AFTCKCTCKATD - Chapter 42

 Chapter 42

Feng Yimo Was Becoming More And More Like A Tail.

“That Grim Reaper isn’t in the north right now,” Li Pingsen said.

Everyone looked at him.

“Didn’t you three run into him before?” Li Pingsen looked towards Ji Yanqing, Xia Shen Shu, and Lan Zi.

Reminded, the three of them snapped out of their surprise. It was true; they had brushed shoulders with that Grim Reaper not too long ago.

“You met him?” A flash of surprise and delight flickered in the depths of the young man’s eyes, as if a child had seen an extremely desirable toy.

Ji Yanqing looked over, but the man had already returned to a gentle and refined demeanor.

“Something like that, we only heard about it,” Ji Yanqing said. They’d heard the news from Zhang Guxian, and now that Zhang Guxian was gone, they had no way to verify it.

“I think it’s probably true,” Lan Zi said. “Didn’t that Beast Zombie King fight him?”

“But he disappeared after that. He couldn’t have lost, could he? Isn’t he supposed to be the strongest Zombie King now?” Xia Shen Shu said.

“It’s also a fact that we didn’t see his corpse,” Lan Zi said.

Xia Shen Shu fell silent.

“This is the first time I’ve heard of this,” the young man said thoughtfully.

The room full of people fell into contemplation.

They knew too little about zombies. It was no longer a world they could enter and explore; they could only infer fragmented details from a pile of clues.

And even those few details were enough to make their hearts tremble with fear.

Feng Yimo also fell silent. Even if the Grim Reaper was very powerful, he would win.

“Alright, let’s not talk about this for now. You must be tired. I’ll have Xiao Kang take you to rest,” the young man broke the silence.

As his voice fell, the sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl in a white tracksuit who had just retreated to the side walked out. She beckoned to everyone, “This way.”

Ji Yanqing glanced at the others behind him who had unconsciously finished their water. He didn’t leave immediately but looked at the young man, “Ji Yanqing.”

The man was momentarily stunned before he smiled, “Lu Qing.”

Ji Yanqing nodded and followed Xiao Kang.

Seeing this, the rest of the team put down their cups and followed Ji Yanqing.

Leaving through the back door of the church, they were immediately greeted by the biting cold and swirling snow, forcing the group, still in a state of extreme shock, back to reality.

The snow on the ground had accumulated to a considerable depth, and their feet sank as they walked.

“This way.” Xiao Kang, who was leading the way, seemed to be used to it and was not affected at all.

Ji Yanqing took the lead and headed in that direction.

Xiao Kang led them out of the back door on the right rear of the church. After turning two corners in an alleyway, they quickly stopped in front of an iron gate at the corner.

The words “Employee Entrance” were written on the door with a black marker.

Xiao Kang took a key out of her pocket and with some difficulty, inserted it into the lock. She turned the handle and pulled the door open.

The wind was strong, and as soon as the door opened, it was blown to the side. The creaking sound was sharp and harsh in the darkness, but the wind and snow were also heavy in the town near the river, and the noise was swallowed by the wind before it could spread.

Xiao Kang led the way into the building.

Ji Yanqing looked back at the empty street, confirming that no zombies were attracted, and then led Ji An and Ji Le inside.

Just inside the door was a three- or four-meter-long passageway leading to an open area.

At the front of the open area was a glass door covered in advertisements about deposit interest rates, followed by a reinforced iron gate and a rolling shutter door.

Passing through the corridor, Ji Yanqing saw, as expected, the bank’s business counters on the left.

This place was a bank.

“Here, you go,” Xiao Kang handed the key she was holding to Ji Yanqing. “You guys keep it.”

Ji Yanqing accepted it.

“The door can be locked from the inside, and there’s no way in or out except for the windows in the back lounge, so you can rest assured that this place is safe. Get a good night’s sleep, and we can talk about everything else tomorrow.” Xiao Kang turned and walked towards the door as she spoke.

With that, she didn’t linger and went straight out the door, braving the wind and snow.

The group didn’t close the door immediately. They waited until they saw her return to the church before closing it.

“I’ll go take a look.” Xia Shen Shu gave Li Pingsen a look, and they took their guns and started patrolling the building.

The bank was large; it must have been a branch.

The public seats that had been welded to the floor were still there, as were the ATMs on the right. To the left of the business counters was a corridor leading to the VIP rooms, the lounge, and the area behind the counters.

The main hall was clear at a glance, and there was nothing much to see. Xia Shen Shu led Li Pingsen to the corridor leading to the lounge.

Xia Shen Shu returned quickly and nodded.

Seeing Xia Shen Shu nod, the group went their separate ways, putting down their backpacks and preparing to rest.

At the same time, discussions started in the room.

