Dusk fell unnoticed.
The evening breeze was entirely different from that of the day.
It carried a biting chill.
Luo Xiaole had returned to the car with Zhou Shoushan and the others.
"After waiting all day, they still haven't arrived?" she asked, rubbing her now numb hands in surprise.
She found it strange.
According to her and Mo Shen's calculations that morning.
If Luo Shu and the others had escaped along that route, with the map in hand, they most likely would have followed the map's directions directly to the national highway.
Traveling on the highway, they should have arrived even faster than Luo Xiaole and her group, and should have been here long ago.
Yet, there was still no sign of them…
Luo Xiaole's heart began to pound.
She had tried to open the Buddhist ring's locator today, but the system had remained unresponsive…
Either the system hadn't updated their location yet, or…
Qin Mingyang was more than 15 kilometers away from them, which was why the ring hadn't given any instructions!
"Caw…" Bird calls suddenly sounded from around them, as if startled by something…
Zhou Shoushan and the others' headlights were on, making them conspicuous on the empty road.
"We should leave first," Zhou Shoushan's brows furrowed like a small mountain.
Luo Xiaole thought for a moment, looking at the setting sun and the gradually blurring vision.
She had no choice but to nod.
The factory had no roof or intact walls, and there were no hiding places nearby.
Staying here longer tonight, who knew what dangers might arise…
Luo Xiaole took out the map and looked at it. They were not far from Luocheng Base.
Before the car started, Luo Xiaole jumped out decisively, "Wait for me."
With Mo Shen providing cover nearby, she directly picked up a stone from the ground and drew a large cleaver on a nearby wall.
The cleaver was missing a small corner.
Next to the direction the cleaver was pointing, she wrote the words "Luocheng Base" in large characters.
Anyone seeing this sight would likely only think it meant Luocheng Base provided weapons and shelter.
But Luo Shu would definitely understand it as a mark she left behind. It was the first cleaver Luo Shu had, which she had strengthened at the time!
That guy had been so excited when he got that weapon, he’d slept with it. Luo Shu would definitely recognize the shape of this cleaver!
With Lin Xia around, Luo Shu and the others should be fine. They might have been delayed by something, or perhaps they had even taken a shortcut and were ahead.
If Luo Shu and the others could see this, she would be telling them to meet at Luocheng Base.
…
Qin Mingyang was also leading his men, making their way forward.
After all, darkness was the best cover for zombies.
He might have some confidence in dealing with zombies during the day, but no one wanted to clash head-on with zombies at night.
Especially at night, it was the infiltrators' domain.
So as soon as it got dark, his expression became serious.
He urged his men to travel at full speed, and unexpectedly, after such rapid progress, they arrived at the small village where Luo Xiaole and her group had rested the previous night.
What was even more unexpected was that there were still people living in this small village!
It was the same group of lively individuals Luo Xiaole had met last night.
"Go, knock on the door," Qin Mingyang put on a fake smile again.
"Tell them we have food and need to stay here for the night. If they are unwilling…" Qin Mingyang's eyes instantly turned cold, and he glanced downwards.
The special forces soldiers beside him understood.
Several silenced machine guns were silently set up on the back of the vehicles, their muzzles quietly aimed at the gate.
Everything was being done quietly and stealthily.
Even Luo Shu and Zhou Xiaojun didn't notice.
However, Lin Xia seemed very sensitive to these matters. She saw that Qin Mingyang's men had gotten out of the cars and were all hiding behind the vehicles.
She immediately knew what they were up to.
She made a gesture to her bodyguards.
Those bald men in sunglasses immediately gripped their weapons tighter.
If Qin Mingyang dared to harm anyone here arbitrarily, he would silence them.
Then they would likely not escape either.
It would be better to strike first…
However, unexpectedly, when the door was knocked open, the people inside heard that there were survivors outside.
Without a word, they invited Qin Mingyang and his men in as warmly as they would guests.
"Young Master…" The special forces soldier who knocked on the door returned, looking flustered. "They said they have food, and this house isn't theirs anyway. Everyone can stay, and we can just go in directly."
Qin Mingyang paused for a moment.
Then he smiled again.
"Alright, let's go in." He wanted to see who would be so bold as to claim they had food in front of him, and yet looked down on his food…
This was truly unheard of.
He made a gesture, and all the guns in the darkness behind him were lowered.
The special forces soldiers remained on alert.
Guarding Qin Mingyang, everyone stepped through the seemingly eerie but harmonious large gate.
…
Luo Xiaole and her group finally arrived in front of a row of country villas not far from Luocheng Base before dark, following the map Mo Shen had redrawn.
"Huh?" She was quite surprised.
In front of this small row of villas, all the crops still looked well-tended.
The various bloodstains that had appeared intermittently along the way suddenly disappeared here.
From a distance, this row of small villas looked like a paradise, peaceful as it was before the apocalypse.
She could even see points of light shining through the windows.
It seemed someone was living inside.
The soldier driving the car was also pleased to see this. It seemed they had entered the safe zone around Luocheng Base from here?
Even the shadows of zombies had disappeared.
He stepped on the accelerator and drove towards the small villas along the reed marsh.
However, a sound suddenly came from the reed marsh.
"No… Get away… Get away! Just kill me!" a shrill, desperate female voice came from within.
"Kill you? Don't even think about it. Even if you're exhausted from us today, you'll still have to entertain us for a while!" Several rough male voices also echoed.
Luo Xiaole clenched her fists tightly, a curse stuck in her throat.
Anyone could guess what a horrific scene was unfolding in the reed marsh.
Under the apocalypse, human morality had broken down. Some people truly didn't deserve to be called human!
Before Zhou Shoushan could speak.
"Open the window!" Luo Xiaole's eyes were bloodshot as she spoke in anger.
The car window was instantly rolled down.
Luo Xiaole's thumbtacks were gone, so she casually took out a few small fruit knives from her stash.
"Swish!" She hurled one towards the source of the sound!
"Ah!" A man's scream suddenly rang out.
"My leg is broken! Who, who is it! Come out and die!" the man screamed roughly.
Suddenly, the figures in the reed marsh shifted in panic.
Sensing an attack, the men instantly pushed the girl, who was pressed to the ground and partially unclothed, up to use as a shield.
"Damn it…" Luo Xiaole pursed her lips, anxiously twirling the knife in her hand three times, but she couldn't make another move.
The sky was dim, and the girl was in front of her. She dared not attack, for fear of friendly fire.
"That girl won't move at this moment," Mo Shen's voice came softly to Luo Xiaole's ear.
Then, a fruit knife in her hand was lightly pulled away.
"Those who have something to hide are the most unsteady in their movements. They will tremble with nervousness behind others and peek outwards," Mo Shen would suddenly talk a lot when explaining things like this.
Luo Xiaole leaned out to look. Indeed, outside the girl's small silhouette, a few strong figures were peeking around nervously.
The contrast in movement made the targets much easier to identify.
"Catch the rhythm of their breathing," Mo Shen's voice was like a fragrant orchid.
"Swish!" Mo Shen's wrist flicked rapidly.
"Ah!!"
A man's scream.
"Fourth brother! Fourth brother!" someone nearby cried out in fear.
"Fourth brother… is dead, damn it!"
"Hurry back! They're not friendly!" several people shouted quickly and, using the reed marsh as cover, madly ran towards the small villas!