After I Fully Prepared for the Apocalypse, the Ungrateful Cried with Regret

Chapter 55: Chapter 55: It’s the Same Everywhere

The convoy continued on its way.

Leo Hale gazed out the window at the city.

The roadsides were piled with the wreckage of buildings and abandoned vehicles, with the bodies of zombies and humans strewn haphazardly across them.

The glass of a streetside shop was cracked like a spiderweb. Its walls, mottled and corroded by acid rain, were splattered with gruesome bloodstains.

The once-spotless city had been reduced to ruins.

Human civilization felt like it was from yesterday, yet also from a century ago.

Just then, a voice came from the walkie-talkie Nina Jacobs had tossed aside:

”Nina Jacobs, pick up your speed a little.”

It was Chester Pearson’s voice.

The number of zombies on the road had increased, and Ian Chandler was worried about Nina Jacobs bringing up the rear, so Chester Pearson told her to move her car into the middle of the convoy.

It would be safer that way.

Seeing the zombies chasing her car, Nina Jacobs agreed.

”Okay, thanks. What’s the plan for the road ahead?”

She had been watching the system map, which showed their planned route was a congested section.

”I just sent a drone out to scout ahead. If there’s danger, we’ll take a detour.”

Chester Pearson replied.

”Understood.”

If they kept on like this, she worried they might not reach the shelter by the end of the day.

After all, the roads in this apocalyptic world were incredibly difficult to navigate.

Sure enough, Chester Pearson’s drone reconnaissance uncovered a problem.

For some reason, a massive horde of zombies had appeared on their planned route.

”If there are too many zombies, even we won’t be able to do anything,”

Chester Pearson said to Ian Chandler, who was beside him.

Even the heaviest vehicles couldn’t ram their way through.

No amount of weaponry would be enough.

”What about explosives?” Ian Chandler blinked. With a larger group, wouldn’t it be easier to kill more of them at once?

”They’re powerful, but they also make a lot of noise. A few days ago, there was...”

Chester Pearson seemed to recall something. His expression froze, and he quickly changed the subject.

”That’s why I prefer fighter jets, but it’s a shame your grandfather won’t allow it.”

Using explosives might wipe out a horde of zombies in an instant.

But it would also attract every zombie in the vicinity.

”Were there... casualties? A lot of them?”

Ian Chandler asked the one question he’d been dreading.

”Yes. A lot.”

Chester Pearson looked out the window.

’A lot’ was an understatement.

The number of casualties was too immense to count.

If the national command center hadn’t responded with such speed, many cities in Drakonia might have been completely wiped out...

”Mr. Pearson, what about the situation in other countries?”

After a moment of silence, Daniel Hale, sitting in the back, asked while holding his wife’s hand.

’Is there still a paradise somewhere where survivors like us can live?’

”It’s the same. It’s the same everywhere. The government already thought of what you’re thinking, but unfortunately, the answer is no.”

Chester Pearson shook his head.

The two places on this planet once considered havens were the extreme south and the far north.

But the acid rain didn’t spare them either.

The far north and south were now covered by a corrosive layer of ice. Within a few short days, species went extinct, and the areas became completely inaccessible to humans.

They had become utter wastelands.

”Drakonia has sparsely populated areas too, but don’t forget what people need to survive,”

Chester Pearson said.

’What do people need to survive?’

”Supplies.”

Daniel Hale understood instantly.

Without food, even the safest place would be a living hell.

”A lot of supplies have already been destroyed, and the country is doing its best to send people to salvage what’s left, but many places are too dangerous to enter anymore.”

”You all don’t seem to be short on supplies, though?”

Chester Pearson turned to look at Daniel Hale, his eyes filled with curiosity.

More than twenty days had passed since the acid rain began, and it had become incredibly difficult for ordinary people to acquire supplies.

Yet Daniel Hale’s group still had a hearty breakfast, and they were even supporting a pregnant woman.

”Mr. Pearson, if there’s something you want to know, you can just ask. A lot has happened since the acid rain.

Nina nearly died for us several times. Ian Chandler knows all about it.”

Vera Coleman sensitively picked up on Chester Pearson’s suspicion, a suspicion that was perhaps directed at her daughter, Nina Jacobs.

”Uncle Hale and Miss Coleman reported it to the police many times. Eventually, Leo Hale and Nina had no choice but to take matters into their own hands... Those two guys said they were going to steal our car. They even pointed a gun at us and threatened to kill us. Luckily, there were more of us... In the end, we picked up a lot of their supplies.

”Oh, right, those two people who were with Miss Donovan yesterday, they lived near Uncle Hale’s house too. They killed a lot of zombies back then...”

Ian Chandler was no fool. He recounted everything that had happened from the time he was captured to the present, making sure to emphasize that their actions were forced by circumstances.

He even omitted the part where Nina Jacobs had killed people.

Fortunately, Chester Pearson didn’t press the matter:

”If Man Lawson knew what you’ve been through, he’d probably throw a fit.”

”Yeah, I’m only alive thanks to Uncle Hale and his family,”

Ian Chandler said.

”You’re one lucky kid.”

Just then, a report of an emergency came over the walkie-talkie.

According to the drone’s reconnaissance, a helicopter had crashed and exploded on the road ahead, causing the collapse of all the surrounding buildings, which had already been weakened by the acid rain.

Furthermore, a large number of zombies had gathered there, making the route completely impassable.

”Helicopter wreckage?”

Chester Pearson frowned, thinking of Dawn Donovan and her group, who had left before them.

Dawn Donovan had left by helicopter.

”Any survivors?” Chester Pearson asked.

”Reporting, sir. The drone has not detected any signs of survivors.”

”Looks like we have no choice but to take a detour. We’ll take Norgale Road.”

Chester Pearson immediately ordered the vehicles at the rear to turn around. Norgale Road was their backup route.

Nina Jacobs listened silently to the conversation on the walkie-talkie.

Her map showed that Norgale Road also had a long, red-marked congested section.

”I know a side road near here,”

Nina Jacobs said.

”What kind of side road?”

Chester Pearson didn’t want to take a long detour either; the longer the route, the more dangers they would face.

”It’s a road near a few factories, but we’ll probably need to clear some obstructions to get in. And...”

”And what?”

”There should be a supermarket at the entrance to that road. I’ve shopped there before.”

Nina Jacobs had already spotted that road on her way here.

The entrance was blocked by some vehicles, but they wouldn’t be hard to clear.

’I just don’t know if Chester Pearson will listen to my suggestion.’

”Nina is a local. She’s very familiar with the roads around here,”

Nina Jacobs heard Ian Chandler say from the side.

”Then you lead the way. All vehicles, follow orders. We’re taking the side road.”

Chester Pearson hesitated for a moment. After zooming in again and again on the offline map in his hand, he confirmed that the road Nina Jacobs mentioned did indeed exist.

But before that, they had to deal with the trouble around them.

The convoy had only been stationary for a few minutes, but a number of zombies had already started to swarm them.

This time, Nina Jacobs didn’t get out of the car, watching through the window as the zombies were shot down one by one.

’Such a waste of Crystal Cores,’ Nina Jacobs thought with regret.

At this point, no one knew what Zombie Crystal Cores were, so it would be too conspicuous if she got out of the car specifically to dig for them.

What she didn’t expect, however, was that Ian Chandler was actually collecting all the Zombie Crystal Cores from the ground.