AFTCKCTCKATD - Chapter 32

Chapter 32

“I Was Afraid Just Now ... Afraid That You Were In Pain.”

Hearing the deafening howl, everyone in the mountains turned to look in the direction of the sound.

The sound came from the mountains further away from them. But the beast was moving very fast, and the roar was like a reminder, constantly reminding them of its danger.

“Let’s go,” Ji Yanqing reminded everyone again, at the same time speeding up his pace to get as far away from the city and the beast as possible.

Everyone in the mountains immediately sped up.

It was about two in the morning when they were awakened. It had been snowing heavily for five or six hours, and the ground was covered with a thick layer of snow.

It wasn’t easy to walk in the snow, especially in the mountains. Sometimes the seemingly flat ground would collapse when you stepped on it, because there was a hole or a slope underneath.

Several people even rolled down the slopes, but fortunately they were stopped by the trees.

They walked on, stumbling along the way. After more than two hours of continuous walking, at around four thirty, the snow gradually stopped and the sky in the distance began to brighten. They finally saw the end of the mountains.

The previous city was close to this side of the mountains. Next to it was a mountainous area made up of dozens of hills, large and small. After the mountains was a plain.

Looking from the mountain, the snow-covered plain was like a huge white sheet of paper, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Ji Yanqing looked at the exhausted people and gave the order to rest temporarily.

The place where they stopped to camp was a relatively flat area on the top of a mountain. After stopping, they each took their portions of food and found places to sit down and eat in silence.

Ji Yanqing walked around to survey the surroundings. When he sat down next to Xia Shen Shu, Lan Zi, and the others, Xia Shen Shu and Lan Zi were discussing what had happened last night.

“The beast corpse king probably fought with the corpse king in the hospital, and the beast corpse king lost, so it ran away,” Lan Zi said.

Xia Shen Shu pondered. “That’s possible.”

Lan Zi stopped eating and let out a long breath. She looked back in the direction of the city, still feeling scared. “It’s a good thing we ran fast.”

The corpse king in the hospital was much more powerful than they had imagined. Even the beast corpse king had to flee in defeat. If they hadn’t left, they might already be dead in there.

“Before we left the city, didn’t some of the ordinary zombies that were chasing us suddenly turn back? I guess the beast corpse king had already entered the city by then,” someone else chimed in.

Ji Yanqing looked over. It was one of the twenty or so people he had brought out of the city, the man who had opened the door when he had knocked before.

He wasn’t very old, only in his early twenties. He must have been quite strong before the virus outbreak, but after a long period of lack of food and water, he was now so thin that he was just skin and bones, with his cheeks clearly sunken.

“So, you’re saying the beast corpse king actually saved our lives?” Lan Zi smiled wryly.

No one refuted her. If things had really happened as they had guessed, they had indeed been saved by the beast corpse king.

Ji Yanqing looked at Ji An and Ji Le. Ji Le had already finished his share of food. He was seriously watching Ji An, who was eating slowly. He still didn’t have much of an appetite.

After looking at Ji An and Ji Le, Ji Yanqing instinctively looked at Feng Yimo.

Feng Yimo had always been unsociable. Now, he was also sitting alone under a tree across from them. He seemed to have finished the food that had been given to him. At this moment, he was quietly looking into the distance.

The other people in the team were also very quiet. The environment had made everyone accustomed to being quiet, but the silence surrounding Feng Yimo was different from the others.

If the others’ silence was a kind of fear of death, a kind of suppression, then Feng Yimo was like an ancient pool, without fear, without wind. He seemed to be devoid of human emotions. He simply existed there.

“What did you suddenly go back to the city for?” Ji Yanqing asked proactively.

Being asked, Feng Yimo seemed to have remembered something. He took the backpack that had been placed beside him, unzipped it, and slowly took out a pile of things.

There was food, water, bullets, and finally even a submachine gun.

After placing the items in front of him one by one, Feng Yimo looked at Ji Yanqing. There seemed to be something flickering in his dark, calm eyes.

He gave Ji Yanqing the illusion that he was like a big dog waiting for his master’s praise.

Ji Yanqing was speechless. “Where did you get these?”

There definitely hadn’t been a gun in the backpack he had asked Feng Yimo to carry before.

“Picked them up.”

Ji Yanqing’s lips moved. He looked into Feng Yimo’s black eyes, but the words of praise on the tip of his tongue changed into a warning. “Don’t do anything reckless in the future.”

How could a person like Feng Yimo want praise from others?

“Okay.” Feng Yimo looked down.

“Let me see.” Xia Shen Shu stretched out his hand, motioning for Feng Yimo to throw him the gun. They were three or four meters apart.

Feng Yimo didn’t move. He silently put everything back into his backpack.

Xia Shen Shu’s lips twitched, and he smiled brightly.

When he found a chance, he would definitely put a sack over Feng Yimo’s head.

“Feng Yimo.” Ji Yanqing reached out his hand.

Feng Yimo, who had picked up the gun and put it back in his backpack, looked up at Ji Yanqing’s outstretched hand. Ji Yanqing’s hand was wrapped in gauze, and he could vaguely see bloodstains.

Feng Yimo threw the gun at Ji Yanqing’s feet.

Xia Shen Shu’s lips twitched again. He got up from the ground, picked up the gun, and sat back down. After quickly removing the magazine to look at it, aiming, and loading it to test it, he said, “No problem. It works.”

Xia Shen Shu looked at Feng Yimo. “What about the bullets?”

Feng Yimo ignored him.

Ji Yanqing got up and walked over to Feng Yimo. He picked up the whole backpack and took it back to their side.

Xia Shen Shu opened the backpack and took out the plastic box containing the bullets. Feng Yimo had found quite a lot of bullets. Together with the ones in the gun, there were more than thirty rounds.

Seeing those bullets, Xia Shen Shu couldn’t help whistling.

There were many different types of guns, and so were the bullets.

They had originally had four guns and over ninety rounds of ammunition, but because of the different types, nearly forty rounds couldn’t be used. That meant they had only about fifty usable rounds.

