BANG—!
The van rocked violently as zombies slammed against its sides.
Lu Qingyuan grabbed the collar of Chu Yian's jacket and, with one solid pull, lifted her right out of the driver's seat and swapped places with her.
She felt the world spin around her—before she knew it, he was in control.
Was this guy really a researcher? How was he so strong?!
While Chu Yian was still reeling, Lu Qingyuan had already restarted the engine and slammed on the gas, crashing the van out of the dealership.
Zombies swarmed the street. One leapt onto the windshield, slamming into it repeatedly until the glass was webbed with cracks and smeared with gore.
Chu Yian drew her handgun and aimed at the windshield.
"Wait."
Lu Qingyuan had already pulled onto the main road. He first surged forward—then suddenly threw the van into reverse. The zombie clinging to the windshield flew off due to inertia and hit the pavement with a thud. The next second, Lu Qingyuan ran it over without hesitation.
In the rearview mirror, more and more zombies were appearing—chasing them, but falling farther and farther behind.
Chu Yian turned to glance at the backseat—empty. Only then did she allow herself to relax, slumping into her seat with a sigh.
After a few minutes of rest, she holstered her gun and opened the backpack she'd been carrying.
She'd picked it up from a pharmacy that morning.
All her actual food supplies were in the game's magic inventory box, but that thing was flashy as hell—shiny, resizable, impossible to explain. So while Lu Qingyuan had been asleep, she'd taken a few things out of it and stuffed them into the pharmacy backpack to make it look like she'd found them there.
She pulled out two bread rolls and tossed one to Lu Qingyuan.
She hadn't eaten anything since yesterday at noon, and she'd been running for her life ever since.
She was starving. No bread had ever tasted so good.
Chu Yian tore into it like a pig rooting through slop, completely unbothered by appearances. Beside her, Lu Qingyuan ate slowly and methodically, refined and quiet.
Chu Yian paused, glanced at the roll in his hand, then looked at her own—half-eaten and mangled.
Elegant, my ass. At his pace, she could finish two before he even finished one.
She ducked her head again and devoured the rest of her roll, then opened a second one.
Two rolls later, she felt much better.
Out the window, the roadside was littered with abandoned vehicles. Some had open doors, the occupants long gone. Others were surrounded by zombies, mindlessly shambling about. Every time they heard a vehicle approaching, they rushed at it like moths to a flame.
BANG—!
The van struck one of the zombies that had run out ahead and sent it flying.
Chu Yian stared at the hordes chasing after them, howling and snarling down the road—though they were falling farther behind with every second. Slowly, the adrenaline wore off and exhaustion crept in.
There was just something incredibly comforting about being in a moving vehicle.
She dozed off for a bit, eyes half-closed, until Lu Qingyuan brought the van to a stop and nudged her awake.
Chu Yian blinked, glanced at her phone. It was noon on day three. She must've slept for twenty minutes.
Lu Qingyuan had pulled off to the side of the road. She looked up and spotted a highway sign—and, just a few dozen meters ahead, the road was completely jammed with cars.
And in between those cars… countless zombies.
Chu Yian snapped fully awake. "What's going on up there?"
"Toll station to get on the highway."
Lu Qingyuan brushed his hair back, head tilted slightly as he leaned back in exhaustion.
His lips were pale, but the line of his jaw and neck was elegant, sharply defined. His Adam's apple shifted as he swallowed and exhaled. "When the outbreak began, some people hid in their homes. Others tried to flee the city in their cars, heading for wherever they thought was safe."
"The virus spread so quickly that the toll station staff couldn't react in time. More and more people got stuck in traffic, and some of the zombies were probably already inside the cars…" Chu Yian picked up where he left off, frowning. "So that's how this mess happened."
She paused, face tensing. "It's not like this on every road… right?"
Otherwise, how would they ever get to X City?
She couldn't help the wave of anxiety that hit her.
"There should be some rural back roads nearby," Lu Qingyuan said, adjusting the wheel and turning the van around.
Halfway back, he stopped the vehicle in a quiet clearing and got out—only to gesture for her to switch places with him.
Just-passed-driving-test, electric-trike legend of Mount Akina, Chu Yian: "Huh?"
"Shift gears, step on the gas. Drive."
The researcher with Herculean strength had now fully assumed the role of a cold, no-nonsense driving instructor. "It's just like working the clutch—just go—"
Before he even finished, Chu Yian had floored the pedal.
The little van lurched forward with a surge of power that felt like something worth six figures.
Lu Qingyuan wordlessly buckled his seatbelt as the van sped down the road.
With his coaching, Chu Yian's chaotic driving began to improve—though the main problem now was… where the hell were they supposed to go?
Rural roads crisscrossed like a maze. One wrong turn and they could get hopelessly lost.
They were both outsiders. Finding a way around the traffic and back onto the highway felt like flying blind.
They needed a map.
"Teacher Lu," Chu Yian said suddenly, "did you see the government building when we were in town?"
"Yes. I remember where it is," Lu Qingyuan replied immediately.
Most government offices had detailed local maps. She'd actually thought of that—smart move.
The two of them agreed instantly and turned the van back toward the town.
There were plenty of zombies around, but Lu Qingyuan didn't just remember the layout—he also remembered where zombies had gathered earlier and even estimated where they might've moved since. With that, he mapped out a route with the fewest zombies and guided them straight to the government building.
That brain! Chu Yian finally understood why he was a researcher.
As soon as they stopped the car, two zombies began shuffling toward them, drawn by the noise.
Lu Qingyuan grabbed a tire iron and climbed onto the roof. Using the van for cover and Chu Yian as bait, he managed to ambush both zombies and take them down without a gun.
He opened the door and motioned for her to get out. "We grab the map and go. Try not to use your gun."
"I think… we already found the map." Chu Yian pointed toward the government building's outer wall.
The wall had been turned into a giant bulletin board, plastered with public notices—beneath which was a full map of the town.
Chu Yian grinned, a rare moment of genuine happiness lighting up her face. It felt like the goddess of luck was finally smiling on her. "Teacher Lu, aren't we lucky!"
Lu Qingyuan was already peeling away the layers of notices to uncover the map.
It was painted directly onto the wall—no way to take it with them. One of them memorized it, the other took photos with their phone. Efficient teamwork.
Two minutes later, they were ready to go.
Chu Yian jumped back into the driver's seat, just about to take off—when she noticed smoke rising from the balcony of a three-story townhouse nearby.