Apocalypse: the Most Ruthless Person

“Oh, damn it!”

The slightly chubby man in the lead, wearing a pair of glasses, with the left lens cracked, exaggeratedly said, “This is just outrageous, isn’t it? Does this mean we can’t even leave the city?”

Zhang Su shrugged and said, “There are still bridges to the east and west; let’s take another route. You guys take your time figuring it out. We’re heading out.”

He had no intention of continuing the conversation with them, as it was getting late and they needed to find a safe place to rest quickly.

“Hey, wait a minute, brother, you need to head north anyway, right? Let’s go together, how about we tag along with you guys? You have such a formidable team, heh heh, please, please.”

The glasses-wearing man had a very friendly smile on his face.

Another tall man retrieved several unopened packs of cigarettes from his bag, walked up and handed them to Zhang Su, on tiptoe: “Hey, buddy, here, we found these cigarettes at the supermarket earlier. Come on, just let us tag along. We promise not to cause any trouble, and we can even help out if needed!”

Seeing Zhang Su had no intention of taking the cigarettes, the tall man threw two packs through the car window and another pack bounced off the glass. He caught the pack that bounced back with an awkward smile and didn’t insist on giving it again.

Zhang Su glanced at the three people. They were quite courteous and hadn’t made any unreasonable demands. If they wanted to tag along, then so be it.

“Alright, let’s go, we’ll head back to the city first.”

“Okay, okay, thank you!”

The group happily returned to their cars and started to turn around.

“Brother Su, are they… okay?”

Zheng Xinyu originally wasn’t very suspicious, but after the various encounters these days, she now thought strangers were bad guys…

Zhang Su cautiously stepped on the gas and guided the car onto the provincial road, shrugging: “These people seem like seasoned pros from the workplace. As for their intentions, you can assume no one is purely good now; it’s all about whether there’s a conflict of interest… But I couldn’t reject their request.”

Zhao Dezhu peeked out to take a look at the last trailing Touareg, retracted himself, and closed the window, saying: “The big brother made a valid point; they’re just following us, we can’t just eliminate them like that. What would that make us then…”

Crack.

Several cars got on the provincial road heading toward the city; suddenly, a flash of lightning streaked through the sky, followed by the loud rumble of thunder echoing across the horizon, making everyone feel the car slightly tremble.

“How can it be thundering in such cold weather? It’s so abnormal.”

Pang Dakun looked through the window at the sky, clouds densely packed, and saw raindrops, big as beans, starting to fall.

Crackling sounds as raindrops hit the car’s windows, making a crisp noise.

“Oh my, it’s pouring down!”

Zhao Dezhu’s face showed excitement, as though witnessing something miraculous.

Rainfall in Qin City is scarce; in some years, the total rainy days don’t exceed two months, mostly concentrated in summer, making thunderstorms in October quite rare.

“The world is chaos now; autumn thunder and storms aren’t surprising.”

Yu Qing stood by the window, pressing her face against the glass, rain streaking down the glass, showing a unique desolation.

Zhang Su turned on the wipers, looking at the violently flashing sky, muttering: “The rain is pretty heavy…”

Big raindrops slammed against the windshield, the wipers quickly pushed the rain away, sending it flying along the wind through the side drainage channels.

“The heavens sensed trouble below and rain down to cleanse the demons!” Zheng Xinyu clenched her fists, striking a pose like a little priestess.

Zhang Su laughed and shook his head, saying: “I think it’s just the heavens having a laugh with us.”

“A laugh? Why…”

Zheng Xinyu asked perplexedly.

“Worked so hard to fill the two cars with water, and not even half a day later, it’s raining!” Zhang Su chuckled self-deprecatingly.

Zheng Xinyu tilted her head, thought for a while, and said: “That’s not really a joke; rainwater is dirty, underground water is much cleaner, and we did find a lot of food. It’s not a loss!”

“Brother Su, zombies!” Zhong Xiaoshan suddenly pointed to the roadside shop and said: “Look, the zombies are behaving strangely!”

As she spoke, Zhang Su slowed the car down, glancing at the zombie standing in the torrential rain on the side. It looked dazed, standing still, slightly tilting its head skyward, mouth wide open like a ladle catching the raindrops.

As the car continued forward, the group saw several tattered shops with zombies emerging, mimicking the actions of the previous zombie, as though the rain had granted them some form of consciousness…

The sky darkened, and the bizarre scene made everyone inside the car feel chilled, a sense of unease arising in their hearts.

“Big brother… could it be that the spirits of the dead returned to the zombies?”

Zhao Dezhu said, voice trembling slightly. Despite his fearless nature, he had never dared to watch horror films about ghosts, for they were childhood traumas requiring a lifetime to heal.

Zhang Su said while turning on the warm air to clear the fogging windshield: “We don’t know the specifics, but it’s certainly odd. There are many aspects of the zombie virus we’re ignorant of, so always maintain caution!”

Beep beep, beep beep.

As he spoke, Zhang Su deliberately honked the car horn, trying to get the zombies’ attention, but the zombies ignored it completely, not budging an inch, just standing there in the rain like crops enjoying the nourishing rain.

“Damn, these things are brain-dead. Big brother, if we were to take a shot at them now, would they even react?”

