Chapter Fifty

“Hrrr! Hrrr!” The zombies outside the car window bared their bloodstained teeth, their bulging eyes fixed intently on the people inside, as if they were already savoring the fresh flesh behind those lips.

“No! Go! Drive, hurry!” A woman shrieked, cowering in the corner of her seat.

“Do you think I don’t want to drive, you idiot? Stop screaming!” The driver, Lin Hu, shouted back at her, turning to pound the steering wheel in frustration, though he halted at the last moment. He wasn’t worried about damaging company property and being fined—what did money matter in the apocalypse? He was afraid of attracting even more zombies.

When the end began, his day had started as usual. He got up at four in the morning, washed up, kissed his beloved wife goodbye, and hurried out to begin his workday. His job was to ferry company employees, and because some lived far away, he always rose early. That day had gone smoothly, and he’d quickly picked up most of his passengers. The heater was running, everyone was drowsy, and the bus was enveloped in quiet. Just as they neared the next employee’s residence, a woman’s piercing scream shattered the calm.

“Ah! Monster!”

Her scream startled everyone, including Lin Hu, who was focused on driving.

All eyes followed the direction she pointed, and those who had been grumbling at her fell silent, holding their breath.

Oh my god! What had they seen?

Man-eating monsters! Rotting fiends!

Screams, cries, and curses instantly plunged the small bus into chaos.

“Silence!” A sudden male voice brought a moment of quiet. Everyone turned, stunned, to the man in the back row. He adjusted the arms of his metal-rimmed glasses and stood up with an air of leisure. He was about 1.8 meters tall, with an utterly average face.

Lin Hu recognized him: Qi Peng, the infamous show-off and braggart from the company. He fancied himself handsome and capable, though everyone else saw him as a fool; even the lovesick women who usually doted on men despised him. With nose hair poking out and a perpetual look of disdain, there was only one word to describe him: repulsive.

Playing the hero, Qi Peng strode over to Lin Hu. “Can I borrow your baseball bat?” he asked, eyeing the bat on the dashboard with open contempt.

Truth be told, Lin Hu didn’t want to lend it to him. His wife had given him that bat as his first gift after learning of his love for baseball; he always kept it close at hand. Although Qi Peng had a bad reputation, there was no personal grudge, so Lin Hu reluctantly handed over the bat rather than cause a scene.

After seizing the bat, Qi Peng turned to scan the passengers, sparing Lin Hu a lofty glance, his gaze brimming with scorn as if he were a saint among mere mortals.

Everyone frowned under his eyes. What now, you idiot?

“Open the door,” Qi Peng commanded Lin Hu, as if basking in the group’s “admiration.” “I’m getting off.”

His words instantly provoked outrage. The nearest passenger—a usually quiet young woman—screamed, “Are you crazy? You can’t! Those are zombies! Don’t you know what zombies are? They eat people!” She was sitting closest to the door; did this idiot want to draw danger her way?

Qi Peng ignored her, casting a withering glance her way and snorting coldly. “Open the door. I’m getting off.”

Lin Hu didn’t move. In fact, he wanted to snatch back the baseball bat and knock this moron out.

A deep silence fell over the bus.

“Let him go.” The man who had been sitting quietly beside Qi Peng now stood. He was shorter than Qi Peng, but radiated a scholarly elegance. This was Jin Te, the renowned HR manager—everyone’s superior.

“But, Qi Peng,” Jin Te called out as Qi Peng was about to step out, “since you’re leaving, don’t bring us any trouble. If you lead the zombies over here, you’ll have to deal with the consequences yourself.”

Qi Peng hesitated, his feet pausing on the steps. Everyone could see his uncertainty.

“Go on, Qi Peng, good luck!” And don’t come back.

“Yes, good luck!” With you gone, maybe we’ll finally have some peace.

Spurred by their encouragement, Qi Peng strode off, heading straight for a zombie feeding about twenty meters away. Without hesitation, he raised the bat and smashed it at the zombie’s skull.

Bang—

Unfortunately, he lacked the strength to kill it. Instead of dying, the zombie grew enraged.

