NOVEL NEXT Chapter 562: The Smart Way
"This gas station has run out of gasoline again."
Under the scorching sun, Dongsheng was panting and said to Ju Tianrui, who was in the car.
A convoy of several dozen people stopped to refuel at a gas station on the edge of a highway in Hubei Province.
But it was clear that this gas station had no gasoline left.
Ju Tianrui let out an imperceptible sigh and said to Dongsheng below the vehicle: "Get on the car first, it's too hot outside, hurry up and come inside. We'll look again up ahead, we're bound to find some."
Dongsheng wiped off sweat, kicked the gas pump at the entrance of the station with some resentment, then boarded the vehicle.
Once inside, the blast of air conditioning provided some relief. Yet his heart felt incredibly stifled as he spoke to Ju Tianrui:
"Camp Commander, we've already checked four gas stations, all empty. If we can't find any supply today, we won't be able to move tomorrow."
Ju Tianrui frowned, aware of the problem but also knowing there wasn't a better solution at the moment.
All they could do was to try their luck further ahead.
They had left Juzi Island three days ago.
Their progress was slow, only covering a few hundred kilometers in three days.
Although the daytime was blisteringly hot, there were fewer zombies, and they managed to scavenge some supplies, including a bit of food, in some remote areas.
Despite the heat, it was advantageous for the survivors.
Going out to scavenge in such high temperatures carried the risk of heatstroke, but the heat also made certain areas that were previously occupied by zombies accessible.
If they didn't go out, they'd starve to death.
If they went out, they would suffer from the heat and risk heatstroke, but with good protection, it wouldn't be too big of an issue.
It was better to take a risk than to starve to death.
But after so long since the apocalypse erupted, it seemed that all the places with supplies had been scavenged repeatedly.
They could only rely on luck.
Not far from Ju Tianrui and his group was another group also suffocating in the heat. These people had come from Juzi Island to track Ju Tianrui's team.
One of the men, missing a pinky finger, sat in the vehicle, watching the soldiers up ahead.
He said helplessly, "Check how much fuel we have left. It feels like these guys are just leading us on a wild goose chase. We've been trailing them for three days and only traveled this short distance. Damn it!"
After speaking, he pounded the car window, creating a loud noise.
"Big brother, don't get agitated, be careful not to let them notice us," said a man sitting behind him, missing one side of his eyebrows.
"Hah! You think they don't know we've been following them? What a joke, these guys are cunning. They fill up every gas station they pass and take everything, leaving us nothing.
If we hadn't brought extra gasoline when we left Juzi Island, we'd probably be out of fuel by now."
This man, missing a pinky, was the leader of the group, known as Jiu Zhi.
He hadn't wanted to take on this task, but he had some minor disputes with Hai Chao at Juzi Island.
So Hai Chao sent him out to handle this thankless chore.
In such hot weather, wouldn't it be nice to stay cool at the base? Instead, they had to suffer here.
The man with the broken eyebrow, filled with resentment, didn't know how to respond and simply got out of the car to check the remaining gasoline.
There were 15 of them who had come out to track Ju Tianrui and his group.
Little did they know it would get hotter by the day.
Yesterday, during the day, a tire on one of their vehicles even burst from the heat, forcing them to change it.
From being initially cautious, they eventually started to openly follow Ju Tianrui's convoy.
The two teams were less than 300 meters apart, and Ju Tianrui didn't bother with them, nor did he wait for them.
He had an attitude that said, 'If you want to follow, then follow; if you don't, I'm fine with that too.'
After inspecting the vehicles, the man with the broken eyebrow climbed back into the car with a troubled expression.
Seeing this constipated look on his face, Jiu Zhi had a bad hunch.
He asked, "What's with that face, how much gasoline do we have left?"
"Big, big brother, I've just checked all five cars, and together they have less than 200 liters left. The two extra gasoline cans we brought have already been used up. That's all we have."
Jiu Zhi didn't scold him but started calculating. Each car, when filled to the brim, could hold 80 liters, which would be enough to travel 500 kilometers.
Now, with five cars averaging less than 40 liters each, they could only travel 250 kilometers.
This amount of fuel was definitely insufficient.
Thinking this, Jiu Zhi looked resentfully at the convoy of Ju Tianrui up ahead; it was their fault for taking detours, running around haphazardly, not giving them a chance to refuel.
They had to follow them from behind, and following in Ju Tianrui's wake hadn't provided them any chance to refuel.
After thinking for a while, Jiu Zhi finally said, "Let's ditch Lao Huang's car, its condition is poor. Have the four people in his car spread out into the other vehicles. With one less car, we might save some fuel."
The man with the broken eyebrow wasn't on great terms with Lao Huang and was determined not to let Lao Huang into his vehicle.
So, he pursed his lips and said:
"Alright. I'll go and talk to them. But continuing like this, big brother, we won't last much longer. Should we... Since Ju Tianrui and his team already know we're following them, why don't we negotiate and borrow some fuel from them?"