novelraw Chapter 166
Chapter 166
Chapter 166
This was indeed an armored cash truck. In C country, armored cash trucks resemble large trucks, with high chassis and spacious interiors. They have collision-resistant truck heads, with the driver’s area connected to the cargo section. The cargo area is a rectangular, double-layer design, allowing the occupants to easily move between the cargo area and the driver’s compartment.
In addition to the two doors on the driver’s left and right sides, the entire vehicle only has a set of double doors at the rear of the cargo area. Inside these doors, there’s an internal security door. Both doors are fireproof, bulletproof, and explosion-proof, making them difficult to break.
As for the windows, aside from the windshield and small windows on the driver’s side door, the vehicle has only one narrow window on each side, which is high and tightly fitted with a metal grille. Not only would it be difficult for a normal adult to pass through, even animals couldn’t squeeze in. Additionally, all the vehicle’s windows are explosion-proof and bulletproof.
With such a vehicle, even if they had to sleep outdoors at night, they wouldn’t need to worry about the blood ghouls. Because before the blood ghoul could break into the vehicle, Yu Xi would have already woken up and had enough time to eliminate them all.
The parking lot was filled with corpses, and the white armored truck was splattered with blood, but the vehicle itself was intact, even the front and rear doors were securely closed.
This vehicle was exactly what Yu Xi needed. However, they had to find the keys. Without the keys, breaking open the door with brute force would render the vehicle’s secure, airtight function useless.
It wasn’t clear whether it was good luck or not, but the group quickly identified the driver’s uniform near the truck and successfully found the keys on the body.
The tragedy in the town seemed to have happened days ago, as all the bodies were in a state of decomposition. Even with masks on, the nauseating stench of decay was overwhelming.
Min Min’s mother was eager to get in the vehicle and drive away, but Min Min stopped her: “Mom, don’t rush, something feels off.”
Choc : ce que l'on voit sur la caméra placée dans le cercueil est incroyable
Suite
“Sis, what did you find?” Min Cong asked, also holding onto Fang Lei.
Min Min gestured toward Yu Xi, who, at some point, had taken out a military knife. She signaled for them to step back and cautiously opened the rear doors of the vehicle with the keys they had found. As the internal door unlocked, she quickly stepped back.
A bloodied face appeared from the dim light in the cargo area. Upon seeing the people outside, the infected person became excited, howling from within the vehicle. But compared to the previous infected, its voice seemed much weaker. It was unclear whether it was because it had been trapped inside the armored truck for days without food, making it appear weak.
It was known that the blood ghouls consume everything human—food and people alike—like starving beasts, eating anything digestible. However, they weren’t gluttonous; they preferred torturing and killing rather than just biting.
This infected individual still wore the cash truck driver’s uniform, suggesting it had mutated inside the truck. There were no bags of cash inside the vehicle, but behind it, there was a body. It seemed that both people had been in the truck during the incident, and when one mutated, it killed the other.
Yu Xi observed and confirmed that there was only one blood ghoul. She stepped forward, took advantage of its fear of sunlight, and shot a hole through its forehead.
Min Cong sighed with relief and asked how Yu Xi knew there was a blood ghoul inside.
Yu Xi naturally heard it, but she could also infer from a few details.
For example, the cash truck was intact, and the driver had the keys. How could the driver not have managed to get in the vehicle and died nearby?
Even if the driver died, the bank employees could identify him by his clothes. Why wouldn’t they check for the keys during their escape to drive the vehicle away?
This suggested that others couldn’t enter the vehicle, not because they couldn’t, but because they didn’t want to. After all, the vehicle was contaminated with the blood ghoul, and ordinary people didn’t know that simple blood contact didn’t cause infection. They feared the blood ghoul’s blood too much to willingly get into a contaminated vehicle.
In any case, they were lucky this time. After cleaning and disinfecting the vehicle inside and out, their future journeys would be much safer.
She took several bottles of disinfectant from her backpack and handed them to Fang Lei, Min Min’s mother, and Min Cong to clean. She planned to take Min Min inside the bank. 𝖗åℕȫ𝐁ĚⱾ
As for “Yu Zhengqing,” everyone knew he was a critically ill patient, so there was nothing for him to do.
He wanted to follow Yu Xi into the bank, but she refused: “Stay outside and keep watch.”
At the same time, she spoke to him in her mind: “Check if the bank still has working backup power for the security cameras. If so, disconnect them all. I know you can do this outside too, so don’t follow me in.”
He looked at her. Though he didn’t show much expression, she could tell he was slightly unhappy.
Yu Xi thought for a moment, took out a box of orange juice from her backpack, and said again: “Keep watch and drink the orange juice.”
“…” He seemed somewhat speechless, pausing for two seconds before accepting the juice.
When Yu Xi and Min Min reached the bank entrance, she heard the system’s voice in her mind.
【All set.】
Yu Xi: “Thank you.”
