A distorted sign stood by the roadside, more than half of its lettering faded: Nam An | 102 km
Thuong Sinh glanced at it; he had already traveled a significant distance from Duong Nam City. His eyes swept over the sign before returning to the road ahead, his hands keeping the steering wheel steady.
Lam Thanh Moc sat silently beside him, hands resting on her thighs, her gaze unwavering.
The wind outside the car grew stronger, carrying dust and a faint smell of rusted metal. On both sides of the road, rows of low houses became sparser, their shattered windows like hollow eye sockets watching the vehicle depart. Thuong Sinh neither accelerated nor slowed down. His driving rhythm was steady, identical to the way he held a sword.
The Jeep rolled over a fractured section of the road, the chassis jolting slightly. In the distance, a tilted billboard lay half-collapsed, with only a few disjointed words remaining on it.
Lam Thanh Moc looked out the window. "Have you ever traveled this road before?"
"Never."
"Then why did you choose it?"
Thuong Sinh was silent for a few seconds before answering, "Because no road is safe."
The sentence was soft, yet it caused the atmosphere in the car to turn heavy. The vehicle continued to surge forward. Sunlight slanted through the glass. Suddenly, the fuel gauge needle vibrated slightly.
Thuong Sinh glanced at it, frowning. "We have to find a place to stop before it gets dark."
Lam Thanh Moc turned to look at him. "Out here?"
"Yeah."
She nodded without hesitation.
The road ahead curved, leading into an area that once served as a rest stop. The sign had lost half of its letters, and the lampposts tilted precariously. The surroundings were so quiet that the echoing sound of the engine was clearly audible.
Thuong Sinh decelerated, and the car rolled slower. As soon as the vehicle entered the perimeter of the rest stop, a very small, indistinct sound rang out—vague, but enough to make him grip the steering wheel tighter.
Click.
It wasn't the sound of metal. It was as if something had just touched the pavement behind them.
Thuong Sinh turned off the engine, and silence descended.
Lam Thanh Moc asked in a very low whisper, "Did you hear that?"
"Yeah."
Thuong Sinh opened the car door, his hand already resting on the sword hilt at his hip.
The wind blew through the desolate rest stop, swirling dust and scrap paper. In the distance, amidst the shadows of the abandoned restroom stalls, a shadow retreated very quickly.
Thuong Sinh lowered his voice slightly. "Stay in the car."
Lam Thanh Moc did not argue, but her hand tightened around her backpack.
Thuong Sinh closed the door very gently, creating no redundant noise. His feet touched the ground, and the familiar sensation of cracked concrete surged up. He stood still for a second, not advancing immediately. The wind whistled through the row of broken lampposts, making a faint shrieking sound. The darkness in the restroom area remained still, but Thuong Sinh knew that the thing that had just retreated into it had not yet left.
It was observing. Thuong Sinh unwrapped half of the bandages on his sword, not to attack, but to be ready.
"Come out," he said. His voice was not loud but clear enough in the silent space. There was no vocal reply, only a very light footstep, almost a drag, echoing from the left.
Thuong Sinh turned.
A gaunt figure stepped out from behind a half-collapsed wall. Its clothes were tattered, its back hunched, and its neck tilted to one side at an unnatural angle. Clouded eyes reflected the dim light, and a familiar hoarse sound issued from its throat.
A zombie. But before he could relax, another shadow stumbled into view behind it, followed by a third. It wasn't a large horde.
Thuong Sinh did not hesitate to fully unwrap his sword. He took a step forward, drawing the blade completely; the air around him changed.
The first zombie lunged, its movements not fast but reckless. Thuong Sinh leaned aside to dodge, the sword tip piercing through its neck. As he yanked it out, the head spun through the air once before hitting the ground.
Without stopping, he rotated his wrist to change direction—a clean upward slash that cut through the second one's lower jaw. The force was just enough to split it in two.
The third one barely had time to reach out.
Holding the sword vertically, he took half a step forward and thrust straight through the eye socket.
Three of them.
In less than five seconds, the air became quiet once more.
Thuong Sinh stood straight, his gaze unwavering. He flicked a quick look toward the hidden corners of the rest stop, confirming there was no more movement before retracting his sword.
Only then did the car door open.
Lam Thanh Moc stepped down, her eyes scanning the three corpses on the ground. She did not panic, only frowned slightly. "Did they follow a scent?"
"Maybe. Or someone herded them."
She looked at him. "Someone?"
