Chapter 283: Return to the Pigsty (Part 2)

She didn’t have time to compose herself. She whipped her head around to see Lin Fan standing shirtless in the sunlight, poised to go out alone. “No!” she cried out. “We’re going with you! That factory still has…”

Hearing the commotion in the rear cabin, Cheng Qi quickly squeezed over. Seeing Lin Fan about to leave shirtless, he didn’t hesitate to start shrugging off his own combat fatigues. “Brother Lin, wear mine!”

“Why would you go? The armored vehicle is too loud. I’ll go alone, travel light, and see how it is. If it’s no good, I’ll come back to regroup with you. Don’t get in the way.”

Lin Fan braced himself on the edge of the hatch with one hand, looking back and down at the two of them. He first spoke to calm Ye Qingniao, then reached out a hand to stop Cheng Qi from stripping off his clothes.

“You, stop that! Don’t go and catch a cold; then we’d have to find medicine. I’m fine, and I’m not cold. I wouldn’t get hurt even if it were raining knives. I’ll just find some clothes on the way… I’m off.”

Without waiting for them to voice their opinions, he climbed directly onto the vehicle’s roof. Still uneasy, he turned back to add a few instructions.

“If you rendezvous with them, keep our people in check. Make damn sure they don’t come and cause trouble for me… And keep the hard drive in the briefcase safe. Don’t let it get banged up; it might contain useful information.”

With that, he climbed out.

CLANG!

As the hatch slammed shut, the sliver of sunlight inside the cabin vanished.

Cheng Qi was still frozen mid-motion, tugging at his clothes. He stared at the tightly sealed hatch, finally letting out a helpless sigh. He dropped his hands and scratched his head. “Brother Lin is such a whirlwind.”

He turned his head to look at Ye Qingniao in the back. Just a moment ago, she had been clamoring to go along. Now, she was wearing a black T-shirt that was clearly two sizes too large, clutching a tracksuit, and staring blankly in the direction of the hatch.

“Stop staring. It’s like your soul ran off with him,” Cheng Qi couldn’t resist quipping. Then, his expression grew serious. “Cyan Bird, what’s the plan?”

Ye Qingniao snapped out of it and took a deep breath, her eyes regaining their focus. She pulled the oversized shirt tighter around herself, as if drawing some kind of strength from it.

“Let’s get to work.”

Without further hesitation, she moved like a cat, deftly slipping into the passenger seat of the cabin. She extended a finger and pressed it to the base of the vehicle’s ignition knob.

BZZT—

A soft crackle of electricity echoed. Tiny but dazzling arcs of blue-white lightning danced and coiled around her fingertip. Then, like living snakes, they slithered down the knob and into the cracks of the dashboard, instantly reaching the starter motor in the chassis.

Forcibly stimulated by the Superpower’s current, the dormant starter motor instantly roared to life. A rapid CHUG-CHUG-CHUG echoed as the steel behemoth beneath them began to shudder violently.

RUMBLE—

Immediately after, the starter awakened the slumbering, high-horsepower Diesel engine. A low roar filled the air as the vehicle’s frame began to pulse with a steady rhythm.

Even though none of the dashboard indicators or displays would light up, Cheng Qi could tell just from the sound that the steel behemoth had instantly reached its optimal operating condition.

“We’ll do what he said.”

After jump-starting the armored vehicle like a human battery, Ye Qingniao settled back calmly into the passenger seat. She leaned back, gazing out through the bulletproof glass.

“Start driving. According to plan, we head west to search for the main force.”

“You got it!” Cheng Qi got back into the driver’s seat and stomped on the accelerator. The armored vehicle let out a low growl as its eight massive off-road tires crushed the corpses on the ground. It maneuvered around the barricade, pulled onto the main road, and began driving slowly westward.

…

WHOOSH—!

A shadowy afterimage blurred across the deserted streets. The cold, damp wind from the recent downpour whipped against Lin Fan’s bare torso.

An ordinary person would have been shivering uncontrollably, but Lin Fan found it invigorating. His powerful physique made him a walking furnace. The cold wind on his skin was like cool water splashed against an operating reactor, carrying away the heat from his exertion and clearing his mind.

Just as before, Lin Fan avoided the main road, instead leaping between the roofs of abandoned vehicles, lampposts, and factory buildings. He savored the thrill of having such complete control over his body.

Every muscle in his body sang with power, and each push-off from the ground unleashed an incredible force. The zombies wandering by the roadside would often feel nothing more than a gust of wind before their Life Value was instantly zeroed out, turning them into pieces of scrap metal or cans of meat in Lin Fan’s inventory.

‘This is still a little awkward.’

Lin Fan glanced down at his “Shirtless Wonder” getup. While nobody in this post-apocalyptic world cared if he wore clothes, having foul blood splatter directly onto his skin was still uncomfortable.

So, he ducked into a random work-safety supply store and, after some rummaging, changed his entire outfit.

‘Now this feels much more secure.’

Lin Fan rolled his shoulders inside the thick, durable nylon work uniform. Confirming it didn’t restrict his movement, he burst out of the store again.

…

Navigating by feel, Lin Fan arrived back on the roof of the meat processing plant a few minutes later.

He trod lightly on the corrugated steel roof, doing his best to remain silent as he cautiously approached the edge and peered down.

In the aftermath of the rain, the meat processing plant was eerily silent. The massive iron gates that had been torn from their hinges lay crookedly on the ground. Though the rain had diluted the filthy blood covering the ground, the nauseating stench of gore and the rank musk of beasts were still pungent, even from a distance.

The once-orderly parking lot was now a total wreck. Several hog transport trucks were smashed and overturned, while a few smaller delivery vans had been crushed completely flat. Fuel had spilled everywhere but hadn’t caught fire.