Ruan Ning was awakened by hurried footsteps.
She had struggled to fall asleep until around midnight, curling up to sleep on the side. However, the quality of her sleep was poor; she tossed and turned throughout the night, so she didn’t feel refreshed at all.
Rubbing her sleepy eyes, Ruan Ning glanced at her watch. It was only half past five.
Didn’t they agree to leave at seven yesterday?
After a brief conversation with the team member who was on night duty, Ruan Ning could see clearly that Xue Chen’s face suddenly turned serious.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly had a bad feeling.
Could it be…
After a moment of contemplation, Xue Chen spoke loudly to everyone, “Everyone, pack up your things and get ready to leave. This place is not safe for long stays. We need to leave here early. Xiao Xie saw a group of zombies heading towards the gas station. We estimate there are at least twenty or thirty of them.”
The gas station was located off a small road from the main road, a bit out of the way, but there were relatively fewer zombies around. That was one of the reasons why they chose to stay there overnight yesterday.
Ruan Ning knew that in the novel, zombies would become more powerful on this day, but she had forgotten that evolved zombies would become more sensitive to human presence. With over a dozen people crowded into the small gas station, attracting zombies was inevitable.
She understood the severity of the situation more than anyone else. Watching everyone hurriedly pack up their belongings, as well as the prepared members of the team, she didn’t waste any more time. After grabbing the blanket covering her, she quickly got into the car with everyone else.
However, not everyone moved as swiftly.
The situation had escalated suddenly. If they drove too many cars, it would attract unwanted attention.
Xue Chen decided to arrange the six original occupants of the gas station in the car that was originally used to transport the team member who was injured by zombies. Now that he was fine and could re-join the team, they no longer needed that car.
This car was smaller than the one they were sitting in, barely accommodating six people, even without too much luggage.
Everyone was gradually realizing the importance of food. Among the six people, a couple insisted on taking their own car to carry more supplies, leading to an argument with another man who tried to dissuade them.
In the end, Xue Chen couldn’t stand it anymore. He sternly stated that anyone who didn’t follow the arrangement wouldn’t be taken along. The couple reluctantly returned to the car in shame.
“Captain, it’s too late to leave. The group of zombies has already blocked the way out. Our cars can’t get through unless we abandon them and walk, or clear a path to leave from here,” someone reported urgently.
“We can’t abandon the cars!” Xue Chen said decisively.
Aside from the supplies in the car, it wasn’t easy to find a suitable means of transportation again amidst the chaotic streets. They couldn’t possibly walk such a long distance on foot. While a few of them could manage running several kilometres at once, what about the others?
Upon hearing that they needed to get out of the cars and kill the zombies, the three men in the other car hesitated. For a moment, none of them got out.
But they didn’t have time to hesitate because at that moment, the zombies had reached the entrance of the gas station and were now in front of their car.
There were too many zombies approaching. If they didn’t deal with some of them, they wouldn’t be able to leave this place today.
This was Ruan Ning’s first time observing zombies at such close range. Through the car window, she could see their stiff, purplish faces with protruding eye sockets.
One female zombie was being pushed against the window by the others, and her eyes met Ruan Ning’s.
Ruan Ning instinctively recoiled, her hand holding the gun trembling.
She didn’t need to deal with the zombies in her current position; the other members of the team were protecting her well, ensuring that the zombies couldn’t get close to her. But Ruan Ning couldn’t help but feel afraid. Holding the gun was the only thing that gave her a little sense of security.
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