Chapter 30: The Fleeing Convoy
The outline of City beneath the dull yellow sky resembled a silent, sleeping giant.
stood on the rooftop of a warehouse in the logistics park, half a cigarette between his lips as he squinted toward the city center.
Among the high-rises there, the blurred silhouettes of colossal figures loomed. Their outlines were indistinct, yet they radiated a suffocating pressure that made one's heart clench.
This damn place was seriously uncanny!
Unlike damp, sticky , there were no sea-crawling demons here, but the threats on land were no weaker.
What was even eerier was that, over the past few days, nine out of ten teams sent out to scavenge supplies had disappeared without a word.
A loss rate like that was practically unheard of.
They had fought their way here from , passing through and . Which of those places hadn't been a living hell?
But as long as they didn't stupidly charge into a horde, there was no reason for them to be this unlucky.
Were the monsters in more terrifying, or were these things becoming more dangerous as time passed?
A chill shot up his spine to the back of his skull. took a deep drag, the tip of his cigarette glowing and fading in the dusk.
There was no more time to waste. He had to get his hands on a large stockpile of supplies as quickly as possible, then continue north.
He had a feeling that if he delayed any longer—until these monsters began spreading beyond the city—there really would be nowhere left to go.
The north... They had to make it to the north! There had to be a way to survive there!
Just as he was debating whether to gather his people, force their way into the city center, grab the supplies, and get out, a commotion rose from downstairs.
“Boss! and the others are back!”
started, stubbed out his cigarette, and hurried downstairs.
In the open ground in front of the warehouse, a battered truck had just pulled up and shut off its engine. More than a dozen survivors jumped down from it—some of the people who had gone missing a few days ago.
led and the others over to meet them. One look was enough to make the anger in his chest flare with a whoosh.
Well, well. Every one of them was ragged and dirty, but their faces shone with grease and their steps were unsteady—a clear sign that they'd eaten and drunk their fill.
This wasn't the look of people who had run into danger. They had plainly found a “big granary,” stuffed themselves, and only then remembered to come back.
And here I was, worrying myself sick over these good-for-nothings!
's face darkened. He unhooked a leather whip from a nearby vehicle and cracked it through the air with a sharp “pop.”
“You still know how to come back?!” His roar made everyone who had just climbed out of the truck flinch.
“The rule was to be back before dark, no exceptions! Where's your discipline? Fed it to the damn dogs, have you?”
The returning survivors didn't dare make a sound. , their leader, felt his legs go weak and nearly dropped to his knees.
Then the fury on 's face instantly turned to grief and remorse, and his tone grew heavy. “Do you have any idea how worried I was while you were missing these past few days? We are a convoy—we are a family!”
“Have you forgotten?”
He stepped forward and clapped hard on the shoulder, hard enough to send the man stumbling.
“When you go out there and risk your lives, didn't you ever think about your brothers worrying for you back home? How could you bear to let your family live in fear?”
, standing at his side, chimed in with an ugly grin. Slowly, he drew a handgun from inside his coat, tossed it from hand to hand a couple of times, and swept his gaze over the crowd like a viper.
“Right! Every time you go out, it's never just you who has to suffer.”
“We're family, got it? While you're out there hiding from danger and living the good life, didn't it ever cross your minds how much it hurts the family when you don't come back on time?”
flashed a grin, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, and let the gun barrel sway ominously. “You know, while you were gone these past few days, your old man here nearly cried himself blind.”
“So tell me—was that right?”
and the survivors behind him immediately dropped to their knees with a thud, all in unison.
“No! Of course it wasn't right!” kowtowed like a pestle pounding garlic, his voice choked with tears. “But we... we had our reasons!”
He raised his head, his face full of terror and grievance. “We found a big supermarket! The warehouse inside was piled high with supplies—and there were no zombies guarding it!”
“But the moment we ran in, the zombies in that whole area went berserk for some reason, as if they had rioted, and sealed off every road!”
“We were trapped! If we'd forced our way out, people would have died, and we still wouldn't have been able to bring the supplies back!”
“I know that nothing can be achieved without rules, and my life isn't worth a fart compared to the convoy's rules.”
