The off-road vehicle sped forward, but after less than half an hour, Lu Feiguang stopped the car with a grave expression. "Boss, it seems there's another group blocking the road ahead."
Xiao Wenqiang opened her eyes from her nap and saw a dense crowd waiting about eight hundred meters away.
Her eyesight was better, and she keenly noticed a long, homemade banner attached to the heads of these people, bearing the words: "Volunteer Alliance Welcomes You."
"It's people from the Volunteer Alliance. Don't panic yet, let's drive slowly towards them and take a look," Xiao Wenqiang soothed.
Lu Feiguang then restarted the car and continued driving forward. As the distance closed, everyone could see the words. At the same time, the few people waiting around the banner came into view.
There were men and women, old and young. Although they all held sticks and other weapons, their faces were filled with kind smiles.
"Welcome, friends from afar. You must have had a difficult journey. Come to our alliance to rest your feet!"
The first to speak from the "Volunteer Alliance" was a woman in her fifties with a radiant smile, her hair faintly white at the roots and dyed a striking wine red at the tips in curls.
In the current post-apocalyptic world, especially after the recent experience of Pei Xi's grandfather repaying kindness with enmity, the other members of the "Sunshine Squad" were suspicious of strangers' goodwill. Therefore, even though the others were kind and enthusiastic, they did not respond, but waited for their leader's instructions.
Xiao Wenqiang searched the original owner's memories for an impression of this "Volunteer Alliance."
Initially, this alliance was indeed formed by a group of volunteers from a region. These people often organized activities to provide volunteer services in hospitals, nursing homes, and remote disaster-stricken areas.
However, in the past, the majority of the volunteer members were retired elderly people. Later, more young people willing to contribute gradually joined.
On the weekend before the apocalypse, they were organizing an activity to provide elder care services at a local nursing home. As it was their day off, most of the young and old volunteers had come, filling an entire bus, and departed with food and supplies.
Due to the sudden outbreak of the zombie virus, the driver instantly mutated. The driver, now a zombie, had no human consciousness and no idea how to drive. After a series of chaotic maneuvers, the bus crashed heavily into the wall of a roadside shop before coming to a halt. Immediately after, the car's hood popped up, and the engine emitted white smoke, rendering the bus completely broken down.
Fortunately, the passengers on the bus were all wearing seatbelts. Aside from a little fear, they were not seriously injured.
The driver, who had turned into a zombie, felt no pain and was still struggling and howling, unable to free himself from the seatbelt. A well-meaning volunteer, unaware of the situation, unbuckled his seatbelt and climbed up to help, only to be bitten by the zombie driver.
Watching the volunteer succumb to zombification within seconds, the other volunteers realized the severity of the situation and dared not rush forward. Later, they worked together to eliminate the two zombies. However, with the bus destroyed, these volunteers were forced to remain stranded.
As communication was cut off and the number of zombies in the surrounding area increased, the volunteers had to band together to fight against the zombies outside. Most of them were kind-hearted people, so they would also lend a hand to other stranded humans.
The reason the former Xiao Wenqiang knew about this "Volunteer Alliance" was due to another incident.
At that time, she and the members of the "Hunter Squad" later encountered this "Volunteer Alliance" and saw their banner, just like they did now. The entire surviving team of the original owner entered the "Volunteer Alliance" base, but they were almost robbed of everything.
It turned out that as supplies became scarcer and the number of people they rescued increased, the quality of people in the "Volunteer Alliance" began to vary. Some older members who were not particularly dedicated to selfless contribution were influenced by newly joined selfish individuals, and gradually became dissatisfied with the original "Volunteer Alliance's" principle of selfless dedication.
Thus, the conflict intensified.
After days of struggle, the members who survived and remained in the "Volunteer Alliance" no longer possessed the spirit of selfless contribution.
This "Volunteer Alliance" was essentially a shell of its former self.
Although they still used the same name and welcomed passing humans in the same way, their primary purpose was to lure them into their territory for exploitation and robbery.
Xiao Wenqiang remembered this organization from the original owner's memories. At that time, their "Hunter Squad" was also deceived by Aunt Zhang, the leader, and foolishly entered the "Volunteer Alliance" territory.
They managed to escape in the end, but lost a considerable amount of supplies.
"Little girls, don't be afraid. We are true volunteers from the Volunteer Alliance, and we won't harm you," Aunt Zhang, with the red and white curly hair, continued to smile and approach upon seeing their reaction.
Xiao Wenqiang rolled down her car window and said, "Thank you very much, but we're in a hurry. Please move aside, Auntie."
Aunt Zhang's expression showed a momentary displeasure, but she quickly smiled again. "You all look like university students. There are many zombies outside now, and it's getting late. Come to our place to rest, and you can set off tomorrow!"
"Auntie, we really are in a hurry. Our friends are waiting for us ahead, and we can rest at their place. We won't trouble the volunteers. Please give your resources to those who need help more!" Xiao Wenqiang still refused.
A middle-aged man next to Aunt Zhang suddenly spoke, "Aunt Zhang, since these young people are looking for death, we don't need to be so humble. Since when do volunteers have to beg people?"
Aunt Zhang quickly patted the middle-aged man's back and chided, "At a time like this, it's good that these young people are cautious. Don't talk nonsense."
Then, she said to Xiao Wenqiang and the others, "Don't mind him. Come with Auntie, I'll take you to have something delicious. Even if you don't stay overnight, you should stop for a meal. We were originally going to send warmth to the nursing home, so we brought a lot of things."
As she spoke, she reached out to open the door of the "Sunshine Squad's" car.
Just then, a rumbling sound and a commotion came from not far behind the car. It turned out that the survivors of the "Hunter Squad" had caught up in their vehicle.
However, closely following them was a dense horde of zombies...