“Why don’t we just go north? The north is safer than here, and we’ve already made it this far; it’s just a matter of crossing the bridge,” Xia Chen said.

Many people in the team had the same idea, and many nodded in agreement.

Lan Zi looked over, “If what Lu Qing said is true, then from what he meant, there are already many people going north. With that many people, even if there aren’t any Zombie Kings or evolved zombies in the city, the supplies are definitely scarce.”

“Then let’s not go into the city. We’ll just follow the canal. The water in the canal can be treated and drunk, so we won’t have to search for water everywhere in the future,” Xia Chen said excitedly.

Lan Zi gave a wry smile, “Others will think the same way.”

Xia Chen was speechless. He was still a little unwilling, but he really couldn’t think of anything to refute Lan Zi.

If he could think of it, others would have thought of it too.

It wasn’t easy for them to obtain supplies, and countless people starved to death on the road. If there were many people and few supplies, then it would definitely be another hellish scene.

After all, when people were starving, they would do anything.

Ji Yanqing did not join their discussion. After putting down Ji An and Ji Le, as well as his own backpack, he circled the room and went to look at the employee lounge and VIP rooms at the back.

There were quite a few quilts, water buckets, clothes, shoes, socks, and other daily necessities in the rooms, especially quilts. There were forty or fifty of them, almost filling the two rooms.

The items all looked pretty clean.

“A lot of people must have stayed here before,” Xia Shen Shu said, looking at Ji Yanqing.

Ji Yanqing thought the same.

Those quilts and water buckets were obviously not brought back by one group of people. They must have been brought back little by little by each group that had stayed here, and they had gradually accumulated to their current level.

Ji Yanqing walked around the room, but he didn’t see any blood stains or anything like that, which made him even more confused. He didn’t quite understand what Lu Qing and his group were trying to do.

They accepted them for no reason, gave them water to drink, and told them about the situation in the north. Could it be that Lu Qing and his group were really good people?

“Let’s sleep first,” Ji Yanqing said, looking at the others.

It was already almost nine o’clock at night, and they usually would have been asleep by this time.

The two little ones, Ji An and Ji Le, had been sleepy for a while, yawning from time to time, their eyes full of weariness.

“Do we need to arrange for people to keep watch?” Lan Zi asked.

“I’ll do it,” Ji Yanqing said.

Lan Zi didn’t say anything, just nodded.

The others exchanged glances and went into the inner rooms to get quilts and spread them out.

There were plenty of quilts, enough for everyone to have one. The main hall was large, and there was still a lot of space after everyone had found a place to lie down.

Ji Yanqing took a quilt and tucked Ji Le and Ji An into it, letting them sleep. Then he walked around the room again.

The main door they had come in through could be locked from the inside; it was very secure.

The lounge and VIP rooms where the quilts had been stored did have two windows, but the doors between the two rooms and the main hall could also be locked. If anything tried to break in, they would definitely notice.

When Ji Yanqing returned to the main hall, many people were already dozing off.

Their long fight to survive had given them all a special ability: the power to fall asleep instantly. In dangerous situations, they might only sleep for an hour or two a day, sometimes even less than ten minutes over two or three days. Over time, everyone had developed this habit.

Ji Yanqing returned to Ji An and Ji Le’s side and sat down against the wall in the darkness. The two little ones were already asleep, lying face to face, nestled under the quilt with only their cheeks exposed. Their faces were rosy pink, their lips plump, and their noses tiny and cute.

Feng Yimo sat in a corner not far away, cradling his sword, seemingly asleep.

Ji Yanqing tucked the quilt around Ji An and Ji Le and closed his eyes to rest.

The town was close to the river, and the wind was strong at night. Coupled with the incessant snow, the whole world was filled with a whooshing sound, easily drowning out the breathing of everyone in the room.

Past two in the morning, the wind picked up even more, howling like a monstrous roar.

Having waited half the night without any unusual occurrences, Ji Yanqing got up around 2:30 AM, nearing 3:00 AM, and walked across the hall towards the employee lounge. He closed the door, opened a window, and jumped out into the passageway, where a thick layer of snow had already accumulated on the ground.

The alleyway was behind the bank, with back doors leading to other buildings on either side. Ji Yanqing looked around and chose a nearby stairwell with an open door on the ground floor. He headed upstairs.

There were no zombies in the building. The few rooms with open doors had already been thoroughly searched, their halls filled with scattered clothes and debris.

The building was seven stories tall, the top floor locked from the inside.

Ji Yanqing used his axe to pry open the door and, wrapping his coat tightly around himself, stepped out into the howling wind and snow.

The wind on the roof was fierce. The moment he stepped out, he felt like he might be swept into the sky. The snowflakes that pelted his face and body stung, like tiny stones.

