AFTCKCTCKATD - Chapter 5
Chapter 5
He Was Easy To Raise, Really.
The night wind struck them head-on, carrying an icy chill that quickly sapped what little warmth they had left.
Ji Yanqing’s lips turned pale. The skin under his goggles ached from the cold. “Hold onto me tightly.” Not only was he not hit, but he was also carried and run with. After his initial surprise, the child quickly obeyed and stretched out his hand to hook around Ji Yanqing’s neck.
His arms were too short, and he could not hold on tightly with only one hand, so he had to use both hands.
With both hands employed, he finally managed to hook his arms around Ji Yanging’s neck, but in doing so, his whole body came into contact with Ji Yanging’s. Ji Yanging’s body temperature transmitted through his clothes, warming his body, which had been chilled by the night wind.
He nervously glanced at Ji Yanqing, finding that Ji Yanqing was not angry. He secretly sighed in relief, and a pair of jet-black eyes like a kitten’s stared straight at Ji Yanqing, watching him without stopping.
Ji Yanqing carried a faint sweet scent on his body, which was very pleasant.
Ji Yanqing’s attention was all on the surrounding architectural complex.
Exiting from the construction site, a group of people swiftly and silently traversed the pitch-black alleyways.
The night was eerily silent. The only sounds were their own breathing and heartbeats, which echoed in the otherwise deafening quiet. It made everyone’s nerves razor-thin because any careless move could attract a horde of zombies.
As they pressed forward, Xia Shen Shu, who was leading the way, abruptly stopped. The others behind him immediately held their breath, tensing up as they prepared for a fight.
In the dark, Xia Shen Shu slowly retreated from around the corner, stepping back into a blind spot. His heart pounding, he made a gesture telling them all to stand back.
Everyone immediately understood that there were zombies ahead of them.
The daytime temperature can kill with its heat, while at night, when the temperature is at its lowest, it still reaches below freezing. But it is far more bearable than the daytime’s high temperatures.
Although they originally planned to travel at night and rest during daylight, they continued to travel by day because there was barely any visibility during the night, and there was a chance they might directly crash into a zombie's nest. The risks were far greater than the heat during the day.
A group of people quietly retreated until they reached the corner of a building on the other side of them before they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Ji Yanqing silently elected a different path, leading the way forward.
After traveling for a while, changing paths several times and experiencing near-death situations, they finally stopped as a sliver of white light appeared on the horizon more than three hours later.
As dawn came, Ji Yanqing took one look at the exhausted group and led them to a nearby convenience store that, before all this, sold snacks and general goods.
The shop was located near the crossroads, and its iron gate had already been pried open with force. The glass door was shattered into pieces, and the shelves were empty. Only various packaging bags and garbage littered the floor.
The shop had been picked clean long ago.
Upon entering, without a word, the group split up to examine the conditions of the store. They confirmed that there were no zombies inside, and they all sat down on the floor. The shelves in the store provided them with good cover; as long as they did not create too much noise, they would be relatively safe.
Nobody spoke, and only ragged breathing could be heard in the room.
With nerves taut, they had charged forward for over three hours, and were now doubly weary and drenched in sweat.
After a more than five or six minute break, Xia Shen Shu started asking what had happened, Lan Zi simply repeated what she had seen before.
“He wasn't there before?” Xia Shen Shu had never heard of such a thing.
Lan Zi shook her head, “Hard to say. He was already lurking around by the time I noticed.” If it weren’t for his overly strange behavior, she wouldn’t have spent over an hour observing him.
Ji Yanqing took out his water bottle from his backpack, intending to take a sip. After opening the cap, he discovered that there was less than a fifth of the water left. After a moment’s hesitation, he handed the water bottle to the child beside him.
The child cautiously cast a glance at Ji Yanqing. He wanted to refuse but was so parched. Aside from the night before when Ji Yanqing gave him a sip, he had not had a drop of water in the last two to three days.
After confirming that Ji Yanqing wouldn’t hit him, the child hesitantly accepted the water bottle offered to him, only taking a small sip before hurriedly returning it to Ji Yanqing.
