Chapter 163: Chapter 163: The Citizens’ Great Escape
Song You’ai’s fiery temper was about to erupt on the spot.
Just then, Uncle Ge Liang ran over wielding two axes and slammed them onto the roof of a nearby abandoned car with a loud CRASH.
The car’s roof caved in significantly from the force of his axes, leaving the onlookers completely dumbfounded.
"Are you going to register or not? Get inspected or not? Don’t waste everyone else’s precious time!"
At his roar, the crowd, which had still been clamoring, resentfully fell into line to register.
The way Uncle Ge Liang looked, it was as if he would kill anyone who didn’t register for the inspection. And if it came to that, it was debatable whether the military could even restrain this Power Ability User!
Song You’ai was both amused and exasperated. She turned to chat with Gu Chen about her own parents’ situation, her heart set on getting back to them.
As Gu Chen chatted with Song You’ai, he kept glancing at the absent-minded Xie Ning beside them.
The young woman had seemed out of it for a while, her mind restless and preoccupied with some unknown thought.
"Ningning." Song You’ai had also noticed something was off with her daughter and gave her a gentle tug. "Are you tired? Do you want to get some sleep?"
They had been running around since three in the morning, after all!
It was only natural for her daughter to be sleepy.
Song You’ai reached out and stroked her head. "Go on inside and get some sleep."
Gu Chen nodded and smiled at her. "I’ll drive in a bit."
Xie Ning did feel exhausted. The recent drain on her superpower had been immense.
So she didn’t refuse their kindness. She lay down fully clothed on the small bed in the back of the RV, intending to take a short nap.
But the moment she closed her eyes, her spirit world flickered with light and shadow. Scene after scene, like an old black-and-white movie, kept flashing before her.
Xie Ning saw images of the West City Center area.
The once-bustling streets were now swarming with zombies.
Malls, hospitals, and schools—places that used to be packed with people—were now filled, floor after floor, with rotting corpses.
Some survivors hid in their homes, curtains drawn, not daring to make a sound. Others, unable to bear the strain, simply leaped from high-rise buildings.
Today was the fourteenth day of the apocalypse.
After two weeks of this ordeal, families that had once had food and water were now likely running out.
Many people were risking everything to venture out, trying to carve a path to survival.
From the second basement level of a supermarket parking garage in the city center, a convoy of over a hundred vehicles carrying more than a thousand fully armed survivors burst out.
A public bus brought up the rear.
The WHOOSH of the wind blowing past the windows seemed to carry a million hopes as it swept over each of their tense faces.
Xie Ning saw the rooftop of the West City Daily building. A zombie in a suit, a small ponytail tied at the back of its head, suddenly let out a piercing howl.
Instantly, the glass on all the surrounding buildings began to CRACKLE and fracture. Then, with a deafening BANG, it completely shattered into powder.
The zombie’s reflection filled Xie Ning’s eyes. The last thing she saw was its crimson-red eyes.
She bolted upright on the small bed in the RV, her vision swimming with dizziness.
A clamor from outside the RV, accompanied by the THUMP-THUMP of someone kicking the door, made her anger flare.
"Why should we have to squeeze onto the big bus? It’s already overloaded! What if there’s another accident?"
"Move! My family saw this RV first! We get to board first."
The shouting was punctuated by a few WOOFs, which only led to more indignant cursing.
"Get lost! And keep your damn dog away from me, it’s filthy!"
"Folks, this is a private vehicle. You need the owner’s permission to get on, don’t you?"
"How is this any different from outright robbery?"
Zhong Shichong got out of his car, lit a cigarette, and watched the crowd of morons cursing and swarming the RV. He raised an eyebrow. "Just watch. The moment that damn girl comes out, she’s going to lose it."
"Why won’t she agree? Aren’t you people supposed to be coordinating this?"
"Yeah, just make the arrangements!"
"What’s everyone crowding around for?" Gu Chen hadn’t expected that in the short time it took to speak with Lu Wei, the RV would be completely mobbed.
Utterly annoyed, Song You’ai shoved the woman holding the curly-haired dog aside. "Stop blocking the path. Move."
"Sir, they..." the young soldier began, his voice full of grievance.
Just then, with a WHOOSH, the rear door of the RV was yanked open. A young woman with a cold expression leaped nimbly to the ground and shut the door before anyone could push forward.
"Hey! How can you be so heartless?"
the dog-holding woman shrieked.
Without a word, Xie Ning drew Heavenly Blade from her back. With a loud CLANG, she struck the ground at the woman’s feet, carving a shallow fissure in the pavement.
Everyone scrambled back, snatching their feet away, their faces turning pale.
"You want to get on the RV? Fine. Let’s see which is harder—your head, or my blade!"
The moment she finished speaking, the entire area fell deathly silent.
The men and women who had been clamoring around the RV all scrambled back a good dozen steps.
Zhai Ruobai couldn’t hold it in any longer and turned his head, letting out a low chuckle.
Nearby, a group of onlookers from Songjiage Village also began to chuckle under their breath.
’Of all the people to provoke, they just had to pick the hothead from Number 85!’
’They had been taught a lesson or two by Number 85 themselves back in the day; now they all knew better.’
"See?" Zhong Shichong flicked his ash and snorted. "She’s not a nice person."
Xu Bailiang shot him a helpless glance. "To be fair, those people aren’t exactly saints either. If Miss Xie weren’t so formidable, they would have stolen the RV by now."
"Whatever. With Gu backing her, no one would dare try to rob her anyway."
"Ningning, your face is so pale. Are you feeling unwell?"
Xie Ning shook her head at her worried mother, then turned to Gu Chen. "We need to go. Now. A lot of people will be pouring out of West City Center toward us, and they’ll probably bring a huge horde of zombies with them."
"Your Spiritual Sense picked it up?" Gu Chen took a step forward and pressed a still-warm bottle of fresh milk into her hand.
"Get in the car." Gu Chen gave her a wink. "Drink up. It expires today!"
Xie Ning pulled her mom into the RV and watched Gu Chen hurry over to speak with Zhao Jianjun and a few others.
He returned a moment later, and the convoy began to move out.
Lu Wei and Zhai Ruobai led the way in a Land Rover. A few burly soldiers were crammed in with them, and after getting in, they sat as still as statues, completely frozen in place.
Zhai Ruobai glanced back at them and had to suppress a laugh.
’He wasn’t *that* scary, was he? Were they really dominated by fear of his brother’s oppressive aura?’
’His brother wasn’t even in the car. Was there really a need to be this panicked...’
The twenty-odd survivors who had been demanding to board the RV were split up and shoved onto four large buses. They spent the entire ride cursing and grumbling, deeply resentful.
The dog-holding woman was particularly reviled. No one wanted her dog on the bus, so in the end, they had no choice but to put the dog on one of the soldiers’ military trucks.
The dog-holding woman was furious. "The likes of you lived worse than my Dou-dou before the apocalypse."
"If my husband’s car hadn’t broken down, do you think we’d be caught dead squeezing onto a bus with you country bumpkins?"
"Who the hell are you calling a country bumpkin? Watch your damn mouth!"
"What’s wrong with being from the country? Without us country folks farming the land, you’d be eating dirt!"
