Chapter 18: The search
While everyone though that the young lady mistoke the direction the beasts took, Liushi though that she may be right.
The Starseed said that the reason the mutant bees didn't have a core was because they were still immatures. He didn't think that they would settle anywhere but in the hive they originated from, though they would have upgraded it to accomodate their new size. He also didn't think they would be smart enough to act that well organised. Why did they take both zombies and humans away, the zombies mostly taken as corpses, and the humans mostly taken alive? They had use for zombies corpses and live humans. No, the thing, or the person controlling them did. Something or someone smart enough to not have stayed where the apiaries were.
At the end of the talk, Liushi, Xiaotian and Lu had determined places where their parents were likely to have gone to. Most likely where their father could have gone. They had little hope of ever finding their mother safe and sound, so they didn't even talk about the possibility. The place where she worked didn't offer much protection against a sudden zombie apocalypse, and that was only if she survived the mutation.
In return for the informations about the town, he gave the 4 survivors another 10kg of mutant meat, as well as information about the existance of safe haven the government hastly prepared when they realised the outbreak was imminent. If they ever left their town, which would be a smart thing to do with the mutant bees around, they knew they could try to go to Shenhai Island. And they should do so by following the major roads and railways from a safe distance, as they would likely have a lot of zombies around, but more chances to come across a military convoy.
Back in the Doomsday Ride, Xioatian took the lower bed while her sister took the upper bed in the living module. Liushi realised that he was going to need another bed before reaching Nanjing City. The area in front of the door and the kitchen had 2 seats and a table. He was going to turn it into a retractable table, and the 2 seats would be replaced by a clic-clac bed, doomsday ride style. He also wanted to add 2 rifles turrets on the truck and another on the trailer. Finally, he would add another pump and valve with a hose so he could wash the truck properly.
While the girls were quietly talking to each other, Liushi had started the repairs and upgrades. He had connected the truck to the motel power grid with a bit of material manipulation, and let the Starseed do the rest. All he had to do was stay in contact with the truck. At least for the windows and external upgrades, the internal ones would force him to reveal part of his secret, and he didn't want to yet. For the rest, which were made outside of their view, he could blame his engineering section and some DIY.
Jiang Liushi woke up with a start, and his hands went to the weapons he kept near him. He looked around, and not noticing anything that could have awoken him, became puzzled.
[The external power source has been cut] announced the Starseed.
'External power source? The local powergrid! There goes my booster for upgrades...'
Ever since the Outbreak Day, Liushi knew that the supply of electricity and running water wouldn't last if there wasn't a solid military presence nearby to protect the installations and their operators. The outbreak must have already caused damage to the distribution network due to accidents, and the zombies and mutant beasts might cause damages as well.
'Frozen products! Not only frozen food, but also medecines and some specific components, they are going to be lost in areas losing power. They are going to be valuable ressources in the following months. I should check as many pharmacy, hospitals and medical labs as possible on my way. Thinking about it, for survival, people will focus on non-perishable food, leaving most frozen goods, so I should raid butcher shops, sea food shops and restaurant freezers as well. I should also gather some luxury consummables, smokes and drinks. Good thing I got myself a trailer, it's going to be full soon.'
After making a note about that on the on-board computer, he went back to sleep. During the night, the additional turrets on the Doomsday Ride were completed, one at the front and one at the back. They were made to target aerial enemies, especially those trying to attack from above the truck. The additional ones on the trailer were made to protect the sides, and would be near useless against attacks from sraight above, but it wasn't a problem as the mutant bees wouldn't focus on it.
Early in the morning, Liushi and the Wen sisters separated from the other survivors. They were all in the driving cockpit, Xiotian behind the wheel, Lu in the middle and Liushi next to the door. They were driving slowly, relying mostly on the electric engine to keep the noise to a minimum.
The zombies they encountered on the way were quickly killed by the turrets. Liushi made a few quick stops on the way to collect quality liquor and smoking supplies. The zombies he encountered in those stores were dealt with quickly with his needler and fire axe. The defense of his biker gear had already been tested, and he was always carefull to not get swarmed. And this time, even when surprised, he reacted properly. He was very pleased with himself afterward. However, things changed shortly after noon. They had taken a break to eat, when the security program caught movement behind them.
"Survivors" said Liushi, as he had the pad in front of him.
Xiaotian and Lu quickly gathered around him to look at the footage.
"But, wait" said Lu.
"I noticed" answered Liushi. "They are retreating. Trying to flee without attracting attention."
On the screen, the 3 survivors movements were frantic, yet it was clear they were trying to be discreet. They were coming from a previous minor intersection. Liushi guessed they were moving through the smaller roads for more cover from the bees, despite more chances of ambushes by zombies in dark areas. One of them stopped for a moment, then got down a crawled under an abandonned car, near a zombie corpse. The others scattered arounds looking for cover, but it was too late.
A mutant bee emerged from the street they came from, and let did some frenetics short moves while striking its front limbs together. A few seconds later, several more mutant bees rushed there, and targeted the 2 barely hidden survivors. They tried to fight back, one of them even succeding in vanquishing a bee with an axe strike, but they got overwhelmed. However, despite all the injuries they inflicted on them, they didn't kill them.
The last man got unlucky. He was well hidden, and would have been left alone if one of the bees hadn't been kicked in his direction by his struggling comrade. The close combat battle under the car was short and likely ended with his death, as less than 10 seconds later, the bee emerged, and noone of them tried to take him. With 3 beasts per people, and the remaining ones as escort, they carried their weakly struggling preys away.
Liushi and the Wen Sister watched all of this on the screen of the tablet. They had decided before living in the morning, that they couldn't afford to help everyone they came across. Not when the people needing help were attacked by the mutant beasts. Attracting their attention wasn't a good thing, especially while looking for someone. They would only act if the girls recognised someone, for people that truly matered to them.
That certainly didn't mean they took what happened very well. Xiaotian had both her hands over her mouth and was silently crying. Lu only looked sad and resigned, having already witnessed the same kind of scene before. Liushi didn't stay frozen in front of the screen. He swiftly moved behind the wheel and turned the engine on. Then he drove in reverse toward the intersection, clearly intending to follow the beasts. Xiaotian gasped in shock and both girls turned thir panicked faces toward him.
"Brother Liushi! What are you doing?"
"We forgot something" he said, as he cautiously entered the street the survivors had come from.
He also kept an eye on the sky, as some of the mutant bees could be seen from time to time rising above the roofs of buildings.
"They take live humans. We don't know how long they keep them alive, but I believe it's for more than a few hours. You probably don't want to think about it, but your parents may very well be prisoners. If they are, we would know, and we could try to help them. If they aren't, then at least we would know where their hive is, and with some molotov cocktails, make sure they are too busy doing damage control to think of doing more abductions."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Tonyorobsky
Tonyorobsky I think I wrote this chapter to fast and will want to edit it in the future, but I don't want to leave it unpublished. Along with this chapter, I'm sure I'll be able to write 2 more for this month. I'm also trying to resume writing my other fics, but it's going slowly.
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