He and Lao He formed the third.

Wang Zhi kept an eye on the fire, occasionally adding more firewood. The crackling of the flames was accompanied by the occasional growl or thud as zombies outside slammed into the wooden doors.

At first, Wang Zhi didn’t think much of it. The zombie numbers weren’t large, and they couldn’t break through the wooden door. He decided to remain quiet and kept his gaze fixed on the fire.

However, after a while, Wang Zhi started to feel something was off. The sounds outside were growing louder, and the pounding on the door was becoming more frequent.

“There’s something wrong!” Wang Zhi whispered, waking the others from their rest.

They all opened their eyes to see Wang Zhi extinguishing the fire.

“It seems like something’s not right outside!” Wang Zhi said, extinguishing the flames.

Boom!

Just as he finished speaking, the wooden door to the courtyard was smashed open!

The group was startled and quickly grabbed their bags, switching on their night vision goggles.

As the door was broken open, a horde of zombies surged into the courtyard, quickly gathering outside the house, relentlessly banging on the door.

Wang Zhi, seeing the zombies outside, raised his assault rifle and shot through the window to eliminate the front row of zombies, making sure the door wouldn’t be breached.

“Lao He! Go to the back and dismantle the steel bars on the window. We’ll escape through there,” Wang Zhi shouted.

Within moments, the wooden door had been reduced to splinters, and the front was blocked by Fatty using a sofa.

“The window’s clear!” Lao He’s voice came through the radio.

“Retreat!” Wang Zhi said, firing and retreating towards the window. He grabbed the windowsill and, with a bit of effort, climbed outside.

“How the hell did this happen?” Su Muxing looked at the courtyard, now swarming with zombies, and asked.

“It should have been drawn here by our signal fire. Let’s get out of here for now!” Wang Zhi replied before jumping down onto the road.

Wang Zhi glanced back at the zombies below and couldn’t help but feel puzzled. There shouldn’t be that many zombies attracted just by a fire. How had so many gathered in the vicinity so suddenly?

“Should we continue moving?” Lao He asked.

“We have to move on. This place is no longer safe,” Wang Zhi said, turning and walking quickly away.

This place felt strange, and Wang Zhi didn’t want to linger any longer. If some mutated creature appeared, it would be too late to escape.

The six of them slowly moved on through the night, eventually spending the night in a van on the side of the road.

The next morning, as dawn broke, Duan He and Lao He, who were on the third shift, woke everyone up. However, no one had really slept well; without the warmth of the fire, the temperature had dropped to -10°C.

Wang Zhi quickly got out of the van, moving his body to get the blood flowing again.

“Ah! They won’t even let us get a good night’s sleep! I hate these zombies!” Fatty grumbled as he stretched.

The six of them climbed out of the van and continued walking along the rural road towards the city. Wang Zhi wasn’t considering the nearby villages for now. His final goal was to reach Shou City and search for survivors.

His plan was to reach a high-rise building in the city, set off a signal flare, and observe the surroundings. This way, the smoke would be visible throughout the city. Wang Zhi could then quietly observe the area with binoculars and determine whether there were survivors. If not, he would pick up useful supplies and leave. If there were survivors, he could gather information and confirm their location, avoiding wasted time.

What Wang Zhi feared most was taking detours. Wasting time on unnecessary routes while searching for survivors, only for mutated creatures to find them instead, was a risk he couldn’t afford.

After two hours of walking, the vehicles on the road started to become more frequent, from one every several dozen meters to one every few meters. Some vehicles contained zombies, both dead and alive. Wang Zhi chose not to engage with them, quietly advancing along the roadside.

“We should be close to Shou City after we pass the gas station ahead,” Wang Zhi said, pointing forward.

“Shou City is ahead? Are you sure you’re not mistaken?” Fatty asked, looking at the area, which was devoid of anything except some trees and streetlights.

“Yep, this was a small city. The outskirts are full of urban villages. It’s normal,” Wang Zhi replied, looking ahead at the green grass.

“There aren’t many zombies here. Are you sure there are survivors?” Su Muxing asked, glancing at Wang Zhi.

“I’m not sure. Let’s get inside and check,” Wang Zhi said, shaking his head. He couldn’t make any guarantees about whether there were survivors in the city.

After passing the gas station, Wang Zhi turned onto the main road leading to Shou City.

“Should we go in and take a look?” Lao He asked, looking at the urban villages on both sides.

“No need. We need to find a high-rise quickly,” Wang Zhi observed the surroundings. The street was packed with cars, and to get to the nearest tall building, they had to go through two traffic lights.

“Be careful. Don’t use your guns yet,” Wang Zhi said, signaling for caution.

The group silently advanced along the curb. As they reached the first intersection, they found that the road was blocked by a large number of vehicles, with zombies moving through the gaps between the cars. Wang Zhi knew they couldn’t avoid a fight now. Once they got past this intersection, they would truly be entering a densely populated area.

“Our target is that yellow bus ahead. Once we move, everyone should occupy the bus as quickly as possible. Fatty and Liu Li, you two take the right side. Lao He and Duan He, you take the left. Muxing and I will cover the front and rear,” Wang Zhi said, pointing to the large bus at the intersection.

“Why don’t we just charge through the intersection?” Duan He asked, confused by the decision to face enemies from all sides.

“Because we don’t know how many zombies are ahead, nor how many are on the sides. We’re unfamiliar with the terrain and zombie numbers. If we take the bus, even if we lose control, we can still escape. But if we charge through the intersection and something goes wrong, we’ll have no retreat,” Wang Zhi explained.

“That’s right. Always leave an escape route,” Su Muxing agreed.