Surviving the Apocalypse with the Young Miss - Chapter 50

Chapter 50: Target Identified

Only when they reached the intersection did Tong Xiangyu see how bloody and horrific the scene truly was. There were cars smashed to pieces, a row of skeletal iron frames from a dozen vehicles that had burned in a chain, and severed limbs scattered across the ground. Maggots and flies swarmed over the rotting flesh, and rats, bloated and plump, scampered out to forage in broad daylight.

Tong Xiangyu immediately covered her nose and mouth. Her excitement upon arrival plummeted to freezing point in an instant.

Their worst suspicion had come true. There would be no rescue here, either.

Yue Yao had an even stronger reaction. Looking at the empty, silent city radiating the stench of death and decay, she couldn’t help but take two steps back. She could not imagine that such a large city would be a ghost town—a city of the dead.

Tong Xiangyu turned to look at Song Ge.

Song Ge had already walked past her, her voice calm. “Enter the city first to find a place to rest. Keep a constant watch on our surroundings.”

There were no signs of monster activity near the outskirts of Taiyun, but that didn’t guarantee there were none inside the city.

Tong Xiangyu’s lips moved, but she couldn’t find the words. After following behind Song Ge for a while, she asked in a flustered, low voice, “Song Ge, do you think…”

Could it be that the situation had really reached the absolute worst-case scenario?

—That the monster virus had broken out across the entire country simultaneously, the state hadn’t had time to respond, and every city had fallen at once. They… might never find rescue.

Although Tong Xiangyu didn’t finish her sentence, Song Ge knew what she wanted to ask. She said with certainty, “No.”

If it had broken out everywhere at the same time, no one would have had the presence of mind on the day of the incident to suppress the trending searches related to Kecheng; they would have been too busy saving themselves. Regardless of what the virus was, there was always a source, and it would spread outward in a web-like pattern from that center.

It was likely that this monster virus was so bizarre that the government couldn’t find an effective countermeasure for the time being. They could only let it spread until it stabilized or until a breakthrough was made in research before intervening with whatever control they could manage.

In that case.

Their destination shouldn’t be these nearby cities, but the capital to find the temporary shelters established by the state. The journey would be long and dangerous; it would be best to gather other survivors and move together. After all, there is strength in numbers.

But Song Ge dismissed this method immediately. Whether in the past or the future, she preferred to act alone. There might be strength in numbers, but there was also more trouble. She already found it troublesome enough to bring Yue Yao along; she had no intention of moving with others and letting them drag her down.

The group walked for a long time before entering the outer ring of Taiyun. The provincial road was no longer congested; private cars were mostly seen crashed into trees or into shops and streets.

The situation on the main streets was as bad as in Kecheng. Corpses littered the ground, the stench was overwhelming, and old bloodstains were splattered everywhere. Severed body parts had been dragged into sewers by rats, and even heads with hair still attached rolled in the middle of the road.

The sun gradually began to set. The shadows of the three were stretched very long.

The quieter it was, the more Song Ge felt something was wrong. She stayed alert, watching every direction for monsters that might rush out at any moment. At that moment, a mummified corpse missing its lower half in the middle of the road caught their attention. It didn’t look like it had been in a car accident or an explosion; rather, it looked like it had been brutally torn and dragged into two pieces. The ground around it was a mess of flesh and blood, as if it had been ripped apart alive, each part gnawed beyond recognition.

The image was unsettling. Song Ge frowned and withdrew her gaze. The stale, unmoving air of decay grew thicker as they moved.

Tong Xiangyu didn’t dare make too much noise. She gently tugged at Song Ge’s arm and pointed toward a supermarket on the street, whispering, “Song Ge, look over there.”

Song Ge looked. It was a convenience store. The shelves were almost entirely empty—some had fallen over, others had collapsed. The orange light of the setting sun shone into the interior through the shattered windows. Horrible bloodstains covered the walls and floor, and corpses lay sprawled everywhere.

Moving forward, they found the situation was mostly the same. Supermarkets, grain shops, fruit stalls, and pharmacies were almost empty, while jewelry stores and clothing shops remained intact.

Monsters wouldn’t search for those things. It seemed there were survivors in Taiyun. And quite a few of them.

Perhaps the outbreak in Taiyun hadn’t been as tragic as in Kecheng, and people had been more prepared. Or perhaps the ferocity of the monsters differed. It was even possible the monsters had all died… after all, a month had passed since they left Kecheng.

Before Song Ge’s thought could settle, she immediately looked to the right. Almost simultaneously, Tong Xiangyu let out a scream of fear!

Song Ge reacted with lightning speed, delivering a fierce kick to the “thing” that had rapidly “attacked” them! The filthy bundle rolled several times on the ground. Once it finally stopped, it let out a thin, wailing cry.

Tong Xiangyu was startled. Realizing what it was, she hurriedly ran over.

The one Song Ge had kicked over was a child wearing tattered clothes and pants, looking like a beggar on the street. Their hair was filthy and knotted into clumps, and the exposed small hands and feet were covered in grime, hiding their original skin tone.

Tong Xiangyu wanted to help the child up, but Song Ge grabbed her collar, forcing her to stand still.

“Song Ge?”

Song Ge blocked Tong Xiangyu slightly behind her, frowning at the “child” whose hair covered their face and who was wailing aggrievedly. After just one look, Song Ge said to Tong Xiangyu, “Let’s go.”

