026 Abandoning the Vehicle and Departing

Lu Sui extended his hand, and with a slight flick of his fingers, the towel in Song Yingjun’s grasp flew directly into his palm.

"Are you referring to this?"

Song Yingjun took two steps back, clutching his chest as if heartbroken. "Why am I the only one who didn't get one? My heart aches."

Shen Heng gave Song Yingjun a supportive pat on the shoulder. "You will."

Shen Shiwei offered comfort: "Actually, you’re quite lucky. At least you didn't turn into a zombie."

Song Yingjun: "..."

Lu Sui turned and began to walk away, saying, "Time to go."

They boarded the vehicle one after another. Lu Sui placed a sheet of white paper on the steering wheel and began sketching a rough map with a pen.

"The closest base to here should be Huayuan District. By car, it will take four hours..."

Shen Shiwei suddenly leaned forward and said, "Let’s go to the Lugang Estate. It’s in the suburbs; there should be fewer zombies there."

Lu Sui tilted his head to look at her. "Do you know the way?"

"My brother does."

Hearing this, Shen Heng spoke up: "Just drive forward, I’ll direct you."

"Fine."

The wide highway was occupied by only their solitary vehicle.

"Wei Qing, where is the little mouse?"

Shen Shiwei held half a bottle of mineral water, wanting to give the mouse a drink.

Wei Qing gently parted his pocket and glanced inside. "It’s asleep. This is its usual nap time."

Shen Shiwei looked a bit disappointed. "Alright then, I’ll drink it myself."

"Weiwei," Wei Qing called out to her suddenly, voicing the doubt in his heart, "Can you actually understand what they’re saying?"

Shen Shiwei gasped. "That? It’s easy, isn't it? You can tell what they mean by looking at their expressions, right?"

"Is that so?" Wei Qing still found it strange, but because it was Shen Shiwei, he didn't press further. Things were fine as they were.

A silence descended inside the car.

Shen Shiwei leaned against the window, watching the scenery pass by with listless boredom.

She didn't know when she had fallen asleep. When she woke up, the car had stopped, and various vehicles were scattered chaotically across the road, most of them halted due to collisions.

As soon as she looked up, Shen Shiwei saw, in a white sedan next to their car, a driver still strapped in with a seatbelt. The driver’s hands were clawing at the window, their pale eyes fixed on her, baring their teeth.

Shen Shiwei’s hazy sleepiness vanished instantly, and she shifted her body to the other side.

Immediately after, she heard Lu Sui say from the front: "The road is completely blocked. Are there any other routes?"

"Uh..." Shen Heng said slowly, "My driver would know."

Song Yingjun looked at him and said bluntly, "Which means you don't."

Shen Heng admitted truthfully, "Aside from racing, I rarely drive myself, and I have no need to memorize routes."

Song Yingjun’s gaze fell on Shen Shiwei. "Same for you?"

Shen Shiwei shook her head and said earnestly, "I don't race."

"..."

Lu Sui quickly made a decision. "We’ll proceed on foot."

"Huh?" Shen Shiwei was reluctant. "It’s full of zombies out there."

"So, do you intend to eat, drink, and relieve yourself in the car?"

"..." Shen Shiwei frowned, looking thoroughly disgusted. "You have such a nasty way of speaking."

Lu Sui: "It’s effective."

With that, he stepped out of the car first, raised his gun, and blew the head off a zombie at the intersection ahead.

The four of them exited the vehicle, instinctively positioning Shen Anran in the middle, with Lu Sui in the lead and Song Yingjun bringing up the rear.

Shen Heng glanced forward. "Pass that traffic light, then turn left."

The entire street was in chaos; apart from a few wandering zombies, not a single living person was to be seen.

Not long after they started walking, Wei Qing noticed something off about the mouse in his pocket.

Shen Shiwei could also hear the mouse chattering incessantly.

"Oh my, oh my, I’m going to be stunk to death!"

"Run, run, run!"

"Stupid humans, walking right into such a stench. What a bunch of fools, fools!"

Shen Shiwei stopped in her tracks, her eyes fixed intently on the intersection ahead.

"What's wrong?"

Wei Qing stopped as well.

Shen Shiwei said to him, "Take the mouse out."

Wei Qing obediently pulled the mouse from his pocket, and they saw the little white mouse frantically running in circles on his palm.

"The zombies are coming," Shen Shiwei said with a grave expression. "And there are a lot of them."

Shen Heng: "Then we can't keep going forward." He said to Lu Sui, "There are shops around here. Let's find a place to hide and assess the situation before deciding whether to proceed."

"Agreed."

Most of the shops had their doors open, but they were either filled with corpses or splattered with blood—filthy and disorganized, making them impossible to hide in.

Shen Shiwei asked the mouse to help them find a place. She leaned close to the little creature and whispered, "Help us find a place without a stench, and you'll get two pieces of dried fish as a reward."

The little mouse stood up on Wei Qing’s palm and sniffed Shen Shiwei. "Aren't you afraid I’ll just run away?"

Shen Shiwei’s voice was light and soft. "If you run, you won't get any dried fish. Isn't it better to stay with me?"

The little mouse lay on his palm and thought about it. That was true; it had spent its entire life in an experimental box, never seeing the vast world or having any experience surviving in the wild.

Staying with these humans, if nothing else, meant it wouldn't go hungry.

"Fine, I’ll help you find one."

Shen Shiwei said to Wei Qing, "Quick, put it on the ground."

Wei Qing crouched down and lowered his hand. The mouse leaped to the ground and disappeared from view in a flash.

Lu Sui was still checking the shops one by one.

The little mouse was faster than him. Before long, it ran back and looked behind it. "There’s a convenience store over there. It smells like people, and there’s the scent of delicious food."

Shen Shiwei looked in the direction it indicated, her gaze landing on a neatly decorated convenience store. It had a glass door, but it had been covered with paper from the inside.

She pointed to the shop and said, "Go there."

Saying this, Shen Shiwei headed toward it first. She was anxious because the mouse said the stench from the intersection was getting closer.

The group of zombies was heading their way.

Reaching the entrance of the store, Shen Shiwei pushed the door and found it locked from the inside.

She rapped on the door and called out, "I know there are people inside. Please, open up."

There was no response.

Shen Shiwei turned her head anxiously toward the intersection.

When Shen Heng reached out to knock, he forgot to control his strength. As he struck the door, it rattled violently.

"Open the door, quick! The zombies are almost here!"