Chapter 158: Chapter 158: Midnight Escape
The mother-daughter pair rushed down from the stairwell, tossed their backpacks onto the seats, and jumped into the driver’s and passenger’s seats.
The vehicle’s headlights flared to life, slashing a wide beam through the darkness.
In the silence of the early morning, the roar of the engine immediately alerted Li Dawei and the others in the building across the way.
Xie Ning deliberately flashed her high beams and honked the horn as a warning. Soon after, a faint light appeared in a window of Uncle Ge Liang’s house in nearby Building 79.
"Mom, buckle up. We’re leaving."
’I’m a selfish person,’ she thought. ’This is the only warning I can give. As for whether they can escape this disaster, that’s up to their own fate. Life and death are anyone’s guess.’
At the same time, Li Dawei pulled Zhao Yingying to her feet as they frantically put on their shoes and grabbed their bags.
Li Xiang kicked the door open and rushed in. "Bro, Xie Ning and her mother are gone! Something’s definitely wrong. We have to go now! Let’s head to Number 59 and warn Bai Liang and the others."
"Right, right, Miss Zhong and her group definitely don’t know what’s happening yet."
"So we’re not waiting for the rescue team?" Zhao Yingying asked, completely panicked.
Li Dawei cursed, "Wait my ass! They were supposed to be here the day before yesterday, and there’s still no sign of them. The rescue team must have run into trouble, too."
Three minutes later, survivors throughout the entire Song Family Pavilion residential area began to stir in a panic.
At 3:10 AM, just as Xie Ning drove up to the west gate, the door of the nearest villa burst open and a woman rushed out, inexplicably wearing a thick, padded winter coat in the thirty-six-degree weather.
"Take me with you! Take me with you! Take me along!" The woman threw herself against the side of the RV, her contorted face pressing against the window as she hammered on the door.
Wu Qiuyun lived in the building closest to the west gate. For the past few days, she had been constantly monitoring the comings and goings outside.
Though she hadn’t gone out herself, she always noticed the young woman, Xie Ning, who first came and went in a small Jinbei van before later switching to an RV.
Moreover, whenever people entered or left the complex, the others always looked battered and their vehicles were damaged, but this young woman was always completely unscathed.
Wu Qiuyun was a very superstitious person. In her mind, the young woman must be blessed with immense luck, and following her out of the complex would guarantee her safety.
When the military had evacuated earlier, she hadn’t managed to finish packing her things in time.
Having spent the last few days finishing her packing, she had been watching the young woman around the clock.
Song You’ai, not expecting someone to suddenly rush out from the villa, instinctively shrank to her left.
Her gaze swept past the woman to the seven or eight large suitcases and duffel bags behind her, and she was left speechless.
Wu Qiuyun yanked at the door handle, screaming, "Wait for me! I still have a few bags upstairs! Wait for me!"
"Lady, are you moving house or something?!" Song You’ai shouted at the woman through the door.
Of course, her voice was completely muffled by the door.
Wu Qiuyun couldn’t make out what Song You’ai was yelling and just kept hammering on the RV’s door. "Wait for me! Wait, wait for me!"
Xie Ning slammed on the brakes. The RV jolted to a stop, sending the woman stumbling back and falling to the ground.
A second later, the RV shot forward, leaving the woman behind as it sped off.
Wu Qiuyun ran a few steps after the RV, stomping her feet in fury. "Hey! Hey, you! Wait for me! Hey!"
Glancing back at the pile of suitcases and bags on the ground, Wu Qiuyun fumed and hurried to pull her powder-pink compact car up to the villa entrance.
After she threw her seven or eight suitcases and bags into the small car, it was stuffed so full that not another thing could fit inside.
Wu Qiuyun stomped her foot in frustration, thinking about the rest of her luggage still upstairs.
’That mother and daughter are monsters,’ she fumed. ’We’re neighbors, and they wouldn’t even lift a finger to help.’
’I just saw it myself. There are only two of them in that RV. The back is empty! There’s plenty of room for my things.’
Outside the walls of the Song Family Pavilion residential area, the roars of zombies rose and fell, the sounds clearly growing closer.
Just then, at the north gate of the Song Family Pavilion, a dozen zombies burst through the iron gate.
Terrified screams erupted from within the residential area.
Wearing a helmet and fully geared up, Uncle Ge Liang gunned his motorcycle, his daughter riding behind him, and charged toward the west gate.
Following behind were several young men, riding two or three to an electric scooter, but they were far too slow to keep up with Uncle Ge Liang’s motorcycle.
Having gotten the word, Zhong Shichong, Xu Bailiang, and their group hastily grabbed their backpacks and rushed downstairs.
Chen Man’er was still gathering her toner, powder puff, and eyeshadow when Mr. Wang slapped her across the face. "What are you dawdling for? Let’s move!"
「3:20 AM」
The entire Song Family Pavilion residential area descended into chaos. Those with cars scrambled into them; those without could only flee on foot.
The horde of zombies pouring in from the north gate grew larger by the second. In the pitch-dark, they tackled anyone they could find, pinning them to the ground and tearing them to pieces.
Zhong Shichong’s palms were slick with sweat as he drove, suddenly swerving and ramming a small electric scooter beside him.
The father and son on the scooter were thrown to the ground, screaming in agony.
Their screams drew more and more zombies, which swarmed their position. The voices of the father and son were quickly silenced beneath the sea of bodies.
Zhong Shichong slammed his foot on the gas, his car lurching as it rolled over several bodies, and sped toward the west gate.
Mrs. He clutched her son’s hand, wailing, "Da Yong, what are we going to do now?"
"Get in the car! Get in! Get in!" He Dayong yelled, ushering his family out of Number 53. He had two large sacks slung over his shoulder and his son cradled in his arms.
The moment the car was unlocked, He Shufen, holding Ren Dabao, jumped in first.
As she turned her head, she saw a zombie lunging at her sister-in-law from behind.
He Shufen’s eyes widened in terror. Her hand trembled as she quickly slammed the car door shut.
The zombie tackled He Dayong’s wife to the ground, its sharp teeth instantly sinking into her neck.
"Mama!" cried He Xiaobao from his father’s arms.
Mrs. He, trembling all over, shrieked, "Da Yong, drive! Drive! Drive!"
SCREECH! The small car’s wheels spun furiously, one side caught in the mud of a flowerbed as the driver desperately tried to accelerate.
The zombie chewing on He Dayong’s wife heard the engine and turned its head. Its grey-white eyes fixed on the fresh meat inside the car, glowing with a greedy light.
Terrified, Mrs. He wet her pants. She watched as the zombie suddenly leaped up, its hand about to smash into her window.
The wheels, stuck in the mud, finally found purchase. With a lurch, the car broke free from the flowerbed and shot forward, bumping and bouncing.
The zombie’s claw swiped at empty air. HOWLING, it chased after the swerving, battered little car.
Xie Ning was the first to make it out of the residential area’s west gate, but she quickly realized something was wrong.
Zombies were pouring out of the alley ahead in small groups, coming in waves accompanied by a chorus of roars.
Xie Ning unleashed a row of sharp metal spikes to block dozens of zombies charging from the left.
Each zombie was pierced through the brain and killed, but the effort took a massive toll on Xie Ning’s energy.
’Placing metal spikes on the ground wouldn’t be very effective against the zombies,’ she considered.
’They don’t feel pain, so spikes in their feet would be useless. And if I just scattered spikes everywhere, I’d end up taking out all the neighbors from the Song Family Pavilion who are trying to escape behind me.’
