Chapter Thirty-Five: Yang Weiguo

Since arriving in this small town, Shen Lie had never actually met this so-called King Du, nor had he ever made contact. He only knew she was a woman, and her abilities were the strongest among all the awakened. If an alliance was to be formed, it made sense to seek out the strongest, so Shen Lie didn't hesitate to have Zhang Jing drive straight to the front of Yin Hao Supermarket, conveniently in the opposite direction from Red River.

“Hey, Shen, look over there—that car seems to have Wang Qingshan in it.” At such a critical moment, nobody bothered to hide supplies any longer, so wild cars would occasionally flash down the street, heedless of fleeing pedestrians, charging forward without pause.

Li Cheng pointed to an SUV with reflective film on the windows, though one could still vaguely see inside. Shen Lie immediately recognized Wang Qingshan at the wheel. With only a few streets in this town, it wasn’t surprising to run into him; what mattered more was where he was headed.

“Follow him!” Shen Lie glanced behind and saw the spider creatures had not yet surged forward, so he told Zhang Jing to slow the car and trail behind the Toyota SUV.

After turning a corner behind Wang Qingshan’s vehicle, Shen Lie soon spotted a large crowd up ahead, and then the sign for Yin Hao Supermarket came into view.

“Everyone listen! We're facing an unprecedented crisis—nearly thirty monsters have crossed the river, and almost a hundred more are watching hungrily from the opposite bank. We can only survive by banding together!”

A soldier in green uniform was shouting through a loudspeaker. Regardless of how he might look on ordinary days, the uniform now inspired a sense of reliance. Roughly three to four hundred survivors gazed at him with hope, wishing he could lead them through the danger.

“The town cannot be defended. We’ve contacted several awakened ones and are preparing to break through the Red Mist and escape beyond the town. If you intend to join us, stay close to our group—this is your last hope. Do not delude yourselves: remaining here is certain death, remaining here is certain death!” The soldier’s voice rang out.

Shen Lie had to admit, the young soldier possessed a certain charisma. At least he hadn’t fled alone, but was still organizing and mobilizing survivors for evacuation. This spirit brought Shen Lie a touch of warmth in the cold apocalypse.

“Let’s go take a look!” Seeing Wang Qingshan get out of his car, Shen Lie had Zhang Jing drive over.

“Shen, if all these people try to escape together, won’t it make us an obvious target?” Li Cheng, sitting in the back seat, suddenly spoke up. Shen Lie detected the underlying suggestion: they could leave separately, letting the crowd draw the attention of the spider monsters, making their own getaway easier.

“Let’s go.” Shen Lie waved his hand lightly, indicating Li Cheng needn’t say more.

“You must be Shen Lie. I’m Yang Weiguo. Welcome to the group—your presence gives our evacuation a much better chance.” The soldier with the loudspeaker spotted Shen Lie and came over to greet him, causing a stir among the crowd as all eyes turned toward Shen Lie.

But Shen Lie’s gaze was fixed on Wang Qingshan. He noticed that Wang’s daughter was not at his side—had something happened to her?

“Why are we still hesitating? The monsters are already at the corner!” Shen Lie withdrew his gaze from Wang Qingshan and frowned at the soldier. Though he appreciated the soldier’s actions, if he intended to fight the spider monsters here, Shen Lie would not join him—such resistance was tantamount to suicide.

“We move now. After days of searching, we’ve found a weak spot in the Red Mist outside—though the route isn’t fully explored, there’s more than a fifty percent chance of making it through safely. King Du has already led the first group through, over by the Phantom Mushrooms, but we must deal with those mutated crows first.”

“You found a way out?” Shen Lie cried in surprise. He hadn’t expected the soldier to have such an ace up his sleeve. Thankfully, he had come—otherwise, he might have missed this news.

“Not exactly a passage, just an area where the Red Mist is thinner. I went to Qi Family Supermarket looking for you last time, but didn’t see you.” Yang Weiguo’s expression was grave, and his words careful.

“That’s already good enough. Has anyone scouted ahead?” Shen Lie was more concerned about the specifics.

“Yes, but not very far. The plan was to fully explore it before informing everyone and discussing evacuation, but with these developments, we have to act early. The situation is urgent. Comrade Shen Lie, Comrade Wang Qingshan, I ask you both to lead the survivors to the site. If monsters appear on the way, we’ll have to rely on you. We must enter the passage before all the spider monsters cross the river!”

“What, Sergeant Yang, you’re not coming?” Shen Lie was taken aback, puzzled.

“I must wait a little longer. The chaos prevented us from notifying everyone—many survivors still don’t know about the evacuation. I must wait for them. Otherwise, they have no chance. As a soldier, I must fulfill my duty!”

Yang Weiguo’s words brimmed with righteousness, inspiring Shen Lie’s admiration. He blurted out, “Very well, I’ll stand with you for this last watch!”

No sooner had Shen Lie spoken than he felt someone tugging at his sleeve; Li Cheng and Zhang Jing both coughed pointedly behind him.

Even Zhang Jing, usually obedient to him, opposed the idea. Shen Lie realized his decision was rash—this was no time for heroics. Every minute could mean the difference between life and death.

But once spoken, he couldn’t retract his words. He trusted his abilities—if it was just a few spider monsters, he could fight, perhaps even collect a few monster cores.

“You two go with the crowd. I’ll find you over there.” The crowd was already evacuating, hundreds boarding five large trucks, others struggling to climb aboard—the latecomers would be left behind.

Zhang Jing merely shook her head, silent. Tao Tao clung desperately to his arm, while Li Cheng, after a flicker in his eyes, bowed to Shen Lie and said, “Take care,” then squeezed onto the last cargo truck without looking back.

Shen Lie showed no reaction, only instructing Zhang Jing to keep Tao Tao close behind him, then stood quietly beside Yang Weiguo.

Yang Weiguo likewise had no time for words. As the last truck rolled away, more than twenty survivors appeared at the corner, pursued by a single spider monster. The two men watched as the last runner was caught, his head smashed in a spray of red and white—gruesome and bloody.

“Everyone, evacuate this way!” Yang Weiguo shouted, leaping up to the second-floor balcony of the supermarket, grabbing a submachine gun and firing rapidly at the spider monster.

The gunfire slowed the creature, and the remaining survivors, seeing hope, dashed to the supermarket entrance.

“All aboard—drivers to the cab!” Shen Lie pointed to the last remaining truck and barked instructions.

The survivors, terrified by the chase, obeyed instantly, using their last reserves of strength to clamber aboard and collapse in the truck bed.

Moments later, something felt off—though they were all on board, the truck hadn’t started, and Shen Lie showed no intention of joining them. A bespectacled middle-aged man couldn’t help but ask, “Why aren’t we moving? The monsters are almost here—start the truck, hurry!”

“Move? Where to? There are still other survivors not here. Wait a bit.” Shen Lie rolled his eyes, answering irritably.

“What? Wait? Are you crazy? Dozens of monsters are charging this way—few will survive! If you want to die here, fine, but I don’t want to share your grave!” The bespectacled man cried out, as if Shen Lie were a fool.

His words resonated with the others. Having made it here was a stroke of luck; none had the courage for another chase.

“We have to go, or we’re dead. I heard someone’s organizing an escape through the Red Mist, at the mushroom fields—we need to hurry or we’ll be left behind!” another survivor spoke up.

“Fine, I can drive—I’ll do it!” A volunteer stood up, preparing to switch to the driver’s seat.

Everyone ignored Shen Lie and his group, and even overlooked that the truck was not theirs. Some even eyed Yang Weiguo on the second floor, glancing at his submachine gun with greedy looks in their eyes.