The train left Boulogne and stopped under a viaduct after a sharp turn. Lambert hurried from the engine to meet Shao Ming, who had just stepped off.
Walkie-talkies, Shao Ming thought. They really needed some.
"Up ahead is Le Touquet-Paris-Plage," Lambert said, handing a tablet to Shao Ming. "Also, the tablet's dead. Take it to the back to charge."
"You're the local. You explain," Shao Ming said, passing the focus to Asgi.
"Le Touquet," Asgi said after a moment of thought, "isn't a big city. Not many people lived there. But there's an airport nearby, something to be mindful of."
"Oh, and the beaches there have a unique beauty," he added.
Lambert pointed at the map on the tablet. "I think I'll park the train near the marshes by the estuary. Then we can disembark to check the switches."
"Sounds good," Shao Ming nodded. "We'll grab some gear from the cars first."
Shao Ming and Asgi went to the rear cars and brought back weapons and ammunition. Along with Lambert, they returned to the cab, and the train rumbled forward, passing through two small towns.
This, of course, drew the attention of nearby infected. Some chased briefly before giving up, while others pursued the train all the way to the outskirts.
The infected appeared to exhibit some territorial awareness, abandoning the chase once the train left their domain. It was almost as if these creatures had begun to carve out their own regions.
Oblivious to this behavior, the three in the cab focused on their next steps. Lambert, opening the cab door to get out, noticed a crowd of infected spilling from the town behind them.
"We've got a tail," Lambert said, quickly ducking back inside.
"Should we move further ahead?" Shao Ming suggested.
"No," Asgi replied. "If we go further, we'll get too close to Le Touquet and end up surrounded."
The towns were about three kilometers apart, and the train had stopped right between them.
Asgi opened the door to observe the infected himself. They were still some distance away.
"It won't be easy to deal with this many without guns," Asgi said, assessing the crowd of 40 or 50 infected.
"Then let's just shoot them," Shao Ming decided, stepping outside. "We've been idling here long enough to draw attention. If there were any nearby infected, they'd have shown up by now."
He ran to the rear cars and knocked on the window. Three heads popped out.
"Stay in the train," Shao Ming said. "We've got some uninvited paparazzi to handle."
Asgi set up his sniper rifle and quickly fired, taking down the first infected.
Through the scope, Shao Ming judged the distance to be over 200 meters.
He raised his rifle and took his shot, hitting his target with ease. It was simpler than shooting practice.
He felt lucky again. Having Asgi—a sharpshooter with special forces training—made all the difference. None of the infected even reached the train before collapsing into lifeless heaps.
"Whew." Shao Ming ejected the last shell from his shotgun and stood.
"Not bad, kid," Asgi said, clapping him on the shoulder. "With some practice, you could be a sniper yourself."
Hearing such praise, Shao Ming couldn't help but grin.
"Alright, back to business," Asgi said.
"We'll come with you," Feng Yusheng offered, standing by the car door.
"Stay and guard the train," Shao Ming replied. "We won't be long."
The switch was in the city, and bringing more people wouldn't help against large numbers of infected. A smaller team was better for stealth. Besides, the train was far safer than the outside.
The three set off northward, leaving the train behind. The station was on the eastern edge of the city, while the train was currently on the western side.
To avoid the city, they moved through the woods, circling to the eastern side where the station lay.
"You held out for a while, didn't you?" Shao Ming remarked, noting the makeshift barricades of debris on the roads.
"Longer than England," Asgi nodded. "Our people turned later, but we still couldn't escape…"
"No defense is immune to collapse from within," Shao Ming sighed.
The woods weren't too dense, and after a kilometer or two, they emerged near a cemetery and caught sight of the town ahead.
It was a typical European small town, with scattered buildings, green spaces, and quaint streets.
Shao Ming raised his scope and scanned the area. Shadows flitted through the windows of nearby houses.
"Let's move closer," he said. "Find the spot with the least infected."
The three continued eastward under the cover of the trees until they reached a sports complex.
The complex had a large field, a swimming pool, and an indoor arena. Beyond it, a school sat along a street, with the railway switches just behind the school.
"Let me confirm," Shao Ming said to Asgi. "Your government implemented lockdowns too, right?"
"Of course," Asgi nodded.
"So, the gym and school should've been closed," Shao Ming reasoned.
"Exactly," Asgi replied. "A week or two before things got this bad, no one was attending classes or going to the gym."
The trio moved cautiously past the gymnasium to the swimming pool. Between the two buildings lay an open badminton court, offering little cover.
"How's it look?" Lambert asked.
"It's clear," Shao Ming said. "But the court is exposed, so we'll need to move quickly."
"Fast and light," Asgi agreed.
Shao Ming nodded, and the three darted across the open space, reaching the street without incident.
The school stood at the street's end, flanked by rows of apartments. Walking along the street would undoubtedly alert the infected lurking in the apartments.
"There." Lambert pointed at a scaffolding structure against one of the buildings.
Using it, they could climb to the roof, offering a safer path.
The trio ascended the scaffolding, but a new challenge presented itself.
Unlike England's terraced houses, these apartment buildings were spaced apart.
Asgi took a few steps back, then sprinted forward and leaped across to the next rooftop.
Shao Ming peered over the edge, the six-story drop making his stomach churn. Taking a deep breath, he ran and jumped, landing safely beside Asgi.
"Oh, hell no." Lambert stared at the gap, his legs trembling. "I should've joined the track team in college."