The number of zombies on the road outside the yard was increasing. They rushed into the firepower range set up by the military vehicles, sacrificing themselves.

The whole scene was hair-raising.

At this moment, Lucas saw the soldiers near the military vehicles orderly retreating into the yard.

The entire process took less than twenty minutes. Half of the soldiers retreated into the yard, while the rest turned into new zombies.

Lucas speculated that there must be an underground fortress in the yard. After all, this was not a good defensive location, as it was easy to be surrounded by zombies and insects.

As a result, Lucas felt increasingly certain that the bus might not be able to hold on.

He was already prepared to give up and hide in the tin-roofed cottage for the time being.

At that moment, Lucas saw the two insects slowly crawling towards the yard.

Suddenly, a figure appeared not far from the two insects.

Upon closer inspection, Lucas realized that the figure was the infected dog.

The dog was barking fiercely at the two insects with a strange sound.

"Are enemies meeting?"

Seeing this scene, Lucas muttered.

The infected dog should have been infected by the insects, but its consciousness was still intact, naturally harboring hatred towards the insects.

Lucas shook his head, feeling that the infected dog might be killed by the insects in the next second.

The two insects stopped in the face of the sudden provocation.

One of the insects let out a shriek at the infected dog and continued crawling towards the yard.

The other insect raised its front legs high, assuming an attacking posture.

The infected dog seemed fearless of the insects and also crouched down, preparing to pounce on the insects.

Snap—

The attacking insect suddenly lunged forward, its whole body springing at least three meters off the ground.

A massive shadow appeared on the ground illuminated by the military vehicle's headlights, and the infected dog's body was completely engulfed in that shadow.

"It's over..."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Lucas muttered, thinking that the infected dog was about to die.

Snap—

The ground on the road was punctured by the insect's legs.

Lucas saw it clearly. In that instant, the infected dog jumped to the side, avoiding the insect's attack with apparent ease.

Then, Lucas's expression instantly changed.

After evading the insect's attack, the infected dog actually turned around and ran towards the woods, right where Lucas was.

"This dog is definitely doing it on purpose!"

Lucas cursed and quickly found a sturdy tree in the woods to hide behind.

The terrain in this part of the woods was relatively flat, without any ups and downs or large rocks.

At this point, Lucas didn't dare to run directly, as it would make too much noise and attract the attention of the insects that had chased the infected dog to the edge of the woods.

Lucas had already made up his mind to quietly slip away depending on the situation.

The trees in the woods were not dense, so the insects' large bodies could enter without any problem, but it was still difficult for them to jump around freely.

Lucas watched as the insects chased the infected dog into the woods.

Their legs flailed, and leaves fell everywhere.

Many thinner tree trunks were directly severed by the insects' legs.

The momentum seemed unstoppable.

Lucas couldn't understand what was going on in the infected dog's mind. After entering the forest, it started playing hide-and-seek with insects.

Occasionally, it would appear from behind a tree, barking madly at the insects, and as soon as the insects rushed towards it, it would immediately move to another location.

After watching for a few minutes, Lucas clearly noticed that the insects were having a hard time moving around in the forest.

Suddenly, Lucas felt a surge of anger inside him.

If he helped the dog at this moment, would they be able to complete the mission?

Even if it wasn't a mission, there was only one insect in the forest at the moment. Should he take a chance?

If he could deal with this insect and obtain its core, he should be able to repair the engine of the bus.

Lucas carried a saw made from insect legs, a handgun, and a couple of homemade gasoline bottles.

He also had around twenty bullets for the handgun, but Lucas didn't intend to waste them on the insects since bullets couldn't harm them anyway.

At this moment, the saw made from insect legs would be the best weapon to use against the insects.

One minute later.

"Dog, run this way."

Lucas emerged from behind a tree, holding a lit homemade gasoline bottle, and threw it towards the insects while shouting at the infected dog.

The homemade gasoline bottle accurately smashed in front of the insects.

The ground was covered in grass, and as soon as the gasoline bottle hit the ground and shattered, it started burning intensely.

Lucas didn't expect the homemade gasoline bottle to cause any harm to the insects.

His goal was to set the forest on fire and wait for an opportunity to strike.

In the end times, no one cared about killing and setting fires.

Even if the entire forest burned down, Lucas wouldn't feel guilty about it.

Upon hearing Lucas' shout, the infected dog charged forward.

By now, Lucas had already lit another gasoline bottle and threw it fiercely towards a spot behind the insects.

The weather was dry.

The fire quickly grew larger.

The insects were also moving towards Lucas, repeatedly screeching from their flower-shaped mouths, causing a piercing pain in Lucas' head.

Seeing the insects approaching, Lucas wasn't too nervous. This place was not an open area, making it difficult for the insects to jump.

They could only keep slashing the trees and coming closer.

They looked extremely domineering, as if they owned the world.

Lucas tightly held the saw made from insect legs and walked slowly through the forest, not foolishly standing in one place.

The infected dog was now following closely behind Lucas, not too far away.

It seemed that they both still had a bit of suspicion towards each other, but this distance made them both feel somewhat at ease.

Now, the infected dog was no longer a dog; the insects were.

The dog-walking business was being carried out by Lucas and the dog.

As they continued their dog-walking exercise, the fire in the forest grew larger and Lucas began to consider himself a roasting pig.

His skin was heating up, and his face turned red.

Fortunately, there was hardly any wind in the current environment, so the fire couldn't spread randomly with the wind.

Otherwise, Lucas wouldn't dare to act so recklessly.

The insects were becoming restless, their screeches had diminished considerably, probably because the thick smoke made them reluctant to open their mouths.

After a few more minutes, Lucas couldn't bear it anymore and quickly ran towards the edge of the forest.

By now, half of the forest was already on fire.

The insects also stopped paying attention to Lucas and the infected dog, as they were busy looking for an exit.

Dog-walking was over.

Lucas stood at the edge of the forest, focusing his attention on the insects.

Once he identified the direction the insects would come out from, Lucas dashed towards it.

Just like when he killed the previous insect, Lucas believed that the fire would also cause significant harm to this insect in the forest.

His plan now was to deliver a fatal blow to the insect the moment it emerged from the forest.

With the saw made from insect legs as his weapon, Lucas knew that except for the insect's forelimbs, none of its other body parts were as tough as the saw made from insect legs.

When Lucas reached the edge of the forest where the insect might appear, he hid behind a tree.

At this moment, the infected dog crouched in a conspicuous location based on Lucas' hand gestures.

Lucas planned to use the infected dog to attract the attention of the just-escaped insect.

It must be said that the understanding between the man and the dog was slowly building up.