Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Escaping the Bridge
"Are you okay?" Liushi asks, turning to the girls.
"We're fine. Thank you so much for helping us." The girl replied, trying to calm her heart.
"Do... do we know each other?" the girl asked, looking more closely at the driver's face.
"I didn't expect to run into you again, Miss. The world really is small, Miss Xiaotian." Jiang laughed. This girl was the receptionist at the car rental company, Wen Xiaotian.
Hearing this, the girl widened her eyes. "Mr. Jiang?!"
"Xiaotian, do you know each other?" The other girl asked, curious about the interaction.
"He was one of the customers who passed by the car rental where I worked." Xiaotian quickly explained.
Normally, it would be hard to remember someone you only saw once. But Liushi's demeanor that day was very commanding, leaving a mark in Xiaotian's memory.
"Thank you for remembering me," she said happily. After all, Liushi did something many people wouldn't do in a moment like this. Much less under these circumstances and for someone he had only interacted with once.
"It's nothing. I have a good memory," Liushi laughed.
"Oh my God!" the other girl exclaimed in surprise, looking around inside the AMF. "Is this a luxury motorhome?" The exquisite decor of this vehicle was comparable to a five-star hotel.
"No, it's the vehicle that Miss Wen rented for me. I just made some modifications." Liushi replied.
While Wen Xiaotian was equally surprised, several loud bangs could be heard, shaking the structure of the microbus. Looking at the window, the girls felt terror.
There were many zombies outside the door, and even more were coming. Although they were away from the window, they could only imagine the terrifying number of zombies outside. They had completely blocked the door, with bloody palms and horrible faces everywhere.
"The zombies are surrounding the microbus! Mr. Jiang, please drive," Xiaotian said anxiously, looking toward the driver's cabin and again surprised, as the cabin looked totally different than before. But this was not the time for that.
"There are many zombies in the way and the truck has blocked much of the bridge," Liushi said, with a tired sigh.
Wen Xiaotian felt guilty and apologized: "Mr. Jiang, I'm sorry. If you hadn't stopped to save us..."
"Don't worry. Sit down and hold on to something, the microbus is going to shake a bit," he said, turning back to the driver's panel.
The girls quickly sat down, following Liushi's instructions. "Lili, grab the handrail quickly!" Wen Xiaotian told the other girl.
Holding the steering wheel, Liushi called in his mind. 'Star! Calculate the best escape route.'
[Plotting escape route.] The voice of the Starseed resonated in his mind, while lines of motion appeared in his vision, locking in the best path.
Without hesitation, Liushi pressed one of the buttons on the driver's panel. [Activating defense mode!]
Then, protective bars began to emerge around the AMF. A ramp-shaped bumper emerged from beneath the microbus and positioned itself in front of the engine.
As the transformation of the AMF was completed, zombies covered the microbus like ants on a carcass.
Inside the microbus, the girls held hands while breaking out in a cold sweat. Watching as the zombies blocked the sunlight entering through the windows with their bodies, trying to break the glass.
Outside, the zombies piled up more and more, turning into a kind of mound made of bodies.
Then, a thunderous roar resounded, filling the bridge with its sound. Soon after, the explosion from the exhaust marked the escape of the AMF from the crowd of zombies.
The microbus burst out from the crowd of zombies like a runaway bull, flinging zombies flying in all directions. The AMF accelerated towards the cars blocking the lane, running over zombies along the way, leaving a trail of blood.
As the AMF was a few meters away from the cars blocking the bridge, the voice of the Starseed sounded.
[Air cannon charged!]
Following the Starseed's warning, a black barrel emerged abruptly in front of the AMF. Jiang, with a determined look, stretched out his hand and pressed a red button embedded in the steering wheel. Instantly, a powerful jet of air exploded from the barrel, creating a shock wave that propagated violently.
The impact was so intense that the vehicles blocking the bridge were flung to the sides as if they were plastic toys, leaving a now clear, though destroyed path. The explosion resonated in the air, a deep sound echoing through the structure of the bridge.
Inside the microbus, the terrified girls let out muffled screams. They clung to each other, feeling every vibration of the
explosion that shook the vehicle's chassis. They watched with wide eyes as flames danced outside.
Under Jiang's firm control, the AMF advanced through the newly opened path, passing between flames licking its sides. The heat was intense, and the smell of burned metal invaded the interior of the vehicle.
After a few tense moments, which seemed to last an eternity for the passengers, the microbus finally emerged on the other side of the bridge. Completely intact, despite the dirt, soot, and small debris covering its metallic carcass. The silence that followed was almost surreal, a stark contrast to the pandemonium they had just traversed.
Taking a deep breath and calming his slightly accelerated heart, Jiang looked through the rearview mirror, seeing that they had left the chaos of the bridge behind.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone