Chapter 1379: Chapter 816: Peril by the River, Zombies Emerge from the Water!

Qingyang ultimately didn’t go out to look for food from the driving school.

After Li Yu found him, there was no chance to mention going out to him, and by the time their conversation ended, it was already late.

With Ling Feng and the others, there were a total of more than two hundred people at the driving school.

So the prefab houses in the driving school, plus a few buildings, couldn’t accommodate so many people, and since the weather was quite hot, many people simply set up tents next to the vehicles.

Night fell.

The headlights of several cars were turned on, illuminating the driving school, and Ju Tianrui, Luo, Xiao Jun, and others discussed each team’s duty schedule.

At the edge of the fence, every ten or so meters, there was a vehicle parked for caution.

Inside the driving school, there were also patrol personnel grouped in fives.

Li Yu asked Dapao to bring out the military radio, then contacted the Big Camphor Tree Base. They had now reached Macheng, and this was to report their safety so that Second Uncle and the others wouldn’t worry.

Third Uncle and the others had already arrived at the Big Camphor Tree Base by noon today.

Since leaving at the end of May to the current late June, nearly a month had passed.

Returning after many days, Third Uncle and Old Qin felt a sense of long-lost nostalgia.

Seeing them bring back some firearms and ammunition again, Li Hang at the base was very envious. He was young and also liked exciting and adventurous things.

However, since he had become a father, Li Yu rarely let him go out on missions.

After communicating with Li Yu later, Li Yu agreed to let him go out on missions once his daughter turned two.

Li Hang actually had things to do at the base as well. He and Zhou Ran were busy researching equipment to enhance the base’s defense.

Recently, he was also busy with Old Dong on the matter of transforming new energy electric vehicles.

.....

The night was bleak.

The darkness dispelled the daytime heat, bringing a cool breeze that made everyone shiver.

In Oil City, Old Bi stood on the wall looking at the scattered zombies outside. He turned back to see fewer familiar faces inside the city and felt inexplicably melancholy.

"Tomorrow, we’ll test pumping the oil into the trench," Old Bi said as he turned to the team member beside him.

The team member nodded upon hearing this and replied, "Alright."

Old Bi didn’t stay on the wall for long before returning to the central factory dormitory.

....

Suburbs of Macheng.

Driving school.

The sheer number of over two hundred people inevitably attracted some zombies from the surroundings.

However, since there wasn’t a downpour, the zombies’ sensitivity was low and they could only howl around the bottom of the walls.

All quiet through the night.

Early the next morning, they set out again for Xiu County.

The distance from Macheng to Xiu County is nearly three hundred kilometers, and at a speed of 35 kilometers per hour, it would take a full eight hours.

Many in the convoy missed the Big Camphor Tree Base, eager to return home.

Li Yu felt the same. It was already June 23, and in another week, the typhoon should arrive. They had to return to the Big Camphor Tree Base before the typhoon came, or it would be very dangerous outside.

This typhoon was larger than any before Doomsday, with the highest level being only 17, yet this typhoon was more than twice that level.

From the size of the cloud mass, the amount of moisture it carried, and the speed, it had reached a terrifying level.

Thankfully, they still had sufficient time.

If everything went smoothly, they would reach Xiu County today and possibly stay there for at most a day, choose a suitable Transfer Station, and then spend another day returning to the Big Camphor Tree Base.

Including today, they would be back at the Big Camphor Tree Base within three days.

The vast convoy left the driving school.

Ling Feng and the others also went together toward the Big Camphor Tree Base, and before leaving, Ling Feng looked back at the place that had protected them for several months, then closed the large iron gate, thinking this place might still come in handy someday.

The weather was hot.

Though it was morning, the humid heat rose in waves, and it was getting hotter.

On their way leaving Macheng, they could see on either side of the road, the barren fields, with the cracked soil and some weeds wilting under the sun.

The national highway, battered by natural disasters, was bumpy and uneven.

The slow speed of their travel had much to do with the roughness of the road.

Galloping from Macheng to Xiu County would take eight hours, not including unforeseen incidents along the way, so they were pressed for time.

On the road.

After leaving Macheng, they headed straight for Huanggang and Huangshi.

On their way through Huanggang, they crossed the Cross-river Bridge.

The Cross-river Bridge, a relic from the last century, had withstood natural disasters and floods and remained intact. The weathered bridge still looked very sturdy.

There was no other way, although they didn’t want to cross the bridge, a Long River ran east to west, and they had to cross the bridge to get across the river.

After the natural disaster, the dam had been overwhelmed by floods during a storm, with raging river waters from upstream collapsing many bridges.

Bridges that remained intact until now were extremely strong.

Before crossing, Li Yu specifically dispatched a small team to go over the bridge, and once it was verified as safe, the main force crossed the bridge.

This bridge spanned across and was considered a relatively narrow section of the Long River, yet the bridge was about three thousand meters long.

To reduce the weight of single vehicles, they even unloaded tanks from flatbed trucks carrying them.

On the river’s surface, under the sunlight, the water sparkled.

But no one was in the mood to enjoy the river’s scenery.