“Why are we leaving?” Tong Xiangyu stumbled as Song Ge dragged her away. Her heart was with the child who had been kicked. “That was just a little kid.”

They had initially thought it was a monster.

Song Ge: “What kind of place is this, and what is the situation now? Why would a child suddenly run out? Does that make sense?”

Tong Xiangyu was left speechless.

Yue Yao, however, obeyed Song Ge’s arrangements unconditionally and followed quickly, though she couldn’t help but frequently look back at the child still sitting on the ground crying. “Song Ge, do you suspect there’s a problem?”

“We might not even survive encountering a monster; how can a child?” Song Ge said. “And to run out alone.”

Moreover, the speed at which he rushed out was clearly trained. Or rather, it didn’t look like the speed a three- or four-year-old child should have.

Perhaps they had been watched since they first entered Taiyun. This thought made the hair on the back of Song Ge’s neck stand up, but she soon realized it wasn’t just a thought that made her skin crawl. She stopped in her tracks, held back Tong Xiangyu and Yue Yao, and looked toward an alley entrance to the right front.

Before long, accompanied by increasingly distinct footsteps, a group of five—three men and two women—appeared before them.

At the same time, Song Ge noticed that the “child” behind them had stopped crying. He propped himself up and walked toward the group, dragging his messy gear.

Tong Xiangyu hid slightly behind Song Ge, feeling uneasy.

After the six of them met up, the leading man scrutinized the three girls, then spoke with a polite air, “Where are you friends heading?”

Song Ge didn’t buy it and asked back, “Does that have anything to do with you?”

Hearing Song Ge speak, the man laughed immediately. “It’s a good thing for a young girl to be alert. Your accents don’t sound like you’re locals from Taiyun. Where are you from?”

Tong Xiangyu answered, “Uncle, we came from Kecheng.”

Song Ge frowned slightly.

“So it’s Kecheng.” The man showed a concerned face. “How is Kecheng? Is it okay? Have the rescue teams arrived?”

Tong Xiangyu shook her head. “No. We came to Taiyun hoping to find rescue too.”

“Coming to Taiyun for rescue?” The woman beside the man suddenly gave an angry, cold laugh. “When the apocalypse arrived, the first thing the government did was trick us and abandon us. You’re still waiting for rescue? Only by uniting can we possibly find a way to survive!”

The man looked around. “This isn’t the place to talk. Come to our place first.”

Tong Xiangyu was just about to agree when Song Ge spoke first. “No need to trouble you. We’re just passing through.”

“Passing through?” The man looked at Song Ge with some surprise. “Don’t you know? The sun is about to set. Once it gets dark, those zombies will come out to hunt. Taiyun has millions of zombies. If you run into them, not even your bones will remain.”

The man continued, “No matter where you’re going, stay at our place for the night first and set out tomorrow.”

Song Ge, of course, wouldn’t just trust a strange organization.

At this point, the child who had previously lunged at Tong Xiangyu said in a small voice, “Don’t be afraid. We have food there. We have food.”

Tong Xiangyu looked at Song Ge.

Song Ge analyzed the situation calmly. The other side had five people; three men and two women meant at least three combatants. As for the three of them, the young lady and Yue Yao were basically dead weight. Plus, they were completely unfamiliar with the nearby roads. Fighting them head-on wouldn’t yield any advantage.

Song Ge stated bluntly, “I don’t trust you.”

The man was slightly stunned by this, then smiled and turned to give an instruction to the woman. The woman nodded and turned into the alley. Before long, she led a large group of people out—men, women, elderly, and children—at least twenty or thirty people.

Song Ge watched, unmoved. “What does this prove?”

Just because these people were together didn’t mean they wouldn’t harm them together.

Tong Xiangyu, however, completely let down her guard and fear after seeing so many people—especially seeing the elderly and children in the group. It reminded her of Grandma Tian and Auntie Jiang’s two daughters.

Tong Xiangyu tugged at Song Ge and whispered, “Song Ge, I think it’s okay.”

Tong Xiangyu believed in the inherent goodness of humanity, but Song Ge did not.

Seeing Tong Xiangyu agree, the woman beside the man came over enthusiastically to take Tong Xiangyu’s hand. But Tong Xiangyu, watching Song Ge’s expression, didn’t let herself be pulled away.

Song Ge grabbed the woman’s wrist and shouted coldly, “Let go!”

Song Ge’s grip was strong, and the woman let go with a cry of pain.

The man frowned and immediately stepped forward. “Nana.”

The woman looked back at him quickly. “I’m fine, Zeus.”

“Song Ge…” Tong Xiangyu was worried Song Ge would directly clash with them and lose out. After all, the others were adults while they were just students. If it really didn’t work, they could stay the night but refuse to eat any food offered by them.

Tong Xiangyu knew what Song Ge was worried about. Song Ge always assumed the worst about things and human nature. Tong Xiangyu didn’t intend to change Song Ge overnight, but she hoped Song Ge could slowly become less pessimistic and trust others occasionally. Otherwise, relying only on herself would be exhausting.

After all, a strange and terrifying virus had broken out, but that didn’t mean it was the end of the world. Moreover, if these people were bad, they wouldn’t take in so many elderly, weak, and sick survivors.

Song Ge knew Tong Xiangyu was worried. She looked at the man expressionlessly. “Can we see your ‘shelter’?”

The man said, “Of course.”

Tong Xiangyu’s expression brightened, and she breathed a sigh of relief, immediately hugging Song Ge’s arm happily.

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