Chapter 65: Crisis on a Rainy Night p1
Lin Jiayao had imagined many times how she would leave this camp, this city.
But she never imagined it would be so sudden and hurried, without even time to pack.
In the apocalypse, clothes and sentimental items weren’t essential. Clean water and unspoiled food were.
Memories could be made anytime, as long as the important people were by her side.
The jeep sped through the rainy night. Lin Jiayao, sitting in the passenger seat, looked at her sister.
Her sister’s hair and clothes were completely soaked, water dripping from her ponytail onto the leather seat.
“Screech—”
“Whoosh—”
A sudden flash of light. Lin Xiwan slammed on the brakes. Lin Jiayao, without a seatbelt, lurched forward, about to hit the dashboard.
But a hand shot out, protecting her forehead just in time. Lin Xiwan had anticipated the impact and reacted instinctively.
Lin Jiayao gripped her sister’s hand, sat back, and fastened her seatbelt.
She’d almost forgotten about seatbelts; it had been so long since she’d been in a car.
She looked towards the source of the flash of light.
It was hard to see through the rain-streaked windshield.
Only when the light moved to the driver’s side window could Lin Jiayao see clearly. It was a person in a raincoat, holding a flashlight.
Wang Yi.
He wasn’t alone. Several other figures, men and women, surrounded the jeep in the rain, but they didn’t approach.
Lin Xiwan rolled down the window, ignoring the rain pouring into the car. “What’s the matter?” she asked through the metal grille.
“You’re leaving?” Wang Yi turned off the flashlight, placed it on the windowsill, and wiped the water from his face. “Can’t you stay a few more days? Do you have enough supplies?”
“We’re leaving,” Lin Xiwan said firmly, clearly not wanting to elaborate.
Seeing her cold demeanor, Wang Yi sighed.
He knew that, to this young woman, her sister was everything; the lives of others were likely inconsequential.
“Can you stay and help?” Wang Yi gripped the metal grille on the window, his voice pleading. “The rain might stop tomorrow. Didn’t we always have a few days of rain every summer? Just one or two waves of Biters wandering over…”
Lin Xiwan gripped the steering wheel, avoiding his gaze.
“The rain is too heavy, Uncle Wang.”
The windshield wipers swiped across the glass, a “thud” sound with each pass, but they were useless against the downpour.
She paused before continuing, “You should take them and leave too.”
“Leave… how can I leave? So many people, where would we find enough vehicles? Where would we go? The highway? So many people! So many mouths to feed! Without the camp’s supplies! How many would survive?!”
Wang Yi gripped the metal grille, shaking it violently, his voice rising to a near roar, his emotions spiraling.
But he quickly regained control, taking a deep breath and wiping his rain-soaked face.
“Xiao Lin… please, I beg you, stay and help me for a few days… This heavy rain will stop soon.” Wang Yi’s eyes were red-rimmed, his voice trembling.
Wang Yi had always valued family, both before and after the apocalypse.
After becoming an Awakened, he had used his healing ability to establish this survivor camp, and his ability had protected him from gangs and other camps.
After all, no one could guarantee they wouldn’t be seriously injured or near death, especially with the scarcity of medical supplies.
Even with the deteriorating situation in Baiyan District, he hadn’t abandoned his relatives or the other ordinary people in the camp. He was trying to relocate them, to save as many lives as possible.
But this sudden rainstorm had shattered his plans. The typhoon that had spared Yangzhou City for years had finally arrived, and it was fierce.
Perhaps the torrential rain had caused the upstream aquatic zombies to breach the dam. It was a miracle it had held for five years.
If the rain continued, the entire city might be submerged for days, the remaining supplies washed away, the zombies driven to higher ground…
Either way, Yangzhou City would be uninhabitable.
And Wang Yi couldn’t possibly relocate so many people to a suitable city, especially not in this torrential rain.
He wanted to try, to defend the camp during the storm.
If they survived, he could plan a route and evacuate everyone on a clear day.
But the hope of survival… was slim.
If the Awakened Lin Xiwan stayed, their chances would increase, even if only slightly. That slight increase was crucial to him.
But his hopes were dashed.
Lin Xiwan wouldn’t leave her sister and gamble on a near-impossible defense.
Escaping Yangzhou City with Lin Jiayao guaranteed their survival for at least tonight. Staying here, with Lin Jiayao, was a death sentence.
“Uncle Wang, how many of the others have left?” Lin Xiwan asked, turning slightly towards him.
By “others,” she meant the other Awakened in the camp.
Wang Yi was silent for a long time before exhaling slowly, releasing his grip on the window, and taking a step back.
“Open the gate!!!”
