Chapter 16：Moment of Desperation

In an instant, the helicopter was directly above Chen Dao. Seeing the helicopter, Chen Dao quickly stepped on the accelerator, turned the car around, and headed back towards the gated community.

But before Chen Dao could make the turn at the Knox Bank intersection, he saw zombies pouring out of the nearby Supermarket, including several hundred runners, some wearing backpacks like survivor zombies.

It was like a zombie wave, all heading towards the helicopter, which meant they were heading towards Chen Dao's car.

Chen Dao stopped at the intersection, seeing zombies approaching from both sides: runners coming from the west commercial street and those blocking the path southwards from the supermarket.

With no time to complain, Chen Dao gritted his teeth, turned the car around, and headed east out of town.

This road ran along the edge of the gated community, with the community's fence visible on the south side of the road. Due to the helicopter's presence, numerous zombies emerged from every corner, pushing their faces against the fence, reaching out with their arms.

Driving down the normally deserted road, Chen Dao was like a celebrity in a parade, except the fanfare was the relentless drone of the helicopter above.

The helicopter followed closely, mirroring his every move.

Chen Dao drove to the road's end, turned south at the intersection, towards the edge of the gated community which only had a small corner gate in the southeast.

The zombies were stuck behind the fence but were being drawn in by the helicopter's noise, gathering more and more.

Chen Dao continued on the road, leading towards the farmlands outside Riverside, home to a mechanic and farmer, and a horse farm further out.

The eastern side of Riverside lacked dense forests, consisting mainly of vast cornfields and meadows.

Chen Dao sped up, needing to dodge scattered walkers and be wary of accident scenes.

Looking west, numerous runners were already approaching, crashing against the heavy iron fences, causing them to clatter loudly.

The path ahead was blocked by a wrecked ambulance, forcing Chen Dao to drive onto the meadow.

The pickup truck's off-road performance was decent, handling the muddy terrain reasonably well, though not as agile and with extended braking distances.

Flooring the accelerator, Chen Dao zoomed towards the southeast road.

The helicopter continued to pursue, clinging to the tail of Chen Dao's vehicle.

Looking back, Chen Dao saw a few people in the helicopter, clearly not a rescue chopper.

No one had shot at him, preached about "God," or dropped supplies.

This had to be a news helicopter.

These helicopters were the worst; others had specific goals—killing people, killing zombies, or offering aid.

News helicopters simply followed survivors, attracting massive zombie hordes without ever lending a hand. Even if torn apart by zombies, they would capture photos and videos of your demise.

They were nothing but witnesses to atrocities.

Chen Dao seethed with anger, having left behind supplies in the gated community's mansion, which he now had to abandon.

Speeding through the meadow, Chen Dao rejoined the main road.

Ahead lay a junction leading south, likely towards the mechanic's shop. Zombies were emerging from the concrete path there as well.

A quick glance showed survivors, but apparently, they hadn't made it.

Many zombies bore backpacks or weapons; for unknown reasons, the survivors hadn't survived.

Coming from the side path, the runner zombies sprinted towards Chen Dao's car.

Human bodies couldn't outrun a car at 100 kilometers per hour. Chen Dao floored it, rushing past before they could reach the road.

The helicopter shadowed him closely.

A glance in the rearview mirror revealed runners from the mechanic's shop, and a massive group closer to the gated community, comprising all types in vast numbers.

The helicopter had lingered too long, attracting all the zombies.

Chen Dao couldn't count them. Back in college sports meets, the 3000 students on the field weren't this overwhelming.

A glance at the road ahead showed no obstructions, clear and smooth.

But just as he focused on driving…

"Boom!"

A massive crash came from behind.

Startled, Chen Dao rolled down the window, craning to look back.

"Clang, clang…"

"Boom—"

In disbelief, Chen Dao saw the iron fence of the gated community being pushed down like dominoes, from south to north, releasing the trapped zombies.

From above, it was visible that all zombies from the town, except those on the west side, were converging here. Even the walker groups from the middle-class community were moving, following the runners who toppled the fence.

Zombies comprised runners and walkers. Over time, they would evolve into distinct groups of running zombies and walking zombies, difficult to differentiate without provoking movement.

Thousands of runners battered the iron fence, eventually collapsing it, bringing down the entire barricade.

The helicopter's crew, seemingly frightened by the aggressive horde, gained altitude.

From above, it looked like a stampede of zombies racing across the summer's wet grasslands.

In a panic, Chen Dao shrank back into the driver's seat, avoiding the rearview mirror, driving east along the road.

The cornfield here was neglected and dying, though possibly with some unripe corn left.

At the town's exit, Chen Dao executed a slick drift to ditch the horde, but the persistent helicopter stayed on his trail.

What had he done to deserve this torment?

Along the Ohio River road lay many farms and cottages, mostly housing farmers and the unemployed.

The area was sparsely populated with excellent visibility.

Continuing south on this road led to a junction. To reach Chen Dao's planned lakeside villa, he needed to continue south along the riverside cement road.

To return to Knox County Highway, a westward turn at the junction was required.

Recalling Knox County's layout, Chen Dao pondered how to reach the lakeside villa, but the helicopter was unbearably persistent, trailing him for nearly 20 minutes.

