novellaaa Chapter 637 - 598: The Ghost Gas Station
Chapter 637 - 598: The Ghost Gas Station
The mayor took out $1,000,000 and handed it to Zhao Rong. "Young man, this is the bounty we are awarding you for eliminating the zombies. You must accept it..."
Zhao Rong looked at the million dollars the mayor was offering him and said, somewhat embarrassed, "This reward seems a bit too much, doesn’t it? How about I just take $100,000..."
Before Zhao Rong could finish, his assistant rushed over, accepted the $1,000,000 on his behalf, and said gratefully, "Since Zhao Rong is too embarrassed to accept it, I’ll take it for him."
When the mayor saw that someone from Zhao Rong’s team had accepted the million-dollar bounty, he said joyfully, "Heroic young men, you’ve rid us of a great scourge. So please, take this money. Don’t feel the least bit embarrassed."
After the team accepted the $1,000,000, they immediately set off again in their Mercedes off-road vehicle.
Along the way, Zhao Rong remarked with some emotion, "We came out here to complete a mission, but I never expected we’d get a million dollars before we even started."
His assistant said gleefully, "Zhao Rong, this just shows how incredible you are at making money!"
Lili gave Zhao Rong a thumbs-up, praising him. "Zhao Rong, you’re the only one in this city who can eliminate so many zombies without breaking a sweat. So, the one million dollars the mayor awarded you is definitely well-deserved."
Yu Lan said with admiration, "Zhao Rong, a million dollars isn’t a small sum, but for someone who eliminated over a hundred zombies, this reward really isn’t that much."
Xuelian planted a gentle kiss on Zhao Rong’s cheek and said, "Zhao Rong, you’re truly my idol. No matter how dangerous the situation is, you always manage to handle it with ease, bringing everyone happiness and earning plenty of money."
Just as everyone was chatting and laughing, Zhao Rong suddenly noticed that the fuel light on the dashboard of the Mercedes had lit up. After inspecting it, he said with resignation, "You’ve got to be kidding me. We forgot to refuel the car when we set out. It’s about to run dry, so we have to find a gas station and fill up before we can continue. Otherwise, if we get stranded in the middle of nowhere, we’ll be in real trouble."
Before Zhao Rong could finish, his assistant pointed to a remote and rundown gas station in the distance. "Zhao Rong, look! There’s a gas station over there. Why don’t we go refuel?"
When the three women saw the dilapidated and somewhat eerie gas station, they grew frightened. "Zhao Rong, do you think there might be zombies in there? That place feels really creepy..."
Lili pulled a pair of binoculars from her bag and observed the distant gas station. Her eyes widened in horror as she said, "I... I think I see two workers inside... and they don’t have any heads!"
Yu Lan took out her Huawei smartphone and used the zoom to carefully examine the station. "That place looks so desolate, as if no one has gone there for gas in a long, long time."
Xuelian took out a DSLR camera, snapped a photo, printed it out instantly, and examined the picture with a magnifying glass. "Zhao Rong, look! There’s a cemetery right behind the gas station. We shouldn’t go there. We might run into something terrifying."
Hearing the women’s concerns, the assistant glanced at the rapidly depleting fuel gauge and said anxiously, "Who cares how terrifying it is! We just need to pop in, spend five minutes filling the tank, and get out. Just drive, Zhao Rong! Let’s hurry up and get gas. If we miss this station, we’ll definitely run out of fuel. Then we’ll be completely stranded on the highway with no way out!"
At this point, Zhao Rong also realized the vehicle was on its last fumes. He steered the car off the highway and headed toward the secluded gas station. He said to the three women, "It’s alright, you three, don’t be afraid. We’re just going to fill up the tank. Nothing will happen. I’m here."
But as Zhao Rong drove closer, they were shocked to see that the sign for the station was not for China Petroleum, Sinopec, or Gulf Oil. It was for ’Ghostly Petroleum.’
The assistant stared at the sign that read ’Ghostly Gas Station’ and said, puzzled, "This place is hilarious. Of all the names they could have picked, they went with ’Ghostly Gas Station’? How ridiculous."
Lili looked at the ancient fuel dispensers and the nearby convenience store, and she felt her skin crawl. "Zhao Rong, haven’t you noticed? This station is ancient, and the fuel nozzles look like they haven’t been used in years. Clearly, it’s abandoned."
Yu Lan, observing the station closely, spotted a small detail that made her gasp. She turned to Zhao Rong and said, "Zhao Rong, haven’t you noticed? There was a murder here."
Zhao Rong, who had just parked the car, turned to her in surprise. "Yu Lan, how do you know there was a murder here?"
Yu Lan pointed to a notice posted on a nearby wall. "Zhao Rong, look at what that notice says..."
The notice stated that on a certain date, a gruesome murder had occurred at the gas station. Several of the station’s attendants had brutally killed their boss right on the premises. They then threw the owner’s body into an overhead fuel storage tank, where it quickly dissolved. Afterward, these same attendants pumped the gasoline—now containing the owner’s dissolved remains—into the cars of unsuspecting customers passing through.
Reading the contents of the notice, Zhao Rong couldn’t help but inhale sharply. "My God... I can’t believe something so horrific happened at this station."