By the time the zombie, whose speed far exceeded that of ordinary ones, was shot dead on the spot, the soldier it had tackled had already lost half his face, and was now writhing on the ground in agony, howling in pain. He was still conscious, but he clearly understood his fate. He pulled out his own gun, trying to aim it at his own head. Even though he knew he was going to die, no one truly wants to die, and his hand holding the gun trembled.
The rest of the team wore expressions of sorrow. This soldier was doomed beyond doubt.
He rolled on the floor, his gun slipping from his hand, blood covering his entire face. He could only cry out, “Kill me! Kill me!”
“What are you all standing around for? Ling Qingyun, finish him!” Zhang Yi roared. The speed of turning into a zombie varied from person to person, but almost all mutated within an hour!
Ling Qingyun paused, then picked up the fallen gun and gave the man a merciful shot.
It was the first time he had ever killed a human being. But perhaps after witnessing so much death recently, he didn’t feel particularly uncomfortable. Rather than letting this soldier become a zombie, it was better to put him down early. As the gunshot echoed, the man who had just been speaking to them twitched a few times and then fell silent. Ling Qingyun gripped the gun tightly, his veins bulging.
Everyone else was quiet. Some had tears welling up at the corners of their eyes. Seeing Ling Qingyun’s calm, unchanged expression, they couldn’t quite describe what they were feeling. Only Zhang Yi, while relieved, gave Ling Qingyun an approving look, in this world now, hesitation could cost lives.
Just then, two special forces soldiers came up from downstairs. Upon seeing the situation, one immediately asked, “What happened?”
“There was a zombie, its speed was much faster than a normal one!” Ling Qingyun recalled the strange encounter. If that zombie had been a regular one, there’s no way it could’ve tackled that soldier so quickly.
“A mutant zombie?” one of the special forces men said hesitantly, then added, “Hurry up and move the supplies, we’re leaving soon.”
“What do you mean, mutant zombie?” Zhang Yi asked, his expression darkening.
“There’s a kind of zombie that’s enhanced in certain ways compared to ordinary ones. We call them mutant zombies,” the special forces soldier explained. “Since yesterday, people have started encountering them. It hasn’t been officially announced yet, but it likely will be tonight. After all, it won’t stay secret for long, there are already posts about it online.”
Zhang Yi didn’t ask any further. That soldier had already been infected before he died, so he couldn’t be taken back, they could only leave him there…
When Ling Qingyun returned to the truck, he saw Jin Xiang and Gu Jiabao already waiting inside.
“Brother Ling!” Gu Jiabao came up to greet him.
“Jiabao, how did you end up in S City?” Ling Qingyun asked. Maybe because someone had just died, everyone else remained silent. Ling Qingyun simply sat down beside Gu Jiabao.
Perhaps it was because Zhuang Cheng was no longer around, but right now he had a strong desire to hear someone talk about Zhuang Cheng, he didn’t even fully understand the feeling himself.
“Brother Ling, I’ve been in S City for several years now. After I graduated from vocational school, my mom sent me here to work for my uncle. I’ve been hanging around S City ever since. I didn’t save much money, but I did manage to make a bit of a name for myself in that area.” Gu Jiabao, always talkative, immediately launched into a rambling explanation.
Since the catastrophe began, Ling Qingyun hadn’t heard anyone talk so much—most people no longer had the energy for conversation. “Are your parents okay?”
“They got lucky. They happened to be visiting my grandma’s place, and not a single person in the household turned into a zombie! You know my grandma lives in the countryside, there’s over 200 jin of rice and over 1,000 jin of grain stored at home. Plus, once my dad got rich, he spent a fortune building the house. It’s really secure!” Gu Jiabao had been holed up in that office when everything went down, and after getting out, all he saw was the army clearing out zombies, so he still didn’t fully grasp how bad things had gotten.
His family’s home was in a rural area, and after making money, his dad had built the place properly, security walls, reinforced doors, and barred windows were all there. The house was well-stocked too. During a phone call a few days ago, Gu Jiabao learned that they had four liquefied gas canisters at home, three of which were still full, so there was no immediate need to worry. When he spoke with his dad, the biggest complaint was that they hadn’t cured enough meat for the New Year…
Back then, he was starving inside the hospital duty room, too afraid to tell his parents what he was going through. After the call, he could only drool with hunger.
“Your parents are really lucky,” Ling Qingyun commented. That’s the advantage of being in the countryside. But on the downside, in more remote areas, not only was there no rescue, but there were also many who’d take advantage of the chaos. “Tell your parents to be careful. If they get robbed or something…”
“Brother Ling! You and Jin Xiang sound the same, he already reminded me to tell them. My parents promised not to open the door or try to rescue anyone casually!” Gu Jiabao looked at Jin Xiang and smiled, revealing two tiger-like teeth.
Ling Qingyun frowned as he looked at Gu Jiabao shaking his bleached yellow head. He didn’t expect that after all these years, Gu Jiabao was still the same, he hadn’t even taken off any of his earrings. “Why were you in the hospital duty room? Were you sick?” Judging by how Gu Jiabao looked, he seemed perfectly healthy, well-fed, and energetic.
“Ah? Brother Ling…” Gu Jiabao stammered.
“I’m his boyfriend,” Jin Xiang suddenly said, his eyes behind his glasses staring straight at Ling Qingyun. He had often heard Gu Jiabao talk about Ling Qingyun before, knowing that Ling Qingyun was a gang leader and that Gu Jiabao admired him a lot, which made Jin Xiang somewhat displeased.
