Shao Ming turned his head, about to ask Feng Yusheng what was wrong, but he quickly saw several mutated creatures charging toward them from not far away.
"Don't freeze! Move!" Shao Ming urgently stood up, grabbed his backpack, and noticed that Feng Yusheng wasn't armed. Without hesitation, he handed her his pistol.
"I have this," Feng Yusheng said, pulling out a kitchen knife from her bag. "But I don't know how to use a gun."
"Just pull the trigger when zombies get close," Shao Ming instructed, opening the car door and jumping out.
Seeing the five or six mutated creatures charging at them and more coming out from the nearby buildings, Shao Ming added, "A kitchen knife won't be enough."
With the horde chasing them, the bus had been weaving through the streets near the airport, taking multiple detours. They had ended up right back near the airport.
The first few mutated creatures were already less than a hundred meters away. Shao Ming raised his rifle and pulled the trigger. Shooting at the charging mutated creatures wasn't difficult, and the first few fell to the ground quickly.
As he prepared to aim at more distant mutated creatures, Feng Yusheng hurriedly patted his arm. "Let's go, more will be here soon!"
Shao Ming nodded, lowering his rifle as he heard the distant roar of the horde. He and Feng Yusheng started running in the opposite direction.
Just across the street was Manchester Airport's Terminal 3, and it appeared that the mutated creatures were mostly concentrated in the horde outside. The airport itself was relatively quiet with few mutated creatures inside.
They reached the terminal's entrance. The parking lot outside was full of abandoned cars, and scattered luggage suggested that many people had rushed to the airport just days before. At the entrance, there was a temporary checkpoint set up by the police, complete with barricades, some of which were stained with dried blood.
They quickly crossed the obstacles and approached the entrance.
Inside the terminal, everything was eerily quiet. Before they could catch their breath, the sound of the mutated creatures' approach grew louder.
"Run," Shao Ming said, adjusting his backpack and pulling Feng Yusheng along.
The mutated creatures were clearly less adept at overcoming obstacles. The pile of debris in the doorway tripped many of them up.
Taking advantage of the delay, they rushed into the terminal.
Inside, there were more signs of the chaos that had unfolded: scattered luggage, bloodstains, and numerous empty bullet casings on the floor. However, unlike what Shao Ming had seen just days earlier, there were no bodies or even bones. The dry bloodstains and shredded clothing pieces, however, told the grim story.
Just days before, Manchester Airport had been filled with people desperate to flee. Among them were many who had been on the brink of mutation. As the mutated creatures tore into these infected individuals, the transformation process was rapid, turning them into new monsters who, in turn, began attacking more people. Within just half an hour, the airport had fallen, and no one had escaped. Those who were still alive were quickly torn apart and devoured.
Neither Shao Ming nor Feng Yusheng had witnessed this tragedy firsthand, but the bloodstains on the floor spoke volumes.
Moving deeper into the terminal, they continued walking, with the silence inside making the outside chaos seem even more pronounced.
As the sounds of the horde grew louder from the nearby city, they quickly stepped away from the large windows facing the tarmac, seeking cover behind rows of abandoned shops.
From one of the windows, they could see the source of the black smoke rising from the airport. Two planes had collided on the runway, and farther off, the fuel depot had been reduced to a massive crater.
"What now?" Feng Yusheng asked.
"We can't stay here," Shao Ming said. "We need to find a way to get to Liverpool. If we can find a ship, we might still make it home."
"Do you really think we can go home?" Feng Yusheng asked, her gaze fixed on one of the crashed planes. Its faded logo clearly read "China Southern Airlines."
"Of course," Shao Ming replied firmly. "Our families are waiting for us."
As they continued walking deeper into the terminal, Shao Ming glanced at her. "So, where's your hometown?"
"Sichuan. And you?"
"I'm from Shanxi," Shao Ming answered. "I was supposed to visit after studying abroad. I wanted to go there before heading home."
"Come visit," Feng Yusheng said with a smile. "I'll treat you to some skewers and rabbit head. I love rabbit head—it's so delicious."
"Sounds great," Shao Ming said. "You should come to Shanxi too. I'll treat you to some hand-cut noodles."
"We have hand-cut noodles in Sichuan too," Feng Yusheng replied with a grin.
"No, no, no. It's different," Shao Ming quickly shook his head. "Let me treat you to a bowl of 'Tuo' noodles. You've definitely never had that."
As they joked around, the sound of the mutated creatures reached them once more.
The creatures at the entrance had finally caught up, and Shao Ming looked over his shoulder—at least twenty mutated creatures were rushing toward them.
"Run!" Shao Ming shouted, raising his rifle to shoot.
Feng Yusheng immediately ran toward the side door, only to find it locked.
Shao Ming fired at the approaching creatures, taking down several of them with quick shots.
"Is it open?" he asked, still retreating.
"It's locked! I can't open it!" Feng Yusheng pulled frantically at the door handle, but the iron chain locking the door made it impossible for her to open by herself.
Shao Ming glanced back. Fortunately, the door was made of glass.
"Break the door!" he shouted. "Use the gun!"
Feng Yusheng immediately raised the pistol, closed her eyes, and fired at the glass.
The bullets cracked the glass, leaving several large cracks across the door.
Shao Ming shot two more of the creatures, but there were still ten or so closing in quickly.
With a quick kick, Feng Yusheng shattered the glass door.
"Go!" she shouted at Shao Ming.