Ji Yanqing trudged through the thick snow towards the railing. Standing at this height, he looked down over the entire town and out into the distance.

The town was large, definitely bigger than the county town they had passed through before. Its size was due to the docks and the bridge.

The bridge was located on the left side of the town, downstream. The bridge deck was wide, littered with abandoned vehicles. The wind and snow were too heavy for Ji Yanqing to see clearly what was on the other side, only a vague outline of dark land.

The town had two main streets, one large and one small. The smaller street was in the old part of town, closer to the downstream side, and was probably the original main street.

The buildings and shop signs on the main streets looked very new. They had been planned and built after the older, smaller streets had aged, likely having been in use for less than ten years.

The new streets were located between the docks and the bridge, probably to facilitate the transportation of goods to and from the docks and for drivers and tourists crossing the bridge.

The town was in a state of rapid development. While the old town mostly consisted of two- or three-story bungalows, the new town already boasted a dozen high-rise buildings, and various big-brand stores and shopping malls had moved in.

In such a rapidly developing town, and a transportation hub at that, there should logically be a large number of people, yet there were very few zombies in the city.

Far fewer than in the previous county town, perhaps only a third of the number.

In the past, if they had discovered such a situation from afar, they would have definitely concluded that there must be an evolved zombie or a Zombie King in the city. However, the reality was that Lu Qing and his twenty people were living safely and soundly in the town.

Ji Yanqing, whose face was numb from the wind, let out a long breath. The vapor hadn’t even had time to mist in the air before it was scattered by the cold wind.

Everything about this city was strange. Lu Qing and his group were strange, the zombies were strange, and on top of that, the Grim Reaper’s territory was just across the river. He had an unshakeable feeling of unease.

Ji Yanqing turned around, preparing to go back.

As he turned, he met the gaze of a tall, slender figure.

Ji Yanqing was startled and instinctively raised his axe. His eyes met a pair of deep, dark eyes, and his pounding heart eased.

Feng Yimo had followed him upstairs at some point. Wearing only a shirt and a windbreaker, the coat and the long hair at his temples whipped in the night wind, giving the illusion that he might fly away at any moment.

“Why did you follow me?” Ji Yanqing asked, still shaken. Feng Yimo had come without making a sound.

Feng Yimo didn’t answer, just glanced at the long bridge through the wind and snow.

“Why did you follow me?” Ji Yanqing moved closer, raising his voice; the wind was too strong.

Feng Yimo looked back at him.

The moment their eyes met, Ji Yanqing understood. Feng Yimo hadn’t answered before, not because the wind and snow were too loud, but because he hadn’t wanted to answer.

Ji Yanqing sighed inwardly. Feng Yimo’s personality was indeed somewhat difficult to get along with.

“Let’s go back,” Ji Yanqing said, leading the way towards the stairs.

The wind howled through the doorway, carrying snow and creating a buzzing sound throughout the stairwell, making the darkness-engulfed passage seem like an entrance to hell.

The stairwell was uncomfortably dark, but the moment Ji Yanqing stepped into it, escaping the wind and snow, he felt like he had come back to life.

At least it was warm in the stairwell.

When Ji Yanqing reached the corner of the lower landing, he looked back and saw that Feng Yimo had followed him inside.

Confirming that Feng Yimo wasn’t going to get lost, Ji Yanqing quickly headed downstairs.

“You went upstairs,” a cold voice sounded in the darkness.

Ji Yanqing paused for a moment, then realized Feng Yimo was answering his earlier question.

Ji Yanqing looked back, and in the darkness, Feng Yimo was looking at him, his dark eyes docile and well-behaved.

Perhaps it was because their limbs had warmed up after being in the stairwell for a while, but in that instant, Ji Yanqing felt a warmth spread through him.

In the darkness, Ji Le secretly lifted his side of the quilt, letting the cold air rush in. The cold air quickly took away the heat from his back, making him sigh in relief.

Feeling more alert, Ji Le sleepily glanced around and didn’t see Ji Yanqing. He looked uneasily at Ji An, who was sleeping in front of him.

“Brother…” Ji Le grabbed Ji An’s hand from under the quilt and placed it on his forehead. He felt hot, as if his body was on fire.

When Ji Yanqing came downstairs, it was almost three o’clock. He entered the building silently and, upon entering the main hall, noticed from a distance that Ji Le had kicked off his quilt.

Ji Yanqing stepped forward and touched Ji Le’s back, which was exposed to the air, confirming that Ji Le was still warm. He breathed a sigh of relief and pulled the quilt back over Ji Le.

This was the first time he had seen Ji Le kick off his quilt since he had found Ji An and Ji Le.

