu Wanwan had followed him down at some point and spoke softly beside him.
"There's something in that forest. Their roadblocks are probably blocking that thing."
Xu Qingzhou understood instantly.
This group of people has probably already encountered that thing and fought against it.
But what could possibly frighten them like this?
Are they so afraid that they dare not go back, nor dare they let anyone else pass by?
It's important to know that this group isn't entirely made up of the elderly, women, and children; there are also individuals with special abilities among them.
The two exchanged a glance, and saw a strange solemnity in each other's eyes.
This isn't in the storyline.
Yu Wanwan pursed her lips.
This time, aside from not following Xia Weiwei's original plan, she didn't change any plot points.
They didn't interfere with any of Xu Qingzhou's decisions.
Logically speaking, nothing should happen that is outside the plot.
At Xu Qingzhou's signal, the people on the truck got off one after another.
Without exception, none of them carried weapons; they simply gathered around the truck, wary of these people.
Jiang Yiming stepped forward, seemingly unaware of the group's malice, and scratched the back of his head with a cheerful smile.
"Fellow villagers, we are students who escaped from Hangzhou University. We came here because we heard there was a survivor base. If we can't get through, we can take a detour or leave food behind. But can you tell us what happened up ahead? Why is the base gone?"
Unlike Xu Qingzhou's calm and deliberate show of weakness, Jiang Yiming's performance truly embodied that of a college student without a trace of gloom.
His cheerful and sunny personality, coupled with his remarkably youthful face, makes it easy for people to believe him.
Xu Qingzhou glanced at him but didn't say anything. He just lowered his eyes slightly and stood quietly beside Yu Wanwan.
"student?"
They were indeed stunned, carefully examining the group of students.
Indeed, among the twenty or so people, even though their faces bore the marks of time, one could still see the youthfulness and inexperience in their features.
Some people silently laid down their weapons and softened their stance considerably, but still no one made way for them.
The leader remained silent, his lips moved but he didn't utter a single word.
Some people in the crowd couldn't contain themselves.
"Take a detour? It's useless... there's no way around it... they're everywhere... everywhere... the base... the base is finished!"
By the end, his voice was almost breaking down with tears.
No one stopped him, but the emotions on their faces were not much different from his.
"they?"
Lang immediately caught the key words and quickly asked more questions.
"Are they zombies? Or mutated animals? Don't be afraid, we also have many people with superpowers who can help you..."
"No! None of those! It's a monster! It's a devil!"
A young woman could no longer contain herself and suddenly screamed shrilly, her expression frantic.
"They're unkillable! So many! They crawled out from underground! They're all dead! All of them are dead! Everyone from the past is dead..."
She cried and screamed, and some people rushed forward to comfort her, but it was no use; she was no longer listening.
The information is fragmented, yet enough to piece together a vague outline.
Unfortunately, they weren't given the chance to piece together that tragic story.
"alert!"
Yu Wanwan suddenly spoke, and at the same time as her voice, the earth trembled faintly.
The people in the group immediately and instinctively pulled out the weapons they had hidden before getting off the vehicle, ready for battle.
This is a habit I've developed over the years.
Yu Wanwan really doesn't get involved in anything; most of the time, she seems to be non-existent.
But whenever she gave an order to coordinate, it was always at a critical moment.
Without exception.
The next instant, the camera panned across the distant highway, raising a cloud of dust that blotted out the sky.
A deep, terrifying sound, like the combined roars of countless wild beasts, rolled in from afar.
"They're here again! They're back!"
The survivors behind the roadblock were instantly gripped by extreme panic, and no one paid any attention to the group of college students anymore.
The leader jumped off the roof of the vehicle, golden light gathering in his hands. He then wrapped the roadblock with rings of metal, reinforcing it.
He turned and looked back at Xu Qingzhou and the others, his eyes glistening with tears.
"Run! We don't want your food!"
He carried an air of tragic grandeur; his body was thin, and his exposed wrists were so thin that they were almost nothing but skin and bones.
When his superpowers erupted, his whole body trembled, but he never retreated.
Even the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled who cried out in despair did not back down.
As if they had trained countless times, she wiped away her tears and ran over with faltering steps.
Those with superpowers, like the leader, attached their abilities to the roadblocks as quickly as possible.
Those without superpowers held their weapons and stared intently at that spot.
That figure looked exceptionally tragic and desolate.
"Brother Zhou..."
They still don't understand what happened.
But judging from the attitude of that group of people, the billowing dust, and the deafening growls, it was clear that the "them" they were talking about were difficult to deal with.
Xu Qingzhou's pupils contracted.
