Chapter 41: Tunnel

After dinner, Jiexi sent the mission information over.

The Chloe Biological Research Institute was located in the eastern suburbs of M City, while the nearest stronghold was in the middle section of Xihuanshan No. 2 Road in the western part of the city. To reach the target location, one could either go straight through the city or take a longer detour from the south or north around the city.

Wang Zhi would definitely not take the direct route through the city, as the city was heavily populated and densely packed, which would undoubtedly lead to death.

At present, Wang Zhi only had this information: the location of the stronghold, the target location, and a map of M City.

The four of them discussed it but couldn’t reach a clear conclusion. Wang Zhi suggested that they go outside and assess the situation in person.

After the discussion, Wang Zhi and the others geared up and left the third-floor room. As they passed through the lobby, a few people from the former dynasty team were still training. When they saw Wang Zhi, Zhang Zhi immediately approached.

“Damn! You guys are going out again? It’s only been a few days! Aren’t you bored downstairs?”

“Yeah, just need to get some fresh air,” Wang Zhi said with a light smile and didn’t elaborate further.

“You guys are impressive! I wish you a safe return!” Zhang Zhi said, waving goodbye.

Following the mission instructions, Wang Zhi and his team quickly arrived at the elevator exit leading to M City.

This mission didn’t involve a helicopter, so Wang Zhi had to figure out how to get to the target location on his own. The helicopter’s aviation fuel had already been used up.

The four of them walked through the dark corridor, not speaking, only the sound of footsteps on the stairs echoing.

Soon, Wang Zhi reached the end, and the four of them drew their weapons, always ready for combat.

Ding, the door opened!

Wang Zhi nervously held his gun, and when the door opened, there was no light shining toward them. It was nighttime, and the faint moonlight barely illuminated the ground. Wang Zhi observed the surroundings but saw no signs of zombies.

The four of them cautiously moved toward the road ahead. Since it was night and the environment was complicated, their pace was very slow.

Wang Zhi checked the map. They were currently at the midpoint of Xihuanshan No. 2 Road in the western part of the city, which was the stronghold’s location. The target location was in the eastern part of the city. The roads to the south and north were the same.

“Let’s go south,” Wang Zhi said.

The four of them slowly moved south in the dark. Since it was nighttime, they stayed close together to avoid being ambushed.

“Why are there no cars on this road?”

Lao He, walking behind, asked in confusion.

Wang Zhi stopped in his tracks.

“Yeah, how come there isn’t a single car? This road may be a bit out of the way, but there shouldn’t be no cars at all.”

Wang Zhi also sensed something was wrong.

After walking for another hour, they finally saw a tunnel ahead. There were several police cars parked near the tunnel. Seeing the police cars, Wang Zhi felt a sense of unease.

He raised his hand, signaling the others to stop, and took out binoculars.

“What’s wrong?” Su Mu Ying asked.

“I can’t see clearly through the binoculars. Let’s get closer,” Wang Zhi said, slowly moving closer to the tunnel.

When they were about 500 meters away, they could vaguely make out the tunnel.

The entrance to the tunnel was blocked by several layers of iron mesh.

“This! What the hell is this?” Wang Zhi said, looking at the blocked tunnel.

“This tunnel has been sealed off. No wonder there isn’t a car in sight. It’s all blocked off,” Lao He said behind them.

“Damn it, they’re really heartless, not even giving people a chance to escape?” Wang Zhi muttered. He then raised the binoculars again to look at the tunnel.

“Damn!” Wang Zhi stumbled back in shock after seeing something through the binoculars.

Su Mu Ying, noticing Wang Zhi’s shock, took the binoculars and looked.

On the other side of the iron mesh, countless zombies were gathered, all clawing and tearing at the iron mesh. Even Su Mu Ying, who had seen many battles, was startled by this scene.

“There are countless zombies on the other side of the iron mesh. We need to leave quickly!” Su Mu Ying said.

Before she finished speaking, two figures in police uniforms suddenly ran towards them from the police cars ahead.

