Chapter 148

Chapter 148: The Door to Rebirth in the Apocalypse – Full Book Online

Chapter 148

“They’re back!” As soon as the patrol reported, people from tents of all sizes in the camp emerged. Friends and family reunited on both sides, hugging each other with immense relief for surviving the ordeal.

Gu Ning instinctively searched the crowd for familiar faces, but as expected, there were no surprises.

Zhuang Chen patted Gu Ning’s shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, your friends will be fine.”

Gu Ning smiled and then looked at the crowd, asking, “Did you save all these people?” The survivors in the camp numbered in the hundreds, and even if a vehicle was packed full, it would take several trips.

Zhuang Chen replied gravely, “Yes. The base fell into chaos too quickly, and the situation spiraled out of control. We made four or five trips back and forth and only managed to save this many people, plus those who escaped earlier. The total number of survivors from the entire base doesn’t exceed five thousand.”

For a large base that once housed over a hundred thousand people, a mere five thousand survivors was a chilling and brutal number.

“How did the zombies even get into the base? How did so many suddenly flood in?” Gu Ning asked the question that had been troubling her.

Zhuang Chen’s eyes turned cold. “At first, we didn’t know where the zombies came from. It wasn’t until our second trip into the base to rescue people that we discovered a large hole in the wall at the southwest corner, corroded by something unknown. Zombies were pouring in through that hole. The number of zombies wasn’t actually that high, but there was a mutated zombie among them. It didn’t eat people after biting them—it just bit and moved on, aiming to create more zombies. Most people were asleep at the time, and it was dark. By the time we realized what was happening, it was too late…”

Even though Gu Ning wasn’t there, she could imagine the scene: the base descending into chaos and turning into a living hell in an instant.

Zhuang Chen’s somber mood didn’t last long. She quickly regained her composure and asked, “Now that we’re safe, can you tell us about your special ability?” Her eyes burned with curiosity, showing how important this matter was. Even the usually carefree Zhuang Chen was taking it seriously.

Gu Ning glanced at Ji Jiuzhe and Yi Shaoqing, who were standing nearby without interrupting. Their faces also showed a hint of seriousness.

She sighed lightly and replied with equal gravity, “To be honest, I don’t know how it happened either. My ability suddenly came back. But something seems off—it comes and goes unpredictably. There’s also something I haven’t told you: my ability disappeared earlier than yours. When I met Captain Ji outside, my ability was already gone. At the time, I thought I was the only one who had changed, so I didn’t say anything. I didn’t expect everyone else’s abilities to disappear later.”

Both Yi Shaoqing and Zhuang Chen were shocked by Gu Ning’s words. Even Ji Jiuzhe showed a hint of surprise before falling into deep thought as he looked at her.

Zhuang Chen noticed Ji Jiuzhe staring at Gu Ning. With the campfire illuminating her face clearly, Zhuang Chen’s heart skipped a beat, and she quickly changed the subject. “Does that mean our abilities might come back soon too?”

Gu Ning shook her head. “I don’t know, but it’s possible.” She also noticed Ji Jiuzhe’s gaze. Before, she wouldn’t have thought much of it, but after Ji Jiuzhe from the other world had confessed his feelings to her, she couldn’t help but feel a bit self-conscious. After hesitating for a moment, she said, “I have to go.”

Zhuang Chen was stunned. “Now?” She naturally understood that Gu Ning meant she was going to look for the Three-Linked Team.

Yi Shaoqing chimed in, “You’re leaving now? The roads are swarming with zombies. Are you planning to go alone? Are you crazy?”

Ji Jiuzhe’s thoughts were also interrupted by Gu Ning’s statement. He looked at her with confusion. Going alone? As Yi Shaoqing said, in such a situation, who would make such a decision except a madman?

Gu Ning adjusted the backpack on her back and said in an unusually relaxed tone, “Zhuang Chen knows I have experience traveling alone. After I got separated from the team, I went back once. Third Brother left me a message saying they headed north. We had already agreed that they would leave marks along the way. I just need to follow the marks. Maybe they’ve stopped somewhere to rest, just like you. If I’m lucky, I might catch up to them soon.”

Zhuang Chen frowned. “But back then, the zombies hadn’t evolved yet, and we weren’t as close. I didn’t say much about your decision then. Now, the roads are much more dangerous. I’m worried about you. If something happens, you’ll have no one to help you…”

Zhuang Chen even grabbed Gu Ning’s arm, as if afraid she would recklessly put herself in danger. Gu Ning knew she genuinely cared for her safety and felt a warmth in her heart. She smiled at Zhuang Chen and said, “Back then, the zombies hadn’t evolved, and I didn’t have any special abilities. You know my skills, I’ll be fine…”

“It seems you’ve already made up your mind,” Ji Jiuzhe suddenly said, breaking his silence.

Gu Ning was taken aback but then nodded and looked at him. “Yes.”

“Alright,” Ji Jiuzhe said with an ambiguous nod, then turned to Zhuang Chen and Yi Shaoqing. “I’ll leave marks along the way. When you set out tomorrow, follow our route.”

Yi Shaoqing and Zhuang Chen were both confused. “What do you mean by ‘our route’?” Yi Shaoqing pointed at Ji Jiuzhe and the bewildered Gu Ning, asking, “Are you going with Gu Ning?!”

