Chapter 42

The Bridge

At that moment, the people who had gone scouting returned. Almost everyone was covered in blood, clearly having gone through a fierce battle.

Sure enough—

“We found a vehicle after walking a bit forward. It was wrecked, and all the things inside were gone—no one was there,” said Hu Xuan, the leader of their escape team, who was tall and robust, around thirty years old. He was the strongest abilities user in the Sunshine Base, and the team he led was the strongest in the base. They had been the first to exit the city, and knowing their identities, everyone quietly followed, initially worried that they might be unwelcome. However, the speed of their driving remained steady, clearly indicating they were fine with being followed.

Later, they learned this was because the base leader had spoken to them beforehand and even paid them a hefty sum.

“We can lead the way, but we’re not responsible for your safety. If there’s danger, we’ll all deal with it together; just don’t hold each other back. Our agreement with the base leader didn’t include any extra obligations,” Hu Xuan said frankly.

With this clarification, everyone felt more confident following them.

“I checked the vehicle’s number; it’s from the Happy Base,” Hu Xuan continued.

Now, each base managed its vehicles independently. However, the abbreviations were different for each base, so people could easily identify which base a vehicle belonged to by looking at the first two digits. More detailed information could be obtained from each base’s vehicle management section.

“It should be Dr. Fang’s vehicle. Dr. Fang is the doctor from the Happy Base; he went to the Garden Base on the same day as I did,” Dr. He added, recounting their earlier experiences.

Upon hearing that Juan was the first to identify the zombie and had killed it on the spot, Hu Xuan gave him an approving glance. Later, hearing about the old man’s remarkable chickens, Hu Xuan couldn’t help but look at them a few more times: “Are these mutated animals? Quite rare.”

 The Old Man Paid No Mind to Him

In the early days of the apocalypse, some animals, alongside humans, also mutated and gained abilities. However, animal mutations were far rarer than human ones. With few high-level ability users at their base, mutated animals were even scarcer—or, to be precise, non-existent. There had been a mutated dog years ago, but it had left with its owner, and since then, their base had seen no other mutated animals.

But not only did the old man have mutated animals—he had seven of them. It was clear that he must have experienced some extraordinary fortune.

What Hu Xuan realized, others did as well. Beyond the chickens’ earlier heroic actions, their acute sensitivity to zombies made them even more remarkable. As the group looked at the chickens again, it was as if they were gazing at treasures. Many of those who had initially refused the old man a seat in their vehicles deeply regretted it now. Those who had kicked him out because of the chickens’ stench regretted it even more bitterly.

While others felt either envy or regret, Hu Xuan was simply intrigued. With his own team being strong and reliable, he didn’t think too much about the chickens. After listening to Dr. He’s account, Hu Xuan glanced at the bodies on the ground and gave a slow nod.

Although Hu Xuan didn’t know the doctor from Happiness Base, he recognized several of the ability users from that base—especially the most powerful ones, who were now lying lifeless before him.

Gazing at the disfigured corpses of former comrades with whom he had once completed missions, Hu Xuan shook his head. “Happiness Base must have fallen,” he said.

With that, he summoned a flame in his hand and tossed it onto one of the bodies. It caught fire immediately, and soon all the bodies were burning, as if they were lighting a campfire.

Several people, having lost loved ones in the recent battle, began to weep softly. But they didn’t have much time to grieve, as Hu Xuan moved on to business.

“We were also attacked by zombies earlier. There were more of them—thirty-two in total. Fortunately, since it wasn’t a surprise attack, we had no casualties.”

In truth, it was because Hu Xuan himself had been the first to encounter the zombies. As the top ability user at Sunshine Base, he had quickly dispatched them. Thanks to his quick response, the others were well-prepared, and they managed to eliminate all the zombies without suffering any losses.

“The map the base leader gave us marks three large bases we could head to. Unfortunately, it only shows rough directions and general descriptions—no precise locations.”

“I’ll tell you now—I’m heading to Pinghai Base.” Hu Xuan pulled out the map the base leader had given him and pointed at it. “It’s the only one of the three that I’ve heard of.”

“I believe Pinghai Base is the closest. At this point, my strategy is to head for the nearest safe base. Once we’re secure, we can decide whether to move to another base later, especially after we learn more about the other places.”

He scanned the group and, unsurprisingly, saw no objections. In fact, everyone began consulting their maps to locate Pinghai Base.

“Good. I’ll assume we’re all agreed—Pinghai Base it is,” Hu Xuan concluded.

“But no matter which base we choose, we can’t avoid this.” He tapped a bridge icon on the map.

