Professor Yu quickly persuaded, "Mr. Qin, please don't take it out on a woman. She's just injured and in a bad mood, lashing out."
"Heh."
Qin Shilei snorted lightly and said, "Do you really think I care about so-called zombie serum?"
"Are you getting out of the car yourself, or do you want me to throw you out?"
"Fine, I'll get out. Do you think I care about riding in your car?" Ma Yulian turned to Commander Luo and the others and said, "Commander Luo, Professor Yu, let's go."
"Deputy Director Ma, can you say a little less?" Professor Yu snapped at Ma Yulian, turning his head.
One of the soldiers suddenly spoke up, "Mr. Qin only asked Deputy Director Ma to get off the car."
"What?" Ma Yulian immediately shrieked, "Commander Luo, are you going to abandon me, abandon a hero who researched zombie serum?"
Luo Hongyi said with a stern face, "Deputy Director Ma, can't you consider our situation and say a little less?"
"You're all bullying me, I'm leaving, I'm leaving, can't I? I'll see if you still want to research zombie serum."
Ma Yulian forced out a few tears and moved towards the car door.
However, Commander Luo and the others neither stopped her nor accompanied her off the car.
Luo Hongyi's face was conflicted, torn between his superior's orders and everyone's safety.
They were truly at their wit's end, with no food and all of them injured. To make matters worse, they hadn't found a usable vehicle on the road.
That giant bird could catch up at any moment.
If they continued to travel at this slow pace, they would starve to death even if they weren't eaten by the giant bird.
Therefore, sacrificing Ma Yulian alone was the only way to save Professor Yu and Professor Liu.
They had had enough of Ma Yulian's behavior throughout the journey.
"You're all birds of a feather."
Ma Yulian turned to everyone and accused, "That Qin fellow somehow stole your troop's armored vehicle, yet you still have the audacity to ride in his car without thinking of avenging your comrades."
"And you, Professor Yu, you're no better. You're thinking of giving away national research results as favors, how shameless!"
"Mr. Qin, you... you were lucky to escape only because we lured the giant bird away. You'll still be caught and eaten by that giant bird sooner or later."
"Are you done talking? If you're done, let me send you on your way."
Qin Shilei instantly appeared before Ma Yulian and kicked her.
With one kick, he sent Ma Yulian flying through the air, smashing the car door and rolling on the ground.
"Mr. Qin, please be merciful," Luo Hongyi shot up.
"I used a clever technique, she's fine." Qin Shilei casually closed the car door, turned, and shouted forward, "Zhang Qiang, drive."
Qin Shilei had indeed used a clever technique, ensuring that Ma Yulian would not be able to get up for a while.
There were a few zombies wandering in the distance. If the other party could still survive in this situation, they would truly be a destined protagonist.
From beginning to end, the other party's eyes were filled with hatred towards him.
Qin Shilei felt no guilt kicking such a petty person.
After closing the car door, Qin Shilei returned to sit beside An Qian and the others.
The sturdy and powerful armored vehicle barreled down the highway, getting closer and closer to Xizhuang City, the capital of Laishan Province.
Luo Hongyi had not mentioned getting off the car.
Since their route to Zhang Xiaoli's home in Tongquan City also passed through Xizhuang City, Qin Shilei allowed them to continue hitching a ride.
Looking at the zombies outside through the window, Qin Shilei and the others noticed that some of them were holding weapons like wooden sticks.
When the armored vehicle approached, they even picked up stones by the roadside and threw them.
An Qian's eyes lit up and she said, "Are these mutated zombies? Should we fight them?"
"Alright." Qin Shilei nodded, instructing Zhang Qiang to stop the car and quickly kill the more than a dozen zombies.
Unfortunately, the three relatively intelligent zombies only had their strength increased; they did not drop treasure chests, nor did they drop ability beads.
An Qian sighed, "Now zombies are not only stronger, but also smarter."
Zhang Xiaoli also lamented, "Do you think zombies will form an orderly social structure like humans in the future?"
"I don't know."
Qin Shilei shook his head, "Zombies are inherently bloodthirsty, destined to be irreconcilable with other living beings."
Everyone's mood became a bit low.
The zombies with little intelligence in the past had already caused heavy casualties to humans. If zombies became not only stronger but also smarter, humanity's survival environment would likely become even more dire.
Professor Yu encouraged them, "We humans will eventually defeat the zombies. Although the zombies have become stronger and smarter, you are also constantly getting stronger. How can the overlords of Blue Star surrender so easily?"
...
More than ten miles away from Qin Shilei, a middle-aged couple was observing a small supermarket through the window.
Before the apocalypse, Zhang Cheng was a frail literary worker who would gasp for breath just carrying a bucket of purified water. Liang Xinhui was a middle school teacher who had never even killed a chicken.
To find their daughter, the couple, armed with cleavers, managed to kill their first zombie together.
By now, they had lost count of how many zombies they had killed.
"Husband, do you think there are any supplies left in this supermarket?" Liang Xinhui whispered to her husband.
"There are still so many wandering zombies in front of the supermarket. There should be supplies," Zhang Cheng pushed up his glasses, which were missing lenses, and guessed.
"Husband, after we take things from here, we have to keep moving. I don't know how our daughter is doing," Liang Xinhui's eyes reddened as she spoke.
"Li'er will be fine. We will reunite soon," Zhang Cheng hugged his wife.
Then he discussed the specific combat plan with his wife.
Zhang Cheng and his wife adopted a strategy of luring the monsters, slowly drawing the zombies in front of the supermarket and killing them.
Half an hour later, Zhang Cheng cautiously stepped into the supermarket.
Two zombies that had not been lured away earlier suddenly pounced.
Zhang Cheng and Liang Xinhui quickly killed the zombies together.
The supermarket was very messy, and at first glance, it seemed to have been searched.
Liang Xinhui suggested, "Husband, let's search separately. Hopefully, we can find more food."
Just then, a gray figure suddenly rushed out from under a fallen shelf.
"Careful!"
Zhang Cheng stomped his foot, blocking his wife's front, and swung his knife at the charging zombie.
This was a zombie that moved on all fours, resembling a Licker from a movie.
The Licker was extremely fast and could attack with its long tongue.
Zhang Cheng was forced to retreat constantly by the Licker.
At this moment, the Licker slipped and almost fell to the ground.
It turned out that Liang Xinhui had used her ability to create a small patch of slippery ice under its feet.
Zhang Cheng seized the opportunity and severed the Licker's left arm with a single stroke.
The Licker, which was originally on all fours, had its attacking posture completely distorted.
Liang Xinhui took the opportunity to blast it with an ice projectile.
Under the slowing effect of the ice projectile, its speed was further reduced by thirty percent.
Then, Zhang Cheng cut off its long tongue with another strike.
The Licker turned and tried to escape the supermarket.
But by the time it thought of escaping, it was too late. Within two minutes, it was killed by the combined efforts of Zhang Cheng and his wife.
Liang Xinhui put the bronze treasure chest into her ring, while Zhang Cheng split open the Licker's head to retrieve its crystal core.
Just then, hurried footsteps could be heard from outside the supermarket.