Two hours before departure, a man came up to me and said he also wanted to go to the central town.
I looked at Fang Yuan in front of me and didn't know what to say for a moment. I knew that he had been chased by raiders before, and his purpose in going to the central town was simply to find those raiders who were chasing him.
I said, "But you need to think this through. Once you go there, it won't just be you seeking revenge; they probably won't let you go either after they see you. Once you're in trouble, we might get dragged into it too. What do you plan to do then?"
Fang Yuan was speechless, unsure of what to say.
I said, "Don't think that just because I saved you, you should consider me a good person. I'm not a good person. I've killed many people. Besides, there's no deep friendship between us. We know we're not friends; we're just acquaintances at best. If you go there and drag us into unnecessary trouble, what do you think I should do?"
Fang Yuan looked helpless and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't think it through."
I said, "You don't need to go this time. This is my first time in the central town. Let me go and check it out for you first. If things are alright, I'll take you there next time."
Fang Yuan's eyesight improved somewhat, and he said, "Thank you."
I said, "Tell me first, what's the name of the person chasing you?"
Fang Yuan said a name, and I wrote it down.
Two hours later, the three of us set off.
There was nothing unusual on the road; the zombies were still wandering around. However, due to the hot weather, the stench emanating from the zombies was nauseating.
We kept the car windows open the whole way, since turning on the air conditioning would waste too much fuel. But this meant that all the stench from outside was blown into the car, making it extremely unpleasant.
At first, we could bear it by wearing masks, but once we got close to a large number of zombies or piles of corpses, the stench became unbearable. In the end, we had to close the windows. As for the air conditioner, we turned it on, but only on the lowest setting.
That way we'll feel a bit more comfortable.
Actually, we had already changed routes three times since we set off because of the stench, but it was no use. The stench was always in the air and we couldn't escape it.
Looking back now, the research institute was indeed a good place. At least there were no zombies around it, and no such foul stench.
Looking at the wandering zombies outside, Sister Jing said, "These zombies are starting to rot. Xiaonan, do you think they won't be able to move after they've completely rotted away?"
I said, "Pretty much. Once their brains are completely rotten, they're basically dead. Jing-jie, have you noticed that every time we go to find supplies since summer, we see a lot of corpses?"
Sister Jing nodded and said, "Yes, you mean those corpses were actually zombies? But their brains were all rotten, so they turned into corpses?"
I said, "Only this explanation can explain why there are so many corpses."
Song Muyuan said, "Now that you mention it, I do remember. When I went to Mingzhu City with you guys, there were indeed far fewer zombies there. So, does that mean all these zombies will be dead in a year or two?"
I said, "Theoretically speaking, that's true. Judging from their rate of decay, they might all die within a year or two. However, they might also continue to live on for some special reason."
"Special reasons? What special reasons?"
I said, "The temperature may drop, or some zombies may be trapped in dry places, or the zombies themselves may have changed. Anything is possible."
Song Muyuan glared and said, "Could it be that these zombies can evolve?"
I said, "It's not impossible."
Song Muyuan gave a wry smile: "Let's not. What if these zombies evolve? How will we survive?"
Jingjie also said, "They probably won't evolve, right? They're already like this, how can they evolve?"
I said, "I don't know. Is it possible that they might awaken intelligence or consciousness? Anything is possible. They might not evolve at all. Until we see it, everything is just speculation."
Song Muyuan hurriedly said, "I hope that zombie evolution never exists! Otherwise, how are we supposed to survive?"
I chuckled and joked, "Don't get your hopes up too high. Before zombies appeared, didn't we always think that zombies were just something people imagined? But now we live in such a world. Like I said, anything is possible."
"..." Song Muyuan was speechless, seemingly unwilling to talk to me anymore.
I don't actually believe in zombie evolution; I was just saying it casually.
If zombies could evolve, almost ten months have passed since the outbreak, and evolved forms should have appeared by now. But we haven't found any yet, which means that zombies simply cannot evolve.
In fact, humanity still has a good chance of survival. After two or three years, the number of zombies roaming outside will definitely decrease sharply. When the new generation develops, the social hierarchy will probably be re-established.
In general, as long as we are alive in the future, we will definitely see humanity rejuvenate again within ten years.
However, whether I will be able to become one of them at that time remains to be seen.
Time flew by. After traveling all afternoon, it got dark around 7:30. Instead of continuing our journey, we found a secluded place to stay and prepare for dinner.
The summer night sky is very bright.
Because the stars are shining.
Since the pollution stopped, the air has indeed improved, and the view has become much wider, especially at night when the stars are shining. Looking at the night sky, I realize how good it is to be alive.
After having dinner, we looked around to make sure there were no zombies or other survivors before taking turns keeping watch.
According to Song Muyuan's calculations, we will arrive at the central town around noon tomorrow. So before that, we need to conserve our energy to prepare for what might happen tomorrow.
No one knows what will happen when we arrive in the central town tomorrow, so it is essential to be fully prepared.
I was the second person on night watch; Song Muyuan was the first.
Around 2 a.m., Song Muyuan woke me up to switch shifts with me. He yawned and went back to sleep.
I yawned sleepily, patted my face, and began my night watch.
(End of this chapter)
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