Fang Qi lowered her head and looked. The sleeve around her elbow had already been stained with a rather large patch of blood. It was only because her sleeves had not been rolled up earlier that she had failed to notice it.
She pressed on her elbow with her hand, and a sharp pain came from it. This proved that the bloodstain had not accidentally gotten there from somewhere else. She pulled the sleeve up a little farther, revealing a long, deep scratch. The blood flowing from that scratch had already turned into a foul-smelling black color.
Fang Qi pressed her lips together and suddenly understood why she had been so unbearably thirsty.
She had clearly been so careful, so how had she still been infected?
After leaving the camp, she and Zhao Siyuan had been the main force killing zombies and had remained in a state of high alert the entire time. Because of that, this wound had not caused her any pain before.
Originally, Fang Qi had only felt that her body was burning hot, but after discovering that she had been injured, a layer of cold sweat broke out across her back instead. Her complexion changed again and again, all color draining from her face until it became as pale as her lips.
There was only one outcome for anyone infected by the zombie virus.
There were no exceptions.
Fang Qi clenched her fist and glanced behind her.
Zhao Siyuan and the others were all searching the nearby houses. The closest to her was Su Zhihai, only four or five meters away. They were all rummaging through drawers and cabinets looking for useful supplies, and for the moment, no one had noticed that something was wrong with her.
Fang Qi pulled her sleeve back down.
The onset time after being scratched by a zombie was not as fast as after being bitten. The people in the camp had kept records. People bitten by zombies usually transformed within one to ten minutes. However, for scratches, the incubation period was longer and could happen anywhere from one to twenty-four hours later.
Even so, she did not have much time left.
Fang Qi immediately made her decision.
“You’re leaving?” Chen Mi was the first to cry out.
As soon as she said it, she realized her voice had been a little too loud, and there was even a trace of delight in it. She quickly covered her mouth in a futile attempt to hide it.
“Yes.” Fang Qi’s face was cold. She told her companions that she intended to leave, but she did not explain the reason.
Su Zhihai immediately objected. “Why, Sister Qi? We’ve been traveling together for over a week already. If you’re leaving, then I’ll leave with you.”
He subconsciously thought that Fang Qi was still angry from being provoked by Chen Mi.
However, the moment Su Zhihai finished speaking, he saw Zhao Siyuan give him a deep look. That glance made the back of Su Zhihai’s neck turn cold for no reason.
Shen Yucheng also glared at him. “What kind of nonsense are you saying? Sister Qi is making trouble and you’re making trouble too?”
Fang Qi’s voice was surprisingly calm. “I’m not making trouble. And I’m not discussing this with you. Let’s part on good terms. I won’t be returning to the camp. The supplies I left there can be considered public property. As for the supplies I found today in my backpack, according to the camp’s rules, I can keep half of them myself. The rest, you can either take back to the camp or divide among yourselves.”
She shook her backpack with one hand and dumped out all the supplies she had gathered after leaving this morning.
Along the way, she had always been the first to fight and kill zombies, and she had also been the most diligent in gathering supplies. The supplies in Fang Qi’s backpack were extremely varied, ranging from food to daily necessities, and the quantity was considerable.
The others looked at the pile of items on the muddy ground, nearly dazzled.
At a glance, they could already see a motorcycle helmet, a thermometer, a palm-sized piece of glass, a brown windbreaker, a folding knife, a bundle of plastic garbage bags, a can of fruit, a can of meat, two packs of instant noodles…
The item that drew the most attention was a completely intact bottle of Lao Gan Ma Spicy Crispy Chili in Oil.
“This is even the best kind of Lao Gan Ma…” Shen Yucheng could not help saying.
Their lives right now were far from good. The city was packed with zombies, and entering it was practically suicide. They could only wander around the outskirts between urban and rural areas, and the food they found was pitifully scarce. More often than not, they had to catch fish from rivers or capture stray dogs.
What they lacked most were seasonings.
With this bottle of Lao Gan Ma, their food would suddenly become much tastier.
As soon as he finished speaking, he realized this was not the time to be talking about such things and quickly fell silent.
