"Captain, the tool room has been found. Should we clear it now?"
"Mm, let's get onto the highway quickly. The commotion earlier was a bit too much, I fear the zombies in the city will recover. We'll rest properly once we're on the highway."
Pushing a hydraulic jack and a large bundle of ropes, Lin Yuan walked towards the exit two, where vehicle wreckage was piled up. This time, he and Wu Tian would act as human tow trucks.
The entire team acknowledged that he and Wu Tian had the strongest close-combat strength. Now with Jiang Ziqi, they were on par with Wu Tian.
The wreckage at exit two was heavy. The vehicle underneath was blocking the exit horizontally, and the front half of the vehicle above was tilted and covering the one below.
So, Lin Yuan and Wu Tian first tied the ropes to the front half of the upper vehicle and used the lower part and the ground as a fulcrum to pull it back.
"One, two, heave, whoa." Lin Yuan had expected to strain until his face turned red to move the vehicle frame, but it was surprisingly easy.
Together, they pulled the overturned vehicle frame to the side. The remaining vehicle was then pulled out by everyone else pushing together, faster than Lin Yuan and his companion.
The debris on the ground was also cleared with shovels.
"Everyone get in the vehicles. Zhao Anjing, are you back? If you are, hurry up and get in. Put the collected items in the armored vehicle; there's enough space."
The walkie-talkie immediately crackled to life: "Coming, coming, Brother Lin Yuan, almost there."
The vehicles waited for a minute. Mu Qingtian, who was on sentry duty, said, "Captain, some of the zombies in the city have started returning. They must have sensed the commotion here."
"Mm, it's fine, we still have time." Lin Yuan could already see Zhao Anjing, who had gone to collect food.
He quickly called them to get into the vehicles. Lin Yuan also returned to the co-pilot seat. "All vehicles, pay attention, depart in the original formation."
"Understood," x4
Inside the armored vehicle, Zhao Anjing and Wu Mengyao held four bags of items. They picked out a large bag and handed it to Jiang Ziqi, who was drawing.
Like Qin Xia, she was also an art student. She used the time in the vehicle to draw whatever came to mind.
However, Lin Yuan had instructed her not to expose their destination in her drawings.
"For me?!"
Jiang Ziqi looked at the snacks handed to her, somewhat surprised, but took them nonetheless.
Upon opening it, it was filled with snacks: jelly, instant noodles, potato chips, some braised chicken feet and duck necks, and even small bags of a certain brand's spicy strips and mini Cokes.
Jiang Ziqi's eyes lit up! These were all her favorite snacks! With a surprised cry, she immediately turned and hugged Zhao Anjing, "Anjing, you're so good!!!"
Don't let tentacles wrap around me, hey!!
Although a little scared, she didn't show it on the surface. She knew that Jiang Ziqi's tentacles usually looked hard and smooth, with red veins crisscrossing them. They weren't infectious, and only became dangerous when spikes were exposed.
She hadn't tested this yet, nor did she have any experimental subjects.
Furthermore, she needed to research the other functions of her mutated body herself; no one else could help.
"Alright, alright, this was actually Sister Qingtian's idea, and Brother Lin Yuan also agreed. It's a reward for you saving people. Wu Mengyao and Sun Qin don't have any, look at the other things in our bags."
Jiang Ziqi looked and indeed, besides her bag, there were no snacks. They were all canned goods, chocolate, instant noodles, candy, and other high-calorie or long-lasting foods, as well as a considerable amount of feminine hygiene products.
Comparing her large bag of snacks, Jiang Ziqi was almost in tears: "Wuwuwu, Captain is so good (๑•́wก̀๑)"
"Anjing, Mengyao, you eat too," Jiang Ziqi, remembering to share her fortune, distributed the snacks to the other three children in the team.
Inside the first vehicle, Lin Yuan looked at the map and said to Wang Zhihai, "Brother Wang, how about we rest for a night at the tunnel entrance sixty kilometers away, and then act the next day?"
Wang Zhihai, driving, didn't turn his head. "I think it's fine. The road conditions on the highway are unclear, and it might be dark by the time we cover sixty kilometers."
The tunnel was separated from the outside by mountains. Inside the tunnel, the vehicle's lights wouldn't reach, nor would sounds travel. If anything happened at the exit, they could react quickly. It could indeed serve as a temporary resting spot for the night.
Lin Yuan, pen in hand, wrote down a backup plan, comparing it with the map to identify several lower-risk alternative routes. If the road conditions became too severe for them to handle, they would have to activate the backup routes.
The entire evacuation route only occupied about eighty kilometers of highway; the rest was national and provincial roads, with more complex road conditions.
Foresight was very necessary.
In fact, when traveling on the highway during the apocalypse, one needed to consider the disadvantages of overpasses. If both ends were blocked by a large number of zombies, it would be a situation with no way in or out.
The walkie-talkie crackled to life. It was Mu Qingtian's voice: "Captain, the items have been stored."
The spikes and nerve balls collected from the battlefield earlier were handed over to Mu Qingtian for processing, as she was more professional.
"How were the nerve balls handled?"
"They were dried and placed in a box. It's difficult to sun them in the vehicle."
"Mm, that's good too. The gel can still be used. Pay attention to ventilation. If the vehicle breaks down, this stuff is very precious."
After a brief instruction, Lin Yuan was about to continue searching for the route.
Just then, Wu Tian spoke up again. She and Lin Qingyan were in vehicle five, at the end of the convoy.
"Captain, there's a motorcycle behind us, accelerating and about to catch up."
A motorcycle? A survivor?
"All vehicles, pay attention. Survivor spotted. Co-pilot, chamber a round. Be vigilant. Slow down and let's see who this person is."
The entire convoy slowed down, waiting for the motorcycle to approach. Lin Yuan gradually saw the rider's face clearly.
"All vehicles, pay attention. Lower your guns, but don't holster them. Ensure you can raise them to fire at any moment.
I know this person, they were my high school classmate," Lin Yuan said again after looking at the face, confirming it.
"Li Wen."
The motorcycle overtook the four vehicles behind and rode parallel to the first vehicle.
"Hello, excuse me..."
Their eyes met.
"Lin Yuan!!!"
"Li Wen!! It really is you!!! Even got an ATM!"
At this moment, Peiqi seemed to sense something and stood up from Lin Yuan's lap, biting his sleeve.
"I went bankrupt buying it!! But you're the one doing well, you even have a cat!! Lin Yuan, you're doing so well in this world?"
The wind was strong, and he had to shout for Lin Yuan to hear him.
Lin Yuan glanced at Peiqi, suppressed the surprise in his heart, and shouted back, "We'll talk about it later! We can't stop now! We're stopping at the tunnel entrance sixty kilometers away! Are you coming with us?!"
There was only one tunnel sixty kilometers away. Li Wen quickly figured this out.
"Yes, I need to find my mom after I get off the highway! This stretch of highway is on the way!"
"Okay, then we'll chat at the tunnel entrance. I'll treat you to some sausages!"
"Great!! I haven't had meat in so long!!" The wind drowned out Li Wen's voice.
The sun was already hanging in the west, about to set.