Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Danger – The Gate of Rebirth in the Apocalypse – Full Book Online

Danger!

Gu Ning walked at the back, instinctively glancing down as she passed the zombie dog. Her steps paused, and she bent down, using her handcuffed hand to reach into the shattered head of the zombie dog. From the mess of flesh, she picked up a green-glowing orb. Before she could examine it closely, someone roughly pushed her from behind, impatiently shouting, “Hurry up! What are you dawdling for!”

Staggering from the push, Gu Ning quickly stuffed the green orb into her pocket. She turned to look at the man in his mid-twenties wearing a dark blue shirt. Her gaze was calm, devoid of anger or resentment.

However, when their eyes met, the man inexplicably felt a chill run down his spine, his heart uneasy. Despite this, he maintained a tough demeanor, “What are you looking at?! Keep moving!”

Outside, two green military trucks were waiting.

Gu Ning could guess where they got their guns from.

A few men stood on the roof of the military truck, eyeing the eleven people with Gu Ning. One of them said to the leader, “Third Brother, quite a haul, huh?”

“Don’t mention it, we lost a brother. There was a zombie wolf dog in that yard. If we hadn’t reacted quickly, more would have died,” the man called Third Brother replied with a frown.

The men climbed down from the roof, exclaiming in surprise, “A zombie wolf dog? Even wolf dogs are turning into zombies now?”

Third Brother’s frown deepened, “Yeah, and it wouldn’t die even with a headshot. Let’s not go anywhere else for now. We need to report back to White Wolf first.”

Seeing Third Brother’s serious expression, the others quickly got into the truck, pulling Cheng Ming and the rest up into the second vehicle.

“Why is there an injured one here? Didn’t White Wolf say no injured people are allowed?” A young man in his early twenties, with a crew cut, was about to pull Gu Ning up when he noticed her handcuffs and injuries. He turned to ask Third Brother, who was standing outside watching them board.

Third Brother glanced at him and said, “What, with so many of you, you’re afraid of one woman? Even if she turns into a zombie, you can handle her.” Normally, the gathering place’s rules didn’t allow injured people in, but for some reason, when he asked who the leader was and everyone pointed to Gu Ning, he felt this young woman was anything but ordinary. What’s more, while others showed some nervousness upon seeing their guns, her eyes revealed no fear or tension—it wasn’t feigned calmness; she genuinely wasn’t afraid of them. Plus, the way the others looked at her suggested she was their leader. Instinctively, he felt he had to bring her back.

Once Gu Ning was pulled up, someone unlocked her handcuffs and cuffed her to a corner of the truck. Gu Ning was speechless but didn’t resist since she was already on the truck.

Third Brother also got on, sitting by the door, closing his eyes to rest.

The door was then shut, plunging the cabin into darkness.

The atmosphere inside was heavy.

Gu Ning was seated in the innermost corner, facing the young man with the crew cut who had pulled her up. He watched her nervously, ready to shoot her in the head at the first sign of her turning into a zombie.

Soon, the truck started moving.

In the dim light, Gu Ning took out the green orb she had retrieved from the zombie dog’s head. The dim light didn’t hinder her from examining it closely. The orb was emerald green, about the size of a marble from her childhood, lying quietly in her palm, its green hue swirling as if brimming with vitality.

And it looked… delicious?

Gu Ning was startled by the sudden thought. Eat it? Impossible… it came from a zombie wolf dog’s head. Remembering the stench of the rotting flesh, she felt nauseous and quickly put the orb back in her pocket, suppressing the “terrifying” idea.

“Can I ask you a few questions?” Gu Ning suddenly addressed the young man with the crew cut.

He glanced at Third Brother by the door, who didn’t object, then cautiously replied, “What?”

Gu Ning asked, “How long have you been searching for survivors like this?”

The young man relaxed a bit upon hearing the question, “Over half a month now.” He added with some pride, “Our gathering place has several thousand people now. The search and rescue team has hundreds of members. Every day, we send out trucks to find survivors like you and bring them back.”

Gu Ning inquired, “Have you come across a middle-aged couple during your searches? The woman wears a black dress, and the man wears a light gray T-shirt with glasses, one lens broken, in their forties, with an injury on the right leg.”

