Chapter 13 A Brief Tranquility
"Oh, okay." The fat man reluctantly agreed. Compared to surviving, he suddenly felt that laziness was something he could overcome.
Seeing that the fat man had agreed, Han Shuo felt relieved. He was a loyal and affectionate person. He could be indifferent to others, but he would cherish the friends he truly considered.
Han Shuo didn't want to see his friend die before his eyes.
He went up and patted the fat man on the shoulder as encouragement.
That night, the two drank a couple of drinks. The fat man clearly couldn't hold his liquor, and he kept rambling on about the past.
He said his favorite food is meat.
He said he missed the old days.
He said he likes girls with long hair.
...
Finally, he added that he missed his parents.
As he spoke, tears began to fall from the fat man's eyes.
Han Shuo didn't know how to comfort him.
Soon, perhaps the fat man was tired, or perhaps the alcohol was taking effect, he fell asleep on the bed.
By the moonlight, Han Shuo could clearly see the tear tracks on the fat man's face.
"Yeah, after all, Fatty is just a stay-at-home guy who's not even thirty yet. In the apocalypse, it's already quite an achievement to have survived like this."
The fat man's words also reminded Han Shuo of the past, of the person he once deeply loved.
Han Shuo won't cry, because he had already cried all his tears years ago.
...
Back when Han Shuo was fifteen or sixteen years old, he was more mature than other children.
While everyone was still in school, Han Shuo secretly fell in love with a girl in his class.
For three whole years, Han Shuo harbored a secret crush, finally mustering the courage to confess his feelings upon graduation. But it all ended in disappointment…
In a few more years.
In his early twenties, he fell deeply in love with another woman, a few years older than Han Shuo. Their relationship was excellent, and their feelings for each other were something Han Shuo had never experienced before.
Han Shuo, an orphan since childhood, felt a sense of home because of this woman. Unlike the crushes he had during his school years, this first love made him fall deeper and deeper...
Soon, after two years of dating, when Han Shuo brought up marriage, a bolt from the blue struck him.
The woman had other lovers all along, and what's worse, she had already married another man shortly after they met.
Han Shuo had never known these things before.
He didn't know what he meant to women. The other woman? The fourth? The fifth? The sixth? ...
Or perhaps it's just a tool for release. Or maybe it's just psychological comfort?
From that moment on, Han Shuo understood a principle.
Sometimes, no matter how hard you try or how much you give, you can't change some people's decisions and choices.
From that moment on, Han Shuo never cried again...
...
Han Shuo hasn't thought about these past events for some time now.
The fat man's words brought him back to mind today.
"Sigh." Han Shuo sighed, feeling somewhat depressed, but his heart was already numb.
Stopping her overthinking, she covered the fat man with a blanket and went to sleep too.
...
In the days that followed, Han Shuo cleared out all the zombies he could see in the vicinity, while Fatty diligently trained his physical fitness.
When Han Shuo had free time, he would spend all his remaining time practicing his swordsmanship, which became increasingly refined.
After the two had eaten half of their food, they had been stationed there for more than half a month.
"Come on, let's fight!"
The fat man yelled at Han Shuo.
Han Shuo chuckled, put down the Tang sword in his hand, rolled up his sleeves, and threw a punch at the fat man.
This scene happens every day.
The fat man's physical training was quite good, and muscles were beginning to appear on his body. Compared to before, although his weight hadn't decreased, his strength had increased dramatically.
The idea of sparring between the two was proposed by Han Shuo later, supposedly to help him improve his resilience and reaction time.
At first, Fatty refused, but somehow he seemed to become more and more addicted. Sometimes, even without Han Shuo taking the initiative, Fatty would ask to fight.
This made Han Shuo suspect that the fat man might have a masochistic tendency.
...
Han Shuo kicked the fat man to the ground with just the right amount of force—not light, but not enough to hurt him.
"Not bad, you lasted for almost a minute this time."
Although Han Shuo did not use his full strength, the fact that the fat man could hold on for so long shows that his combat ability has far surpassed that of ordinary people.
"That's right, my talent is so great that even the heavens are jealous."
The fat man got up from the ground and dusted off his clothes.
Having spent more time with Han Shuo, the fat man has become more unrestrained in his speech. Previously, the fat man had treated Han Shuo with a certain degree of respect. Now, the two have completely become friends who have gone through thick and thin together.
"That's before I used a knife. If I did, you wouldn't last five seconds." Han Shuo looked at the arrogant fat man and couldn't help but tease him.
The fat man smacked his lips but didn't say anything. He knew, of course, that even if he was very good at fighting now, he was no match for Han Shuo at all.
The fat man wasn't ashamed, after all, Han Shuo had been training for over 20 years, while he had only been training for a little over half a month.
"Let's not play today, let's go eat."
...
As usual, the two chatted for a while after dinner.
Both of them liked their new base very much and even decided that, barring any major unforeseen events, they would remain there permanently.
but!
at night!
A terrifying scream sent shivers down their spines!
"roar!"
"Roar!! Roar roar!"
...
"What's that sound!" Han Shuo suddenly woke up with a start. In the quiet night, Han Shuo broke out in a cold sweat.
The fat man also woke up, cautiously looking around.
"Roar! Roar!..."
The sound continued.
"It's definitely not a zombie, nor is it a human; this isn't something a human could make."
Han Shuo listened intently to the sound; it must have been made by an animal.
And judging from the sound, there are definitely quite a few of them!
"What's that sound? It's terrifying." The brief respite was followed by an unexpected situation that caught the fat man off guard.
As the voices drew closer to the two of them, Han Shuo felt a sense of foreboding.
Crisis is imminent!
"Grab your weapons, prepare for battle!"
Han Shuo shouted at the fat man, then picked up the Tang sword from beside the bed and immediately entered battle mode.
The fat man realized what was happening, picked up the steel pipe he had used before, gripped it tightly with both hands, and stood beside Han Shuo.
Soon, accompanied by approaching roars, pairs of red eyes pierced through the plastic covering and appeared outside the greenhouse. They were densely packed, a truly eerie sight!
"Holy crap! What the hell is that?!" The fat man was startled and unconsciously shrank back a few steps.
Han Shuo was also somewhat frightened. The fear came from the unknown, and the pairs of red eyes outside were something Han Shuo had never expected!
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