The monotonous, low-frequency hum of the highway lanes vibrated through the SUV as the small convoy pressed steadily toward its destination.
The vehicles maintained a disciplined, fifty-ter gap, their engines roaring in a low, synchronized rhythm across the flat plains.
For the past three hours, the scenery had remained entirely unchanged—a bleak stretching expanse of asphalt, cracked here and there by the early structural shifting of the cataclysm, flanked on both sides by neglected, dying fields that extended out toward the hazy horizon.
Inside the cabin of the SUV, the atmosphere was growing increasingly oppressive. It wasn’t from a lack of climate control, but rather from the foul, sickening stench of decay clinging stubbornly to the exterior of the entire convoy.
During the clash in the rural farming village, the small, zombified herd of livestock had been torn apart by an interlocking wall of gunfire right in front of the convoy’s path.
While the massive alpha bull had t its end inside the storefront, the rest of the infected cattle had been pulverized in the open square. The impact of the squad’s heavy ammunition had turned the beasts into a spray of thick, foul black blood that now coated the front grilles, wheel wells, side panels, and windshields of the vehicles.
Han Zheng’s eyes flicked to the dashboard teletry gauges. The engine intake temperature line was steadily climbing toward the red zone.
The volatile, viral fluid was slowly drying and transforming into a thick, caked crust that resembled black volcanic cent. It was actively choking the radiator’s airflow, preventing the modified SUV from drawing in cool oxygen.
Furthermore, the sll was a hazard. The thick, pungent aroma of raw, mutated tissue was trailing behind them like an invisible cloud. If they didn’t wash the convoy down soon, the scent would act as a tracking beacon for high-tier evolutionary predators roaming the open flatlands.
"Commander, we’ve got a comrcial truck stop and automated wash depot about two kiloters ahead off the next exit ramp," Sun Hao’s voice crackled cleanly through the encrypted comms channel from the transport truck. "The surrounding terrain is flat and completely open. High visibility, low density. It looks like an optimal spot to pull over."
Han Zheng’s eyes locked onto a rusted, peeling tal sign passing by the passenger side window. "We’ll make a brief stop," he responded smoothly. "We need to clear the intakes, flush the radiators, and wash down our gear before the crust corrodes the rubber seals and brings our speed down. Keep the profile low. No unnecessary noise."
The convoy slid smoothly off the exit ramp, tires crunching over loose gravel as they pulled into the wide, abandoned concrete parking lot of the comrcial truck stop. It was a massive, desolate facility. Rows of rusted, abandoned semi-trailers sat frozen in the fuel bays, their tires deflated and their cabs gutted by looters.
Han Zheng brought the SUV to a smooth halt just outside the entrance of the automated wash bay, a long concrete tunnel designed for heavy machinery. The two military trucks pulled up directly behind him, their air brakes letting out a sharp, muted hiss.
"Lin Qing, stay in the cabin and keep watch over the kids," Han Zheng instructed gently, glancing across the center console at his wife.
The dark fabric of her jacket was noticeably stiff, stained with splatters of dried black fluid from her close-range execution of the alpha bull inside the store. Her left shoulder was visibly rigid, the slight strain of the battle lingering against her fresh stitches.
She didn’t offer a single word of argunt or refusal. She simply rested the heavy barrel of her rifle casually across her lap, giving him a nod of agreent. She knew her current physical limits, and more importantly, she knew the elite soldiers outside were more than capable of handling a routine periter sweep.
Han Zheng, Lieutenant Chen, and Ah Hua stepped out of the SUV in unison, the heavy doors closing with a quiet, solid click. Their boots made absolutely no sound as they stepped across the concrete, their weapons raised and scanning the blind spots of the facility. Moving with practiced synchronicity, the three n approached the dark, cavernous entrance of the automated wash station.
The interior of the bay was cool and damp, slling of old soap, rust, and stagnant water. As they breached the threshold, three distinct shapes suddenly detached themselves from the heavy shadows near the back of the massive rotating wash brushes.
They were low-level, wandering zombies—forr chanics and truck stop employees who had been turned during the initial outbreak. They wore oil-stained, grease-blackened coveralls, their flesh pale and sloughing off in patches. The mont the fresh, untainted scent of living flesh hit their decayed olfactory senses, their slack jaws unhinged further, letting out low, wet, guttural gurgles as they began to shuffle forward across the wet concrete.
’No gunfire.’ Han Zheng signaled with a sharp, downward motion of his left hand.
Before the three strays could even raise their rotting, clawed arms to strike, the elite squad executed their movents with flawless precision. Lieutenant Chen stepped inside the guard line of the first zombie, his blade driving cleanly upward through the soft tissue beneath the creature’s jaw, piercing the brain stem and dropping it instantly without a sound.
Simultaneously, Ah Hua lunged forward to the left, his heavy combat knife executing a perfect, horizontal pierce through the temple of the second chanic, twisting the blade to disrupt the neural core.
The third zombie, a heavily built forr truck driver, lunged directly toward Han Zheng with a roar. The Commander didn’t even bother to draw his sidearm. He simply stepped forward into the creature’s trajectory, his face completely expressionless.
Extending his right hand, Han Zheng unleashed a concentrated pulse of his Kinetic Force. A ripple of invisible, highly pressurized energy erupted from his palm, striking the zombie’s chest and head.