The young man thought seriously, then said, “I don’t quite remember, but we don’t take in injured people at our gathering place.” He paused, emphasizing, “You’re an exception.”

Gu Ning’s heart sank with disappointment.

Jia Daozhang, sitting nearby, asked, “Gu Ning, are you looking for your parents?”

Gu Ning nodded. The existence of zombie wolf dogs made the world even more dangerous, adding to her anxiety and urgency. Now, this faint hope had been dashed, and her expression turned grim.

“It’s been ten minutes, can you unlock the handcuffs now?” Cheng Ming asked Third Brother, who was resting with his eyes closed.

Third Brother opened his eyes slightly, glanced at Gu Ning, then said to the man beside him, “Go unlock her.”

The man took the keys and walked over. Just as he reached Gu Ning, the truck, which had been moving steadily, suddenly jolted violently and came to an abrupt stop. Due to inertia, the man with the keys slammed into the wall, crying out in pain as the keys fell under the seat of the young man with the crew cut.

Everyone in the truck was thrown into disarray, with several girls screaming in fright.

Gu Ning felt a sudden tightness in her chest, a bad premonition creeping in.

“What’s going on?!” Third Brother, sitting by the door, stood up abruptly, grabbing a black walkie-talkie from his back pocket and shouting into it, “Chen He, what’s happening?!”

A chaotic male voice came through the walkie-talkie, clearly also confused, “Third Brother, I don’t know, the truck in front just stopped.”

Third Brother frowned deeply, then shouted into the walkie-talkie again, “Zhao Jie, Zhao Jie! Why did the truck stop? What’s going on over there?!”

Silence came from the walkie-talkie.

The silence made the already tense and uneasy atmosphere in the dim cabin even more oppressive.

At that moment, a loud “BANG!” echoed as if something heavy had fallen from the sky onto the truck’s roof, the impact reverberating loudly, making ears ring.

The girls screamed in terror.

“Shut the hell up!” Third Brother roared.

The screams ceased abruptly.

Then, one after another, heavy thuds sounded on the roof. From the front, rapid gunfire and sharp screams erupted. Simultaneously, Third Brother’s walkie-talkie blared frantically, “Third Brother! Zombies! So many… AHHH!!!!” The voice cut off abruptly, followed by the sound of shattering glass and screams from the front of the truck.

The tension in the cabin reached its peak, everyone’s faces pale, especially the girls who had no color left in their faces, huddling in the corner opposite Gu Ning. Huang Mengyao sat next to Cheng Ming, her face also pale but not joining the others in the corner or screaming. The boys, including Cheng Ming, were panicked but trying to stay composed. The search and rescue team members gripped their guns tightly, and Jia Daozhang’s face alternated between green and white.

“Unlock my handcuffs first,” Gu Ning calmly said to the young man with the crew cut.

The young man looked uncertainly at Third Brother, who glared at him, “What are you looking at me for? Unlock her!”

Trembling, the young man fumbled with the keys, his hands shaking so much he couldn’t align them with the keyhole. Gu Ning patiently waited without urging, understanding that fear was natural in such a situation.

What was unnatural was her own reaction. Strangely, she expected to feel fear, but to her surprise, aside from tension, she felt little fear. Her calmness was almost surprising to herself.

Her composed demeanor, starkly contrasting with the terrified girls huddled together, caught Third Brother’s attention.

Finally, the young man managed to unlock Gu Ning’s handcuffs.

As soon as her hands were free, Gu Ning’s first action was to remove her backpack. From within, she pulled out a scarf and wrapped it tightly around her neck, securing it with a firm knot, leaving no skin exposed. She then walked straight up to Third Brother, who was looking at her with confusion, and said, “I need a gun, and I need you to teach me how to shoot.”

Author’s Note: So busy. Just updating now, sorry about that. Tomorrow is another day of ISO inspections. Might be late again, but I’ll definitely update. Thanks.

By the way, someone on Weibo asked for the reader group number, so here it is: 195569545. The group name is “The King’s Stronghold,” and the passphrase is “The King has arrived.” It’s a super cute reader who set it up. If you’re interested, feel free to join. I’ll drop by to chat when I have time.

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