AFTCKCTCKATD - Chapter 12
Chapter 12
Even With Ten Mouths, It Couldn’t Explain That It Wasn’t Following Him At All.
Feng Yimo’s eyebrows knitted together, and instantly the beast sprang up from the ground.
It dared not delay and hurriedly jogged in the direction opposite to where Feng Yimo was, intending to find the lost cubs.
As it bolted forward, it frequently looked back, its emotions a mixture of shock and complexity. Distracted, it crashed headfirst into a tall building ahead, causing the entire structure to tremble. Already dizzy from excessive blood loss, its head now felt even more lightheaded from the collision.
In pain, it lay on the ground with its two front paws cradling its head, crying out with an “Awuu-woof.”
Feng Yimo saw it, and when he looked again, his eyes were filled with disdain.
So silly.
He is clearly a corpse king, yet so foolish.
Being slow-witted is one thing, but being talkative as well…
Unwilling to be infected by such foolishness, Feng Yimo silently stepped to the side. He looked back at the city behind him, a city so desolate, dilapidated, and gloomy without the slightest hint of moonlight, its chilling atmosphere oppressive and exceedingly unsettling.
Feng Yimo couldn’t help but wonder, if those two kids hadn’t been hidden away by the large, foolish dog trailing behind him, where could they have possibly gone?
Mosquitoes are attracted to their hosts by body heat, carbon dioxide, and certain chemicals emitted by the skin.
Even if they woke up on their own and left, they shouldn’t have gone too far, but he had already searched almost the entire city for them.
Feng Yimo lowered his head to glance at the long saber in his hand, a chilling murderous intent lurking in the depths of his eyes. Regardless of who it was or why they had done this, they better pray he doesn’t find them.
Feng Yimo left again, wandering once more through the jungle of steel and concrete.
The beast, already having run a distance with its dizzy head, was shaking its head when it suddenly heard a faint crackling sound, frightening it into leaping high into the air.
As it looked around with its fur standing on end, it didn’t see Feng Yimo and let out a sigh of relief.
If it encounters Feng Yimo again, even with ten mouths, it couldn’t explain away the fact that it has not been following him at all.
“WuuuAwuuuu…” It whimpered, filled with grievance.
In the forest, Ji Yanqing spent a night of restless sleep. The howling of the Corpse King intermittently echoed from the city, serving as a constant reminder of its presence.
At four in the morning, when the sky was just beginning to lighten, Ji Yanqing woke everyone up.
After a quick tidy up, the group rapidly headed deeper into the forested mountains.
In the light of dawn, the forest was markedly different from its daytime demeanor. Although the tree trunks remained twisted and ferocious in a way that could send shivers down one’s spine, the air within the woods carried a faint mist that was refreshingly cool, making it quite comfortable.
The group had been without water for a long time, their lips chapped and peeling from the dehydration. No one spoke as they traveled; the only sound in the air was the sound of breathing.
After walking for roughly forty minutes, they saw a cement path in the forest.
Only female mosquitoes bite humans and animals to obtain blood, which they need for egg production. Male mosquitoes feed on plant nectar.
The concrete road was not constructed to standard; it wasn’t the kind of tarmac road you’d find in the city, but rather seemed like it was poured privately. The surface was very rough, and there were no guardrails along the edges.
“The reservoir should be just ahead, not far now,” Zhang Guxian declared upon seeing the road ahead. “I remember the section near the reservoir was paved with concrete. The Water Affairs Bureau initially planned to extend the road all the way to the city, but due to high costs, the project was abandoned halfway.”
Upon hearing this, everyone’s spirits were instantly lifted.
Zhang Guxian took the lead, and the group quickly advanced along the road.
The trees surrounding the road were growing wildly, with many of their roots stretching onto the road itself, directly lifting the cement ground to expose the thick, rugged roots underneath.
Even so, walking on a cement ground is far better than navigating through the jungle.
In less than an hour, they had traversed the remaining half of the mountain.
Beyond the mountains, there still lie vast swaths of nature, but from a higher vantage point, one can now see traces of human-made structures.
Upon seeing those buildings, everyone was as excited as if they had been injected with chicken blood, wishing they could rush over right now and dive into the water for a deep drink. Ji Yanqing felt the same way.
“Many people are aware of this reservoir. In the event of a viral outbreak, it’s possible that people might have fled in this direction. We should remain vigilant, as there might be zombies,” Zhang Guxian advised.
