After leaving the factory building, Tang Yun and Lu Chuan immediately set off for Base No. 3. Originally planning to rest at the factory for the night, they had no choice but to hit the road as soon as possible after receiving the news.
There were likely many players like Shen Lin on the road, hunting her down. The sooner they reached the safe haven, the sooner they could escape danger.
Tang Yun sat in the driver’s seat, steering the vehicle. Catching Lu Chuan’s gaze, she responded with a candid smile.
Lu Chuan chuckled softly, “Is Tangtang the child of fortune?”
Tang Yun replied with a faint smile, “No.”
“Cooperating with you comes with a high risk factor,” Lu Chuan’s voice was slightly low and magnetic, carrying a hint of teasing in his half-smile, yet it blended seamlessly with his cold demeanor. “Can Miss Tang afford the commission?”
“Can’t afford it? Then I’ll pay in kind.”
The skill of flirting with a cool guy—Tang Yun had mastered it effortlessly.
She expected Lu Chuan to take the opportunity to mock her, but instead, he fell silent. Was this tacit approval?
Tang Yun glanced at him uncertainly, “Doctor Lu, you don’t actually want me to pay in kind, do you?”
Lu Chuan’s handsome face remained expressionless, cold and restrained, yet he raised his chin slightly and nodded with an air of nobility.
Tang Yun: “…”
Why did she feel like she was the one being flirted with?!
…
At noon on the tenth day of the apocalypse, Tang Yun and Lu Chuan entered the outskirts of M City.
The two parked their vehicle beside an abandoned gas station by the roadside. As the weather grew colder, they lit a fire to heat canned food and noodles.
Before they could finish eating, they were attacked by a car that rushed toward them.
Two men got out of the car, wielding large knives and charging at Tang Yun without a word.
Squinting her eyes, Tang Yun swiftly swept her leg, knocking one of them down. As she dodged the large knife, she hooked her hand around the attacker’s neck.
At the same time, Lu Chuan’s mountaineering axe struck the knife-wielding assailant, injuring him on the ground.
Just as the two failed in their sneak attack and tried to flee, Tang Yun pressed a knife against their throats, forcing them to stop.
“Who are you?”
The attackers were two middle-aged men, their eyes gleaming with bloodlust. Being stared at by them gave Tang Yun an intense feeling of dizziness and suffocation.
Noticing something amiss, Lu Chuan immediately knocked both men unconscious.
One of them died from excessive blood loss and depleted mental energy.
[Congratulations to player E01 for eliminating a hostile player and obtaining their random Supernatural Ability, ‘Blood Pupil’.]
[System 007: Friendly reminder, the random Supernatural Ability obtained this time can only be used once. Please use it wisely.]
Tang Yun slumped to the ground with a complicated expression, supported by Lu Chuan. Her calf had been injured during the fight, and blood was flowing uncontrollably.
“Sorry to trouble you, Doctor Lu.” She took out the medical kit and pushed it toward Lu Chuan.
Lu Chuan used scissors to cut open the pant leg around her calf and cleaned the wound with hydrogen peroxide. Tang Yun saw him look up and ask, “Does it hurt?”
After a pause, she replied, “Yes.”
Lu Chuan’s movements became much gentler, giving her a sense of carefulness.
Actually, it wasn’t that painful anymore.
After a simple treatment and bandaging of the wound, the two wasted no time and immediately started the off-road vehicle to continue their journey.
“Bang! Bang!!!” Gunshots rang out from behind.
Lu Chuan gripped the steering wheel, his expression darkening. “Someone’s trying to shoot our tires.”
“Bang!” The rear window shattered.
“Let’s take cover first. Head toward the buildings ahead and drive inside.”
Lu Chuan stepped on the accelerator, speeding forward, and immediately stopped the car as they approached the building.
Tang Yun pushed open the car door and darted out, disappearing into one of the buildings.
“Bang!” Gunfire rang out again. This group was tougher to deal with than any before—they had guns and even knew her location.
Footsteps approached, and her heart tightened. Lu Chuan wasn’t by her side, and she had no idea where he was hiding.
Just as Tang Yun prepared for a fierce battle, intense fighting erupted not far away.
When she emerged, she saw that Lu Chuan had already subdued the two armed men on the ground.
It turned out Lu Chuan had laid an ambush earlier. The red dot tracker was on her, so they could locate Tang Yun but had no clue about Lu Chuan’s movements.
Taking advantage of this, Lu Chuan set up the ambush and caught the two men off guard while they were solely focused on pursuing Tang Yun.
Tang Yun let out a sigh of relief and shifted her leg slightly to make it easier for him to apply medicine. “Thank you, Dr. Lu.”
Lu Chuan cooperatively replied, “You’re welcome, Miss Tang.”
For someone as aloof as Lu Chuan to suddenly utter such a fitting remark made Tang Yun inexplicably find it endearing.
As Lu Chuan drove, seeing Tang Yun unable to hold back her laughter, he tapped the steering wheel in protest. “Miss Tang, can’t you rest for a bit?”
“And take your antibiotics while you’re at it.”
Tang Yun leaned back in the passenger seat, trying to move her leg, and thought to herself, “Truly Dr. Lu, even while fleeing, he doesn’t forget to remind his patient.”
In the evening, the setting sun hung on the horizon, dyeing half the sky in shades of orange-red.
Moving from the outskirts toward the city, they drew closer and closer to Shelter No. 3.
It was the tenth night of the apocalypse, with twenty days left. If it weren’t for those so-called hostile players trying to stop Tang Yun from entering the safe haven, she wouldn’t be in such a hurry.
Having barely rested for two days, entering the city would likely mean another fierce battle.
Tang Yun and Lu Chuan decided to find a safe spot outside the city to rest for the night and enter at daybreak.
As soon as the car stopped, she sensed something was wrong. Almost immediately, the roar of zombies echoed from not far away—and there were many of them.
Originally planning to get out, Tang Yun quickly shut the car door.
Lu Chuan started the off-road vehicle. The zombies behind them moved swiftly, swarming forward and surrounding the direction the vehicle was heading.
The stench of decay filled the air, and the roars were relentless. The off-road vehicle accelerated, leaving the horde behind in the sunset.
“Where is this?”
Their car had unknowingly driven into a circular area. When they tried to turn back, they found no way out. Several other cars were parked nearby, and many people had stepped out of them.
“Ah, how did you end up in this cursed place too?” A middle-aged bald man approached, stopping by Tang Yun’s window to strike up a conversation.
“You’re heading to Shelter No. 3 as well, right? So are we. The area is completely enclosed—it’s nearly impossible to leave without wings.”
Seeing no malice in his eyes and noticing he wasn’t leering at her face, Tang Yun asked, “We’re also heading to Shelter No. 3. How long have you been trapped here?”
“I drove in yesterday, trying to escape the zombies, and ended up in this bizarre place. I’ve asked around—some people have been here since five days ago and still haven’t found an exit.”
Tang Yun opened the car door and stepped out, leaning against the vehicle with Lu Chuan as they surveyed their surroundings.
In the glow of the setting sun, within this red circle, seven or eight vehicles and fifty or sixty people could be seen.
“Hey, Xiao Yun, what a coincidence! You guys actually ended up in this strange place too.” Wang Zhan walked over, greeting Tang Yun with a look of pleasant surprise in his eyes.