Chapter 83: The Roadblock

As I drove with my sister and the others towards the botanical garden, a large tree suddenly toppled across the middle of the road.

Immediately, prompted by my sister’s alarmed shout, I slammed on the brakes.

My car screeched to a halt mere meters from the fallen tree.

Looking ahead, I saw more than just the massive tree obstructing the way.

On both sides of it, man-made barricades of bricks and rubble had been piled, completely sealing off any passage.

A single glance was all it took.

With ten years of experience in the apocalypse, I instantly understood the situation.

Someone had clearly set up a roadblock, intending to force vehicles to stop.

Their ultimate goal was to rob and kill.

“Brother, a tree has fallen in front of us! I’ll get out and move it.”

“No need. Wait a moment.”

I raised a hand, stopping my sister from unbuckling her seatbelt and attempting to exit the car. I then sat calmly in the driver’s seat, unmoving, simply gazing ahead.

“Bai Han, what’s happening?”

“Are those people chasing us again? I told you we shouldn’t have come back!”

“If you didn’t want to come back, you should’ve gotten out. Now that you’re in, don’t overthink useless things. Besides, even if they caught up, so what? Little Brother Bai Han is here.”

“I’m so scared!”

Just after I had stopped my sister, the women in the back seat suddenly lost their composure.

Unlike my sister, these women had become like startled birds due to the previous brutal encounters, terrifying easily at the slightest rustle.

Seeing their panic, I felt compelled to speak again, offering them reassurance.

“It’s nothing. Someone just set up a roadblock ahead. I’ve stopped the car to force them to come out themselves.”

“Brother, look!”

Just as I was comforting the women in the back seat, my sister’s voice suddenly rang out, urging me to quickly look out the front window.

Indeed, it was exactly as I had predicted.

Five or six men emerged from behind the fallen tree ahead, brandishing knives, hammers, and similar weapons.

As they eyed our vehicle, their faces contorted into expressions of greedy anticipation.

Their aggressive demeanor clearly indicated they wanted the supplies within the car.

Observing the dark brown bloodstains covering their clothes, my expression remained impassive, yet I knew in my heart that they had already killed many passersby.

Zombie blood is black; only human blood, once coagulated, turns dark brown.

Initially, I had expected a greater challenge, but it turned out to be merely a group of ants blocking the road.

Upon realizing these individuals were nothing more than insignificant fodder with negligible combat power, I cast aside all remaining reservations.

I unbuckled my seatbelt, prevented my sister from attempting to join me, and then opened the car door.

Perhaps it was the sheer amount I had experienced before my rebirth that made me overly cautious in such situations.

Nevertheless, this was no bad thing; a moment of caution was always better than losing one’s life through carelessness.

“Hey, hand over the car keys, and we grandpas might spare your life. Otherwise… hmph hmph.”

“Right, the car and everything inside are ours now.”

“Since we young masters are in a good mood today, scram quickly, or we’ll spill your blood on the spot.”

After exiting the car, I walked directly to the front, standing in distant opposition to the group.

The men who had emerged from behind the tree began to clamor at me.

However, the burly man standing at the very front remained silent, his eyes ceaselessly scanning me up and down.

I listened to their arrogant words, unperturbed.

Yet, my palms began to itch, and the power within me was on the verge of uncontrollably bursting forth.

“All of you, shut up! Little brother, where did you used to roam? You look unfamiliar!”

“I’m just a passerby.”

“Alright, seeing as little brother looks so kind today, I won’t take your car. You may pass.”

I had prepared myself to deal with these people today, but to my surprise, the leader possessed excellent judgment.

Clearly, he had discerned my unwavering composure, realizing I was not someone to be easily bullied.

“Big Brother, no way! The zombie virus has been raging for days, but this brat is impeccably clean from head to toe. He’s clearly a fat sheep!”

“Yeah, there might be a lot of food in the car!”

“There should be women too, hehehe…”

“Are you the boss, or am I? I said let them go, and they go. Whoever disobeys, I’ll shoot them dead myself.”

The leading大哥 recognized my unusual nature, but his subordinates failed to see it, their minds consumed by intense greed for my car.

However, with a furious roar, the leading大哥 pulled a gun from his waist and gestured with it at the men behind him.

At the same time, the leading大哥 secretly watched my facial expression out of the corner of his eye, wanting to see if a mere gun would cause me to panic.

If I truly blanched at the sight of a gun, he would undoubtedly conclude I was bluffing and swiftly end my life with a single shot.

But alas, even when I was low-leveled, I hadn’t feared the gun in Brother Li’s hands. As a Level 6 ability user now, I felt no fear whatsoever.

In my eyes, the gun in the leading大哥’s hand was nothing more than a toy.

Seeing my unchanging, expressionless face, and then meeting my cold, lifeless gaze, the leading大哥’s pupils involuntarily constricted.

Immediately, the leading大哥 dared not probe further. He extended the hand holding the gun and viciously struck the head of a nearby man.

The man, hit by the gun’s butt, immediately collapsed unconscious to the ground.

At this, the clamoring men dared not utter another word, all standing silently behind the leading大哥.

“Little brother, we’ll move the roadblock right away. You may leave.”

“Mm.”

Seeing the leading大哥’s pragmatism, I had no desire to cause further complications. I simply nodded, indicating they should hurry.

It was already the apocalypse; if one were to try and uphold justice every time someone committed evil, then… even if they worked themselves to death, they wouldn’t be able to manage.

In any case, only the leading大哥 among them had a gun. When facing increasingly powerful zombies in the future, they would still meet the fate of being devoured.

They had time to block roads and rob here; they would be better off retreating to a nearby city and seeking aid from a temporary base.

Despite knowing all this, I would not speak out to warn them. Just as I would not kill these people, I would not save them either.

“Big Brother Bai Han!!! Please save me!!!”

Just as I was about to return to the car, a disheveled woman suddenly emerged from behind the tree, shouting my name loudly.