“Watch out, zombies!” Lao He was the first to notice and raised his rifle. Before Wang Zhi could react, Lao He had already shot and killed the two police uniform zombies.

“Don’t you worry they might be survivors?” Wang Zhi asked.

“If they were survivors, they would have driven away already! Let’s go, we’ll take their car,” Lao He said nonchalantly.

Looking at the seven police cars in front of the tunnel, Wang Zhi estimated that there were about 14 zombies in the area. Lao He had just dealt with two, leaving 12 zombies that Wang Zhi still hadn’t found.

Just as they were approaching the police cars, two more zombies in police uniforms suddenly charged out from behind one of the cars. Wang Zhi dodged, one zombie missed its attack, but before he could regain his balance, another zombie lunged at him. Just as it was about to tackle him, Wang Zhi saw a flash, and the zombie’s head was already separated from its body, falling to the ground.

Liuli had drawn her sword and decapitated the two zombies. Lao He and Su Mu Ying quickly dealt with the other zombies that had appeared from nowhere.

In the brief battle, Wang Zhi clearly felt that the zombies’ speed was faster than when they last came out. He had almost been knocked down just now.

Wang Zhi patted Liuli’s head. “Thanks, Liuli.”

Liuli blushed, lowering her head shyly.

Wang Zhi, seeing Liuli’s bashfulness, couldn’t help but be puzzled. How could a girl who killed zombies without blinking now be shy?

“Look over there!” Su Mu Ying pointed at the iron mesh above the tunnel.

Inside the tunnel, the zombies were even more frenzied than before, clawing and tearing at the mesh more violently.

“Not good! We need to move quickly. The iron mesh may not hold much longer. If they break through, we’ll all be dead.” Wang Zhi said, heading toward one of the relatively intact police cars.

“Get in the car.”

The keys were inside, so Wang Zhi started the engine immediately.

“Phew, lucky we found the keys. I thought the iron mesh was going to break any minute,” Wang Zhi said, still shaken.

He checked the gas tank, which was half full—enough for them to drive for a while.

“Lao He, you drive. I’ll study the map.” After driving a certain distance, Wang Zhi gave the main driving seat to Lao He.

Wang Zhi stared at the M City map. They were now heading toward the Greater Western Ring Road, following No. 2 Road.

“I hope the north isn’t also blocked off,” Wang Zhi said as he leaned back in the passenger seat.

On the Greater Western Ring Road, vehicles were sparse, with only a few abandoned cars here and there. Zombies were rarely seen, and when they did appear, Wang Zhi and his team quickly drove away.

After some time, they suddenly saw a car blocking the road ahead, with a person standing next to it.

“Lao He, slow down!”

As they got closer, Lao He saw that it was a man. His clothes were torn and tattered, and he looked extremely disheveled. He held a fire axe covered in blood.

The four of them got out of the car, and Wang Zhi raised his gun, aiming at the man. The man immediately knelt down and begged, “Please, save my family!”

“Quiet, who are you?” Wang Zhi asked.

“Big Brother, my name is Hao Shenhui. I escaped from a town in the north. I’m a police officer. This is my ID.” He said as he pulled out his ID from his torn jacket.

Though it was nighttime, Wang Zhi had a night vision device and could clearly see that the photo on the ID matched the man, confirming that he wasn’t lying.

“Police officer Hao Shenhui from Longkou Town Police Station?”

“Yes, that’s me,” Hao Shenhui said, seeing Wang Zhi hadn’t moved. He immediately pleaded, “Police officer, please save us. If there are too many of us, you can take my wife and children, and I’ll stay behind.”

“We have a mission. You’ll die if you follow us. Wait here. If we survive or if you survive long enough to see us again, I’ll take you to a safe place.” Wang Zhi glanced at the man’s wife and children, who were huddled in the back seat of the car.

“Alright! Alright! We’ll wait for you!” Hao Shenhui said excitedly.

The four of them got back in the car, restarted the engine, and drove toward the Greater Northern Ring.