The last scene in the rearview mirror was the man being engulfed by the zombie horde. Si Nan closed his eyes, feeling a hot lump in his throat, unable to make a sound.
Suddenly, a hand pressed down on his head. Zhou Rong pulled him close, hugging him tightly:
“Don’t think about it, be good.”
Si Nan rested his head in Zhou Rong’s solid, warm shoulder hollow, and after a while, nodded.
“Take the North City road to the highway. We must leave before dark,” Zhou Rong gripped the steering wheel with one hand, speaking in a low voice. “In three hours, the B military district will launch a nuclear strike to cleanse T City. We don’t have much time.”
Si Nan crawled into the driver’s cabin from the rear compartment, the heavy nicotine smell rushing into his nostrils: “Let me drive.”
Zhou Rong shook his head. “You’ve been at it too long.”
Si Nan was quiet for a moment amid the vehicle’s jolting, then softly persuaded: “This won’t work, Rong-ge. Dozens of people in two vehicles are counting on you. If you collapse, what will happen to everyone else?”
“…Biochemical vehicles are hard to drive,” Zhou Rong finally spoke in a hoarse voice. “The wilderness roads are difficult; we must be fast, the further from T City, the better.”
Just as Si Nan was about to speak, the wireless radio suddenly crackled: “Yan Hao calling the lead vehicle! Captain, try responding, our radio has gone silent, how are you?”
Zhou Rong’s eyes subtly changed as he turned on the vehicle’s radio.
Countless crackling electrical currents gushed out like a flood, all channels converging into the same dark sea.
—Short wave had no signal.
The three special forces soldiers in the rear compartment awoke and squeezed forward. Zhou Rong’s face turned ugly as he slapped open the base communication, but the command center channel was silent, no matter how he adjusted it.
Zhou Rong suddenly braked, took a deep breath, and stepped out of the vehicle.
The minibus behind also stopped, and exhausted survivors awakened from sleep, engaged in bewildered discussions.
Yan Hao and Chun Cao jumped down, both showing signs of fatigue, but Zhou Rong cut straight to the point: “Base communication is down.”
The remaining team members gathered around, standing on the grass, nervously looking at each other.
