The next day.
The seven o’clock biological clock in his head woke Brian from his deep slumber.
He slowly opened his eyes and was about to stretch when he realized he couldn’t feel his left arm.
Turning his head, he saw Sarah still resting on his arm, her body clinging to him like an octopus.
Sighing helplessly, he used his right hand to pull his left arm out.
Feeling the surge of numbness and pain, he immediately grimaced.
A few minutes later, the sensation gradually subsided.
Brian then slowly pulled his body out of Sarah’s embrace, letting out a long sigh of relief only after finally breaking free from her grasp.
Standing up, he looked down at Sarah, who was still sleeping soundly.
He crouched down and took a Texas map from the inner pocket of the backpack on the floor, which he had specifically picked up when passing by a Bookstore yesterday.
He scanned the area around the car and, seeing nothing amiss, tiptoed to the door of the Factory.
He opened a narrow gap and squeezed his body through it.
As soon as he stepped out of the Factory, the blinding sunlight shone on Brian’s face.
He squinted slightly, adapting after a moment, and then walked to the rear of an abandoned car to spread out the map in his hands.
Finding Austin on the map, he moved his finger upward, passing Round Rock, Temple, and Waco, before finally stopping at Dallas.
Looking at the route, Brian scratched his head and muttered to himself, “I wonder what kind of trouble I’ll run into on this journey.” Boom!
Just as Brian was carefully planning his route, a loud boom suddenly erupted from not far away, followed by the “da-da-da” sound of rifle fire and the incredulous screams of humans.
His heart skipped a beat, and he jerked his head up to look in the direction the sound came from.
However, there were too many obstructions around, making it impossible to see what was happening.
A sense of foreboding welled up in Brian’s heart.
He quickly folded the map, put it away, and ran back into the Factory.
He quickly pushed the doors of the Factory open and shouted inside, “Sarah, wake up!
We need to leave here immediately.” No sooner had he finished speaking than Sarah hurried out from behind the car.
Seeing that Brian was fine, she breathed a sigh of relief and asked with some confusion, “What happened just now?” The loud noise had startled her awake, and seeing that Brian wasn’t by her side, she had felt uneasy and rushed out to check.
Seeing him safe and sound now, she finally set her hanging heart at ease.
Looking at Sarah approaching, Brian briefly told her about what had happened, then opened the driver’s door of the car at the entrance and said with a grave expression, “Whatever happened over there, it has nothing to do with us.
Grab our things and get in the car; we’re leaving here now.” “Okay!” Hearing Brian’s decision, Sarah nodded in agreement.
Indeed, whatever was happening over there no longer mattered to them as they were about to leave.
She trotted a few steps to grab the backpack in the Factory, turned back to the car, opened the passenger door, and got in.
Vroom—!
Seeing Sarah seated in the passenger seat, Brian didn’t hesitate.
He navigated out of the abandoned car Factory, then slammed on the accelerator, kicking up a cloud of dust and speeding off into the distance like an arrow released from a bow.
From the driver’s seat, Brian kept glancing at the rearview mirror to observe the situation behind them, fearing any unexpected incidents.
After the car had traveled a considerable distance, he finally relaxed, and upon seeing the sign for the highway turn to the right, he turned the steering wheel.
“Damn it!” But as soon as the car turned, Brian suddenly saw a truck blocking the highway entrance and several fully armed Soldiers nearby.
This immediately made him feel restless and gave him the urge to curse.
He didn’t know why Military Soldiers had suddenly appeared in this place, but when he saw these Soldiers raise their guns without hesitation upon seeing them, he knew they held no good intentions.
Recalling the gunshots and screams from the town just now, as well as his previous encounters with Soldiers when the plague broke out, he was certain these people were definitely up to no good.
Although this judgment seemed quite arbitrary, Brian trusted his intuition, and he was not someone who would easily hand over the right to choose and his own life to others.
“This…
how are they here?” Looking at the Soldiers who had suddenly appeared in front, Sarah frowned slightly.
She really had no good impression of these so-called Military personnel and was very confused about when they had arrived here.