Hearing this, the group became slightly more cautious, though their pace didn’t slow down. Aware that water was ahead, their already parched throats felt even more painfully dry.
After walking for another ten minutes, vehicles indeed appeared on the road ahead. The two private cars at the front had collided, resulting in a traffic jam that blocked the three or four private cars behind them.
A private car was followed by a small truck at some distance, with some luggage still left in the back of the truck, yet to be taken away.
All the car doors were open, yet the people inside did not escape. Instead, over a dozen figures aimlessly wandered around in the nearby woods.
“Those two trucks must have been left behind by members of other survival teams...” Hiding in the woods, Zhang Guxian spoke in a hushed voice.
Upon hearing the words, Ji Yanqing glanced at the small truck before shifting his gaze to Zhang Guxian. It seemed as if Zhang Guxian had already known about the existence of the vehicle and the zombies here. However, Zhang Guxian only mentioned that he had been to this place before the outbreak of the virus.
Xia Shen Shu looked towards Ji Yanqing and asked, “What should we do?”
“Go around,” Ji Yanqing whispered softly. His voice, usually deliberately lowered and hushed, became soft and sweet, losing its coldness.
The group diverted their attention away from Ji Yanqing, whose emotional state seemed to be shifting, and focused more intently on the zombies instead.
In the forest, there were numerous zombies, but most of them congregated near the vehicle. This made things easier for Ji Yanqing and his companions, allowing them to easily bypass the horde by taking a detour.
After bypassing that area, the group did not return to the road. As they continued on their journey, they could occasionally see vehicles and zombies, just like Zhang Guxian had said. Indeed, many people had fled here seeking refuge.
Several minutes later, the group came to the end of the forest and saw a dam, and a lake past it.
The reservoir was transformed from a lake, with a dam on only one side. The distance from the dam to the original lake spans several hundred meters. Judging by the position and height of the dam, the reservoir must have been quite large originally, with its deepest areas possibly reaching close to twenty or thirty meters.
Mosquitoes are among the deadliest animals on Earth, as they are vectors for diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, Zika virus, and West Nile virus.
The reservoir was already down to its last dregs of water at the bottom. Had they arrived a month later, the lake might have been completely dried out.
“Do you want to go across?” Seeing the water, Lan Zi’s throat swallowed uncontrollably.
“In the past, just fetching water by oneself would suffice,” Ji Yanqing tried hard to make his voice sound cold and deep.
After the lake dried up, a wide expanse of open ground surrounded it. The view was too broad, making it easy for zombies to spot them.
The others hurriedly took out the water bottles and pots they brought with them.
The entire world was undergoing strange transformations; no one knew if the water from that lake might be tainted. Yet, under their current circumstances, they couldn’t afford to be too picky – it wasn’t as if they could carry water purification equipment with them wherever they went. So, boiling the water was the simplest method they resorted to, ensuring their safety.
After carefully laying down the unconscious bald man, Lan Zi grabbed a backpack, filled it with everyone’s water bottles, and took a deep breath. Under Ji Yanqing’s gentle gaze, she headed towards the lake.Xia Shen Shu went along with his gun and remained on guard, just in case.
Everyone else went to gather firewood in the vicinity.
Ji An and Ji Le emerged from their backpacks and quickly ran over to help.
They were too small to collect large branches, but they could gather some dry grass and leaves.
Lan Zi dashed to the lakeside at top speed and chose a relatively lower terrain to set down her backpack before quickly taking out a bottle from it to fill with water.
While she moved, she simultaneously twisted her head around nervously, vigilantly scanning her surroundings.
The reservoir was vast, and the feeling was even more pronounced when looking from the middle outwards. That sense of being surrounded by absolutely nothing, with no shelter in sight, added an even deeper sense of unease.
Filling all the bottles in one go, Lan Zi hefted the backpack and ran back quickly.
When she returned to the forest, her forehead was already covered in sweat.
The others nearby took the backpack, and hurriedly poured water into the pot, which was already glowing red from the heat. With a “sizzle,” the world fell silent.
Everyone gathered around the small milk pot, eyes fixed intently, waiting for the water to boil.
Disc0v3r exc1us1v3 c0ntent and s\/pp0rt creat0rs 0n the or1g1n@l site: https://rottentledits.blogspot.com/
The pot was small and portable, making it convenient to carry around. It heated up quickly, boiling water in no time.