Abandoning its meal, the zombie lunged at him. Qi Peng froze, apparently not expecting this outcome, and stood there in shock until the zombie seized him. He struggled desperately, trying to break free, and screamed for help.

“Help! Help me!”

His loud, arrogant cries only drew more zombies his way.

“They’re coming!” the girl by the door shrieked. “Drive! Drive!” Others shouted in panic, “Leave him! That idiot deserves it!” Even Jin Te spoke: “Drive.”

Lin Hu floored the accelerator, and the bus shot away, vanishing in moments.

Outside, Qi Peng remained. But his condition worsened rapidly: his face began to rot before their eyes, his head twisting in agony, bloodshot eyes tracking the fleeing vehicle.

A heavy silence settled inside the bus. Many had witnessed Qi Peng’s transformation; some women fainted from the shock, others vomited. Though no one had wanted to travel with Qi Peng, his death still weighed on them. It almost felt as if goading him off the bus had been a cruel joke—no one had expected it to cost him his life.

With the stench of vomit thick in the air, everyone’s spirits flagged.

“Clean up your mess,” Jin Te said, handing out sheets of newspaper for people to wipe up the filth and toss it out. He spoke with the calm authority of a true leader. “Does anyone want to go home?”

Everyone exchanged glances. A few raised trembling hands.

Jin Te eyed them. “You all saw what just happened. I can’t say if turning back would mean certain death, but this bus is not going back! If you want to return home, we’ll drop you somewhere relatively safe, and you’ll have to make your own way.”

At this, the hesitant hands dropped. Most of these passengers were migrant workers whose families lived in other cities; Jin Te wiped the sweat from his brow, relieved. If he’d abandoned them anywhere, his conscience would have never let him rest.

Jin Te stood at the front, about to speak, when Lin Hu’s furious curse rang out: “Damn it, there are too many of these monsters!”

Everyone craned their necks to see.

They were now on Xingrong Avenue, lined on both sides with densely packed apartment blocks. In such a place, a zombie attack would repeat in vicious cycles until everyone was infected. The sheer scale of the residential district—if everyone turned—was terrifying.

The thought made cold sweat break out on their backs. Already, a mass of zombies was shuffling onto the avenue, searching for fresh prey.

“Go for it!” Jin Te, no longer composed, shouted. He was only an office worker, and no matter how dedicated or capable a leader, in the face of these man-eating monsters he was as helpless as a chick.

Lin Hu drove with grim resolve, stomping the gas. The bus shot forward.

Bang—bang—bang—several zombies were hit in succession. Lin Hu watched as they were plastered against the windshield, brains splattering, black blood pouring out.

After several impacts, the bus’s speed dropped noticeably, and cracks began to spider across the windshield. Yet ahead, nearly a dozen zombies still advanced, jaws wide, as if to say: Come, right into my mouth!

Thud, thud. Suddenly the bus juddered. “Damn it!” Lin Hu slammed his palm on the steering wheel, the horn blaring. He turned, a mix of despair and resignation in his voice: “The bus is stuck.”

Everyone held their breath, then chaos erupted in wailing and sobs.

Jin Te shouted toward a cheerful girl in the third row: “Wang Xiaoxiao, did you bring your Killer Game deck?” The girl sat, not crying or screaming, but looking blank. Jin Te frowned. Normally, she was bubbly but timid—why wasn’t she reacting? Something wasn’t right.

The more he thought, the more uneasy he felt. Suddenly he yelled, “Open the door!” and rushed toward it, calling, “Run! Everyone get out! Wang Xiaoxiao is infected!”

For a moment, everyone thought Jin Te had lost his mind. But at his words, they jumped up and rushed for the exit.

They all poured out the door—only to find Jin Te still inside.

“Shut the door!”

Realizing Jin Te hadn’t left, those who had gotten out were furious. Was he sending them to their deaths?

Author’s Note: Looks like I’ve lost some followers—can’t afford to slack off anymore~

Just one more day of exams and I can update again—love you all~

Is it humane to have five exams in a single day… wipes tears