The convoy, like a beast breaking free from its cage, finally burst out from the last cluster of dense buildings on the city outskirts. However, the scene ahead cast a shadow over the faint hope that had just risen in the hearts of the survivors.
On the relatively open highway outside the city, five or six military trucks covered with heavy tarps were parked. Each truck was guarded by armed soldiers, and the tires were visibly compressed, clearly loaded with heavy cargo.
These were precious supplies collected early in the morning by the army from several key targets in the southern and western parts of the city—possibly granaries, logistics centers, or large supermarket warehouses.
Collecting supplies and rescuing survivors—two arduous tasks the army was simultaneously undertaking.
“All vehicles, keep up! Maintain speed! Don’t fall behind!” The officer’s shout came through the loudspeaker, filled with an unyielding urgency.
The massive mixed convoy started moving again. The military trucks, interspersed among the survivors’ assorted vehicles, inevitably slowed the pace.
The heavy trucks were like lumbering beasts, their noise and the “life force” they carried irresistible temptations to the zombies.
“Attention! Zombies at the intersection ahead!” The scout’s voice sounded urgent.
Ruan Ning’s gaze tightened as she looked forward.
It was an interchange ramp leading to the highway. At this moment, a dense, black mass of zombies surged from under the bridge and down the ramp! Their numbers far exceeded the scattered zombies encountered earlier in the city, likely numbering in the hundreds!
They seemed driven by invisible hands or attracted by the massive commotion here, forming a surrounding formation!
“Open fire!”
The guarding soldiers’ faces grew grim, and gunfire suddenly became as dense as rain! Bullets whistled into the horde, zombies in the front fell like ripe wheat being cut, but the rear ones immediately filled the gaps—fearless and endless!
Bang! Thud!
The zombies began to assault the convoy! They wildly slammed their bodies against vehicles, especially the slower, larger military trucks! Tarps were torn, and some zombies tried to climb onto the truck beds!
“Protect the supplies!” The officer’s eyes reddened with fury as soldiers fired desperately, some even jumping out to fight the approaching zombies with bayonets and entrenching tools!
The survivors’ convoy descended into chaos.
A small car was hit by several zombies simultaneously, flipping onto its side and instantly engulfed. Horrifying screams came from inside.
Others tried to speed through but collided with vehicles losing control to avoid obstacles, causing a chain rear-end crash that blocked part of the road!
“Go around! Take the wasteland on the side!” Someone shouted hoarsely.
Several better-performing off-road vehicles, including Ruan Ning’s, sharply turned the wheel, driving off the road onto the bumpy wasteland, trying to bypass the densest zombie clusters and blocked vehicles on the main road.
But this wasteland was not safe either!
Suddenly—
A zombie hidden in waist-high grass lunged out, its rotten arm smashing through the window of a vehicle next to Ruan Ning’s! The survivor inside screamed in terror!
Ruan Ning’s eyes turned icy. She didn’t ease the throttle, subtly adjusted the steering, and the heavy off-road’s chassis crushed the zombie beneath with a sickening crunch of breaking bones.
Through the rearview mirror, she saw the attacked vehicle lose control, swerving onto an earthen mound and soon surrounded by other zombies emerging from the grass.
Stopping out in the open was impossible!
All vehicles attempting to detour faced the same plight! The tall grass blocked sightlines, making deadly threats appear without warning! The roar and bumps of vehicles also attracted lurking zombies!
A deep, powerful roar echoed from the depths of the wasteland!
Ruan Ning’s heart skipped a beat; a bad premonition surged.
The grass violently shook, and a figure much larger than ordinary zombies burst out—its skin an abnormal bluish-black, arms unusually thick and muscular! It moved extremely fast with a clear target—lunging directly at a struggling military jeep!
Boom!
Its thick arm slammed the jeep’s hood, denting it and causing white smoke to rise! Soldiers inside fired desperately; bullets hit it but seemed unable to deal fatal damage, only making it more furious!
“It’s a brute-type mutant!” a knowledgeable soldier shouted in alarm. “Watch out! It’s very strong!”
The appearance of the mutant zombie worsened an already desperate situation.
Ruan Ning gripped the steering wheel tightly, knuckles white from exertion.
She watched the brute-type mutant rampage through the convoy like a heavy tank, its powerful arm swings hurling soldiers and weapons aside, even denting the side of a military jeep!
Bullets hitting its bluish-black skin mostly left shallow dents, failing to inflict fatal wounds and only enraging it more.
