Chapter 9: Highway Survival 6
Looking at the increasing crowd gathering around them, Wang Mao hesitated on the spot for a brief moment, seemingly grappling with a dilemma. In the end, he resolutely walked over to the vehicle closest to him.
He pointed at the public bus not far away and shouted loudly so that everyone nearby could hear, “Everyone, leave this place right now! There’s a problem with that bus!”
After finishing there, he moved to another spot, repeating the same words over and over again.
However, it was obvious that no one believed a single word he said.
“Why should there be a problem just because you think there is? I think you’re the one with a problem!”
“Exactly. Telling us to leave such a great place for no reason at all.”
Wang Mao shared his observations and suspicions from the past few days, but he still failed to gain anyone’s understanding.
“This is probably a stage obstacle the game set for everyone. You’re trying to coax everyone away so you can clear the stage and pocket all the benefits for yourself, aren’t you? Or maybe you’ve been bewitched by certain people and are just babbling nonsense here!” The curly-haired beauty, Zhang Xiaomei, who was next to the fat man Yue Shan, stepped out and stood among the crowd. She looked toward Chu Yun, her eyes heavy with implication.
Ever since Chu Yun had arrived driving an expensive luxury car, she hadn’t been able to stand her. Consequently, she had been keeping a quiet eye on Chu Yun, hoping to dig up some flaws. Sure enough, she had seen Chu Yun and Wang Mao huddled together whispering about who knows what, right before this Wang Mao began urging people to leave.
It was absolutely Chu Yun pulling strings from behind, getting Wang Mao to work for her. The curly-haired beauty had suffered a loss at Chu Yun’s hands yesterday; not only did she fail to reap any benefits, but her partner, the fat man, had also been thoroughly beaten. After the fat man returned, he had even taken out his anger on her, chewing her out for lacking discernment and demanding to know why she fell so short compared to Chu Yun—who was not only better-looking but also far superior in combat skills.
At that time, she was so furious she wanted to curse this dead fatty out. He was as stupid as a pig, ugly and stubby, yet still like a toad lusting after swan meat. Several times, she had used physical discomfort as an excuse to reject him. But she was a weak woman after all and had to rely on the fat man to survive, leaving her no choice but to swallow her anger. Now that she had an opportunity, she was definitely going to turn the tables.
The moment someone stuck their head out, everyone would target that point. Hearing the curly-haired beauty’s words, many people immediately assumed Chu Yun had egged Wang Mao on. All at once, the spearhead shifted directly toward Chu Yun.
“Don’t you think there are a lot of supplies hidden here, and once everyone leaves, they can keep them all for themselves?”
“Yeah, they’re definitely doing this because they want to monopolize the game rewards.”
“Exactly. I saw them huddled together whispering yesterday; they must have been plotting in secret long ago.”
“That woman’s martial arts are pretty good, but I didn’t expect her to be so selfish.”
“It must be so. Think about it, what has a lone woman relied on to survive until now? Her schemes run deep!”
The surrounding crowd chimed in one after another. Right now, everyone was utterly convinced that Chu Yun was the mastermind, with the sole purpose of waiting for everyone to leave so she could reap the benefits alone.
“No, it’s not like that! Everyone is misunderstanding Chu Yun! There really is a problem with the bus. I arrived earlier than all of you and discovered a lot of clues.”
Wang Mao explained his previous findings all over again, but no one was willing to believe him. He felt incredibly vexed; he hadn’t expected that a purely well-intentioned gesture would not only fail to accomplish anything but would also cause Chu Yun to be falsely accused.
Watching Wang Mao’s actions, Chu Yun was deeply shocked. When he was about to starve to death, he couldn’t even beg someone to trade for a bit of food, yet now, clearly knowing that others didn’t believe him, he was still willing to waste precious survival time to persuade them one by one. Having experienced the coldness of human nature in the apocalypse, Chu Yun couldn’t quite comprehend someone with such a saintly heart. You out of goodwill try to help everyone, yet others not only refuse to appreciate it but will even slander you.
Chu Yun ignored the rampant rumors around her. She pulled Wang Mao aside, climbed into the car, and prepared to start the engine and leave.
Seeing their actions, the crowd—especially Zhang Xiaomei—couldn’t mask their smugness. In their eyes, Chu Yun had been called out on her hidden agenda and had no choice but to leave with her tail between her legs. Some of them eagerly began searching all over the place, hoping to truly uncover hidden supplies.
With smugness written all over her face, Zhang Xiaomei relished the attentive gaze of the crowd. She then intentionally pulled the fat man toward the public bus; she had seen Chu Yun come here and figured this must be where the supplies were discovered.
Little did she know, Chu Yun simply didn’t want to waste her breath on these fools.
Her philosophy in life was: I will not provoke others unless provoked, but if provoked, I will eliminate them. She had said everything she needed to say; those with brains would naturally believe it, while those without could believe whatever they wanted. She wasn’t about to waste another syllable on these idiots.
Chu Yun had just pulled the car door shut and was preparing to start the engine.
Right at that moment, at exactly 8:00 AM, the cold system voice rang out:
[The first wave of zombies has been deployed! Please strive to escape.]
[Please be advised that you cannot apply to leave the game during combat.]
The moment the voice dropped, the windows and doors of the public bus slammed wide open. The people inside—no, they should be called zombies now.
The zombies inside, who had been resting with their eyes closed, snapped their eyes open in an instant, exposing a crimson light. They moved incredibly fast, scrambling down through the doors and windows within a matter of seconds.
Standing right in front of the bus, Zhang Xiaomei and Yue Shan were instantly paralyzed with fear. Scenting the aura of living humans, the zombies lunged directly at the two closest targets.
At the critical split second, Zhang Xiaomei took a step back, reached out her hand, and gave Yue Shan a vicious shove.
