Chapter 65: Crisis on a Rainy Night p2
Driving this fast in such heavy rain was too risky.
“Yaoyao, are you alright?” Lin Xiwan asked, reaching back with her right hand while steering with her left.
Lin Jiayao leaned against the seat and took her sister’s hand. “I’m fine.”
She ejected the almost empty magazine, placed the rifle and two new magazines on the seat, and then, using her sister’s hand for support, climbed back into her seat.
Lin Xiwan lifted her sister’s legs and placed them back on the floorboard, then rested her hand on the reclined passenger seat.
Lin Jiayao placed the rifle on her lap and pressed the button to raise the seat back. Lin Xiwan helped her adjust it.
“Hoo…”
Lin Xiwan finally relaxed, her hand still resting on her sister’s head, trembling slightly.
Just when she thought they wouldn’t make it, her sister had stepped up, emptying a magazine into the zombies trying to climb onto the jeep.
They were incredibly lucky.
Especially with the Sprinter on the roof. In her panic, she hadn’t even noticed how it had fallen.
She had only seen the bullet holes in the roof through the rearview mirror. It seemed her sister had fired a few random shots, injuring the Sprinter and causing it to fall.
Lin Xiwan couldn’t have guessed that her sister had killed the Sprinter with a single shot through the roof.
If the Sprinter had been sentient and capable of speech, its last words would have been, “Ribbit!!!!”
“Good job, Yao.” Lin Xiwan praised her sister, still stroking her head.
The relief and excitement made her want to hug and kiss her sister, but the danger hadn’t passed yet. She could only ruffle her hair.
Lin Jiayao let her sister continue while reloading her rifle.
When she was done, her sister was still petting her head. “Sis… my head’s on fire,” she finally complained, drawing out the words.
“Oh, oh, right.” Lin Xiwan’s hand moved from her head to her face, gently caressing it.
“Sigh…”
Lin Jiayao gave up on stopping her.
Only when they saw the highway toll station did they both relax.
Safe, for now.
To escape her sister’s affectionate touch, Lin Jiayao used the excuse of needing to reload, crawled into the back, grabbed a box of ammunition and an empty magazine, and started loading.
“Click—Click—Click—”
The highway was in much better condition than the city roads, and there were almost no zombies.
The only sounds were the rain, the water dripping through the bullet holes in the roof, and the clicking of Lin Jiayao loading bullets.
Suddenly, she felt the jeep slowing down.
Just as she was about to look up and see what was happening, her sister patted her shoulder.
“Give me the gun.”
“Okay.”
Lin Jiayao inserted a full magazine into the rifle, held the rifle against her stomach with the stock, chambered a round, and then handed it to her sister.
Only then did she notice the situation ahead.
Even in the low visibility, she could see a few faint red lights ahead, seemingly taillights.
Someone stopped in front of them?
Like Lin Xiwan, Lin Jiayao felt a chill run down her spine, her breath catching in her throat.
Compared to the horde earlier, encountering humans was more worrisome.
To Lin Jiayao, armed humans were far more dangerous than mindless zombies.
Lin Xiwan slowed the jeep as they approached the red lights.
“Wait here. If I’m not back in a minute…” Lin Xiwan was about to tell her sister to stay in the car while she investigated when she saw her sister’s lips purse slightly.
She had promised not to leave her alone in dangerous situations again.
Her sister trusted her; she should also trust her sister.
After all, her sister had just defended them admirably during the zombie attack.
Lin Xiwan took a deep breath and handed the rifle back to Lin Jiayao. “Hold it steady, just like you did earlier.”
Taking the rifle, Lin Xiwan picked up the other one wrapped in oilcloth from the back.
“Rip—”
“Click—”
She tore open the oilcloth, took out the rifle, disengaged the safety, and chambered a round. Holding the rifle in her right hand, she steered with her left and slowly accelerated.
The heavy rain interfered with Bone Spike Lurker; Lin Jiayao couldn’t hear the conversation in the other vehicles, only the distinct clicks of firearms being chambered.
“Vroom—”
When they were about twenty-five meters away from the taillights, Lin Xiwan suddenly accelerated.
The tires spun, splashing water, and the jeep lunged forward.
