Chapter 43
Chapter 43
This was not an easy journey. Very many regions had already begun instituting martial law and there were many roads that had been closed off or destroyed. Even though they took shifts so that they could keep driving day and night, they still wasted a lot of time on the road.
The only thing to be thankful for was that Bai Jing’s identity was a very useful tool. Along the way, as they collected large amounts of gasoline and diesel, and as they passed through a number of city checkpoints, they were never obstructed by any government officials.
En route, Bai Jingcheng called Bai Jing, his voice sounding quite anxious. He asked where Bai Jing was and whether he wanted him to send some people to pick him up, before repeatedly warning him that above all things, he should be careful.
Bai Jing was not moved by his father’s words. In his last life, just after the apocalypse happened, his father had also been very worried about him, otherwise, why would he have put him under the protection of a military escort? But after experiencing many difficulties in survival, when he was confronted with the inevitable conflict of interest, his son naturally became a stumbling block. He could understand Bai Jingcheng’s choice, but he could not forgive it. Thus, as he heard his father’s deeply concerned voice, he only felt that they were worlds apart, indeed an entire lifetime.
But no matter what, the next scorpion still has to fall. So as long as Bai Jingcheng was good to him, then they probably won’t have an acrimonious falling out. Anyway, contrary to what one might think, sometimes a relationship based on mutual interest can actually be more secure than one that is only based on the fact that you are blood relatives. Therefore, Bai Jing directly asked his father if he was ready to hear his request for the supplies he needed.
Bai Jingcheng was stunned speechless for a moment, his heart suddenly felt a slight uneasiness. But he still answered that he was ready, plus anyway, he had two warehouses full of supplies.
Bai Jing was very pleased with his response, at least his father was still very obedient. Then he went on to use Yu Yue as a shield, saying that he had met a person with abilities. At the same time, he was thinking to himself that the more materials he had, the easier it would be for him to recruit more of such people with abilities. Immediately after hearing those words, Bai Jingcheng’s expression turned serious as he kept trying to get more information about Yu Yue in a roundabout manner, with the intention of trying to seduce Bai Jing into handing him over.
Yu Yue’s psychic power was working well so he could hear the whole conversation loud and clear. His brow beaded with sweat, his face became blank and his entire body was frozen still. Of course, he was very cautious and truly afraid that the boss would hand him over.
However, Bai Jing wasn’t interested so he flatly declined, He then informed Bai Jingcheng that in the future the military would be the one with all the power, so if he didn’t want to spend his entire life watching people’s faces, then it was best that he prepare in advance. He heard something go “bang” after he finished speaking and right before he ended the call.
In fact, he didn’t do this out of the kindness of his heart, but it was better for Bai Jingcheng to gain power than that woman. He was convinced that as long as he doesn’t go to B city, died or lived an unremarkable under the radar life, that woman would absolutely never think of him. But if he lived a good life, then that would be a whole different story. Even though after the apocalypse everyone’s life was at risk, they didn’t necessarily always meet with trouble. However, if it seemed like he was living a good life, then it would mean that he must have supplies, and many envious people will chase after him. In such a situation, the military probably won’t intervene out of its own volition and neither would there be a possibility for Bai Jing to do anything either. That was why it was better to prevent this from happening in advance.
As long as Bai Jingcheng progressed into power as planned and Bai Jing could still maintain their relationship of mutual interest, then this would be a good deterrent for the Zhou family. In fact, he really wanted to know whether or not the Zhou family would still be able to maintain its arrogance at that time.
The group of people traveled for two days and three nights without stopping once. Other than encountering a few zombie animals on the road, they were safe and sound.
On the third day, the temperature abruptly dropped, and although the sun was shining brightly in the sky, one couldn’t feel even the slightest bit of heat from it.
Yu Yue started fidgeting and kept grabbing his head, the anxiety clearly reflected on his face. An indescribable terror welled up in the bottom of his heart, as his intuition told him that something big was about to happen…
Even though Xiao Sa’s face looked calm and collected, his body seemed like it was frozen and his brows tightly furrowed into a deep frown. He simply ordered that they increase the speed of the cars. Bai Jing and he already knew that today was indeed the final day…
Unfortunately, they saw the sign on the road that stated that the was no way through, making Liu Hua hit the steering wheel with all his strength and curse loudly: “Fuck! The road ahead is also broken.”
