Chapter Thirty-Five: Yang Weiguo

Since coming to this small town, Shen Lie had truly never seen this so-called King Du, nor had he ever made contact with her. All he knew was that she was a woman, and her abilities were the most powerful among all the Awakened. If they were to form an alliance, it was only natural to seek out the strongest, so Shen Lie had Zhang Jing drive straight to the front of Yin Hao Supermarket without hesitation. Conveniently, the direction toward the supermarket was opposite to that of the Red River.

"Hey, Shen, look—over there in the car, isn't that Wang Qingshan?" At such a desperate moment, no one bothered to hide their supplies anymore. From time to time, a car would tear down the street at breakneck speed, paying no heed to whether there were fleeing pedestrians ahead—only speeding forward.

Li Cheng pointed toward an SUV with reflective film on its windows, but one could still vaguely make out the situation inside.

With a single glance, Shen Lie recognized Wang Qingshan behind the wheel. In a town with only a handful of streets, running into each other was no surprise. What concerned him more was where Wang Qingshan was headed.

"Follow him!" Shen Lie glanced behind and saw that the spider creatures had not yet caught up. He signaled Zhang Jing to slow down and let their car trail the Toyota SUV.

After following Wang Qingshan's car around a corner, Shen Lie spotted a large crowd not far ahead and, moments later, saw the sign for Yin Hao Supermarket.

"Everyone, listen up! We are now facing an unprecedented crisis. Nearly thirty monsters have already crossed the river, and close to a hundred more are eyeing us from the opposite bank. Our only hope is to stick together!"

A soldier in green military uniform stood shouting into a loudspeaker. No matter what he was like in ordinary times, at this moment, that uniform inspired a sense of reliance. Around three or four hundred survivors looked upon him expectantly, hoping the soldier could lead them through this ordeal.

"We cannot defend the town. We have already made contact with several Awakened and are preparing to break through the Red Mist and escape beyond the town. Those who wish to go with us must keep close to our group. This is your last hope—please, do not harbor any illusions. Staying here is certain death. Staying here is certain death!" The soldier's voice echoed on.

Shen Lie had to admit this young soldier possessed real charisma. At the very least, he was not fleeing alone at this critical juncture but was instead organizing and rallying survivors for an evacuation. This spirit brought Shen Lie a rare trace of warmth in the cold apocalypse.

"Let's go see." Noticing Wang Qingshan getting out of his car, Shen Lie had Zhang Jing drive over as well.

“Shen, if all these people try to escape together, won’t we be too conspicuous a target?” Li Cheng suddenly piped up from the back seat. Shen Lie heard the implication: if they left alone, the sheer size of the crowd would draw the spiders’ attention, making their own escape much easier.

"Let's go," Shen Lie said calmly, waving for Li Cheng to say no more.

"You must be Shen Lie. I’m Yang Weiguo. Welcome to our group. With you here, our chances for this evacuation are much higher." The soldier with the loudspeaker spotted Shen Lie and immediately came over to greet him. The crowd stirred, all eyes turning to Shen Lie.

But Shen Lie’s gaze shifted to Wang Qingshan—he noticed that Wang’s daughter was not at his side. Could something have happened to her?

"Why are we still dawdling? The monsters are already at the corner!" Shen Lie withdrew his gaze from Wang Qingshan and frowned at the soldier. He admired the man’s actions, but if he intended to make a stand against the spiders here, Shen Lie would not join him. That would be suicide.

"We’re leaving now. After days of effort, we’ve located a weak spot in the Red Mist outside. The path isn’t fully scouted, but there’s more than a fifty percent chance we can break through safely. King Du has already led the first group across, over by the Phantom Mushroom fields, but we need to deal with the mutant crows first."

"You’ve found a way out?" Shen Lie exclaimed in surprise. He hadn’t expected this soldier to have such a trump card. If he hadn’t come, wouldn't he have missed this crucial news?

"Not a passage, exactly—the Red Mist is just thinner there. I went to Qi’s Supermarket to find you last time, but you weren’t there." Yang Weiguo’s expression was grim and his words careful.

