Biological Armor in the Apocalypse

Chapter 2: The Toll Plaza Figures

Lei Xiang leaned against the car window, his body swaying with the jolts of the off-road vehicle, his gaze unintentionally fixed on the gray sky in the distance.

For him, everything that had happened today was hard to accept, so surreal yet so brutal.

He looked down at his phone, not a single bar of signal, unable to make calls or reach anyone.

After repeatedly turning the phone on and off in frustration, he finally threw it back into his pocket, grabbed his hair with both hands, and huddled in the seat.

The officer next to him slightly opened his eyes, smiling as he handed over a bottle of mineral water.

"Don't worry, even though communication has suddenly been cut off and we can't reach our camp, maybe once we get back to camp we can figure out what's going on."

Lei Xiang took the mineral water and drank half the bottle in one go, wiping his mouth before speaking, "Officer, I want to go home. My car is destroyed, and I still have car payments to make. What am I going to do? Will the army compensate for my car?"

"Call me Han Ting. Thank you for saving me; I owe you my life."

The officer didn't answer Lei Xiang's question but instead extended his hand to him earnestly.

"My name is Lei Xiang. Nice to meet you."

Lei Xiang weakly shook hands with Han Ting and continued the previous topic, "Will the army compensate for my car? My insurance company definitely won't cover this, and I don't even know what kind of accident this is, no one's calls are getting through..."

"Compensation, we will definitely give you a satisfactory answer," Han Ting smiled, cutting off Lei Xiang's incessant chatter.

Lei Xiang looked at Han Ting with a hint of doubt in his eyes, "Can you represent your leaders?"

"For such a small matter, I can make the decision."

"Wait a minute..." Lei Xiang took out his phone, tapped a few times, and held it up to his face, smiling at Han Ting, "Officer Han, please repeat what you just said about the car compensation."

Han Ting's smile froze on his face, and he paused for a few seconds before slowly saying, "I am Han Ting, part of the Xuanjian Special Forces Unit of the Fenghuang Military District of the Yanhua Nation, serving as the commander of the first squad of the second division. As the commander of this mission, I promise that we will be responsible for compensating for the vehicle damage and related matters that occurred during this mission."

"Okay!" A smile appeared on Lei Xiang's face as he carefully put his phone back into his pocket.

"Where are we going next? What's going on? What was that thing?" Lei Xiang asked a series of questions in a row.

Han Ting** glanced at Lei Xiang and said, "You need to return to the camp with us first. You don't need to know the other details. Once we get to the camp, we will give you a medical check-up, and then someone will arrange for you to go home."

"Alright." Lei Xiang also felt that he might have asked the wrong questions, so he simply responded with a single word.

There was a silence in the cabin, with only the humming of the engine.

The entire convoy was heading north along the highway. Before getting in the car, Lei Xiang had a rough look and counted seven vehicles in total: five armored off-road vehicles, one box truck, and one truck. He only recognized the armored off-road vehicles; the other two types of vehicles, which were boxy and painted in green camouflage, he couldn't name.

Several cold bodies were lying quietly in the truck, including those of the soldiers who had sacrificed in this mission, among them Dr. Chen Kai, who had been cut in half.

The helicopter wreckage's crew couldn't be retrieved due to insufficient tools brought by Han Ting and his team, and no other support arrived after the communication was cut off.

Finally, Han Ting ordered the collection of the bodies of the other fallen comrades and a return to the camp immediately.

Lei Xiang wanted to return to the camp with them; he had to undergo a series of medical examinations before he could go home. But why did they need to examine his body?

He was slightly puzzled and began to daydream about the future, such as whether the army would give him a lump sum to buy a new car or compensate him with a brand-new vehicle, how to transfer ownership, how to register and license it, and how to dispose of the wrecked car.

He was lost in thought when suddenly the vehicle braked sharply, and Lei Xiang, caught off guard, smashed his face into the back of the front seat, wincing in pain.

"Captain, something's wrong with the toll plaza we blocked off ahead!"

The car radio crackled with a report: "You'd better come and take a look quickly..."

Han Ting grabbed his g*n, pushed the door open, and jumped out, shouting a command at the same time, "Do not turn off the vehicles, maintain maximum alert, authorized to shoot to kill any threatening targets, keep an eye on this kid!"

