Chapter Forty-Two: Heavy Losses

The furious roar of R3 rang out, and Xie Han, sprinting desperately, dared not even glance back. Yet he could feel the angered R3 relentlessly pursuing him. Xie Han was well aware of R3’s speed; even with his Level Two gene strength, outrunning R3 was impossible. However, unexpectedly, although R3 was giving chase, it failed to catch up this time.

Ahead, Chen Liu’s King Hummer shot out from around a corner, unmistakably driven by Chen Liu himself. Upon spotting Xie Han running for his life, Chen Liu quickly spun the vehicle around and shouted, “Kid, hurry up!” The fact that Chen Liu dared to come back for him in the face of such terror moved Xie Han. Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself harder, and when he was parallel to the King Hummer, he grabbed the frame and leapt into the car.

Chen Liu stomped on the accelerator, and the King Hummer surged forward with powerful torque, its speed climbing instantly. Once the car hit eighty kilometers per hour, R3 simply couldn’t keep up. Watching the King Hummer recede into the distance, R3 had no choice but to unleash a series of enraged roars.

Xie Han had glanced back several times at R3 upon boarding the King Hummer, puzzled as to why R3 wasn’t able to catch up. He noticed that R3’s left forelimb, which he had previously shot, had been hit again in the same spot by his last bullet, a high-explosive round. The impact of hitting the same location twice, even for a creature as formidable as R3, blew away half of its forelimb. With one limb maimed, R3’s speed was severely compromised—it could barely run.

“Phew…” Even Xie Han had to admit his stroke of luck. An accidental shot had struck the exact same spot; otherwise, considering the damage he could inflict and R3’s ferocity, he would never have had a chance to escape.

The King Hummer soon caught up with the tail end of the convoy ahead. In the few minutes since, the convoy had already left the city limits. Yet Xie Han could still see, back in the city square, the ten cars that had guarded the entrance now reduced to piles of scrap metal, with the occasional mangled limb visible among them. Scattered all around were countless zombie corpses, silent testament to the brutal battle that had occurred just before Xie Han’s arrival.

Unable to make sense of the scene, Xie Han asked, “What happened here?” Chen Liu could only offer a bitter smile and shake his head. “Actually, it happened at the same time as our attack. The square was flooded with zombies, but that wasn’t the worst of it. Among them were two R2s…” He stopped there; the carnage in the square spoke for itself, needing no further explanation.

“Did the convoy ahead kill the R2s?” The convoy’s smart systems were in chaos, communications disrupted, so information was scarce—especially since Xie Han had only just rejoined the group.

Chen Liu nodded. “Once the R2s appeared, the team guarding the square managed to kill one. But there were too many zombies and they ran out of ammunition, so the second R2 broke through. The last one was taken down by the crew on the heavy roadbreaker.”

Xie Han nodded in understanding. Chen Liu now noticed blood on Xie Han’s neck, his expression immediately changing. “Your neck…” Xie Han knew why Chen Liu was alarmed. He dared not admit it was from R3’s claw swipe. “I just scraped it on a sharp edge in the car. It’s only a minor cut.” His explanation put Chen Liu at ease. He exhaled deeply. “Good. Damn it, this stuff isn’t a joke. Even the smallest scratch means you’ll turn into a zombie.”

Chen Liu had seen it too many times—teammates or subordinates cut by zombies, forced to be shot before they fully turned. Pulling the trigger wasn’t just about mercy, but confusion, pain, and sorrow.

Chen Liu was confident Xie Han wasn’t lying. Zombie wounds usually bled dark red at first, then black as the transformation neared. The blood oozing from Xie Han’s neck was bright red, reassuring Chen Liu.

Xu Qiang and the others soon learned of Xie Han’s return. The convoy was now speeding back to base, unable to stop. Compared to their earlier optimism, the mood was now somber. Success had come at a heavy price—half their manpower lost. Though this meant more food for each survivor, no one could feel glad. The dead would never return, and food would eventually run out. Without enough people, where would new food come from?

The return journey was slightly faster. Zombies still lined both sides of the highway, but unlike before, everyone now used their remaining ammunition freely, venting their fury on the undead.

After forty minutes, the base’s electrified fence appeared on the horizon, followed by its towering walls. The entire hunt had taken only four hours, and it was now midday. If luck held, after the six-hour quarantine, they could enjoy a hot shower and a delicious dinner.

The losses were tallied ten minutes after their return. They had left with one hundred twenty-seven vehicles; only sixty-one made it back. The Dongfeng Menglong heavy trucks were all intact. This meant the sixty-one vehicles would divide nearly eighty tons of premium flour. News of this sparked cheers—the morning's gloom was forgotten, and everyone began calculating their share.

Because of the wound on Xie Han’s neck, despite his explanation, he was placed in a special quarantine room. Made of reinforced steel and wrapped in half a meter of concrete, it was topped with an infantry cannon and a heavy machine gun. Should Xie Han show any sign of mutation, he would be obliterated instantly.

Lying on the iron bed inside, Xie Han summoned Zhou Ruomeng and asked, “Will the wound on my neck get infected?” Zhou Ruomeng was immediately anxious at the news. Xie Han’s gene strength gave him strong resistance to the XR virus, but it didn’t guarantee immunity. She closed her eyes, and Xie Han felt his wristwatch pulse as if electrified, a numbing sensation spreading throughout his body. Alarmed, he shouted, “What are you doing?”

Zhou Ruomeng didn’t answer; the numbness quickly faded, and her expression grew serious. “I just ran a full-body scan. You do have the XR virus in your system. That means you are infected.” Upon hearing this, Xie Han felt all his strength drain away, oblivious to Zhou Ruomeng’s sly glance.

“But…” Seeing his reaction, Zhou Ruomeng dragged out her words. “But the virus content is only about two percent. With your gene level, you don’t need to fear such a small amount. It should be cleared in three hours.”

Xie Han felt as if he’d traveled from hell to heaven in moments. He glared at the flamboyant Zhou Ruomeng, furious. “Do you realize you nearly scared me to death?” But seeing her shift from radiant to pitiful, he calmed and said, “I never imagined R3 was so formidable—a mere brush of its claws, and the virus infects you. My gene strength can handle it, but for ordinary people, it’s a death sentence.”

Zhou Ruomeng fell silent for a moment before replying, “I never expected you to be so lucky, to encounter an R3. In fact, you were extremely fortunate—this R3 wasn’t very destructive. Otherwise, not a single vehicle would have escaped Wangtian City alive.”

Xie Han was stunned. “Are there different types of R3s?”