“But those supplies were exactly what the convoy desperately needed! So... so we took the liberty of waiting two extra days up there, and only dared to come back after the zombies had scattered!”
wanted to say more, but waved a hand, signaling him to shut up.
He crouched down to look in the eye, his gaze as sharp as a falcon's, fixed on the other man's pupils as if trying to see through every thought in his mind.
“Everything you said—is it true?”
“Of—of course!” 's skin crawled under that stare. He was so frightened that he dropped onto the ground, his face bloodless.
was satisfied by this cowardly display.
In the apocalypse, cowards were the easiest people to keep under control.
What's more, only this many of the missing had come back. The rest had probably already filled bellies. He couldn't bear to waste these precious “consumables.”
His gaze traveled past to the truck's cargo bed, and his tone eased. “All right, get up. So, what good things did you bring back?”
, as if granted amnesty, scrambled to his feet, hurried to the back of the truck, and pulled off the tarp in one motion.
Inside the cargo bed, case after case of neatly stacked instant noodles, cartons of bottled water, and canned goods were piled up like little mountains, looking especially tempting in the dim light.
“Whoa! That's quite a haul!” 's eyes lit up. “No wonder every last one of you came back fat and stout.”
Hearing that, hastened to explain with an ingratiating smile. “ , we had no choice. If we hadn't eaten our fill, how would we have had the strength to drive the truck back?”
“I know that. Was I blaming you? Huh?” waved a hand impatiently, clearly in a much better mood.
This bunch of trash had gotten pretty lucky, after all. They had actually found a good amount of supplies.
He raised a hand, signaling the others to start unloading.
“What's this?” 's gaze was drawn to something in the corner.
It was a flat, round disc with some bristles on top.
He examined it and recognized it. “A ? Why'd you haul this thing along?”
“Probably grabbed it along with the other stuff while we were loading,” said, bending at the waist. “I'll throw it out right away.”
“Throw it away.” nodded, not sparing it another thought.
Seeing that was in high spirits, 's eyes darted around. He sidled closer and lowered his voice mysteriously. “Br— , there's still a whole lot of supplies at that place!”
“There's more?” whipped his head around, a glint flashing in his eyes.
“Yes!” nodded vigorously, his tone turning excited. “What we found was probably the main warehouse of that big supermarket! What we brought back this time wasn't even a tenth of it!”
“If our convoy brings a few more trucks and more brothers over there to haul it all out, I reckon we won't have to worry about food all the way to !”
smiled.
Of course, he understood 's little scheme. The man simply wanted to settle things once and for all, so he wouldn't have to risk his life scavenging for supplies again.
But that suited him just fine.
“Good!” slapped his thigh and readily agreed. “Rest up tonight. Tomorrow at dawn, the whole convoy sets out!”
“I'll lead personally, and I'll help you clear out the zombies over there while I'm at it. I want to see just how big a ‘granary’ this is!”
At the words “the whole convoy sets out,” 's face instantly went white for a fraction of a second, but he quickly covered it up.
“Th—then that's even better! With you leading the way, , it's bound to succeed!”
“What's wrong with you?” glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.
“N-no, nothing,” said, shaking his head hastily. “I'm just too excited. Thinking about how no one will have to go hungry from now on, I just... I just...”
laughed heartily, satisfied. He reached out, draped an arm over 's shoulder, and squeezed hard, looking for all the world as if he were opening his heart. “No need to be nervous.”
“This time, you've done a great deed! I can see that you're quick-witted, and your leadership skills aren't bad either. From today on, you're 's own brother!”
He pointed at an empty off-road vehicle nearby. “That vehicle, and the few men in it, are under your charge from now on—think of it as a welcome gift from me, your big brother!”
was suddenly overwhelmed by the favor, moved to tears, and knelt once more. “Thank you, ! Thank you, ! From today on, this life of 's is yours!”
The night deepened, and a few bonfires rose within the logistics park.
A mood of revelry spread among the crowd. The supplies brought back that day were enough for everyone to eat their fill.
sat by the fire, basking in his underlings' flattery. In his mind, he was already planning to empty the warehouse the next day, then lead the convoy straight out of this godforsaken place, bound for .
But what he failed to notice was that, in the blind spot of his vision, the indicator light on the body of the casually discarded lit up silently.