Now, with the gun and bullets that Feng Yimo brought back, although they were still lacking in firepower overall, it was much better than before.

Feng Yimo had brought back more than half of their original amount of usable bullets.

After confirming that the gun and bullets could be used, Xia Shen Shu put them back in the backpack.

Ji Yanqing returned the backpack to Feng Yimo, reminding him, “Don’t use the gun unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

Feng Yimo looked at the backpack that had been returned to him, and then at Ji Yanqing. “I won’t.”

“Hm?”

“I won’t use that.”

Ji Yanqing asked, then quickly realized that Feng Yimo was referring to the gun.

Feng Yimo had always carried a Tang sword that was almost as tall as him. Ji Yanqing had seen him use it before; his movements had been extremely clean and neat.

Ji Yanqing was speechless, but not particularly surprised. He himself wasn’t used to using guns either; he preferred using an axe.

“Then I’ll take it?” Ji Yanqing asked for Feng Yimo’s opinion.

“Okay.” Feng Yimo responded. He had never been interested in these things. He had only packed them into his backpack because he happened to see them and knew that Ji Yanqing would want them.

Ji Yanqing unzipped the backpack and took out the gun and bullets.

Standing up again, he looked around.

Everyone on the flat ground was looking at him, especially the twenty or so people from Xue Gang’s former team.

There had originally been four guns in Ji Yanqing’s team. Xia Shen Shu and Lan Zi each had one. The one that had originally belonged to Ji Yanqing and Xia Shen Shu’s pistol had been temporarily given to two other people in the team. After leaving the city, they had been returned to Ji Yanqing.

Those two guns, plus the one in Ji Yanqing’s hand, meant they had three guns that they could use.

In other words, there were still three people in the team who might get a gun.

Having a gun or not was a world of difference. In Xue Gang’s team, it directly determined whether you were a person or trash. The amount of food, water, and say you had… everything would be different if you had a gun.

Being stared at by a group of people with eager eyes, Ji Yanqing felt a little apprehensive for a moment, but he quickly calmed down. “Who has used a gun before?”

The people in the team looked at each other. Two people raised their hands. They were the two who had been temporarily given guns during their escape.

One was the man who had opened the door for him when he had knocked before. Xia Shen Shu had thrown him his gun for temporary use. The other was the thirteen- or fourteen-year-old boy. He had received Xia Shen Shu’s pistol.

When they were in Xue Gang’s team, Xue Gang himself knew how much these people hated him, so he would never let them get their hands on a gun.

Ji Yanqing’s gaze swept over their faces. After thinking for a moment, he threw the submachine gun in his hand to the man.

Seeing Ji Yanqing throw the gun towards him, the man stood up excitedly and caught it.

Holding the gun, feeling its weight, his thin face, with its sunken cheeks, quickly turned red.

Ji Yanqing looked back at Xia Shen Shu. Xia Shen Shu knowingly took out his pistol and the other gun that had originally belonged to Ji Yanqing, which had been unused, and threw them to Ji Yanqing.

He didn’t care about his pistol. He now had another submachine gun.

Having two guns to himself wouldn’t increase his combat effectiveness exponentially or allow him to live longer. Only when the team was strong could they be safer.

Ji Yanqing took the guns. Under the eager, almost burning gazes of everyone, he threw the pistol to the thirteen- or fourteen-year-old boy who had used it before.

As for the last gun, Ji Yanqing chose a thirty-year-old man in the team who looked strong and had a calmer personality.

After the last gun was decided, disappointment was written on the faces and in the eyes of all those who had been eagerly watching Ji Yanqing.

The three who had received guns held them, their faces flushed red.

Ji Yanqing’s gaze swept coldly over their faces. “Don’t do what Xue Gang did in my team. I gave you guns not to point them at your own people, but to protect them.”

Hearing Ji Yanqing’s deliberately lowered voice, the three, whose heads were buzzing with excitement from the weight of the guns in their hands, quickly nodded.

Ji Yanqing didn’t say anything more. He knew they probably wouldn’t be able to listen to anything he said while they were so excited.

Ji Yanqing looked at the others who were disappointed. “We’ll get more guns in the future.”

The group of disappointed people looked at each other. They were still disappointed, but their expressions were much better.

They hadn’t been with Ji Yanqing for very long, but they had already realized that he was different from Xue Gang.

“Leader, what should we do next?” the man who had first received a gun, the one who had opened the door before, asked excitedly.

Ji Yanqing glanced at him coldly. “Captain Ji.”

“Captain Ji!” The man immediately corrected himself.

“Let’s rest for another half an hour, then set off.” Ji Yanqing paused before asking, “What’s your name?”

“Li Pingsen.”

Ji Yanqing looked at the other two who had received guns.

The man in his thirties, who looked stronger and had a calmer personality, immediately said, “Xia Chen.”

The thin, thirteen- or fourteen-year-old boy followed closely, “Su Luo.”

Ji Yanqing nodded and memorized all of their names. “We’ll set off in half an hour.”

After finishing this, he walked towards Xia Shen Shu. He turned around to meet Xia Shen Shu and Lan Zi’s smiling eyes.

“Little Captain Ji.”

“Little Captain Ji.”

“That’s right. Captain Ji…” Ji Yanqing said with a straight face.

Lan Zi couldn’t help laughing.

Ji Yanqing ignored them. He sat down next to Ji An and Ji Le with a straight face and looked up at Feng Yimo.

His gaze swept across Feng Yimo from head to toe. Then, he imitated Feng Yimo’s expressionless face and stared into the distance.

Feng Yimo looked quite aloof.

“Papa…”

Ji An and Ji Le were lying on his lap, one on each side.

Ji Yanqing withdrew his gaze and rubbed their heads. He touched Ji An’s forehead. It was still burning hot.

After another half an hour of rest, when the sky was completely bright, the group set off again, heading down the mountain.

In front of the mountains was a vast stretch of grassland, stretching as far as the eye could see.

There were no zombies on the plain, and it was relatively safe, but they had to replenish their water within three days. So they had to cross the plain and enter a populated area as soon as possible.