If this had been before, considering Gu Jiabao’s feelings, he wouldn’t have said anything. But now that the world had turned upside down… what was there left to hide?
“Boyfriend?” Ling Qingyun found the term strange but suddenly remembered a movie Zhuang Cheng had once shown him. “You two are… gay?”
“Brother Ling…” Gu Jiabao moved his mouth, unsure of what to say. Jin Xiang had always kept their relationship a secret before, he didn’t expect Jin Xiang to be so direct now.
“Neither of you seem effeminate,” Ling Qingyun said as he sized up the two of them. How could Gu Jiabao like a man? The situation surprised him. Also…
“That doesn’t necessarily mean effeminate,” Gu Jiabao said awkwardly. But Ling Qingyun showed no trace of contempt, which made him feel a bit better.
“At a time like this, none of that really matters anymore. As long as we’re alive, that’s all that counts,” Ling Qingyun said. If it had been before, he might have thought Gu Jiabao’s choice to be with a man was hopeless or meaningless. But now, really, just staying alive was what mattered, just like Zhuang Cheng…
Thinking of Zhuang Cheng, Ling Qingyun’s expression suddenly changed.
The movie with gay themes that Zhuang Cheng showed him… some news about homosexuality that Zhuang Cheng had talked about… the way Zhuang Cheng hinted at asking his opinion on homosexuality…
“Yeah, as long as we’re alive, that’s what matters. To be honest, sometimes I think about breaking up with him, he’s cold, and violent. But a few days ago, he saved food for me. At such a life-or-death moment, if he’s willing to do that, then nothing else really matters,” Gu Jiabao said. They were trapped in the duty room. Although they had enough water, there wasn’t much food. They had searched every drawer and only found two packs of diet biscuits, a few packs of seaweed, and one pack of chicken feet, plus two instant noodle packs and two sausages Jin Xiang planned to eat at night, and two bowls of fried wontons he had packed to bring when they met secretly.
They survived eight days on such meager food, both nearly starving. They hardly dared waste anything, even chewing the bones in the chicken feet. During those days, Jin Xiang gave him more food than he kept for himself.
When locked together in that room, Jin Xiang didn’t say anything because he thought they were both going to die anyway. But now that they were out, Gu Jiabao wouldn’t be ungrateful.
Jin Xiang stared coldly at Gu Jiabao, but his expression softened when Gu Jiabao reached out and grasped his hand.
Ling Qingyun sat inside the truck cabin, leaning against the wall, watching Gu Jiabao and Jin Xiang’s interaction, clenching his teeth tightly.
When he and Zhuang Cheng were trapped in that room, Zhuang Cheng would always say he wasn’t hungry or ask Ling Qingyun to protect him and give him a little more food. And that bottle of drink—Zhuang Cheng said he had drunk it, but actually didn’t consume much…
Back then, Ling Qingyun thought he had to protect Zhuang Cheng. And what happened?
Ling Qingyun felt his eyes sting painfully, as if something inside him was about to burst forth…
Zhuang Cheng, Zhuang Cheng, his Zhuang Cheng…
He thought Zhuang Cheng was his good brother, but he didn’t know that while he believed that, Zhuang Cheng might not have felt the same way…
The two people opposite held hands warmly. Ling Qingyun closed his eyes, not wanting to watch anymore, but as soon as he closed them, the tears he had been holding back threatened to spill out.
Taking off his gloves, Ling Qingyun rubbed his brow with his fingers and discreetly wiped away his tears, but in his heart surged an endless tide of regret. If only he had realized this earlier… though maybe it wouldn’t have helped… because back then, he hadn’t even been aware of his feelings for Zhuang Cheng.
Ling Qingyun stayed silent for quite a while. He had seen the look in Jin Xiang’s eyes just now, it was exactly the same as the look Zhuang Cheng had given him the last time they saw each other.
A long time ago, Zhuang Cheng once said that housing prices in S City were so high, they should just buy a place together in the future. He had laughed and said that their future wives probably wouldn’t be happy about that. Zhuang Cheng, with his back to him, replied, “So you really want to get married that badly? If we buy a house, we might not have any money left for wives, we’ll end up staying bachelors together.”
At the time, he didn’t think anything of it. He just joked, “If you were a girl, you’d be the best wife—no need to spend money either…”
After a pause, Ling Qingyun finally opened his eyes. “Jiabao, even though he’s a guy, I’m sure he’ll treat you even better than any woman would. Don’t let him down.”
Gu Jiabao’s face changed drastically. He couldn’t tell what was wrong from Ling Qingyun’s expression, but Jin Xiang noticed something was off.
Still, even if Ling Qingyun looked unsettled, Jin Xiang had to state clearly: “I won’t let him down!”
Ling Qingyun paused before understanding what Jin Xiang meant. But right now, all he could think about was Zhuang Cheng. He moved his lips into something like a smile and stood up. He took the rifle that had belonged to the fallen soldier earlier, and walked over to the truck’s edge to shoot the zombies along the road.
Everyone had just gone through an intense battle and was sitting down to rest, but when they saw what Ling Qingyun was doing, they all got up and began shooting at zombies too.
“Ahhh!” Ling Qingyun shouted, his voice breaking as he screamed. The others, including Zhang Yi, shouted out at nearly the same moment.
It had only been a little over a week, but all of them had endured unimaginable pressure—and just moments ago, they’d watched another one of their comrades die before their eyes.