Chapter 45: 45: Chance Encounter
Cheng Zhenyong was taken aback, "You plan to leave today?"
Su Han nodded and said, "We have set our target, and it would be more convenient to leave earlier."
Cheng Zhenyong thought about it and realized that among those willing to go with Su Han, Guo Gang's family of three, Xia Ning and her roommate, Zhao Yimin, and other Contractors made up half of them.
Physically and mentally, they were better adapted to this situation, and leaving did not really pose a big problem for them.
In contrast, his side had slightly more ordinary people.
"We should rest for a while, but the supermarket is relatively safe," he said.
He paused, then added, "Also, we need to find a vehicle."
Upon hearing this, Su Han called out Old Zhu's name, "Old Zhu, give him the keys to the car we traded."
Everyone was surprised, but he said, "We have four vehicles enough for us, if we give you one, it would save you the trouble of finding one."
Cheng Zhenyong hadn't expected Su Han to just give away a car. He froze, his gaze solemn, and he said in a deep voice, "Brother, thanks."
Su Han just waved his hand, without saying much. He had his own calculations. The Human-faced Tree had been his sudden provocation, otherwise there would have been a day or two for relocation.
Back then, Cheng Zhenyong would have had time to find a vehicle and wouldn't have been in such a sorry state.
This was his due; he ought to provide the vehicle and it wasn't a big deal.
Zhu Xiong took a drag from his cigarette and said, "The Lihua boss has a Golden Cup van, but it's usually not parked on this street, it's near the back alley, you should look for the keys near the staff area."
The back alley was a street away, and navigating through the fog to get there wouldn't be easy, but it was better than nothing.
"I will organize people to check it out."
...
After a brief meeting, they found some ready-to-eat foods in the supermarket, and everyone ate to replenish their energy.
Then Su Han and his group started gathering, left Lihua Supermarket, and settled into four vehicles.
In total there were 20 people, with Su Han's group of four as the core. Besides them, there were six Contractors including Guo Gang, Xia Ning, and Zhao Yimin, and the rest were ordinary people, one of whom was a little girl, Guo Huihui.
As usual, Su Han and Zhu Xiong led the way in the cars, but this time, in addition to the front of the car, the back seat bed also had two people, Xia Ning and her roommate Bai Xiao'e, along with another man.
The two private cars and the truck behind them each accommodated five people.
The group was well-prepared and drove directly into the foggy streets.
The Shanhu Villa District was quite a distance from Lihua Supermarket, about seven or eight kilometers, and that was based on having navigation and knowing shortcuts.
Now, signals were long lost, and the mobile phones were all out of power, so getting there was naturally much more difficult.
"Visibility is just over a hundred meters, driving at thirty yards is already pushing it," Zhu Xiong complained, his hand steering slowly around the abandoned cars on the street. He also shook the Lamp Tree Crystals outside the window, signaling the vehicles behind.
In the rear-view mirror, the three vehicles behind him flashed their hazards in succession, indicating they had received the signal.
This was their agreed method of communication, since mobile phones and walkie-talkies were all unusable, this was the only way to possibly avoid accidents.
Su Han looked out the car window, his eyes slightly focused, "At least we can drive, when is the rush hour traffic the worst?"
Spattered blood stains, the bloody remains of corpses, and the shattered windows of vehicles... the streets shrouded in fog were far more dilapidated than he had imagined, as if the whole city had turned into ruins overnight.
"The entrance and exit of the second ring road, that place is the busiest in the morning, it's impassable."
Zhu Xiong understood Su Han's meaning when the crimson orbs descended, it was morning, and the sudden crisis only made the congested areas even more packed; the past ten days likely hadn't brought any significant changes.
"Take the small path along the two rivers, that's the old road. Aside from drivers hauling cargo, private cars don't go that way."
Zhu Xiong, who ran transportation, knew many roads. The area was uneven and worn, private cars would get a layer of dust even if nothing else happened, not to mention scraping the chassis.
Later, as more and more trucks passed through, private cars became even more fearful of scratches and traveled there even less.
Su Han nodded, trusting Zhu Xiong's choice of roads.
He looked toward both sides of the street, where faint growls in the fog made him wary of letting his guard down.
"Thump thump thump"
The sound of footsteps quickly arose, and amidst the swirling fog, several more corpses burst out from the shops on the street, aiming to attack the convoy.
This was already the sixth attack along the way; only this time, there were a few more of them.
"Here they come again; time to work, time to work."
Zhu Xiong didn't slow down the accelerator; the Four-armed Corpse guarding next to the convoy had already met them with a blade, cutting each one in half with a single stroke.
Any that slipped through, the Angel Envoy corpses atop the trucks belonging to Zhu Xiong and his group would also leap down, slashing furiously with their machetes, swiftly finishing off the corpses.
"Su Han, the machetes your Angel Envoy produced are firm, much slicker than the large blades we used on long trips when we were younger."
Zhu Xiong saw his corpses quickly resolving the fight, and under his mental command, saw each corpse climb swiftly with a blade in its mouth to the tops of the trucks ahead and behind.
"There's no time now; we'll get armor once we reach Shanhu Villa."
Zhu Xiong laughed, "That's great; though these Angel Envoys are strong, they're still a bit lacking. It's okay when they handle weapons, but controlling them takes more effort."
Not using weapons, just ordering an attack, the Angel Envoys would attack like wild beasts, which was relatively easy to manage.
But finely controlling them to attack with knives, even in a slight formation, consumed much more energy and made people tire more quickly.
It's like the Angel Envoy is a person's hands; instinctive swinging is entirely different from doing intricate hand gestures, playing basketball, or dancing.
The number of broken cars on the main road was increasing; even the blood on the ground hadn't yet dried. Apart from the monstrous howls in the fog, Su Han and the others could even hear screams—human voices.
There were not a few surviving people, but those who hadn't turned into monsters had to face even more terrifying creatures.
For now, Su Han and his group neither had the energy nor the capacity to save so many people; everyone just hardened their hearts and blocked their ears.
The vehicles on the main road were becoming more numerous, and even with the Four-armed Corpse pushing obstacles away in the fog, it was difficult to proceed.
Zhu Xiong simply left the main road, taking a deserted route, and turned onto the old riverside road; on one side were the twin river waters, and on the other were relatively rundown old houses and occasional red brick buildings, which seemed out of place compared to the city's high-rise buildings.
"This area was supposed to be demolished to make way for a riverside residential project, but now it's probably been canceled."
"..."
It wasn't just canceled—the real estate boss might have well been completely finished.
Su Han's gaze swept across the Twin Rivers shrouded in the fog; the calmness of the water surface under the fog was terrifying, as if monsters could surge out at any moment.
Zhu Xiong joked with his words, but his driving became more careful; in this area, turning around was not an option as the road was narrow, and if something happened, they could only back out.
However, it was precisely the worry that materialized; as the vehicles continued forward, a huge red shadow suddenly appeared in the fog—a truck was stopped on the road.
"Rustle rustle rustle"
The truck blocked the road, and on both sides of the truck, suddenly, more than a dozen crimson eyes appeared.