Zhao Dezhu wore a look of eager anticipation on his face.

“We are not zombie hunters, knowing their habits is enough; it’s more practical to use this knowledge later rather than killing them unnecessarily.”

Zhang Su said.

Zhong Xiaoshan frowned and said, “Brother Su, I think… I feel like they are replenishing their energy!”

“Hmm?”

When Zhong Xiaoshan said this, everyone in the car paused, momentarily stunned.

“Miss Zhong’s guess gives us a broader perspective; I think it’s quite possible.” Yuwen agreed emphatically, nodding his head.

“Then we’re screwed.” Zhao Dezhu slapped his thigh and said, “I’ve been secretly thinking, with so many zombies, not all of them can get food, and maybe they’ll slowly starve to death, letting us win; but if they can replenish energy from rainwater, then dragging this out is pointless!”

“That’s right, but… Zhuzi, why have you been thinking secretly?” Zhang Su caught the keyword in Zhao Dezhu’s words.

Zhao Dezhu looked a little embarrassed, scratching his head, “These strange ideas will definitely make people laugh if spoken out, hehe.”

“Not strange at all; no matter the prediction, it should be voiced. Everyone should brainstorm together, and besides, Xiaoshan’s guess seems accurate. Zombies act based on instinct, and if they enjoy rainwater, it must be beneficial for them!”

Zhang Su spoke heavily.

“Just like phototropism and hydrotropism in plants…” Yu Qing supplemented.

No matter how rainwater helps zombies, it makes humans’ predicament more difficult.

Without further discussion, Zhang Su drove seriously, the image of zombies drinking from the rain deeply imprinting on his mind.

The downpour continued, quickly forming a shallow stream along the low parts of the road, while the rain showed no signs of stopping.

Zhang Su focused seriously on the road ahead, the already dark sky combined with rain blurring his vision. It’s better than heavy fog, but visibility is now at a dangerously low level.

“We can’t go any further!”

Zhang Su saw a landmark building, realizing that moving forward would lead into a congested urban area with complicated road conditions, and accidents would appear on the road with the current low visibility.

Decisively, he turned right, slowing down without a walkie-talkie, using the car lights to communicate.

Under the rain, the car lights were exceptionally clear, and the five vehicles gradually stopped by the roadside.

“Luckily it’s rain; if it were ten degrees lower, it would be snowing. Such heavy snow is unimaginable…”

Zhong Xiaoshan traced the rain stains on the window with her fingers.

“Heavy snow…”

These words made Zhang Su’s heart skip a bit. The ubiquitous zombies are already troubling enough; if heavy snow seals the city, survival difficulty would skyrocket unless the cold adversely affects zombies.

“We need to find a safe place quickly…”

Zhang Su thought quietly, but plans always fall behind changes, with unexpected events happening all the time, slowing progress.

The rain continued, the streams gathering on the roadside became thicker, gradually flooding the entire road, along with various floating debris, including occasional severed limbs drifting around…

Even with the luxury and sturdy caravan as shelter, everyone couldn’t help but feel a tinge of anxiety, so Zhang Su led them to train, using muscle fatigue to dispel panic.

“Whoa, the water level is rising so fast…”

An hour later, the sky remained dark, and Zhao Dezhu looked out the window; the water rushing by was over half a foot high. If walking on the road, the water could reach ankle-level, while the distant fields formed vast ponds beyond sight!

Zhao Dezhu sat by the window smoking, and suddenly said, “Oh my gosh, luckily the bridge is broken. Such heavy rain would definitely cause a mountain flood; if we’d crossed the river smoothly, we’d have been swept away by now!”

According to Zhang Su’s plan, they would’ve reached a resort at the foot of a mountain less than ten kilometers from Qin City by yesterday afternoon. If it hadn’t been occupied, they would clear it as a safe base.

Yuwen shook his head, “Five years ago, Yue Ma Stream had a small mountain flood. Later, the Qing County government spent two years focusing on modifying the drainage systems of various scenic areas, so such situations are unlikely to occur again.”

Natural disasters are terrifying, but not entirely unavoidable.

“Hope those tourist spots remain unaffected… The rainfall from this storm seems comparable to several months’ worth in Qin City!”

Zhang Su opened the window slightly, threw the cigarette out, and it was extinguished by rainwater before hitting the ground, drifting into the water flow.

More than half an hour later, the heavy rain showed signs of easing, while the water level on the road rose to over a foot, potentially close to half a meter!

This water level posed no challenge to the two travel RVs.

Neither the rugged off-road Mercedes G nor the Prado had any trouble; they could handle nearly half a meter of water easily, especially equipped with snorkels.

However, the Tiguan at the rear struggled; the half-meter water level reached its limit, with the three people inside turning green, feeling the water flush against the car chassis, like ants on a hot pan.

“Big brother, do we keep moving forward?”

Concerned, Zhao Dezhu asked.

Zhang Su glanced at the still dark sky, thinking deeply, somewhat torn. Faced with nature’s force, humans feel too insignificant; even a rain can become a stumbling block.

Seeing Zhang Su hesitant, Yuwen said, “Mr. Zhang, scientific studies show that during crises, if uncertain, staying still is often a good strategy.”