After pulling a certain person who was walking towards the woods on the left back to the group, Ji Yanqing wondered how long it would take to cross the plain. He continued walking down the mountain with the others.

As he was thinking about it, a few people at the front of the team slowed down.

Ji Yanqing looked up.

“Listen,” one of the people who had stopped said.

Several people in the team stopped and listened quietly. Ji Yanqing did the same.

Ji Yanqing listened for a while, but he didn’t hear anything other than footsteps.

“It sounds like water,” Lan Zi said.

Ji Yanqing looked at her.

“It’s over there.” Lan Zi pointed in one direction.

The few people who had stopped before also pointed in that direction. They had also heard the sound of water from over there.

Hearing that there might be water, everyone quickly went in that direction.

No one lived in these mountains, and the mountain paths were rough and uneven. After walking in the direction of the sound for two or three minutes, they saw a small waterfall on the cliff in front of them.

The waterfall was about ten meters high, cascading down from the cliff above.

The waterfall had originally been three or four meters wide, but with the change in weather, it was now less than half a meter. In a few months, even this bit of water might dry up.

Seeing that there was water, the group of people who had been trying to find water were all revitalized, and smiles appeared on their faces.

Without Ji Yanqing saying anything, everyone quickly found a place to set up a stove to boil and collect the water.

They couldn’t just drink the water exposed in the wild. They didn’t have the means to test if the water was contaminated. The only safe thing they could do was to boil it before drinking it.

The group had a clear division of labor. Some people built the stove, some collected water, and some gathered firewood. In less than three minutes, the fire was burning.

Ji Yanqing watched for a while, then took his axe and went around to make sure there were no zombies nearby.

Before leaving, he didn’t forget to grab Feng Yimo, who was walking seriously in the direction they had come from, and take him along. It seemed he was planning to patrol the area, but Ji Yanqing didn’t want to have to search all over the mountain for him later.

“Come over here and take a look.” A panicked voice came from the forest, muffled and not very loud, but it was clear that the speaker was frightened.

Ji Yanqing immediately went over.

The voice came from downstream of the waterfall. Other people in the team were also patrolling nearby.

When Ji Yanqing arrived with Feng Yimo, Xia Shen Shu and Li Pingsen were standing by the stream, their faces dark.

On the ground in front of them, four or five bodies, which looked like they belonged to a family, were lying in strange postures.

More accurately, they could no longer be considered bodies. All that was left were a pile of clothes, dried blood mixed with dirt, and a few skull fragments and hairs.

“Were they… eaten by something?” Xia Shen Shu picked up a branch and lifted one of the clothes. He could still vaguely see some bones underneath.

“What could have eaten them so cleanly—” Li Pingsen reacted and ran upstream. “There’s something wrong with the water!”

Ji Yanqing and Xia Shen Shu’s brows furrowed at the same time.

They didn’t run back with Li Pingsen. No one would drink the water before it was boiled. It was enough for Li Pingsen to go back and warn the others.

Xia Shen Shu squatted down with the stick. He lifted the other clothes on the ground and took a look.

The situation was similar with the other corpses. They had all been either eaten or corroded by something, leaving only clothes, bloodstains, and fragments of skulls and hair on the ground.

There were also two duffel bags next to the corpses. Xia Shen Shu didn’t dare touch them with his hands. He used the stick to pry them open after a lot of effort. The bags contained clothes, socks, a phone, a tablet, and some food.

“They must have been people who fled here in the early days.” Xia Shen Shu poked the phone and tablet with the stick. Only people who fled in the early days would bring electronic devices like phones and tablets.

The virus outbreak had been very rapid. Transportation, communication, healthcare, the military… the society they had spent thousands of years building had crumbled in the face of this virus. The whole process had only lasted less than three days. Three days later, all cities, and even the whole world, had collapsed.

On the fourth and fifth days, some people had tried to solve the problem by force. Large-scale nuclear attacks had been carried out at that time. However, it hadn’t solved the problem, but had instead exacerbated it.

The earth’s crust and magnetic field had been altered, and mutations of microorganisms, plants, and animals had occurred frequently.

When it was all over, the whole world had become strange.

Xia Shen Shu threw away the branch. “Let’s go.”

Ji Yanqing turned and left.

When the three of them returned to the team, the other members, who had been cheerful before, all had dark expressions.

They weren’t really surprised. This wasn’t the first time they had encountered such a thing.

They had survived, and they were even grateful.

After packing up their things and their hearts, the group set off again down the mountain.

The mountains outside the city weren’t very high. It only took them about half an hour to walk down.

When they reached the plain at the foot of the mountain, it was already past seven in the morning. The sun had just risen not long ago, but the temperature had already reached over thirty degrees.

The scorching sun baked the entire plain before them. The ground, which had been covered by thick white snow, was now showing faint signs of green grass underneath.

The sight of green grass sprouting beneath the white snow was vibrant and seemed to soothe their hearts, which had been suppressed by despair and pain for so long.

They tucked their pants into their socks and stepped onto the grass.

The grassland was wide, and they could see far into the distance.

There were no zombies on the grassland, which eased everyone’s mood.

As they walked forward, Xia Shen Shu took the opportunity to explain to the three people in the team who had received guns the things they needed to pay attention to when shooting, and he continued teaching Lan Zi.

Lan Zi really did have a talent for shooting, which made Xia Shen Shu’s heart itch.

They walked straight ahead until a little after eight. After making sure there were no zombies around, Xia Shen Shu, with Ji Yanqing’s consent, gave Lan Zi three bullets and asked her to try shooting for real.

After the three shots were fired, Ji Yanqing focused all his attention on his surroundings, remaining vigilant in case any zombies were attracted by the sound.

After Lan Zi fired the three shots, Xia Shen Shu’s eyes became unfocused, his mind blank. Lan Zi really was very talented, so talented that it made him want to curl up and cry.

Seeing Xia Shen Shu’s dazed and disheartened appearance, Ji Yanqing couldn’t help smiling.