The soldier in the passenger seat put down his rifle, drew his pistol, and c****d it, turning slowly to Lei Xiang and saying in a leisurely manner, "Put your hands on my seat back... slowly."

Lei Xiang looked at his cold gaze, swallowed hard, and obediently placed his hands on the back of the seat in front of him, leaning out nervously to look ahead.

Their vehicle was the third in line, with the box truck following behind, and two off-road vehicles in front. Lei Xiang could only see the back of the vehicle in front and the soldier who had just climbed out of the roof turret to start operating the vehicle-mounted machine g*n.

"Several people at the toll plaza are suspected of going berserk, a few are starting to approach us," the car radio crackled again with the same person's voice.

"Old Cat, find a high point, observe the situation in detail, assess the danger, our goal is to return to camp!" Han Ting's voice rang out.

"Roger that!"

"Suspected berserk?" Lei Xiang was puzzled and wanted to open the window to see for himself.

As soon as his hand moved, a black g*n barrel was pointed at his forehead.

The soldier, holding the g*n with both hands, steadily aimed at him and said coldly, "Put your hands back on the seat back..."

Lei Xiang broke out in a cold sweat, slowly putting his hands back.

"I just wanted to open the window to see what's happening up front, nothing else," he quickly explained.

"Don't worry, everything's fine!" The soldier lowered the g*n barrel, but his gaze remained fixed on Lei Xiang.

"Oh." Lei Xiang shrank his head, trying to maintain his posture.

"Captain, the staff and citizens at the front toll plaza have fallen into an unknown state, the number is unclear, approximately about 300 people, the traffic jam stretches over 5 kilometers!" The radio crackled with Old Cat's voice.

"Can we contact the command center now?" Han Ting asked.

"Captain, still can't reach them..." The radio crackled with a crisp female voice.

"Captain, the staff at the toll plaza are getting restless, a large number of people are starting to move towards us... I see many people with blood and wounds on them... and a few with faces that are...suck," Old Cat's voice trembled slightly.

"Little Fish, take some people and blow up the barrier, we'll go down, bypass the toll plaza, fast!" Han Ting commanded.

"Roger that!"

Lei Xiang saw two people jump out of the off-road vehicle in front and rush to the barrier ahead, crouching down to start working.

"Um... big brother, what does unknown state mean? What does it mean if someone's face looks bad?" Lei Xiang couldn't hold back any longer, the conversation on the car radio made him feel a chill in his heart, a strange sensation in his mind, as if he could "see" many people rushing towards them.

"Shut up, no talking!" The armed soldier seemed somewhat nervous too, unconsciously raising the g*n barrel, sweat beading on his forehead.

"The staff at the toll plaza are 300 meters away from us!"

"Take cover! Detonate in 5 seconds!"

Lei Xiang saw the two soldiers who had placed the explosives quickly run back, taking cover behind the front and rear tires of the off-road vehicle.

A muffled "thud!"

Lei Xiang felt the car shake slightly, then saw a white smoke rising from the road surface, followed by some pebbles hitting the car, making a tinkling sound.

"Go! Go! Go!" Han Ting's shout came through the radio, "Car 2 leads, 5 and 6 follow Car 2, 1, 4, 7 follow 6, Old Cat, get in my car!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the second vehicle sharply turned and charged down the gap, followed by the box truck and the truck, and then the other three off-road vehicles also followed suit.

Lei Xiang's mind hadn't caught up yet when he felt the car door next to him being abruptly pulled open.

"Let me in!"

The small soldier who opened the door, seeing that Lei Xiang wasn't moving, didn't hesitate to kick him, sending him falling onto the seat, and then the soldier jumped in, grabbed his g*n, and climbed out through the roof hatch to start operating the vehicle-mounted machine g*n.

Han Ting also ran back, ducking into the car, and as soon as he was in, the driver stepped on the gas, the off-road vehicle roaring like an arrow off the string, speeding down the highway.

Lei Xiang stumbled up, watching the highway and the dense crowd behind them grow smaller and smaller, the strange images in his mind becoming clearer!

The people around him didn't appear in his mind, only the "people" chasing the convoy from the toll plaza clearly appeared in his mind!

"What's going on?" Lei Xiang felt his brain was not enough to comprehend.