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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 152: Advancing into the Gobi
"You guessed it right; we really are heading that way," the graduate student said, digging at his ear while lying on the roof of the vehicle, marveling at the sight.
"But why are we following them?" Weiwei asked, feeling quite frustrated. She climbed onto the roof and snatched the binoculars from the graduate student's hands to take a look. After observing for a while, she turned back and said, "If we keep going, we'll end up in the desert!"
Jiang He ignored the two on the roof. He was busy hauling a drink container and clearing away abandoned vehicles from the road with Yin Nuo. According to the map, they were at the westernmost region of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. To the west, they could reach Jiuquan via highways through Wuwei, Jinchang, and Zhangye. To the southeast lay Helan Mountain and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, while to the northeast were Bayannur and Ordos. Further north was the border with Mongolia.
Indeed, just half a month ago, they were still within Shanxi Province, and now they stood at the ancient western edge of Inner Mongolia.
The good news was that they had suffered no casualties along the way. They drove during the day and found a quiet spot to stop by afternoon, scavenging nearby towns. During this time, they encountered over twenty groups of zombies, which were organized and purposeful in their movements, just like those they had seen in the Wheat Field half a month ago. The further they went, the larger these groups became, resembling an army converging towards a specific destination from all directions.
That night, what shocked Jiang He was not only the marching zombie hordes but also a helicopter that flew low overhead. For a moment, he thought he was hallucinating, but when he looked down, he saw that the three of them were staring blankly in the direction where the helicopter had disappeared.
Shock and confusion flooded Jiang He’s mind like a tide, completely disrupting his planned course of action.
He had originally intended to find a map and follow its routes toward Launch Base while searching for traces of his companions along the way. However, this eerie gathering of zombies and the helicopter made him reconsider. At that moment when he looked up at the sky, an idea suddenly sprouted in his mind.
He wanted to see where these zombies were headed.
Jiang He’s idea met with strong opposition from the other three. Setting aside how strange these zombies and helicopters were, even if they were indeed moving toward some destination, there was no need for them to follow! Living people avoided zombies; they would rather have them run farther away. But Jiang He wanted to trek alongside them?
Weiwei vehemently opposed Jiang He’s suicidal plan. She believed he was being influenced by the zombies and had lost his mind. After a while, she overturned this conclusion and unsettlingly speculated that they might all be hallucinating due to something in the wind that made them see such bizarre scenes.
Jiang He could not deny it; he certainly did not think he was hallucinating. Although following the Zombies sounded a bit crazy, he sensed something was amiss. Unlike the three graduate students, he had gathered a lot of information from An Zheng, Shaoshan, and others. Though fragmented, all the information pointed to the outbreak of Zombies sweeping across the land being linked to the Establishment and RCA. What exactly these two seemingly powerful organizations were up to, Jiang He did not know, but he was certain that the appearance of Zombies was connected to them.
Jiang He did not have the resolve to save all of humanity; he simply felt that if the Zombie disaster was indeed man-made, then those responsible for this catastrophe must have had a reason. The people he encountered earlier were all searching for An Zheng, aiming to obtain a so-called "data report" from her. An Zheng had not hidden anything from them; she revealed the contents of this "data report." They could not understand the specifics, but the general idea was clear: An Zheng might be the key to stopping this disaster, and she was important to both organizations.
So, had everyone who left the Air Raid Shelter headed towards Jiuquan, or had they been captured by these two forces? Jiang He leaned towards the latter.
The mention of Jiuquan had been casual; various emergencies had arisen in quick succession over just a few days. Aside from his guess about Jiuquan, Jiang He had no other leads. The Air Raid Shelter had not left him any messages, nor were there any bodies of his companions. He could only conclude that his companions had escaped. If they had indeed escaped, they should have waited for him; why had they vanished without a trace? This had always puzzled Jiang He; he did not believe that everyone would abandon him to save themselves.
Thus, Jiang He made some conjectures.
First, everyone thought he was dead and chose to leave.
Second, bandits from Nantang Township suddenly stormed into the Air Raid Shelter, forcing them to flee and resulting in their capture.
Both possibilities were plausible and aligned with the circumstances at that time.
With this in mind, Jiang He parted ways with Shaoshan and drove off in search of his companions. According to Shaoshan, the corpses in the Air Raid Shelter had been dead for no more than 48 hours. Therefore, Ming Junwei and the others should have left two days ago. How far could they have gone in two days? Jiang He did not know but was certain it wouldn't be too far. However, finding nothing along the way greatly discouraged him; he began to doubt whether he had taken a wrong turn or if the main group never intended to go to Jiuquan at all.
In this state of hesitation and uncertainty, Jiang He unexpectedly encountered the three graduate students and witnessed the migration of Zombies along with a helicopter that night. For reasons he could not articulate, his mind inexplicably linked this scene with his missing companions. He concluded that the helicopter belonged to either the Establishment or RCA. Although he did not understand what purpose it served flying around at night, it was clearly related to the large-scale movement of Zombies. Coupled with both organizations searching for An Zheng, Jiang He naturally assumed that his missing companions must have been captured by these two deranged groups.
After all, they even had helicopters circling nearby; finding An Zheng would be a piece of cake for them.
Having come to this realization, Jiang He cast aside all his unanswered questions and became almost obsessively convinced that wherever these Zombies were headed was their destination!
the latter, they might uncover something significant.
As they followed the path that Zombie had taken, a sense of unease settled over the group. The air was thick with tension, and the silence was only broken by the occasional rustle of leaves or the distant call of a bird. Jiang He led the way, his mind racing with thoughts and questions that seemed to multiply with every step.
The trio of graduate students walked closely behind, their expressions a mix of skepticism and curiosity. They had initially dismissed Jiang He's ideas as fanciful, but now they found themselves drawn into his determination. The prospect of finding An Zheng—a name that echoed in their minds like a distant memory—was enough to keep them moving forward.
After what felt like hours, they reached a clearing where the trees parted to reveal a vast expanse of water shimmering under the sun. The sight was breathtaking, yet it also felt ominous. Zombie stood at the edge, seemingly entranced by the waves lapping against the shore.
"What now?" Weiwei asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Jiang He stepped forward, his gaze fixed on Zombie. "We wait and see what happens next."
As they approached cautiously, the atmosphere shifted. The water began to churn, and from its depths emerged figures that seemed both familiar and foreign. The group exchanged glances, their hearts racing with anticipation and fear. Whatever was about to unfold would change everything for them.
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