Chapter 81: Lincheng Base
Zhan Yun and the others still drove that off-road vehicle as they left the Southern Base. During this period, because of the intense daytime heat, everyone had gotten used to sleeping during the day and going out at night, with their schedules completely reversed. Now that they were suddenly driving in broad daylight, everyone felt a bit unaccustomed.
There was no need to turn on the air conditioning inside the vehicle. With the windows open, a cool breeze brushed against their faces. It was rare, truly refreshing weather—but none of them was in the mood to appreciate the scenery. Instead, they were worried about the severe cold that was about to arrive.
Zhan Yun decided that for the rest of the journey, aside from Su Ruizhe, Yu Dongdong, and Zheng Jiahe—who didn’t have driver’s licenses—the remaining six would take turns driving, pushing on day and night toward the Northwest Base. They were running out of time…
But the situation was even worse than they had imagined. By nightfall, the temperature had dropped to fifteen degrees Celsius. The windows had to be closed, and Su Ruizhe took a few light jackets out of his spatial storage for everyone to put on.
No one dared to pause for even a moment. Whether day or night, they pushed themselves relentlessly onward. Even meals were handled hastily in the car, gnawing on a couple of bread rolls. They only stopped for a few minutes when someone absolutely needed to use the restroom.
While one person drove, the passenger seat handled lookout duty, and the others seized every opportunity to catch up on sleep and rest.
Even with them racing against time like this, they still couldn’t outrun the rapidly changing weather.
On the second day, the temperature continued to fall, already heading toward freezing. The sky, which had been clear for more than three months, finally took on a hint of gloom. Dark clouds gradually gathered, and the wind grew stronger and stronger.
Looking at the increasingly darkened sky outside, Zhan Yun felt his heart grow heavy.
“We can’t keep going,” Zhan Yun said. “It looks like a heavy rain is coming soon.” He turned to Cheng Qi. “Check if there’s anywhere nearby where we can stop and rest.”
Cheng Qi and Cheng Jiao immediately began searching the map. With satellites and the internet gone, GPS navigation had long since stopped working, and they had to rely on the most basic method—reading a map. Having grown up in the military, Cheng Qi and Cheng Jiao were both quite adept at this.
What’s more, the map was the latest post-apocalypse revised version that Commander Jiang had given them. It not only showed pre-apocalypse routes but also marked known survivor bases. It even indicated relatively safe gas stations and rest areas along highways that had once been cleared by the military—after all, road travel was now the primary mode of transportation.
“The closest one is… Lincheng Base,” Cheng Qi said after studying the map carefully. “It’s only a bit over ten kilometers away.”
“Lincheng Base?” Zhan Yun frowned deeply upon hearing this. “No. We’re not going there. Look for a rest stop instead.”
That was the place where Su Ruizhe had lost his life in his previous life—a place that must have left him with deep psychological trauma. How could Zhan Yun let him return to such a disgusting place?
“Huh? Why?” Cheng Qi didn’t know about Su Ruizhe’s rebirth, so he couldn’t understand why Zhan Yun would abandon a survivor base that was so close, safe, and comfortable, and instead insist on finding a farther rest stop.
“Just look like I told you. Stop talking nonsense,” Zhan Yun said impatiently, his face stern.
“Fine, fine… why are you being so fierce…” Cheng Qi muttered aggrievedly as he continued studying the map.
“No need to look anymore. We’ll go to Lincheng Base,” Su Ruizhe suddenly spoke up.
“Little Zhe!” Zhan Yun looked at him, clearly opposed.
“It’s okay, brother,” Su Ruizhe said with a faint smile. “I’m not the same person I was before.”
He was much stronger now than he used to be, no longer the naive and foolish youth of the past. He had companions he could trust, the ability to protect himself, and vigilance toward Lincheng Base. It no longer posed any real threat to him.
Moreover, with the weather this bad, continuing on the road would be reckless—not just for themselves, but for the entire team.
Zhan Yun had no way to argue with him. He sighed and finally told Zhang Shuoliang to drive toward Lincheng Base.
They left the highway and entered Lincheng County via an off-ramp.
As soon as their vehicle entered Lincheng, they saw an explosion and a burst of firelight. Immediately after, a battered van sped past, with a small group of zombies staggering after it.
Everyone: …
“Follow them,” Zhan Yun said calmly.
Seeing fireballs being flung out of that van nonstop, the main combatant was clearly a fire-type ability user. Anyone operating within Lincheng County had to be from Lincheng Base. Following them would save the trouble of finding the way and conserve precious time.
That van charged around wildly, driven in a truly suicidal manner. It scraped against utility poles and roadside guardrails several times. If this kind of driving had happened before the apocalypse, the driver’s license would’ve been revoked hundreds of times over—but now, no one was around to care.