Turning a corner, he saw zombies emerging from a horse ranch and more coming from a trailer park.

Though not afraid, Chen Dao needed to avoid hitting them, as finding repair materials and a safe place for repairs was challenging.

The rearview mirror showed the runner horde still trailing him, though distant. He couldn't stop until the helicopter was gone.

After another turn, Chen Dao saw the trailer park, zombies gathered to intercept him.

Forced once again onto the field, Chen Dao avoided the road's zombie horde. This field ran alongside the river.

Here, the Ohio River twisted with many bends, this segment notably wide, with the typically straight river forming an S-curve, making the area prone to floods.

Hence, the landowner kept it as pasture, suitable only for water-tolerant wild grasses, not crops.

With no other choice, Chen Dao drove across the meadow, avoiding zombies, seeking a chance at the field's end to rejoin the southern pavement.

At 70 kilometers per hour, mud splattered across the car as Chen Dao raced through the field.

Focusing ahead, he watched for a zombie-free path to rejoin the road.

Suddenly, an instinct made him glance at the Ohio River shallows.

Originally a stretch of mudflats, the fertile red soil mixed with seasonal river silt, typically bare except for frogs and crabs.

Now, the mudflats teemed with strange things, resembling uprooted shrubs, covered in gray mud.

Or perhaps large arthropods, writhing to extract themselves from the mire.

Chen Dao took a quick glance, finding it odd, deciding to look again.

"Oh my god, look at the riverbank, Ben!" Tom nudged Benjamin, who was filming, pointing to the mudflats ahead to Chen Dao's left.

"What are those?" Benjamin zoomed in, trying to capture the weird, mud-covered creatures.

"They look like…" Cartman from the cockpit extended his neck, recognizing something familiar but unsure.

While the journalists were puzzled, Chen Dao knew.

Those were zombies!

Before leaving the meadow, a horde of wet, muddy zombies waited ahead.

Where had these zombies come from? The river! Most were runners—was today determined to kill him?

Chen Dao felt everything was against him: the helicopter event, a massive runner horde; now zombies emerging from the river!

These zombies, muddy and wet, exhibited runners' physical prowess. Some traversed the mud on their partners' backs, remaining relatively clean.

Chen Dao even saw a few in green military uniforms, absurdly muscular, locking onto him, sprinting across the field!

To avoid a head-on collision, Chen Dao had no choice.

"Damn, where did all these zombies come from?" Slamming the brakes, Chen Dao's car skidded across the muddy field, sending mud and grass flying, the wheels nearly slipping off.

Looking south, he saw mud-covered runners approaching from the riverbank.

Looking north, runners from the town pursued him onto the field.

Behind him lay the Ohio River.

Ahead were low bushes obscuring the road.

Above was the helicopter.

Chen Dao faced a single choice.

Flooring the accelerator, Chen Dao drove the pickup at full throttle into the bushes.

Branches and roots scraped the bumper as Chen Dao spotted a group of zombies ahead.

Chen Dao plowed through them, seeing old farmers in straw hats, scantily clad women, neatly dressed professionals.

And children, smaller than the car's hood…

Nearby was a farmer who sold ponies, attracting visiting children.

The day's chaos began on July 4th.

Independence Day celebrations, normally a time for children to choose ponies.

The bumper, sturdy against flesh, was overwhelmed by the crash, caving in, lodging into the radiator; the hood popped up, blocking half the view. The previously clean windshield was again rendered useless.

The half-bodied female zombie was ejected, landing in hay, leaving her bloody spine exposed.

Chen Dao, meanwhile, crashed into the airbag, bleeding from his ears.

Dazed but conscious, Chen Dao shakily raised himself.

Luckily, it was a Ford, the first brand to make airbags standard to boost its competitive edge. This car was from the initial batch equipped with airbags. Before this innovation, only luxury cars had airbags.

Despite the collision, the car hadn't stalled. Chen Dao shook his head, though unable to hear, the world was spinning.

He tasted something sweet.

Stumbling out, holding onto the door, he vomited everything in his stomach.

Only after expelling yellow bile did he feel marginally better.

Remembering his dire situation, he glanced behind.

Runner horde, runner horde, still more runner horde.

A massive sea of runners clogged the field and the farmer's ranch—it was a sight daunting to any survivor.

The number far exceeded Riverside's 5000 zombies, more akin to half of West Point's 20,000 residents transformed into zombies.

No time to ponder the source of this horde, Chen Dao stumbled back into the car, pulling out the M9 and Zibber from the glove box.

If he didn't use them now, he'd die a zombie's lunch.

Although Chen Dao had removed the M9's suppressor for glove box storage, it still had subsonic rounds. Switching to a magazine loaded with standard rounds offering greater range and power, Chen Dao aimed at the closest zombies and fired.

The Zibber's rapid fire and M9's smooth, efficient slide action, yet not a single hit.

"Gun novice," living up to its name.

"Damn it!" Chen Dao yelled, though he couldn't hear himself. As he faced zombies just 50 meters away, despair washed over him.

Leaning on the hood, he prepared for a merciful end, aiming the M9 at his own head.