"That’s already good enough. Has anyone checked it out?" Shen Lie pressed for specifics about the route.

"It’s been scouted, but we didn’t get very far. We’d intended to verify everything before informing everyone and planning the retreat, but given the current crisis, we had no choice but to act early. Things are critical here. Comrade Shen Lie, Comrade Wang Qingshan, I must ask you to lead the survivors there. If we encounter monsters on the way, we’ll rely on you. We must enter the passage before all the spider creatures cross the river!"

"Aren’t you coming with us, Sergeant Yang?" Shen Lie was taken aback by the man’s words and asked in confusion.

"I must wait a bit longer. Because of the sudden turn of events, not all survivors have been notified. I have to wait for them here, or they’ll have no chance of survival. As a soldier, I have to stand by my duty!"

Yang Weiguo’s words were upright and resolute, stirring Shen Lie’s admiration. He blurted out, "Very well. Then I’ll stand with you for this last watch!"

The words had barely left his mouth when he felt someone tugging at his clothes. He heard Li Cheng and Zhang Jing both cough.

Even Zhang Jing, who always obeyed him without question, was objecting—Shen Lie realized he’d made a rash decision. This was no time for heroics; every extra minute could be the difference between life and death.

But since the words were spoken, Shen Lie couldn’t take them back, and he had considerable confidence in his own strength. If it was the main spider horde, he’d have no chance, but if it was just a few, he could handle it—and maybe even collect a few monster cores.

"You two go with the crowd. I’ll find you on the other side." The evacuation had already begun in earnest. Hundreds of people were crammed into five large trucks, with more still trying to squeeze on. Any later, and there’d be no room.

At Shen Lie’s words, Zhang Jing only shook her head silently. Tao Tao clung tightly to his arm. Only Li Cheng, after a few flickers of hesitation, bowed to Shen Lie with a quiet "Take care" and climbed onto the last truck without a backward glance.

Shen Lie said nothing more, just told Zhang Jing to take care of Tao Tao and follow behind him, then quietly stood at Yang Weiguo’s side.

Yang Weiguo was silent as well—he had no chance to speak. As the last truck pulled away, more than twenty survivors appeared at the corner, pursued by a single spider creature. Both men watched as the last survivor was caught and had his skull crushed by a spider’s claw, red and white matter flying in all directions in a gruesome spectacle.

"Everyone, evacuate this way!" Yang Weiguo shouted as he leaped up to the supermarket’s second-floor balcony, grabbed a submachine gun, and opened fire on the spider, slowing its advance. The remaining survivors, seeing hope, sprinted to the supermarket entrance.

"All of you, get on the truck! Anyone who can drive, get in the cab!" Shen Lie pointed to the last large truck and barked his orders.

Having been terrified out of their wits by the spider, the survivors obeyed immediately, using their last bit of strength to scramble onto the truck.

But soon they realized something was amiss. After they’d boarded, the truck didn’t start, and Shen Lie made no move to get on. Finally, a bespectacled middle-aged man couldn’t hold back any longer and shouted, "Why aren’t we leaving? The monsters will be here any second—start the truck!"

"Go? Go where? There are still survivors who haven’t arrived. Wait a moment." Shen Lie rolled his eyes, his tone impatient.

"What? Wait? Are you crazy? There are dozens of monsters coming this way! Anyone left alive won’t last long. If you want to wait here and die, go ahead. I’m not dying with you!" The bespectacled man screeched, looking at Shen Lie as if he were a fool.

His words found ready agreement among the other survivors. It was luck enough to have made it this far—none of them had the courage to face the monsters again.

"We have to go! Staying here is suicide. I heard someone is organizing an escape through the Red Mist, over by the mushroom fields. Let’s get there or we’ll be left behind!" another survivor shouted.

"I can drive! I’ll do it!" Yet another volunteered, preparing to climb into the driver’s seat.

No one paid Shen Lie any heed now, nor did they care that the truck wasn’t theirs. Some even glanced up at Yang Weiguo on the second floor, coveting the submachine gun in his hands, their eyes glinting with greed.