C141 At the Entrance of the Town the Zombies Blocked the Road and Tang Bing Wanted to Take a Gamble!

"Sun Meng is staying behind to keep Teacher Lin company today, while Qin Mengli and Liang Hui are joining the team," announced Tang Bing on another bright, early morning as he organized the group.

"Bing, what's our objective for today?" inquired Zhao Dagang, his curiosity piqued.

"We're going to scout a construction site for some stones, sand, and the like," Tang Bing directed them to board the vehicle as he spoke. "After that, we'll look for any other essential supplies we might need. And if we come across a chicken coop, even better – we could bring one back."

"Chicken coop?" Qin Mengli and Liang Hui exchanged puzzled glances.

"Never mind that for now. Just hop in the truck!" Tang Bing urged, opening the door and gesturing for them to take their seats behind the driver. The truck's cabin was just spacious enough to squeeze in six people.

Lin Leyan and Sun Meng stood by the gate, waving goodbye as the truck pulled away.

"Stay safe, Bing!" Sun Meng called out, waving vigorously.

"And you, Huihui, be careful!" Lin Leyan added, repeatedly reminding her daughter.

As soon as the vehicle rolled away, the two women quickly shut and locked the gate before hurrying back inside.

"Bing, do you know where we can find a construction site?" Zhao Dagang asked once they were on the road.

Tang Bing kept his eyes fixed on the narrow mountain path, driving with caution. "Don't talk to me right now unless you've got a death wish! I'm not confident enough to multitask on these treacherous roads without risking an accident."

Zhao Dagang clammed up immediately, knowing better than to gamble with their safety.

After a tense descent from the mountains, they finally reached a wide, straight highway. Zhao Dagang, feeling a sense of relief, turned to Tang Bing and asked, "Are we just going to search aimlessly?"

"You're overthinking it," Tang Bing replied without taking his eyes off the road. "I have a rough idea of where we're headed."

"But Bing, have you ever been to this area before?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, if you've never been here, how do you know the lay of the land so well?" Zhao Dagang was baffled. "You always seem to find exactly what we're looking for with ease, like the cement factory before. It's almost as if you've lived here before, isn't it?"

Tang Bing couldn't exactly announce that he was able to pull up a map of A City on demand, could he? Even though the map might not be up-to-date due to the ever-changing cityscape, the general locations were usually accurate.

"Bing, why's that?" Zhao Dagang awaited his response.

Tang Bing kept his eyes on the road ahead. "No more questions!"

"Oh! So that's off-limits too? Got it!" Zhao Dagang wisely zipped his lips.

As they conversed, the car had made its way into town. Tang Bing was about to consult the map when he sensed an enormous horde of zombies closing in from the front, their numbers too vast to count.

The anomaly startled him. In a preemptive move before the zombies could emerge, he slammed on the emergency brake, causing his three teammates to jolt in alarm.

"What's going on?" Zhao Dagang frantically scanned the outside, seeing nothing. "Bing, why'd you stop?"

"Tang Bing, what's the matter?" Qin Mengli anxiously gripped the back of Tang Bing's seat.

"Yeah! Bing, what's going on?" Liang Hui's voice trembled with nerves.

Without a word, Tang Bing deftly maneuvered the car to make a U-turn, then sped back the way they came.

"What's the deal? Bing, aren't we heading into town?" Zhao Dagang leaned out to look back, confused. "Weren't we almost there?"

"Exactly! Bing, why the sudden turnaround?"

"Tang Bing, what's going on?"

"Everyone, be quiet!" Tang Bing commanded as he whipped the car into a swift retreat, not showing the slightest hesitation.

They hadn't gone far when Zhao Dagang, peering back, let out a horrified yell, "So many zombies! Oh my god!"

Qin Mengli and Liang Hui also spun around, peering through the rear glass. Indeed, they saw a formidable army of zombies bearing down on them. The sight of the countless undead charging their way was like a tidal wave of darkness, overwhelming in its ferocity.

Shaken by the horrific sight, they were relieved that the zombies couldn't keep pace with the car. Tang Bing managed to shake off the horde in just under ten minutes, leaving them far behind in the dust.

But instead of heading back to base, he steered the car towards a small hill nearby.

"Wait for me here!" At the base of the mountain, he instructed Zhao Dagang, Qin Mengli, and Liang Hui to stay put in the car while he sprinted to the peak. Once there, he whipped out his telescope for a closer look at the town.

As he feared, the town's entrance was clogged with a horde of zombies, a mass of flesh-eating horrors shoving each other around, aimlessly roaming. Why had they congregated here all of a sudden? The recent explosion should've lured them to the other side of town. It made no sense for them to cluster here like this. What could've happened? If they kept up this blockade, not only would he be barred from entering the town, but scavenging for supplies in the area would be impossible!

With the situation growing dire, Tang Bing peered through his telescope, searching for answers. If he couldn't get past the zombie-infested road, today's scavenging—and his plans—were toast.

What had gone wrong?

He scanned the town's direction repeatedly from his mountaintop vantage point, desperate to uncover the cause.

Persistence finally bore fruit. Among the throng of undead, he spotted an abnormally large mutant zombie resembling a monkey, weaving through the crowd. This behemoth seemed to be directing the horde, its movements dictating theirs.

A mutant zombie with the power to command its kin had emerged, a troubling development indeed. This creature was patrolling the town's entrance, and Tang Bing could tell it possessed an eerie sensory skill. It had detected him just as he had it.

The zombie troops were on his tail because the mutant had sensed him first and ordered the chase. He hadn't noticed the mutant, but it had clearly picked up on his presence. Its sensory abilities outmatched his, a dangerous disadvantage. If he got too close to town, the mutant would surely spot him. Even if he could drive away in time, this route might be blocked off for good.

Was abandoning the town and retreating to a life of seclusion in the woods the only option left?

Despite having plenty of food, Tang Bing couldn't come to terms with his situation. He refused to be so timid as to take shelter in the woods, surrounded only by small, relatively harmless animals.

But if he didn't steer clear, was battle the only option?

With the power to command legions of zombies, they'd be an overwhelming force. His own resources wouldn't even make a dent; they were that outmatched. The formidable defenses of A City's military sanctuary had already fallen, their arsenal no match for the relentless zombie onslaught. With just a handful of people and guns at his disposal, how could he possibly triumph?

Against an ordinary mutant zombie, Tang Bing wouldn't have hesitated. He'd have taken the risk of a one-on-one confrontation, confident in his chances of victory. But this was no ordinary foe, and Tang Bing knew better than to think he could take on such a horde by himself.

Caught in a bind, neither advancing nor retreating seemed viable.

Perhaps he could take the highway to another town, scavenging as he went?

Yet, the virtual map showed that even at full speed, reaching the nearest town would take over ten hours. Villages dotted the route, but they were few and far between. Worse still, these villages were teeming with stray dogs, and the number of zombie canines was downright horrifying. He might manage to escape with his life alone, but with three others in tow, it was a non-starter.

After much deliberation, the best course of action seemed to be either eliminating the mutant zombies or drawing them away to a more distant location.

But how to go about it? The sheer number of zombies was no laughing matter, especially with a formidable mutant in their midst. It was enough to give anyone a migraine.

And that mutant zombie was right at the heart of the horde, perpetually ensconced within its ranks.