The sheer acceleration drove the creature backward through the air at blinding speed, its skull impacting the solid concrete wall of the wash bay with a muffled, heavy crack. The creature’s movent ceased instantly, its lifeless body sliding down the wall into a heap.
In less than ten seconds, the entire periter of the wash station was secure.
"Da Yong, Sun Hao, get the power running," Han Zheng ordered quietly over the radio channel, tracking the layout of the utility corridors. "Bypass the main generators. We don’t want to draw anything from the highway."
Understanding the operation perfectly, the two soilders slipped into the rear utility room of the facility. Working rapidly with their insulated tools under the dim light of a tactical flashlight, they bypassed the facility’s massive, loud diesel backup engines entirely.
Instead, they tapped directly into the truck stop’s comrcial solar battery bank array located on the roof. It didn’t provide enough voltage to power the entire facility’s automated tracking systems, but it sent just enough residual current to activate an industrial water pump.
A low, gentle, electrical hum filled the concrete bay. Ah Hua and Da Yong hauled the rubber pressure hoses out onto the concrete floor. Working in quiet, rapid pairs, they began blasting the thick, caked-on black crust off the grilles and wheel wells of the two transport trucks, before moving onto the armored SUV.
The high-pressure streams of water sliced through the dried necrotic blood like lasers, dissolving the hardened organic matter and sending the foul, swirling black liquid draining harmlessly away into the deep underground filtration grates of the facility.
While the n handled the heavy labor of scouring the vehicles outside, Han Zheng pulled a clean, secondary pressurized water hose toward the rear passenger doors of the SUV. He swung the doors open, allowing the rest of the squad mbers to step up one by one and quickly wash the foul, dried residue off their combat boots, trousers, and protective gear.
Once the initial outer ss was completely cleared away and the draining system had swallowed the waste, Han Zheng climbed into the back seat of the modified SUV, pulling a fresh, unopened dical kit from the side cargo panel.
He looked across the seat at Lin Qing. She was sitting quietly in the dim interior, her posture still perfectly straight, though she was subtly using her uninjured right hand to loosen the tight collar of her tactical shirt, trying to inspect the state of her left shoulder without drawing attention to herself.
"Let ," Han Zheng said softly. His deep voice carried a rare gentle warmth that completely contrasted his imposing fra.
Lin Qing paused, her hand freezing on her collar. Her pale, beautiful face remained an unreadable, stoic mask, her eyes completely calm as she looked at him.
But for the first ti since the world had collapsed two weeks ago, she didn’t offer a cold refusal or claim that she was completely fine. Instead, she let out a tiny, nearly imperceptible sigh, her shoulders dropping just a fraction. She sat still, her body relaxing into the seat as she allowed herself to lean slightly against his chest.
Han Zheng worked with ticulous, steady hands. He carefully pulled back the fabric of her collar, using sterile antiseptic wipes to clean away the small beads of sweat and the tiny spots where the heavy, violent recoil of her rifle had strained the edges of her fresh stitches. Lin Qing didn’t flinch or blink as the harsh alcohol stung her raw skin; she simply kept her dark eyes locked onto his face, her gaze reflecting a quiet trust.
From the front passenger seat, five-year-old Han Ye sat perfectly still, his tiny hands tucked neatly into the pockets of his jacket. He watched the quiet reflection of his "parents" in the side rearview mirror.
For a fleeting second, the cold look of a regressor completely faded from the boy’s dark eyes, replaced by a tiny, genuine touch of peace. Seeing them like this in this tiline brought a rare stability to his mind.
Beside the boy, little Gu An quietly sipped from a bottle of water, a soft, comfortable silence settling over the children as they enjoyed the temporary safety of the stationary vehicle.
Outside the SUV, the high-pressure hoses finally ceased their hum as Da Yong cut the power to the pump. The two military transport trucks and the armored SUV were pristine once more, their steel armor gleaming under the sun, their engine intakes completely cleared of the corrosive biological matter. The lingering, toxic scent of death had been entirely washed away, replaced by the clean, neutral scent of water and wet asphalt.
Han Zheng finished taping a fresh dical bandage over Lin Qing’s shoulder, his calloused thumb gently brushing against her collarbone for a brief, lingering second before he packed away the kit and stepped back out of the vehicle.
"Vehicles are completely secure and running cool, Commander," Da Yong reported, wiping the clean water droplets from his forehead as he coiled the heavy hoses back onto their reels. "Radiators are flushed, and the air intakes are totally clear. We’re ready to roll whenever you are."
Han Zheng nodded sharply, walking around to the front and climbing back into the driver’s seat of the SUV. With the air inside and outside the vehicle completely clean, the engine breathing perfectly, and the squad ntally reset, he turned the ignition key. The engine purred smoothly and powerfully into life, the dashboard lighting up in a sea of healthy green trics.
As the three-vehicle convoy slowly pulled out of the wash station, tires gripping the asphalt as they accelerated back onto the vast, empty stretches of the flat southern highway, the brief mont of dostic comfort completely vanished. It was replaced once more by the sharp, hyper-vigilant focus of the road ahead, the elite unit moving like a spearhead deeper into the unknown zones of the dying world.
User Comments
0 comments from readers