The crowbar was wedged diagonally into the door. With a hard shove, the door slid aside.
At that very moment, a dark figure suddenly lunged out from inside.
Following their prearranged plan, Shi Zuo An quickly retreated, and immediately after, Xia Ao raised his steel pipe and rushed forward!
The long metal rod cut through the air with a powerful whooshing sound.
“Spare me! Hero, spare my life!”
A trembling male voice abruptly stopped his movement.
?
Xia Ao strained to lift his wrist upward, finally halting the blow just five centimeters from the man’s head.
The man didn’t look young, probably in his fifties. All the exposed skin on his body was darkened by the sun.
As he spoke, his hands were still clasped together in a pleading gesture.
Just from the backs of his hands, crisscrossed with thick calluses, it was obvious that the environment he usually lived and worked in was far from gentle.
“Why were you staying in the carriage?”
Xia Ao asked coldly.
The train was full of zombies, how had he survived?
“Kid, listen to how you’re talking. With the world in such chaos, it’s not like I stayed here because I wanted to,” the man shook his head.
“Four days ago, I finished the job at my construction site and figured I’d give myself a break, head back to my hometown to see my wife. Who knew that before we’d even gone halfway, there was suddenly a commotion in the cars behind us, someone turned into a zombie!”
“I happened to be hiding in the restroom and escaped disaster. Later, when things outside went quiet, I worked up the nerve to come out and take a look. I got lucky, there weren’t many zombies in the dining car, so I blocked the door and hid there.”
His explanation was fairly detailed, and when Shi Zuo An and Xia Ao thought it over, it did seem plausible.
Moreover, the man was about the same age as their parents, making it hard not to think about what their own parents might be going through now.
If they helped this man, perhaps somewhere far away, their parents might also run into someone kind enough to lend a hand.
Besides, the waiting hall was spacious, with enough food and daily supplies. They weren’t planning to stay long anyway, so helping him wouldn’t be much trouble.
The two turned away briefly to discuss it, then asked the man several more questions about the train. His answers were consistent and logical throughout. In the end, Shi Zuo An extended the invitation:
“Sir, why don’t you come in with us? The zombies inside have all been cleared out, it’s safer.”
Hearing this, the man immediately broke into a wide smile and, without much hesitation, agreed to follow them into the waiting hall.
Xia Ao watched him bustle about excitedly, his hands constantly tugging at the seams of his faded jeans. Even his feet couldn’t find a comfortable spot, his toes turning this way and that.
He looked exactly like a simple, honest old migrant worker.
“Sir, the chairs inside are a bit hard, and it gets chilly at night without a blanket. If you’ve got any warmer luggage, you should bring it along too,” Shi Zuo An said.
“Oh, oh, right! I remember now! All the dining-car seats have sheets on their backrests. I’ll go get them, let’s use them together!” The uncle clapped his hands as the thought came to him, then hurried inside in a rush.
Shi Zuo An couldn’t even stop him. “We’ll help you—”
“No need, no need. I can do it myself. I’ll be quick, won’t waste any time!”
With that, his figure disappeared into the shadows.
Shi Zuo An thought about it. With the door wide open, it was probably safer to stay and guard the entrance.
So he and Xia Ao stood on either side of the door like a pair of door guardians.
“This guy’s pretty enthusiastic. Feels like migrant workers like him are usually kind-hearted, after making money, they still remember to go home and see their wives. That alone beats sixty percent of the men in our country,” Shi Zuo An said lazily, the words coming out anything but friendly.
“Hearing you say that, what about you? Are you in that sixty percent, or the forty?” Xia Ao asked.
“Right now, without a doubt, I’m one of the sixty-percent bastards. But if I ever get into a relationship, I might still be able to claw my way out of that category.”
Hearing this, Xia Ao let out a low laugh. The faint vibration in his throat made it sound unexpectedly pleasant. “No wonder you haven’t mentioned your family all this time, you’re maintaining a bastard persona, huh.”
“Fuck off,” Shi Zuo An lifted a foot to kick him, but Xia Ao dodged nimbly. “That old bastard probably forgot long ago that he even had a kid thirty years ago.”
“Although to be fair, he really didn’t put in much effort.”
No hardship, no toil, just one good day and that was it. No wonder he’d never taken Shi Zuo An seriously from the very beginning.
Just bringing it up made Shi Zuo An seethe. He waved his hand, signaling Xia Ao to change the subject already.
“Mm… so you said earlier that after getting into a relationship, you’d consider spending more time with family?” Xia Ao asked.
“Yeah. Why?”
“Nothing. I just suddenly wanted to ask, do you like men?”
“……”
“I’ll go take a look. Why’s that uncle taking so long?”
With that, Shi Zuo An leaned forward to peer inside. Before he could even get a clear look, the uncle came out, arms full of fabric.
“Here I am, here I am! I grabbed a lot, any extra, you can lay under yourselves as padding!”
As he spoke, the uncle tried to press the things into their hands, he was almost too enthusiastic.
The two of them didn’t quite know how to respond, so they could only accept them in silence.
“Oh right, sir, there are two more people in the waiting hall, our friends. We’ll introduce you in a bit.” After saying that, Shi Zuo An turned on his flashlight and waved it twice toward the glass. A light flashed back from inside in response.
“Let’s go.”
The three of them retraced their steps. Xia Ao temporarily handed his crowbar to the uncle to use as a weapon.