He turned his head and saw Feng Yimo looking at him. Startled, he didn’t immediately put away the smile on his face. Instead, he looked over and smiled at Feng Yimo.

Feng Yimo wasn’t the kind of person who would look down on him because of his appearance.

With his messy, fluffy hair, fair skin, double eyelids, big eyes, red lips, and white teeth, Ji Yanqing’s face looked very clean, but also strikingly beautiful.

Especially his smiling eyes, they were clear and pure, yet hazy, like the plain under their feet where green grass was first appearing after the snow melted. Just looking at them gave one the strange feeling that one’s heart was uncontrollably speeding up.

Meeting Ji Yanqing’s smile, Feng Yimo was clearly stunned.

A moment later, Feng Yimo looked away.

Ji Yanqing rarely smiled at anyone without reservation. The fact that the other party looked away made him feel a bit stunned, and a sense of loss suddenly arose in his heart.

As Ji Yanqing was spacing out, a voice came from the front of the team.

“It’s over there,” Lan Zi pointed.

Several others who had paused also gestured in the same direction, having also heard the sound of rushing water.

Hopeful, the group quickly moved towards the sound.

The mountain paths were rough and uneven, as no one resided in these remote mountains. After a few minutes of following the sound, a small waterfall came into view, cascading down a cliff face.

The waterfall, originally three or four meters wide, had dwindled to less than half a meter due to the changing weather. In a few months, even this meager source might dry up.

Despite its diminished size, the sight of water revitalized the group. Smiles appeared on their faces, replacing the grim determination they had worn. Without needing Ji Yanqing’s instruction, they quickly found a suitable spot and began setting up a stove to boil and collect the water.

Drinking water directly from the wild was out of the question. Without the means to test for contamination, boiling was their only safe option.

The group worked with a practiced efficiency. Some built the stove, others collected water, and the rest gathered firewood. Within minutes, a fire was crackling merrily.

Ji Yanqing watched for a moment, then grabbed his axe and began patrolling the perimeter to ensure there were no zombies nearby.

Before leaving, he caught sight of Feng Yimo walking purposefully in the direction they had come from. He grabbed Feng Yimo’s arm and pulled him along. It seemed Feng Yimo intended to scout the area, but Ji Yanqing didn’t want to have to retrace their steps to find him later.

“Over here! Help!” A panicked voice drifted from the forest. Muffled and faint, it nonetheless conveyed the speaker’s terror.

Ji Yanqing immediately headed towards the sound, which seemed to be coming from downstream of the waterfall. Other team members were also patrolling nearby.

When Ji Yanqing and Feng Yimo arrived, they found Xia Shen Shu and Li Pingsen standing by the stream, their faces grim.

On the ground before them lay four or five bodies, seemingly belonging to a family, contorted in unnatural positions.

To call them bodies was perhaps inaccurate. They were more a collection of clothing, dried blood mingled with dirt, and a few scattered skull fragments and strands of hair.

“Were they… eaten by something?” Xia Shen Shu used a branch to gingerly lift a piece of clothing, revealing a glimpse of bone underneath.

“What could have eaten them so cleanly—” Li Pingsen’s words were cut short as his eyes widened in realization. He sprinted upstream, yelling, “The water! Something’s wrong with the water!”

Ji Yanqing and Xia Shen Shu frowned in unison.

They didn’t follow Li Pingsen. No one would drink the water before it was boiled; Li Pingsen’s warning was sufficient.

Xia Shen Shu squatted down, using the stick to examine the other remains. The situation was the same: all either consumed or corroded by something unknown, leaving behind only the remnants of their existence.

Two duffel bags lay beside the corpses. Wary of touching them directly, Xia Shen Shu used the stick to pry them open. Inside were clothes, socks, a phone, a tablet, and some food.

“They must have been people who fled here in the early days.” Xia Shen Shu poked at the phone and tablet with the stick. Only those who fled in the initial chaos would still be carrying such devices.

The virus had spread with terrifying speed. Transportation, communication, healthcare, the military… the very foundations of their civilization had crumbled within days. The entire world had collapsed in less than seventy-two hours.

On the fourth and fifth days, desperate attempts at a forceful solution had been made. Large-scale nuclear strikes had been launched, but rather than solving the problem, they had only exacerbated it.

The Earth’s crust and magnetic field had been irrevocably altered, leading to frequent mutations in microorganisms, plants, and animals.

When the dust settled, the world had become a strange and hostile place.

Xia Shen Shu tossed the branch aside. “Let’s go.”

Ji Yanqing nodded and turned to leave.

When the three returned to the group, the earlier cheer had evaporated, replaced by somber expressions.

They weren’t truly surprised. This wasn’t their first encounter with such a scene.

Survival was a blessing, and they were grateful for it.

Gathering their belongings and their resolve, the group descended the mountain.

The mountains outside the city weren’t particularly tall, and within half an hour, they reached the plains below.

It was just past seven in the morning. The sun, newly risen, already cast a scorching heat, the temperature climbing past thirty degrees Celsius.

The sun beat down on the vast plain before them. Beneath the lingering patches of snow, faint hints of green grass were beginning to emerge.

The sight of new life pushing through the remnants of winter was a vibrant reminder of resilience, offering a balm to their despair-weary hearts.

They tucked their pants into their socks and stepped onto the nascent grassland.

The plain stretched out before them, offering an unobstructed view of the horizon.

The absence of zombies on the grassland provided a welcome respite, easing the tension in their shoulders.

As they walked, Xia Shen Shu took the opportunity to instruct the three members of the team who had received guns on the finer points of marksmanship, continuing Lan Zi’s training as well.

Lan Zi displayed a natural aptitude for shooting, much to Xia Shen Shu’s delight and envy.

They continued onward until a little after eight. Having ensured the area was clear of zombies, Xia Shen Shu, with Ji Yanqing’s consent, gave Lan Zi three bullets for target practice.

As the shots rang out, Ji Yanqing’s senses sharpened, scanning their surroundings for any zombies that might be drawn by the noise.

