216 General Basilio

Jun leaped up from his seat and made his way behind Carl's seat. After surveying the area, he found nothing noteworthy of his attention. Except for the trash on the street, there was nothing else on the street. There were no signs of movement around the area and if it weren't for Carl mentioning that people were supposed to be here, he would have thought he was being tricked.

"What do you mean they're gone?" Jun asked in confusion. "Are we supposed to meet them here?"

"They're supposed to be waiting here. Something must have happened. Wait, let me radio them. This is CJ, we have the package. I'm radioing in for confirmation, are we supposed to meet at B Street, because we don't see anyone here. Over."

Carl looked out of the window and saw a shadow on the wall moved. Before he could say anything, the radio crackled and a trembling voice spoke.

"CJ, get out of there right now! That place is overrun with half-deads! We will be waiting on the open highway right after the SN Taytay. We can't wait for long, hurry!"

"What does he mean by that?" Jun asked perplexed.

Before Carl could even answer, shadows moved from above followed by a shriek. Everyone looked up and saw a few strange survivors with tattoo patterns jump from the ledge of a building. One landed squarely at the isle of the military truck and destroyed his legs in the process. Blood splattered around causing Jun and the soldiers to wake up from their stupor.

The man did not die immediately but still flailed for several seconds until one of the soldiers shot the man's head.

"Go, drive!|" Jun tapped the passenger seat twice before standing up to assess the situation.

The military truck had no cover allowing them to look around, which meant people outside could also see them.

A sharpened pole flew in the air and struck the soldier's leg who was dazed after shooting the man who jumped on the roof. The man howled in pain as he got forced to sit down.

The truck's engine revved up before flying away at high speed. The other soldiers returned fire to cover their retreat. Due to the truck's large movements from maneuvering around the traffic, their aims were a bit off and mostly hit the shoulders and the arms.

The tattooed people skillfully climbed down from the buildings they were on as if they were apes then continued to chase after the fleeing truck.

"Watch out! There are people in the alleyways!" Carl suddenly cried out to warn everyone as he watched shadows moved around the walls.

In the midst of the chaos, the driver suddenly exclaimed.

"There are people ahead of us!"

On the road ahead, a bunch of tattooed ruffians blockaded the nearest route that leads to the national highway. Two cars were at the center of the road, both facing outwards.

The driver was planning to turn on the next corner when someone suddenly shouted from the back.

"Drive through them!" Jun yelled what he thought was the right answer to the problem. "If we want to catch up to the main caravan, then we can't afford a detour!"

After saying what he wanted to say, Jun took an assault rifle from his dimensional storage and fired upon those tattooed people who were ferociously chasing the truck.

Jun was using the rifle bullets that he usually saved since he wants to make sure that nothing would go wrong and they would not be followed.

The truck shook wildly after ramming the trunks of the cars, which were the weak point of the blockade. The military truck went through but had its front lights crushed making it hard to see what's ahead of them.

Carl reacted swiftly and took a flashlight from his dimensional storage to light up the way. After several streets, they entered the national highway.

They were then welcomed by a horde of red-eyed carriers, which easily blocked the highway by their sheer numbers. There was little to no space to drive through them and they were walking in medium-sized swarms around ten R0 Carrier per group. If they were to count every head that turns to them, then it would easily reach a thousand give or take.

The red-eyed carriers only stared blankly at the new arrivals as if they were uninterested with them.

Jun swallowed the saliva that gathered inside his mouth then advised: "I think we need to look for a detour."

"I agree with that." Carl subconsciously responded, then he noticed that the enemies started running towards them. "Turn the truck around! Get us out of here!"

Before Carl even yelled his orders, the truck already reversed and spun professionally in the other direction.

"Do you know another way that leads to SN Taytay?" Jun immediately sat behind the driver's seat and demanded an answer. Although he isn't a caveman who doesn't know where is what, he also isn't GMap who memorized every cities, towns, and street of a country.

"...I don't." the driver replied with fear. He knew that they shouldn't be trapped in the town or everyone would die.

Jun then turned to Carl, who dodged his gaze, so he turned to the remaining soldiers. They turned their heads away and did their best so they wouldn't lock eyes with him.

Noticing Jun's displeased expression on the rearview mirror, Carl decided to give him an explanation.

"We were sent here to extract people, not to tour around. We don't know the area that well. I barely even remember that SN Taytay had huge open highways and had few stranded cars on its road. If you think you're better than us, please go ahead and navigate."

Jun's chest heaved up and down erratically. He pounded his fist on his seat while cursing. "Fvck! Fvck!! Fvck!!!"

—

A caravan was having a break in the middle of an open highway. There were only few abandoned cars to be seen around and the way forward was spacious.

Marianne's group almost got ambushed by strange people with tattoos. Thankfully, the perimeter guards were able to notice them before they got surrounded. The civilian vehicles that high profile individuals rode were escorted in both sides, and even in front and in the back.

For some unknown reasons, the horde gave up after struggling to catch up under heavy fire from a machinegun.

"They're not coming." the bald old man stated as he puffed smoke from his high-quality cigar. He weaved his hand on the smoke making sure to relish the rich aroma in the air.

"Please wait! Let's wait for a few minutes more." Marianne pleaded.

The two would have continued to do a winding conversation since they have already waited for a long time under these troubled times.

When suddenly, the door of another white luxurious car opened up and a man's head peeked out. The man wore stylish clothes as if he did not need to worry about fighting the undead. Upon closer look, the man turned out to be Henry.

After changing from the welfare clothing he once wore to the stylish one he had, a massive change to his appearance occurred. He looked more high class and someone who grew up with a golden spoon on his mouth.

He then shouted with no care. "Uncle Basilio, aren't we going to leave? It's so cold here! Also, I can see people watching us in that building. If we stay here any longer, we will get surrounded again."

'For once, that bastard uttered something useful.' the old man thought.

He coughed to attract Marianne's attention then said, "I know you worry for him, but he's already someone from your past. Once I'm done with him, you won't ever have to worry about anyone looking for you again."

"Wait, what?" Marianne became puzzled by what she heard. "What are you talking about? Didn't you promise that you'll only talk to him?"

"I did. Let's just say that men have a different way to talk. If you'll become my nephew's wife I have to make sure that there's no trouble haunting us from your past. From your descriptions, he seems to be a strong man. I can't wait to meet him. It's also well-timed since I lack strong people right now. Come on, let's enter the car."

General Basilio did not wait for her answer and immediately turned around. He gave a signal on the soldiers waiting at the side to start moving.

Marianne couldn't say anything and was only able to look back at the distant empty highway before boarding the black SUV nearby.

Basilio wasn't staying with her because he worries about Marianne. For him, it's simply a matter of family reputation and saving one's face. He can't have her running away again.

Numerous engines roared to life and the caravan started moving forward. They traveled the open highway under the dim illumination of solar lights.

Henry drank from the alcohol bottle as he stared at the people on the building.

The people at the building couldn't see him but they were watching the caravan as it leaves their sight. These people didn't have strange black patterns on their bodies.