Chapter 36: The Alliance

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At the center of the square, the key figures from several convoys had gathered together. Night was about to fall, and many armed survivors had taken it upon themselves to patrol the perimeter and keep watch.

It turned out that the people who had just climbed down from the military jeeps were local survivors from North Bay Town. Their leader, a middle-aged man named Tang Hai, had formerly been the stationmaster of North Bay Station. According to him, after the apocalypse began, he had led the stranded passengers at the station and some of the townspeople into an air-raid bunker at a nearby military outpost, where they had managed to hold out for quite some time.

The thick fog over North Bay Town had not appeared at the beginning of the apocalypse. It had emerged only after the first polar night. At first, some of them had planned to flee eastward, but because of the fog, those who ventured out either died or were injured. Gradually, everyone realized that they were trapped in this cursed place. Though the sun continued to rise as usual, they still felt as if they were living through an endless polar night.

“You’re saying this fog has been here for more than ten days?” asked the fat man. He was the leader of a small convoy that had originally consisted of more than thirty people. In just two days, half of them had already perished.

“That’s right.”

“Then why did you risk leaving the bunker to come looking for us?” Qian Yu asked bluntly, scrutinizing Tang Hai.

“What other reason could there be? We came to save you, of course!” Before Tang Hai could answer, a rough-looking young man beside him shouted, “There’s a small road south of the city. I’ve already scouted it. The road is fairly passable. With heavy trucks and armored vehicles leading the way, we can definitely break through!”

The moment he said this, the entire scene fell silent. The other convoy leaders stared at him strangely, and some even let out disdainful scoffs.

Qian Yu gave a cold snort and looked at him hostilely.

“Do you take us for fools? If there’s a road out, why didn’t you escape on your own? Why come all this way to rescue us?”

His words voiced what everyone else was thinking.

In the midst of the apocalypse, everyone was focused on saving themselves. The convoys distrusted one another, and even a little girl like Lou Shasha would never believe such an obvious lie.

“Yuming, let me explain.” Tang Hai raised a hand, signaling everyone not to get agitated. He then continued, “To be honest, everyone wants to escape. Our goal is the same as yours. We want to join forces. With more people, more guns, and more vehicles, our chances of survival will be greater.”

Once he put it that way, the others understood Tang Hai’s intentions. In times of crisis, it was only natural for people to band together for warmth and protection.

The various convoys might scheme against one another and fight to the death over supplies, but in their current situation, even the most foolish person understood that their chances of survival would be far greater if they united.

Of course, what everyone was really thinking was: Let someone else die, as long as it isn’t me. The more cannon fodder there was, the better their own chances of staying alive.

They simply had not said it aloud.

Tang Hai swept his gaze across the group and said seriously, “We know the roads well, and we have quite a bit of equipment. If we work together, our chances should be much better. Besides, you have ability users among you.”

At the mention of ability users, everyone suddenly reacted. They looked at one another, then turned their eyes toward the corner of the square.

“That brother and sister, and those two people—they don’t seem ordinary,” someone remarked.

“What’s that woman’s background? How can she be so powerful?”

Qian Yu stood up and looked toward Lin Xian’s group. “I nearly forgot about them.”

With that, he headed straight over.

The other convoy leaders hurried after him.

“Uncle, what kind of ability does that woman have? How can she be so powerful?” Tang Hai’s nephew, Feng Yuming, followed along beside him.

“Yuming, it seems to be some kind of telekinesis. Pretty damn impressive,” Feng Yuming replied with a frown.

A flicker of delight crossed Tang Hai’s eyes. “With an ability like that, our chances of escaping are quite high!”

Feng Yuming glanced at him. “Uncle, she’s also a serious threat to us.”

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Tang Hai’s expression immediately darkened.

…

Elsewhere, Lin Xian saw Qian Yu and the others approaching from a distance and had already guessed their purpose.

“That attack just now must have taken a lot out of you, right?” he asked.

KIKI hurriedly gestured for him to be quiet. “Keep your voice down, idiot!”

Lin Xian’s gaze flickered. Looking at KIKI’s somewhat exhausted expression, he knew that she was already nearing her limits. Fortunately, she had not suffered a nosebleed today, which eased his worry somewhat.

Qian Yu and the others approached in a large group. The little girl Lou Shasha, who had been eating canned food, immediately jumped down from the passenger seat when she saw them and blocked their path.

“Hey! What do you want?”

Lou Hua also quickly rose and stood beside Lou Shasha.

Qian Yu’s gaze passed over them, and his tone was no longer as sharp as before. “Don’t be nervous. We’re not here to cause trouble.”

“That’s right, that’s right!” another convoy leader hurriedly agreed. “We hope you’ll join us and work together.”

“With abilities like yours, we’ll definitely have a chance of breaking out.”