“With the land now divided, anyone traveling north has to cross this bridge. I’m not sure how familiar you are with the situation there, but I’ve been across it three times. The first time went smoothly, but by the second, bandits had appeared. It was difficult to get through. By the third time—five years ago—a powerful group had unified the bandits and built a town centered around the bridge.”

“Our scouting earlier had two goals: to see if any new bridges had been built and to check if their town still existed.”

“Unfortunately, no new bridges have appeared, and the bandit town is still there.”

“If we want to leave this place and reach any large base, we’ll have to pass through that town.”

The group fell silent at this revelation.

Traveling to another base was dangerous because of the many hazards along the way—bandits being one of the most serious threats.

When the zombie outbreak first erupted, the densely populated city they were in quickly became unmanageable. In the end, large-scale weapons were used to annihilate the city, creating a massive crater at the center. The bombardment triggered earthquakes and even a tsunami. In those years, people were terrified not only of the zombie virus but also of the frequent tremors that followed.

The earthquakes caused a huge rift to open between the city and the inland territories. From above, it looked like a crack in the earth—but for those living on the ground, it was an insurmountable chasm.

Before the apocalypse, such a rift could have been easily bridged. But in this post-apocalyptic world, constructing a bridge was nearly impossible—until someone managed to build one.

The bridge was likely built to transport refugees or supplies. It spanned the narrowest section of the rift and remained in place after it was completed.

Of course, the Sunshine Base, which was located further south, never received any evacuation orders at the time. Along with a few other bases, they focused on containment, gradually wearing down the zombie hordes. Once the situation improved, bold individuals began venturing farther out, and it was on one of these journeys that the bridge was discovered—by Hu Xuan and by some bandits.

Perhaps those bandits hadn’t started out as criminals. They were likely powerful ability users who realized they could profit from their abilities. Eventually, they decided to block the bridge and turn to banditry in earnest.

This is why ordinary people and low-level ability users from Sunshine Base and neighboring areas rarely dared to leave: the way out was guarded by bandits, making escape nearly impossible.

Most people only know that there are bandits here—they have no idea these bandits even built a whole city!

“Prepare to be fleeced. We’ll pay the toll and cross the bridge,” Hu Xuan said, explaining his plan. “Let’s not do anything unnecessary and leave as quickly as possible. Some of the people from Happiness Base turned into zombies nearby. I’m not sure if the zombies we just encountered have any connection with them, so we have to assume the worst: the virus might have already entered that city. If that’s the case…”

He didn’t finish his sentence, but everyone could imagine the outcome.

If the virus had already spread in that city, it would become a zombie city, blocking their way forward. Behind them were hordes of zombies from at least four other cities. This… this was a nightmare.

Without daring to think further, everyone got back into the vehicles. They decided to cross the bridge as quickly as possible.

They were now racing against time, trying to leave before the zombie outbreak took hold of the city!

In an orderly line, the group from Sunshine Base followed Hu Xuan’s car toward the entrance of the base known as “Paradise.”

Yes, the bandits even gave their hideout a fancy name.

However, the gate to this base wasn’t as sturdy and imposing as those of more legitimate bases like Sunshine. It was just an ordinary iron gate—big, yes, but decorated with colorful graffiti that gave it a shady appearance.

Not exactly secure—at least that’s what most of the people from Sunshine Base thought.

When they arrived, several vehicles that had been waiting outside the city just ahead of them were let in. The gate opened and closed quickly. As soon as the gatekeeper saw their long convoy, he whistled and called for more people to come over.

“Where are you all heading? A crowd like this doesn’t look like traders,” the gatekeeper asked, leaning toward Hu Xuan, who was driving the lead vehicle.

“We’re leaving here to search for a larger base,” Hu Xuan answered without hesitation.

“Oh?” The gatekeeper raised his eyebrows, resting his arm on the car window. Then he gave Hu Xuan a playful wink. “Big operation, huh?”

Just as Hu Xuan could immediately recognize these people as bandits, the gatekeeper could also tell from experience that Hu Xuan and his group were not ordinary survivors—they were likely ability users on a mission.

Hu Xuan handed over a small package from his car. After inspecting the contents, the gatekeeper’s face lit up with a grin.

“Good luck. Head inside—someone will meet you to discuss the bridge toll.” Without wasting words, the man gestured for them to proceed.

Hu Xuan restarted his engine, and one by one, the vehicles behind him followed.

As their convoy slowly entered the city, four other cars overtook them from the right. These vehicles didn’t stop to be questioned, only giving the gatekeeper a casual wave before driving straight in without even slowing down.

The first three vehicles had no markings, likely belonging to Paradise Base, but the last one bore the distinct markings of Happiness Base.

Hu Xuan pressed his lips into a tight line and motioned to his companion to speed up. Time was running out.