Chapter 471: Eternity 32.

Bai caught only part of it, a dark

mass that moved with slow, heavy control rather than the unsteady lurch

of a common zombie. A low sound followed, too deep to be mistaken for a

person calling out, and several loose objects on the road trembled as it

passed.

Yan went still beside Bai. Mother Yan drew Lili closer without taking

her eyes from the window. Bai kept both hands on the controls and

studied the narrow gap beyond the roadblock. She had no intention of

driving blindly into a place where something that large might be

waiting.

The caravan idled on the empty road. Ahead, the line of abandoned

vehicles blocked the direct route to Shanghai, and beyond them,

something large moved between the damaged buildings.

The road had been blocked for a reason, and Bai Li did not like any of

the reasons that came to mind.

Three cars stood across the lanes at awkward angles, their bumpers

pressed together hard enough to leave bright scratches on the metal. A

delivery van had been turned sideways behind them, and a smaller car sat

half on the curb with its driver’s door hanging open. Beyond the

vehicles, the road curved between two damaged office buildings. The

windows on the lower floors were broken, and several curtains shifted in

the wind even though there should have been no one inside to move them.

A dark shape slipped behind the corner of the nearer building, then

disappeared.

Bai Li eased the caravan to a stop well before the first car. She did

not slam on the brakes or try to force a path through the wreckage. The

specialized vehicle had been prepared for rough travel, but it was still

a vehicle. Its reinforced front could shove aside a broken barrier, and

its suspension could handle roads that would ruin an ordinary van, but

there was no point in testing those features against a pile of cars when

the ground beyond them might be worse. She left the engine running, set

the parking brake, and looked through the windshield for a few quiet

seconds.

Yan Cijin sat beside her with the map unfolded over her knees. She had

marked the route from Jianghu Riverside Complex to Shanghai before they

left, then added notes as they came across damaged roads and places that

might offer shelter. The map was already covered in small marks, arrows,

and handwritten warnings. She followed Bai Li’s gaze, first studying the

cars, then the spaces between them, then the upper windows of the office

buildings. She did not ask what Bai had noticed. She had been travelling

with her long enough to know that Bai usually saw more than she said,

and she trusted her own eyes enough to check the scene independently.

The large shape from the last stretch of road had not appeared again.

That bothered Bai more than if it had charged straight at them.

Something big moving between buildings could mean a strong mutant, a

heavy piece of debris shifting in the wind, or a perfectly ordinary

object being pushed around by some less ordinary creature. In every

case, rushing forward without learning more would be stupid. Bai could

deal with an enemy after it showed itself. She would rather not give it

a chance to damage the caravan while she was still guessing what it

could do.

Yan leaned forward slightly. "We could turn back and take the side road

near the warehouses."

"Could we?" Bai asked, glancing at the map. "Or would we be driving

blind through six blocks of buildings with no idea whether the road is

open?"

"That is why I said we could, not that we should." Yan tapped the page

with one finger. "The side road is narrow, but it might be clear. The

direct route is blocked, and the spaces between those cars are too small

for the caravan unless we move something."

Bai looked at the gap between the first car and the van. It was just

wide enough for a small vehicle, but the caravan would scrape both sides

if they tried to squeeze through. The vehicles also sat at a slight

angle, with their wheels turned toward the center. If one shifted while

Bai tried to pass, the whole arrangement could slide and trap them. She

could probably shove the cars aside, but if the road had been blocked

deliberately, they might be part of a trap. If the cars had simply been

abandoned during a panic, they could still conceal a broken roadway or a

pile of debris.

"Can you see any movement beyond the bend?" she asked.

Yan checked the rear camera first, then looked through the side window.

"Not from here. The second office building blocks the view. The upper

floors are quiet, but there are at least two dark shapes inside the

first floor across the road. They may be zombies. I can’t tell how

many."

"Any sign of people?"

"None that I can see. But that doesn’t mean much."

"No, it doesn’t." Bai took the map from Yan and studied the route for

another moment. "A detour would cost us time and might lead us into

something worse. Let’s clear a narrow path. If the arrangement starts to

move in a way we don’t like, we leave and take the side road."

Yan nodded. Bai did not ask for approval after that. She had asked

because Yan’s view of the situation mattered, and now that they had

compared their observations, the decision was made. Their conversations

often worked that way. Bai could be impatient and direct, but she did

not confuse decisiveness with being the only person worth listening to.

She had strong opinions about how to deal with danger. Yan had become

one of the few people whose judgment could make her stop and reconsider

before acting.

In the back of the caravan, Mother Yan had been sorting a small bag of

medical supplies with Lili beside her. She raised her head when Bai and

Yan started checking their equipment.

TO BE CONTINUED.