After Lan Zi finished, Xia Shen Shu stared blankly ahead, his mind reeling. Lan Zi’s talent was undeniable, so prodigious it almost brought him to tears.

Ji Yanqing couldn’t help but smile at Xia Shen Shu’s dazed and disheartened expression.

He glanced over to find Feng Yimo watching him. Startled, he didn’t immediately suppress his smile. Instead, he held Feng Yimo’s gaze and smiled openly.

Feng Yimo wasn’t one to judge based on appearances.

With his slightly messy, fluffy hair, fair skin, and bright eyes framed by double eyelids, Ji Yanqing’s face held a clean, striking beauty, accentuated by his red lips and white teeth.

His smiling eyes, in particular, were captivating – clear and pure, yet with a hint of mystery, like the plain beneath their feet where green grass was tentatively emerging from the melting snow. They held a strange power, quickening the heartbeat of anyone who met their gaze.

Feng Yimo was visibly stunned by Ji Yanqing’s unexpected smile.

A moment later, he averted his eyes.

Ji Yanqing, rarely one to smile so freely, felt a pang of disappointment at Feng Yimo’s reaction. A strange sense of loss settled in his heart.

As Ji Yanqing was lost in thought, a voice called out from the front of the group.

Thinking that they had found zombies, he immediately looked over.

The other people in the team who were being vigilant also looked over.

As their gazes swept over, they didn’t see panic or anxiety on the faces of the people at the front. Instead, they saw excitement.

Slightly surprised, Ji Yanqing walked forward.

As he got closer, he followed the gazes of the excited people and looked ahead. Only then did he see a pile of things in the grass that were clearly not grass.

Beneath the snow, which had almost completely melted, on the vibrant green grass, five or six black, tent-like objects were huddled together.

The group sped up, quickly approaching.

Feng Yimo was at the end of the team. His eyes instinctively followed Ji Yanqing at the front. He frowned slightly, and a rare puzzlement appeared on his usually emotionless face.

Why did he feel a strange sensation in his chest when Ji Yanqing smiled at him?

Did Ji Yanqing also have mind control abilities? Was he also a corpse king?

Feng Yimo scrutinized Ji Yanqing. Ji Yanqing was holding his axe; his arms were slender, fair, and long. They looked like they could be easily broken. Ji Yanqing didn’t look like a corpse king at all.

The grassland was flat, and they could see those things from far away. But it still took them almost ten minutes of walking to actually reach them.

Those things were indeed tents. Someone had camped here before.

Judging from the food packaging bags left on the ground, the team that had camped here before had been quite large, even larger than Xue Gang’s team. A rough estimate put them at five or six hundred people, maybe even more.

A survival team of that size was probably one of the largest in the world.

“The packaging bags are all on top of the grass, and the traces on the ground are still fresh. They must have camped here just a few days ago, at most five days ahead of us. If we’re fast, we might be able to catch up.” Xia Shen Shu tossed the food packaging bag in his hand and looked at Ji Yanqing. “What do we do? Should we go after them?”

Ji Yanqing looked down at the food bags on the ground and pondered silently.

If it had been before, he would have taken everyone to chase after them without hesitation. Being able to join a survival team was a good thing. But now they had their own survival team. Although it was still small, it was already different from before.

Xia Shen Shu and Lan Zi looked at each other. They were also deep in thought.

They understood why Ji Yanqing was hesitating.

Character and ability were not directly related. In this apocalyptic environment, selfish and unscrupulous people might even have a better life.

They had already realized before encountering Xue Gang’s team that the people in a survival team weren’t necessarily all good people. There were also many people like Xue Gang. After their experience with Xue Gang, they were even more convinced of this point.

They had never met the leader of this survival team. He might be a good person, but he might also be an even worse scum than Xue Gang.

If the other party really was that kind of person, taking the initiative to approach them would be like delivering themselves to their door. Even though the supplies and weapons they carried with them weren’t much, it didn’t mean that the other party wouldn’t be able to refuse.

Ji Yanqing looked at Li Pingsen, who was walking around nearby. Li Pingsen had been in Xue Gang’s team for almost two months. He had been among the first batch of people to join.

At the beginning of the virus outbreak, he had taken his family, two friends, and their families to hide in the mountains.

They had been lucky enough to escape the initial floods, but because they had gone into the mountains so suddenly, they hadn’t brought enough food and water.

Less than ten days after the virus outbreak, their team had become divided. The small team of ten or so people had split into three, some leaving and others going deeper into the mountains.

Li Pingsen had returned to the edge of the city with his family. He had planned to find food and water, but on the day they approached the city, only he and his mother had been left.

After that, because they were inexperienced, they had been repeatedly discovered and chased by zombies. They had fled all the way until, five or six days later, they met other people and finally managed to escape.

Since then, he had been living in the city with his mother and others. They were like rats in the sewers, living a meager and painful life.

Five or six months later, when he and the others met Xue Gang’s team and joined them, his mother had already passed away. He was the only one left in his family.

When he joined Xue Gang’s survival team, he had even breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that he had finally seen a glimmer of hope in this desperate situation. But the next day after joining Xue Gang’s team, he discovered that he had only stepped from one hell into another.

After he realized something was wrong, he had tried to run away, but he soon gave up on that idea.

Because as time went on, food and water in the city became more and more scarce. He couldn’t survive in this apocalypse alone.

After that, he had been muddle-headed, until Xue Gang pointed a gun at them and forced them to distract the zombies, until he and the others hid in the rented room, until Ji Yanqing knocked on the door.

When Xue Gang forced them to distract the zombies, he had completely despaired. He knew he was doomed.

After escaping and hiding in the rented room, he hadn’t been happy. He knew they couldn’t leave the city. Staying alive temporarily was just delaying death and prolonging their suffering.

But he had met Ji Yanqing, and he had survived and gotten out of that city. He had even received his own gun from Ji Yanqing.

Seeing Ji Yanqing calling him, Li Pingsen jogged over with the heavy gun in his arms. “Captain Ji.”

