Rotting Land: Survive

Damn! The word had just flashed in Tang Xiaoquan’s mind for a second when he felt the car floor beneath him tremble violently, and before he could steady himself from crouching, he collapsed to the ground.

Immediately after, before he could react, a wolf’s howl pierced the sky, akin to midnight thunder, shattering the deathly silence of the toll station.

"What’s happening!" Almost at the same time, the survivors on each car, awakened from their sleep, were shocked by this earth-shattering howl.

But like Tang Xiaoquan, they too had no time to react before the sudden attack of the mutant wolf pack left them bewildered and dizzy.

He Jing might have connected it to the tragic scene in the well that day, clutching her ears, she started to scream.

And Fangfang, seeing her mother’s frenzied expression, couldn’t withstand the dual assault from inside and outside the car, crying uncontrollably as well.

Goodness, for a moment, it was mayhem in the middle.

The survivors, busy getting out of bed to check the situation, couldn’t spare any effort to comfort He Jing and Fangfang.

Although they had been living under dire circumstances for a period, the threats had primarily been human, a fear far less terrifying than facing the unknown creatures now.

Moreover, the Survivor Team had indeed not faced zombified creatures for a long time.

Even though they had considerable past experience dealing with mutant creatures, the current state of the survivors clearly showed they were unprepared for this battle.

"What happened? What’s going on?"

"Damn, what the hell is attacking us?"

"Lei Tong, did you see anything over there?"

...

The survivors, having composed themselves, all asked similar questions, desperately needing to know what they were facing.

But outside the cars was pitch black, and the moonlight was completely obscured by clouds.

Inside the car, survivors could only see pairs of blood-red eyes, unable to discern the types of creatures.

Not until the hand-held radio on Lin Jun’s waist transmitted the voice of Old Xu yelling, "Lin Jun, how are you guys over there? Over!"

"We’re being attacked by unknown creatures! Can you see what’s attacking us over there? Over!"

"It’s wolves! Mutant wolves are attacking us!" Xu Renjie responded cleanly.

Yet, the noise inside the car was chaotic, especially the crying and howling of He Jing and Fangfang, which made it impossible for Lin Junfu to clearly hear the voice from the microphone.

Old Xu could also sense the chaos in the car, anxiously sweating bullets, shouting into the microphone continuously.

But their aggressive excitability undoubtedly further provoked the wolves outside, causing their attacks to intensify.

Sharp claws scratched the car body, issuing a piercing sound that sent chills down humans’ spines.

Tang Xiaoquan knew that if the situation continued to develop unchecked, the consequences would be unimaginable.

He wasn’t worried about his escort car; after all, it was sturdier than the other three cars in every aspect.

But the bus was different. Although it had been reinforced where necessary, with protective bars added to the windows.

Nonetheless, it was ultimately a welded product, and these additions were originally intended to defend against along-the-way zombie attacks, not a situation like this.

It should be known that if the wolf pack attacks were allowed to continue, those welded protective bars would eventually break due to stress and fall off.

"Hey, Old Lin, Old Lin, can you hear me? Over!"

Old Xu’s yelling continued in his ear, and Tang Xiaoquan, seeing it, tugged his bangs a few times.

Undoubtedly, affected by the chaos, the entire team’s communication had broken down, everyone trapped and unable to move in the vehicles.

The communication problem must be resolved quickly because only then can the team act collectively.

"Damn it! Old Lin, hold the gate, I’m going down to check the situation!"

Old Lin, busy grappling with the communication issue, shivered at Lei Tong’s words, quickly turning around, pointing his finger, and shouting: "Lei Tong! Don’t mess around! The situation is unclear now, if you open the door and let the beasts in, can you bear the responsibility?"

Old Lin was genuinely anxious now, his normally composed nature was already fairly angered by his anxiety.

After stopping Lei Tong, he shifted his gaze towards Wei Yang at the back and continued loudly: "Wei Yang, think of a way to calm down He Jing and Fangfang quickly, otherwise if they continue howling, the beasts will become even crazier!"

Old Lin’s concern, how could Wei Yang not know? She was well aware the current actions of He Jing and Fangfang would lead to dire consequences.

But if mentally unstable patients could be persuaded back to calmness, He Jing’s treatment wouldn’t have involved restraints.

"Hello, this is Li Zhong, hello, this is Li Zhong, everyone please use my Bluetooth chat tool! Please use the Bluetooth chat tool."

Li Zhong’s voice came through the microphone into the ears of everyone across the four cars. Although Old Lin still couldn’t hear it clearly, the appearance of the words "Bluetooth" got him roughly guessing Li Zhong’s intent.

Without delay, he rushed towards the control room.

Luo Baocun saw Old Lin rushing in and quickly asked: "What’s wrong, Officer Lin, are we about to set out?"

Old Lin had no time to bother with Luo Baocun’s inquiry, clearly knowing that without smooth communication, the convoy shouldn’t set off on its own.

He fished out the large screen phone Li Zhong left behind from the car seat, and due to his anxiety, the originally simple boot-up operation took a long time to finally succeed.

After a vexing promotional image, the initial welcome screen finally appeared, Old Lin swiped casually to enter the Samsung UI, then quickly scrolled to the end and found Li Zhong’s customized chat software he had pre-installed.

Upon opening it, it displayed columns named "Car One," "Car Two," "Car Three," "Car Four," and "Convoy."

Without thinking, Old Lin frantically pressed on the "Convoy" column.

Upon entry, he saw a "Car One" nickname followed by a line of text, which revealed the type of creatures the convoy was currently encountering.

Mutant wolves!!

Old Lin felt his heart stop for a moment, no wonder the howl sounded so much like a wolf’s cry, he hadn’t imagined it.

Suppressing his panic, Old Lin quickly worked the phone, poking at the keys trying to confirm with Old Xu further.

But not being very familiar with touchscreen smartphones, Old Lin really wasn’t accustomed to the virtual screen keyboard, and coupled with his anxious mindset, he fiddled around for ages without typing a single word.

It made Old Lin especially frustrated. At this, he turned around, shouting angrily for help from his companions, "Who types fast? Who types fast?"

"I do! I do!" Wen Quanxin replied loudly, holding his bow and arrow up high, he frequently chatted on his phone daily, so he was confident in his typing speed.

But Wen Quanxin didn’t understand the significance of Old Lin’s question.

However, Wen Quanxin’s confusion didn’t last long, because upon learning he could type, Old Lin immediately gestured him over with waving hands. (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome at Qidian.com to vote with recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com for reading.)