The ordinary zombies, led by the mutant, grew even more frenzied, like piranhas smelling blood, relentlessly assaulting the faltering defenses.
A young soldier, covering his comrades’ retreat, was overwhelmed and swallowed by zombies after a brief, desperate scream.
Ruan Ning’s grip tightened further.
Fragments of memories from her past life overlapped with the brutal reality before her.
She remembered how, in those chaotic and hopeless early days, it was these uniformed men who used their flesh and blood to build the first line of defense, protecting survivors behind them—even at the cost of their own lives.
She admitted she couldn’t be so selfless. Reborn with a heart full of hatred and a fierce will to survive, that didn’t stop her from respecting these people.
She couldn’t stand by coldly, watching those still holding their posts fall one by one.
“Tsk…” she clicked her tongue impatiently, almost disdainful of her own inability to harden her heart completely.
Her eyes sharpened. No more hesitation!
Suddenly, she jerked the steering wheel hard, and the off-road vehicle let out a roar as it sped to a position relatively close to the battlefield’s flank, using some abandoned vehicles as cover.
She quickly got out of the car, avoiding open ground and instead using the cover, her gaze locking onto the brute-type mutant that was wildly destroying everything!
At that moment, the mutant grabbed a soldier who was trying to attack it with an entrenching tool, about to tear him in two!
Now was the time!
Ruan Ning took a deep breath. The level-1 peak water energy inside her body surged and churned at an unprecedented speed! She didn’t choose a flashy barrage of water arrows—that would be too conspicuous and consume too much energy.
Instead, she opted for a more covert, precise method that demanded greater control!
She raised both hands as if holding something, focusing her mind intensely. The thin moisture in the air and the dampness lingering in a dried-up nearby ditch were rapidly drawn in and condensed!
Not into water arrows, but into two extremely thin, delicate, and fast-spinning ring-shaped water blades instantly formed around the mutant’s thick neck!
The water blades were a nearly transparent pale blue, razor-sharp at the edges, emitting a subtle but piercing humming sound!
Go!
Ruan Ning silently commanded with her mind.
Whoosh—
The two high-speed spinning water blades crossed like the nooses of death, slicing fiercely at the mutant’s neck from both sides!
The mutant seemed to sense danger and twisted its head sharply, but the blades were too fast!
Its tough, bullet-resistant bluish-black skin screeched under the intense friction of the highly compressed, razor-sharp water elements! Dark red, filthy blood sprayed out instantly!
Roar—!!!
The mutant let out a painful, enraged roar, releasing the soldier it held. Its thick arms flailed wildly at its neck but only grabbed empty air and hands covered in sticky blood! The water blades dissipated after completing their cut.
Though the attack didn’t sever its head, it clearly dealt a severe wound!
Two deep, bone-exposing cuts gaped at its neck, dark red blood pouring out like a small waterfall, and its movements instantly became slow and stiff!
“Good opportunity!” An officer nearby reacted quickly. Although shocked by the sudden aid and unable to see where the water blades came from, his battle instinct immediately seized the chance!
“Focus fire on its neck! Now!”
The surviving soldiers quickly redirected their guns, pouring all their firepower on the mutant’s terrible wound!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bullets rained like a metal storm, ruthlessly tearing the already badly damaged muscles and bones!
Boom!
That once-unstoppable brute-type mutant finally collapsed under the concentrated fire, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The sudden turn of events silenced the battlefield. Soldiers caught their breath, looking around suspiciously for any sign of the mysterious helper.
As for Ruan Ning, the moment after releasing the water blades, she had already slipped back into the vehicle like a ghost, started the engine, and quietly merged into the still struggling convoy as if she had never left.
Her face was slightly pale. The two highly compressed water blades had drained a great deal of her spirit and energy. She leaned back in her seat and exhaled softly.
She hadn’t acted for gratitude—she simply wanted to. Respecting those selfless people didn’t mean she had to become completely cold-hearted.
Doing what she could, with a clear conscience, was enough.
As for being exposed? The blades had moved too fast and were released on the chaotic battlefield’s flank. Few would have seen their origin. As long as she kept a low profile going forward, it wouldn’t be a problem.
The convoy, after paying a heavy price, finally broke through the horde and the mutant’s blockade, dragging its battered body onward toward the safe zone.
And Ruan Ning, after this small incident, felt an even deeper calm inside.
She knew who she was, what she had to do, and where her bottom line lay.