He didn't know what those things were, but he knew that at their speed, even if they retreated now, their chances of escaping were extremely slim.
He made a decisive order.
"Find cover and prepare for battle!"
"yes!"
Without the slightest hesitation, the team, which had been working together for over a month, immediately sprang into action.
Using trucks and roadblocks as cover, find firing and defensive positions.
The sound grew louder and louder, and the ground shook more and more violently.
Amidst the swirling dust, countless twisted and ferocious figures could already be seen.
Like black, diluted water, it surged along the highway.
That number far exceeded any they had ever encountered before!
Xu Qingzhou's expression was more solemn than ever before, and lightning crackled in his palm.
Yu Wanwan's smile faded slightly as she stared at the approaching horde of zombies.
"It's a mutated fruit among mutated fruits."
She stroked the straw bracelet on her wrist, and a warm smile returned to her face.
"But no matter how mutated it is, it's still fruit, so just cut it!"
Xu Qingzhou's lips twitched; he almost felt like a bolt of lightning had struck her on the head.
What time is it? Are you still stuck on the fruit meme?
As if in response to Yu Wanwan, a terrifying roar, accompanied by deafening sound waves and a tooth-grinding sound of bones grinding, instantly assaulted everyone's eardrums.
It was at this moment that they finally saw what these things looked like.
It's a zombie, but not quite the same as a zombie.
Their speed was far greater than that of the zombies they had encountered that had evolved superpowers.
It also includes a large number of monsters with twisted limbs, composed of body parts from different species, exhibiting bizarre and mutated characteristics.
"What the hell is this?!"
Everyone gasped, utterly astonished.
"Could someone be conducting human experiments?"
No one can answer this question.
In the blink of an eye, the roadblocks imbued with various supernatural abilities were broken through.
Those who had previously blocked their way were the first to be caught and torn apart by the monster, without any power to resist whatsoever.
"Let's do it!"
Xu Qingzhou's roar exploded amidst the clamor.
A thick bolt of purple lightning roared out like an angry dragon, striking the center of the monsters and blasting the closest ones to pieces.
Scattered limbs and broken arms mixed with burnt, black blood splattered everywhere.
Multicolored supernatural light followed closely behind.
Centered on Yu Wanwan, countless thick, emerald-green vines burst forth from the soil like living creatures, growing wildly.
The vines quickly intertwined and coiled, forming a net-like barrier that replaced the broken roadblocks.
The roaring monster charged forward, crashing into the vine net one after another. The enormous impact caused the vine net to tremble, then bounce back, blocking the monster.
This miraculous and awe-inspiring scene left the survivors stunned, their eyes filled with bewilderment and disbelief.
Without a second thought, the leader immediately organized his men to retreat, coordinating with the group of college students' methodical attack.
One is far away, one is near; one is left, one is right; they create a strange resonance.
The battle erupted instantly!
Gunshots, explosions of supernatural powers, roars, and screams mingled together.
Ordinary people without guns or superpowers focused intently on the battlefield. Once they spotted a lone survivor, they would immediately step forward, grab their melee weapons, and take their heads.
After the fight, they didn't linger, immediately retreating to the cover of the superhumans and bullets.
This is the tacit understanding they've developed over the past month.
The methods that are usually effective against zombies are having little effect at this time.
Those monsters whose heads they had severed were still able to move again!
Even if it is dismembered, leaving only a finger or a head, it can still continue to attack!
Even though they were used to the apocalypse, this situation still stirred up a storm in the hearts of these college students.
"Holy crap! How could this happen?!"
"They have to be blasted to pieces!"
Someone on the leader's side shouted desperately to remind Xu Qingzhou and the others.
Xu Qingzhou immediately adjusted his strategy and rearranged the formation.
Make sure that every attack can crush these monsters to the greatest extent possible.
The sky was filled with flashes of supernatural light, and one monster after another turned into dust under the power of the supernatural force.
But there were just too many monsters.
For those with superpowers, turning monsters to dust requires an exceptionally high consumption of their superpowers with each strike.
In just a few minutes, several superhumans had almost exhausted their powers and turned pale.
Xu Qingzhou, on the other hand, did not have this problem.
Perhaps it was because he also possessed healing light magic elements within him that his supernatural energy was inexhaustible.
Each strike of lightning clears out a large area.
Unfortunately, it was difficult for him to protect everyone on his own.
Their side is doing alright, but the leader's side is seeing more and more people dying under the monster's claws.
Even more terrifying is that those killed by the monsters will rise again in just a few breaths, forming new monsters that will turn their fangs and claws toward their former companions.
This mutation rate is even faster than being infected by a zombie virus!
"Damn it! What the hell is this thing?!"
"above!"
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