AFTCKCTCKATD - Chapter 6

 

Chapter 6

There Was Definitely Something Wrong With This City.

The sound of the wind whooshed by his ears, his chest pounded with fierce heartbeats, and boiling blood surged wildly with his rapidly accelerating heart, sending a buzzing through his brain.

The group swerved to avoid the swarm of zombies. Gritting their teeth, they sprinted forward with wild abandon. They dared not slacken their pace, despite their muscles screaming in protest. The slightest lapse would doom them to a gruesome death.

As the commotion grew louder, at least fifty or sixty zombies were attracted to it. When everyone looked back, they saw those eerily moving figures, and a chill ran down their spines.

“Over here!” Xia Shen Shu, who was running at the front of the group, suddenly turned a corner. He had seen a horde of zombies at the intersection ahead, and knew the group needed to avoid it.

Everyone turned without hesitation to follow Xia Shen Shu.

As they turned the corner, the vast, sprawling gates of the housing complex came into view, and the muscles on everyone’s faces twitched violently. The complex had been at full capacity in the ‘before’ times, and there was a good chance that the number of zombies inside outnumbered those on the streets.

In this short moment, the zombies behind them had already entered the residential area, and the zombies in the area had already noticed them.

Unable to retreat or advance, they found themselves trapped between a rock and a hard place[e/n: I really wanted to put: between a rock and an approaching wall of zombies- forgive me].

“Head upstairs!” Ji Yanqing immediately reacted.

The others came back to their senses and quickly searched around for a building entrance with a door.

“Over there!” Lan Zi had sharp eyes. Leading the group, she ran toward the right.

Lan Zi found a place on their right, approximately two hundred meters away from them. The situation upstairs was unknown, but the ground floor had an open iron gate.

Everyone gritted their teeth and rushed over at full speed.

After everyone entered, the last two people quickly pulled the door shut.

“CLANG!” The iron door slammed shut with a shrill, piercing sound that echoed throughout the entire complex.

Almost at the same time, a series of loud crashing sounds came from outside the door. The zombies that had been chasing after them were now flinging themselves against the door.

They wouldn’t think, didn’t feel pain, and didn’t know reason. They just kept scratching and banging against the metal gates, looking like they wanted to tear the whole thing down.

Upon hearing that noise and feeling the iron door shake, all of the people that had been hiding in the hallway got goosebumps all over their bodies.

“Is everyone alright?” Xia Shen Shu asked.

With no one answering, everyone panted, their hearts still pounding in their chests as they turned their heads and looked towards the pitch-black stairwell behind them. Although they had temporarily delayed the zombies outside, they were not necessarily safe.

“Bang!” A loud crash echoed from the handrail above. The sound reverberated and lingered in the corridor, amplifying the tension that had gripped everyone.

Ji Yanqing lightly stepped forward and came to the top of the stairwell. He glanced at the few people below. He held his breath, took the lead, and slowly walked up the stairs.

The impact from outside continued, even more zombies drawn to the area due to the commotion. They could no longer escape from the ground floor, their only hope of survival was the rooftop.

This apartment building is a row house, as long as they can find a way to get to the top floor, they can move to the top of another building and then descend in a safer area.

As long as they could avoid the zombies outside the door, they would still have hope.

Everyone held their breath, their undivided attention fixed on the stairs above, and on Ji Yanqing.

Ji Yanqing tilted his head up slightly, the line of his jaw beneath his goggles was clean and sharp, his body leaning forward slightly, like a wolf ready to pounce.[e/n: will you hate me if I don’t include every-time the author calls him beautiful xD. Can you guess what word was originally ‘beautiful’ in this section..]

After turning the first corner, the doorway to the first-floor hallway came into view.

On the first floor, there were two households. One household had its door wide open, and the room was in shambles. The other household’s door was tightly shut.

After making sure that the living room with the wide open front door was clear of any zombies, Ji Yanqing headed towards the first-floor staircase, which led up to the second floor.

Approaching the doorway to the next stairwell, Ji Yanqing hesitated, double-checking the door of that open apartment before heading to the stairwell to proceed to the second floor.

“BANG!” A sudden, deafening crash echoed from downstairs, even louder than the earlier sounds of the mindless zombies crashing against the gate.

In the darkness, the already tense nerves were startled and the group instinctively looked back at the first floor corridor. Ji Yanqing was the same.

Almost as soon as he turned his head, something rushed down the corridor the group had just traversed. Before Ji Yanqing could get a clear look at it, it had already leapt in front of him, the stench of decay assaulting his senses.

Ji Yanqing instinctively raised the axe in his hand in front of him before his brain could even react. The axe successfully blocked the zombie’s grabbing hands and gnashing teeth.

The zombie’s strength was very strong. Ji Yanqing was knocked back two steps and slammed hard against the wall.

Hearing the noise, the others finally reacted.

Turning around, everyone’s heart skipped a beat when they saw Ji Yanqing pinned by a zombie against the wall.

“Ji Yanqing!”

Reacting, a few people tried going forward to help, but the hallway was too narrow, so they couldn’t use their full strength. The same could be said for Ji Yanqing’s axe.

“Get out of the way-” Ji Yanqing looked at the few people who were trying to come over to help.

The next moment, not waiting for anyone’s reaction, he violently pushed the zombie in front of him away, then threw away the axe in his hand, took a running start, and with the help of the wall, he delivered a clean and neat back-kick to the zombie.

Ji Yanqing’s kick carried great force, sending the zombie flying all the way into the open apartment.

Xia Shen Shu and the others could only leap out of the way. By the time they looked over, the zombie had flown through the entire living room and fiercely collided with the wall. He slid down the wall and left behind a patch of putrid-green fluid.

