Zombie Train

The train continued toward Birmingham, and after confirming they were far enough from the center of Crew, Lambert finally brought the train to a stop.

"I need to get down and disconnect the front carriages," Lambert said.

"We could ditch a few more from the back," Shao Ming suggested. "We only need one or two carriages left."

The three of them jumped off the train, and the sight outside made them gasp in shock.

What was once a blue train was now stained red halfway down, and the front had several dents. Some of the wheels even had what looked like human tissue caught in them.

The air was thick with the unmistakable, nauseating stench of blood—something the cabin's sealed atmosphere had kept from them until now. The smell was so intense it sent chills down their spines.

Feng Yusheng covered her face and turned away, unwilling to look.

Lambert held back the urge to vomit and walked to the front of the train to start disconnecting the carriages.

"We… should move ahead and take a look," Shao Ming said.

The area around the couplings was covered in blood, and it was hard to tell what exactly had been caught in the mess—whether it was human remains or something else.

Lambert's face tightened as he struggled to keep his composure, and after a moment, he nodded and unlatched the coupling.

Shao Ming quickly pulled Feng Yusheng away from the train and led her forward. The sight of the previous carriage made them both nauseous, so they turned their heads and moved as quickly as they could.

They walked nearly five hundred meters before the overpowering smell of blood began to dissipate from their noses.

"Feel better?" Shao Ming asked.

"Maybe a little," Feng Yusheng replied with a bitter smile.

If it weren't for the fact that they had been exposed to such horrific scenes every day, they would probably have spent hours vomiting just from the smell.

"I wonder how things are back home…" Feng Yusheng murmured.

"Things should be fine, right?"

Shao Ming wasn't sure either. It had been days since they had contacted anyone back home. The phone had no signal, and they had no idea what was going on in their countries.

"It'll be fine. We'll be home soon," Shao Ming said, unsure if he was trying to comfort Feng Yusheng or himself. "At the rate we're going, we'll be home within six months."

"Six months…" Feng Yusheng murmured to herself.

"As long as we keep moving forward, we'll eventually get home," Shao Ming added. "Let's go check ahead. The gun shop I saw on the map should be close by."

The two of them continued forward, and not long after, a row of small buildings appeared to their right, just off the tracks.

Shao Ming pulled Feng Yusheng into the nearby bushes to hide and began to approach the buildings carefully.

The area didn't look completely safe—several mutants were scattered around. But fortunately, the area was fairly isolated. It appeared to be a small rest area by the side of the road, far from any towns. So even if they alerted a few mutants, the number they would have to face wouldn't be overwhelming.

Besides the gun store, they could also see a convenience store, a gas station, and a motel. The convenience store, gas station, and gun shop were all easily observable, while the motel seemed more like a place to avoid.

"You stay here and keep watch. I'll sneak over and take a look," Shao Ming said.

He pulled out his pistol and, using the cover of the embankment, carefully approached the shop.

After taking a glance at Feng Yusheng, who shook her head to indicate no mutants were nearby, Shao Ming peeked around the corner. The gun store was on the left, and he could move a little further along the embankment.

Moving cautiously on all fours, Shao Ming made his way along the dirt embankment. The sound of dirt scraping down toward the tracks could be heard with each step.

Finally, he reached the top of the embankment, which led into a parking lot. One mutant was standing behind a jeep but hadn't noticed him yet.

Shao Ming quietly approached the jeep, pulling out a small knife.

He tapped the jeep door, and sure enough, the mutant stirred, turning toward the noise. It began walking toward the jeep.

Seeing the mutant, Shao Ming didn't hesitate. He leaped up, stabbing the mutant in the jaw.

Over time, Shao Ming had perfected the skill of swiftly taking down unguarded mutants with a single strike.

He carefully lowered the mutant's body to the ground.

After confirming that there were no other mutants around, Shao Ming waved to Feng Yusheng below, signaling her to join him.

When she caught up, the two of them made their way to the back door of the gun shop. The door was slightly ajar, making it hard to see inside.

Shao Ming held a flashlight in one hand and carefully pushed open the door with his pistol in the other. They moved cautiously into the store.

From the other side of the room, they heard a noise. Shao Ming quickly motioned for Feng Yusheng to enter first while he stood back, aiming his gun at the door.

Just as they swapped positions, the door flew open, and a mutant—likely the shop owner—lunged out.

Shao Ming jumped back in surprise, and his gun slipped from his hand.

With his right hand injured, Shao Ming had no choice but to use his left hand to grab the mutant's neck, struggling to keep the creature in place while his right hand fumbled for any available weapon.

The mutant's mouth opened, releasing a screech.

"Watch out!" Feng Yusheng shouted.

At that moment, she swung an iron rod overhead, slamming it down onto the mutant. The shopkeeper mutant turned toward her in fury, giving Shao Ming the chance to break free.

He quickly scrambled to the floor and grabbed his gun.

Feng Yusheng, already backed into the narrow hallway, couldn't defend herself with the rod in time, as the mutant was already charging at her.

"Shao Ming!" she yelled.

"Duck!" Shao Ming shouted.

He pulled the trigger. The bullet flew through the air, hitting the shopkeeper mutant in the back of the head.

Before they could even savor the moment of relief, more mutant noises could be heard from outside the store.

The front of the shop faced the street, where walls lined with an array of guns could be seen. Despite the store being small, there were nearly a hundred firearms within.

Shao Ming quickly moved behind the counter and shot a mutant charging through the front door.

After that, the battle felt less like a fight and more like target practice. The mutants, coming from only one entrance, lined up perfectly for Shao Ming to pick off one by one.

It wasn't until he emptied every magazine of his pistol that he stopped.

Outside and inside the shop, at least a dozen mutants lay dead on the ground. With no more mutants coming, Shao Ming lowered his gun.

The constant firing had reopened his wound on his palm, and blood began to seep through the bandages.

But none of that mattered now. The real treasure lay on the walls and in the cabinets—dozens of weapons, as though they were gifts from the heavens.

Perhaps the shop's isolated location, or maybe the surrounding residents had been trapped and sealed off, but whatever the reason, there were still plenty of guns left in the store.

The majority of the guns on the walls were shotguns. There were many .22-caliber hunting rifles and several semi-automatic shotguns as well.

Shao Ming didn't bother being picky. He grabbed everything he could—guns, ammo, whatever was available.

However, it seemed like they didn't have any 9mm P320 rounds here. It made him realize that the gun in his hand might not be from a regular source, probably smuggled in from some back channel.