At around four o’clock, the sky began to brighten, and the people in the hall gradually woke up. They were used to getting up early, even if they knew they were temporarily safe.

Around five o’clock, when the wind and snow stopped, there was movement from the church.

Around six o’clock, as the weather gradually began to warm up, Xiao Kang came out from behind the church and walked towards them.

“Are you all awake?” Xiao Kang stopped at the doorway and knocked on the open iron gate. “We’ve boiled some water, do you want to drink?”

Hearing there was water to drink, the group inside perked up.

Soon, the group walked through the alleyway and entered the church through the back door.

The front door of the church was closed, and the windows were reinforced with wooden planks from the inside, making it impossible to open them. The building was a bit dim during the day.

At one of the long tables in the main hall, Lu Qing and his group were sitting and eating.

Seeing Ji Yanqing and his group enter, Lu Qing and the others looked in their direction.

The air in the hall was filled with the aroma of food.

Everyone looked towards the long table, where Lu Qing and his group were eating something like vegetable porridge.

There wasn’t much rice in the porridge. It was mostly a green, blocky vegetable like celtuce, with a few oil flowers floating on top. The aroma made Li Pingsen and the others, who hadn’t had a proper meal in over half a year, swallow hard.

“Do you want to try some?” Lu Qing generously invited.

Li Pingsen and his group couldn’t help but swallow again.

“No, thank you,” Ji Yanqing declined.

Lu Qing wasn’t surprised. He smiled and pointed to a pot that was steaming and a large red bucket full of cold water, “In this bucket is the water we purified, and there’s still some hot water in the pot you can drink. Generating electricity consumes gasoline, so we hardly use any electricity except for water purification.”

Ji Yanqing didn’t touch the boiled water. Instead, he had Li Pingsen and the others take their own pots and fetch water from the red bucket. They started a fire in front of a bonfire to cook their own food.

All this time, they had been short on water, so they had never eaten the flour and rice they had found. Now that they had water, they could have a good meal.

Everyone was very enthusiastic about eating, and all forty or fifty of them were eager to rush forward and help.

In less than twenty minutes, the aroma of noodles filled the air.

They only had noodles and no oil. The cooked noodles were in clear soup, but that didn’t affect their appetite. After dividing the noodles, they took their bowls and, without waiting for the water to cool, eagerly sat down and slurped them down.

The amount of noodles wasn’t much. Even though they were temporarily safe, it didn’t mean they could indulge recklessly.

After Ji Yanqing quickly finished the water and noodles in his bowl, he turned back to watch Ji An and Ji Le finish the noodles and water in their bowls.

After finishing the noodles, Ji Yanqing touched Ji An’s forehead. It was still burning hot.

Their medicine had long been finished.

“Do you feel uncomfortable?” Ji Yanqing asked.

Ji An shook his head and, after gulping down the noodles in one go, impatiently pushed the bowl away.

Beside them, Ji Le frowned, looking at the bowl in his hands. There were still a lot of noodles left.

“What’s wrong?” Ji Yanqing looked over.

Ji Le looked at the noodles in the bowl, pouting his pink little mouth unhappily. The noodles smelled good, but he didn’t want to eat them at all. He even felt nauseous.

“Eat up,” Ji Yanqing urged softly.

Ji Le looked at Ji Yanqing and, knowing that food was precious, he bit the bullet and started eating in big mouthfuls, wanting to be a good boy.

It had been hard for Ji Yanqing to find food, and he couldn’t waste it.

After finishing their meal, just as the group was taking a breather, Lu Qing spoke up, “Do you want someone to take you around town?”

Ji Yanqing looked over.

“There’s not much left in the town, nothing much to see, but we can take you to the river. Although the river water is polluted and can’t be drunk directly, you can still wash your faces and hands,” Lu Qing said.

Hearing they could wash up, Li Pingsen’s group’s eyes lit up.

Constantly shifting between extreme cold and heat, the oil and sweat on their bodies usually evaporated before it could even cling to their skin. They didn’t particularly smell, but the perpetual grime was still uncomfortable.

“Thanks for the trouble,” Ji Yanqing said.

He’d already planned on checking out the town today, intending to slip away without Lu Qing and the others knowing. Who knew Lu Qing would actually suggest taking them for a look around? This Lu Qing guy was becoming more and more of an enigma to him.

“Let’s go then!” Xiao Kang grabbed her gun, waved at the group, and led them out the back door.

It was already past seven, and the air temperature had soared above thirty degrees. The snow on the road was visibly melting, revealing patches of dark brown earth.

Xiao Kang was lively and talkative, navigating the alleyways with practiced ease, dodging zombies while chattering nonstop. Li Pingsen and the others occasionally tossed in a few words, but the forty-odd, nearly fifty of them, hadn’t spoken as much this entire journey as she did in just these few minutes.

