Chapter 27: Meeting Again
The RV rolled smoothly along the desolate highway. Chu Yang watched the ruined landscape drift past the window, giving the passenger seat beneath him an appreciative pat. “Man, Brother Jiang, all that fuel should easily last us a few months, right?”
“At least we don’t have to worry about this big guy stalling out in the middle of nowhere. I’m completely wiped out today…”
As he spoke, he melted into the passenger seat like he didn’t have a single bone in his body, clear exhaustion written all over his face.
Jiang Jue kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead, offering only a low, quiet “Mm.”
Catching a glimpse of Chu Yang’s wilted posture out of the corner of his eye, Jiang Jue stayed silent for a moment before speaking up. “If you’re tired, go lie down in the back.”
Chu Yang’s eyes brightened—the plush double bed in the back was undeniably tempting.
Yet, tilting his head to look at Jiang Jue, who was focused entirely on driving, a pang of guilt stopped him. Letting his boss do all the hard work up front while he slacked off in bed just didn’t sit right.
Shaking off his lethargy, he sat up straighter, plastered on a bright smile, and leaned closer to the center console. “It’s fine, Brother Jiang! I’ll stay right here and keep you company! Driving alone gets boring anyway. I can chat with you to help pass the time—I promise I won’t be a distraction!”
Jiang Jue cast a sideways glance at him. The young man’s transparent little thoughts and earnest reliance were painted plainly across his face.
Truth be told, Jiang Jue didn’t mind having Chu Yang within his line of sight; he had long since grown used to the chatterbox keeping him company.
With a slight nod, his voice softened a fraction. “All right.”
Yet Chu Yang, who had just sworn to stay awake and keep him company, didn’t even last ten minutes. Lulled by the gentle, rhythmic swaying of the vehicle, his chin slowly dipped toward his chest. Before long, he slumped against the headrest, fast asleep.
A few stray locks of dark hair fell across his brow, trembling faintly with every breath. His lips parted slightly, letting out soft, rhythmic little snores. Sleeping upright was clearly uncomfortable, as a faint frown remained pressed between his eyebrows.
Listening to those soft breaths and feeling the warm presence beside him, the tight string in Jiang Jue’s chest finally slackened, letting him relax.
He gently steered the RV toward the shoulder of the empty road, eased to a complete stop, unbuckled his seatbelt, and leaned across the center console toward the passenger side.
The distance between them vanished in an instant. Jiang Jue could clearly make out the fine, soft hairs along Chu Yang’s cheek, feeling the steady warmth of the boy’s breath brushing gently against his own skin.
Jiang Jue paused for a heartbeat, an almost helpless tenderness flickering deep within his dark eyes.
Reaching down, he pressed the adjustment lever beside the passenger seat, carefully lowering the backrest so Chu Yang could recline in comfort.
Having done that, he didn’t immediately pull away. Instead, lingering in the quiet closeness, he watched the sleeping face for a few silent seconds.
In his sleep, Chu Yang seemed to register the newfound comfort. The tension in his brow melted away. Nuzzling against the plush headrest like a small, contented animal, he let out a soft murmur and sank into an even deeper slumber.
Only then did Jiang Jue slip back into the driver’s seat, click his seatbelt into place, and ease the RV back onto the asphalt.
This time, he drove with even greater care, keeping his speed steady and deliberately steering around cracks and debris to avoid disturbing the sweet dream beside him.
The vehicle traveled smoothly for another hour until an inconspicuous, jagged pothole suddenly appeared in the road ahead.
Though Jiang Jue tapped the brakes in time, the heavy chassis still jostled with a dull thud.
“Mmm…”
The sudden jolt broke Chu Yang’s sleep. He blinked open his groggy eyes, looking around in confusion before realizing he had completely passed out.
Rubbing the sleep from his face, he looked at Jiang Jue, who was still steering steadily, and asked sheepishly, “Brother Jiang… how long was I out?”
“About an hour,” Jiang Jue replied calmly, keeping his eyes on the horizon.
“That long?!” Chu Yang stretched with a wide yawn, feeling a hollow ache in his stomach. “No wonder I’m starving.”
