Sixteen Years

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At 5:20 in the early morning, the car’s radio, which had been quiet all night, suddenly emitted a crackling sound of electric currents.

Fu Yan was the first to open his eyes from his half-awake state, carefully listening to the faint noises coming from the radio.

“Broadcast… (crackle)… taking evacuation measures… at 8 a.m. and 2 p.m… location S City High-Speed Rail Station… citizens, please bring identification documents and injury certificates… to proceed… this broadcast will be repeated…”

Whether it was a signal issue or a problem with the car’s hardware, the broadcast was intermittently distorted by electrical noise, sounding like a cassette tape being played back from an old radio.

However, as Fu Yan had anticipated, S City had fallen, and the authorities wouldn’t just stand by. In the previous life, during the early days of the apocalypse, organizations from Yan City had conducted several rescue missions in various locations, attempting to control the spread of the apocalypse. Unfortunately, the situation escalated too quickly, resulting in significant casualties and equipment damage. Human society had to revert to a semi-lawless survival mode.

During the initial stages, public infrastructure hadn’t completely collapsed yet. Although precise devices like airplanes were no longer usable, high-speed trains could still make a few runs—albeit for only a few days. This mode of transportation had concentrated healthy individuals for evacuation.

For Fu Yan, this was the best opportunity to send off Liu Ruosong.

The radio broadcast quickly completed one cycle and began to repeat. Liu Ruosong also woke up from his slumber. He hadn’t slept well that night; every time he closed his eyes, he found himself in a bio-crisis, traversing mountains and fighting off countless zombies in his dreams. When he woke up, he felt a momentary confusion and aches throughout his body, as if he had been through a strenuous ordeal.

But compared to the nightmares, the reality was clearly more despairing and even worse.

At half-past five in the morning, it was already becoming light outside. Liu Ruosong squinted at the car window and noticed several black figures moving in the open area. He wiped his face and realized that the “people” wandering outside were mutated beings, their expressions vacant, their clothing in tatters, resembling zombies.

After a whole night, from a visual perspective, they had become even more similar to “zombies.” They moved slowly, their limbs stiff, their expressions vacant, and their exposed skin had turned a deathly shade of pale blue, making them look extremely eerie as they stumbled along the road.

Fu Yan had parked the car in a desolate, uninhabited area as much as possible, but they could still see the zombies wandering. One could only imagine what the city, with its denser population, had turned into.

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While in his dreams, Liu Ruosong had carried a Magnum in his pocket and an RPG on his shoulder, upon waking, he found only a pitiful Type 92 pistol in his pocket—with a mere twenty bullets.

Life was indeed much more challenging than artistic creations, Liu Ruosong thought.

As he pondered this, Fu Yan had already started the car. Liu Ruosong checked the fuel gauge on the dashboard and furrowed his brows discreetly.

“We’re going now?” Liu Ruosong asked. “Wasn’t it scheduled for 8 a.m.?”

“There will likely be a lot of people there,” Fu Yan said. “Better to arrive early than late.”

Fu Yan had performed rescue missions in his previous life and knew what such scenes were like. In a city, the number of residents was enormous, and while it might not be noticeable during normal times, when disasters struck, everyone converged in one place, and anything could happen.

Even though the city had already fallen to the zombie virus, the throughput of S City High-Speed Railway Station couldn’t possibly accommodate this many people.

In this situation, Fu Yan indeed had a stronger say.

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S City High-Speed Rail Station had been renovated three years ago and was quite spacious. It was designed by a renowned architect, and the entire exterior was made of toughened glass, resembling a half-formed “egg” when viewed from a distance.

Over the night, the people at the epicenter of the turmoil had realized the horror of the disaster. The military had taken full control of the station and its surroundings. Using the high-speed railway station as an evacuation center, they had already established a three-kilometer-radius perimeter, leaving only one passage for entry, which was heavily guarded and used for health inspections.

People had probably noticed the horrific consequences of “infection.” As a result, the entry checks were extremely strict. If they discovered any bite marks or injuries, individuals would be immediately “invited” into a separate quarantine area.

For safety, Fu Yan took the outer ring expressway. This road was one of the main routes out of the city, and it was evident that there had been significant disturbances here during the past night. In just half an hour of driving, Liu Ruosong had already seen three private cars parked haphazardly by the roadside.

They all had one thing in common—they appeared to have stopped due to accidents.

Some had crashed into roadside lamp posts, some were blocking the middle of the road, and some even had their doors wide open with no sign of the occupants.

Bloodstains had splattered on the car windows, and over the course of the night, they had dried into unsightly stains. Liu Ruosong took just two glances before averting his gaze. Those were not normal amounts of bleeding; he had seen many bloodstains and “incident scenes” along the way, but he hadn’t seen a single corpse.

As for where those things that should have been “corpses” had gone, Liu Ruosong didn’t want to dwell on it too much.

