Chapter 2: Fleeing the Disaster
S City was a bustling city with a vibrant nightlife, so even in the early hours of the morning, there were still a few scattered walking dead roaming the streets.
The number of walking dead wasn’t high yet—but there were even fewer living people. Although many had already realized what was happening, most still believed staying home was safer.
And that made sense. If you were living in a sturdy building with some food stored up, it was relatively easy to survive for a while. For example, the guy in the apartment next door to Ling Qingyun had probably turned into a walking corpse too, but even after banging for so long, he still hadn’t broken down the landlord’s cheap, poorly built door!
Ling Qingyun was speeding down the road on his motorcycle, racing like the wind. Zhuang Cheng’s school was located on the outskirts of S City, and getting there would take about two hours.
As he rode, weaving past the walking dead staggering in the middle of the road, he could hear screams coming from the houses around him. Some people were even seen running out. If those people didn’t have a vehicle, they were usually caught—because the walking dead didn’t get tired, while the living did.
Gradually, some private cars also began appearing, racing toward the rescue zone mentioned on TV.
The increasing number of cars made the roads more congested, and Ling Qingyun was reminded of something—gasoline.
There was no shortage of gas stations in S City. But the ones without any walking dead were crowded with vehicles all trying to refuel. The ones with walking dead? No one dared stop there.
Which made sense. When facing an unknown danger, most people wouldn’t take the risk.
After estimating how much fuel he had left, Ling Qingyun finally decided to stop at a gas station where only two walking dead were wandering around.
He was already wearing his motorcycle’s cold-weather gloves and helmet. As soon as he got off the bike, the two walking dead—who had been slowly drifting about—lunged at him.
Both were wearing gas station uniforms. Ling Qingyun gripped his steel pipe tightly and, just like the soldiers he’d seen on TV, he swung it fiercely at one of their heads. Immediately, white brain matter mixed with dark brown blood splattered everywhere.
Ling Qingyun felt his stomach churn. If it weren’t for the gruesome scenes he had already witnessed earlier—where the infected tore living people apart—he might have vomited on the spot!
After taking out the first one, killing the second was much easier. With a few more hard swings of the pipe, the second corpse crumpled to the ground as well.
Blood and gore had inevitably splattered onto Ling Qingyun’s stick and clothes. He grabbed a bottle of mineral water sold at the gas station and rinsed them off. Then he found a container and, after filling up his motorcycle’s gas tank, filled the container as well.
While he was doing all this, more cars pulled in to refuel. However, no one dared bother him. The situation was very clear—he had killed those two monsters himself!
And anyone who dared to kill monsters like that—who would dare mess with him? What’s more, Ling Qingyun was tall and broad-shouldered, intimidating by nature. People instinctively feared him.
Ling Qingyun glanced at the other vehicles. A car would certainly be safer and could carry more things, but it lacked flexibility… Most importantly, he didn’t have a car he could drive.
By the time Ling Qingyun arrived at Zhuang Cheng’s school, he saw a huge crowd gathered and quite a few soldiers maintaining order. That made sense—this place was full of talented teachers and students. Saving even one more life here was worthwhile. The government had clearly begun to respond. Although the walking dead were terrifying, they weren’t impossible to deal with.
Cries and screams rang out in every direction. These students—normally dressed neatly—were now disheveled, some with messy hair, wearing pajamas under thick jackets, carrying all sorts of items. Most held a laptop in one hand, a cellphone in the other, with some clothes and food dangling from their arms.
Seeing the food in their hands, Ling Qingyun frowned. In the coming days, food would definitely become extremely important.
But right now, the most urgent thing was finding Zhuang Cheng. He immediately started shouting, “Zhuang Cheng! Zhuang Cheng!”
Plenty of others were shouting like him, and the soldiers were using megaphones to keep order, so his voice was quickly drowned out.
Ling Qingyun took out his phone and tried calling Zhuang Cheng, but the call didn’t go through. He then tried his father’s number while continuing to shout for Zhuang Cheng.
