Qin Ke saw that the car had stopped, so she told Yang Yang to play by himself and joined Chen Wan.
“What’s going on?”
“There are quite a few cars leaving from Linqi City, something must have happened.
We can’t drive forward until we figure it out,” Chen Wan replied with a frown.
She thought for a moment and had the system turn on the car’s audio to search for any radio channels in the area, but all that came through was static, with no human voices at all.
The three of them fell silent.
Chen Wan slightly opened her window, occasionally waving her hand to see if any vehicles would stop.
Although cars were coming from Linqi City, they weren’t as frequent as before the apocalypse, with several minutes between each one speeding past from the other side.
In the apocalypse, information was scarce, and without a definite answer, Chen Wan didn’t dare to drive on.
After about ten minutes, more green military trucks started coming from Linqi City.
Qin Ke quickly asked Chen Wan to open a window, and she gestured with her hand.
One of the truck drivers seemed to notice her gestures from afar.
As the truck passed the RV, a man inside shouted, “Drive in the opposite direction, there’s a nuclear leak in Linqi City.”
With just that one sentence, the truck disappeared from Chen Wan and the others’ view.
“A nuclear leak?”
Chen Wan, being from another world, wasn’t familiar with the specifics of the cities here, so she looked to Jiang Yanxin and Qin Ke for answers.
“There’s a nuclear power plant north of Linqi City, and it’s the largest in the north.
No wonder people are driving away in such a hurry,” Jiang Yanxin said with a frown.
“Looks like we can’t go through Linqi.
We’ll have to take a detour,” Chen Wan said.
“We can pass through Yuezhou City and Pingze City on the other side, but it’ll be a bit of a detour,” Qin Ke suggested, grabbing a notebook from the table and drawing a simple map for Chen Wan.
Chen Wan glanced at the map and nodded.
Given the situation, they indeed had to take a detour.
A nuclear leak is no small matter; it could turn a thriving city into a hell on earth.
Humans are fragile, and exposure to unbearable nuclear radiation could lead to death, cancer, or deformities.
Even mild exposure could cause suffering and eventual death over the years.
“Alright, let’s take the detour.
This is too unpredictable; we need to get to Funan City as soon as possible,” Chen Wan said, her brow furrowed.
The three of them were in low spirits due to the sudden change, and the joy of gathering supplies the day before had faded.
It felt like the recent days of ease were just an illusion, and the situation outside might be far more difficult than they imagined.
“You two discuss the route.
I’ll go keep Yang Yang company,” Jiang Yanxin said, returning to the dining area to be with Yang Yang.
The little one was still unaware of what had happened, holding a small stuffed cow and playing with it, talking to himself.
Qin Ke sat next to Chen Wan and fastened her seatbelt.
“I’ll guide you from here.
I’ve been to these cities before.
We’re about to enter Linqi City’s territory, so let’s turn back, get off the highway, and take the mountain road south of Xuanzhong City.
After driving for an hour or two, we’ll reach Yuezhou City.
But I’m not sure about the road conditions there.”
Chen Wan nodded.
“Let’s give it a try.
I’ll turn around now.”
“Okay,” Qin Ke said seriously, sitting beside Chen Wan.
Chen Wan turned the steering wheel and started driving back, quickly catching up with a military truck ahead.
“These people must be personnel being relocated from the Linqi City base.
I wonder where they’re planning to settle.”
“With so many military trucks, I guess they’ll take the highway straight back to Xuanzhong City.
They probably won’t risk taking the mountain road I mentioned,” Qin Ke replied after some thought.
The military would choose the safest option to ensure the survival of most people.
Chen Wan nodded in agreement.
“That’s good.
We shouldn’t travel with the military convoy; it’s best not to follow the same route.”
Qin Ke understood Chen Wan’s point.
The RV’s capabilities shouldn’t be discovered by others, or it could bring them trouble.
For the next two hours, Chen Wan drove back, maintaining a moderate speed.
Many private cars overtook them, rushing ahead.
Vehicles coming from Linqi City were all in a panic, but Chen Wan understood.
In the face of radioactive materials, humans seemed so small.
Qin Ke looked at the highway fork ahead and spoke up, “Let’s get off the highway here.
We’ll take the national road for a bit and then get on the mountain road of Cuiping Mountain.
Once we pass Cuiping Mountain, we’ll be in Yuezhou City.”
