Chapter Ten: The Invading Enemy (Part One)

Speeding madly along the road, Wu Jue and Xiao Han left the supermarket at full throttle. Seeing the zombies left far behind, Xiao Han couldn’t help but shout with excitement, “Amazing! I’ve never felt this exhilarated before! Master, where are we heading next?”

Wu Jue pressed his palms together and silently recited a prayer for forgiveness. Since arriving here, he felt his compassion ebbing away; the Buddhist principle of nonviolence had nearly been abandoned entirely.

He gazed out the window at the littered corpses and wondered if the hell described in the scriptures looked just like this.

“We’ll head out of town and meet up with everyone. Let’s find out what’s really happened.” Gradually regaining his composure, Wu Jue made his decision, though a sense of unease lingered in his heart.

Xiao Han agreed and set their course, but soon realized the petrol in the car was running low.

“Looks like we’ll need to find a way to refuel,” he explained to Wu Jue, who might not understand. “To keep the car running, we need gasoline, but there doesn’t seem to be a gas station nearby. Even if there is, it might already be destroyed.”

Wu Jue quickly understood. Huron’s memories had taught him much, enabling him to grasp the workings of this world with surprising speed.

He used his headset to contact Xiao Yang and inquire about the city’s gas stations, hoping to refuel before heading out.

Xiao Yang soon replied, saying that if they were bound for the airport outside the city, there was a gas station two kilometers ahead that should still be intact.

Wu Jue relayed the directions to Xiao Han, and the two hurried on.

They arrived to find the station relatively safe, with no zombies lurking nearby. Xiao Han hopped out to grab the fuel nozzle and began refueling, jesting, “Gas used to cost a fortune, but now we can fill up as much as we want. Let’s grab a couple big barrels and stock up—just in case.”

Wu Jue, ever vigilant, stepped out and surveyed the surroundings. In this world, danger was always close. Suddenly, he heard faint noises—someone moving. He then saw a man, covered in blood, crawling out from behind the station, reaching out to them for help.

Was he bitten by a zombie? Or was he an innocent victim of human violence?

Wu Jue signaled Xiao Han to continue refueling, then approached, drawing his steel blade. “Who are you? Are you injured?”

The man gasped, “Listen to me, I’m a police officer. Someone attacked me—they’re impersonating me, luring everyone to the airport. The government hasn’t sent any signals. Warn them—quickly…”

With that, his head drooped and he slipped into unconsciousness.

Wu Jue rushed forward to check his wounds. The man’s throat had been slashed by a sharp blade, and a large chunk of muscle had been gouged from his chest. He was already dead.

Wu Jue recognized him as one of the two police officers he’d met in the pit the previous night. The man’s uniform had been stripped, leaving nothing behind.

It dawned on Wu Jue: someone was spreading false information, intending harm to the survivors. He had to warn everyone immediately.

Turning to Xiao Han, he said, “Is it full? We need to leave at once—plans have changed.”

They jumped into the car and sped toward the airport, with Xiao Han driving recklessly, almost crashing through obstacles.

Wu Jue used his headset to contact Xiao Yang, urging him to check the area around the airport. Unfortunately, the network and power had been severely damaged, and no cameras could be found. Their only option was to hurry.

Wu Jue checked his weapons: two steel blades from the supermarket and two wooden sticks broken off a mop. He silently sharpened one end of a stick with his blade, all the while keeping an eye on their surroundings.

Suddenly, Xiao Han slammed on the brakes. Several zombies were sprawled across the intersection ahead, gnawing on something and blocking their path.

“Master, what should we do? We can’t just ram through!”

Wu Jue immediately opened the door and stepped out, wielding his steel blade and wooden stick. “Clear the way. Make it quick.” With swift and decisive strikes, he cut the zombies down one by one. One tried to resist, but before it could lunge, Wu Jue kicked it square in the chest, pinning it to the ground and driving the sharpened stick through its head.

Looking at the corpses—already mangled and nearly unrecognizable, lying in pools of blood—Xiao Han was surprised to spot something.

“There are guns here, Master. Should we take them?”

Following Xiao Han’s lead, Wu Jue noticed several human weapons near the bodies.

Earlier, Xiao Yang had wounded Wu Jue’s arm with a pistol shot—luckily, he’d stopped the bleeding in time and applied the medicine Xiao Yang had given him.

Even now, the wound still ached. Wu Jue could imagine how effective these weapons would be if aimed at a zombie’s head.

With them, close encounters could be avoided, increasing their chances of survival. Wu Jue nodded, “Take them all. Do you know how to use them?”

Xiao Han collected the guns, scratching his head. “I’ve seen them on TV, but never used the real thing. Judging from these guys, they were probably bank robbers, unlucky enough to run into zombies.”

The open doors of the bank nearby supported their theory.

They gathered five weapons in total—two large, three small—and, with Xiao Han’s help, found some bullets on the bodies, which they took back to the car.

As they continued on, Xiao Han explained: the large ones were the legendary MP5 submachine guns, and the smaller ones were Beretta pistols. He showed Wu Jue how to load bullets, aim, and fire.

Xiao Yang, listening in via headset, chimed in with timely tips, teaching Wu Jue more about handling firearms.

Wu Jue learned quickly, occasionally aiming outside through the window to get a feel for shooting, and, aided by Huron’s memories, became more familiar with these cold, alien weapons.

Sadly, there was little time for practice. Xiao Han soon reached the airport perimeter, only to find chaos ahead.

They saw hordes of zombies pouring into the airport, with screams and roars echoing from within, signs of a brutal struggle.

It was clearly a trap. Xiao Han turned to Wu Jue, “What should we do?”

Wu Jue didn’t hesitate. He opened the door and said, “I’ll go in alone. This time, you can’t risk it. If I fail, go back to the underground shelter and find Xiao Yang. We can’t both die here!”

He locked the car door firmly, slung the submachine gun over his shoulder, and charged into the swarm of zombies.

End of Chapter Ten: The Invading Enemy.