The convoy leaders now looked at Lin Xian and KIKI with eager eyes. The abilities they had just displayed had made them seem like saviors, giving everyone hope of escaping alive.

“Work together?” Lin Xian rose to his feet and asked calmly, “How exactly?”

At that moment, Tang Hai and Feng Yuming also came over. Lin Xian’s expression shifted slightly when he saw them.

How should he put it? Every other survivor in the camp was covered in dust and grime. Their nerves had been stretched taut for so long that their spirits and complexions all looked terrible.

Yet these two men looked healthy and well-fed. Had they not just experienced a fierce battle, they might not even have had a speck of dirt on them.

That made Lin Xian suspicious.

“My surname is Tang. My name is Tang Hai. I’m a native of North Bay Town and was formerly the stationmaster of North Bay Station. The survivors with me are currently hiding in a military bunker at the foot of the mountain over there…”

Tang Hai introduced himself, and Lin Xian’s brows immediately furrowed.

Stationmaster of North Bay Station?

“I’m Lin Xian. This is KIKI,” Lin Xian replied calmly.

The rough-looking Feng Yuming beside Tang Hai studied the two of them closely. When his eyes settled on KIKI, they suddenly lit up, revealing an undisguised excitement.

Tang Hai repeated the plan the others had discussed earlier. It was actually quite simple: once Lin Xian and KIKI agreed, everyone would join forces and move together.

“But it’s already getting late. Wouldn’t attempting a breakout now be even more dangerous?” Lin Xian glanced at Feng Yuming, then turned to Tang Hai and voiced his concern.

Qian Yu, standing nearby, said dismissively, “I think whether it’s night or not no longer matters. The dangers in this fog are far more frightening than the darkness.”

“That’s not what I meant…” Lin Xian began, but KIKI interrupted him.

“You’re all idiots! If we break out during the day, we’ll at least have some time to catch our breath once we’re outside. If we leave in the middle of the night, are we supposed to flee through the darkness for twenty hours?”

Even Qian Yu could not help frowning at her words.

What she said did make a great deal of sense.

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“Then shall we set out first thing tomorrow morning?” someone suggested.

“I have a proposal.” Tang Hai stepped forward. “On our way here, we cleared out quite a few monster corpses. Why don’t we take this opportunity to move everyone to the air-raid bunker? First, it should be relatively safer to rest there. Second, it’s closer to the small road south of the city.”

After hearing his suggestion, everyone agreed that it seemed feasible.

When Lin Xian heard Tang Hai mention the air-raid bunker, he exchanged a glance with KIKI. He wondered silently whether this was not the same military outpost KIKI had mentioned earlier.

KIKI gave him a meaningful look, and the two reached an unspoken agreement.

“I think that’s a good idea,” Lin Xian said with a nod.

Seeing that Lin Xian had agreed, everyone immediately became energized. Qian Yu gave Tang Hai a silent glance, said nothing, and turned back to order Old Eagle, “Gather everyone. We’re leaving!”

The survivor camp soon became bustling with activity. The survivors from the convoys gathered their belongings, and before long they were ready to depart. Engines roared to life.

…

Inside a modified heavy-duty off-road vehicle, Old Eagle watched the military jeeps ahead and said coldly, “Boss, there’s definitely something wrong with that man Tang.”

“I saw it from the start.” Qian Yu gave a cold laugh. He then picked up the radio and addressed the men in his convoy.

“Everyone, conserve your ammunition. Take off the safeties.”

After speaking, he lowered the radio and glanced indifferently at Old Eagle.

“According to my original plan, we were already going to loot that military outpost. If anything goes wrong later, kill that man Tang immediately.”

A vicious glint flashed through Old Eagle’s eyes. “Don’t worry, Boss.”

…

Vroom!

The convoy set off. Several military jeeps belonging to Tang Hai led the way, followed by more than a dozen heavily modified vehicles from Qian Yu’s Black Flood Dragon convoy. Dozens of other vehicles of various sizes trailed behind them. Lou Ye’s pickup truck brought up the rear, with Lin Xian and KIKI riding inside.

Lou Shasha, sitting in the passenger seat, opened the rear window panel.

“Are you cold?”

“I’m fine,” Lin Xian replied.

“Brother Lin, be careful. They might be plotting against you.” Lou Shasha was young, but she was far more perceptive than her age suggested.

“Uh…”

Lin Xian’s gaze steadied. He had initially wanted to say that everyone was the same, but looking at Lou Shasha, he changed his answer calmly.

“Everyone wants to get out. If things really go wrong, everyone will scatter and fend for themselves.”

Shasha clutched the window and stared at Lin Xian with wide eyes.

“Then… then we have to stick together. I just saved you, after all.”

Lin Xian nodded and looked at Lou Shasha.

“All right. We’re allies.”