She intended to drive straight through the stopped vehicles – stopping was too risky.
When they were about ten meters away, she shouted, “Hold on!” tapped the brakes twice, and then slammed on them.
“Screech—”
The tires skidded on the wet road, unable to stop completely, and the jeep rear-ended one of the vehicles.
“Crash—”
A loud impact, and the taillight shattered.
Lin Xiwan hadn’t intended to crash, but she’d seen the road ahead the moment the wipers cleared the windshield.
A landslide from the hill beside the highway had blocked the road with mud and debris.
The three black jeeps ahead were also stopped by the landslide.
After the collision, Lin Xiwan raised her rifle and aimed it at the vehicle in front, her heart pounding.
If they made any sudden moves, she would fire.
And Lin Jiayao, after regaining her balance, also raised her rifle, aiming at another vehicle.
The rain was too heavy; they couldn’t see what was happening inside the other vehicles, even at such close range.
The three jeeps ahead turned off their headlights. Lin Xiwan quickly did the same, and the highway was plunged into darkness.
It was already difficult to see what was happening; now, without headlights, it was impossible.
There was no moon in the rainy night, no streetlights on the highway. The four vehicles stood in silent confrontation, no one daring to step out.
The standoff lasted for about three minutes. Just as Lin Jiayao’s hand, holding the rifle, began to cramp, the situation changed.
“Honk—Honk—”
The jeep in front of Lin Xiwan suddenly honked its horn.
A signal?
Both girls tensed, thinking it was a signal to the other two vehicles.
The tense standoff continued for another minute. Nothing happened.
Not a signal?
Then, the jeep honked again, this time with a distinct rhythm.
“Honk—Honk—Honk-Honk-Honk—”
Lin Xiwan still didn’t move, her rifle aimed. Then, she saw a pale hand reach over from the passenger side and press the horn.
“Yaoyao?”
“Beep—Beep—Beep-Beep-Beep—”
Before Lin Xiwan could ask, Lin Jiayao responded with the same rhythmic honking.
Mirroring the jeep in front.
Soon, the other three vehicles honked their horns in the same pattern, and Lin Jiayao responded again.
“Honk—Honk—Honk-Honk-Honk—”
“Beep—Beep—Beep-Beep-Beep—”
Even Lin Xiwan, who had never played computer games, understood. Her sister had responded to a secret code.
The quiet highway was now filled with the cacophony of car horns.
The other vehicles turned their headlights back on, and the jeep in front even opened its door.
Lin Xiwan also turned on her headlights, illuminating the black jeep ahead.
In the headlights’ beam, she saw a young man in a raincoat and a hat, his hands raised, walking towards them.
Lin Xiwan slowly lowered her rifle.
But Lin Jiayao kept hers raised, aimed at the other two vehicles.
As the man reached the driver’s side window, Lin Xiwan slowly rolled it down.
The man, seeing the woman clearly, and then the pale-faced girl in the passenger seat, froze momentarily, forgetting his purpose.
“Knock, knock—”
Lin Xiwan, irritated by the man’s staring, rapped on the door, snapping him out of it.
“Uh… hello, my name is…”
“I don’t care what your name is,” Lin Xiwan interrupted, her tone unfriendly.
The man sensed the tension. Taking a deep breath, he said quickly, “We’re from the military base camp. The underground storage facility was flooded, so we took some supplies, loaded up all the vehicles, and left with the entire camp… You bought your jeep from the camp too, right? Same model and modifications.”
“Yes,” Lin Xiwan nodded curtly, motioning for him to continue.
“There’s a landslide up ahead. We’re separated from the rest of our convoy. They’re clearing the debris on the far right lane; that’s where the blockage is smallest. We’re about to start clearing this side…”
“Our leader said you can wait behind us. After we clear the path, you can proceed. Would that be alright with you?”
It seemed the young man had already spoken to his leader. They clearly wanted to avoid conflict.
Many people had bought modified vehicles in the past few days before the storm, most of them Awakened; there was no need to antagonize them.
“Okay, we’ll wait.”
Lin Xiwan agreed.
