Gu Changzhou and his subordinates were discovered the next morning after being held captive. They were rescued and brought back to the base. The first thing Gu Changzhou did was to have someone check the location to capture those two people.
The plane parked at the entrance was missing; they must have taken it. The plane had a tracking system, so even if they escaped to the ends of the earth, they could still be found.
However, after the operator worked busy for a long time, he shook his head at Gu Changzhou.
Gu Changzhou stared at the screen, his brows furrowed.
Did Lu Qiming damage the tracking system? With zombies everywhere outside, where were they planning to go?
While he was still trying to figure out how to catch them, a call suddenly came from the laboratory, asking him to come over immediately.
Gu Changzhou rushed to the laboratory and met with his old friend, Professor Chen Hong, a virus research expert.
As soon as Professor Chen saw him, he grabbed his hand and asked, “Where is the original sample you brought back last time?”
Lu Qiming’s face appeared in his mind, and he shook his head, “I don’t know. What’s wrong?”
“He has the original strain we’ve been searching for so desperately in his skin tissue! He is the patient zero we’ve been looking for! With him, our vaccine research will make a significant breakthrough! Find him quickly!”
After nearly a year of research, the base had gained a rough understanding of the zombie virus. The virus was named “cci” by the International Virus Classification Committee and was a new type of virus that mainly spread through blood, body fluids, respiratory droplets, and skin contact, which could cause varying degrees of infection.
Cci first appeared three years ago, causing a massive outbreak in newborns from different countries. The infected patients’ skin would rot, nose and mouth would bleed, and their brains would be damaged, resulting in an extremely high fatality rate. Even if they miraculously survived, they couldn’t grow up like normal people.
At that time, the virus was mixed with other viruses, which misled the researchers into thinking they had cured the infectious disease.
It was only nearly a year ago, during the zombie outbreak, that experts resumed their investigation and found that cci had already spread to nearly 60% of the global population through a special means.
It was mixed into various types of vaccines. When the virus entered the human body, it would not cause immediate symptoms. Instead, it would enhance the body’s immunity, promote wound healing, and increase cell vitality over a period of time.
As a result, the virus had been widely spreading globally for several years without being detected.
During this period, the virus underwent several mutations in the human body and finally manifested its symptoms, turning living people into highly aggressive zombies, displaying terrible infectivity that was difficult to control.
After a year of countless investigations, deductions, and discussions, the experts finally determined the source of the virus – a secret organization called the “Harmony Society.”
The members of this organization were social elites with a membership requirement of personal wealth of at least five million US dollars and recommendations from five or more members.
They were professionals in various fields such as law, medicine, and finance, so they were few in number but held considerable power.
The Harmony Society aimed to reduce the human population and establish a society with abundant resources, clear hierarchical levels, and concentrated wealth. Over the past century, they had implemented numerous plans, all of which had failed.
Cci was their only successful attempt, and it completely changed the world. However, the virus’s power far exceeded their expectations, leading to the disbandment of the organization after the zombie outbreak, with most of its members dead and the survivors left to deal with the mess they had created.
The Harmony Society did not have the ability to independently develop the virus. After extensive investigation, it was discovered that they had hired a group of people over twenty years ago to steal experimental results from a medical university that had not yet been published.
After the university reported the theft, the police conducted a global investigation for many years but found no results and could only drop the case.
However, the virus did not stop evolving. As humans turned into zombies, the virus continued to mutate inside their bodies, far surpassing the progress of vaccine research, which delayed the plan to return to the city.
But if they could find the original strain, it would be a tremendous help for the research and could potentially lead to a breakthrough.
Thus, they had to find that person!
Gu Changzhou realized at this moment how foolish it was to let Lu Qiming go.
He didn’t waste time on regrets but immediately organized a team to conduct a comprehensive search, determined to find those two individuals.
The sky was a deep blue, with a faint hint of fish-belly white in the distance.
Jiang Miaomiao sat in the co-pilot seat, wearing a helmet. Although Lu Qiming had already taught her the functions of each button, she still felt uncertain.
“Aren’t we flying too low?”