He’s easy to take care of, promise.
Ji Yanqing’s brows and eyes softened a bit, and he stroked his head.
On having his head gently stroked, the child’s dirty cheeks revealed a pair of astonishingly bright eyes.
Ji Yanqing unzipped the bag to check on the other child inside. He was still running a fever, so Ji Yanqing also gave him some water.
Sun Haifeng watched in silence, his lips pursed, thinking it was a waste.
“What should we do next?” Sun Haifeng was previously injured, and with the lack of rest, his complexion looked awful.
“Go find water.” Ji Yanqing said lightly.
“Find water?” Sun Haifeng corrected his posture.
“Yesterday, when I went to gather supplies, I found a map of the city in a nearby police station. There’s a reservoir in the mountains outside the city, and there might still be water in it,” Xia Shen Shu explained.
When they heard that there might be a chance to find water, everyone’s faces brightened somewhat.
“Then what about the large group we’ve been chasing?” Sun Haifeng’s voice rose.
Ji Yanqing lifted his gaze slightly, his distinct black and white eyes behind the goggles were firm, “Let’s find water first, then we can chase after them again.”
Sun Haifeng was anxious, “No, I don’t agree! We finally got this close to them, if we detour to look for water now, who knows how long it will be before we find them next time?”
Everyone frowned, Sun Haifeng’s voice was too loud.
Ji Yanqing put his water bottle away, and spoke, his tone icy as he said slowly, “This is my team. And I have the final say. If you feel that you cannot stand it here, then you can leave at any time.”
Sun Haifeng hadn’t expected Ji Yanqing to speak this way, his face ashen with anger, “You’re gambling with our lives!”
Sun Haifeng looked at the others, seeking their approval, but after gazing all around him, he realized no one paid him any attention.
Xia Shen Shu was in absolute agreement with finding water first, and so was Lan Zi. After their initial surprise, the others also took a firm stance. They would not die immediately if they could not find the main group, but they could not survive past tomorrow if there was no water.
“You all--” Sun Haifeng’s face darkened.
Ji Yanqing lightly extended his hand, “Also-hand it over.”
“What?”
“The biscuits.”
Sun Haifeng paused momentarily, feeling a flash of guilt, “What biscuits?”
“The cookies I left for them yesterday.” Ji Yanqing added lightly.
When they were searching for supplies, what they found belonged to the team, but once distributed, it became personal property. The biscuits were something he had saved up by skimping and not eating them earlier.
Sun Haifeng’s face changed again and again, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Though Sun Haifeng tried to pull himself together, everyone else saw right through his act, and as such, their gazes upon him turned sour.
It’s taboo for teammates to scheme against each other for supplies since every time they go out to scavenge, they’re gambling with their lives. In such an environment fraught with danger, who would be able to tolerate having someone like that by their side?
“Return it to him,” Xia Shen Shu replied with a cold face, he never liked Sun Hai Feng to begin with.
Moreover, had Sun Haifeng misunderstood something? His injury would only slow them down, why did he think they would become enemies with Ji Yanqing for his sake?
How dare he?
Lan Zi frowned.
Sun Haifeng observed carefully. He had originally wanted to say that Ji Yanqing was slandering him, but when he turned and met everyone’s icy gazes, the words that came to his lips were swallowed back.
Sun Haifeng’s face twisted awkwardly, and he went to grab his backpack, opened it, and took out a package of biscuits, throwing them to Ji Yanqing.
Having finished all that, he then kicked the shelf nearby, as if to vent his anger.
A horizontal board fell from an assembled shelf made of acrylic. The sound echoed in the silence like a thunderclap on a clear day.
Startled by the sudden movement, the next moment the crowd didn’t even have time to calm their pounding hearts before hurriedly getting up from the ground with pale faces.
Xia Shen Shu glared fiercely at Sun Hai Feng, seething with rage.
Sun Haifeng also knew that he had caused trouble, his face turned pale, “Who knew it was so easy to...” Before Sun Haifeng could finish his defense, several figures rushed into the shop through the entrance.
“Zombies!”
“Fuck!”