Ji Yanqing nodded. “When you were with Xue Gang before, did you meet people from other survival teams?”

Li Pingsen looked at the packaging bags on the ground and quickly understood what Ji Yanqing meant.

After thinking about how to explain it for a bit, he said, “I met two. They weren’t very friendly.”

Ji Yanqing frowned slightly.

“Most survival teams aren’t friendly towards each other. One reason is that there’s competition between them. After all, resources are limited in the city. The other reason is that survival teams are like mobile warehouses, and some survival teams even target other survival teams.”

Ji Yanqing, Xia Shen Shu, and Lan Zi looked at each other. Their bad premonitions were coming true.

“But most survival teams are willing to have contact with other survival teams. Some even maintain stable contact with each other,” Li Pingsen said.

“Maintain contact?” Lan Zi raised an eyebrow. If they were eyeing each other’s supplies and weapons, they should keep their distance.

“There are benefits to survival teams interacting with each other. They can exchange supplies, bullets, medicine, and information.”

“Information?” Ji Yanqing looked at him.

“Information about zombies, other survival teams, the conditions in cities, and corpse kings.” Li Pingsen looked in the direction of the city they had just come from. “For example, right now we have information on three corpse kings: the beast corpse king, the corpse king in the hospital, and the corpse king in the north.”

Li Pingsen continued, “Corpse kings are terrifying existences. Even a large team of several hundred people, each with a gun, would have a hard time killing them. They might even be wiped out. So most survival teams with sources of information will avoid cities with corpse kings as much as possible.”

Ji Yanqing pondered. Xia Shen Shu and Lan Zi also fell into thought.

This was the first time they had heard of this. But thinking about it, it made sense.

If they had known that there was a terrifyingly intelligent corpse king in this city, they would definitely not have come here.

As for that forest, if they had known they wouldn’t be able to get out, they would never have entered so easily.

“Besides that, we can also exchange information about zombies, such as what we learned this time about corpse kings being able to give their blood to other zombies to make them their subordinates. The survival teams Xue Gang was in contact with before didn’t know this. It should be quite valuable information.”

After leaving the city, Ji Yanqing and the others told the rest of the team about the corpse king in the hospital as a warning.

They had to be careful at all times. A moment of carelessness could bring disaster upon them.

“Could there be doctors in other survival teams?” Ji Yanqing asked.

Li Pingsen was taken aback for a moment before he quickly realized that Ji Yanqing was worried about Ji An and Lan Zi. This made his expression strange. Xue Gang had never cared about the lives of others.

Not only Xue Gang, but in this apocalyptic world, most people didn’t care about the lives of others.

“Yes. Doctors are very sought-after in this apocalypse. Many large survival teams have medical teams, and they are protected as the core of the team,” Li Pingsen said.

After a pause, Li Pingsen reminded him, “But the price of getting them to see a patient is very high.”

Ji Yanqing nodded. It was good that there were doctors.

Lan Zi still had a low fever, but her wounds were gradually healing.

Ji An’s fever, however, persisted and even seemed to be getting worse. Long-term lack of food had made him weak. If this continued, Ji Yanqing was really afraid that Ji An would fall asleep one day and never wake up.

Ji Yanqing instinctively looked at Ji An and Ji Le. The two little ones knew it was safe nearby. Seeing that everyone had spread out to check the surroundings, they were also seriously checking their surroundings, imitating the adults. They were having a good time.

After spending so much time with Ji Yanqing, smiles gradually appeared on their little faces. They were gradually becoming like normal children.

Ji Yanqing’s eyes softened. “Call everyone back. Don’t linger.”

It was almost nine o’clock now, and the temperature had reached over forty degrees. There was no place to hide from the sun on the grassland. After walking a little further, they would have to use their backpacks and sheets to build a sun shelter.

It wouldn’t be very effective, but it was better than nothing.

As Li Pingsen went over to gather the others and have them continue walking, Ji Yanqing briefly told Xia Shen Shu and Lan Zi his thoughts.

Hearing this, the two looked at each other. They took a deep breath, and a hint of a smile appeared in their brows.

Their team was gradually growing into a real survival team.

The team continued walking for more than forty minutes before stopping. Everyone quickly used their backpacks, telescopic poles, sheets, and sunshades to build a huge tent on the grassland that could barely accommodate the thirty or so people.

The snow on the ground had completely melted, and even the moisture in the gaps between the grass had evaporated. The air was scorching hot, as if it wanted to roast them.

Sitting close together in the tent, everyone quickly became drowsy from the heat.

The water they had drunk after entering the tent felt like it had evaporated in their throats before even reaching their stomachs.

Ji Yanqing glanced at the two little ones, who were dizzy with heat. Ji Le was lying on his lap, half asleep. Ji An was still awake, but his little head was nodding.

Ji Yanqing pulled him closer and let him rest his head on his knees.

Ji An and Ji Le had always kept pace with him. Even when the adults could barely manage, the two buns never complained of exhaustion. They were incredibly sensible, often making Ji Yanqing forget they were only three years old, barely reaching his thighs.

Ji An leaned against Ji Yanqing’s knees, his eyelids drooping. He glanced drowsily at Ji Yanqing before quickly succumbing to sleep.

Ji Yanqing felt his forehead. The fever still lingered.

He’d already gone through almost half a box of cold medicine, yet the fever persisted.

“Huh?” A soft exclamation broke the silence.

Apart from the two on watch duty, everyone else in the tent was dozing in the stifling heat. The faint sound was almost imperceptible, easily mistaken for a trick of the mind.

Ji Yanqing looked over. It was Xia Shen Shu who had made the sound.

After his earlier conversation with Li Pingsen about the survival team, Xia Shen Shu had quickly fallen back into his dejected state, reliving his experience teaching Lan Zi to shoot. He had been unusually quiet since then.

As Ji Yanqing watched, Xia Shen Shu began removing his shoes.

The moment his shoes came off, Ji Yanqing frowned. Xia Shen Shu’s feet were completely red, soaked through with blood that had seeped through his shoes and socks, reaching his ankles.

