"Boss, where are we heading now?"
Stepping out of the school gate, the group stood around looking lost, no one sure where to go next.
"Any of you have family nearby? Need to go home and check on them?" Yang Bin said suddenly.
At that, everyone went quiet. In the apocalypse, nothing weighed heavier than family-especially after communications went down, leaving them with zero idea whether their people were alive or dead.
"Old Hei and I are from Liao-Ji province. Skinny Monkey's from Bashu. All far from here. With planes and high-speed rail completely down, getting back is easier said than done." Zhao Kun shook his head with a bitter smile.
"Right. So Haozi and I are the closest, but that's still four or five hundred kilometers. Getting back would be just as hard. Liang Zi's from Jinling-even farther." Yang Bin sighed.
"Four or five hundred klicks-grab a car and we could probably make it. I'm just worried the roads are jammed."
"Jammed is guaranteed. The highway back home is packed no matter what time of year. Forget zombies-just clearing the cars along the way would take forever. National roads would be even worse."
"So we can't go back anytime soon." Zhao Kun sighed.
"Not necessarily. If we had connections with the authorities, got them to send a helicopter or something, getting home would be easy." Old Hei said.
"That's not reliable either. Think about it-it's not just zombies out there now. There are Mutated Beasts too. A damn cat was already that powerful. If a mutated eagle swatted a helicopter out of the sky, I wouldn't even blink. Then we'd just be dead." Yang Bin shook his head.
"Ugh... fair point. Guess going home really is a pipe dream. All we can do is hope the local government gets rescue operations going soon."
"Yeah. If you want to go back, focus on getting stronger. Maybe once you hit a certain level, you'll be running up walls and leaping across rooftops. Hell, maybe you'll just fly home."
"Brother Bin's right. Strength is the foundation of everything. I already feel like I could smoke Usain Bolt in a sprint. Keep leveling up and anything's possible."
"Alright, let's hunker down in Star City for now. Find a place to set up base-preferably a villa. Damn it, never lived in a villa before the apocalypse. Now that the world's ended, I should at least get to experience it once." Yang Bin said.
"I'm in. Never lived in one either." Chen Hao agreed.
"How about Jinghe Garden? I heard that's where the mega-rich live. The villas are massive-gardens, swimming pools, the works. Must be insanely comfortable." Skinny Monkey said, eyes gleaming.
"How do you even know about that place?"
"Uh... I used to wander around that area when I had nothing to do. Always fantasized about living there someday." Skinny Monkey said, scratching his head.
"You really dared to dream, huh..."
"Alright, then today I'll make that dream come true. We're going there." Yang Bin clapped Skinny Monkey on the shoulder with a grin.
"Hell yeah! Thanks, Brother Bin! Never thought my old fantasy would actually come true during the apocalypse." Skinny Monkey said, practically bouncing.
"But, Brother Bin, that place is kinda far from here..."
"How far?"
"Over twenty kilometers."
"......"
"You call that 'kinda far'? Twenty-something kilometers in the apocalypse might as well be the other side of the planet." Zhao Kun rolled his eyes.
Yang Bin's mouth twitched. Trying to cross twenty-plus kilometers through Star City's urban sprawl? Pure fantasy.
"Relax, we don't need to cut through the city. Take the Outer Ring Road and we can bypass the urban area entirely to get there." Skinny Monkey said quickly.
"You've really done your homework on this."
"Hehe, what can I say."
"If that's the case, then sure. But is there a commercial area nearby? If there's nowhere to get food, forget it."
"There is. About five kilometers from the neighborhood there's a huge Walmart Supermarket-one of the biggest in Star City. Pretty much any daily supplies we'd need, they've got it. Plus there are a bunch of smaller grocery stores in that area too. Food definitely won't be a problem." Skinny Monkey said with confidence.
"Then it's settled. I want to see how the rich live too."
"Mm."
No one objected. Who wouldn't want to live somewhere nice?
"Let's go grab a car."
"Right."
Decision made, the group headed off.
Not far from the school was Shenghua Avenue. When they arrived, the entire road was a mess of abandoned vehicles scattered in every direction.
Most had lost control and plowed into roadside landscaping or slammed into other cars.
Zombies wandered among the wreckage.
The moment they spotted the group, the zombies surged toward them with excited snarls.
"Oh? There's actually a Tier-3 Zombie in there." Yang Bin raised an eyebrow.
"Nice. Free crystal, delivered right to our door." The others grinned.
They cut through the few dozen charging zombies like it was nothing, then dug out the crystals. The Tier-3 Crystal went to Hu Wenliang.
It wasn't favoritism. They all had abilities, but Hu Wenliang's healing would last longer as his strength grew-a benefit for the whole team.
Zhao Kun and the others had no complaints. They knew where they stood. As long as Yang Bin didn't cast them aside, they were content.
After searching along the road for a while, they finally found a relatively intact seven-seat SUV.
The owner had turned but hadn't wandered far. They put him down, grabbed the keys, and piled in.
Seven seats-just enough for six people and one cat.
"Brother Bin, when did you get your license? How come I never knew?" Chen Hao stared at Yang Bin settling into the driver's seat.
"License? Where would I have gotten the money for driving school?" Yang Bin blinked with wide, innocent eyes.
"......"
"Um... Brother Bin, have you... ever driven before?" Zhao Kun asked carefully.
"Nope. But I worked part-time at a car wash once."
"......"
"Brother Bin, how about I drive? I actually have a license." Zhao Kun offered quietly.
"Have you driven since you got it?"
"...No."
"Then what's the difference? Relax. You don't need to have eaten pork to know what a pig looks like running. I've got this. Trust me." Yang Bin waved him off.
The others exchanged uncertain glances, but Yang Bin's track record of competence won out. They chose to believe him.
Until-
"Huh? Why is this car missing a pedal?" Yang Bin ducked his head, scanning the footwell.
"......"
"Bro... it's an automatic. There's no clutch." Zhao Kun said in a small voice.
"Oh. Right. The kind where you hold the brake to start it, yeah?"
"Y-yeah..."
Yang Bin was a quick study, at least. He got the engine running without much trouble.
Release brake. Hit the gas.
Nothing happened.
"Bro, the parking brake's still on..."
"I don't see a handbrake lever anywhere?"
"It's an electronic parking brake..." Zhao Kun looked like he was about to cry.
In the back seats, everyone quietly double-checked their seatbelts. Tugged them tight. Then tugged again.
"Oh, oh. Got it."
He pressed the button. Nothing released.
Held the brake, pressed again. Released.
"Haha, see? I'm pretty smart after all."
"Here we go..."
Release brake. Hit the gas-
The SUV rocketed forward.
"BOOM-"