Chapter 11: New Survivors
At the edge where the forest met the highway, the trees were tilting to one side in an unnatural, slow, and orderly manner.
Then, a “thing” slowly “rose” from behind the treeline.
It was an arc—grayish-black, its surface covered with red, moss-like growths that were hard to make out.
It moved with extreme slowness, yet carried an overwhelming sense of pressure, as if the whole earth were shifting along with it.
Because it was too large—so large that and ’s field of vision simply could not take it in as a “whole.”
They could only see a part: an active, unbroken “mountain range” was passing before their eyes.
“Don’t move.” ’s voice was barely a whisper, his body instinctively tensing.
sat frozen in the passenger seat, cold sweat on his forehead already gathering into streams that ran down his cheeks.
This was the first time he realized a person could sweat like that.
His eyesight was among the best in the group, so he could see it.
In the bright red gullies of that “ridge,” countless twisted human bodies of varying sizes swayed slowly in the wind, as if waving at him.
Fortunately, the stalled metal box and the two tiny humans inside it did not attract its attention in the slightest.
Time felt frozen.
No one knew how long it lasted—maybe only a few minutes, but for and , it was no less than centuries.
Only when the dreadful hum faded into the distance and vanished completely at the far end of the road did the two finally let out long breaths.
“...What was that?” ’s voice was dry and raspy, trembling with the aftershock of survival.
did not answer. He only stared silently into the distance, his eyes carrying a gravity that had never been there before.
He knew that the changes in this world had already gone far beyond what they had expected.
“Let’s head back,” decided on the spot. “Things outside don’t look right. We’d better be cautious.”
“On the way back, keep an eye out for a gas station. If we can, we should top up the car.”
“Sure.” naturally had no objection.
The car started up again, and the engine’s low growl sounded especially jarring on the dead-quiet road.
held the steering wheel, scanning ahead with hawk-like eyes.
But the shock of that moving “mountain range” still weighed on his chest.
“ ... what exactly was that thing?” ’s voice was still a little unsteady.
Every time he closed his eyes now, his mind was filled with those swaying silhouettes in the bright red gullies.
“You ask me? Who am I supposed to ask?” said curtly.
On both sides of the road, abandoned vehicles sat crooked and scattered. Some doors hung wide open, as if the owners had fled in panic at the last second.
In the distance, the outlines of tall buildings were like dying giant beasts crouching on the horizon—no lights, no cooking smoke, only bleak desolation.
The world was dead.
The thought bubbled up uncontrollably, and shuddered.
“Right front—there’s a big supermarket.” ’s voice pulled him back to reality.
It was a chain hypermarket, its huge sign tilted askew. More than a dozen wandering zombies were scattered across the parking lot.
“Should we go in and take a look? If it’s not too dangerous, we can stock up on supplies too,” suggested.
didn’t answer immediately. He slowed the car and swept his gaze across the whole parking lot.
Then his eyes fixed on the supermarket entrance.
On the roof of a box truck stood three figures.
A man was swinging a metal pipe, barely managing to fend off zombies trying to climb onto the roof.
Behind him, a woman clutched a little girl who looked only five or six years old. The girl’s face was buried in her mother’s arms, and she didn’t move.
More than thirty zombies had gathered around the truck. They pressed together, roared, reached out rotten arms, clawed at the vehicle body, and made piercing noises.
“ , this...” ’s Adam’s apple bobbed.
There were too many zombies. If they charged over recklessly, they might end up getting themselves caught in it too.
was clearly torn as well. Frowning, he racked his brains for a good way to handle it.
Just then, the behind them suddenly started ringing. The extremely high-decibel sound nearly deafened the two of them.
looked at the back seat in astonishment, but there was no time to think—some nearby zombies were already heading toward them.
“Hold on tight.” floored the accelerator.
The car shot toward the supermarket entrance and sent a cluster of zombies flying.
“BANG—!”
yanked the wheel hard, made a clean drift, and swung the car sideways next to the box truck, using the vehicle to block off most of the zombies.
“Get in!” he shouted at the stunned man on the roof.
The man reacted instantly. Pulling his wife along and carrying the child, he scrambled down from the roof and rushed toward the car’s back door.
had already opened the door and pulled the little girl in, and then the couple climbed into the car as well.
At the same time, tossed out the that wouldn’t stop ringing.
The moment it hit the ground, the robot went full throttle and darted swiftly through the crowd of zombies.
Meanwhile, the electronic ringing grew louder, immediately drawing the zombies’ attention away.
seized the chance to start the car again. Before the horde could close in, he charged through a bloody path and got back onto the highway.