He couldn’t find Zhuang Cheng for the moment, but he did witness firsthand how the soldiers were dealing with the walking dead. The students and soldiers all seemed to call them “zombies.”
Well, “zombie” did roll off the tongue more easily.
Some zombies, still wearing pajamas or just a pair of shorts, emerged from the student dorms. There were also people who had already been bitten and were screaming as they ran toward the crowd—only to be mercilessly gunned down by the soldiers. Some soldiers fired while crying. The surviving students were also sobbing constantly. Occasionally, someone in the crowd would suddenly mutate—these were people who had been bitten but hid the fact. Fortunately, once they turned into zombies, their speed dropped significantly and they could be killed quickly by those nearby. But even so, it often caused panic and chaos for those around them.
This situation only made more people desperate to get on the vehicles, but there simply weren’t enough. No matter how overloaded they got, they couldn’t fit everyone.
Listening to all the cries and screams, Ling Qingyun felt a deep discomfort throughout his body.
What exactly has happened to this world? Why have so many people turned into monsters?
He tried calling his father again, but the call was disconnected. Then, his father’s phone was switched off. Ling Qingyun froze for a moment and suddenly remembered something his father had said before. Back then, the man told him: “You’re an adult now. Don’t come looking for me unless it’s necessary.”
Because of that sentence, no matter how hard things got, Ling Qingyun never went to find him. Even when he was detained, it was Zhuang Cheng who came to pick him up. But now…
Ling Qingyun dialed Zhuang Cheng’s number again, and this time the call went through.
“Chengcheng, where are you?” Ling Qingyun asked, hearing noisy sounds from the other side.
“Qingyun! I see you!” Zhuang Cheng’s voice came through. Ling Qingyun looked around and saw Zhuang Cheng far away, climbing on the stone monument by the school gate.
It was very crowded here, so Ling Qingyun couldn’t drive his motorcycle through. One military vehicle after another was transporting people out. He had no choice but to wait for Zhuang Cheng to come over.
“Students! Students! Show your student IDs and get on the vehicle!” a loud voice rang out through a megaphone. Zhuang Cheng had already run over and, upon seeing Ling Qingyun, tried to throw himself into his arms.
Ling Qingyun dodged the embrace. “You go onto the vehicle first, I’ll follow you.”
Zhuang Cheng hesitated. “Let me come with you. The vehicles can’t hold this many people, and I didn’t bring my student ID.”
Ling Qingyun glanced at the sturdy military vehicles. “How can you be so careless?”
Indeed, many people were crying and shouting. Those who hadn’t brought their student IDs were afraid to return to the dorms now infested by zombies and could only huddle together in disorder.
Leaving earlier meant a bit more safety, but there weren’t many military vehicles, and they weren’t only picking up students. Many people probably wouldn’t get on any vehicle.
More and more students kept running from the dormitories. Even if they didn’t have visible wounds, soldiers inspected them before letting them pass. But even after passing inspection, they’d likely have to find their own way out or wait for the next vehicle.
“It was pretty urgent back then…” Zhuang Cheng wiped his eyes, his voice choked. “I tried calling my parents but couldn’t get through.”
Ling Qingyun fell silent. Only then, by the streetlight’s glow, did he see Zhuang Cheng’s reddened eyes. Ling Qingyun knew Zhuang Cheng’s parents—they were good people. When Ling Qingyun got out of detention hurt, it was they who had helped pay his medical bills…
He took off his jacket and let Zhuang Cheng sit on the back seat of the motorcycle. Then he started the engine and followed behind a military vehicle as they left.
He would protect Zhuang Cheng. They would survive this—together.
Zhuang Cheng sat behind him, watching the people who were sobbing and screaming because they hadn’t brought their student IDs. After a moment’s thought, he threw his own student ID into the crowd.
The checks weren’t that strict now—maybe this student ID could save someone else.
No one in his dorm had turned into a zombie, luckily. He had stayed up late writing his thesis, so he was among the first to flee. Although he did encounter some zombies, he had managed to stay unharmed.
