Simon first crouched and moved to the Hilux to keep watch. After confirming with a sweep of his thermal scope that there were no remaining zombies in the immediate vicinity of the truck, he waved his hand to signal that it was clear.
Receiving the signal, Dominik, keeping himself between the dark alley and Laura, Quaid, and the two students, crouch-walked to the pickup truck.
After Dominik unlocked the cab, the four of them piled into the back seat. Despite the Hilux being a double-cab, squeezing four adults into the back was tight, but given the circumstances, no one complained about the lack of legroom.
Simon circled around, opened the passenger door, and slid inside. At the same time, Dominik swung into the driver's seat and jammed the key into the ignition.
Rumble~
The moment Dominik turned the key, the diesel engine roared to life, a beautiful sound in the silent, dead city.
At the same time, Simon rolled down the passenger window, leaned out, and pulled two 40mm High-Explosive rounds from his webbing. He loaded one into the EGLM underbarrel launcher and held the other ready.
Looking at the horde of zombies recovering from the white phosphorus diversion and beginning to surge back toward the sound of the engine, Simon unhesitatingly pulled the trigger of the grenade launcher.
Thump!
BOOM!
The grenade exploded directly in the center of the approaching horde. Amidst the violent explosion and flying asphalt, the pickup truck surged forward, its tires screaming as Dominik floored it, driving straight south down 35th Street.
Simon did not relax. After breaching the launcher and loading the second grenade, he turned and fired another shot at the mass pursuing them from behind.
This second explosion completely severed the visual line between the horde and the Hilux, filling the street with smoke and debris. At this point, the pickup truck's speed finally picked up, and the remaining infected could only watch as their prey sped away into the night.
About twenty minutes later, Dominik and his group had navigated the debris-strewn outer roads and officially left the city limits of Mandalay behind.
The moment the pickup truck merged onto the relatively clear Asian Highway 1, heading south towards the Thai border, Dominik heard the System's characteristic cold, mechanical voice:
[Received emotional feedback from Quaid Sears. Degree: Gratitude. Granting 5 Points.]
[Received emotional feedback from Ashley Graham. Degree: Relief/Gratitude. Granting 5 Points.]
[Received emotional feedback from Jean Grey. Degree: Relief/Gratitude. Granting 5 Points.]
[Detected that Host has completed the Side Quest to rescue Laura Corvinus. Rewarding Host with 50 Points.]
[Detected that Host calmly responded to a crisis and successfully executed squad-level commands under fire. Increasing Host's Shooting attribute by 4 and Host's Reaction attribute by 5.]
The rapid series of notification chimes ringing in his head left Dominik a bit dazed.
He knew Quaid Sears; the other two unfamiliar names must have been the two female students huddled in the back.
However, the name Ashley Graham sounded somewhat familiar. Dominik felt like he had heard it in his previous life—maybe a pop culture reference?—but he couldn't place it, and he didn't pay it much mind right now. He was far more concerned about his current Point balance.
While Simon was still on high alert, scanning the dark jungle lining the highway, Dominik mentally commanded the System: System, open my personal profile. Show me the points.
[Acknowledged.]
[Dominik Corvinus]
Shooting: 44
Reaction: 75
Combat: 45
Luck: 100
Special Skills: None
Health: Good
Points Held: 95
Reputation: 1
Shop: [Locked - Requires Mercenary PMC Establishment]
Oh, wow...
Dominik looked at the virtual panel projected onto his retina and couldn't help but exhale a sigh of relief. This terrifying detour into the city had earned him a considerable windfall.
He now had 95 points. That was almost enough for one B-class summon.
However, he wasn't sure who the B-class characters were in the System's pool. If he spent his hard-earned points and summoned a logistical clerk or a cannon fodder grunt, wouldn't it be a waste right now when he needed firepower?
Dominik ultimately decided to hold onto his points until they crossed the border, officially registered a PMC, and unlocked the Shop function. That way, he could see what gear or intel he could buy to maximize his survival chances.
"Clear."