In the past, when she traveled by plane, they were always above the clouds, but now they were clearly below them.
Lu Qiming looked relaxed, as if riding a small motorcycle on a wide road.
“Not too low.”
“Really? Are you sure?”
“Don’t worry, I promise you’ll land safely.”
He had yet to break any promises, so Jiang Miaomiao’s heart settled a bit. She earnestly looked at the control panel and began to imagine their future life.
They had almost everything they needed now.
Food – Lu Qiming brought all the military rations from the shelter, combined with the existing supplies on the plane, they had enough food for at least two or three months.
Weapons – there were more than ten firearms, ample ammunition, and even hand-to-hand weapons like flash grenades and high-explosive mines. The plane was also equipped with various advanced bombs, enough to deal with several waves of zombies.
The only thing to worry about was fuel.
Lu Qiming had checked, and the remaining fuel would last them at most for six hours of flight at their current speed, which would allow them to cross a continent.
What would they do when it ran out?
Land and look for fuel on the ground?
The plane used specialized aviation gasoline, where would they find it?
But if they landed and didn’t take off again, and settled somewhere, what if Gu Changzhou found them?
They were outnumbered, and they wouldn’t stand a chance in a confrontation.
Jiang Miaomiao was very concerned, but Lu Qiming was humming a tune contentedly.
After listening for a while, she also felt relieved.
Who cared about all that? Since they had escaped now, they should just live well.
If there really was no way out, at most, it would be death.
She was not afraid of death a long time ago.
As Jiang Miaomiao kept her attention on the control panel, she fiddled with the helmet. Somehow, a burst of music sounded in her ears.
She was stunned for a moment and then followed the melody, humming along.
Lu Qiming glanced at her and changed the tune, engaging in an off-key duet with her.
After flying for three hours, the effects of the sleeping pills wore off, and Jiang Rourou woke up.
It looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings, whimpering anxiously.
Jiang Miaomiao, who was cutting songs at that moment, heard the sound from behind and looked at Lu Qiming with a questioning gaze.
Lu Qiming nodded.
“Go take a look at it and get breakfast while you’re at it.”
They had set off in the early morning and hadn’t even had a sip of water, they were hungry.
Jiang Miaomiao took off her helmet, ran into the cabin, and picked up Jiang Rourou.
Both the person and the dog were covered in blood, and the pungent smell of blood surrounded the sensitive dog’s nose.
It couldn’t move its body, so it could only move its eyes, looking very pitiful.
Jiang Miaomiao comforted it with a smile.
“Oh, Rourou, you’ve done a great job this time. Here, have some water, and I’ll make you chicken fried rice to eat.”
She opened a water cup and fed it some water before putting it back on the ground to continue resting. Then she opened the box of food.
Inside were all military rations, convenient, tasty, and satisfying. She felt so content that she wanted to celebrate like a village girl who had just discovered a bountiful harvest.
What to eat today?
Every meal has been beef fried rice, and she’s tired of it. Let’s have fried noodles this time.
Jiang Miaomiao took out three portions of the main course and soaked them in water.
When she turned around, Jiang Rourou could already crawl on the ground.
She left a portion for it and brought the remaining two portions into the cockpit.
Lu Qiming activated the autopilot system, took off his helmet, and took the plates.
Jiang Miaomiao was very nervous, “Is it okay to eat like this? What if the plane crashes?”
They had finally escaped, and it would be too frustrating if they died in a plane crash.
Lu Qiming glanced at her, “Just eat, what are you worried about?”
“Are you sure nothing will happen?”
“Relax, I’ve flown more planes than you’ve ridden bicycles.”
Jiang Miaomiao half-believed him and sat back in her seat, starting to eat her noodles too.
The sky was fully lit up, a beautiful azure blue.
A large expanse of white clouds floated slowly from the distance, so close that they seemed within reach.
She had never seen such a scenery before and was so amazed that she forgot to eat, unwilling to blink her eyes.
Lu Qiming quickly finished his fried rice and his gaze fell on the fried noodles in her hands.
“Can you finish all of that?”
Jiang Miaomiao, “Haven’t you had enough?”