Lan Zi was the quickest to react. She hurriedly pulled the door handle, locking the door before slamming it shut with a tense look.

There were soon sounds coming from the door. With zombies, you had to cut off their heads or completely destroy their brains for them to die.

“Upstairs.” Ji Yanqing said, leading the group quickly.

On an optimistic note- the group could be considered quite lucky. There are no other zombies in the hallway, at least.

On the third floor, another room was open. A few people went in to take a look. There were no zombies, no food, and no water.

The rest of the climb went on uneventfully.

The door to the top floor was locked, and there were obvious signs that someone had tried to break it down, but it was clear that the person hadn’t had time to open the door before they no longer needed to.

The door was made of iron, but Ji Yanqing used the axe in his hand to pry the door open from a gap with brute force.

The rooftop was empty, devoid of any human presence.

The sky was just faintly lit, a subtle scorching heat already present in the morning light.

For the time being, all were safe. Everyone sat heavily on the ground, gasping for breath.

“Awake?” Xia Shen Shu placed the child in his arms on the floor.

Ji Yanqing looked on lightly.

The child, whom Xia Shen Shu had carried all the way here, was looking around with red-rimmed eyes. The moment he located Ji Yanqing, his mouth flattened, and he looked as though he was about to cry.

Ji Yanqing was taken aback and felt something stir in his heart.

With a wave of his hand, the boy started his short steps and ran towards him immediately.

He stood closely, but he didn’t jump into Ji Yanqing’s arms. He just stood by restlessly, watching Ji Yanqing.

Ji Yanqing reached out his arms and pulled him into his embrace.

He was held in his arms again, feeling the warmth of Ji Yanqing’s body and breath. The child discreetly shifted the ankle Ji Yanqing had been holding, making sure not to put pressure on Ji Yanqing’s leg.

He thought he was being discreet, but Ji Yanqing saw through him in an instant; causing his heart to soften even more, “I’m fine.”

“He fainted from fright earlier,” Xia Shen Shu said, amused. “You little ingrate. I carried you and ran for a while before. How come I didn’t see you feeling sorry for me then?”

Although Xia Shen Shu himself was not serious, children are often more sensitive than adults; they know who truly care about them.

The rest of their team would not take the initiative to cause harm, but that was the extent of it. They did not have the ability to protect others’ safety.

“What’s your name?” Asked Ji Yanqing lightly.

The child’s eyes, as moist and wide as a baby animal’s, stared at Ji Yanqing before he lowered his head. After a moment, his childish voice finally spoke, “...An’an.”

His voice was very soft, glutinous and very pleasant to listen to, but it also carried a few hints of unease.

Everyone disliked him; they called him a ghost, they beat and cursed him, and they even told him to go die.

“What is your surname?” Ji Yanqing softly asked.

He shook his head.

“How old are you?”

The child extended his hand, hesitated between two and three, and then showed three short fingers. He could not control his hand very well yet, so his other hand helped, pressing down on his small finger.

Before the virus struck, his parents had protected him as their beloved little one. They taught him these things. It was a long time ago.

“From now on, you will be called Ji An.” Ji Yanqing said gently.

Ji An’s ears turned slightly red. He nodded his little head and earnestly noted it down. From then on, his name was Ji An.

He liked this name, because in it a character was similar to the character “qing”[e/n: e/n: 安 ān (bound form): calm; peaceful / to calm; to set at ease / safe; secure; in good health. 轻 qīng: light / easy / gentle / softinfo source] in Ji Yanqing’s name.

He liked Ji Yanqing.

Xia Shen Shu and Lan Zi glanced at each other. Both of them could see the helplessness and bitterness in each other’s eyes. “What’s the use in giving him a name? It will only cause more pain when he dies.”

After taking enough rest and replenishing themselves with some water, everyone quickly got up to figure out how to descend the stairs.

It was four in the morning, and the sky was just starting to turn a faint shade of white, but the air was already noticeably scorching hot.

By nine in the morning, the outside temperature could reach over forty degrees Celsius. Ten to eleven was the hottest time of day, with temperatures at a minimum of fifty degrees Celsius and a maximum of sixty-seventy degrees Celsius. To go out in those conditions was akin to courting death.

They had to find their next resting place before nightfall, and they had to find water by noon tomorrow, or everyone would perish.

Ji Yanqing put Ji An down and asked him to look after the backpack with the other child, and went to find the way himself.

Assigned with a task, Ji An immediately tightened his little face and solemnly looked at the backpack. Although he was still young, he was already capable of helping out.

After determining the path to the safe zone and the rough location of the city’s reservoir outside the city, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

They only came into the city to find food. Considering the zombies in the city never went too deep, after fleeing throughout the night, from the rooftop, they could already see the edge of the city. If they’re lucky, they would be out of the city in three or four hours.

The only problem was that the residential building was six stories tall, making it almost impossible to descend without taking the stairs, and they hadn’t brought any rope with them.

It was nearly 4:30 when everyone finally pieced together enough bed sheets and fitted sheets to craft a sturdy rope that was secured to the stairwell door.

The zombies in the residential area were all attracted to the iron gate in front of the apartment building, so the back of the apartment building was relatively safe. Ji Yanqing carried Ji An down the rope last, and the group quickly headed towards the back of the residential area, climbing over the wall.

Beyond the compound walls of the residential area was a one-way street that was strewn with all sorts of rubbish in place of vehicles.

Without making a sound, the group passed through the one-way street and quickly headed towards the direction of the reservoir.

***

On the completely opposite side, the edge of the city.

Feng Yimo looked at the extraordinarily verdant meadow ahead and the mountains in the distance, his conviction growing.

Something’s definitely wrong with this city.

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