Chapter 156: Chapter 156: Far from Optimistic
The group got into the car in silence.
Zheng Heng glanced at the fuel gauge—nothing was out of the ordinary. He took a deep breath and started to reverse.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of several zombies running from the side of the greenbelt in the rearview mirror. A chill went down his spine.
Zha Peng, in the passenger seat, turned his head to look. "Zheng Heng, they’re really coming!"
"Hurry up and go, Brother." Zheng Feina twisted around. Through the rear window, she saw more and more zombies running toward them, and her heart instantly filled with panic.
"Aren’t we taking the plump old lady downstairs and her family with us?" Zhuang Xinyi asked, wiping the corners of her tear-reddened eyes.
She had been the kindest person to them in the entire apartment building.
"We can’t," Zheng Heng said, stepping on the gas and starting the car.
Zhao Yanran came stumbling out of the apartment building, shouting, "You robbers, I hope you die a horrible death!" Then she turned her head and saw dozens, maybe even more, zombies heading toward their building.
Zhao Yanran screamed and lunged for the car’s door handle.
With a cold expression, Zheng Heng was just about to lock the doors when Zhuang Xinyi quickly pushed her door open and waved to Zhao Yanran. "Quick, get in!"
Zhao Yanran scrambled into the car, and with her came a thick, cloying wave of cheap perfume that filled the small space.
"Ugh." Zheng Feina was utterly speechless with Zhuang Xinyi.
’When will she stop? How can Zhuang Xinyi keep playing the part of a Holy Mother at a time like this?’
The back seat was already crammed with four girls. Now, with Zhao Yanran added to the mix, they were packed in like sardines, no matter how slim they were.
Zha Peng roared, "Close the door!"
Zhao Yanran quickly shrank back and, smartly enough, reached out and slammed the door shut.
At the same time, the car made a small turn along the greenbelt, its front and rear wheels scraping against the flower bed as it drove past, leaving the roars of the zombies behind.
"Zhao Yanran, stop shoving! Can’t you see you’re practically crushing He Zhi?!" Zheng Feina snapped irritably.
"You think I want to be squeezed in here? If you robbers hadn’t suddenly broken into my apartment and cleaned out all my supplies, would I have followed you down here?"
"If you hadn’t come down, you’d be dead in your apartment, waiting to become zombie food."
Zhao Yanran seemed to realize this too and shuddered.
The five girls could only sit staggered, one in front of the other, so cramped that there was nowhere to put their legs. It was extremely uncomfortable.
"Where are we going?" Zhao Yanran asked, breaking the car’s silence.
Zha Peng, who was fiddling with the radio, scoffed with a grim face. "Where we’re going is none of your business. I’ll have you get out up ahead."
Zhao Yanran’s eyes widened and she shrieked, "You’re telling me to get out? No way! You stole all my supplies. If you just drop me off anywhere now, how is that any different from murder?"
Zhuang Xinyi wiped her tears. "Yeah, that’s not right."
Zheng Feina rolled her eyes so hard they nearly disappeared into her head.
"Back when the internet was still working, I checked an electronic map. The Song Family Pavilion is very close to our apartment, about a ten-minute drive."
"The Song Family Pavilion?" He Zhi murmured. "That name sounds so familiar."
She suddenly sat up straight. "I remember now! Isn’t that where Xie Ning’s maternal grandmother lives? I remember she always goes back to her grandmother’s house for winter and summer breaks."
"We’re going to find Xie Ning?"
"What are we going to find her for?" Zheng Feina snorted. "That girl is a total lazy bum. She’s also a clean freak and super picky. In the apocalypse, she probably wouldn’t even last three days."
He Zhi was a little indignant. "That’s not true. She... she’s actually pretty capable."
"Besides, the Song Family Pavilion is huge. How are we supposed to find her house just like that? And even if we do, with her lazy-bum personality, do you think she’d take us in?"
"Why do you keep calling her a lazy bum?"
"Isn’t she?" When it came to Xie Ning, Zheng Feina felt a bellyful of resentment. "She skipped two grades just because she’s smart."
"While we were pulling all-nighters studying, she was watching artsy romance films. While we were cramming foreign languages, she was bawling her eyes out over some trashy soap-opera novel! The key thing is, her grades on every monthly test and major exam were still better than ours. She never did anything productive in the dorm all day long!"
He Zhi: ...
"Feina, I think you’re just jealous that she’s smart and can study so effortlessly." Zha Peng found himself inexplicably amused. ’The animosity between girls is so ridiculous.’
"Pah! I’m the great Miss of the Zheng Family. Why would I be jealous of some country bumpkin?"
"Don’t talk about classmate Xie Ning like that." He Zhi tugged on her sleeve. "Her family lives right in the West City District. I heard their financial situation is pretty good."
"Hmph."
KSHHH... KSHHH... Just then, a crackling sound came from the car radio.
A moment later, a female announcer’s clear, articulate voice came through, reaching everyone’s ears.
"Dear survivor friends, it has been a long and difficult journey for you all. This is the Lanshan Lake Survivor Base. The Lanshan Lake Survivor Base."
Hearing the voice, everyone in the car felt a jolt of renewed hope.
"Due to a mysterious virus sweeping the globe, the human body will undergo a polarization after developing a fever..."
The RV heavily rumbled over a potholed puddle, and the west gate of the Song Family Pavilion was already visible in the distance.
The female announcer’s voice continued from the radio.
"We have temporarily designated this virus as the Zombie Virus. All individuals who mutate into zombies will experience accelerated physical decay within one hour. These walking corpses will attack humans. Their claws and teeth are extremely sharp."
"We advise everyone, if conditions permit, to put on protective gear and wear a helmet. Do not expose your skin before engaging zombies in combat."
"Please trust the government, trust the country. We are already accelerating our efforts to search for and relocate survivors."
"We advise any survivor friends with access to a vehicle to make your way to the Lanshan Lake Survivor Base as soon as possible. The gates of the base will always be open for you."
"For those without a car at home or with mobility issues, please do not panic. Do your best to block all doors and windows in your home and wait for rescue. Wait for rescue."
"We will not abandon a single one of you! All of humanity is now facing this great catastrophe. The people of Jiuzhou will uphold our time-honored tradition, uniting with unwavering resolve to fight this virus as one. We will always be behind you."
Comrade Song You’ai was filled with fervor listening to the broadcast. Wiping away tears of excitement, she said to her daughter, "Everyone’s going to be saved! Everyone will definitely be saved!"
She turned her head, only to see her daughter’s expressionless face. Instantly, it felt like a basin of cold water had been dumped over her...
In the past, whenever her daughter heard such inspiring words, she would have cried even harder than her mother, probably going through a hundred or two hundred tissues.
’Why is she showing no emotional reaction at all now??’
Xie Ning drove the vehicle to the west gate and saw several small electric scooters coming up the dirt road beside them.
"Mom, don’t be too optimistic." That was all Xie Ning said before driving the vehicle into the Song Family Pavilion villa area.
Right after, two disheveled men on electric scooters rushed in, heading straight for Uncle Ge Liang’s house at Number 79. "Uncle! Uncle, it’s bad! Your nephew and his friends got beaten up, and their car was stolen!"
Xie Ning glanced at the men shouting at Uncle Ge Liang’s gate and drove straight back to her own home.