He said confidently, “Healing requires more nutrition.”
“Okay, you can have it.”
Jiang Miaomiao gave up her breakfast and leaned back in her chair, gazing out of the window.
Lu Qiming said, “Go get another portion.”
“No need, I’m not hungry.”
She overlooked the city below, thinking about the question that concerned her the most.
“Where are we flying to?”
Lu Qiming took a big bite of noodles and mumbled, “A safe place.”
“Are there still safe places now? Even if there are, they’ve probably been occupied by survivors.”
“The earth is so vast; there will always be a place for us.”
Lu Qiming swallowed the noodles and raised an eyebrow at her.
“With me here, what are you worried about?”
She chuckled and her eyes curved with delight.
“Such a narcissist,” Jiang Miaomiao teased.
Lu Qiming shrugged, finishing the noodles with gusto, finally filling his stomach, and continued piloting the plane.
They flew over one city after another, seeing mountains, fields, lakes, and vast oceans.
When the remaining fuel was about half an hour’s worth, Lu Qiming alerted Jiang Miaomiao.
“We’re about to land.”
“Really?” She perked up, feeling like she finally had a role to play. “What should I do?”
“Go take a shower.”
“A shower? Now?”
Lu Qiming explained, “There are still zombies in the city. If you go down like this, do you want to be torn apart?”
She suddenly realized and shuddered, quickly going to the cabin to find bottled water to clean herself and Jiang Rourou.
Before leaving, she forgot to take clothes, and her dirty clothes were covered in blood. The only thing she could wear was her underwear.
After searching for a while, Jiang Miaomiao found a large military green T-shirt. She loosely put it on and returned to the cockpit.
“All done? Look at this…”
Lu Qiming was about to teach her the buttons she needed to operate during landing, but when he turned around, he saw her frozen in place.
Her features were delicate, and her wet hair hung over her shoulders, with water droplets rolling down her collarbone onto her snow-white, straight legs.
She startled him, pointing ahead and saying, “Look at the road! Look at the road!”
Even if they weren’t worried about colliding with other planes, they couldn’t be so casual.
If they fell, they wouldn’t even find ashes.
Lu Qiming quickly averted his gaze and rubbed his nose.
“Why are you dressed like this?”
“Do you think I want to? I don’t have any clothes. If we land, I’ll have to find a supermarket first.”
She also needed to get some sanitary pads; she had relied on a night-use pad so far, and there was a constant risk of leakage.
“Oh, by the way, what did you want to show me?”
Lu Qiming focused his mind and concentrated on teaching her.
The operation was not too complicated, and she only needed to complete a few steps.
But there were too many buttons, densely packed, making her very nervous, fearing she might press the wrong ones.
After he finished teaching, Jiang Miaomiao stared at the control panel with complete concentration, silently reciting the steps in her mind.
With fuel running out, Lu Qiming gave the command.
“Press!”
She held her breath, displaying a level of focus she hadn’t even had during the college entrance exam, and completed her task in one go.
After about ten minutes, the plane landed steadily on an empty field.
They packed their belongings, opened the door, and first observed the surrounding environment.
It was a small prefecture-level city with a relatively small airport and only one terminal building, with signs in English outside.
The plane was probably used to transport survivors during the zombie outbreak, and now it was parked in the airport, empty except for their aircraft.
As far as the eye could see, there were no zombies for the time being.
Not far away, there was a white shuttle bus. Lu Qiming picked up the largest bags and slung the gun over his shoulder so that he could counter-attack within seconds if there was any danger.
“Let’s go, we’re getting off.”
Jiang Miaomiao nodded and picked up the remaining bags, following him outside.
Jiang Rourou had regained her strength, and with her half-dry dog fur, she trotted along behind them.
The two of them, along with the dog, transferred from the plane to the shuttle bus and headed outside the airport.
The bus was too slow, and its long body made it very clumsy to drive.
So after reaching the parking lot outside the airport, they switched to a dusty SUV and drove along the main road outside the airport.
On the way, they passed a small supermarket, and Lu Qiming parked the car outside, picking up his gun and asking, “What do you need?”