Fortunately, the church wasn’t far from the river, only a five or six-minute walk. The town was built along the riverbank. Upstream, a flood embankment had been constructed for a dock, while downstream lay a stretch of pebbles and woods. The woods, closer to the town, acted as a flood barrier. Beyond the woods was the pebble beach, and a five- or six-meter-wide stretch of pebbles led to the canal.

A dirt path had been worn through the obscuring woods; Lu Qing and his people must frequently fetch water from this way.

Breaking through the woods and onto the pebble beach, the group eagerly looked towards the gently flowing canal ahead. The canal was wide; from their vantage point, they could only vaguely make out the opposite bank and its buildings. The water was remarkably clear, and they could even see the riverbed ten meters out.

“The river flows down from the highlands way upstream, so the water quality should be fine up there. But with all the snow lately? It’s contaminated, you can’t drink it straight. It has to be purified,” Xiao Kang explained.

Walking along the riverbank, a cool breeze on their faces, the group visibly relaxed. Everyone’s gaze was fixed on the water. Though they weren’t thirsty now, they all felt the urge to jump in.

“You guys want to go down and wash up?” Xiao Kang asked. This wasn’t the first time she’d hosted a survivor team, and she knew their thoughts like the back of her hand.

Li Pingsen’s group all turned to look at Ji Yanqing.

Ji Yanqing scanned their surroundings, making sure there were no zombies lurking by the riverbank, then nodded. With his permission, Li Pingsen’s group couldn’t wait to start stripping, practically vibrating with impatience. They were halfway out of their clothes before remembering there were women in the team, and froze with their garments awkwardly hanging off them.

“We’ll go upstream,” Xiao Kang said, gesturing further up the river to Lan Zi and the other women. Once Lan Zi and the others had moved, and leaving a few people to watch their guns, the forty-odd men from Li Pingsen’s group eagerly plunged into the water, plop, plop, plop. The riverbank was instantly filled with laughter and cheerful shouts.

Ji Yanqing didn’t go in. He glanced upstream, making sure Lan Zi and the other women hadn’t completely left the group’s line of sight, then turned to Xia Shen Shu, who was already soaking in the water. “I’m going to wander around a bit.”

Xia Shen Shu’s gaze flickered over to Ji An and Ji Le, who were practically bouncing with excitement but too timid to get in. Before Ji Yanqing could say anything, Xia Shen Shu splashed a huge wave of water at Ji An and Ji Le.

“Ah!”

“Dad!”

The two little guys had never seen anything like it. Startled by the sudden soaking, they turned and thump, thump, thumped towards Ji Yanqing, seeking refuge.

But before they could run far, Xia Shen Shu caught them. He hauled them into the water.

“Dad...”

The two little ones floated excitedly in the water, but kept glancing at Ji Yanqing anxiously, unsure what to do.

In their limited memories, no one had ever taught them how to swim. They rarely even had the chance to get in the water. The helpless feeling of their feet not touching the bottom filled them with fear. They tried to reach for Ji Yanqing, but he took a step back, keeping his distance.

“Still trying to run?” Xia Shen Shu grabbed the two little guys and pulled them back.

Ji Yanqing watched them for a moment, glanced upstream to where Lan Zi and the others were, and confirmed that Lan Zi was keeping Xiao Kang occupied. Then, he turned and headed into the town.

Their location was close to the bridge downstream of the town. After leaving the riverbank, Ji Yanqing’s first destination was that bridge.

He hadn’t gone far before a tail appeared behind him. Ji Yanqing turned back, and sure enough, Feng Yimo had followed him.

“What are you doing following me?” Ji Yanqing asked. Feng Yimo was becoming more and more like a tail he seemed to have grown.

“It’s dangerous.”

“I’ll be careful.”

Feng Yimo showed no intention of going back. Ji Yanqing, exasperated but finding it both frustrating and somewhat endearing, had no choice but to let Feng Yimo tag along.

After about ten minutes, Ji Yanqing reached the downstream bridge. He didn’t approach directly, but observed it from afar. There were clear signs on the bridge of people passing through after the virus outbreak. Several zombies lingered at the bridgehead, likely drawn there from nearby buildings after being disturbed by those who had tried to cross earlier. Further along the bridge, in the middle section, there were no zombies to be seen. The situation on the other side of the bridge, closer to the opposite bank, was unknown.

Feng Yimo stood behind Ji Yanqing, gazing at the distant bridge. Perhaps it was just Feng Yimo’s imagination, but the bridge seemed vaguely familiar, though he couldn’t place where he’d seen it before.