“What the…” Xia Shen Shu stared at his feet in disbelief, seemingly oblivious to any pain.

He tugged at the edge of his sock, pulling it off. As the sock slipped past his toes, a thumb-sized piece of skin detached and fell to the ground.

Xia Shen Shu hissed, the sound audible even in the oppressive heat.

“Wake up! Everyone get up!” he shouted, his voice laced with urgency.

The others, roused from their heat-induced stupor, opened their eyes and looked at Xia Shen Shu.

He had removed his other shoe, revealing a similarly blood-soaked foot.

Their gazes followed his, landing on his mangled feet. A collective shiver ran through the group, followed by a frantic scramble to check their own.

The smell of blood filled the tent as they discovered, to their horror, that everyone’s feet were bleeding.

“What is this?” someone hissed.

“Does it hurt? I can’t feel anything!”

“Damn it!”

“How could this happen?”

“It’s the grass! There’s something wrong with the grass.”

“Are your shoes damaged? Mine aren’t.”

Panic spread as they realized that their skin wasn’t just bleeding, it was being eaten away, leaving behind tiny but deep holes.

The holes were densely clustered, covering the entirety of their feet.

The sight was horrifying. Goosebumps erupted on their skin, a wave of icy dread washing over them.

Many cried out, unable to bear the sight of those countless holes. In that moment, some even wished they could simply sever their feet from their bodies.

“It’s the grass,” Xia Shen Shu said grimly.

A patch of skin had sloughed off the sole of his left foot. The wound was gruesome, but he felt no pain.

“We need to get out of here,” Xia Chen said, his face pale. He couldn’t stand the sight of those holes, couldn’t bear the thought of something burrowing into his flesh.

“How? Where do we go?” Lan Zi’s voice trembled, her face contorted in a grimace.

“So what do we do?”

“Burn it! Find something flammable and burn the grass around us,” Ji Yanqing said decisively. He set his backpack down, placed Ji An and Ji Le on top, grabbed a lighter, pulled off his coat, and quickly set it ablaze.

His words galvanized the others into action. They scrambled to empty their backpacks, searching for anything that could be used as fuel.

Their supplies consisted mainly of necessities, with few flammable items. Clothes, however, were plentiful.

Within moments, a pile of forty or fifty garments lay on the ground, and flames erupted in all directions.

The temperature was already over sixty degrees Celsius. Despite the moisture in the grass, it ignited readily in the intense heat. The crackling of burning vegetation filled the air.

The pungent smell of burning protein followed soon after.

There was indeed something invisible lurking in the grass, something alive. The odor confirmed it.

As soon as a sizable hole had been burned in the sea of grass, Ji Yanqing led the group into the charred clearing.

Standing amidst the ashes, watching the fire spread outwards, no one attempted to extinguish it. In that moment, they wished the flames would consume the entire plain.

Ji Yanqing set his backpack down in the ashes and lifted Ji An and Ji Le off. He quickly squatted down to remove their shoes and socks.

The memory of the blood-soaked feet flashed in his mind, making him pale.

Ji An and Ji Le’s feet were so small, he could hold them in one hand. If those tiny feet were bitten… they could be easily severed.

He couldn’t bear the thought of them suffering such a fate.

He pulled off Ji An’s shoes, bracing himself for the worst. But as he peeled off the sock, he paused. There was no blood.

His heart leaped with relief and disbelief. He quickly removed the other sock.

Ji An’s small feet were fair and unblemished. His tiny toes, like little beans, were round, soft, and utterly unharmed.

Ji Yanqing checked Ji Le’s feet as well. They too were clean, devoid of any wounds. Ji Le’s small face, however, was pale with terror.

The sight of those four perfect little feet brought a wave of relief washing over Ji Yanqing, followed by a surge of confusion. Why hadn’t those creatures attacked Ji An and Ji Le?

“Your feet.”

Ji Yanqing looked up. Feng Yimo stood beside him, his gaze fixed on Ji Yanqing.

Meeting Feng Yimo’s eyes, Ji Yanqing suddenly remembered he hadn’t checked his own feet yet.

Ji An and Ji Le quickly climbed off the backpack to give him space.

Ji Yanqing sat down, took a deep breath, and reached for his shoes.

Even before his shoes were off, he saw the blood. He hesitated. The sight of those densely packed holes filled him with revulsion, even more so when he imagined them on his own body.

His worry for Ji An and Ji Le had momentarily eclipsed his fear. Now, it returned with a vengeance, chilling him to the bone.

As Ji Yanqing debated whether to put his shoes back on or face the gruesome reality, a strong yet slender hand grasped his foot. Feng Yimo squatted down before him.

Ji Yanqing looked up in surprise.

Feng Yimo’s face was as impassive as ever. He showed no sign of hesitation as he swiftly removed Ji Yanqing’s shoes and socks.

Ji Yanqing couldn’t bear to look. He quickly averted his gaze as a flash of red caught his eye.

The thought of those holes on his own flesh was unbearable.

Ji An and Ji Le’s gasps and expressions of alarm confirmed his worst fears.

He forced the image from his mind, trying desperately not to think about it.

Looking away, he said with a twitch of his lips, “It’s fine. There must be some kind of paralyzing toxin in those things. I can’t feel any pain.”

Feng Yimo, who was squatting in front of him, looked up. Ji Yanqing said he was fine, but his body was clearly trembling.

Ji Yanqing was afraid, very afraid.

At that moment, Feng Yimo felt a strange sensation in his chest again.

He couldn’t tell what it was. It was completely unfamiliar to him, but he knew he didn’t want to see Ji Yanqing like this.

Feng Yimo frowned as he examined Ji Yanqing’s feet. If it were his own body, he could heal those wounds in an instant. 

But Ji Yanqing wasn’t him. 

He glanced down and ran his right thumb across his palm. A deep gash, bone-deep, instantly appeared. He tilted his hand downwards, letting blood drip onto the ashes below. 

The moment the blood touched the ground, something in the wounds, something in the ashes, seemed to writhe. 