【…】
She smiled and attached a silencer to Min Min’s handgun, instructing her on how to hold the gun safely while walking and repeating the firing method.
Then, she took out her own silenced gun and walked in front of Min Min.
It is now known that the blood ghouls in this hot spring town had left for some unknown reason, though there could still be some stragglers, like the one in the armored cash truck, which was left behind because it got trapped in a certain place.
The bank wasn’t large, but it had many winding corners, and there could be such stragglers hidden inside. Before carrying out her plan, Yu Xi decided to practice with Min Min and scout the interior first.
As expected, inside the bank counter, one of the leftover infected was lying on the glass counter. Upon seeing their appearance, it revealed an excited grin.
It continuously clawed at the glass in front of it, even using everything it could reach to bang on the glass, but to no avail.
The bank wasn’t big, and the counter area was small, but the security measures were excellent. There was an iron gate at the entrance of the counter, and although the wooden door inside had been damaged by the infected, the iron gate kept it from getting out.
This was a good opportunity for practice. After confirming that the other areas were safe and clean, Yu Xi left this infected for Min Min.
Min Min raised her gun, aiming at the infected that had thrown itself against the gate. Looking at its blood-red, terrifying face, her trembling finger just couldn’t pull the trigger.
She looked at Yu Xi, who was calmly watching her, seemingly waiting for her to make the decision. Even if Min Min couldn’t bring herself to do it, Yu Xi wouldn’t force her.
But Min Min knew that if she couldn’t do it this time, she might lose something with Yu Xi.
What would she lose? She couldn’t quite explain, maybe it was trust, or maybe the opportunity to truly become Yu Xi’s companion… it was just a feeling.
Min Min bit her lip. Yes, she had told Yu Xi yesterday that she was willing to learn anything, to do anything, but now…
She calmed herself down and looked at the bloodied face in front of her again. She hadn’t seen her father fully turn into a blood ghoul, nor did she know if she would have the courage to end his life with her own hands. But she knew that if she became infected, she would never want to continue living in such a monstrous form.
She would personally end it.
Min Min raised her hand again. Her finger still trembled, so she used both hands to steady the gun. She aimed at the space between the blood ghoul’s eyes and pulled the trigger with force.
The suppressed pistol made almost no sound as the bullet shot out. The infected, frozen against the gate for a few seconds, finally fell to the ground.
“That was decent for your first time. Keep it up.” Yu Xi walked over and, through her protective suit, ruffled Min Min’s head, then reminded her to make sure the safety was on.
Afterward, Yu Xi used force to open the iron gate and led Min Min into the counter area. There was only this one blood ghoul inside, and since there were no humans for it to torment, the blood spillage was minimal.
Yu Xi opened the counter drawers one by one and stuffed all the cash inside a carry-on bag.
“There should be a lot more in the vault at the back,” Min Min said, not asking why she was taking the money, but just reminding her. Since the armored cash truck outside was empty, it meant the money had yet to be transported.
“I’ll check, but we can’t take the serial-numbered bills,” Yu Xi said, moving quickly as she stuffed all the non-sequential old bills into the bag.
Min Min realized, “So you came to the counter first.”
After collecting the money from the counter, the carry-on bag was half full.
Yu Xi went to the back, not avoiding Min Min, and directly took out a bottle of 【High-Temperature Perfume】 from her backpack (Star House warehouse). She used it to melt the vault door lock and, after opening a small gap, cautiously stepped back.
Fortunately, there were no blood ghoul inside.
Min Min didn’t ask about the flame Yu Xi used to open the door; she had already internally accepted Yu Xi’s differences and realized that being curious wouldn’t help her family. She simply focused on doing what she could.
The two of them worked together, using the paper money bags to pack all the non-sequential old bills. Though the bank was small, the organized old bills still amounted to quite a bit. They ended up packing six large bags and two small ones.
Min Min looked at the bags on the floor, picked up a small one, and said she would go outside first, leaving the rest for Yu Xi to carry.
Yu Xi looked at her back and couldn’t help but smile.
This girl was not only smart but also knew how to leave room for herself.
After smiling, Yu Xi packed the remaining seven bags, including the travel bag, into the Star House warehouse, then walked out of the bank with empty hands.
The other three were unaware of what had happened. When they saw the bag full of money, they were all overjoyed and praised them for being clever.
Indeed, in the fallen zones, money might just be useless paper, but in non-fallen zones, for survivors like them who had nothing, starting over would be difficult. Having money would at least help secure basic needs.
The armored cash truck was cleaned, and the next step was external camouflage and internal arrangements.
Though the town was small, it had all the necessary shops. They found paint in a hardware store and, from a nearby furniture and camping shop, gathered some uncontaminated furniture: soft mats, fixed tables and chairs, small sofas, portable stoves, and several foldable military beds, as well as hanging curtains.
The six of them worked together, and within two hours, they had completed all the tasks.