On the night of June 11th, the lighting had been too powerful, not only had it destroyed numerous buildings, it had also destroyed many roads. They might’ve already reached D City a long time ago if it hadn’t been for all the detours they had had to take.
“Take the national highway.” Xiao Sa said indifferently as he tightly held Bai Jing in his arms while enjoying the warmth that was radiating from his body.
Bai Jing just stared out of the window a blank look on his face, lost in his own thoughts. He knows that after midnight, the entire world will be thrown into chaos, yet he felt no tension, no fear, his heart was strangely undisturbed, without even the slightest hint of trepidation……
As the sky gradually darkened, the number of vehicles on the road decreased. The more time passed by the more the dark sky seemed to become like a ferocious beast, its mouth wide open waiting to devour everything into its darkness.
At exactly 11 o’clock at night, Yu Yue woke up from a short nap his eyes open wide with horror. He panicked and started to frantically look around the car, and was only relieved after seeing that everything was still normal. However, no matter how much he still wanted to go back to sleep, he could no longer shut his eyes.
Bai Jing quickly glanced at him and said: “Be quiet.” Even though he didn’t want to rest, everyone else had to. Midnight was just around the corner, and there was already not enough time for them to recharge their batteries.
Yu Yue’s mind was tense. He remained silent for a moment, before suddenly grabbing his chest as large drops of sweat poured from his head like he was in a great deal of pain. He struggled to shout out: “No, don’t go there. Don’t go there. There is danger ahead. ”
Everyone who had shut their eyes to sleep immediately awakened and became alert. Bai Jing frowned as he looked at the time. He knew that there was a small county ahead, but as long as they passed through it before the clock hit midnight then there wouldn’t be a problem. They could then get onto the national highway via a neighboring county. From there, if they encountered no problems on the road, then they would reach D city by 03:00 Am.
Liu Hua suddenly pulled the emergency brakes. No one had time to react before they saw several huge mutant dogs rushing over and throwing themselves at the sides of the car, their large bloody mouths wide open looking like sacrificial bowls. Not only that, one of the dogs had a raging fire coming out of its mouth.
“Daddy,” Li Meng who was the youngest amongst them hid his trembling body in Li Yi’s arms.
“Don’t be afraid, ok, daddy will protect you.” Li Yi gently patted his son’s back, not sure whether he was trying to comfort his son or himself. Such large dogs, up until now, this was the first time he had seen such a thing. Worse still, unlike a zombie’s usual stiffness, these big dogs seem to be more flexible, agile, and even more ferocious.
Everyone in the car acted at the same time, quickly shooting at the dogs with their guns. Although the mutant dogs were powerful, they couldn’t withstand the barrage of bullets shot at them and were quickly killed. Liu Hua hadn’t been attentive enough and so he had been accidentally scratched, his face instantly turning deathly pale.
Bai Jing gave him a quick glance then casually said: “The mutant dog is not a zombie. You don’t have to cry, you won’t get infected, but you might not be so lucky next time.”
Everyone was on edge, and as for Liu Hua, he suddenly felt a mixture of sadness and joy. He couldn’t decide what he was actually feeling in his heart, but he knew that this time he had been careless or else he wouldn’t have been injured so easily.
“Many thanks, young master Jing. I’ll be more careful in the future.”
Bai Jing only nodded his head in response. He was starting to slightly approve of these people. They could listen to advise and knew how to be respectful. If any of them was still confused, he’d rather Xiao Sa not keep them as subordinates. Then he randomly pointed to a person and said: “Go break open their heads then take out and bring back the contents. Hurry up!”
Liu Wei pointed his finger at his nose: “Me…”
Bai Jing raised his eyebrows and said: “if not you then who? Hurry up! There is no time to waste.”
Liu Wei looked disgusted by the task ahead. Young master Jing was always an impeccably clean person, yet he suddenly wanted him to rummage through the brains of a dead dog. However, no matter what his thoughts were, he still acted quickly. He knew that since time was of the essence, young master Jing wouldn’t order him to do useless things without a good reason.
From the seven mutant dogs, Liu Wei dug out three crystal nuclei. He quickly returned to the car and Xiao Sa motioned for Liu Hua to drive, then picked up the walkie-talkie and said: “Everyone remain vigilant, close the windows properly and increase the speed of driving. We must reach the highway before the clock strikes midnight.”
Liu Wei wiped clean the crystal nuclei then handed them to Bai Jing. The other people in the car also looked at them curiously.
