To the Start of a New World

2.5

"Looking good. It lasted for a while. Should work better when properly hidden," Lu Hao said. He jumped down to dispose of the zombie.

"Now to test number three," Hong Sheng said.

Lu Hao pressed his lips together and silently returned to the car. Hong Sheng had already made his way down; he stood beside the car, waiting for Lu Hao.

"We're going to have to find a weaker zombie," Lu Hao said. As he spoke, he and Hong Sheng both got in the car, and Lu Hao directed the SG driver to go back on the road.

"Weaker than a five?" Hong Sheng asked.

Lu Hao dug out the device 002 and reached his hand around to the backseat to hand it to Hong Sheng, who took it back with an indifferent expression. "If we can find one."

"Level five is the average. That's what we should look for."

"The average level five zombie could kill a hundred people. We're going to find something weaker."

"You could kill a thousand zombies," Hong Sheng said quietly. "A lone level five should be afraid, not you."

The two of them stared straight forward in the car.

"I don't want to risk you getting hurt," Lu Hao said. "I'm the leader. I should be protecting you."

"You are." Hong Sheng looked out the window. As he watched the passing trees, he said, "I trust you."

Lu Hao considered this quietly. Hong Sheng trusted Lu Hao to keep him safe, no matter how strong the zombie was; now it was just a matter of whether Lu Hao trusted himself to keep Hong Sheng safe.

They drove on for a while. When they neared a branching road, Lu Hao signaled the driver to make a turn. The jeep curved onto a road that dived into a tall forest. The tree cover was thick, and later the road dipped down as went lead into a valley, tall mountains rising on either side. Within this valley was a mid-sized residential town. In the past, it was a town full of families who worked in F City. The commute to F City from this town was about forty minutes via bus and car, and a good number of people had come to reside here. Yet because this town was so isolated within the valley, when the zombie apocalypse happened, it became a death trap.

Now, at present day, the town was mostly clear of all zombies. The SG had swept it clean a couple of years back, but as zombies began to encroach further over SG territory, a few sometimes made it back into the town to wander the streets.

Though it was already late morning, a dense fog had settled in the air. Lu Hao squinted. Even his advanced eyesight couldn't see past the fog, but his other senses remained clear, so he wasn't worried. Hong Sheng, however, pursed his lips.

Seeing that, Lu Hao frowned and told the SG driver to stop.

"With all the fog, it might be dangerous," Lu Hao said. "Let's turn around."

"Agreed," Hong Sheng said quietly.

"Alright, boss," the SG member said, and began turning the car around.

But before he could turn it fully, a piercing scream sounded somewhere in the valley.

The scream was that of a young girl, and it echoed through the haze and the forest. Lu Hao snapped to attention, trying to pinpoint where it had come from, but the echo of the valley made it difficult.

Hong Sheng and the driver hadn't heard anything, but when they saw Lu Hao's reaction, they kept silent and watched him for direction.

"I heard a scream," Lu Hao told them. "The zombies are down the road, in the town—this might be a human." He looked at Hong Sheng. "I need to go check it out. Drive out of here, and wait for me at the crossroads."

Hong Sheng nodded with understanding. Lu Hao left the car and dashed away, and the second the car door was closed, the SG driver finished his turn and drove along the road.

Hong Sheng frowned to himself. The moment he noticed that fog, a bad feeling had settled in his stomach. He tightly clutched his bag and looked out the window. The shadowy trees continued to pass by, but no matter how far they drove, the fog didn't seem to let up.

Minutes passed. Time seemed to have slowed to a crawl. They had only driven a few minutes toward this town, but the time it took to get out seemed to be longer.

Suddenly, Hong Sheng asked, "Do you have any abilities?'

The SG driver was startled. "Uh—yes. I can create barriers for protection."

"For how long?"

"About thirty minutes, or so."

While the SG member answered, Hong Sheng dug around his pack and pulled out the radio. He turned up the volume, and the sound of static white noise gradually filled the car. A metallic squeal arched and died in the noise.

The SG driver winced. "What's wrong with the radio?"

Hong Sheng pulled the radio close to his mouth. "Lu Hao, if you can hear me—we need you. Find us, right now."

The entire time, Hong Sheng's gaze hadn't left the outside of the window.

There, in between the vague silhouettes of the trees, hidden by the white fog and the blur of the car's speed, were dozens of humanoid figures stalking after them.