Cheng Qian slammed on the brakes.
Fuming, he rolled down the window and yelled at the person outside, “Are you trying to get yourself killed?!”
The man staggered forward from the force of the car, but even so, he did not let go.
Hearing Cheng Qian shout at him, he bellowed back angrily, “Why did you give him money?! It’s people like you who encourage their bad behavior!
This is robbery! Do you know this is robbery?! We’ve already called the police, they’re on their way! You can’t just drive off; go get the money back!”
Cheng Qian froze for a moment, conflicted.
He was a soldier by background, and years of military life had given him a strong sense of right and wrong.
The man’s words left him momentarily not sure how to respond.
But Ke Bei wasn’t buying it.
She knew in her heart that no matter how righteous the man sounded, the truth was simple: he couldn’t pay because of poor signal and now wanted to rally others to confront the people at the barricade!
If someone paid, those behind would naturally follow. Without cash, they wouldn’t stand a chance to get through.
Otherwise, why had he been lingering at the QR code scanning point before?
And calling the police…
If the police were truly involved, would the people guarding the gate be so calm?
This wasn’t the time to argue. The priority was to keep moving, and Ke Bei had no patience to reason with him.
She stepped out of the car, walked up to the man, grabbed him by the collar, and yanked him aside.
Her movement was so fast and strong that the man didn’t even have time to react before he landed on the ground.
Laughter immediately erupted from the surrounding crowd.
“Let’s go.”
Ke Bei signaled to her husband and turned to get back into the car, but suddenly a group of people closed in, surrounding her in the center.
“What are you doing?!”
“How can you hit someone?!”
“Are you even reasonable? My classmate was talking to you nicely, and when you didn’t listen, you hit them?!”
There were about seven or eight people, both male and female, all students in their teens or early twenties, each with a look of outrage on their face.
Ke Bei paused.
She could throw one person aside, but a whole group of students…
After all, they hadn’t really done anything wrong.
Just as she hesitated, a surprised voice rang out from the crowd: “Big sister, is that you?!”
The voice sounded familiar.
Ke Bei looked toward it and saw the college student she had met earlier at the first aid station. At that time, he had even given her a power bank.
Remembering that it was thanks to the power bank he gave that she and her son were able to find her husband, Ke Bei’s expression softened slightly.
She tried to explain, “We really have an urgent matter and must leave immediately. If you can’t scan the QR code, I’ll cover the fee for you.”
As she spoke, Ke Bei pulled another stack of cash from her pocket.
Hearing that she was willing to pay the toll for them, the surrounding students hesitated. They exchanged glances and then looked at the boy who had spoken earlier.
Ke Bei didn’t want to waste time arguing. She shoved the money into the boy’s hand and was about to push through the crowd, but the man who had fallen before lunged forward again.
Embarrassed and angry, his face twisted.
He grabbed the money from the boy’s hand and hurled it at Ke Bei’s face.
“Who wants your stinking money?! I’ve already called 110, the police are on their way…”
He shouted in anger, as if raising his voice made him feel more justified.
Ke Bei sneered, pushed him aside, and walked straight toward the car.
Fools like this, life will teach them a lesson; there’s no need to waste her time on him.
Ignored once again by Ke Bei, the man fumed and tried to rush forward, but the boy from before grabbed him firmly.
“Wang Chao, that’s enough!”
The boy snapped, “If you want to die, stay here and wait by yourself, no one’s coming with you!”
Then he bent down to pick up the scattered money from the ground.
Ke Bei paid them no mind and continued directly to the car.
Just as she was about to get in, a sudden, inexplicable chill shot up her spine and reached the top of her head.
She instantly withdrew her hand, looked around, and her attention was drawn to the disturbance in the nearby cornfield.
Her expression changed drastically!
“A mutated beast! Over there! Run!” she shouted loudly to the crowd.
“Where? Where?!”
Panic erupted instantly. People began looking around frantically.
Some ran toward their cars, others jumped down from their vehicles.
Chaos spread everywhere.
“Drive!” Ke Bei shouted at Cheng Qian.
As she opened the car door, she paused for a moment, gritted her teeth, and grabbed the boy, who had been picking up money but was now frozen in fear, and threw him into the car.
The SUV shot forward, speeding through the opening.
Many other cars followed, rushing out behind them.
Behind those cars, a chorus of terrified screams rose and fell continuously.
Through the rearview mirror, Ke Bei saw a group of mutated dogs, roughly the size of calves, charging out of the cornfield.
They barreled straight into the traffic along the roadside.