Just then, Simon pulled his head back into the cab and rolled up the window. He pointed to a rusted, bullet-pocked road sign illuminated by the headlights. "Just follow the AH1. It's about 600 kilometers to Bangkok, depending on road conditions."
"Understood," Dominik replied, his hands relaxing slightly on the wheel.
There were directional signs, though many were damaged, so Simon didn't need to continuously navigate; Dominik only needed to keep the truck on the main asphalt artery heading south.
Once he confirmed they were cruising safely, Dominik finally took off his heavy night vision goggles, letting them hang around his neck. He glanced in the rearview mirror.
"Professor Sears," Dominik began, keeping his voice level. "May I ask... what was going on with those men in suits back there? And why was an Oxford professor staying at a budget place like the Britton Hotel?"
VIPs protected by what looked like federal agents usually stayed at the five-star resorts near the Mandalay Palace. Since the Britton Hotel was a mid-to-low-end establishment favored by backpackers, something didn't add up.
"Ah... about that..." Quaid Sears adjusted his glasses, took a shuddering breath, and said, "Please allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Quaid Sears. I am a professor of antiquities at Oxford University, specializing in Southeast Asian history."
"It was rumored that a previously undocumented temple complex from the Pagan Kingdom era was discovered deep in the Shan State jungle," Quaid explained, his voice taking on a lecturing tone despite the circumstances. "So, I secured a grant and brought my top graduate students here for a summer excavation project."
At this point, Quaid's expression darkened, and he said sadly, "Who knew that before my students and I even reached the dig site, we would encounter such a horrific... plague. Originally, there were seven students on this expedition. Now there are only... only two. Sigh!"
Quaid couldn't continue, but even without him saying it, Dominik knew what had happened. The jungle was unforgiving even before the dead started walking.
"I'm sorry for your loss, Professor," Dominik said quietly.
"Sigh..." Quaid gently wiped his eyes with the back of his dirty sleeve, and then continued:
"Since our university grant was quite limited, we stayed at the relatively inexpensive Britton Hotel to stretch our funds. As for those men... they were diplomatic security. Agents sent by the British Embassy stationed in Yangon."
"They were the first responders to arrive after I used a satellite phone to broadcast an emergency distress call when the riots started. But within two days of them arriving to extract us, the entire city fell. We lost all contact with the outside world."
"Due to the chaos on the streets, the agents decided to hold out in the conference room on the tenth floor. It was easily defensible. Laura... your sister... joined us yesterday after she fled her room downstairs. We held out until the main door was breached by those... things. And then we met you."
At this point, Quaid leaned forward slightly, peering at the tactical gear Simon and Dominik wore. "Excuse me, young man, but I must ask... are you the military extraction team the Embassy promised?"
Dominik didn't expect the professor to press the issue, but he had nothing to hide. He merely shrugged and said nonchalantly, "We're not government reinforcements, Professor. I'm Laura's brother. And this gentleman next to me is... a private contractor."
"Our sole purpose was to rescue Laura. Meeting you was purely accidental. But I still want to thank you for taking care of her when things went bad. If she had been alone..." Dominik trailed off, shaking his head.
As for the heavy weaponry—the suppressed SCAR-L and the underbarrel grenade launcher—Dominik didn't offer an excuse. In the Golden Triangle during an apocalypse, having guns didn't require an explanation; not having them did.
"Oh—" Quaid let out a long breath, processing the information. He didn't ask anything further.
Dominik didn't know what Quaid thought about how a university student and a masked man possessed such military-grade firepower, but he didn't care to explain the System to a stranger. Silence fell over the cab again.
In the back, Laura and the two exhausted students had already succumbed to the rhythmic humming of the tires and fallen asleep, leaning against each other.
As for Simon, he was meticulously checking the action of his SCAR-L, wiping away carbon buildup, and reloading his empty magazines with the loose rounds they had scavenged.
In the rearview mirror, Dominik noticed Quaid pull a ruggedized, waterproof tablet computer from his satchel, turning the brightness all the way down as he began to study something intently.