Jiang Miaomiao was surprised, “You’re going alone? Let’s go together.”
“I’ll be faster alone. You stay in the car and don’t move.”
She thought for a moment and agreed, “I need sanitary pads, underwear, and it would be best to find two pieces of clothing. As for other things… get some water.”
Lu Qiming nodded, opened the car door, and ran down. His footsteps were brisk, and in a matter of seconds, he was quite far away, indicating that his body was indeed fine.
Jiang Miaomiao sat in the passenger seat, holding the gun and aiming at his back.
If any zombies ambushed him, she could help out too.
“Woof, woof…”
The car compartment was sealed, and Jiang Rourou, sitting alone in the back row, felt anxious, scratching her shoulder with her paws.
“Hush, don’t make noise. We’ll have a new home soon.”
She comfortingly patted the dog’s head twice and continued to watch the supermarket entrance.
A few minutes later, the familiar figure appeared in her view, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
Jiang Miaomiao opened the car door to welcome him and waved at him.
But before her hand could come down, she caught sight of several figures jumping out from behind him from the nearby building, rushing towards his back.
She quickly picked up the gun, and just as she raised her head, she heard several bangs, and the zombies had already been shot in the head.
Two plastic bags were thrown in, and Lu Qiming got into the car, closing the door with heavy breathing.
“Check if anything is missing.”
Jiang Miaomiao looked through the bags, recalling his agility, and couldn’t help but marvel.
“Did you become so skilled because of the injections?”
You react so quickly and run so fast, it’s incredible.
Lu Qiming was drinking water and looked displeased.
“Nonsense, I was always skilled.”
“Were you this fast before you were captured for the experiments? I don’t believe it.”
“Of course, I was born running. When I came out of my mother’s womb, I ran out. If you don’t believe me, ask the nurse who was chasing after me at the time.”
“…You’re kidding!”
He playfully tapped her head.
“Have you seen enough? We need to leave now.”
The zombies would gather when they smelled the scent, and if their numbers were small, it wouldn’t be much of a problem. But if their numbers were large, it would be troublesome.
Even with his vast combat experience, he couldn’t fight against hundreds or thousands of enemies with just his fists.
Sanitary pads √
Underwear √
Water √
No clothes, it didn’t matter.
Jiang Miaomiao threw the bags to the backseat and pumped her small fist.
“Let’s go!”
The SUV drove on the road for several hours, leaving the city where they had landed, and arrived at the next small town.
The car ran out of fuel, but it didn’t matter as there were plenty of abandoned vehicles on the streets, providing them with readily available resources.
All they needed was a little time to find a functioning one from the numerous wrecks.
They changed to a new car and continued driving forward.
Occasionally, they encountered zombies, but they couldn’t keep up with their speed and were left far behind.
Lu Qiming drove for almost ten hours straight and still seemed energetic.
Jiang Miaomiao was afraid of getting into an accident and suggested, “Shouldn’t we take a rest?”
He refused, “No, the zombies will catch up, and by then, we might not be able to escape.”
“But you need to sleep. You’ve been driving for so long, aren’t you tired?”
He thought for a moment and looked at her.
“Do you want to try?”
“Me?” She pointed at herself, “I don’t know how to drive.”
“It’s very simple. Anyone with hands and feet can drive. There are no traffic lights now, no need to follow traffic rules, and no traffic police chasing you for fines. So, come on, don’t worry.”
Encouraged by him, she felt excited.
Lu Qiming stopped the car and exchanged seats with her, teaching her step by step.
“First, turn the key to start the engine. Then step on the clutch, release the handbrake… Step on the gas, that’s right, just like that. The rest is just turning the steering wheel.”
After he finished explaining, he adjusted the passenger seat flat and lay down to sleep.
Jiang Miaomiao was stiff all over, holding the steering wheel and shouting, “Hey hey! Don’t lie down! Look at me! Do I need to turn? Where are we going exactly?”
He covered his eyes with the back of his hand and leisurely said, “Just drive straight along this road until we reach where we should be.”
After saying this, he didn’t speak anymore, his breathing steady as if he had fallen asleep.
