Chapter 3: The Long Slope (Part 1)

"My name is Stone." To avoid any confusion, Stone thought it was better to make things clear.

"I'm Lin Wu." The co-driver Lin Wu turned to nod politely to the two in the back seat.

The short-haired girl gestured with two fingers to her forehead and said, "Little Knife. Hey, what's your name?"

The long-haired girl covered the top of her skull, wincing in pain as she replied, "Daiyu."

Lin Wu had many questions today, asking, "Isn't she your friend? Why don't you know her name?"

Little Knife answered, "You and Stone are now my friends too. If you don't tell me, I wouldn't know your names either."

Lin Wu accepted that answer, asking, "Your tag personality must be the Protector type."

Little Knife asked in surprise, "How do you know? When did you sneak a peek at my tag?"

Protector personality: Strong sense of territory, courage to face everything, strong desire to protect, and easily trusts others.

Before Lin Wu could answer, Daiyu spoke up, "Infection level has risen to 5%." Her tone was calm but seemed to carry a hidden longing for everyone's concern.

Stone had studied the game manual and, while driving, said, "After being infected by the zombie virus, you must enter the medical room to recuperate. During that time, you won't only prevent the infection level from rising, but you can also lower the infection level until fully recovered. Below 50% infection level, it rises by 1% every three minutes. Above 50% infection level, it rises by 1% every minute."

Little Knife was optimistic, saying, "Three hours, then there's no problem."

Stone said, "Little sister, it's not that there's no problem, but that there's a big problem. The biggest issue is the medical room."

Apparently, Little Knife hadn't invested in Intelligence attributes and asked, "Medical room?"

As Stone pulled the handbrake to slow down, he said, "Hospitals and clinics aren't safe, and with our shabby equipment, it's impossible to protect Daiyu from being attacked for a long time. So there's only one solution, establishing the Survivor's Base, building a medical room."

The inquisitive baby Lin Wu asked, "Stone, how come you know so much?"

"Game manual," Stone explained. "I chose Intelligence as my main attribute, which increases reading speed. It took me just one minute to finish reading the game manual."

Lin Wu asked in amazement, "Main attribute, Intelligence?" The brain and body are different; while adding Agility can improve physical flexibility, increasing Intelligence doesn't improve IQ.

Stone countered, "Don't you think that in an apocalypse, the brain is more important than the body?"

Little Knife disagreed, "I believe that Strength and Will are the most important. A strong body combined with a strong spirit is the ultimate key to survival in the apocalypse."

Both turned to look at Lin Wu, hoping that he would support their views, to which Lin Wu said weakly, "Having a retreat ensures that one has a place to survive, escapism is the best strategy when all plans fail."

Little Knife asked, "Suppose your friend is knocked down by zombies, would you run away alone?"

Lin Wu said, "If Little Knife you were knocked down, and knowing that I haven't invested in Strength attributes to carry you away from the horde, what would you do?"

Little Knife immediately answered, "I would tell you to run for your life."

Lin Wu nodded, "I would listen to you."

What was wrong with this picture? Little Knife scratched her short hair, not quite understanding at the moment. Daiyu said, "6%." There was a tone of urgency in her voice, as if to remind everyone to pay attention to her infection.

Stone glanced at Daiyu in the rearview mirror and said, "We still have three hours. We can reach North Mountain Town in 20 minutes, establish the gathering place as soon as possible, and build the medical room. We're not sure yet what's required to build the gathering place or what materials are needed for the medical room. What basic packs did you bring?"

Lin Wu said, "Medical kit."

Daiyu replied, "Food pack."

Little Knife answered, "Ammo pack."

"Ammo pack?" Lin Wu and Stone asked in unison, very curious about Little Knife's train of thought.

Little Knife pointed ahead, "Be careful."

Ahead, the road was flanked by cliffs on both sides, and many vehicles were parked on it—trucks, freight vehicles, cars, motorcycles. Judging from the scene, a traffic accident had occurred, causing multiple vehicles to be damaged and burned, forcing people to abandon them and leave on foot.

The veteran driver Stone muttered "Fuck" for protection, turned the steering wheel to the left, and drove the left front wheel of the car up the cliff side at a 30-degree angle, successfully driving 15 meters and getting out of the jam.

Everyone clapped together, and Stone remained cool, waiting for the applause to subside before speaking, "Brothers and sisters, there's some good news and some bad news. The first piece of bad news is that the fuel tank is damaged, and we won't make it to North Town." The driver could see the specific damage and the parameters of the car.

Little Knife asked, "What's the good news?"

Stone replied, "Two kilometers from here is an 8-kilometer downhill stretch." A roadside sign indicated that a long downhill section was coming up after two kilometers.

Lin Wu asked, "And the bad news?"

Stone replied, "We don't have a brake pedal, which means we can't brake, and no gas means we can't rely on the engine to brake for us."

Lin Wu opened his mouth to ask further, but Little Knife covered Lin Wu's mouth from behind, "And the good news?" As long as we only ask about the good news, there will always be good news and no bad news.

Stone said, "If we can survive the 8-kilometer downhill, we'll be just 4 kilometers away from North Town."

Little Knife held Lin Wu's mouth shut with her strength and asked, "And the good news?"

Stone said, "I have an idea for a brake, but it might not work."

"What's the idea?"

Stone replied, "Foot brake."

...

Before running out of fuel, the vehicle finally reached the top of the hill. The four players bravely opened the car doors, stepped one foot onto the ground, and clutched the interior handles tightly with both hands.

Stone asked, "Ready?"

"Mhm."

Stone released the handbrake, and the car started to slowly slide. Clutching the steering wheel tightly, Stone tensely said, "Bad news, we're going to lose our lights soon."

Lin Wu was shocked, "Why didn't you say so sooner?" We could have abandoned the car if you had spoken up earlier.

Stone replied, "You all kept asking for good news; I had no chance to tell the bad news."

Little Knife yelled, "Hold it!"

The speed of the car increased, and the four riders scraped their feet against the ground amidst screams and shouts echoing through the valley. Stone had already fully engaged the handbrake, gripping the steering wheel tightly with both hands, eyes fixed ahead, one foot dragging on the ground, swinging through several sharp turns, all the while continuously cheering everyone on, "Brothers and sisters, we've already covered 700 meters; victory is in sight."

Lin Wu shouted, "How much longer can the headlights last?"

As Lin Wu's question hung in the air, the car headlights went out instantly, making Little Knife want to choke him out of frustration. The car quickly veered off the road, ramped up an earthen mound, and flipped over, roof down and wheels up, sparking like lightning. And thus, by some miracle, the car began to slow down.

Just as the car's speed was about to drop below 40 kilometers per hour, Lin Wu, who had been tossed about, asked, "Is the bad news that we're about to stop?"

Little Knife urgently said, "Shut up, only talk about the good news."

Everyone cried out in unison as the car hit the roadside guardrail, flipping over once more, the wheels landing back on the ground, and the car came to a stop with its front and rear switched around. The four, still in shock, watched as Stone released the handbrake and the car started sliding again. Using the curve and momentum, Stone performed a drift to straighten the car's front back forward.