Gu Ning: “…”

Zhuang Chen: “…”

Ji Jiuzhe replied matter-of-factly, “Yes. You two stay here and lead the team. I’ll go with Gu Ning to find the Three-Linked Team and scout the road ahead. If everything goes well, we’ll wait for you to regroup.”

“Wait, why are you going with Gu Ning?” Yi Shaoqing’s mind was in knots. He couldn’t understand where Ji Jiuzhe’s sudden idea had come from. How many times had he even spoken to Gu Ning? If anyone should accompany her, it should be Zhuang Chen!

Zhuang Chen also wore a strange expression, unsure of what Ji Jiuzhe was up to.

Ji Jiuzhe, as if reading his mind, calmly asked, “Then do you want Zhuang Chen to go with her?”

Yi Shaoqing immediately stood his ground. “Of course not! Wherever Zhuang Chen goes, I go!” After a pause, he shamelessly changed his tone. “The captain is right. With you accompanying Gu Ning, we can rest easy. You go ahead and clear out any zombie hordes or whatever. We’ll regroup the team and follow shortly.”

Zhuang Chen, however, looked back and forth between Ji Jiuzhe and Gu Ning. The former was inscrutable, his poker face unchanged even after killing someone. The latter, though seemingly fine, had an unnatural expression under the flickering firelight… Zhuang Chen suddenly thought of something, and her eyes took on a mischievous glint. “This works too. You two can scout ahead and pave the way for us. But with just the two of you, you must be careful.”

Gu Ning, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up. “It’s too much trouble for Captain Ji. I feel bad.”

Ji Jiuzhe didn’t even look at Gu Ning, the person in question, and shut her down with a single sentence. “It’s no trouble at all. Just a small favor.”

Yi Shaoqing handed them two doses of antidote, just in case. Zhuang Chen gave Gu Ning a car key and said, “Take the off-road vehicle. There’s not much fuel left, so you’ll need to find a way to refuel.”

“Thank you,” Gu Ning said to Zhuang Chen and Yi Shaoqing. “Take care.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll see each other again soon,” Yi Shaoqing said with a smile.

Ji Jiuzhe also grabbed a backpack from the tent and said to Gu Ning, “Let’s go.”

And so, in a bizarre turn of events, Gu Ning and Ji Jiuzhe ended up together again.

Thanks to Gu Ning’s night vision, she naturally took the driver’s seat, and Ji Jiuzhe had no objections.

“Let’s go,” Gu Ning said, nodding to Yi Shaoqing and Zhuang Chen, who stood on the steps to see them off. She then started the car, drove out of the convoy, and sped down the road.

“Our mark is the number ‘3,’” Gu Ning said as she drove, explaining to Ji Jiuzhe.

“Got it,” was Ji Jiuzhe’s response.

Neither of them seemed in the mood for small talk. After Ji Jiuzhe’s single-word reply, the car fell silent.

Although Gu Ning felt an inexplicable sense of unease about Ji Jiuzhe’s presence, her priority was finding the main group. She quickly pushed the feeling aside and focused on searching for any marks the Three-Linked Team might have left along the road. Since the marks were meant for her, they would be obvious and not hidden in corners. Gu Ning kept her speed up, racing through the night without hesitation.

“Stop. Reverse twenty meters,” Ji Jiuzhe suddenly said as they passed under an overpass.

Without asking why, Gu Ning immediately hit the brakes and reversed until they were back under the overpass.

“Look up,” Ji Jiuzhe said, shining his flashlight upward.

Gu Ning followed the beam of light and saw a zombie corpse in a white T-shirt hanging from a rope on the overpass. Upon closer inspection, the T-shirt had been turned inside out, and on its chest was a large number “3” written in black marker.

The zombie hanging there was already conspicuous enough, but Gu Ning had missed it due to her speed and lack of attention. She coughed awkwardly and opened the car door. “I’ll go check. They must have left a message up there.”

Ji Jiuzhe also got out of the car but didn’t follow Gu Ning up the overpass. Instead, he attached a silencer to his gun and kept the muzzle trained on Gu Ning, covering her within a ten-meter radius.

The overpass had clearly been cleared, with several zombie corpses on the steps. Gu Ning quickly climbed up to where the zombie was hanging. Another corpse lay nearby, with a piece of paper pressed against its chest. Gu Ning picked it up and recognized her father’s handwriting. The note reassured her that everyone except her had safely escaped the base and decided to head toward the capital. They promised to leave marks along the way and urged her to pay attention. Her father had thoughtfully included the time the note was written.

“They passed here at 4:30 a.m. It’s now 11:00, so over five hours have passed,” Gu Ning said, closing the car door and waiting for Ji Jiuzhe, who was leaving a special mark for Zhuang Chen and the others, to get back in before driving off.

“If everything went smoothly, they should have found a safe place to rest by now,” Ji Jiuzhe calmly assessed.

Two hours later, after inspecting the bus and the overturned truck for collision marks, bullet holes, and the “fresh” remains of partially eaten bodies, Ji Jiuzhe said, “It seems they didn’t have an easy time.” He then looked up and saw Gu Ning’s pale face.