Chapter 470: Eternity 31.

Bai

checked the mirror and saw the child sitting properly in her seat, her

small hands folded around the strap of her bag. The urge to promise that

everything would be all right rose in Bai before she could stop it. She

had made a habit of avoiding promises she could not guarantee,

especially with Lili. Instead, she kept her voice calm and said, "If we

see something unsafe, we’ll stop far enough away to decide what to do.

You won’t be asked to handle it alone."

"Okay," Lili said. She seemed comforted by having a rule she could

understand.

A few minutes later, they passed a bus stop where three zombies stood

among the scattered bags and broken glass. One had its head tilted

toward the road, listening to the engine. Another shuffled along the

curb with one arm dragging behind it. The third struck the side of a bus

shelter again and again, its movements slow and empty. The caravan’s

engine was quiet enough that the zombies did not immediately react, but

Bai did not assume they would stay that way. She kept a steady speed and

avoided the loose metal pieces that might make the tires crunch loudly.

Yan watched the zombies in the side camera. "They haven’t noticed us

yet. We can pass without stopping."

"Agreed. Keep watching the one by the bus shelter. If it turns, tell

me."

The caravan moved forward. The first zombie continued facing the street,

unaware of the vehicle passing in front of it. The second drifted toward

the bus shelter, drawn by a sound the family could not hear. The third

stopped striking the panel and slowly turned its head. Bai had already

passed the bus and was moving beyond its reach. She did not speed up

until they had cleared the area and could no longer be seen from the

shelter.

Lili let out a breath she had apparently been holding. "It didn’t see

us."

"Not this time," Yan said. "That’s why we keep our noise down and don’t

stop where we don’t need to."

Bai kept her attention on the road, but she felt Yan’s glance rest on

her for a moment. There was a quiet approval in it. Bai knew Yan

appreciated strength, but she also appreciated restraint. It was easy to

destroy something dangerous. It took more thought to pass it safely

without provoking a fight that would waste time and bring more enemies

toward them.

A little farther on, they came to a road sign that had fallen across one

lane. Bai stopped before it and examined the space around the sign. She

could have driven over the thin metal frame, but the broken edge might

have damaged one of the tires. She reversed several meters, turned

slightly, and took the caravan around it using the paved shoulder. Yan

guided her around a cracked drain cover, then asked her to straighten

the wheels before returning to the road. The maneuver took less than a

minute, but it reminded everyone that the journey would be made of

hundreds of small choices. Some would be easy. Others would require them

to stop, inspect, and possibly turn around.

Mother Yan opened the water bottle she had brought and took a small

drink before offering it to Lili. She checked that the child’s seat belt

remained snug and that her bag was not sliding into the aisle. Then she

looked toward the front. "How long before we reach a road that is less

crowded?"

"It depends on what the next intersection looks like," Yan replied. "If

it is clear, we can make good progress. If not, we’ll choose another

route."

Bai added, "We don’t need to solve the whole journey from this seat. We

only need to get through the road in front of us without making a

mistake we could have avoided."

Yan gave her a small smile. "That’s a very good way of saying that we

should stop worrying about three hundred kilometers and focus on the

next turn."

"It is the next turn that matters."

"And the one after it."

"Yes."

Yan leaned back, satisfied. "All right. I’ll handle the next turn. You

handle the driving."

"That was the plan."

For a little while, the road opened enough for the caravan to move

steadily. They passed silent shopfronts, a row of parked bicycles, and

the skeleton of a traffic light hanging crooked above the intersection.

Nobody spoke much. The family was adjusting to the movement and the fact

that the apartment was now behind them. Bai kept both hands on the

wheel, her attention shifting from the road to the mirrors and back

again. Yan followed the map while watching the surrounding buildings.

Mother Yan sat with Lili, occasionally pointing out something familiar

or explaining why they were taking one road instead of another. The

journey had begun with the simplest possible work: move forward, stay

alert, and make the next decision when it arrived.

The first major intersection appeared ahead. A line of vehicles had been

shoved together across the road, not simply abandoned where they had

stopped. Several cars were angled toward one another, their bumpers

locked, with a delivery truck placed crosswise at the front. The

obstruction stretched from one curb to the other and left no clear gap

large enough for the caravan to pass safely. Beyond it, the road

continued between damaged buildings, disappearing around a bend where

the street grew narrower.

Bai stopped well before the blockage. She did not turn off the engine.

The camera showed the nearest vehicles clearly, but the bend beyond the

truck remained hidden. She checked the side mirrors, looked toward the

building fronts, and listened for movement. For a moment there was only

the low idle of the caravan and the faint wind moving loose paper along

the road.

Then something shifted beyond the vehicles.

It was too large to be an ordinary person moving between the cars. The

shape passed behind the upper half of a damaged delivery truck, then

disappeared between two buildings.

TO BE CONTINUED.