Seeing such a miserable scene, Sarah buried her head in Brian’s shoulder, unable to bear watching any longer.
Brian, meanwhile, was recalling the scene just now in utter shock.
He had clearly seen the bullet strike the Infected’s head, yet that strange fungal growth had actually blocked the bullet.
Although the growth was eventually destroyed, the fact that it could stop bullets made him uneasy.
Even if the growth only covered half its head now, what if it eventually covered the entire head, or even the whole body?
And if it were to develop other bizarre abilities, how terrifying would that be?
Thinking of this, Brian realized more and more that he couldn’t stay here any longer.
While the city probably wasn’t much better, it was still far better than staying here and facing these monsters.
“Let’s go.
We need to find a car quickly and get out of here.” With that, Brian patted Sarah’s shoulder, then took her hand and hurried toward the northern part of the town.
…
On a highway several hundred kilometers away from the town, dozens of Military armed trucks were speeding along.
A sign in front of the convoy read: “325 kilometers to Austin.” In the back of each truck sat a dozen fully armed Soldiers, leaning back with their eyes closed, resting and preparing their minds and bodies for the upcoming mission.
In one of the armed trucks in the middle of the convoy, a Soldier in the passenger seat saw a passing sign and slid open the small iron window connecting to the back.
Several people were gathered around a map, discussing the next phase of the operation.
He said to a middle-aged man wearing a special combat uniform: “Sir, we are half a day’s journey from our destination.
At this speed, we should reach the nearest town before 7 o’clock.” “Alright, I understand.” The middle-aged man didn’t even look up, continuing to study the map, merely nodding slightly to indicate he had heard.
The Soldier didn’t say anything more, closed the small iron window, sat back in the passenger seat, and continued to observe the road.
In the back of the truck, the middle-aged man in the special combat uniform looked up at the Soldiers in front of him and said: “Alright, we are about to reach our destination.
You should already understand the combat plan, but there is one most important point I want you to remember: the success of this mission concerns the survival of the nation, so we must succeed!” “Yes, sir!” The other Soldiers sitting nearby looked solemn, clearly understanding the gravity of the operation, their eyes full of determination as they responded in unison.
Nodding in satisfaction, the middle-aged man continued: “We will arrive at the town outside Austin at 7 o’clock.
We will set up camp on the outskirts for the night.
Tomorrow morning, you will lead your respective squads to clear your assigned streets one by one.
We will build defensive fortifications there and use it as a base to gradually clear the area outward…” At this point, the middle-aged man stopped abruptly.
After a moment of silence, he issued an order that shocked everyone: “Indiscriminately purge all Survivors and Infected.” “…” Hearing this, the squad leaders were horrified.
They looked at each other, and a brief silence fell over the truck compartment.
“I know what you are thinking.” Seeing the atmosphere shift, the middle-aged man sighed, patted the shoulder of a nearby squad leader, and said: “No one wants to do this, but I need you to understand that our country is experiencing an unprecedented crisis.
We can only resolve this crisis by quickly eliminating the Infected within the infection zones.
We can no longer afford to worry about the people inside…” A moment later, the convoy slowly stopped to rest.
The squad leaders got out one by one to return to their teams and explain the purpose of the operation.
Seeing the compartment empty, the middle-aged man leaned back helplessly, the shocking secret his superior had told him before departure echoing in his mind.
“Your mission in Austin this time is to completely purge everyone in the city, but you must deliberately let some Survivors escape and let them arrive at the Quarantine Zone alive.
I will arrange for reporters to expose this matter…
You don’t need to look at me like that; I know what you’re thinking.
To tell you the truth, the outbreak has been going on for nearly half a month, but we have made zero progress in vaccine development.
Do you have any idea what an alarming number the infection count has reached so far?” “We cannot blindly wait for the day a vaccine is developed.
We have proposed to the Parliament to build large Quarantine Zones in every city to ensure the safety of our citizens as much as possible, but these damn bureaucrats are still busy with voting and elections.
So, we have to find our own way.
We have reached a consensus with the Military leadership; once the indiscriminate purge plan in the infection zones is exposed, the Federal Disaster Relief Agency and the Military will intervene directly, remove the entire bureaucratic system, and allow laws to be effectively implemented.
Only in this way can we save our nation.
Do you understand!” Recalling every word, the middle-aged man’s face was full of exhaustion.
These secrets weighed on his heart, making it hard for him to breathe.
But he couldn’t say it out loud; he knew someone here was definitely monitoring his every move.
So he had to keep these words bottled up inside, constantly telling himself that this was the right thing to do…
the right thing!
…
Afternoon.
Northern outskirts of the town.
Brian stood on top of a security booth, stretching his head over the iron fence to peer inside.
He only pulled back to rest when his neck became sore and stiff.
Rubbing his aching neck, he complained: “Are you kidding me?
How can there be so many Factories here, and none of them have signs?
Who the hell knows which one is which.” Although he said this, Brian knew in his heart that there was no steel Factory here.
It was clearly a hideout or trading hub for criminals, and the so-called steel Factory was likely just a name.
“Then what should we do?
Should we go in and search them one by one?” Hearing Brian’s words, Sarah, standing below, was also troubled.
She scanned the surrounding Factories, hoping to find other clues to determine which one they were looking for.
But after searching for a long time without finding any clues, just as she was about to give up, her eyes swept over a place piled with scrapped cars, and she suddenly froze.
Then, she rubbed her eyes in disbelief and pointed excitedly, saying: “Look, it says ‘Fair’ there!” Brian, standing above, heard her and quickly looked over, but after staring for a long time, he couldn’t see the word “Fair.” He asked with some confusion: “Where?
I don’t see it.” “It’s on that hanging sign.
Those two small black words below ‘Auto Disposal Plant’.” Hearing this, Brian looked again and finally saw the inconspicuous little words.
He sighed in admiration: “Impressive, you actually saw that.” “Of course, look who you’re talking to!” Sarah was clearly pleased by Brian’s praise, lifting her little face and smiling at him triumphantly.
The two then walked toward the scrapped car disposal plant.
The gate was not locked, and they successfully pushed it open and entered.
But they didn’t find the locked car mentioned in the letter outside.
The two exchanged glances and walked toward the Factory with the tightly closed door.
When they got close, the large red painted characters on the door made them stop in their tracks.
Sarah looked at the words and read them out slowly: “Monsters inside, do not open!” Looking at the red characters on the door, Brian’s head instantly slumped.
He couldn’t help but complain: “Damn it, are you kidding me?
Of all the things to fear, it actually happened.
Are we in a video game or what?” Seeing Brian like this, Sarah rolled her eyes and jabbed him hard with her elbow, saying: “Alright, stop complaining and figure out a way.” Looking to the left and right, Brian pondered for a moment and said to Sarah: “We definitely can’t open the main door.
We don’t know how many Infected are inside, and if we open it rashly, who knows how many will come running out.” He then pointed to the left and right and continued: “How about we circle around the Factory first to see if we can find another way in.
Pay attention to the surroundings and be careful of other Infected nearby.” “Okay.” Sarah nodded, picked up an iron pipe from the side, and stood up.
She saw that Brian had already walked toward the right side.
That path was overgrown with weeds and dense bushes, which would be very dangerous if any Infected were hiding in there.
In contrast, the path on the left looked very wide and appeared to be frequently used by vehicles, with tire tracks all over the dirt ground.
Sarah knew Brian was deliberately taking care of her.
She didn’t say anything, but silently noted it in her heart, then walked toward the left.
But just after the two had disappeared around their respective corners, a low “hissing” growl suddenly came from behind the previously quiet door.