Chapter 149

Chapter 149: The Door to Rebirth in the Apocalypse – Full Novel Website

Chapter 149

They drove along, following the markers left by the Three-Linked Team, noticing that the markers were placed roughly every twenty minutes. However, when they finally arrived, it had been over half an hour since they last saw a marker. Gu Ning was already on edge, but her heart sank when she saw the two vehicles of the Three-Linked Team—one crashed headfirst into a house, the other overturned.

After getting out of the car and confirming the license plates, it was indeed the Three-Linked Team’s vehicles. The ground was littered with headless zombies, at least a hundred corpses, and some not-yet-dead zombies with broken legs still struggling to crawl towards them. Ji Jiuzhe walked over and crushed one’s neck with his foot. The few zombies lingering near the vehicles were also cleared out.

The bus door was destroyed and wide open. Gu Ning went inside and found a zombie stuck in a seat. She stabbed it through the throat, then climbed up to the roof through the open skylight. The roof was covered in chaotic footprints and scattered bullet casings. It seemed the zombies had overwhelmed the door, forcing everyone to escape through the skylight. The roof was close to the second-floor window of the building, and the security bars had been cut open, with the window wide open. Perhaps crashing into the house was intentional. Gu Ning climbed through the window, noticing thick dust on the floor, making the footprints stand out. They must have stayed here for a while, possibly supporting the people in the overturned vehicle. The footprints led to the door, and Gu Ning followed them, encountering a few zombies on the stairs, leaving behind more corpses.

Opening the back door on the first floor, a zombie lunged at her. Gu Ning kicked it to the ground, stepped on its chest, and swiftly severed its arms. As she raised her knife to finish it, her hand froze mid-air—she recognized the zombie. It was Wang Yang, a soldier from the Three-Linked Team, his face still human-like, not yet fully decayed.

The zombie, now devoid of humanity, struggled to bite Gu Ning, but she kept it pinned. Seeing the blackened wound on its neck, Gu Ning’s shock turned to sorrow, her knife still hovering.

“Need help?” Ji Jiuzhe’s cold voice broke the silence as he emerged from the door.

“No, thanks,” Gu Ning replied without turning, finally driving the knife into the zombie’s skull. She stood up, avoiding the corpse, and walked past Ji Jiuzhe. “Find anything ahead?”

Ji Jiuzhe glanced at her. “They must have crashed into a horde, got surrounded, and had to abandon the vehicles. Found three bodies—two kids and a woman. Judging by the dried blood, it happened three to four hours ago. The survivors fled in different directions.” He paused. “Given the scene, there were at least hundreds of zombies. Escaping with only a few casualties was lucky.”

Gu Ning didn’t respond, instead flipping over the body of a young girl. The girl had been gutted, but her face was only slightly bloodied. Gu Ning recognized her as one of the two girls who had been with Lin Zihao. Not Gao Yue or Huang Mengyao, which, though cold, was a relief. If it had been one of them, Gu Ning wouldn’t know how to face the deaths of her former teammates after having to kill one herself. As long as there were no bodies, there was still hope.

The other two children’s bodies were unrecognizable.

Gu Ning returned to the bus, picking up the bags they had left behind in their haste. She searched for any messages they might have left and found scribbled words on a window: “Tianmen Dutch Town.”

She hadn’t heard of the place. “Is there a Tianmen?” she asked after grabbing two backpacks.

Ji Jiuzhe took the bags and tossed them into the car. “It’s on our route—Tianmen District, Dutch Town, Quanzhou City. Is that their clue?”

“Yes.”

“Then we’ll head straight to Tianmen Dutch Town.”

“Alright.”

The car sped down the road, the atmosphere heavy and silent.

Ji Jiuzhe glanced at Gu Ning’s focused profile, her expression cold and hard. He recalled her earlier hesitation, the fleeting emotions of shock, disbelief, and sorrow that had briefly softened her face. His gaze lingered on the zombie’s face, still human-like, and he pieced together the connection between it and the empty vehicles outside.

He had intended to walk away, but the words slipped out: “Need help?”

Her icy reply: “No, thanks.”

When he looked again, her face was calm, the pain gone.

Ji Jiuzhe’s eyes fell on Gu Ning’s short blonde hair, his expression darkening. Was this the result of a zombie bite?

“The car’s running low on fuel,” Gu Ning said, glancing at the fuel gauge. She felt Ji Jiuzhe’s gaze on her, sending a chill down her spine. She hadn’t forgotten Zhuang Chen and Yi Shaoqing’s warnings. Perhaps Ji Jiuzhe had already recognized her…

“I grabbed half a bucket of fuel earlier, it’s in the back,” Ji Jiuzhe said casually.

Earlier? In that short time, he had managed to get fuel? Gu Ning couldn’t help but be impressed. Ji Jiuzhe looked away, and the chilling sensation faded.

The journey lasted nearly three hours. They didn’t see a single living soul or another vehicle on the road. Without the Three-Linked Team’s markers, it felt like the world had shrunk to just their car and the two of them. It seemed most people were hunkered down in what they deemed safe places.

They stopped periodically to leave markers for Zhuang Chen and the others, and Gu Ning made sure to leave the Three-Linked Team’s markers as well.

Gu Ning’s driving skills had improved significantly. She sped down the road, dodging wandering zombies instead of crashing into them, avoiding direct confrontations. If the horde was too dense, she and Ji Jiuzhe would get out and clear the path.

But in the process, Gu Ning overlooked something crucial. She had been trained by “him,” and while she had her own style, her moves bore traces of Ji Jiuzhe’s influence. Their coordination was so seamless it was almost suspicious. And Ji Jiuzhe, being who he was, noticed everything. Gu Ning had no idea she was revealing things she shouldn’t have, right under Ji Jiuzhe’s watchful eyes.