Like a pebble dropped into a still pond, ripples spread outwards in concentric circles. Many felt it, a subtle shift, but couldn’t quite grasp it. 

It was ephemeral, like the whisper of wind through tall grass. 

Feng Yimo took a piece of cloth Ji Yanqing had intended to use for Ji An and Ji Le’s wounds, tore it in half, and carefully bandaged Ji Yanqing’s feet. The gash on his own hand vanished, seamlessly healed.

 “It’s fine now,” Feng Yimo said, looking at Ji Yanqing. 

Aware that his feet were now bandaged, Ji Yanqing finally summoned the courage to glance at them. He couldn’t bring himself to look closely. One quick glimpse was all he could manage before he quickly averted his gaze. His face was pale, a sheen of sweat on his forehead. He fought to maintain his composure, but his trembling lips betrayed his fear.

 “Thank you…” he managed to whisper, his voice strained. He tried to speak again, but his mind was a jumble. 

“Wait for the snow. It will cover the grass, then we can leave,” Feng Yimo said, stepping in front of Ji Yanqing, shielding him from view. He didn’t fully understand why, but he sensed that Ji Yanqing didn’t want others to see his fear. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be trying so hard to appear calm. 

Feng Yimo’s words brought a moment of stunned silence, then a wave of relief washed over the anxious group. His solution offered a glimmer of hope. If it snowed heavily enough tonight, accumulating at least ten centimeters, they could walk on the snow, avoiding contact with the treacherous grass. 

With a potential solution in sight, their attention shifted back to their wounds. While they could manage the external bleeding, the thought of whatever had burrowed into their flesh remained a terrifying unknown.

Ji Yanqing had brought alcohol from the hospital, but it was nowhere near enough for everyone.

And even alcohol might not be effective against creatures that had burrowed deep.

They sat in grim silence, trying to push the disturbing thoughts away, but their eyes kept straying back to their bandaged feet. Each glimpse of the bloodstains on the cloth sent a fresh wave of fear through them.

One moment they were celebrating their survival, dreaming of finding other survivors. The next, they were huddled in the ashes, waiting for death.

Despair hung heavy in the stifling air.

A faint sob broke the silence, quickly muffled by the oppressive heat. Someone had succumbed to the crushing weight of their situation.

Ji Yanqing struggled to maintain his composure. He tried several times to speak, to offer words of encouragement, but each time the words caught in his throat. Anything he said in this situation felt inadequate, meaningless.

He looked at Feng Yimo. The tall figure was silently staring at his own feet, a troubled expression on his face.

Ji Yanqing avoided looking at his own feet. Just the effort of not thinking about them was exhausting.

“Did you treat your feet?” he asked suddenly.

Feng Yimo looked up.

Ji Yanqing’s forehead was still damp with sweat, his lips pale.

“It doesn’t hurt,” Feng Yimo replied softly.

Ji Yanqing stared at him, bewildered. “But you should still treat them.”

“You’ll be fine,” Feng Yimo repeated, understanding Ji Yanqing’s concern.

He couldn’t tell Ji Yanqing the truth: that the creatures in the grass were gone, driven away by his blood. Ji Yanqing wouldn’t understand, wouldn’t accept it, or him.

Ji Yanqing realized Feng Yimo was trying to comfort him. He was speechless for a moment, then a small smile touched his lips.

Feng Yimo’s attempts at comfort were clumsy, but sincere.

“Okay…” He glanced at Ji An and Ji Le.

The two little ones, sensing his distress, were watching him anxiously, one on either side.

Their faces were pale, their large, dark eyes brimming with tears. They were on the verge of crying, as if they were the ones who had been injured.

“It’s okay,” Ji Yanqing said, gently touching their faces.

Thanks to his care, their faces had filled out a little, though they were still thin.

The atmosphere of despair lingered for several hours.

As the hottest part of the day passed, the wounds on their feet began to scab over. Confusion replaced despair.

“Are they gone?” Lan Zi stared at the scabs on her feet in disbelief.

“The fire must have worked,” Li Pingsen said.

“But what about the things that were inside our feet? How did they disappear?” Xia Shen Shu asked, voicing the question that lingered in everyone’s minds.

No one had an answer.

But the sight of the scabbing wounds brought hesitant smiles to their faces. Relief replaced the earlier terror.

There were so many things they didn’t understand in this strange, post-apocalyptic world. It was enough that they were alive, that they could continue to survive.

“So then…” Li Pingsen started to ask about their next move, but his voice broke, and tears welled up in his eyes.

He quickly covered his face with his hands, embarrassed.

He was a grown man, over twenty years old. Crying like this… it was humiliating.

But his choked sobs resonated with many in the group, and soon others were weeping openly, overcome by the emotional rollercoaster they had endured.

No one mocked them. Even those who held back their tears felt the same overwhelming relief and lingering fear.

Ji Yanqing finally found the courage to look at his own feet. He saw the bandaged wounds on his toes, the dried blood. His tense body trembled, then relaxed, leaving him feeling weak and achy. He took a deep breath and reached out to touch Ji An and Ji Le, whose eyes were still red-rimmed. He looked at Feng Yimo.

Feng Yimo was watching him intently, his expression seeming to say, “See? I told you you’d be fine.”

“Aren’t you afraid?” Ji Yanqing asked, realizing only after the words left his mouth that his voice was hoarse with residual fear and tension. It was a different kind of hoarseness than his usual lowered tone, revealing a vulnerability he rarely showed. He felt a flicker of embarrassment.

Feng Yimo’s dark eyes held a flicker of confusion, as if he didn’t understand the concept of fear.

“Afraid means… being worried that something bad will happen, not wanting it to happen,” Ji Yanqing explained.

Feng Yimo suddenly understood, and he nodded. “I’ve been afraid.”

Ji Yanqing raised an eyebrow. Feng Yimo didn’t look like the kind of person who would be afraid at all. Sometimes he even felt that Feng Yimo wasn’t human. Otherwise, how could he be completely devoid of human emotions?

“I was afraid just now … afraid that you were in pain.”

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