He turned and shouted towards the camp entrance, waving his flashlight.
He wiped his face again, looked at Lin Xiwan, and forced a smile.
“Safe travels,” Wang Yi said hoarsely, his final words of farewell, before patting the car door, indicating the gate was open.
He didn’t say how many Awakened had stayed, but Lin Jiayao could guess.
From his earlier outburst, she knew that besides Wang Yi, the number of Awakened remaining was—
Zero.
No Awakened would willingly stay and face the horde driven towards them by the floodwaters and the aquatic zombies.
Those who could, had fled with their families; those who couldn’t, fled alone.
Only fools would stay.
Whether they stayed or left, it was a choice based on their own circumstances. Lin Xiwan couldn’t judge Wang Yi, and Wang Yi couldn’t ask her to stay and fight with him.
“Take care,” Lin Xiwan nodded slightly, rolled up the window, put the car in gear, and slowly drove towards the gate.
Along the way, Lin Jiayao saw countless people in raincoats, holding umbrellas, or bare-chested.
Some were explorers, some just family members, old and young, men and women.
They all clutched homemade weapons or firearms wrapped in oilcloth, looking at the car and its occupants with expressions of either apathy or envy.
Whether they were hateful or envious, it was no longer Lin Xiwan’s concern. She had neither the obligation nor the ability to protect everyone.
“Thump—”
A sudden impact against the driver’s side door. Lin Xiwan slammed on the brakes.
“Slap, slap, slap—”
Through the heavy rain, Lin Xiwan could only see a hand repeatedly slapping the window.
“Xiaowan, Xiaowan, please help Ayi, okay? I watched you and your sister grow up all these years. Why are you leaving too? He can’t hold on alone, Awan.”
An older woman’s voice, crying and pleading, barely audible above the drumming rain.
Lin Xiwan recognized her. It was Aunt Wang, who managed the bathhouse. She was the one who always brought them extra water and clothes, even carrying a bucket of hot water to their room for Lin Jiayao when Lin Xiwan was away.
Lin Xiwan took a deep breath, put the car in gear again, and silently apologized.
“Vroom—”
She accelerated, quickly leaving Aunt Wang’s voice behind.
The jeep passed through the camp gate. As they drove away, the large iron gate slowly closed behind them, visible in the rearview mirror.
Lin Xiwan continued driving, turning right down the slope towards the highway.
Lin Jiayao looked at her sister’s profile. Her wet bangs clung to her forehead, water dripping down her cheeks. Lin Jiayao couldn’t tell if it was rain or tears.
She knew it was likely the latter.
Her sister was much more sentimental than her.
Although she appeared cold and aloof, her dreams of being a hero at Survivor’s Light and her tears now betrayed her warm heart.
Sometimes, coldness was just a necessary disguise in the apocalypse.
Lin Jiayao believed that if it weren’t for her, Lin Xiwan might have stayed and fought that impossible battle, trying to save everyone in the camp.
Even though it would likely mean her own death.
“Sister…” Lin Jiayao started to speak, wanting to comfort her, but her sister interrupted.
“Yao, do you think Sister is a deserter?” Lin Xiwan asked, her gaze fixed on the road ahead.
“No, this was the right decision,” Lin Jiayao shook her head. “Sister did the right thing.”
Even from an outsider’s perspective, Lin Xiwan had no obligations to these people; leaving was perfectly reasonable.
“Is that so…” Lin Xiwan murmured, and the only sound in the car was the drumming rain.
After a long silence, Lin Xiwan spoke again. “I want to be stronger.”
She gripped the steering wheel, her gaze fixed on the rain-streaked windshield. “I want to be strong enough to eliminate every last zombie, to prevent these tragedies from happening again, to restore the world to how it was…”
Perhaps triggered by the scene earlier, Lin Xiwan poured out her heart, as if speaking her thoughts aloud would ease the burden.
Then, she exhaled slowly and said with a self-deprecating chuckle, “A childish dream, isn’t it?”
“It’s not childish,” Lin Jiayao said, shaking her head. “It’s… admirable.”
She genuinely admired her sister’s dream.
Even if it seemed unrealistic, at least she had such a dream.
If no one in this apocalyptic world had such a dream, then the world would truly be lost.
But Lin Jiayao herself didn’t have such grand ambitions. She only wanted to protect her sister.
“THUMP—”
“Screech—”
A sudden, massive impact from the left side sent the jeep skidding to the right, almost overturning.
“Roar—”
The roar of a Sprinter.
Both Lin Xiwan and Lin Jiayao instantly recognized the sound.