“Run!” Ji Yanqinglet out a low roar as he brandished the axe in his hand. The axe’s blade, though not particularly sharp, severed the neck of the zombie lunging at Lan Zi with brutal force.
Lan Zi ignored the foul-smelling liquid splattering all over herself, face pale as she grabbed both backpacks and ran for the door.
Xia Shen Shu took the other child away so that Ji Yyanqing could focus on the fight. Ji Yanqing had speed and strength that did not match his cherubic looks.
Pulling the axe out of the wall, Ji Yanqing kicked the shelf beside him and used it to hold down the zombies chasing after the others.
After doing this, Ji Yanqing followed and ran towards the door.
As he reached the entrance, several figures suddenly crashed into him.
Ji Yanqing instinctively stepped sideways to dodge, swung his axe in his hand, and knocked out one of the zombies. At the same time, he saw what was going on. Three zombies were pouncing on Sun Haifeng and were frantically biting and scratching.
Sun Haifeng had been standing up. After realizing he had caused trouble, he rushed out of the door before anyone else and escaped, but he forgot that the noise he had made would attract zombies. As the first one out the door, he naturally became the first target for the zombies.
There were three zombies, both male and female. Their clothes were tattered and torn, and so was the skin on their torsos. Their bodies were covered with scratch marks and bite marks. The most seriously injured one even had its internal organs exposed.
With an excited growl, their throats gargled. A greenish-blue foul-smelling liquid dripped continuously from their mouths, making all near want to vomit.
“Get lost, don’t come any closer!” Sun Haifeng fell to the ground, waving his arms frantically trying to push them away. But the zombies still bit those waving arms indiscriminately.
“Ah!” Sun Haifeng exclaimed in pain.
“Ji Yanqing!” Xia Shen Shu roared and ran to the corner. Sun Haifeng was past saving.
Ji Yanqing looked at Sun Haifeng; the veins on Sun Haifeng’s face were visibly changing to a blue-green color. He seemed to be aware of the seriousness of his condition. He looked at Ji Yanqing, his eyes filled with panic, fear, and unwillingness. “Save me, save me...Don’t give up on me...”
Ji Yanqing’s pupils shrank suddenly. Memories flooded into his mind, making his heart feel as though it had been yanked violently, unable to beat any longer.
“Ji Yanqing...” Sun Haifeng reached out to grab Ji Yanqing’s foot. How could Ji Yanqing leave him behind? How could he? If he had to die, then they should all die together!
As Xia Shen Shu held one bun, he looked out at the zombies gradually closing in. The child saw Ji Yanqing’s foot get caught by Sun Haifeng, and his small face paled in fear, “Don’t----”
His pitch-black pupils morphed into golden vertical pupils, gleaming faintly. In the next moment, he lost consciousness.
Feeling the force on his ankle, Ji Yanqing took a step back and broke free before Sun Haifeng could get a firm grip. Without hesitation, he turned and ran toward Xia Shen Shu.
Within moments, more than 20 zombies had gathered, some drawn to Sun Haifeng’s cries and curses, while others charged at the group of running survivors.
Their figures were bizarre, and their speed was astonishing. Their greenish-white, rotting eyes were filled with madness. They were like starving dogs, their saliva dripping incessantly from their chins.
“This way!” Xia Shen Shu took the lead and charged towards one of the paths where there were fewer zombies.
****
Amidst an abandoned construction site.
Feng Yimo’s dark eyes fell slightly as he looked at the pile of rubble in front of him. He had a moment of confusion – had he gone to the wrong place?
This city was strange. He had only left for a short while, but when he returned, he found that he couldn’t find his way back no matter what. The surrounding buildings were vaguely familiar, as if he were in a gigantic labyrinth…
Before Feng Yimo could figure it out, he suddenly raised his head and looked in the direction of Ji Yanqing. A moment later, he turned into a bolt of lightning and rushed out of the construction site, locked onto Ji Yanqing’s general location.
As he advanced quickly, Feng Yimo continued to ponder about the strangeness that had plagued him.
Firstly, the one with the problem is definitely not him.
----
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