Cars that hadn’t yet started were slammed one by one, dented into huge pits, many pushed off their original positions.
A few smaller vehicles even flipped over completely.
The dogs pounced on car windows, jumped onto roofs, clawing, ramming, and slamming with their bodies.
Each one barked excitedly.
Some car windows were smashed open, vehicles were crushed and deformed, and inside, people were desperately fighting back, their terrified screams echoing nonstop.
Those who had gotten out of their cars, along with the villagers blocking the road, were knocked to the ground by the dogs.
The mutated dogs tore into their bodies, feasting on their flesh and blood.
Within minutes, the road behind them had become a scene of carnage.
The SUV sped forward at full throttle.
Outside, the snapping of crushed stones and cracking of branches rang intermittently, but inside the car, there was complete silence.
The boy huddled in a corner, staring rigidly at what was behind him, his face pale, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.
It wasn’t until the people and dogs were left far behind, out of sight, that his tears finally began to fall.
He lowered his head, covering his face with his hands, and tears dripped onto the floor mat below, quickly soaking a patch.
His shoulders shook continuously, but he bit his lips hard, refusing to cry out.
Still, the stifled sobs betrayed his grief and fear.
Seeing him like this, Xiao Tian took a tissue from his backpack and handed it over, patting the boy gently on the back with his small hand.
In a surprisingly mature voice, he comforted him: “Don’t cry, big brother. Those dogs can’t catch us. And if they do, my mom and dad will kill them, and I can fight too. Don’t be afraid, we’ll protect you.”
Finally, the boy stopped crying.
He lowered his hands, took the tissue, and roughly wiped his face, then nodded heavily at Xiao Tian.
His eyes were bloodshot, but he forced a smile and reached out to pat Xiao Tian’s head. “Thank you, little one. I’m not scared—I can fight too.”
His voice quivered, but he made an effort to steady his emotions, turning to Ke Bei with sincere gratitude: “Miss, thank you. Without you, I would’ve been done for just now.”
Ke Bei didn’t respond verbally; instead, she took a bottle of mineral water from her bag and tossed it to him.
The boy didn’t hesitate, thanked her again, and gulped down more than half the bottle in one go.
Once he seemed a little steadier, Ke Bei asked, “Where are you headed?”
“I’m going to Yancheng. Oh—Miss, my name is Du He, I’m a student at the University of Finance.” The boy remembered to introduce himself.
“There was trouble at school, and the teachers told us to go home. I rented a car with a few fellow townsmen to get back to Yancheng, but I didn’t expect…”
Thinking of the earlier chaos and worrying about whether his classmates had survived, Du He’s eyes turned red again.
Seeing this, Ke Bei sighed, but continued, “Du He, I’m sure you heard what I said earlier. We really do have urgent matters…”
“I know, I know. Miss, just drop me off somewhere, and I’ll figure out the rest. You’ve already saved my life—I can’t keep holding you up.”
Before Ke Bei could respond, Du He spoke earnestly, cutting her off.
Seeing his attitude, Ke Bei relaxed a little.
In that situation just now, whether it was Du He or a stranger, anyone who could save her would have. But she had no intention of taking him along indefinitely.
Seeing how he had cried earlier, she had been slightly worried that the boy might cling to them out of fear.
Now, seeing that he seemed responsible, Ke Bei’s mood lifted considerably.
“Then let’s drive a bit further and see?” she said, looking at her husband for agreement.
“Mm,” Cheng Qian replied calmly.
This was the first thing Cheng Qian had said since the car left that intersection.
The entire way, his brow had been tightly furrowed, and his expression was so cold it could freeze someone.
Ke Bei, of course, knew he wasn’t directing it at her.
She understood that what had just happened had shaken Cheng Qian as deeply as it had shaken Du He, especially seeing people suffer while he could only choose to flee.
Although it was an unavoidable decision, the guilt that came with it must have been an immense torment for him.
After driving for about another half hour, a local market appeared by the roadside.
The market wasn’t large and had clearly been affected by the mutated plants.
Tall weeds, nearly waist-high, had grown all around inside and outside the market. Even the gate pillars had been split into several pieces as the roots had grown through them, leaving them teetering and on the verge of collapse.
If one hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, it would be impossible to believe that this plant mutation had only started the previous night.
It looked as though the place had been abandoned for many years.
There were no people in the market at all; the shops were closed, leaving the area empty and desolate.
“Just park the car here,” Ke Bei said, signaling Cheng Qian to pull over.
Then she turned to Du He and asked, “Do you know how to drive?”