Jiang Miaomiao held the steering wheel with both hands but had no idea where to go, like a headless fly.
The road ahead seemed endless, and she tried her best to keep going straight, driving ahead.
Initially, she felt nervous, but after a while, she surprisingly found some enjoyment in it.
The road was straight, with vast fields on both sides, so she didn’t have to worry about hitting anything and could step on the gas pedal to the maximum.
The speed increased, and so did her adrenaline.
She imagined herself as a female street racing driver, driving her beloved car on the track, enjoying the thrill and pleasure of speed and excitement.
There’s a particularly cool move, what’s it called again?
Drifting? Yes, that’s it, drifting.
She should try it if she gets the chance.
Lu Qiming silently opened his eyes and looked at her excited expression. He couldn’t help but smile and went back to sleep.
A few hours later, they switched positions.
Lu Qiming drove while Jiang Miaomiao went to the backseat to change her sanitary pad and packed the day’s supplies in a plastic bag. When they passed a trash bin, she rolled down the window and threw it in.
They drove non-stop for almost a week, changing seven or eight cars in between and passing through three or four cities.
The current car was also running low on fuel.
Jiang Miaomiao was about to wake Lu Qiming up to prepare for another car switch, but she found that he was already awake, staring outside the window.
A red sun rose from the direction he was looking, and at the end of their view was sparkling water.
They had reached the seaside.
Ahead was a small port town, with many small boats docked by the pier.
There were hundreds of zombies in the town, wandering aimlessly. As soon as they heard the car’s sound, they became excited and started searching for their prey.
They parked the car beside a post office and turned off the engine.
Lu Qiming hid behind the window, gazing intently outside and murmuring.
“South, 30 degrees, 3 of them, east…”
Jiang Miaomiao was puzzled, “What are you counting? Is this our destination?”
With so many zombies, how could they live there?
Lu Qiming made a hushing gesture and continued counting. After finishing, he pondered for a few seconds and then rolled down the car window.
She was startled, “What are you doing?”
The zombies smelled the scent and quickly surrounded them.
Lu Qiming pulled the trigger and shot the nearest zombie in the head. He said in a deep voice, “Head to the pier!”
In the urgency of the situation, Jiang Miaomiao chose to trust him, started the car, and floored the gas pedal, rushing towards the pier.
The zombies blocked the road, and each time they were about to crash into them, Lu Qiming would skillfully shoot them down.
Amidst the encirclement of hundreds of zombies, Jiang Miaomiao drove out of the town’s streets and arrived at the pier.
When she hit the brakes, the nearest zombie was still about twenty to thirty meters away from them.
“Go to the boat!”
Lu Qiming commanded sharply, carrying things with a gun on his back at the fastest speed.
Only then did Jiang Miaomiao understand his intention and quickly picked up Jiang Rourou and the luggage. She and Lu Qiming rushed towards the nearest boat at the edge of the shore.
No one had been to the shore for almost a year, and it was covered with moss, making it extremely slippery.
She didn’t notice and slipped on it, her body half submerged in the sea.
The zombies caught up to her, their rotting hands reaching for her head.
Lu Qiming reached out his left hand and pulled her up onto the boat with force.
At the same time, his right hand holding the gun pulled the trigger and blew the zombie’s head to pieces.
Bang!
Another shot broke the iron chain used to secure the boat.
Lu Qiming kicked vigorously towards the shore, and the small boat drifted backward, creating a three to four-meter gap between them and the shore.
With a splash, the zombies jumped into the water, trying to grab them.
Lu Qiming handed the gun to Jiang Miaomiao, asking her to protect everyone while he headed towards the engine to start the boat.
The rifle was heavier than the handgun, and carrying it was like holding a heavy child.
Jiang Miaomiao struggled to stabilize it and shot at the zombies.
The powerful recoil caused her to fall on her butt, but she quickly got up and continued shooting.
Behind her, the sound of the boat’s engine started.
They moved further away from the shore, and the zombies in the water lost their direction, gradually disappearing.
Soon, the town was no longer visible, and all that surrounded them was the vast sea.
Jiang Miaomiao put down the gun, shook her numb hands, and turned to ask, “Where are we going?”
