Apocalypse Escape: Day One of Survival

"To the competition venue." Xie Ning rolled down the car window, her peripheral vision still catching a glimpse of that devilishly handsome, tall figure.

The roadblock ahead had been cleared by the special ops team. Xiao Huang Mao drove forward and asked, "Ms. Ning, which way should we go?"

Xie Ning had a rough idea of the roads in Su City. She leaned forward to look. "Go straight. After three traffic lights, turn left."

"Pull over up ahead. Everyone get out." Xie Ning pointed to a spot on the street where a few scattered zombies had gathered.

Xiao Huang Mao swallowed. "O-Okay, Ms. Ning."

Soon, the three vehicles were parked in an orderly fashion along the roadside, and everyone on board was herded out.

Xie Ning opened the trunk and froze for a moment, staring at the seven or eight full boxes inside.

’That Xiao Gu is pretty thoughtful.’

He’d given them two boxes of compressed biscuits, two boxes of mineral water, two boxes of instant noodles, and three boxes of dehydrated vegetables.

He had also included a portable cassette stove, plus a case of fuel canisters.

’This way, they could have hot instant noodles even in the harshest outdoor conditions!’

The corners of Xie Ning’s lips curled up slightly as she picked up a large bag of long-handled kitchen cleavers from a corner.

As she closed the trunk, Xie Ning’s will flickered, and she stealthily moved all the items from Xiao Gu into her personal villa.

By the time Xie Ning turned around, the smile had vanished from her lips, replaced by a stern expression as she faced Annie and the others.

"Since I brought you all out here, I will see to it that you get back safely. But there’s one condition: don’t get yourselves killed. Cooperate with me completely and follow my commands!"

The young woman’s icy gaze swept over each of the eleven members of the rescue coalition one by one.

"I won’t protect any single one of you. When you run into danger, you’ll have to face it bravely on your own."

She spread the bag of cleavers out on the hood of the car. "Pick a cleaver. See those zombies over there? Form groups of three and go take them out."

In fact, the moment the cars had stopped, the zombies that had been wandering aimlessly down the street began shambling toward them, as if they had caught the scent of fresh meat.

Annie glanced at a zombie still wearing a hard hat and exclaimed in a hushed, panicked voice, "But I’m just a woman!"

"Any ordinary person over the age of fifteen can easily handle Initial-stage zombies like these." Xie Ning couldn’t help but roll her eyes. "Decide for yourself. If you don’t want to fight, then get to the back. But the next time we run into zombies, no one is going to risk their life to protect you."

Xiao Huang Mao nodded solemnly. "I’ll learn!"

The four buddies who used to go on debt collection runs with Xiao Huang Mao also stepped forward, their hands trembling as they picked out cleavers.

Song You’ai gave Xiao Huang Mao an encouraging look. "Xiao Yuan, it’s not that hard, really. Just one good chop to the back of the neck. Put some force into it!"

"Ningning says you have to destroy their central nervous system, or they’ll keep moving."

"Okay, Auntie. I... I’ll do my best!"

"Let Auntie show you." Song You’ai volunteered and went to lead the rookies.

Xie Ning was amused, but also couldn’t help feeling touched.

’That was her mother, always quietly supporting her in her own way.’

Seeing the other five people follow Xiao Huang Mao’s group to get some practice, Annie’s face went pale. She had no choice but to go up, pick out a cleaver, and grip it tightly as she hesitantly followed them.

’She was terrified, but what choice did she have? That vicious woman, Xie Ning, was watching from behind. All she could do was bite the bullet and go.’

"Hey," Ji Taixian sidled up with a cheeky grin. "You’re training them to be able to protect themselves."