Dark Apocalypse

Episode 44

A mother's love



The art of tracking is a complex skill...

Could Adam possibly know tracking? Don't be ridiculous! Before the apocalypse, he was nothing more than an orphan and an ordinary college student—not some elite soldier or a superhuman. He was just a regular person.

Later, because of the mindless schemes of a certain woman and another man, he ended up in prison. If the apocalypse hadn't occurred, he'd still be languishing in the pitch-dark cell, witnessing desperate prisoners squabble and brawl.

"Are you sure this is the right direction?" Miao Yunyao questioned him, her skepticism evident.

"Follow if you want; if not, you're free to go another way. I won't mind either way."

In truth, Adam wasn't sure himself if this was the correct path. He was no expert in tracking people—his only clue was a rough trail of recently killed zombies to suggest a possible route.

Piecing together the mental map he'd recorded, along with the direction of the elevated road, he ventured forward.

Adam was hardly skilled in such matters, and he couldn't even confirm if the dead zombies along the way were really Ling Ao's doing. The only certainty was that he found numerous freshly dispatched zombies along the path leading to the overpass.

Despite her doubts, Miao Yunyao ultimately followed him, heading in the same direction.

Perhaps due to the earlier blocked streets, the zombies on this side of the town were notably fewer. With limited roads and disrupted traffic, once a main route was blocked, zombies were trapped within a single area, unable to flood elsewhere.

Everything seemed unusually smooth—apart from not having found Ling Ao and Shangguan Ya, both Adam and Miao Yunyao were beginning to let their guard down.

Though zombies lurked here and there, they posed no major threat, and Miao Yunyao, after some urging from Adam, even began killing a few stray zombies herself.

As they neared the elevated highway, now clearly visible towering over ten meters above, the sight before them left them speechless.

Stretching for hundreds of meters was an uninterrupted line of vehicles—cars, trucks, vans, and delivery vehicles—all crushed together, completely blocking the entire road. This serpentine blockade even extended onto the elevated highway itself.

The chaotic scene spoke of the mass panic, as people desperately tried to flee using the overpass. Collisions and congestion were inevitable in the confusion, as everyone sought only to escape.

Countless cars bore the scars of the panic, damaged by frantic drivers. Ultimately, no one managed to flee, and the tragic outcome was clear.

"What do we do?" Though Miao Yunyao harbored her grievances with Adam, she instinctively turned to him in moments of uncertainty.

Adam pulled her into a nearby shadowed corner.

He showed no reaction to the warmth of her presence beside him; his focus was solely on observing the area.

From what he could tell, aside from the line of vehicles stretching onto the overpass, there didn't seem to be any immediate danger—no sign of zombies. However, he doubted that such a large group of people could have avoided a zombie outbreak. Even if many had been lured away by noise, charging in recklessly would be far too dangerous.

Adam decided against taking risks and chose instead to observe from a safer distance. Although Miao Yunyao was anxious about her daughter, she wasn't a fool; she knew that Adam was her only source of protection now. Without him, she was utterly helpless. She was no longer the formidable businesswoman admired by all, but a vulnerable woman unable to secure her own safety.

"No matter what, judging by the situation, even if Ling Ao came this way with your daughter, they'd be hard-pressed to cross onto the overpass unless they went on foot."

As Adam had said, with such an extensive blockade, even bicycles would struggle to pass through the gaps between vehicles. Walking was the only feasible way to navigate it all.

Adam's words were mere speculation, but Miao Yunyao couldn't refute his logic.

They found a relatively safe location to rest temporarily, a four-story building with an open rooftop door, offering a good vantage point over the surrounding area, especially the overpass and nearby roads.

From here, if anything arose, or if they spotted Ling Ao, they'd know immediately.

Adam felt little urgency in finding Shangguan Ya; he had no attachment to that spoiled girl. In fact, the thought of such a person joining them repelled him. He had a feeling he might eventually be tempted to throw her into a horde of zombies just to be rid of her.

"Relax, as long as your daughter's with Ling Ao, she's somewhat protected."

Seeing Miao Yunyao constantly scanning the area, Adam shook his head. As a mother, she was truly remarkable. Adam hadn't lived through the chaotic outbreak of the apocalypse's onset, but he could imagine the ugliness that arose as people sacrificed loved ones for survival.

Yet Miao Yunyao, despite her stern appearance, had shown nothing but real concern for Shangguan Ya from the beginning.

"A mother..." Adam murmured, gazing at Miao Yunyao's youthful figure, surprising to think she had a daughter nearly twenty.

He looked up at the sky, its blue expanse unchanged by the apocalypse, and wondered about his own mother.

As an orphan, where were his birth parents now? Were they surviving somewhere, or long gone? He felt neither sadness nor worry—just emptiness.