When he escaped, he had brought everything with him. His ID and student card were all in his bag. At first, he planned to find a vehicle and go look for Ling Qingyun himself. But after they managed to connect over the phone and he learned that Ling Qingyun was coming, he gave up the chance to evacuate with the first group and instead climbed onto the school’s stone monument to wait.
During that time, he had tried calling everyone he could, but still wasn’t able to reach his parents… Zhuang Cheng knew very well—they were probably gone. Now, all he had left was Ling Qingyun.
If he followed Ling Qingyun’s plan and got in the military vehicle while Ling Qingyun followed behind on his motorcycle, he might be safe—but Ling Qingyun might not be so lucky. Trying to reach the safe zone on just a motorcycle was far too dangerous!
And in times like these, he would rather stay by Ling Qingyun’s side. If something happened, they would face it together. If they were going to die, they would die together.
“Qingyun, aren’t you cold?” Zhuang Cheng asked, hugging Ling Qingyun tightly from behind. The other man wasn’t wearing a jacket.
“I killed two zombies earlier. My jacket got dirty,” Ling Qingyun replied. “You should be careful too. Don’t use your bare hands when eating anything.”
His voice was muffled by the wind, but Zhuang Cheng tightened his embrace even more.
When he first saw Ling Qingyun, he had almost broken down and wanted to throw himself into his arms and cry. But Ling Qingyun had pushed him away… So it was just because his clothes were dirty?
He had been wondering if Ling Qingyun saw him as a burden and didn’t want to bring him along anymore…
The military vehicle was headed toward the evacuation zone. Naturally, Ling Qingyun’s goal was the same. He followed closely behind, staying completely focused. A single misstep could lead to disaster. On a normal day, an accident might not be fatal—but now, it almost certainly would be!
“Help me! Please help me!” a man suddenly ran out from the side, stopping in front of the military truck. Behind him was a woman carrying a child. The child appeared intact, but its unnatural skin tone revealed it had already turned into a zombie. The woman had a bite wound on her shoulder—probably bitten by the child she loved so dearly.
As soon as that man appeared, he attracted a number of zombies that began running toward him. The military vehicle hesitated for a moment, then accelerated and sped off… Right now, the vehicle was full of students, and only the driver was a soldier. If they were surrounded by that many zombies, it would be extremely dangerous!
The man quickly dodged to the side but spotted Ling Qingyun’s motorcycle. “Give me your bike!”
Ling Qingyun didn’t feel much when killing zombies, but this was a living person. He swerved his bike to the side and rode away. Moments later, he heard a blood-curdling scream from behind.
“Qingyun!” Zhuang Cheng clung to Ling Qingyun tightly. The swarm of zombies closing in was terrifying. Fortunately, the motorcycle was fast, and they soon left the undead behind.
The military truck was speeding ahead, and thanks to Ling Qingyun’s solid driving skills, he managed to keep up. But before long, other vehicles caught up as well.
Cars, motorcycles, bicycles… Some people were crying, others screaming. A few vehicles completely ignored the traffic and plowed forward recklessly.
In a situation like this, the size and durability of a vehicle mattered greatly. A motorcycle couldn’t compete with a car, and cars definitely couldn’t compete with trucks.
Ling Qingyun’s motorcycle was caught in a jam of vehicles—it felt almost impossible to move. And if that wasn’t enough, a large truck suddenly came barreling toward them. To avoid a collision, Ling Qingyun had no choice but to pull aside.
“Chengcheng, are you okay?” Ling Qingyun asked, watching the convoy move ahead. A few zombies had been run over and turned to mush—though some might not have been zombies at all. At this point, trying to stop anyone from evacuating was a sure way to get yourself killed!
“I’m fine,” Zhuang Cheng replied.
By now, the sky had already brightened. Ling Qingyun restarted the bike and tried to catch up, but just then, a motorcycle came flying out from a nearby intersection—on a direct collision course!
Ling Qingyun grabbed Zhuang Cheng and leapt off the bike. The two motorcycles collided violently.
The rider from the oncoming motorcycle slowly got up and started walking toward them—eyes lifeless and expression dull. It was clear: this person had already turned into a zombie.