“Brother Jiang, you must be hungry too, right? Here, have this to tide you over!” Reaching into his storage space, he fished out a vacuum-sealed braised chicken leg, tore the corner open, and held it straight toward Jiang Jue’s mouth.
Jiang Jue stared at the meat suddenly hovering inches from his lips, momentarily startled. He glanced over at Chu Yang.
The boy’s eyes were clear and bright, carrying the lingering haze of sleep alongside pure, instinctive concern.
After a brief pause, Jiang Jue reached out, took the snack, and murmured, “Thanks.”
Chu Yang pulled out a second chicken leg for himself, taking a generous bite as he chewed thoughtfully. “Sigh, these are pretty good, but they can’t beat freshly cooked food.”
“If only we could stumble onto an untouched cold storage warehouse… There’d be heaps of good stuff—fresh meat, crisp veggies… Now that would be living the dream!”
Just as he was daydreaming about banquets, his eyes caught something down the road. He leaned forward, squinting through the windshield. “Wait, Brother Jiang, look up ahead… Is that a commotion? Looks like someone’s pinned down!”
As the distance closed, the chaotic scene outside a highway rest stop came into sharp focus—over thirty zombies were swarming a tight corner, completely surrounding three people!
The three survivors stood back-to-back, pushed up against a concrete wall, on the absolute verge of collapse.
“Talk about bad luck… getting boxed in by that many monsters…!” Chu Yang started to comment, but the moment his gaze locked onto two of the faces in the circle, his eyes nearly popped out of his head. “Hold on! Isn’t that… isn’t that Lin Xiao and Su Mubai?!”
“How did they end up out here?! And trapped in a horde like that?!”
He grabbed Jiang Jue’s arm, his voice jumping in frantic urgency. “Brother Jiang! Step on it! Those are the two buddies I told you about! We have to save them!”
Jiang Jue’s sharp gaze swept the battleground, taking in every detail in a fraction of a second.
He noticed the tall young man—Lin Xiao—had an unusually fierce combat style. Wielding a heavy length of rebar with lethal precision, he clearly possessed extraordinary, superhuman strength. He was fighting tooth and nail to hold the line, shielding the visibly exhausted, paler youth—Su Mubai—behind him.
Beside them, a young woman in a bright pink coat was shrieking in terror, constantly ducking behind Lin Xiao. Completely useless in a fight, her piercing screams only served to draw more infected toward their position, forcing Lin Xiao to widen his defense and rapidly draining the boys’ stamina.
“Hold on,” Jiang Jue said, his voice low and steady.
His eyes sharpened. He slammed his foot down on the gas and gripped the wheel with iron resolve!
The heavy, armored RV surged forward with a deep roar. Instead of plowing blindly into the center of the crowd, Jiang Jue expertly swung the vehicle in a wide arc along the flank of the swarm, cleanly bypassing the core where Lin Xiao and Su Mubai were trapped.
“Hit ’em, Brother Jiang!” Chu Yang yelled excitedly, white-knuckling the grab handle to keep from being tossed across the cab.
With absolute composure, Jiang Jue aimed the reinforced front bumper straight into the thickest cluster of the horde, far clear of the survivors!
SLAM! CRUNCH! CRACK!
A rapid-fire series of bone-shattering impacts echoed outside! The heavy, reinforced rig acted like a steel bowling ball smashing through pins, instantly launching five or six clawing zombies high into the air before they crashed motionless onto the asphalt.
The brutal hit ripped a massive gap straight through the swarm, instantly taking the pressure off Lin Xiao and Su Mubai.
Without missing a beat, Jiang Jue executed a smooth drift, bringing the heavy vehicle to a solid stop right at the edge of the skirmish.
Shhhk—
The passenger door flew open, and Chu Yang shot out like an arrow from a bow. With his Tang dao already unsheathed and gleaming in the daylight, his voice rang out across the rest stop, brimming with the raw joy of a reunion and his trademark swagger:
“Lin Xiao! Su Mubai! Your Grandpa Chu is here to save the day!!”
