Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Escape Plan (Part 7)
"Ah Cheng! We’re almost there!" Wang Qiang’s words carried excitement, an uncontrollable excitement.
No doubt, as long as everything goes smoothly, once they get on the main road, they could head south into the city or retreat north to the outskirts. Both options are excellent choices.
Ah Cheng silently gripped the steering wheel tightly, his eyes carefully scanning the end of the street. This was the first time he was so engrossed in doing something, and nervous sweat soaked through his entire body.
Slightly steering the car to the right, he narrowly avoided a welcoming zombie. Ah Cheng decisively turned the steering wheel back, sharply veering the car to the left, then slowly drove onto the long-awaited avenue.
"Phew~" The three of them in the car let out a unanimous sigh of relief, finally relaxing their tense nerves.
They succeeded, they managed to enter the avenue without any problems.
Tang Xiaoquan subconsciously glanced at the rearview mirror outside the window, watching the building gradually blur in the mirror.
For so long, he had dreamed of leaving that damned place, but now that the dream had become a reality, his emotions were mixed.
Leaning heavily against the seat cushion, Wang Qiang closed his eyes tightly as if exhausted, his whole body feeling like ants biting him with unbearable soreness. At that moment, he had only one thought, and that was to have a great morning nap.
As for who was the most relieved among the three, it had to be Ah Cheng, the one controlling the vehicle’s fate.
From initial nervousness and confusion, through mid-phase madness and helplessness, to finally regaining calm, all the experiences had undoubtedly pushed Ah Cheng’s youthful nerves to the brink.
The van slowly drove down the avenue, its route pre-planned by Tang Xiaoquan and others.
Logically, in such an apocalyptic crisis, heading north out of the city was undoubtedly the best choice.
However, the van was going the opposite way, slowly advancing south into the urban area.
For this, Tang Xiaoquan and others had their reasons.
Firstly, a week had passed since the incident, and with no source of information, they had no idea about the situation’s progression, so they wanted to drive into the city to explore the circumstances and make plans for the future.
Secondly, compared to the outskirts, the city definitely had more resources, and the lack of food and supplies was the pressing issue for the survivors.
Lastly, it was due to the inherent human mindset, to put it bluntly, no matter how the world changed or what crisis they faced, people inherently placed their hopes in their government and military.
Although in past days Tang Xiaoquan and others had no expectations for this, the successful escape from danger caused this desire to surge in everyone’s hearts once again.
His eyes casually scanned the windows, noting the continuously shifting street scenes, which were both peaceful and bleak.
Ah Cheng drove very slowly, as the abandoned vehicles everywhere posed a significant obstacle to his driving.
Outside the vehicle, zombies wandered aimlessly, dragging their feet and waiting for the car to approach, lazily stretching out their arms, then leaving deep scratch marks on the body of the van.
"Ah Cheng, turn on the air conditioning!"
Wang Qiang broke the silence in the car, as the rising heat made the entire compartment like a sealed steamer, making it difficult to breathe.
Ah Cheng followed the instruction, raising his hand to turn the air conditioning knob, but after a long attempt, the fan showed no signs of turning.
To this, he could only helplessly reply, "Well, Brother Wang, the air conditioning in my uncle’s car might be broken."
"Ah! Broken? No way!" Upon hearing this, it felt like a thunderbolt on a sunny day. Wang Qiang directly leaned back into the chair with his head in his hands: "Is this what you call well-maintained? Your uncle is so damn..."
Deceptive! That was what Wang Qiang wanted to say, but he swallowed it back.
Because at the moment those words "your uncle" escaped, the figure of the man resolutely sacrificing himself resurfaced in Wang Qiang’s mind.
Humans are emotional creatures, and although he hadn’t been with the man for long and had many disagreements, the man’s heroic deed left an indelible mark on Wang Qiang’s heart.
He rolled down the car window, stuck his head out, and took a breath of fresh air, then let the breeze blow against his cheeks.
However, this comfort didn’t last long, for Tang Xiaoquan, hearing the sound, immediately stopped his dangerous behavior.
After all, abandoned vehicles were everywhere, and potentially a bloodthirsty zombie could be hiding behind any one of them. So for safety’s sake, regardless of how stifling the air in the car was, they had to bear it.
"Hey, so where exactly are we heading to?"
This was a question the survivors hadn’t discussed clearly beforehand because in their plan, only a general direction of action was decided, and as to where they would go or what they would do, none of that had been figured out.
So when Wang Qiang brought it up, it immediately prompted deep thought among everyone.
Tang Xiaoquan played with the hair on his forehead, his dark eyes knitted together in thought.
Strong was right, they couldn’t just drive around aimlessly, or once the gasoline ran out, they’d be in big trouble.
Quickly searching for suitable locations in his mind, but since Tang Xiaoquan spent most of his time at school or home, he was not particularly familiar with the road conditions in the city, so expecting him to provide a specific route was not very reliable.
"Why don’t we go there!" It seemed he had discovered something; Wang Qiang suddenly raised his voice, leaned forward, and pointed to a high-hanging sign not far away.
"Government Affairs District, 50KM south," Tang Xiaoquan read the big white characters on the sign out loud, while quickly calculating in his mind.
Without a doubt, the Government Affairs District is the hub of the city. If something goes wrong there, the entire city would be paralyzed.
Conversely, if a crisis breaks out in the city, the military would definitely rush to that location first.
So, without any surprises, the Government Affairs District should be the safest place in HF City at the moment.
"Okay, let’s go there!"
Following the principle of running towards where the nation shines when facing danger, the three of them agreed on Wang Qiang’s suggestion without discussion.
However, one cannot predict what will happen. Just as they confirmed their next course of action, the van that had been moving steadily suddenly sputtered forward twice, then went dead and would not move...