The highway became a battlefield in less than three minutes.

Gunfire thundered nonstop across the blocked roadway while soldiers moved between stalled civilian vehicles in organized formations, powers flashing violently through the lightening darkness of early morning as the first waves of zombies slammed against the convoy defenses.

Wei Guang stood near the front line with blood splattered across one sleeve of his uniform while military radios screamed overlapping reports into his earpiece.

"Left flank breach!"

"Bird variants overhead!"

"Fuel truck six needs support!"

"Hold the fucking line!"

A wall of fire exploded across the center lane as one of the awakened soldiers thrust both hands forward, flames roaring through a tightly packed cluster of human zombies hard enough to ignite several abandoned cars nearby.

The burning wrecks illuminated the highway in flashes of orange and black. But instead of being reassuring, it only made things worse. The light managed to prove what Wei knew. They were vastly outnumbered.

No matter how many zombies got knocked down, more kept coming. He had never seen numbers like this, and for a moment, his breath caught in his throat.

Shaking his head, refusing to submit to the fear that was playing with his mind, he raised his rifle and fired twice into the skull of a sprinting infected before turning sharply as something shrieked overhead.

Fucking birds.

At least thirty of them dove out of the darkness together.

Some still looked vaguely recognizable beneath the rot. Others had degraded into little more than wet feathers and exposed muscle stretched over bone. Black blood dripped from ruined wings as they crashed directly into the military line with mindless aggression.

One soldier screamed as claws tore across his face as another blasted a compressed wave of air upward. The attacked shredded several birds apart mid-flight while blood and feathers rained down onto the convoy below.

Then the tiger hit the barricade again.

The mutated animal slammed into the side of an armored transport hard enough to dent the reinforced metal inward while soldiers scattered away from its claws. Its exposed ribs flexed visibly beneath rotting flesh as it roared loud enough to vibrate through the highway itself.

"Bring it down!" Wei barked as he raised his hand.

Metal spikes erupted upward from the asphalt beneath the tiger while gunfire hammered into its skull from three directions simultaneously. The creature staggered violently before another awakened soldier drove a massive stone spear directly through its torso.

The tiger had only collapsed for a brief moment when something immediately started eating it from inside the horde.

Wei didn’t look closely enough to identify what. He had enough shit on his plate at the moment as more zombies pushed over the corpse before it fully stopped moving.

"Sir!"

Wei turned sharply as another officer sprinted toward him through the chaos.

"We’re losing the outer lanes! Our formation is breaking!"

No shit. The convoy was too large to do anything but go in a straight line.

That was the real problem.

Hundreds of vehicles stretched across the highway with nowhere to maneuver while zombies packed themselves tighter around the blockade every minute. Even with awakened soldiers and military-grade weapons, the convoy couldn’t build enough momentum to force through a wall of bodies this dense.

And every gunshot attracted more.

Another explosion shook the road.

One of the military dogs tore through a zombie’s throat nearby before its handler dragged it backward behind the defensive line. The animal’s fur was soaked red while soldiers reloaded around them with increasingly strained movements.

Wei could already see the warning signs.

Sweat.

Shaking hands.

Heavy breathing.

The awakened soldiers were starting to burn out.

Powers helped, but they weren’t limitless. The stronger the ability output became, the harder it hit the body afterward. Some of the soldiers near the front were already showing muscle tremors from overuse while medics moved between positions handing out water and stimulants as fast as they could.

And worst of all, the zombies didn’t get tired. Not like the humans did.

A burst of static crackled loudly through convoy communications before General Sun Jian’s voice cut through the noise. "All escort leaders report!"

Wei immediately grabbed the radio clipped to his vest. "Colonel Wei Guang responding."

"Status?"

Wei looked toward the highway ahead. There were bodies everywhere. Smoke rising between abandoned cars. Birds circling overhead.

And further down the blockade—

More movement.

Too much movement.

What was the proper military reply for "fucked?"

"We cannot force through this density without unacceptable losses," Wei answered flatly, biting back what he actually wanted to say.

Several seconds of silence followed before another officer cut in over comms. "Rear sections report additional movement approaching from behind!"

Of course they did.

The convoy had become a giant screaming beacon in the middle of the highway.

General Sun’s voice returned immediately afterward. "There’s an off-ramp approximately five hundred meters behind the convoy," he said sharply. "We reroute immediately."

Wei’s jaw tightened.

The downtown route had already been calculated, cleared, and planned weeks ago. Every alternate route carried increased uncertainty and lower odds of safe arrival.

But staying here meant death by attrition and the General clearly knew it too. "We cannot maintain stationary defense at this scale," Sun continued, his voice taking on a tone that sounded wrong to Wei. "All units begin withdrawal rotation. Protect the convoy first. We move now."

Orders exploded across military channels almost instantly afterward.

Soldiers began falling back in coordinated groups while armored vehicles repositioned themselves aggressively across the highway. Powers flashed continuously through the smoke as awakened soldiers forced temporary openings large enough for the convoy to start turning around section by section.

The entire highway descended further into chaos.

Fuel engines roared.

Military dogs barked violently.

Scientists shouted inside RVs demanding updates while communications officers rerouted navigation systems in real time.

A bird smashed directly into the windshield of a passing transport truck hard enough to crack the glass before being dragged beneath the tires.

Wei grabbed a younger soldier by the shoulder and shoved him sideways a split second before a zombie snake lunged from underneath an abandoned car.

The creature missed the soldier’s leg by inches.

Gunfire tore it apart immediately afterward.

"Wei!"

Wei looked toward the command transport where General Sun stood outside surrounded by officers and communications staff.

The older man’s expression looked grim.

"We’re taking the suburban routes," Sun said without preamble. "Less population density. Easier maneuverability."

Wei glanced once toward the endless sea of zombies swallowing the highway behind them.

Then he nodded once.

"Understood."

General Sun exhaled slowly before looking back toward the convoy.

"Get these people to Rongdu alive," he said quietly. "Whatever happens to the rest of us doesn’t matter."