Yue Shan was both shocked and enraged. “You b—, you…”
But he never got the chance to finish his words before he was swarmed by zombies. They tore into his flesh bite by bite, ripping at his skin, causing Yue Shan to let out scream after scream of agonizing pain.
Applying to exit the game required five seconds, but ever since the zombies launched their attack, everyone was currently locked in combat—meaning it was impossible to exit right now.
The process from being bitten by a zombie to death was a long and agonizing one. Even though it was a game, the pain of dying was absolutely real. He would likely still shudder in fear whenever he recalled the process of slowly dying even after returning to reality. Consequently, many people would exit the game ahead of time when they anticipated their death, minimizing the agony of the game.
Taking advantage of the time Yue Shan was being swarmed and slaughtered, Zhang Xiaomei fled into her battered sedan, frantically scrambling to escape. It wasn’t her fault; it couldn’t be blamed on her. She was only doing it for self-preservation. Everyone was selfish, without exception—and besides, who told that dead fatty to be so weak?
The situation erupted in just five seconds. Before anyone could react, the agonizing screams of Yue Shan jolted them into the harsh realization that everything Wang Mao had said was true. Like ants on a hot skillet, they began to scatter and flee in all directions.
[A zombie has successfully killed a player. The number of zombies has doubled.]
This voice echoed above everyone’s heads like a clap of thunder, instantly shocking every single person in the game.
Yue Shan was dead, vanishing into a plume of white smoke on the ground, but the fresh blood on the asphalt did not disappear. From the ground around him, twenty more zombies materialized, continuing to launch fresh attacks on the crowd.
Hearing the system prompt, everyone completely lost their footing. The zombies were increasing exponentially, while their own numbers as players would only decrease, leaving them at an utter disadvantage. Therefore, their minds were now filled with nothing but the thought of flight.
Meanwhile, on Chu Yun’s side, within those five seconds, she had already driven the car to the side of the exit with Wang Mao. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she slammed hard on the brakes.
“Do you have a bow and arrows?”
“Yes, yes.” At this moment, Wang Mao was incredibly grateful to Chu Yun, who had not only warned him but also brought him along to escape ahead of time.
Chu Yun said, “Let me borrow them.”
Wang Mao replied, “Here.”
He handed them over to her without a single word of hesitation. The big shot definitely had her own ideas for doing this; everything the big shot did was right, and all he needed to do was follow along!
At this moment, the service area parking lot was in utter chaos. Thirty vehicles were all scrambling and shoving to get out through the exit, no one willing to yield to anyone else. In an instant, the narrow exit was completely bottlenecked, leaving no one able to get out except for Chu Yun, who had already cleared it.
Chu Yun grabbed the bow and arrows, stepped out of the car, and with a nimble leap, climbed onto the roof of the vehicle. Holding the bow in her left hand and an arrow in her right, she aimed at a target and drew the bowstring to full extension.
The moment the sharp arrow left the string, it tore forward at a blistering speed with a whistling wind. With a sharp swoosh, the arrow pierced straight through a zombie’s brain.
The player who had almost been bitten by the zombie was startled. Believing she was doomed, she hadn’t expected someone to save her. Following the trajectory of the arrow back, it turned out to be her. Instantly, mixed emotions welled up in her heart. She looked toward Chu Yun with immense gratitude, but Chu Yun didn’t give her even a second of her time, casting only a faint glance before shifting her gaze to continue launching attacks on other zombies.
Standing on top of the car with her arrows, Chu Yun was as dazzling as a deity descending from the heavens. Her posture was agile and her movements fluid; drawing the bow and releasing the arrow took a mere two seconds per cycle as she locked her focused gaze onto one zombie after another.
Right now, the exit was still completely jammed. Everyone was burning with anxiety, no one willing to let anyone else pass first, their faces flushed red as they hurled curses at one another.
In the next split second, an arrow tore through the wind, grazing past the ear of a player who was in the middle of trading curses, drawing a thin line of blood.
The two players instantly lost their voices, trembling as they looked toward the direction the arrow had been shot from.
“Wang Mao, get down there and direct traffic.”
“Whoever doesn’t follow his directions, my arrow will pierce his heart in the next second.”
Standing on high, Chu Yun coldly delivered orders to the fleet below. Everyone was terrified of Chu Yun’s martial prowess; not a single person dared to show any dissatisfaction. Wang Mao directed the front cars to pass. Those arranged to leave first were flushed with excitement, while those whose turn hadn’t come yet experienced an adrenaline surge, cursing inwardly while looking back at the encroaching zombies with deep anxiety. Some simply couldn’t wait any longer, abandoning their vehicles to flee on foot. Though the speed was still slow, traffic finally began to flow in an orderly fashion. Once vehicles cleared the exit, they sped away from the scene without a single backward glance.
One, two, ten, twenty. Within thirty seconds, Chu Yun had precisely and unerringly pierced the brains of twenty zombies. However, the number of zombies in the service area had not decreased; instead, it had actually multiplied. Because within Chu Yun’s blind spot, the zombies had bitten another two players to death. There were now roughly 120 zombies, a number that surpassed the remaining players in the service area.
Watching the swarms of zombies showing signs of surging toward the exit, Chu Yun couldn’t help but frown. Relying on her strength alone, she was completely incapable of combating this exponentially growing horde of zombies. To kill a zombie, it required a single, decisive headshot. Yet among these players, while they possessed a tiny bit of self-defense capability, killing a zombie in one strike was completely beyond them.
There truly wasn’t a single one who could fight!
Chu Yun recalled Yu Wenhao, whom she had met in Community 135. He had looked like quite a capable hand. She had no idea which server he had been assigned to.
The zombies were about to break through the service area.
