Wang Zhi parked the car by the roadside. The group ate the food they had just brought from the gas station; they hadn't eaten a proper meal these past two days.
"How much further do we have?" Old He asked.
"Not far now. We've already entered the suburbs of Dragon City. Before we reach the city center, we will pass a Passenger Bus Station," Wang Zhi replied.
"Passenger Bus Station?" Hearing about the bus station, Old He and the others looked somewhat solemn.
They all knew that bus stations typically have a high volume of traffic, and passing through there would not be an easy task.
"Can't we go around?" You Luo asked.
Wang Zhi shook his head. "That is the shortest route to Wholesale City. If we take a detour, we will still have to wander around the city center for a while, and the risk factor won't be lower than the bus station."
'Sigh, as expected, it's not that simple," Fatty sighed.
"Actually... the passenger station isn't much of a concern. It's our final destination, Wholesale City, whose environment might be harsher than we imagine," Wang Zhi continued.
"Why?" Duan Qingtian asked, confused.
"We need to be psychologically prepared for the possibility that it might be destroyed, after all, this rain isn't only falling above our heads," Wang Zhi replied.
"If that's the case, I still think finding a few convenience stores and supermarkets would be safer," You Luo said.
"Right now, a single convenience store can yield a maximum of 100 kilograms of resources. To gather a ton, how many places would you need to visit?" Wang Zhi countered.
"After all, convenience stores don't stockpile much in their warehouses. It's different at the wholesale market; every shop is essentially a warehouse. The resources circulated daily are immense: all kinds of grains, vacuum-packed food, air-dried meats, various cooking oils-they have everything," Wang Zhi continued speaking.
"Never mind the rest, just moving two carts of flour alone would quickly amount to two tons, right?" Qin Sheng's eyes lit up.
"Exactly. If it goes smoothly, it'll be this satisfying," Wang Zhi said.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's hurry up and go take them down!" Fatty exclaimed excitedly, tossing his plastic water bottle onto the ground.
"Oh my, Fatty is really energized today. Looks like he's preparing for a big fight," Su Muying said slowly.
"Of course! Just thinking about those ugly faces fills me with strength!" Fatty declared, striking a pose he thought looked quite cool.
Bang! Wang Zhi and the others got back into the vehicle and continued their advance toward the Northern Sector.
As they got closer to the city center, the number of Zombies on the road began to increase sharply, forcing Gray Wolf, who was alone in the truck bed, to become a group of three.
They needed to shoot any Zombies trying to approach in advance to protect the vehicle.
It now seemed that the current environment within the city was far more hostile than they had imagined.
Almost all the Zombies had mutated into a reddish-white color, possessing stronger senses and faster reaction speeds.
It was almost inevitable that they would get entangled with any Zombie they passed.
Slash! Slash! Jia Liuli continuously swung her blade in the back of the truck bed, fending off the Zombies chasing behind them.
"Old He, drive faster," Wang Zhi said into the radio, frowning as he watched the Zombies relentlessly catching up from behind the vehicle.
"The road conditions are complicated right now; we can't go faster," Old He replied.
Just as Old He finished speaking, Wang Zhi saw the lead vehicle quickly making S-curves to evade several wrecked cars and scattered debris.
"Jia Liuli, hold tight," Wang Zhi said, quickly maneuvering the steering wheel in line with the lead vehicle's path.
"There's the Passenger Station," Duan Qingtian's voice came.
Wang Zhi looked up toward the large sign in the distance. "Good. When we reach the intersection for the Passenger Station, turn right, and keep going straight; you'll see the Wholesale City."
*Screeech!* As Wang Zhi finished speaking, the vehicle ahead slammed on its brakes. Wang Zhi was startled and immediately stomped the brake pedal down hard.
*Crash!* The sudden, hard stop caused Jia Liuli and the others on the truck bed to slam into the cab structure.
Before Wang Zhi could ask what happened, he saw the situation ahead: the overpass at the intersection had completely collapsed, and the resulting wreckage, along with the surrounding Zombies, blocked their path entirely.
Wang Zhi immediately jumped out of the vehicle; their arrival had already stirred up the Zombies at the intersection.
*Bang bang bang!* Fatty unleashed a rapid volley from the truck bed toward the Zombies pursuing them from behind.
Su Muying quickly scrambled out of the cab and onto the roof as well.
"Old He, you guys hold them off up front," Wang Zhi ordered, drawing his knife and moving to the side to confront the Zombies coming from the rear.
Wang Zhi attacked relentlessly amidst several Zombies. If he hadn't rigorously practiced his footwork recently, he would have suffered significant losses just fighting these common Zombies.
They didn't have much ammunition, and Wang Zhi had no intention of using firearms until they encountered a massive horde of Zombies.
Now, he was gradually becoming proficient in using the Twin Blades. Initially, he could only wield one blade, while the other hand had to constantly hold a pistol, as if he lacked a sense of security.
Ever since Su Muying showed him how to use the Twin Blades, Wang Zhi suddenly understood that the so-called Twin Blades involved one attack and one support: the White Blade was for support-it could block or be detached-while the Black Blade was purely for offense, never defense.
Wang Zhi used the White Blade to sever the arm of a lunging Zombie, and the other Black Blade followed immediately, striking straight for the head.
Thud! After Wang Zhi blew the head off the last Zombie, just as he was about to turn, he heard Gray Wolf shouting from a distance.
"Careful!"
"Careful" was the phrase Wang Zhi dreaded most, because once those two words were spoken, something extremely dangerous was bound to happen.
Wang Zhi turned his head and instantly saw a giant object falling toward him from the sky.
Wang Zhi pushed off with his feet and dove into the roadside greenery.
Boom!!
The instant he jumped clear, a huge crash sounded behind him.
"WTF! Who the hell threw a taxi?" Fatty, who was on the truck bed, immediately blurted out a classic curse upon seeing the taxi falling from the sky.
Wang Zhi stared at the taxi, which had shattered upon impact, his heart alarmed. Was that a toy car? To just throw something like that?
Bang, bang, bang! Just as Wang Zhi was looking at the taxi, another volley of gunshots rang out.
It was obvious the taxi had been thrown from the direction of the intersection; Wang Zhi watched the Muscle Zombie emerge from the rubble.
Approximately ten feet high, covered in bulging muscle, it stood atop the overpass ruins and casually picked up another boulder, hurling it toward them.
"Damn it!" Wang Zhi cursed under his breath, worried the massive rock would smash onto their vehicle.
Crash! This time, the boulder throw was inaccurate, striking the bus stop sign nearby instead.
The Muscle Zombie continuously lifted boulders and hurled them their way. The group desperately dodged while Fatty quickly got into the driver's seat and reversed the car.
Boom! Finally, Wang Zhi's worst fear materialized.
Old He was just about to follow fatty's lead and reverse the vehicle, but the moment he engaged the ignition, a boulder smashed directly into the hood.
"Old He!" Seeing Old He still inside the car, Wang Zhi was jolted and immediately rushed forward.
"Inhibitor hit!" Gray Wolf's voice crackled over the radio.
At this moment, Wang zhi couldn't spare a thought for the Inhibitor. He sprinted to the car at top speed and saw that the boulder had only struck the engine block. Old He, jarred by the impact, had only sustained minor cuts from shards of rock or glass, and the airbags in both the driver and passenger seats had deployed.
"Old He, are you alright?" Wang Zhi pulled Old He out of the wreckage.
"That was close. If that rock had landed even a little further forward, I probably would have been done for," Old He said, wiping blood from his face.
"Gray Wolf's Inhibitor has hit now; let's fall back," Wang Zhi said, helping Old He move to the rear.
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