Chapter 76: A Sanctuary One Hundred Meters Away

Before getting out of the vehicle, the leader and the group picked out three buildings from the cluster outside the airport that could serve as temporary shelters. They left some supplies on the bus, then drove it to a hidden spot that was easy to escape from, and concealed it there before setting out again with their supplies and weapons.

The first potential refuge was a gas station about a kilometer from the airport. According to the map, it had a large yard and a solitary building away from the crowds, and possibly fuel and other provisions. It seemed a promising place to settle for a while.

But when they arrived at the spot where the gas station should have been, all they found was a scorched, deformed crater—a blackened two-story building, and fragments shattered by the blast wave. There was no sign of a gas station, only a pit barely better than purgatory. The group stood by, unable to suppress sighs of dismay.

"This is just tragic," Du Yun said, gazing at the blackened crater. The oil tanks were probably here once. Who knew what happened when the disaster struck, to turn a perfectly good gas station into this ruin?

"On the other hand," she muttered, "all the zombies nearby were probably caught in the explosion." The area around the airport was desolate but not completely devoid of people. Yet from where they left the bus to here, they hadn’t seen a single zombie, which made Du Yun initially anxious. But the sight of the massive blast crater brought some relief. If a fire broke out right as the disaster began and drew all the nearby zombies, then the explosion would have swept them all away—a stroke of luck that spared them a dangerous task.

"Let's go to the second location," the leader said curtly, not one for idle talk. Seeing nothing remained around the crater, he strode ahead without a backward glance.

The second potential shelter was just over a hundred meters from the airport—a dormitory for airport staff. It was chosen as the second option because the group feared there might be too many zombies; if large numbers had been inside the airport, clearing this place could require considerable effort.

Still, as a dormitory, it would offer decent beds and comfort for a few days, which wasn’t too bad. If this option failed, their last resort was to enter the airport itself and try the third location.

Fortunately, the dormitory, though close to the airport, had not suffered much damage. With no electricity and no people, the building stood dark and lonely, unsettling in its emptiness. After clearing away the few zombies wandering nearby, the group approached the entrance.

The dormitory was three stories high, with room for over a hundred people, which meant plenty of zombies inside. Luckily, during their previous observations, they’d learned that except for third-stage zombies—those who had regained some intelligence—most zombies stayed put wherever they were. If one was trapped behind a door, unless it sensed a living person to trigger its predatory instinct, it would just wander aimlessly inside, never bothering to push open even an unlocked door, behaving like a mindless beast.

"The zombies inside might be locked in the rooms—be careful at the doors," Du Yun whispered, sharing her theory with the others.

"Got it!" After days of facing death together, and with weapons in hand, everyone had shed their earlier timidity. While none were as fearless as the leader, they no longer shrank from combat.

The dormitory contained a fair number of zombies, especially on the first floor. Hearing movement outside, they had already gathered at the nearest door, eager to burst out. Some rushed to the windows, but were trapped between the glass and iron bars, left to snarl and howl at Du Yun and her companions, powerless to do anything more.

Those caught at the windows, or leaping from the upper floors in the hope of a meal, were the first casualties under the group’s weapons. Once all zombies drawn by the noise were eliminated, they prepared to enter the dormitory for close combat.

Da Zhuang and Skinny Monkey took the lead, rushing to the main entrance, gripping the handles, and flung the doors open with a crash.

As the doors swung wide, a dozen zombies surged out. The group, ready for them, unleashed their energy weapons, bringing down the attackers one by one.

With the advanced weapons, this wave, though fierce, inflicted no harm on the group. Da Zhuang and Skinny Monkey, closest to the door and at greatest risk, emerged without a scratch.

The rest was easier still. Three teams took one floor each, and in less than two hours, the entire building was cleared.

Since they’d be staying in the dormitory for several days, they dared not leave the zombie corpses inside to rot, nor dispose of them nearby for fear of attracting more. In the end, Da Zhuang, the Mediterranean, and two young men hauled all the bodies onto a nearby truck and drove two kilometers away before dumping them.

During the clean-up, the group took care to keep some rooms pristine. After the battle, they scrubbed the blood from the rooms, laid out clean sheets and covers, and turned the row of rooms neat and tidy.

Du Yun was assigned one of these rooms. She leaned on the sofa, gazing at the white sheets and pillows, and the running water that allowed for a proper bath. The comfort made her dazed, as if the despairing world of zombies didn’t really exist.

All her belongings were stored in her compartment, so she needed no packing. Seeing the tap still worked, she filled a basin and enjoyed a brisk wash with cold water.

Drying her damp hair, Du Yun leaned by the window and looked toward the distant airport. Beneath the night sky, the airport was hushed and still, without a sound or a gleam of light.

"I wonder if, hidden in that silence, lies hope for everyone to escape alive, or only the descent into endless ruin—or perhaps it’s nothing but a hopeless destination," she sighed to Dou Zhiru. Though darkness prevailed, the stars had already quietly risen at the edge of the sky.