"Yeah. Near a safe zone, this type of zombie doesn't naturally appear in isolated numbers."
Lam Thanh Moc fell silent.
Thuong Sinh went to open the car hood, performing a quick inspection. There wasn't much gasoline left, but enough to travel a bit further. He glanced at the sky; the sun had begun to tilt low.
"We won't stay here long."
"Keep going?" she asked.
"Yeah. Before it gets completely dark."
Lam Thanh Moc nodded and returned to the car. This time, she did not sit still as before. Her backpack was placed neatly at her feet, her hand rested on the zipper, and her eyes were more vigilant.
The Jeep started again and left the desolate rest stop, leaving behind the three motionless corpses.
The road ahead was long and empty. The next sign came into view, tilted but still legible: Nam An | 87 km
The Jeep surged through the fading twilight, its wheels grinding over numerous potholes, leaving the rest stop to be slowly submerged in darkness.
The sun set very quickly. In less than an hour, the sky had turned a dark gray, and low clouds pressed heavily against the horizon. The last bit of light finally dissipated, replaced by night.
Thuong Sinh decelerated.
The headlights flicked on, two beams of white light tearing through the night ahead, but visibility remained limited by the thin mist rising from the ground.
Nighttime... was not safe. He understood that better than anyone.
Lam Thanh Moc didn't ask why the car had slowed. She simply stared out the window, her hand already positioned over the dagger hidden at her hip. The sounds of scattered insects rang out—not dense, but enough to make one uncomfortable. Further away in the darkness, occasional sounds of unknown origin echoed; it could have been the wind, or it could have been something else.
The Jeep traveled another ten kilometers before slowing down and coming to a complete halt on the shoulder of the road. The surroundings were nothing but open land and knee-high weeds; in the distance were the distorted silhouettes of trees blown sideways by the wind. The asphalt road still stretched out ahead.
Thuong Sinh turned off the engine but did not get out immediately. He sat still for a few seconds, listening. The wind blowing through the wilderness made a rustling sound.
"We stop here," he said.
Lam Thanh Moc looked outside, not asking why.
Thuong Sinh opened the door, sword still at his hip. He walked a circle around the car, checking the ground and old tire tracks, then looked back at the road they had just traveled. Everything was silent.
He returned to the car and spoke to Lam Thanh Moc. "Only a short rest."
"No fire."
"Alternating shifts."
Lam Thanh Moc nodded, pulling her backpack close.
The night sky fully descended, darkness spreading across the wilderness with no shelter or barriers. Wind swept across the barrens, making the weeds sway. Thuong Sinh leaned against a wheel, his sword resting across his thighs, his gaze never leaving the front.
Lam Thanh Moc sat a short distance from him.
As the silence stretched on, she spoke first. "You're used to this."
It wasn't a question.
"No," Thuong Sinh replied. A beat of silence followed. "But you accept it."
"Yeah."
Lam Thanh Moc looked at him. "I don't."
Thuong Sinh did not turn his head. "Then why did you come?"
She didn't answer and said nothing more. The wind grew stronger.
The next morning.
Pale gray light spread over the wilderness, a thin mist covering the ground. There were no traces around the car except for the old tire tracks.
Thuong Sinh opened his eyes first. He stood up, checked the surroundings, and then looked toward Lam Thanh Moc. She was still dozing; he said nothing. He knew she had feelings for him, and he himself wasn't completely indifferent.
But he did not allow himself to touch upon that—not now, not on this road leading back to Nam An. Thuong Sinh retracted his gaze, walked a few steps away, and opened his backpack to check their supplies. Not much water was left, and the food would last one day if they were frugal. He noted this in his mind but did not show it outwardly.
A while later, Lam Thanh Moc woke up. She blinked a few times, looked around, and then looked toward him. "Is it morning?"
"Yeah."
There were no redundant questions.
She stood up and brushed the dust off her clothes, her movements a bit slow from a poor night's sleep. Her gaze swept over Thuong Sinh's face as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she refrained.
He handed her a bottle of water. "Take a sip. Not too much."
Lam Thanh Moc took it and nodded. "Thank you."
The two boarded the vehicle. The engine started, the sound ringing out across the empty wasteland. The mist gradually dissipated as the car rolled forward, and weak sunlight began to shine down on the fractured road.
No one brought up the previous night.
Another stretch of road passed by. The sign appeared ahead, tilted, with the paint almost entirely peeled off: Nam An | 74 km
The Jeep surged past.