Chapter Nineteen: Peng Honghai

Zhou Yu had no time to worry about anything else now; keeping the zombies away from the car was all that mattered. Once Zhou Yu finished refueling, Wang Kui jumped in and drove the car aside to make room for the next vehicle. Zhao Yan quickly followed, drove his own car over, filled up, and then called Zhou Yu to get in. They moved to a more open spot, where Zhou Yu got out and swapped places with Wang Kui, resuming their journey—with Zhao Yan now leading the way.

Inside the car, Zhou Yu switched on the radio. Survivor news was being broadcast.

"Hello, this is 100.6 Traffic Radio. Here is an important announcement: Due to the outbreak of the zombie virus, the authorities have consolidated several survivor bases. The locations are as follows: City SH, Capital City, City HJ... All survivors who hear this message, please proceed to these bases as soon as possible. Hello, this is—"

Zhou Yu turned off the radio before the message finished, as it kept repeating the survivor base locations, and he already knew where they needed to go.

Rain suddenly began to fall, growing heavier by the minute. Zhou Yu had no choice but to sound the horn, signaling the car ahead to find a place to pull over and take shelter. Soon, they parked in front of a farmhouse that seemed to have survived from before the apocalypse.

Wang Kui got out, opened the gate, and waited until everyone entered before closing it again. The group hurried into the courtyard, got out of their vehicles, and found a room to settle in.

As Zhou Yu organized the group to look for things inside to build a fire and keep warm, Zhao Yan suddenly spotted a figure outside, running toward their car.

Zhao Yan shouted, "Who are you?" and rushed outside. Zhou Yu heard the commotion, grabbed his knife, and followed.

Zhao Yan pointed his gun at the man. "Who are you, and why are you approaching our car?"

The man replied, "My name is Peng Honghai, and—"

Just then, Zhou Yu arrived, recognized him, and exclaimed, "Brother Hai, it's you! What happened? Come inside and tell us."

Seeing that Zhou Yu knew the man, Zhao Yan put away his gun. Peng Honghai saw Zhou Yu and said, "Old Zhou, it's you! I wondered who it might be."

The two entered the house together.

By then, the others had managed to get a fire going. Zhou Yu asked Peng Honghai, "Brother Hai, what are you doing here?"

A shadow of sorrow flickered in Peng Honghai's eyes as he replied, his voice heavy, "I originally came here just to relax and clear my mind, but who could have imagined things would turn out like this? I haven't been home since it all began. I have no idea what's happening with my family."

Zhou Yu looked at him sympathetically. "Don't be upset, Brother Hai. Maybe your wife and the others have already made it to a survivor base."

Peng Honghai looked at Zhou Yu, puzzled. "What survivor base?"

Seeing that Peng Honghai truly didn't know, Zhou Yu explained everything to him, and realization dawned on Peng Honghai.

He asked Zhou Yu, "Are you heading to the survivor base in City SH or the one in the capital?"

Zhou Yu replied calmly, "City SH. My wife's family is from there, and she wants to go back and see her elders."

Before Peng Honghai could respond, he suddenly clutched his throat and collapsed.

No one understood what was happening. Zhou Yu hurried forward to check on him. At that moment, Zhao Yan also fell to the ground, clutching his throat, his face twisted in agony.

Peng Honghai's skin began to flush red.

Seeing this, Zhou Yu thought they might be evolving, just as he was about to say something, pain shot through his whole body and his breathing grew labored.