Had the horde already arrived? They hadn’t even gotten far from the camp…
It seemed the camp wouldn’t last the night. Even if Lin Xiwan had stayed, even if all the Awakened in the city gathered there, they couldn’t defend it.
Humans tired; zombies didn’t.
Lin Jiayao had seen hordes like tidal waves; this was beyond the defensive capabilities of a small camp.
“Damn it!”
Lin Xiwan regained control of the jeep and accelerated.
But the roars of zombies were now close behind.
“Yaoyao! Get the guns from the trunk!” Lin Xiwan shouted, pushing the jeep to its limits.
She couldn’t worry about her sister’s mobility now; the slightest mistake, and they would be overtaken.
She knew her sister wasn’t experienced with guns, having only read about them in books and asked her some questions, but there was no other choice. Even killing a single zombie increased their chances of survival.
Lin Jiayao quickly unbuckled her seatbelt, reclined the seat fully, and crawled into the back.
To reduce weight, the back seats had been removed, creating a large space connected to the trunk for storing supplies.
She quickly found a package wrapped in oilcloth and felt the cold metal of the firearms within.
Two Type 95 rifles, seemingly purchased from the military base, well-maintained and almost new.
Besides the rifles, there was also a box of ammunition and magazines.
“THUMP!!!”
“THUMP!”
“THUMP!!!”
“Crack—”
“Roar—”
Countless zombies swarmed the jeep, slamming against the doors.
Some even grabbed onto the metal grilles on the windows, smashing their heads against the glass, splattering it with blood and pus.
The grilles, meant to protect against zombies, were now helping them climb onto the car.
Lin Jiayao even saw cracks appearing on the windows.
“Sister, open the back windows!” Lin Jiayao shouted, moving closer to the ammunition box and sitting with her back against the driver’s seat.
Without hesitation, Lin Xiwan pressed the buttons on the console.
She had to focus on driving; stopping or overturning meant certain death.
“Click.”
“Click—”
Lin Jiayao expertly disengaged the safety and chambered a round. The magazines were fully loaded, thankfully.
But chambering the round took effort.
Compared to the zombie bodies she controlled, her own body was far too weak.
Leaning against the seat, back-to-back with her sister, she aimed at the zombies now reaching through the bent grilles.
She pressed the stock against her shoulder, held her breath, and aimed at a Biter clinging to the window.
“Rat-tat-tat-tat—”
The recoil jolted her shoulder, but the soft seat absorbed some of the impact.
Even so, it took four shots to kill the Biter.
Shooting upwards from a moving vehicle wasn’t easy, and the jeep was shaking violently, the zombie’s head constantly moving.
And, most importantly, she hadn’t fired a gun with her human body before; her firearms proficiency had been honed while controlling Mask with its bone spikes.
“Bang—”
“Ding—”
The muzzle flash and the sound of bullets ricocheting off the metal grilles alerted Lin Xiwan.
Although she couldn’t see her sister, she noticed her poor aim – she heard the shots, but none hit their targets.
The accuracy wasn’t ideal, but at least she was firing.
“Don’t worry, Yaoyao, take your time… Just like playing a game.”
Just as Lin Xiwan spoke, a loud “thump” echoed from the roof.
The metal dented inwards.
A Sprinter had climbed onto the roof!
“Shit…”
Lin Xiwan’s hands, gripping the steering wheel, were slick with sweat. Her heart sank.
A Sprinter was much stronger than a Biter. It wouldn’t be long before it smashed through the roof!
“Rat-tat—Rat-tat—Rat-tat-tat—”
But Lin Jiayao remained calm, seemingly finding her rhythm.
Several well-aimed bursts took down the Biters clinging to the rear windows. Then, she raised her rifle and aimed at the roof.
She removed her left hand from the handguard and placed it on the side, her fingernails touching the chassis, activating Bone Spike Lurker. She waited for the next impact.
“Thump—”
The roof dented again. But this time, the moment she heard the sound, Lin Jiayao adjusted her aim and fired.
“Bang—”
A single, crisp gunshot.
A bullet hole appeared in the roof, followed by the sound of something rolling and then falling.
“Rat-tat—”
Lin Jiayao fired a few more random shots at the roof, making the single shot that killed the Sprinter seem less suspicious.
“Drip, drip—”
Rainwater dripped through the dented roof and the bullet holes, but there were no more impacts.
“Vroom—”
The jeep finally reached the main road, and Lin Xiwan accelerated to 120km/h.
As their speed increased, the horde fell behind, the zombies unable to keep up.
Following this road, they would soon reach the highway toll station. The resort was located near the city’s edge, only about five kilometers from the highway.
After shaking off the horde, Lin Xiwan slowed down.