The exterior of the white armored cash truck had been repainted in green, yellow, and black camouflage, making it more suitable for outdoor use and less conspicuous as a target.
The floor inside the truck was stained from the bodies that had lain there, and the corpses were severely decomposed. Although it had been cleaned and disinfected, everyone still felt uneasy about it.
Min Min’s mother had originally wanted to find a carpet, but they ended up finding a thicker, spliced soft mat, which was obviously a better choice.
Once the black and white mats were laid together, the inside of the armored cash truck felt different.
Then, a curtain was hung to divide the truck into two sections, separating the inside from the outside. During the day, the curtain would be lifted, and at night, it would be lowered, effectively creating two sleeping areas, with a separation between the men and women.
Next, the sofa, tables, chairs, military cots, and the toolbox containing portable stoves were brought in.
There wasn’t much, and most of it was lightweight, but they had still managed to create a relatively comfortable resting area within the limited conditions.
The driver’s area of the truck could seat three people, while the remaining three would sit on the sofa in the cargo area.
Afterward, they went to the supermarket and gas station in the town, filled up the gas tank, and took several portable gas canisters. They also took a few boxes of clean bottled water, instant noodles, canned food, dehydrated vegetables, and a set of clothes for each person, especially long sleeves.
Their protective suits were limited, and once they ran out, they would have to rely on long sleeves and pants for protection.
Though the armored cash truck was large, they couldn’t fit all the uncontaminated food from the supermarket. While it was unfortunate, what they managed to take was enough for their journey, so they didn’t feel particularly regretful.
What they didn’t know was that after loading the supplies, Yu Xi stayed behind for a minute or two, filling up the fuel tank and taking all the clean food, clothes, and daily supplies that hadn’t made it onto the truck.
**
At 2 PM, the six of them finished their work and were ready to leave the hot spring town.
They drove two vehicles to the edge of the town, planning to leave the military truck there. It was a more visible location, so if any passersby came through, they would easily spot the military truck.
Just then, gunshots came from the mountains behind the town. The sound was barely audible to ordinary people, as all the firearms were clearly equipped with silencers.
Yu Xi squinted slightly. If it were the military, they wouldn’t be using silencers on their weapons. Also, with the sun so strong during the day, the infected wouldn’t be coming out. The person firing the gun was likely targeting non-infected individuals—humans.
A human conflict?
But the gunshots came from the mountain behind the town, and with the situation in this town being so strange, all the infected having disappeared, and combining the clues, it made the whole thing seem rather intriguing.
The man in the driver’s seat saw her open the armored cash truck door and not get in. He asked, “Do you want to go investigate?”
Yu Xi shook her head. “Something’s off, but there are only six of us. Going over rashly would be foolish.”
“What’s wrong?” Fang Lei and Min Min’s mother were in the back of the truck, setting up a portable stove, preparing to cook noodles for everyone. Just as the water was poured into the pot, they heard Yu Xi’s words.
“There’s some activity in the mountains behind the town. It might be related to the disappearance of the blood ghouls here.” As Yu Xi finished speaking, she saw a civilian helicopter slowly rise from the back of the mountain.
She quickly jumped back into the military truck and drove it under the shade of a large tree, while the armored cash truck also took cover under the shade.
They waited until the helicopter left the area, then Yu Xi got back into the armored truck and told them about the infected person found in the research team’s RV from the Pian Mountain convoy.
“So, the Pian Mountain management is conducting experiments on the blood ghouls! And this blood ghoul is likely an intelligent one! My god, they’re so bold! And now they’ve let this blood ghoul escape…” Fang Lei, having survived an attack by an intelligent blood ghoul before, knew how dangerous such a blood ghoul could be.
“The situation in the fallen zone is bad. There are rumors online that several non-fallen cities are building high protective walls.” Yu Xi laid out the whole situation. “These walls can protect, but they can also imprison…”
“You mean—” Everyone understood immediately.
“It’s just a guess, but we don’t know if the situation in this town is related to the authorities. If it isn’t, it’s best to resolve it quickly. If it is, then we’ll need to leave the fallen zone even faster…”
Fang Lei paused for a moment before speaking again, “Speaking of experiments, I don’t know if you noticed, but yesterday, that gigantic physical-type blood ghoul—after its body was breached, we saw that its limbs were wrapped inside flesh and blood… From a medical and scientific standpoint, that doesn’t look like a normal evolution of the blood ghoul…”
Everyone understood, but at the same time, Min Min’s family was also shocked.
They had witnessed the destructive power of the blood-red monsters up close. If such a monster was a product of an experiment…
Ouvert
“Stop guessing. Let’s contact the military base shelter. We’ll have an answer soon.” As everyone was silent, someone spoke up slowly.
They turned around to see it was “Yu Zhengqing.”
Yu Xi nodded.
There were only two possible answers. If the situation in the town and the mountain behind it wasn’t related to the authorities, then the authorities would likely come to investigate once they were informed. If it was related to the authorities, they might silence the informant.