Chapter 9: Missing the Evacuation

Due to the sudden situation at the pharmacy, the two of them only managed to bring back a few bottles of antibiotics.

Shao Ming returned to the window and saw several mutated creatures crouching together, devouring a corpse. He couldn't tell if it was the person who had called for help earlier.

Shao Ming shook his head, hoping it wasn't the same person.

But he couldn't shake the feeling that a voice inside him was blaming him. Perhaps, had he seen a similar video online, he would have firmly believed that he would rush out to save someone. But when the situation actually happened in front of him, he instinctively avoided it—both physically and mentally.

This was the first time the two had encountered mutated creatures so closely. Unlike the zombies in traditional cultural works, these mutated creatures were incredibly agile and quick. In some ways, they were even superior to humans.

Thankfully, the bloody scenes from the past two days, as well as the ones he had seen online, kept Shao Ming from vomiting in the pharmacy.

Li Long sat on the sofa, staring blankly at his baseball bat.

Shao Ming took a can of beer from the fridge and handed it to Li Long, who grabbed it and poured it straight into his mouth.

"Drink slowly."

"Cough, cough..." Li Long spit out some beer and wiped his mouth.

Neither of them spoke any further. Shao Ming took out his phone and checked the messages in the international student group.

The group was flooded with messages again, but this time, all of them were about packing and arranging transportation.

Shao Ming hurriedly scrolled through the messages until one that both of them had been eagerly waiting for appeared.

"Message from the Chinese Embassy in the UK: The evacuation plan is about to be launched. Chinese citizens will be evacuated as quickly as possible."

"Look at this!" Shao Ming said excitedly to Li Long. "We can go home!"

"What?" Li Long immediately grabbed his phone and checked the message with Shao Ming.

They opened the embassy's post and searched for evacuation news from Manchester.

"…Chinese citizens in Liverpool, Manchester, and Leeds please go to Manchester Airport by 1 p.m. local time tomorrow…"

"It's time to go!" Shao Ming couldn't hide his excitement as he said to Li Long. "Did you see it? We have to get to the airport by 1 p.m. tomorrow."

Li Long's spirits finally lifted. He nodded happily—no matter when, returning home was always a joyous thing.

Shao Ming glanced at the time. It was already five o'clock.

"We'll leave early tomorrow morning," Shao Ming said.

The two quickly began packing their things. Shao Ming packed some food and water into his backpack and grabbed the chainsaw that was sitting by the sofa.

The distance from their apartment to Manchester Airport was about 15 kilometers, and they couldn't be sure if they would encounter more mutated creatures on the way.

Various messages online and what they had witnessed firsthand today indicated that normal humans and mutated creatures were now mixed in the city. The longer time passed, the fewer normal humans there were, and the more mutated creatures there became.

"15 kilometers, at least three hours," Li Long said. "We'll leave at 7 a.m. and we should definitely reach the airport by noon."

"Let's leave at 6 a.m., 6 a.m.," Shao Ming said.

Both of them spent the evening with excitement, even preparing a big meal.

"Going out to find medicine was really a bad decision..." Li Long remarked.

Shao Ming thought back to the scene where Li Long smashed the shopkeeper's head and could only say, "We'll be home soon."

After a satisfying meal and a call with their families, the two went to bed early.

It felt like everything that had happened in the past two days was just a dream—everything terrifying, panic-stricken, and anxious was about to be left behind.

Shao Ming finally managed to sleep peacefully, but in the middle of the night, he faintly heard rumbling noises and gunfire.

Early the next morning, the two got ready and set off.

Shao Ming opened the window and took a quick look outside. Below, there was only a mangled corpse; the mutated creatures from yesterday had long disappeared.

The two carefully walked down the street. The entire street was eerily quiet, as if everyone was hiding in their homes, too scared to venture out.

However, when they reached the main road, they were met with a hopeless scene.

Hundreds of mutated creatures were wandering the street, clearly the ones that had broken through the previous day.

Further down the road were barricades made from heavy truck containers and police buses.

Since the Royal Manchester Hospital had been breached yesterday, the entire neighborhood surrounding the hospital had been completely sealed off.

Now, there weren't enough police to clear the large number of mutated creatures. Many officers had died while carrying out riot control and lockdown tasks, and many others were showing signs of relapse. The police had no choice but to quarantine all the neighborhoods near large hospitals, as these hospitals had become gathering points for mutated creatures.

Since the lockdown had occurred overnight, the two hadn't seen the news upon waking up and had no idea they were already in a lockdown area.

What was even worse, Manchester's local government hadn't issued any warnings before the lockdown. Only a few restless online users and residents near the barricade had witnessed the lockdown process and posted pictures online.

Starving mutated creatures saw the two clueless individuals walking out onto the street and immediately charged toward them.

The two instantly turned around and began running back to the apartment, having no idea the situation had escalated this much on the streets.

They rushed into the building and locked the front door.

A few mutated creatures that had sprinted the fastest slammed into the door, snarling with gaping jaws at the two in the hallway.

Seeing that the door was temporarily holding the mutated creatures off, the two quickly ran to the back of the apartment.

Once inside, they shoved more furniture against the door, while downstairs, dozens of mutated creatures had already gathered.

Li Long anxiously said, "Quick, call the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

Shao Ming's hands were trembling as he fumbled for his phone in his pocket.

After several failed attempts, Shao Ming finally dialed the correct number for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, he only heard a cold female voice.

Shao Ming, in disbelief, hung up the call and dialed again, but no matter how many times he tried, it was always the same cold voice.

"Always busy…" Shao Ming trembled, speaking quietly.

Li Long collapsed onto the ground in despair, slowly saying, "We can't leave."