Chapter 245 - 219: In Another World We Don’t Know (2)

Chapter 245: Chapter 219: In Another World We Don’t Know (2)

His finger traced the black line westward, finally stopping at their current position.

"So, our direction. First, they’d blow up this bridge, then head north and blow up this one. Finally, they’d make a wide loop and return to the quarantine zone from the northwest... At least, that was the plan."

He finished with another heavy sigh.

Lin Fan understood what he meant.

The plan was a perfect loop, but reality is often a cruel one-way street.

The westward squad was probably down to this one man. Or perhaps... he’d stayed behind to cover his teammates’ retreat.

"Let’s go. Get in the vehicle."

Now that they had a map and a clear direction, all they had to do was follow the "bridge-blowing squad’s" planned retreat route. That would almost certainly lead them back.

Lin Fan gave Ye Qingniao a gentle push, hoisting her out from under his arm. He then tapped the side of the armored car with the shaft of his spear and said to Cheng Qi:

"Turn around! We’re going back the way we came. Get on the outer-ring service road and head north... You’ve got a map now. Don’t tell me you still can’t find the way."

"Heh heh, I know it now, I know it now! As long as I have a map, I’m good."

Cheng Qi deftly folded the map, shook the water from it, and gave a goofy laugh. He handed the rifle to Ye Qingniao before climbing into the vehicle through the roof hatch.

The twenty-odd-ton armored vehicle seemed to have trouble maneuvering on the narrow, four-lane overpass. Cheng Qi had to crank the wheel back and forth several times. Accompanied by the screeching of tires on the wet pavement and the heavy shuddering of the vehicle’s body, he barely managed to get it turned around and head back the way they came, driving against the flow of traffic.

"Can you make this gun disappear?"

Ye Qingniao offered the rifle to Lin Fan. Holding a sword in one hand and a gun in the other was awkward.

"Can’t with the gun. I can with the sword."

Instead of taking the gun, Lin Fan reached for her sword.

"Not this one!"

Ye Qingniao dodged, hiding the longsword behind her back as if she feared Lin Fan wouldn’t return it. She simply placed the rifle on the vehicle’s roof, still clutching the sword.

"You gave this to me! Since when is it okay to ask for a gift back?"

"I *lent* it to you! Who said it was a gift!"

Lin Fan rolled his eyes, speechless.

"Doesn’t matter! It’s mine now!"

Ye Qingniao declared cheekily. Before Lin Fan could try to snatch it, she quickly tossed both the gun and the sword down into the hatch.

Seeing that Lin Fan still had no intention of getting inside, she had no choice but to climb down by herself. Just before closing the hatch, she poked her head back out to add:

"I’ll call you when I figure out this walkie-talkie."

"...Just try not to blow yourself up." Lin Fan sat back down on the roof, replying casually.

’The walkie-talkie had been found on the corpse. It had been soaking in water for two days and was completely dead. There was no telling if it would even work anymore.’

’Using a Superpower for wanton destruction was easy. But controlling violent electrical energy with enough finesse to charge a delicate electronic device... that was a level of micromanagement he certainly couldn’t achieve. Anyway, it was a long shot, just something to keep her busy.’

WHOOSH—

Now that the veteran driver had a clear objective, his handling of the vehicle became noticeably more agile.

The armored vehicle no longer lurched along, hesitant and stopping constantly. It was moving much faster than when they were waiting for Lin Fan to give directions.

And for Lin Fan, sitting on the roof, it made the wind rushing past his ears that much louder.

The armored vehicle drove against traffic along the outer ring for a short distance before quickly reaching a smallish exit ramp. Cheng Qi turned the wheel, and the steel behemoth deftly slipped onto it, heading north.

The rain was still falling, but it had lessened considerably from the downpour they’d left in.

Initially, Lin Fan hadn’t paid much mind to the occasional corpses and severed limbs on the roadside. The apocalypse had been going on for a long time, after all. Between military units breaking out and survivors fleeing, a few dead bodies or dispatched zombies by the road were nothing out of the ordinary.

But now, with the "bridge-blowing squad" on his mind, his gaze sharpened without him realizing it.

He narrowed his eyes, like an eagle surveying its territory, scrutinizing every detail in the rain-slicked scenery.

The bodies lying in the mud, the damaged vehicles, even the inconspicuous bullet holes on the guardrails... In his eyes, they were all becoming pieces of a shattered puzzle, one that might depict an unknown battle that had taken place here just days ago.

The armored vehicle turned north onto the new road. It was much narrower than the outer ring, and a line of cars was parked along the side, but thankfully there was no median barrier, leaving just enough room for them to pass.

The bodies that appeared on the road every so often were like signposts, proving that the squad had indeed passed this way, fighting their way north.

"That vehicle... Stop the car."

As the armored vehicle crept forward, a yellow-green assault vehicle came into view at the end of the road. It was listing to one side next to the roadbed, its chassis severely mangled.

Its front end was completely smashed in, the hood jutting up into the air, and the side of the chassis bore the distinct, blackened marks of a fire.

SCREECH—

Cheng Qi had seen the conspicuous target as well; no further instructions from Lin Fan were needed. The armored vehicle slowed and came to a steady stop about a dozen meters from the wreckage.

A dozen or so long-rotted corpses lay in the surrounding mud. At the same time, near the wreck, another dozen zombies—which had been either gnawing on the bodies or standing in a daze—were startled by the engine’s noise and began to lurch to their feet.

"I’m coming too!"

The vehicle hadn’t even come to a complete stop when the roof hatch was thrown open with a BANG.

Ye Qingniao emerged, longsword in hand. Her movements were incredibly practiced, like some kind of on-call "bloodhound" that automatically appeared whenever a fight was brewing.