The first pot of water was not poured into bottles by the group; instead, they shared it amongst themselves after letting it cool down slightly.
Seven adults and two children—a single small pot of water was definitely not enough to quench their thirst. After sharing the first pot among themselves, they quickly started boiling a second one.
“Drink some more.” During the third round, Ji Yanqing gently urged Ji Le to drink as he held him.
Now, what they are in no short supply of is water. Although drinking a lot at once can’t easily replenish the hydration they lack in their bodies, it is, at the very least, enough to satisfy them.
They had no food left.
After drowning Ji Le until he burped from drinking water, Ji Yanqing gently brought the pot to Ji An’s lips. Ji An, already dying of thirst, didn’t care that the pot was still scalding and hurriedly took big gulps.
After gulping down half of it in one breath, Ji An stopped. He pushed the pot towards Ji Yanqing’s lips and said, “You drink.”
Ji Yanqing suddenly remembered the date from last night.
“We’ll just need to boil another pot later,” Ji Yanqing said softly.
Ji An glanced at Xia Shen Shu and the others beside him, making sure that there would still be water boiled. Only then did he continue to drink, holding the pot with both hands.
He quickly finished drinking the remaining water.
Ji Yanqing boiled his fourth pot of water for the day, and after it cooled down, he drank more than half of it by himself.
When the pot was set down, Ji Yanqing’s stomach was so swollen it ached.
To the side, the group of people whose nerves had been tightly wound for so long, now found relief. Their parched bodies replenished, they either sat or sprawled on the ground, comfortably half-closing their eyes, their hearts filled with satisfaction.
In that moment, they all forgot the cruelty of this apocalyptic world.
After a short rest, Ji Yanqing boiled some water again and used it to help Ji An and Ji Le wash their faces.
The two little cubs are very well-behaved, doing whatever they’re told without any fuss or noise.
After washing his face, Ji Yanqing looked at the remaining water and suggested they take off their clothes so he could help them wipe down their bodies as well.
Ji An and Ji Le had clearly been neglected for a long time. Their small faces were so dirty that it was hard to make out their eyes and noses, not to mention that once their clothes were removed, their tiny, emaciated bodies with ribs clearly visible made one’s heart sink with heaviness.
What made one’s throat even more bitter was the sight of their bodies covered in bruises, a mix of green and purple marks.
Ji An’s body was covered in bruises, both big and small, too numerous for both hands to count. Every time Ji Yanqing’s hand, holding a towel, wiped over a spot, Ji An would shiver.
He bore the pain without a whimper, merely looking at Ji Yanqing with red-rimmed eyes, filled with unease. He tried hard to gauge his reaction, terrified of spotting even the slightest hint of displeasure on Ji Yanqing’s face.
Ji Yanqing is the only one who treats him well.
Ji Le’s body was covered in numerous bruises, but the most frightening was the large, purple contusion on the outer side of his left thigh. The sheer size of the bruise made it look as though his leg had once been violently kicked to the point of breaking.
Ji Le was very thin, even thinner than Ji An, to the extent that one of his legs was not as thick as Ji Yanqing’s arm.
Such a child, when Ji Yanqing saw him, he couldn’t help but lighten his movements for fear of hurting him. Who could be so heartless as to hit him? And to leave him in such a state.
“Does it hurt?” Ji Yanqing paused his wiping and gently touched the bruise.
Disc0v3r exc1us1v3 c0ntent and s\/pp0rt creat0rs 0n the or1g1n@l site: https://rottentledits.blogspot.com/
Feeling the movements of Ji Yanqing, sensing the coldness on Ji Yanqing’s fingers, Ji Le’s slender body instinctively shrank back.
He carefully sized up Ji Yanqing and, upon seeing that Ji Yanqing wasn’t angry, shook his head.
“Really?”
Ji Le shook his head, then shook it again.
“Why were you hit?” Ji Yanqing restrained his anger with a gentle tone.
Ji Le pretended as if nothing was amiss, yet his eyes uncontrollably reddened. He tried hard to hold back his tears, but they still trickled down. Wiping away his tears, he confessed to Ji Yanqing, “…I wasn’t good.”
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and ahh, after I posted this I got my first patreon member, thank you Chi! more shall be posted! I also went back, and forwards, and fixed the prev next links.. when I can afford hosting I'll work on a wordpress site aahaa
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