Lu Qiming replied, “Let’s just drift like this, drifting to the ends of the world.”
She didn’t fall for it. She covered her eyes like Sun Wukong and looked for a long time. She spotted a small island in the distance and asked eagerly, “Are we going there?”
He smiled and said, “I’ve been to that place before. The island isn’t large, around a dozen square kilometers, with around three hundred natives. It’s dozens of nautical miles away from the mainland, and the zombies from the outside can’t cross the water, so it should be safe.”
“You mean we’ll live there from now on? Is there enough food there?”
Lu Qiming nodded, “The main food of the islanders is potatoes and fish and shrimp from the sea. They get their drinking water from a freshwater lake in the center of the island. In addition, there are hospitals, schools, shops, and all the facilities to meet our daily needs.”
Hearing him say this, Jiang Miaomiao felt so happy that she wanted to scream and urged him excitedly, “Drive the boat faster, I want to go up and take a look!”
Lu Qiming had already pushed the engine to the maximum, and he teased, “So eager? You can go down and push the boat if you want.”
Jiang Miaomiao wished she had grown a fish tail so she could jump into the sea and push the boat.
Thinking that they were heading to an absolutely safe place, with abundant food and water, she felt hopeful about the future.
However, as they approached, they found that things were not as simple as they had imagined.
The fishing boats were noisy, and when they were only a few dozen meters away from the island, they attracted many tourists.
Hundreds of zombies gathered on the shore, their mouths wide open like hungry wolves, eager to welcome their meal.
Clearly, the people here had not escaped the disaster.
And due to the enclosed environment, there was no escape, and they had all turned into zombies.
Jiang Miaomiao frowned as she watched, her good mood dissipating.
Lu Qiming rummaged through a bag and took out three high-explosive grenades, rubbing his shoulder.
“Make way.”
She held Jiang Rourou to the side, watching him with trepidation.
Lu Qiming aimed, pulled the grenade’s ring, and swung his arm to throw it far away.
With a loud bang, the shore exploded into a dazzling fireball, flesh and blood flying, and the shockwave even spread to the boat, making Jiang Miaomiao’s face tingle.
Jiang Rourou was frightened, hiding in her arms with her head buried, too scared to look.
Lu Qiming threw all three grenades, and after the explosions ended, only scattered zombies remained on the shore.
He picked up his gun and took care of them one by one.
By the time the boat docked, there was no longer any threat.
The ground and the sea were filled with zombie flesh and blood, making it impossible to step anywhere.
The sea breeze carried a foul stench, making people’s eyes blacken.
Jiang Miaomiao quickly found something to cover her nose and mouth, unsure of where to disembark and look at the situation outside the boat.
The thick layer of rotten flesh and mud, with limbs flying everywhere, made it impossible for her to step in even if she wanted to.
Lu Qiming, like an emotionless transportation machine, jumped off the boat, stepping on the gruesome mess, moved all the luggage to a clean area, and took Jiang Rourou away, leaving her alone on the boat.
Jiang Miaomiao: “… This is terrible! Discrimination, this is discrimination!”
She clenched her fists, trying to give herself some psychological comfort and ignore those things.
Lu Qiming came back, stood under the boat, turned around, and left her with a broad back.
“Come up.”
She was stunned, “Are you going to carry me?”
“Otherwise? If you take your time getting ashore, it will be dark.”
She hesitated for a moment, pursed her lips, and jumped onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek.
“You’re really good.”
A faint blush spread silently across Lu Qiming’s face, but by the time he put her down next to the luggage, he had returned to normal.
Jiang Miaomiao stepped on clean ground with clean shoes, looking at the nearby houses and feeling quite good.
She glanced at Lu Qiming’s feet, stained with blood and dirt, and asked, “Don’t you want to wash up first?”
He shook his head and continued holding the gun.
“Let’s patrol the island first.”
In case there were any missed zombies, they needed to be taken care of immediately so that the small island could become their safe home.
Jiang Miaomiao agreed and also picked up her weapon, taking Jiang Rourou with her as they began patrolling the island.
Leave a Reply