Ji Yanqing didn’t linger at the bridge. After catching Feng Yimo, who was about to head off in the opposite direction, he quickly entered the town. He chose a relatively tall building nearby and swiftly went inside. As he climbed the stairs, before reaching the top floor, he heard voices. The building had been chosen as a lookout post, and people were stationed there to keep watch every day.

Ji Yanqing paused on the stairs, listening for a while. Failing to glean any useful information, he quickly descended and headed back towards the church. During the day, Lu Qing and the others wouldn’t just stay at the church. When Ji Yanqing returned, only one or two older people were inside, playing chess. Everyone else was gone.

Ji Yanqing took the opportunity to scout all the buildings near the church. Lu Qing’s group had a far more substantial and well-stocked reserve of supplies than Ji Yanqing had anticipated. They even had their own dedicated armory and a separate warehouse for provisions.

Lu Qing and his people had done a good job concealing them; from the outside, they just looked like two rooms with doors that couldn’t be opened, but Ji Yanqing easily spotted the telltale signs. He didn’t enter, contenting himself with peering through windows, doors, or cracks.

The armory held at least ten guns, likely with a significant amount of ammunition, and perhaps other equipment as well. The supply warehouse was also quite large; its contents were unknown, but it must hold a considerable amount of goods. Such reserves would be sufficient for a large survival team of a hundred people.

After examining the two rooms and confirming that there were no other utilized spaces nearby, Ji Yanqing hesitated for a moment, then led Feng Yimo towards the dock. The church was a fair distance from the docks, and unfamiliar with the town’s layout, Ji Yanqing took a circuitous route to avoid zombies. About ten minutes later, he could finally see the dock in the distance, with numerous cargo ships berthed alongside rows of large metal shipping containers. Ji Yanqing’s previous life hadn’t exposed him to such large docks, and he couldn’t help but take a longer look.

As his gaze swept over the area, he noticed a patch of vibrant green near the dock, closer to the town. It was a small but well-tended plot of farmland, constructed within the foundation of a demolished house that hadn’t yet been rebuilt. Various plants were growing there, and a person was currently watering them. The person watering the plants was Lu Qing.

Ji Yanqing hesitated for a moment, then approached. As he got closer, he could clearly see what was growing in the field: mutated bok choy, as tall as a person. They had seen these before outside the county town. Lu Qing was bent over, a water bucket in hand, meticulously watering the bok choy. He had already watered most of them, with only a small portion left.

When he was about a hundred meters from the field, Ji Yanqing deliberately increased his pace, making more noise. Hearing the sound, Lu Qing seemed startled and quickly turned around. Seeing that the approaching figures were Ji Yanqing and Feng Yimo, not zombies, he relaxed, a surprised but refined smile spreading across his face. “What brings you here?”

Ji Yanqing stopped in front of the bok choy field. Up close, the bok choy looked even more bizarre, having completely lost its original form. They now had thick, sturdy stems and enormous green leaves. If it weren’t for the fact that the leaves still somewhat resembled their original shape and that they were growing in a cultivated plot, Ji Yanqing might not have recognized them.

“These vegetables are edible,” Lu Qing said, seeing Ji Yanqing examining the bok choy, offering a smile. Ji Yanqing looked at them, recognizing that the vegetables in their morning porridge had been this same bok choy. Lu Qing and his group were eating mutated plants?

Realizing this, a strange, unsettling feeling unexpectedly welled up in Ji Yanqing’s heart. After the virus outbreak, plants had mutated rapidly. At first, many people had tried to eat them, but after witnessing their harmful effects, everyone had avoided these mutated plants like the plague.

Lu Qing smiled at Ji Yanqing. Ji Yanqing’s face remained expressionless. Lu Qing shook his head slightly, then continued calmly, “There haven’t been any side effects so far.”

“How do you know?” Ji Yanqing finally spoke. Some things didn’t manifest problems immediately, but by the time they did, it was already too late – like Baldy’s eyes.

A hint of helplessness flickered in Lu Qing’s eyes. “Not everyone considers those outside their group as human. Otherwise, how do you think those big teams of hundreds of people manage to feed so many?”

Ji Yanqing had already suspected something when he saw Lu Qing tending the field, but hearing Lu Qing say it outright sent a chill down his spine. There were at least thousands of edible crops before, and now almost all of them had mutated. To try them one by one until they found something edible... how many people would have to die in the process?

For a moment, Ji Yanqing could almost envision countless plants sprouting from human bodies, nourished by the flesh and blood of the living. Many things, when consumed, didn’t immediately cause problems. But by the time they did, it was often too late, like the bald man’s eyes. The mental anguish of those forced to be test subjects, waiting for the consumed substance to wreak havoc, would likely break them long before any physical symptoms appeared.

Lu Qing finished watering the last bok choy plant, straightened up, and turned to look at Ji Yanqing. Seeing Ji Yanqing’s furrowed brow, he chuckled softly. “Do you know how much this kind of information could be worth to other survival teams?”