“I don’t know, but it’s definitely not a good thing for us.” Hearing Brian’s words, Sarah also understood that their current situation was a bit awkward.
Since the intersection here was being guarded, the other places must be the same.
Even if they returned to the town to hide, it was highly likely they would be searched out.
Thinking of this, she asked anxiously, “Then what do we do now?” “Sit tight, get down, we’re charging through!” Tapping the accelerator frequently, Brian knew at this point that they had no way back.
He let out a low roar, then slammed the accelerator to the floor, and amidst Sarah’s exclamation, they charged toward the highway entrance.
On the other side, the few Soldiers guarding the highway entrance saw the car suddenly appearing at the end of the road ahead.
They quickly raised their rifles, looking at each other, not knowing what to do.
They had just arrived here and never expected a car to appear at this moment.
At this moment, one of the Soldiers, clearly the leader, stepped out.
He picked up the megaphone placed on a supply crate next to him and shouted to the vehicle that had stopped in front: “Vehicle ahead, we are the National Disaster Relief Team.
Please get out of the car for inspection.
We will escort you to…” But before he could finish speaking, he saw the car in front suddenly accelerate and charge toward him.
This startled him, and he realized the other party seemed to know something.
He no longer cared about any pretense, quickly raised his rifle, and roared, “Shoot!” Da-da-da…
Bullets rained onto the car’s shell, sparking and making a “pitter-patter” sound.
The car’s windshield was also pierced by the dense barrage of bullets, instantly turning into a spiderweb pattern.
Brian desperately lowered his body, feeling the bullets whistling toward him.
He felt both fear and a hint of excitement; his heart was pounding violently, his breathing became rapid, and the adrenaline in his body began to surge sharply.
Seeing that he was getting closer and closer to the Soldiers, Brian suddenly jerked the steering wheel, crashing into the supply crates stacked next to the Soldiers.
Clang!
The strong impact overturned all the stacked supply crates, sending them flying toward the Soldiers, while also helping the car block some of the incoming bullets.
The Soldiers who were shooting saw the supply crates smashing toward them and involuntarily backed up two steps, their rifles ceasing fire.
After crashing into the supply crates, Brian saw that they had stopped shooting, so he quickly accelerated to drive around the Military truck, broke through the roadblocks and the boom barrier at the highway entrance, and entered the highway.
“You two stay here, everyone else get in the truck and chase them!” The leading Soldier watched the car driving away, feeling incredibly annoyed.
If their blockade fortifications hadn’t been unfinished, how could they have let this car escape so easily?
He quickly ordered two Soldiers to stay and guard, while the rest got into the truck.
He himself hurried to open the driver’s door, got in, started the truck, and chased after the car onto the highway, while simultaneously picking up the radio to report what had just happened to his superior.
“Report, Captain.
A car broke through the blockade from the north of the town and entered the highway.
I am currently driving along the road in pursuit and guarantee I will intercept it.
Over!” But after this message was sent, the voice that came through the radio was not their Captain’s, but rather the stern voice of a stranger: “Who authorized you to act on your own?
Return to the northern blockade point immediately.
I will send someone else to handle that car.
Remember, if anyone else escapes from your blockade point, don’t blame me!” “Yes…
yes, sir, I am returning immediately!” Listening to the voice on the other end of the radio, the Soldier’s expression changed instantly.
He felt an invisible pressure, cold sweat sliding down his forehead.
He quickly stopped the truck, turned around, and returned to the highway entrance.
Meanwhile, in a Military camp west of the town, the middle-aged man wearing a standard combat uniform tossed the radio back to a Captain standing nearby and said coldly, “Hurry to the north; don’t let any more mishaps occur.” “Yes!” Hearing this, the Captain saluted and quickly turned to walk out of the tent.
Watching the figure leave, the middle-aged man closed his eyes, his lips curling slightly, gradually revealing a pleased expression.
He had originally been troubled about how to discreetly let some Survivors go, but he hadn’t expected that someone would hand him a pillow just as he was feeling sleepy.
It seemed that even God believed what they were doing was right and wanted to help America end this disaster.