As Liu Ruosong’s gaze drifted, he suddenly felt a weight on his back. Fu Yan had abruptly wrapped his arms around Liu Ruosong’s shoulders, using one hand to push him into his embrace.

He exerted considerable force with that single arm, causing Liu Ruosong to almost fall awkwardly into his lap. Before he could ask what was happening, he felt the vehicle in front them lurch forward suddenly, accompanied by a massive jolt from the front.

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Fu Yan had one hand tightly gripping the steering wheel, keeping the car on course, while his other arm was securely wrapped around Liu Ruosong’s back. His elbow and forearm were thrust forward, creating a barrier between the dashboard and Liu Ruosong.

Almost simultaneously, the vehicle in front distinctly hesitated for a second, and the car wheels emitted an unpleasant, grating sound.

Liu Ruosong’s heart began to race, as he hadn’t seen anything, but somehow images of severed limbs and broken bodies from the middle of the road flashed through his mind.

Following that, he noticed that Fu Yan’s right leg was gradually descending, creating a noticeable curve.

The car’s engine roared loudly, and the force of inertia pulled Liu Ruosong into Fu Yan’s embrace. His shoulder bumped against Fu Yan’s chest.

“Is the car okay?” Liu Ruosong asked.

The impact had been extremely violent, and Fu Yan hadn’t slowed down at all. Liu Ruosong couldn’t see the situation outside, but he had an uneasy feeling.

“Give me the gun,” Fu Yan said.

Liu Ruosong’s heart tightened, and he subconsciously reached for the gun holster at his waist. He pulled out the gun, chambered a round, and then turned to hand the grip to Fu Yan.

“Don’t point the muzzle at yourself!” Fu Yan quickly took the gun from Liu Ruosong’s hand, offering a hurried reminder.

The hand that had been holding Liu Ruosong’s back briefly left its place. Fu Yan should have used his left hand to take the gun, as he immediately opened the car window. The rushing wind carried with it a foul odor of decay.

“Cover your ears,” Fu Yan said.

Liu Ruosong wrapped one arm around Fu Yan’s waist, covered his ears with his other hand, and before he could even adjust himself to a safe position, he heard two gunshots. The car in front of them swerved like a drifting S-curve, seemingly avoiding some obstacle.

Fu Yan’s driving skills were superb, and even in this situation, he didn’t hesitate. He quickly left whatever “accident” had occurred on the road behind them. Liu Ruosong finally managed to straighten up, took back the gun, and returned it to its holster, rubbing his chest, which had been sore from the seatbelt.

After the recent unexpected incident, they could faintly see the “eggshell” gathering point ahead. Liu Ruosong couldn’t help but sit up straighter and take a few glances in that direction.

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He hadn’t even had a chance to fully assess the gathering point when he suddenly heard screeching brakes not far behind them. Fu Yan had obviously also heard the noise and turned to look in the rearview mirror along with him.

Clearly, they weren’t the only ones with the mentality of “the earlier, the safer.” A black jeep had appeared behind them at some point, covered with privacy film that made it impossible to see inside.

Liu Ruosong glanced at it and noticed that the vehicle was swaying as it drove, nearly veering off the road several times, but it ultimately managed to stabilize.

He frowned slightly, sensing that something was amiss.

However, the anomaly lasted only a few minutes, and when Liu Ruosong looked more closely, everything seemed normal again. So, he didn’t dwell on it and redirected his gaze from behind.

Although the gathering time was set for 8 am, there were already quite a few people at the gathering point. These individuals were divided into two lines by armed guards and were undergoing pupil color checks and examinations for visible injuries.

Fu Yan parked the car about 200 meters away and didn’t take Liu Ruosong to join the long queue. Instead, he led him straight to the guard post.

The commanding officer overseeing the security was two ranks lower than Fu Yan. Upon seeing their documents, he quickly descended from the platform and saluted Fu Yan.

“Commander.”

Fu Yan glanced at Liu Ruosong and reached out to shake his hand. He didn’t say anything, but Liu Ruosong nodded in acknowledgment, indicating that he understood.

Fu Yan then explained the situation in detail, omitting the parts about Shao Xuefan and Fang Sining, only mentioning that Liu Ruosong was escorting a blood sample back to Yan City.

“Understood, Commander. We will ensure Mr. Liu’s safe arrival,” the temporary commander said. “Commander, what about you? Do you need us to issue a pass for you as well?”

“I don’t need one. I have another mission,” Fu Yan replied.

He took a step back, patted Liu Ruosong’s shoulder, and gently pushed him toward a separate inspection room that had been cordoned off.

In front of the public, especially in front of comrades, Fu Yan couldn’t bring himself to say any cheesy words as a form of goodbye. So, Liu Ruosong took the initiative to smile at him and made a gesture.

“I’ll wait for you in Yan City,” Liu Ruosong said.