Without waiting for Ji Yanqing to answer, Lu Qing continued, “It could be exchanged for fifty guns, more than two hundred bullets, a truckload of food, or even two hundred living people.”

Ji Yanqing remained silent. In Lu Qing’s units of measurement, human lives were apparently the cheapest commodity.

Lu Qing seemed to read Ji Yanqing’s thoughts and found him amusing. “You’re different from other survival team leaders.”

Ji Yanqing neither confirmed nor denied it. Lu Qing glanced at Feng Yimo behind Ji Yanqing. Feng Yimo’s face was impassive, as if the lives and deaths of others were of no concern to him. There were many people who didn’t care about the fate of others, but Feng Yimo’s indifference was different, more profound, more detached.

Lu Qing picked up the water bucket and headed towards a lavishly decorated freight company building nearby, depositing the bucket inside the door. The entire city was dead, and all the buildings were at their disposal.

“Let’s go back, it’s getting hot,” Lu Qing said, leading the way back. Ji Yanqing glanced back at the stacks of shipping containers that obscured a large portion of the sky. He deliberately lagged behind, following Lu Qing at a distance with Feng Yimo.

Watching Lu Qing’s back from behind, Ji Yanqing found him even more enigmatic. Before entering the town, he had thought that if Lu Qing and his group had malicious intentions, they could simply wait for them to make a move and then immediately counterattack, taking their weapons. But after entering the town, Lu Qing had not only offered them water and information but had even proactively told him that the mutated bok choy was edible and had no side effects.

According to Lu Qing himself, information about the bok choy was worth a significant amount of resources. Why would Lu Qing voluntarily share such “valuable” information with him? Was he certain they wouldn’t be able to leave the city? Or did he genuinely not care?

Lu Qing had maintained a gentle and amicable demeanor the entire time. Ji Yanqing hadn’t even sensed a hint of killing intent from him, not even for a fleeting moment.

“What do you think?” Ji Yanqing asked the person beside him. As his gaze met Feng Yimo’s deep, dark eyes, he immediately knew he had asked the wrong person. Feng Yimo seemed detached from the world, never concerned with such matters.

Hearing his question, Feng Yimo turned to look at him.

Those dark eyes reflected his face. Feng Yimo only cared about him.

Realizing the thought that had suddenly popped into his head, Ji Yanqing’s heart skipped a beat, then quickly returned to its normal rhythm. He was overthinking.

Feng Yimo was too different from ordinary people. Naturally, he couldn’t be understood with ordinary people’s way of thinking.

The dock wasn’t far from the church, and Lu Qing knew a safe route. The three of them returned to the church in less than eight minutes. As they rounded the corner and the church came into view, several people from Lu Qing’s team, who had been talking by the back door, ran towards them.

“You went to the docks again?” The first person jogged up to Lu Qing and stopped. After speaking, he noticed Ji Yanqing and Feng Yimo emerging from around the corner and paused for a moment before continuing, “A new survival team has arrived outside the city.”

Ji Yanqing looked over, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Lu Qing was surprised as well. “How coincidental. It seems like we’ve never had two survival teams arrive at the same time before.”

“There’s quite a few of them, probably a hundred and fifty or sixty people. They look pretty beat up, as if something chased them here,” the man said.

“What should we do, let them in now?” another person asked.

Lu Qing turned to Ji Yanqing. “Could you please gather your people?”

Ji Yanqing immediately understood Lu Qing’s meaning. They were all survival teams, humans struggling to survive in this post-apocalyptic world. Yet, when they met, it wouldn’t be with warm hugs and greetings like old friends. Real encounters would inevitably involve suspicion and guardedness, or even outright hostility.

Ji Yanqing quickly headed towards the riverbank with Feng Yimo. Cutting through the town, before he could even reach the woods, he saw Xia Shen Shu running out of the woods, carrying a child in his arms. The child in his arms was motionless, Xia Shen Shu’s expression frantic, and he was surrounded by several other anxious people.

Ji Yanqing quickened his pace towards them. “Xia Shen Shu?”

As he got closer, Ji Yanqing immediately recognized the child in Xia Shen Shu’s arms as Ji Le. Ji Le, having shed his outer coat and now only wearing a thin undershirt, had his eyes closed and his small face flushed, completely still.

“Ji Le?” Ji Yanqing quickly took the soaked Ji Le from Xia Shen Shu’s arms.

Had Ji Le drowned?

Ji Yanqing’s intense concern for Ji An and Ji Le was clear to everyone. Since Ji Yanqing had entrusted him with their care, how could he have been careless enough to let the little guys drown?

