The Business Van

"What are you doing?" Hank asked as he walked up to Jason.

"Planning the evacuation," Jason mumbled, taking a bite of the bread in his hand. "We've got food now. It's time to get everyone out of here."

Jason studied the map of S City. According to the coordinates Lingling Chou had provided, the evacuation point was about 30 kilometers north of the city, in the wilderness.

S City had a dense population, and most of the area was overrun with zombies. What troubled him the most, however, was that the students had no survival skills. Whether they could even make it back safely was uncertain, let alone leading over 20 people to safety.

"Something's wrong, boss! Da Yong has passed out!" Zhang Xiaowei's voice broke through Jason's thoughts.

"What happened? Let's go see," Jason said.

Jason walked over to the crowd, where Da Yong was lying unconscious on the ground.

"Lift his shirt!" Jason ordered.

At that moment, they saw a scratch on Da Yong's waist. The wound wasn't very deep, but it had started to show signs of infection, with the skin around it turning dark and bruised.

Everyone immediately understood—Da Yong had been infected.

"These bastards! I'll make them pay!" The student who was closest to Da Yong, and who was the most affected by his condition, stood up angrily and tried to go after the two boys in the small store.

Jason quickly stepped in and grabbed him. "They're not at fault. We're all just trying to survive."

"Death is final," Jason said, his voice calm but firm. "Save your energy. We'll deal with this once we're at the safe zone."

Jason raised his gun and aimed it at Da Yong.

"No... no... Da Yong's not dead yet! You can't do this!" The boy who had been closest to Da Yong tried to stop Jason, his voice filled with panic.

Jason furrowed his brow. He knew that in the apocalypse, mercy couldn't exist. Once someone was infected, they were no longer the person they used to be.

Bang!

Jason pulled the trigger, ending Da Yong's life. This was his first time killing a person—his first time killing someone who wasn't a zombie.

"Simon, throw the body downstairs," Jason said flatly.

Simon nodded and stepped forward without hesitation, his face grim but resolute. The other students said nothing, their eyes downcast. No one blamed Jason; they all understood. No one wanted a zombie among them.

The law of the jungle—survival of the fittest. This was the reality of the apocalypse.

"Are there any buses on campus?" Jason asked as he walked over to Sakura.

"Hmm… There aren't any large vehicles on campus, but there's usually a business van parked near the office building," Sakura replied, recalling the details.

"A business van? Can we fit all of us in there?" Jason asked.

"It's a large van the school uses for teacher and student activities. It's big enough. If we squeeze, we can fit most of us," Sakura answered.

"Is it still there?" Jason asked, his eyes narrowing.

"If there haven't been any activities recently, it should still be parked there. I don't think there were any events today," Sakura said after thinking for a moment.

With the information about the business van, Jason quickly shared the plan with the others. They had to grab the van before nightfall and get back to the safe zone.

"Let's head out now. We need to be back before dark," Hank said.

The four of them checked their ammunition. Hank and Sakura had used up most of their rounds, while Simon and Jason had only used about 100 bullets so far.

"We'll need to conserve our ammo. We've burned through a lot in less than a day. What will we do once we're outside?" Jason thought aloud.

The four made their way down to the office building, clearing out zombies along the way. Most of the zombies they encountered were former students, and whenever they found a few alone, Hank and Sakura opted for knives to conserve ammo.

When they reached the office building, they didn't have to look for long. The business van was parked nearby.

But the area around the office building was swarming with zombies, drawn there by their earlier activities.

The group cautiously approached the van from behind.

"The doors are locked!" Sakura muttered as she pulled on the van's door handle.

"Any keys inside?" Jason crouched down and asked.

"Are you crazy? Who would leave the keys in the car?" Sakura shot him a skeptical look.

"Just give me a minute. I'll get it open," Jason said confidently. He pulled out his laptop and began working on the van's electronic lock.

It took about half an hour, but finally, with a loud click, the van's electronic lock disengaged.

"Get in, but be quiet," Jason said, opening the door carefully and slipping inside.

The van's ignition required a wireless key to start, but Jason had set up his laptop to simulate the signal, creating the same frequency as the key.

This took some time and a lot of trial and error.

It was already 2 PM, and more zombies were beginning to appear around them. The group held their breath as they watched Jason work from the driver's seat.

"Jason, come on, it's been an hour. If we don't get out of here soon, we might need to spend the night in the van," Simon said nervously, glancing out the windows.

"If you don't want to be zombie chow, keep quiet," Jason warned, still focused on his laptop screen.

The sun was starting to set by 6 PM, and the zombies around them were becoming more numerous. A few of the zombies from inside the building began wandering outside.

"I think if we don't leave soon, we'll have to stay here overnight," Sakura whispered, her eyes darting nervously to the growing horde.

"We don't have a second chance. The computer's almost out of battery, and we can't give up now," Jason said, his eyes fixed on the screen. If they couldn't get the van to start, the consequences would be much worse.

Suddenly, one of the zombies outside noticed the van. Its loud thuds on the window sent a chill through the group.

The noise soon attracted more zombies.

Bang! Bang!

The zombies began battering the van's windows.

"Get ready to fight," Hank said, his eyes scanning the growing crowd outside.

"How's it going, Jason?" Hank shouted, now firing at the zombies through the window.

"Almost there!" Jason responded, his hand still on the keyboard.

Seeing that the zombies were closing in, Hank pulled out a grenade and threw it toward the zombie crowd.

Boom!

The explosion sent zombies flying in all directions, but it also drew more attention. The zombies from the office building began pouring out of the windows and jumping down.

"Are you trying to get us killed?" Sakura glared at Hank.

"Explosions are loud, we've got no choice!" Hank shouted, launching another grenade.

Another two explosions rocked the area, and a huge number of zombies were blasted into pieces.

Suddenly, the laptop beeped, and Jason glanced up. The display showed Matching Successful.

He quickly hit the start button, and the engine roared to life.

"Let's go!" Jason slammed the van into gear, stepping on the gas pedal.

The van roared forward, speeding out of the area and leaving the chaos behind.