The man couldn’t resist one last glance at Lin Jiayao, who had lowered her rifle, his Adam’s apple bobbing, before nodding and leaving.
As soon as he turned away, Lin Xiwan rolled up the window, shutting out the rain and thunder.
“Heh, pervert,” she muttered.
“Hmm? Wasn’t he quite polite?” Lin Jiayao asked, a little confused.
She had been watching the other two vehicles, not paying attention to the young man.
“He kept staring at you,” Lin Xiwan cupped her sister’s face and made a mock-drooling sound. “Like this! He was practically drooling!”
Lin Jiayao chuckled at her sister’s exaggerated imitation. “So that’s what a pervert is? Then Sister often stares at me, so doesn’t that mean…”
“I’m your older sister! What’s wrong with staring? Hmph! I’ll stare all I want!” Lin Xiwan feigned anger and then, leaning forward, pressed her forehead against Lin Jiayao’s and rubbed it affectionately.
“What are you doing—?” Lin Jiayao laughed, pushing her sister away, her mood lightening.
Now they just had to wait for the other vehicles to clear the road.
Lin Jiayao felt confident they would reach Xin City safely via the highway. She just had to keep an eye out for any buildings covered in scrap metal.
If an Armored zombie fell on their car, they would be crushed.
Seven or eight people from the three jeeps ahead were already digging a path through the debris in the far right lane.
While waiting, Lin Xiwan turned off the headlights, climbed into the back, took off her wet clothes, and changed into dry ones.
The darkness and the heavy rain provided excellent cover; even someone standing a meter away couldn’t see clearly inside the jeep.
They could do anything without being seen.
After changing, Lin Xiwan helped Lin Jiayao change as well.
Then, she carried her sister back to the passenger seat and went back to the trunk to repair the roof.
Using her bare hands, she pushed the dented metal back into shape with brute strength.
After fixing both dents, the rainwater no longer poured through the bullet holes.
Then, she found a roll of blue electrical tape and sealed the holes.
There wasn’t much water inside the jeep; the rear doors were welded shut, but there was a small gap at the bottom for drainage, seemingly designed with the heavy southern rains in mind.
Lin Jiayao watched her sister work, her chin resting on the seat back, lost in thought.
I really want to use those cool guns… but I can’t explain how I got them…
Perhaps she could pretend to find them while scavenging with her sister?
Uh… no, that was too ridiculous.
As ridiculous as finding SpongeBob SquarePants on the other side of the ocean.
And the guns were too long to fit in the safehouse.
If the 2×2 safehouse could be upgraded to 3×3, she could disassemble the guns and bring in the parts.
While watching her sister, Lin Jiayao kept her right hand on the center console, Bone Spike Lurker constantly activated.
Although the heavy rain interfered with her hearing, she could still detect sounds other than the rain.
Like footsteps, or the clicking of firearms being chambered.
“Sigh, I hope we can find a place without rain, preferably sunny, so we can dry our clothes…”
Lin Jiayao smiled, listening to her sister’s muttering, but then her smile froze.
Her Bone Spike Lurker detected numerous footsteps.
Coming from behind.
On this section of the highway, the right side was a cliff and a raging river, the left a small hill.
So many footsteps…
“Sis… Sister!” Lin Jiayao quickly interrupted her sister, handing her the rifle.
150 meters, close enough to see blurry figures through the rain, and if they were outside, they could even hear the growls of zombies.
“Behind us!” Lin Jiayao pointed. A dark mass of zombies was approaching.
Lin Xiwan turned. The fastest Sprinters were only about fifty meters away; she could even see the red glow in their eyes.
“Rat-tat-tat-tat—”
“Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat—”
Intense gunfire erupted from the other three vehicles. They had also seen the zombies.
A figure, firing a rifle, pounded on a car door.
“Go! Go! Go!!!”
A young man’s voice shouted from outside.
They had to abandon their vehicles and climb over the landslide to rejoin the main convoy.
“Sister—”
Before Lin Jiayao could speak, Lin Xiwan grabbed her.
“Hold onto the gun!”
With her last words, she kicked open the door, grabbed her rifle with her left hand, held Lin Jiayao with her right, and jumped out of the jeep, running towards the landslide like a flash of lightning.
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