“He’s hot.” Ji Yanqing was relieved that it wasn’t drowning, but his brow furrowed even deeper. If it wasn’t drowning, what was wrong with Ji Le?

“Could it be a cold?”

“Even if it’s a cold, he wouldn’t suddenly develop a fever and faint.”

“Then could it be food poisoning?”

“We all ate the same thing.”

Amidst the chaotic discussion, Ji Yanqing tried to recall anything similar from his limited knowledge of childhood illnesses, but he couldn’t remember anything.

Before the virus outbreak, he had hardly ever had the chance to interact with children Ji An and Ji Le’s age.

“Papa…” Ji An, whose face was pale with fright, grabbed his pant leg. He was about to cry. What had happened to Ji Le?

“It’s okay. Don’t worry.” He held Ji Le, comforting Ji An, but feeling the heat coming from his body, his heart grew even more anxious.

In just a short while, the skin where he was touching Ji Le was already burning hot.

They didn’t have a doctor, and they didn’t have any medicine…

He suddenly thought of something. There was another survival team entering the town.

He quickly told Xia Shen Shu and the others about it and had them pack up their things and go back. Then, he ran back to the bank with Ji Le.

Returning to the bank, he didn’t immediately rush to Lü Qing and the others. Instead, he put Ji Le down inside.

As soon as he was removed from Ji Yanqing’s embrace and placed on the ground, Ji Le instinctively curled up into a small ball. Without his oversized coat, he looked only as big as a palm after curling up, like a sick kitten.

Ji Yanqing took off his wet clothes and found an adult T-shirt for him to change into. The ill-fitting clothes made him look even smaller.

As if he sensed him, Ji Le, muddled from the fever, shuffled closer, wanting to be next to him.

“Papa…”

He was engulfed by darkness, his whole body burning hot. His mind was muddled, and he seemed to see Xue Gang again.

It had been a very hot day, so hot that his throat hurt. He wanted to drink water. It had been a long time since he had drunk water.

He secretly looked up. Everyone ignored his existence. No one was willing to give him water.

“What are you looking at…” Xue Gang’s voice suddenly rang out.

He was stunned for a moment before he realized that Xue Gang was sitting on a wooden plank not far from him.

Xue Gang was fierce. He had known that for a long time.

He didn’t dare look anymore and hurriedly lowered his head.

He thought for a moment and got up, wanting to sit further away.

His foot twisted as he got up, and the soles of his feet hurt. He had secretly taken a look before. They were covered with blisters, and the skin had peeled off in many places.

He was in a lot of pain, but no one cared.

After steadying himself, he was about to walk away along the wall when something flew towards him.

“Bang!” It hit his forehead, bounced off the wall, and then rolled to the ground.

His whole body flinched from the pain. He was about to cry out, but he swallowed the sound.

He knew Xue Gang didn’t like children that cry. If he cried, he would be beaten even harder.

He looked at Xue Gang anxiously. Hot, red liquid flowed down his forehead, into his eyes, blurring his vision.

He was about to reach out and wipe it away when a dark figure walked towards him. Seeing that huge figure approaching, he instinctively backed away, but the wall was behind him.

A powerful force kicked him hard in the stomach. The pain made his mind go blank. Before he could recover, even more violent punches and kicks rained down on him.

“Unlucky.”

“Leader, this town has already been searched. How about we…”

“Who’s in charge, me or you?”

“You.”

“All of you, go find something! If you can’t even something so simple, what’s the point of me keeping you around? Damn it…”

…

Curses and pain assaulted him again. He tried to make himself smaller, but it was pointless. Pain spread throughout his body.

He tried to call for help, crying as he looked at the people around him, but everyone avoided his gaze.

“Hic-…”

“Who told you to cry?”

He was kicked away, and something pierced his body. His hands and feet twitched instinctively as he hung there, and Xue Gang, who was in front of him, also seemed stunned.

He couldn’t remember what happened after that. He only remembered the intense pain coming from his back, as if he was being torn apart. He only remembered being scared.

He was thrown to the ground. He didn’t lose consciousness immediately. He stared in terror as people walked past him, but none of them cared whether he was in pain or afraid.

His body turned cold, and he was terrified.

He vaguely remembered that someone had given him water, and then the wounds on his body had stopped hurting.

When he opened his eyes again, he had been carefully placed in a backpack.

“Papa…”

Ji Yanqing, who had finished changing Ji Le’s clothes and was about to go to the church to see what was going on, looked at his small hand reaching out helplessly in the air and quickly put his hand out for him to hold. “Don’t be afraid.”

He patted Ji Le’s back gently.

Clutching Ji Yanqing’s finger, feeling his presence, Ji Le’s tear-filled eyelashes fluttered, and he sniffled. He wouldn’t cry.

His expression gradually relaxed.

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