Chapter 42
Ye Xuan asked again, “Then what about the person who was with you?”
According to Dong Jiahao, the survivors at school should all have been rescued by the base.
Dong Jiahao shook his head and sighed. “The brother who saved me passed away a few days after coming here because of an asthma attack. There’s no medicine when you get sick here. Once you fall ill, you’re not far from death.”
Dong Jiahao’s tone was very calm. He had already grown used to death.
“But I’ll work hard to survive. I want to see this world regain life again.”
For the world to regain life—what hopeful yet powerless words.
Ye Xuan said nothing. He only smiled at Dong Jiahao.
As long as people were alive, they had to have something to look forward to.
Dong Jiahao did not pause at all before any of the forks in the path. With just one glance, he knew which way to go.
Ye Xuan could not help asking, “All these mine tunnels look the same. How can you recognize them?”
Dong Jiahao smiled. “Actually, there are markings at the forks. It’s just too dark, so you probably didn’t notice. I’ve walked these roads a lot. I know exactly where every tunnel leads.”
“Impressive.”
Dong Jiahao shook his head shyly. “How can that compare to you guys? You’re warriors who protect the home and defend the country. What I do is nothing. I’m just trying to earn a meal.”
“Don’t belittle yourself. The base’s operation still depends on you. Thank you.”
The two looked at each other and smiled.
After several trips, all the ore had been moved onto the vehicles. It was time for them to leave.
Ye Xuan said goodbye to the delicate-looking boy. “Keep going. If you can, please hold on to hope and keep living.”
“Okay. I’ll work hard.”
Ye Xuan took off his glove and reached out to Dong Jiahao.
Dong Jiahao looked at his own hand, then shook Ye Xuan’s.
The boy’s palm was rough. Calluses had already formed at the web of his thumb and the pads of his fingers. He must have suffered a lot here.
Dong Jiahao was the first to withdraw his hand and slowly step back. Behind him was the pitch-black mine tunnel. After waving to Ye Xuan and the others, he completely disappeared into the darkness.
“Let’s go.”
Luo Feng got into the vehicle before Ye Xuan.
The transport truck started and returned along the way they had come.
They left the winding mine tunnels, left the loading elevator, and left the checkpoint with the heavy identification door.
“We’ll come again. Every one or two weeks, the base sends us to collect ore.”
Ye Xuan looked out the window. The desolate scenery moved backward in his eyes. Suddenly, he regretted accepting this mission a little.
“Next time, let someone else come.”
Luo Feng rested both hands in front of his legs and said to Ye Xuan, “Life and death are both normal states. Ye Xuan, live a little more rationally. There are many things we can’t make perfect.”
Ye Xuan pressed his lips together and said nothing.
Suddenly, a piercing alarm sounded inside the vehicle.
This time, there really was trouble.
Ye Xuan instantly became alert and immediately gripped his short blade.
Luo Feng was much calmer than Ye Xuan. He asked the transport worker in the front what was going on.
“The radar shows a zombie approaching at extreme speed. Only one.”
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a loud sound of a heavy object crashing down.
The entire vehicle twisted uncontrollably. Ye Xuan slammed into the window beside him. Fortunately, his combat uniform absorbed part of the impact.
He steadied himself and asked, “What happened?”
The question felt a little unnecessary. He raised his head and saw a zombie sprawled across the windshield, almost completely blocking the transport worker’s view.
The vehicle had lost stability just now because of this zombie.
The transport worker quickly reacted, twisted the steering wheel back, and tried to shake the zombie off by swerving back and forth.
But the zombie clung to the A-pillar. It was like a piece of gum stuck to the windshield—no matter how the vehicle shook, it would not fall off.
Not only that, it kept smashing its head against the glass. Blood poured out, but it still did not stop.
The transport worker could only give up the idea of throwing the zombie off and temporarily stabilize the vehicle by looking through the gaps.
“Team Leader Luo Feng, what do we do now?” The transport worker’s tone had clearly become nervous.
Under the helmet, Luo Feng’s expression was not optimistic. This place was rarely visited. The sudden appearance of a zombie meant there were very likely other zombies nearby. Their purpose on this trip was to transport the ore back to the base. Once they stopped, they might be surrounded and attacked by a large number of zombies.
The worst-case scenario was abandoning the vehicle to save the soldiers, which would also mean their mission had failed.
Luo Feng immediately ordered, “Ye Xuan, notify the two vehicles behind us to stay alert and speed up the transport process. Little Chen, keep driving. Don’t stop. I’ll go down and deal with this zombie.”
“Brother Feng, I’ll go.”
Before Luo Feng could react, Ye Xuan had already flashed out of the vehicle and was standing on the roof. The vehicle was moving very fast, so he had no choice but to half-crouch down.
Inside the vehicle, Luo Feng notified the team members in the two vehicles behind them, then focused his attention on the zombie ahead.
He heard the sound from the roof and knew Ye Xuan was up there.
As a space ability user, Ye Xuan was now better suited to act than him. If something unexpected happened, he could also flash back into the vehicle.
But this concerned the safety of his team member and the mission, so Luo Feng did not dare be careless. He stared ahead. If anything went wrong, he would act immediately.
The zombie on the windshield stopped smashing itself against the glass and looked toward the roof. When it saw Ye Xuan, it made to climb upward.
During the climb, one of the zombie’s hands instantly left the A-pillar.
At that moment, Ye Xuan leapt forward and kicked the zombie onto the hood. He swung his hand back, intending to directly cut off the zombie’s nerve connection, but unexpectedly, the zombie was extremely fast. It jumped to the side and dodged his attack.
Damn it, Ye Xuan cursed inwardly.
Luo Feng stared expressionlessly ahead. No one saw his clenched fist.
With the zombie no longer supporting itself, the transport worker seized the chance and sharply turned the steering wheel to the right.
The zombie flew out.
Ye Xuan flew out too.
But Ye Xuan reacted in time and flashed back onto the roof.
Unfortunately, the zombie had not been completely thrown off. Its left hand was gripping the left A-pillar of the transport truck, and its whole body was swinging in the air, constantly smashing against the side window. Its right hand scraped against the glass, producing a sharp, piercing noise.
This could not go on. He could not keep dragging this out with the zombie.
Ye Xuan made a bold decision.
He jumped straight down from the roof.
Luo Feng, sitting inside the vehicle, could not sit still anymore. He twisted the door handle, wanting to open the door, only to find that the door would not open at all.
“Little Chen, you—”
“Sorry, Team Leader Luo Feng. I must ensure the safety of the ore.”
Suppressing his anger, Luo Feng looked out the window and discovered that the zombie was gone.
Ye Xuan had disappeared too.
His voice turned cold as he said to the transport worker, “As team leader, I order you to stop the vehicle immediately. I must confirm my team member’s condition at once.”
Someone beside him poked him. Luo Feng turned and saw Ye Xuan.
Ye Xuan gave him a thumbs-up beside his face. “Brother Feng, crisis resolved.”
Luo Feng grabbed Ye Xuan’s shoulders and checked him up and down, left and right. After finding no injuries, he punched Ye Xuan’s shoulder hard.
“Brat, were you trying to scare me to death? Tell me, what happened?”
Ye Xuan held his shoulder and recounted what had just happened to Luo Feng.
He had jumped down from the roof, and as he brushed past the zombie, he cut off its arm. The zombie fell to the ground. Just as Ye Xuan himself was about to hit the ground, he flashed back onto the roof. When he looked back, the zombie happened to be crushed under the vehicle behind them.