The urgent matter now was not the Lao Gan Ma, but convincing Fang Qi to abandon the idea of leaving the team. After all, Fang Qi was one of the camp’s rare dual-ability users and was also a Level 2 ability user.
One of her abilities was a terrifying fivefold increase in explosive strength, allowing her to punch a crawling-type zombie flying with a single blow.
Her other ability allowed her to “turn trash into treasure” when it came to inanimate objects. For example, if she found a knife broken into two pieces, after using her ability, there was a one-in-ten chance that the knife would return to its most complete and sharp condition.
If she left, it would not only be a loss for their squad, but it would also affect the entire camp.
If they were back at camp right now, Captain Zhou would definitely be able to persuade her. But Captain Zhou was not here, so they could only place their hopes on Zhao Siyuan.
Other than Fang Qi, the remaining three all turned their eyes toward Zhao Siyuan.
However, Zhao Siyuan unexpectedly said nothing. He simply confirmed with Fang Qi once more.
“You really want to leave?”
Fang Qi’s answer was firm. “Yes.”
“Then take all of these things with you. You don’t need to leave half behind.” Zhao Siyuan pointed at the pile of items on the ground.
Fang Qi looked at him strangely. This did not match the Zhao Siyuan she remembered. Someone as calculating as him would never normally allow her to take all these things away. However, the burning sensation inside her body and her increasingly heavy eyelids reminded her that she could not stay here for long.
The critical point at which a human transformed into a zombie was also the moment when that person was at their weakest. If they discovered that she had been injured, they would definitely kill her while she was at her weakest.
She did not want to die.
Not at any time.
Fang Qi quickly packed away those items and soon disappeared from their sight.
Su Zhihai’s eyes widened, and he could not help asking, “Brother Zhao, why did you really let Sister Qi leave? We were waiting for you to persuade her.”
Zhao Siyuan rubbed his fingers together, brushing away a little dust that had gotten on them earlier, and laughed softly.
“It’s fine. We’ll see her again.”
…
The sky gradually darkened.
Golden clouds glowed on one side of the horizon, while on the other side, countless gaunt tree shadows stretched out from the forest.
From time to time, the chirping of crickets drifted through the autumn wind, occasionally mixed with birdsong.
Under a massive banyan tree that had grown into a forest all by itself, Li Qiu scratched her head in frustration.
Yes, she was lost.
Earlier, she had been so busy pedaling the bicycle wildly that she had not paid attention to how many intersections she had passed.
Now there was not even a signpost nearby.
In an era of advanced mobile communication, she had become accustomed to relying on her phone for everything. If she was hungry, she could order takeout. If she was bored, she could read novels. If she got lost, she could use her phone’s navigation.
Those navigation apps were especially considerate, displaying all the shops and landmarks along the roads so that getting lost was practically impossible.
She had only come to Chilan City once before, and that had been for a civil service examination. She was completely unfamiliar with the place.
At most, when she had checked into the hotel near the examination center, she had looked through the Chilan City map at the front desk.
And the places she had focused on were all the famous scenic spots marked on the map. She had even planned to visit them after the exam.
So what normal person would actually memorize a map?
But right now, all Li Qiu had in her pocket was a phone she had found in some clothing earlier, and it was already out of power.
The reason she kept it was because she thought that if she ever found a place to charge it, perhaps it could still be used. Even if it never worked again, the phone screen could at least serve as a mirror.
Li Qiu took out the phone and unwillingly pressed the power button, hoping to somehow squeeze a little battery life out of it. After fiddling with it for a long while, she finally gave up and stuffed it back into her pocket angrily.
She glanced at Suit Brother, whose hands were still tied behind him not far away.
Suit Brother’s gray-white eyes were fixed on an anthill on the ground. His body remained completely still, standing there like an iron pillar without the slightest trace of life.
There was no way she could expect Suit Brother to find the way.
After parking the bicycle securely, Li Qiu took a deep breath and decided to rely on herself.
She first recalled the scenic spots she remembered from the hotel map. The old street where she had regained her consciousness was called Old Neighborhood Street and was located in the old northern district of Chilan City.
