The diesel generator emitted a dying buzz, and Wang Ergo wiped the frost off his rearview mirror. Tucked in the back seat was eight-year-old Xiao Man, clutching the tin pencil case she had brought from elementary school. It was their seventh day across the East China plain, and outside the Windows swarms of grey-throated species were gnawing on the rubber tires of abandoned trucks.

  "Look, Dad! Xiao Man suddenly screamed, pointing to the fluorescent mark on the highway guardrail in the distance. A dozen LED tubes disappeared in the thick fog, forming a giant double helix symbol - the rescue signal they had found at the Suzhou toll station three days earlier.

  When Wang Ergou saw the numbers written in blood below the sign, his pupils constricted sharply. That string of zombies gnawed on the Arabic number, and the daughter's bracelet unlock code exactly match. The shotgun in the passenger seat went off, shattering the windshield.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Twenty-three grey-throat species emerged from the fog, their skin glowing like mother-of-pearl in the headlights. Mr. Wang slammed on the gas and headed up the slope, where in his rearview mirror he saw the Holy See's armed black SUV unrolling its armor plate in the thick fog. The men in bulletproof vests had gold crosses embroidered on their chests, and the flamethrowers held by the leaders spewed a harsh blue light.

  "The crazy people of the Tzu Chi..." Wang Ergou chewed up the styptic capsule hidden in his molars. At this moment, Xiao Man's bracelet vibrates, and the holographic projection in the air pieces together a frightening picture: the researcher wearing a protective suit is operating the scalpel at the autopsy table, and the body lying in the specimen bottle, the face is strikingly similar to the father he remembers.