Chapter 59: Crossing the Bridge

When the SUV disappeared from view, there were still hundreds of zombies left on the bridge.

Lin Mu stared intently at the position of the bridge spanning the river, his heart pounding wildly. If they drove straight across, the people on the steel frame wouldn’t really have a problem.

The zombies weren’t all gathered in one place, and the bus was fast. He could clear the way with vines, and as for Shen Rangchen’s ability, he hadn’t seen it yet, but at worst, they could just crash their way through.

This was an opportunity brought by Fu Jingmo, and they had to seize it.

But…

There were still people up there, three on the left, and three on the right.

Lin Mu’s expression darkened. He turned to look at the people sitting in the car and said in a deep voice, “Take up all the weapons. There are survivors on the steel frame. If we can, we’ll take them with us.”

He didn’t demand it; he could only do his best. If he couldn’t save them, there was nothing he could do.

The miners, who had gone through a lot with them, didn’t say anything. They just tightened their grip on their pickaxes and hoes.

The four villagers had four machetes, which they now took out from their baskets.

“Close all the windows. If zombies do get in, protect yourselves.”

He couldn’t ensure everyone’s safety; everyone could only rely on themselves.

Shen Rangchen opened his clothes and searched for something inside. It was then that Lin Mu noticed a blue cloth bag slung across Shen Rangchen’s inner T-shirt. The bag was rectangular and pressed close to his white T-shirt.

He took out a stack of yellow talisman papers from the bag. Lin Mu had only seen these kinds of things on TV. His talisman papers seemed smaller, about the width and length of two fingers together.

The talisman papers had runes written in black ink, similar to the ones Lin Mu had seen in the village.

Shen Rangchen flipped through them and then with a twist of his wrist, gathered them all into his palm.

Lin Mu didn’t pay any more attention to it, figuring they would soon find out what Shen Rangchen’s ability was. “He Ze, be careful.”

Although He Ze usually acted boisterous, he could quickly calm down whenever he encountered danger. It was probably because sports competitions helped develop a strong heart.

He made an OK gesture towards Lin Mu and kept his eyes fixed ahead, mentally calculating the route they would take.

Seeing everyone on high alert, Lin Mu sat in the passenger seat, while Shen Rangchen guarded the door.

Hundreds of zombies, far more than in the mining area, and more importantly, Fu Jingmo was not there. Lin Mu felt uneasy, as if he was being forced into a corner, compelling himself to stay calm and solve the predicament in front of him.

There was no time to delay, otherwise the zombies on the road would gather under the steel frame of the bridge again.

He rolled down the passenger window and said coldly, “Let’s go.”

The bus started and slowly moved onto the road. The bridge spanning the river could accommodate four cars side by side, with separated motor lanes on both sides, making it very spacious.

So, the hundreds of zombies on it were not densely packed. The bus gradually approached the bridge entrance.

…

From the window on the 14th floor, behind the binoculars, a pair of long-lashed eyes with slightly upturned eyeliner at the corners watched. They were a woman’s eyes.

She wore a camouflage military uniform similar to Lin Mu’s, with a leather belt at the waist outlining a lean and powerful figure, exuding strength.

At this moment, she also noticed the commotion on this side and chuckled, “Heh.”

So, the departing SUV was drawing zombies away for the bus.

“Xiao Chen, how much longer until the support arrives?”

Xiao Chen, the junior officer who had given her the binoculars, checked the time and looked up, “Lieutenant, less than ten minutes.”

Wen Tang acknowledged and continued watching the scene.

…

The zombies on the bridge gradually noticed the approaching bus, and a few stragglers ran back from the direction Fu Jingmo had just left.

With a twist of his wrist, Lin Mu sent the vines flying straight out, piercing the rotten heads. Instantly, the stench intensified.

“Mumu, I’m on the bridge.”

“Okay, stop at the steel frame on the left.”

A bus full of people was naturally more attractive than the ones on the steel frame. In an instant, the zombies on the bridge swarmed over.

He Ze calmly controlled the bus. When three to five zombies surrounded the front, he floored the gas pedal and rammed into them. The zombies were sent flying, their blood and brain matter splattering in a mix of red and white across the windshield.

Lin Mu extended the vines out of the window, controlling them to clear the zombies within ten meters of the bus. The vines seemed excited, decapitating several zombies the moment they shot out.

The severed heads of the zombies fell heavily to the ground, with one zombie’s eyeball rolling out of its socket, creating a horrifying scene.

The bus maintained its speed, reaching the steel frame. The people on the frame had already noticed the approaching bus and started shouting loudly, “Save us! Save us!!”

Lin Mu cursed under his breath, thinking they were fools; their shouting would only attract zombies faster.

The bus screeched to a halt as He Ze braked, parking it right under the steel frame at a height level with the bus.

They couldn’t open the car door to let the people above come in; by the time they got down, the zombies would have torn them apart.

The best way was for the people to descend to a height level with the bus roof and jump onto it.

Every minute the bus stayed on the bridge increased the danger, as the zombies on the entire bridge swayed and staggered towards the bus.

Lin Mu leaned half of his body out of the window, swinging the vines with the force of the wind. Each whip could kill three or four zombies.

But it was far from enough to match the speed at which the zombies were gathering. The bus had a low ground clearance, and if the zombies completely surrounded it, they would be trapped, making survival difficult for everyone on board.

Shen Rangchen reached out and opened a window in front of him. His paper figures flew out of the window and, the moment they hit the ground, transformed into figures half the height of a person.

The paper figures looked like ordinary, slightly yellowed paper, but they suddenly jumped onto the backs of the zombies. Their hands grabbed the zombies’ heads and tore them off.

Lin Mu glanced at them and felt a chill. Like the vines, these strange things in the apocalypse couldn’t be understood with a normal person’s logic.

However, he suddenly regretted that Fu Jingmo had damaged his other paper figure, Gina.

Although the paper figures weren’t as fast as the vines, they at least managed to clear most of the zombies around the car door.

The people above—two men and one woman—hesitated, wanting to come down but afraid. With so many zombies below, if they couldn’t escape, it might be safer to stay on the steel frame.

Scratching sounds came from the windows and the body of the bus as the first zombie hit the vehicle. Its rotten, hideous face pressed against the glass, screaming wildly at the people inside.

Gray-black nails scraped the bus, producing an ear-piercing sound that made everyone’s hair stand on end.

This was just an ordinary bus, and at this rate, it would eventually become unsustainable…