“Alright,” Chen Wan replied, keeping an eye on the traffic ahead.
The number of vehicles around them couldn’t compare to pre-apocalypse times, but it was still somewhat congested.
Many private cars didn’t follow the military convoy back to Xuanzhong City but took the exit as Qin Ke suggested.
However, the road was blocked by many abandoned vehicles, causing a jam at the highway exit.
Chen Wan frowned, not expecting people to not follow the military back to central Xuanzhong City.
The highway exit was a mess, and the commotion attracted many zombies.
They shuffled towards the exit in small groups.
Chen Wan couldn’t turn back now, as vehicles had already crowded in behind them.
Some cars tried to turn around, while others wanted to move forward, all colliding like a tangled mess.
Zombies approached in droves, some climbing onto private cars and pounding on the windows.
Some car windows shattered under the force, and moments later, zombies were biting the necks of those sitting by the windows.
Blood sprayed everywhere, and screams, cries for help, and zombie growls mixed into a chaotic cacophony.
The vehicles behind were either turning around or trying to rush through, causing chaos as everyone turned their steering wheels in different directions.
Cars were packed tightly together, with no one willing to give way, as if squeezing together was the only way to survive.
The military’s large trucks were stuck about two hundred meters back, and the zombies had already killed many people.
They attacked one car after another, and even though some people inside fought back, the cramped space made it difficult to move.
The sheer number of zombies overwhelmed the panicked people, and within just a few minutes, many had been killed.
After the military vehicles got stuck, they saw the traffic jam ahead surrounded by zombies and had to send fully armed soldiers to shoot and try to save people.
However, the results were not ideal due to the massive number of zombies and the limited number of soldiers, who quickly ran out of ammunition.
At this moment, Chen Wan made a move.
It was unrealistic to forcefully drive the RV through the blocked exit, as it was completely jammed with vehicles, and there were many abandoned cars ahead.
If they were all scrap cars, Chen Wan could have rammed through, but there were living people in the cars nearby, so she couldn’t and didn’t need to do that, as the zombies posed little threat to the RV.
Chen Wan turned the steering wheel and gently pressed the accelerator, guiding the RV back onto the highway where there were fewer vehicles.
Only about twenty meters ahead was a traffic jam, and she drove the RV straight through, pushing aside many small cars to create a path.
Chen Wan stopped about a hundred meters from the traffic jam and honked the horn.
The piercing sound was sharper than the screams of people and quickly spread.
The zombies were attracted by the noise, some abandoning the vehicles in front of them, others slowing their attacks, and many started chasing the RV, though the first-level zombies were still slow.
Chen Wan kept honking, and with each piercing sound, she managed to draw away a large portion of the zombies.
She led the zombies onto the main highway, giving the military and private cars behind some time to clear the traffic.
However, a few zombies still attacked the vehicles, but that was beyond Chen Wan’s control.
“Help them draw away some zombies; the rest is up to them.
Qin Ke, is there an exit ahead where we can get off the highway?”
Chen Wan asked.
“There should be.
When do you plan to deal with these following zombies?”
Qin Ke asked from the side.
“Let’s drive a bit further. Once we’re out of sight of those people, we’ll take care of them. I don’t want unrelated people to know about the RV’s other functions,” Chen Wan replied as she drove, not too fast, seemingly waiting for the zombies.
Chen Wan drove a bit further, and due to the traffic jam behind, the highway became quiet again, with only the constant roars of zombies behind the RV.
Without warning, Chen Wan slammed on the brakes, and the mindless zombies couldn’t stop in time, crashing into the back of the RV.
Chen Wan glanced in the rearview mirror and saw a dense crowd of zombies following the RV, stretching for dozens of meters.
Without delay, Chen Wan started reversing, hitting the zombies swarming around the RV.
The sound of “bang, bang, bang” was incessant as zombies were either knocked flying or crushed under the RV.
With this simple maneuver, many zombies were already dead.
Chen Wan reversed into the last of the zombies, then instructed the mechanical arms to interfere with the zombies while ramming them.
When Chen Wan accelerated forward again, the stragglers on both sides were either swept to the sound barriers by the mechanical arms or picked up and thrown far away.
After a few rounds, over five hundred zombies on the road were no longer able to stand, leaving the highway littered with broken zombie bodies and black blood.
Chen Wan quickly washed the vehicle and continued driving to the next exit.
