Chapter 61: Hope to Survive

It happened in just a few seconds, maybe even less.

Lin Mu’s mind went blank, but his body reacted faster than his brain. He subconsciously grabbed the edge of the car roof.

The two people were violently thrown into the horde of zombies, and right at Lin Mu’s feet, they were torn to pieces by the swarm of zombies.

Blood, mixed with chunks of flesh, splattered everywhere. The intense stench of blood was so strong that even the zombies’ rotting odor couldn’t overpower it. The slender neck was torn open by sharp claws, and before a scream could even be uttered, they were dead.

Lin Mu closed his eyes, refusing to watch. The top of the bus had a slight curve, making it difficult to maintain balance, and his hands were about to give out.

Countless decayed and withered hands reached out, trying to grab at his pant legs. The force of bodies crashing against the bus made his internal organs feel like they had shifted out of place.

He wanted to use vines to wrap around the steel frame, but when he focused, his palms remained motionless. Perhaps his energy was already exhausted.

Cold sweat dripped down his forehead. The people inside the bus were too busy dealing with the zombies to even notice Lin Mu. Even if they had noticed, there was no way they could have leaned out to save him.

He stepped on the head of a tall zombie to gain some leverage, trying to steady his grip, but his damp palms continued to slide inch by inch.

The gradual loss of strength made him feel slightly dizzy, and his already pale skin became even more ashen.

Is this it? Am I going to die here? Torn apart like those two women?

He curled his lips into a slight smile. Dying like this… it’s really an ugly way to go…

The few people on the roof of the bus only saw those two women crash into Lin Mu and roll down together. Huddled together, they didn’t dare to take a single step towards the edge.

At the critical moment, the sound of an engine roared from afar, accompanied by loud road music. Amid the ear-piercing screech of tires, an SUV drifted onto the bridge, relentlessly crashing into the zombies on the bridge.

The vehicle looked as if it had been bombed, with the entire body covered in dents and holes. All the windows had long since shattered, leaving nothing to shield the interior.

Fu Jingmo threw out several black blades, instantly clearing a large area of zombies in front of the car.

The zombies surrounding the bus noticed the new target and charged at the SUV with roars.

Fu Jingmo made another sharp turn, and only when the car was jammed by the fallen zombies, unable to move, did he abandon the steering wheel. He bent his body and jumped out through the front window.

His heavy military boots left dents on the hood of the car as he stomped, crushing the heads of several nearby zombies. He then stepped onto the roof of the SUV, leaped onto the top of the bus, and grabbed Lin Mu’s arm.

He tightly gripped that slender forearm, feeling the delicate bones in his palm, and only then did his heart finally settle back into his chest.

He had just managed to trap that group of zombies in a massive tennis court and was turning back when, even before he reached the bridge, he saw Lin Mu being knocked off the vehicle, making his whole body go cold.

With a firm grip on Lin Mu’s wrist, he pulled him up. Lin Mu’s legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed.

A strong arm wrapped around his waist. Fu Jingmo looked down at him and said with a deep voice, “Are you okay?”

Lin Mu panted heavily, his chest feeling like it was about to burst. He caught his breath and was just about to respond.

Suddenly, a loud roaring sound came from above. Two camouflage-painted helicopters were hovering overhead.

The one who was peeking out was Wen Tang, with one of her hands gripping the safety buckle of the helicopter. She was holding a heavy machine gun with her small figure, and wearing black windproof goggles over her eyes.

“Yo, I was wondering who it was—turns out it’s Fu Jingmo,” Wen Tang said, curling her lips into a smirk as she pressed the simple communication device on her ear.

“Fire!”

At her command, the machine guns aimed at the zombies below. The deafening gunfire erupted, continuous and relentless, followed by clouds of blood mist filling the air.

Everyone inside the bus crouched down, covering their heads. The gunfire lasted for five minutes, wiping out all the zombies on the bridge.

However, from her vantage point in the helicopter, Wen Tang could clearly see more zombies approaching from the streets.

She shouted, “Quickly, retreat!”

Fu Jingmo didn’t hesitate for a moment. With a cold glance at the few people on the bus roof, he ignored them and jumped down to the ground while holding Lin Mu.

Lin Mu was drenched in cold sweat, nearly collapsing from exhaustion. Beyond the loss of physical strength, it felt as though all the energy within his body had been drained, leaving his limbs numb.

“Lin Mu, Lin Mu.”

Fu Jingmo called his name twice. Lin Mu’s unfocused gaze flickered slightly, looking at him in a daze.

Fu Jingmo sighed in relief, gently brushing through Lin Mu’s soft hair. “It’s okay now, don’t worry.”

The deep, commanding voice seemed almost hypnotic. Lin Mu wondered if he had hit his head too hard because, within that voice, he detected a trace of tenderness—something he never would have associated with Fu Jingmo.

His eyelids grew heavy, and it felt as if all the terrifying experiences following the torrential downpour had dissipated, as if he could forget that this was the apocalypse. Slowly, Lin Mu closed his eyes.

He Ze, just recovering from the continuous gunfire, his head buzzing and ears almost deafened, looked back and shouted, “What’s wrong with Mumu!”

“Drive, go.”

Fu Jingmo didn’t bother to answer He Ze, just barked a cold order. The people on the roof—whether they lived or died—weren’t his concern.

Without further delay, the bus started up, wobbling as it headed toward the other side.

The road was littered with zombie corpses. Fu Jingmo placed Lin Mu on a seat and told Shen Rangchen, “Take care of him.”

Shen Rangchen nodded. Fu Jingmo then climbed into the front passenger seat, his black blade sweeping aside the rotting corpses scattered on the ground.

The people on the roof didn’t dare to move a muscle, clinging to the bus in fear of falling off.

“Follow the helicopter.”

The helicopter led the way above them, but there was no suitable place to land here, and besides, it couldn’t accommodate so many people.

However, with the machine guns from the helicopter clearing a path, the bus finally managed to leave the eastern district, escaping from the city swarming with tens of thousands of zombies.

Everyone on the bus let out a collective sigh of relief, followed by suppressed, anguished sobs. The feeling of having survived such a disaster brought everyone to tears of joy.

With the helicopter, the military, and weapons, it was like a shot of adrenaline injected into everyone’s hearts.

It turned out that what they had been told was true—there really were safe zones left in this world.

There were still people making efforts to rescue them, and they still had hope to survive.