To the north of Old Neighborhood Street was a famous scenic spot called Yanhu Lake Scenic Area, a national 5A tourist attraction.
The problem was that she had no idea whether she was currently heading toward Yanhu Lake Scenic Area.
Li Qiu began recalling the methods for determining direction in the wild.
The first method was to look at tree rings. Her father had told her that tree rings were always wider on the southern side and narrower on the northern side.
Li Qiu looked around.
In every direction, there were only slightly yellowing trees and lush shrubs. There was not a single tree that had been cut down.
Failure!
The second method was to look at the sun.
The sun was always there.
At noon every day, the sun was in the south, and by evening, it would set in the west. This was an eternal law.
She looked at the sun.
At this moment, it was on her left.
Left meant west.
The third method was to determine direction by looking at anthills. The entrances of anthills generally faced south.
“Suit Brother, move aside a little, you’re blocking my view of the anthill.”
Li Qiu gave Suit Brother a little push, making him stumble. Suddenly, she thought of something.
“It’s not very nice to keep calling you Suit Brother. Considering the life-and-death friendship we’ve built over this day together, how about I give you a name? My surname is Li, so you’ll take my surname too. My name is Li Qiu, and your name is Li Dong.”
Suit Brother showed no reaction to his new name. He grunted and growled and once again regarded Li Qiu as a human.
But when he was only a few centimeters away from her, he stopped. In Li Dong’s eyes, Li Qiu was a companion who emitted a strange scent.
At times delicious, at times revolting.
He even vaguely felt fear toward her.
Fear?
Li Dong’s eyeballs moved.
This emotion, one that zombies should not possess, only flashed through his mind for an instant.
Li Qiu had her head lowered and did not notice this strange behavior from Li Dong.
Very quickly, Li Qiu determined the direction based on the orientation of the anthill and the previous position of the sun.
She pointed toward a narrow path.
“Come on. If we go this way, we should reach Yanhu Lake Scenic Area. If everything goes smoothly, we might even find a bed to sleep in tonight.”
As far as she knew, Yanhu Lake Scenic Area not only had a wetland park but also a beach resort and vacation hotel. She was certain she could find plenty of food there, as well as a map of Chilan City.
Li Qiu could feel her stomach becoming increasingly hungry. She even found herself swallowing her saliva while staring at Li Dong’s back.
They needed to hurry. This path was even harder to travel than she had imagined. This was a banyan forest. The thick roots of the banyan trees spread in every direction, making it completely impossible for a bicycle to pass.
But asking Li Qiu to abandon the bicycle was equally impossible.
“Since there won’t be anyone in this forest anyway, why don’t you work a little harder?” Li Qiu patted Li Dong on the shoulder.
“Raise you for one day, use you for one day.”
Li Dong stood there blankly as Li Qiu lifted the old bicycle onto his back. The sudden weight bent his back, and he accidentally scraped off a piece of his scalp.
Li Qiu stared blankly at the piece of scalp still attached to some hair. Silently, she spat a little saliva on it and stuck it back onto the back of Li Dong’s head.
“Forget it, let’s leave the bicycle here for now. If we find a usable car at the scenic area, we’ll drive instead. If we don’t, we’ll come back tomorrow to get it.”
Perhaps because she felt guilty toward Li Dong, Li Qiu’s voice had become quieter.
The two zombies, Autumn and Winter, began their journey through the banyan forest.[1]T/N: “Autumn and Winter” is a playful reference to the literal meanings of the characters’ names. Qiu (秋) in Li Qiu means “Autumn,” and Dong (冬) in Li Dong means … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_2858068_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_2858068_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });
At this time, Li Qiu had not yet realized that this banyan forest was already within the boundaries of Yanhu Lake Scenic Area. Nor had she realized that after night fell, the banyan forest was so large that it could make a person lose their way.
By the time she realized it, the night, along with hunger and exhaustion, had already descended upon her. Every organ in her body seemed to twist and writhe, clamoring and stimulating Li Qiu’s instinct to feed.
The look in her eyes as she gazed at Li Dong had already turned red.
“Let me take just one bite.”
She swallowed her saliva and slowly reached out her hand toward Li Dong.
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