Bai Jing threw one to Xiao Sa: “Try and see if you can absorb some energy from it.”
A light flashed in Xiao Sa’s eyes. He remembered Bai Jing’s words, and asked, “If a mutant animal, just like any other person with abilities, is simply an animal with special abilities, which results in them having a crystal nucleus in their heads. What about zombies?”
Bai Jing lips curved up into a small smile as he admired Xiao Sa’s nimble brain. Seeing that everyone was eagerly listening in, he said: “Currently zombies don’t have nuclei, also in the case of the mutant animals, just look at the odds from those dogs. However, after they advance in rank, crystal-like objects will develop in their brains. The grade is based on its color. This kind of transparent crystal nucleus has the lowest grade. Except for Yu Yue, there are just enough nuclei for the three people with abilities in this car.”
“What about you?” Xiao Sa immediately asked.
Bai Jing smiled faintly and said: “I don’t matter. You fighters must naturally be in the best shape. Also, there might be a fierce battle tonight, during which your spiritual power will be depleted. By using this, you can improve your performance.”
Xiao Sa nodded and said nothing, while the other people in the car started to feel sincere admiration towards Bai Jing.
After a mere ten minutes, they once again met with a few mutant animals. The closer they got to the county the fewer the mutant animals, which made them even more vigilant.
“Ahhhhhhhhhh!” Blood-curdling screams pierced through the silence, the dark night making them seem even more terrifying.
Bai Jing frowned and looked at the time, it was eleven twenty.
They hadn’t even reached the county, yet they could all clearly hear the terrifying screams, growls of animals and cries for help.
Yu Yue face was pale as he tightly closed his eyes and murmured: “Animal, animals, many animals are eating people, and, ah! ….. The man threw his son at them, how evil… ”
Yu Yue’s mouth bent in disgust. He suddenly opened his eyes and then the window before vomiting.
Bai Jing looked at him coldly and fiercely reprimanded: “If at this point you are already like this, then I’ll get rid of you at the first possible opportunity. Close the window.”
“I won’t need it in the future. I will adapt quickly.” Yu Yue’s declaration seemed to improve his mental state, even though the lingering trepidation could still be seen on his face. No longer was there that hippie smile from his past, instead, his lips were tightly pursed together as his body kept shaking.
Everyone else in the car remained silent. Although Yu Yue had only said a few words, the scene was not difficult to imagine.
“Speed up.” Xiao Sa said indifferently.
As soon as he finished saying these words, he saw a woman with disheveled hair rush towards the front of the car, in her arms she was carrying a three-year-old child. She yelled at the car’s lights: “Stop, stop and save my son.”
“Drive faster, there’s a zombie dog chasing after her.” Yu Yue had quickly recovered his composure and found his voice was incredibly calm.
The car was filled with silence. When faced with the prospect of death, no one had any objections over not rescuing people. The number of people hysterically screaming for help by the roadside grew the further into the county they went. There were also more vehicles speeding by.
All sorts of sounds entered Bai Jing’s ears leaving him speechless. He hadn’t expected that the first thing to happen was that people would be killed by zombie animals, instead of them first turning in zombies. This life was really different from his past life.
Since there was no safe place to temporarily hide in, several cars violently pushed through, shoving and crashing into anybody and anything in their way. All those who observed this disastrous situation also rushed to leave the county.
When they reached the highway checkpoint, there was no one there to collect the fee for using the road. Therefore, Xiao Sa didn’t hesitate for second before ordering: “Go!”
Just after passing the highway checkpoint, he heard a scream coming from behind. Looking back he saw a car swerve left then right before crashing into a fence with a loud “bang!” The relatives and friends who had previously sat in the same car now had a blank look on their face and used their bloody mouths to attack the people around them.
Bai Jing looked at the time, it was exactly midnight. Then another car also stopped and someone screamed before people covered in blood ran out of it. Of course, Bai Jing remained calm through all this.
The bit of highway road immediately ahead of them was in chaos, so they had to take another route.
As for those who called for help, by now it was too late to escape. Anyway, at this moment, who could be responsible for another person’s life or death?
When the disturbing noises could no longer be heard, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Bai Jing indifferently looked forward and said: “We haven’t reached D City yet, so we still have a difficult battle ahead of us.” They had to take advantage of the little time they had now. If they had been late to reach the highway by even a moment, they would have been prevented from going any further……