Fortunately, they didn’t run into many zombies on the way back. Jiang Si coordinated from inside and opened the door, and the three filed in one after another.
“And this is…?” Jiang Si asked.
“This is… the guy who caused that flashlight flash I mentioned earlier,” Shi Zuo An said, only then realizing that they still hadn’t asked the uncle his name at all.
“Yes, yes. My name’s Chen Jian Hua. Hello, miss,” he said, lifting his hand as if to shake Jiang Si’s. But when he noticed the old calluses and dark stains on his hands, he awkwardly pulled it back and wiped them on his pants a few times.
Jiang Si felt a twinge in her heart and quickly reached out her hand. “Hello, I’m Jiang Si. We’re not that particular.”
“Right, exactly,” Shi Zuo An said casually, slinging an arm around Xia Ao’s shoulder. “Anyone who’s made it this far together is a good companion. I’m Shi Zuo An, and this is Xia Ao.”
They also briefly introduced Song Zi Qiao, who was still asleep inside.
“Go get some rest,” Xia Ao said. Then, as if remembering something, he added, “Jiang Si, keep the keys with you.”
“OK!”
When they reached the resting area, Song Zi Qiao was surprisingly unaffected and still snoring away loudly.
Xia Ao checked the time. Waking him now would be a bit early. He was about to suggest sleeping a little longer and letting Song Zi Qiao take over later, when Chen Jian Hua proactively offered to take the watch.
“I’ve been sleeping on the train these past couple of days, I’ve had more than enough sleep. No need to wake this young brother. You all go ahead and sleep, I’ll keep watch.”
Trust spread like some strange kind of magic, one to two, two to three. Now, everyone who was still awake trusted this man without the slightest reservation.
After some unknown amount of time, the waiting hall fell quiet once again.
The snoring gradually stopped, and a pair of eyes slowly opened.
Song Zi Qiao sat up from his chair, his brain not fully booted yet, everything looking hazy and blurred.
He glanced around in confusion. Strange, why was everyone asleep? Had the night watch been canceled?
Unfortunately, his not-yet-awake brain wasn’t capable of thinking it through. Driven purely by instinct, he headed to the restroom to take care of a biological need.
When the sound of rushing water stopped, he came back, tugging up his pants.
The other three were all fast asleep. For some reason, there was also a steel pipe lying beside one of the chairs.
Song Zi Qiao plopped back down on the bench. Since everyone else was asleep, he might as well sleep a bit longer too.
Thinking that, he lay back down, rolled over, and faced the waiting hall’s glass windows.
Dawn was just breaking… what was that?!
Song Zi Qiao almost wondered if something was wrong with his eyes.
On the platform outside the window, a white figure flashed past.
Narrow on top and wide at the bottom, seen from afar, it looked like a mushroom that had come to life!
Song Zi Qiao’s brain went completely blank.
Had he not actually woken up yet? Was all of this just a dream?
Yes, that had to be it. Definitely.
So he dropped his head back down and went straight back to sleep.
The next morning, the others gradually woke up.
The moment Song Zi Qiao opened his eyes, he found himself face-to-face with the completely unfamiliar Chen Jian Hua.
“Holy shit! Who are you?!” he yelled, then helplessly clung to Xia Ao beside him, wrapping both arms and legs around him.
…What a lunatic.
Xia Ao tried his best to pry Song Zi Qiao off himself.
“Sir, don’t mind him, he’s just a bit hyper,” Jiang Si said. She had just woken up and taken a few gulps of water, nearly choking on it because of Song Zi Qiao’s shout.
She hurriedly grabbed a tissue to wipe up the spilled water, then handed an unopened bottle of mineral water to Chen Jian Hua.
“Oh, it’s fine, it’s fine,” Chen Jian Hua said with a smile, waving his hand, looking completely unconcerned by Song Zi Qiao’s rudeness.
“Hello, young man. My name’s Chen Jian Hua. After the zombie outbreak, I hid in the dining car of a high-speed train. Your friends rescued me last night.”
“Oh, oh… my name’s Song Zi Qiao.” He scratched his cheek, feeling a little awkward.
For some reason, he still didn’t really want to talk to this unfamiliar middle-aged man.
But since he’d been brought back by Xia Ao and Shi Zuo An, it wasn’t his place to say much.
He laughed it off and shifted the topic. “What was going on this morning?! Didn’t we agree to take turns keeping watch? How come there wasn’t a single person awake?!”
His tone carried a hint of reproach.
Shi Zuo An felt a little puzzled. “After we came back last night, it was Chen Ge who kept watch the whole time. What kind of dream were you having?”
“Huh?” But when he woke up, he really hadn’t seen anyone.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Chen Jian Hua said as soon as he heard that, quickly waving his hands and stepping between the two of them. “I was probably in the bathroom at that moment. Sorry about that, everyone. From now on, I won’t go to the bathroom while I’m on watch!”
“It’s fine, Chen Ge. Everyone has biological needs,” Jiang Si said, twisting the flesh on Song Zi Qiao’s arm to make him shut up.
That was strange, when he’d gone to the bathroom this morning, he hadn’t felt like anyone else was in there either.
But the pinch on his arm hurt like hell.
Song Zi Qiao clicked his tongue and, feeling aggrieved, picked up a bread roll and started chewing on it.
He had wanted to bring up that “mushroom spirit” he’d seen when he woke up that morning, but after hesitating for a moment, he ultimately kept his mouth shut.
Shi Zuo An and Xia Ao exchanged a look, neither of them saying a word.