It's 2:05 AM.

I took a bottle of water out of my backpack with a flashlight, poured it on my face and washed it. I felt much more refreshed and clear-headed.

After taking a sip of water, I turned off the flashlight, leaned against the car, lit a cigarette, and quietly watched the stars in the sky.

Apart from the sound of the wind, there was no other noise around.

The place we chose wasn't surrounded by many zombies and corpses, so the smell of decay was very faint; you couldn't smell it at all unless you sniffed carefully.

Although the smell was gone, the mosquitoes were still there. But we weren't helpless; we lit mosquito coils around the area, which did help a little.

After finishing my cigarette, I checked the time. Only five minutes had passed, and there was still a long time until four o'clock.

I yawned and stared around listlessly.

It was pitch black all around, and you could see practically nothing.

Suddenly, at that moment, a noise came from the bushes not far away.

I pulled out my gun from behind me and stared warily at that spot.

Before long, the commotion in the bushes seemed to be getting closer.

I raised my pistol and aimed it at the bushes. Just then, I saw a dark figure dart out of the bushes.

I quickly turned on my flashlight, illuminating the shadow that suddenly emerged from the bushes ahead.

The shadow paused for a moment upon seeing the flashlight beam, then stopped, furrowing its brow and squinting.

It was a living person!

This surprised me a little.

However, what I don't understand is, what is he doing running around in this desolate wilderness at night?

When he saw me, he tried to turn and run away, but I only shouted, "Don't run!"

The other person didn't listen to me and ran away. Because it was too dark, I couldn't see where he went, so I just let it go and didn't chase after him.

I don't know where this guy came from, but judging from his hurried manner, he must have been separated from his group.

It doesn't matter. As long as he doesn't come and threaten me, I can't be bothered with him. It's good that he ran away. I don't need to get entangled with him.

However, my thoughts were not the same as his, and in less than a minute, this guy actually came back.

This time, he emerged from the bushes slowly, unlike the abrupt one before.

I shone my flashlight on his face, and he shielded his eyes from the glare. He walked into my line of sight and stopped about five meters away. He had no weapon in his hand, his clothes were tattered, and he didn't have a backpack. He looked very disheveled, as if he had just come out of a garbage dump.

This guy looks quite tall, with thin cheeks and a fair complexion.

I kept my gun pointed at him. I didn't know what he wanted, so I asked, "Who are you?"

The other person looked at me and said, "Could you put the flashlight down first?"

I said decisively, "No, first tell me who you are and how you got here."

The other person lowered his hand, looking helpless, and said, "My name is Jiang Bai. I got separated from my companions. I don't know where they are, so I just searched around and ended up here."

Jiang Bai, this guy does live up to his name, he's quite fair-skinned.

I said, "Are you telling the truth?"

Jiang Bai said, "I don't know you, so why would I lie to you?"

I said, "Just because we don't know each other, I'll make up a reason."

Jiang Bai seemed speechless and said, "I don't want to argue with you. Whether you believe me or not is your business. I just want to ask you for a favor."

"You want my help?" I asked, puzzled. "What kind of help do you want me to do?"

Jiang Bai said, "It's nothing much, but could you give me a flashlight? If you could give me a knife, that would be even better. I also have some questions for you, if you're willing to answer them."

I sneered. This guy probably thinks I'm a saint.

I said, "Don't you think your request is a bit excessive?"

Jiang Bai said, "Then can I have a flashlight? I need to find my friend, but it's pitch black and I can't see anything."

I said, "Of course I can give you a flashlight, but how do I know if you're someone sent to test me? What if I give you the flashlight and you turn around and bring people to kill me?"

Jiang Bai stared at me in disbelief. "You... never mind, if you don't want to give it to me, then forget it. Goodbye."

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around and left again.

I raised an eyebrow, remaining vigilant. After turning off the flashlight, I let my eyes adjust to the darkness, then looked around to make sure the guy wasn't nearby before I relaxed.

I suspect he was telling the truth, but even if he was, it has nothing to do with me.

People die every day these days, what does his friend's disappearance have to do with me?

I took a cigarette out of my pocket, lit it with a click, and just then, I heard movement again from the bushes.

Before I could even take a puff of my cigarette, this guy named Jiang Bai reappeared in my sight.

I looked at the flashlight again, and was so startled that I almost dropped the cigarette I was holding. I glared at it and yelled, "Are you crazy?! If you're going to leave, just leave! Why did you come back?!"

Jiang Bai looked at me with a helpless expression, then spoke, his tone less forceful than before.

"Hey bro, can I borrow your flashlight? If we ever meet again, I'll pay you back tenfold, okay?"

I was getting a little exasperated with this guy, so I said, "I'll give you a flashlight, but you have to answer some questions for me first."

Jiang Bai nodded and said, "Okay, go ahead and ask."

I asked, "What are the names of your companions? How did you get separated from them?"

Jiang Bai's eyes dimmed as he said, "Their names are Lu Changkong and Yao Chengjie. We just got back here, but we ran into a group of people who had guns. So the three of us split up to escape. We were supposed to meet under that overpass at 12 o'clock, but I waited for them for more than two hours and they didn't show up, so I came out to look for them."

"A group of people?" I squinted. "What kind of group?"

Jiang Bai said, "The other side has two cars, about seven or eight people, and quite a few guns."

I nodded. This Jiang Bai must be referring to the Raiders. I then asked, "Do you know about the Raiders?"

"What?" Jiang Bai asked in confusion.

He didn't seem to be faking it, so I immediately shook my head and said, "It's nothing, it's okay if you don't know. Here, take the flashlight, go find your people. Remember, don't come back, or I won't be so polite."

Jiang Bai took the flashlight and said, "Thanks, goodbye!"

(End of this chapter)