The small group of zombies was soon shaken off, and it looked like they would make it back to the base safely—but then something went wrong.
The people in that van were terribly unlucky. As they drove on, several zombies suddenly rushed out from the front. The driver intended to run them over directly, but who would’ve thought that one of them was an evolved zombie? Not only did the collision fail to crush it, but the zombie instead dragged the driver straight out of the vehicle and bit through his throat in a single snap.
The door was yanked open, and several young people tumbled out of the van in a panic, including a woman dressed in tight leather clothes.
From behind, Zhan Yun and the others could clearly see that the front of the van had been completely crushed inward—proof that this zombie possessed formidable defense and strength.
“A level-three zombie!” Zhang Shuoliang’s eyes lit up. Wu Jing was right at the critical point of advancing from level two to level three—she only lacked a single level-three zombie crystal. This was like having a pillow delivered just when they were dozing off.
Zhang Shuoliang not only didn’t stop the car—he stepped on the accelerator and charged straight toward the Level-3 zombie.
At that moment, the Level-3 zombie had just about finished devouring the person in its grasp. It tossed aside the mangled corpse and went after the remaining people who were trying to flee.
The woman dressed in tight leather pants and jacket ran while hurling fireballs behind her—it turned out she was the fire-type ability user.
The zombie was incredibly fast and quickly caught up, snatching another person as easily as a hawk grabbing a chick and biting through his throat in a single snap.
The rest of them screamed in terror and ran even harder.
Just then, the woman noticed the SUV driving toward them. Her eyes lit up immediately, and she sprinted even more desperately in their direction.
Her looks were actually only average, but her figure was undeniably sexy. The tight leather outfit perfectly outlined her curves. She was clean and well-groomed, with fair skin, looking as if she had a beauty filter on—strikingly attractive.
“Help! Open the door! Let me get in!” she cried pitifully as she waved both hands at the car. Tears shimmered in her eyes, making her look fragile and helpless.
In this apocalyptic world of scarce food and clothing, most women were sallow and ragged. A woman like her could already be considered top-tier beauty.
If it had been anyone else, they probably would have stopped without a second thought to let the beauty aboard.
Unfortunately… the people in this vehicle were not the type to be swayed by female allure.
As they passed by her, Zheng Jiahe rolled down the window and said with helpless regret, “Sorry, the car’s full.”
The woman froze in place, stunned, as the SUV swept past her like a gust of wind, blasting her full in the face with exhaust fumes…
The SUV stopped directly in front of the Level-3 zombie. Zhang Shuoliang jumped out and immediately activated his ability, softening the ground beneath the zombie’s feet. As the ground sank, he trapped the zombie’s legs in place. Then he coated his right hand with a layer of hardened stone and smashed it toward the zombie’s face.
The Level-3 zombie wasn’t stupid—it instantly raised an arm to block. Its strength was formidable, and it grabbed Zhang Shuoliang’s arm in one move, preventing him from advancing any further.
Zhang Shuoliang wasn’t a strength-type ability user, so he was no match for the zombie in raw power. Just as the zombie’s other claw was about to slash toward his face, Zhang Shuoliang curled his lips into a faint smile.
The next instant, a sharp spike suddenly grew from the stone-covered right fist, plunging straight into the zombie’s skull.
The zombie’s attack came to an abrupt halt, and then it slowly collapsed to the ground.
In less than two minutes, Zhang Shuoliang had ended the fight all by himself.
He bent down, pulled out a dagger, split open the zombie’s head, and happily dug out the crystal core he wanted. After washing it clean, he planned to give it to Wu Jing.
However, to Xu Fengying, who was watching, the scene set her heart racing.
The moment she faced that zombie, she had already realized it was extraordinarily powerful—easily the strongest zombie she had ever encountered. She had thought she was finished for sure. Who would have guessed that an SUV would suddenly appear out of nowhere, and that such a tall, robust man would leap out of it—and possess such astonishing strength?!
To kill such a terrifying zombie in just two minutes—this level of power would stand out in any base.
And yet he had come to Lincheng…
Xu Fengying’s eyes suddenly brightened. That’s right—Lincheng had been recruiting ability users, offering the best??. This man must have been drawn here by that!
If she could latch onto such a powerful man, she wouldn’t have to risk her life outside anymore, and her days would be far better than before…
Zhang Shuoliang had no idea that someone had inexplicably set her sights on him. He simply asked Song Chengshu for a bit of water, carefully washed the crystal core clean, put it away, and prepared to get back into the car.
“Thank you so much for saving my life, sir!”
Suddenly, a sweet, delicate female voice sounded from behind him, startling him badly.
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