A fierce battle begins upon entering.
If it weren't for the tense road conditions and the dangers that required one to be fully focused on dealing with zombies, I probably would have fought Yu Zhongjian eight times along the way.
The high electrical current likely damaged a region of his brain. Most of the time he can behave normally, but occasionally he will suddenly have seizures. This "occasional seizure" specifically refers to when he is communicating with me.
He never used to gossip with me; everything he said was serious. Even later, when I realized he liked me and wanted to get closer to me, the topics he came up with were very limited and lacked depth, so the conversation would end after only a few sentences. As for the relaxed and carefree banter and teasing I had with Han Bo and Zhou Yi, that was impossible with him.
After he returned from electroconvulsive therapy, I noticed he had changed. In front of others, he still maintained the same combative, aloof, and pretentious image as before, which is why everyone was able to quickly accept his recovery and return to the team. But once he started talking to me, his abnormal side would emerge.
It's hard to describe. To put it nicely, it's like it has a human touch; to put it bluntly, it's like it has a sharp tongue.
He started making jokes about me, using sarcastic and derogatory idioms frequently. For example, after a thrilling team battle in a village the day before, we found a yellow dog with a broken leg, barely alive, in a roadside ditch. When I wanted to go into the village to see if there were any other live animals, he called me "greedy." Or, when I found dozens of cases of bottled water at a gas station in a town and couldn't fit them all in the car, and I lingered, unwilling to leave, he called me "insatiable."
When disagreements arise, he calls my suggestions "shortsighted"; when Xiao Li and Da Gan compete to see who can kill more corpses with their bare hands, he calls it "self-importance." And then there's his previous fickleness and infidelity—if Han Bo hadn't been there to smooth things over, I would have scratched his face raw, leaving him covered in welts!
Not wanting to sit with this guy who was showing off his idioms any longer, I insisted on changing cars halfway through the journey, and Yu Zhongjian agreed. He moved me to the back car to be the driver, but moved Gao Chen to the front car.
As I drove, I stared at the rear of the car in front of me and grinned menacingly. Go ahead and cause trouble, do you think I'd be afraid of your childish tricks? We'll see.
The truly difficult sections were after leaving Huaicheng and before entering Tongcheng. Refugees fleeing the city encountered traffic jams and were unable to travel far before being infected, their infection spreading rapidly. The zombie horde carried away some, but many others, missing limbs, were trapped in their vehicles or had fallen behind the main group and remained stranded. After passing through the difficult areas, the journey became relatively easier. The provincial highway was flanked by farmland and villages, with few zombies. While the road wasn't completely clear, it didn't require frequent stops to clear debris. What should have taken six hours to cover 400 kilometers before the apocalypse took us nearly two days to reach Tongcheng.
As someone from a neighboring city, I've visited Tongcheng a few times. One of my father's cousins lives here. We don't usually keep in touch, but when her son gets married, her daughter-in-law has a grandson, the grandson celebrates his first birthday, and then her son gets married again... she suddenly remembers her two cousins from Huaicheng. My mother gives money to weddings and funerals reluctantly, but she insists on the whole family attending weddings, only thinking about getting some of the cost back, without considering the extra expenses for the three of us to travel to and from the city. My second aunt never attends; she always makes my mother bring the money.
The road into the city was difficult to navigate, with small groups of corpses appearing every now and then. We walked, stopped, and killed as we went, and it took half an hour before we could vaguely see the outlines of the city's buildings. The area ahead was completely silent, like an empty city.
The two vehicles switched positions, with heavy motorcycles on the roofs for alert, and slowed down, driving in the direction Zhang Yanhuang indicated.
Tongcheng was a scene of "primitive beauty." We entered from the northern suburbs, traversing three districts and driving through more than a dozen streets. The scene was just like Huaicheng when it was first hit by the virus: traffic was blocked, vehicles were scattered, garbage was everywhere, shops were damaged, there was no human presence, and zombies roamed freely, attracted by the sound of engines and chasing after us. However, there were very few corpses lying around.
Few corpses mean few survivors, indicating this is an untended city, and also that the supplies we need have remained untouched.
As the sun began to set, we led a large group of jogging mutant zombies to a military regiment located between two small hills on the eastern outskirts of the city. Tall metasequoia trees lined the road leading to the garrison, and a long sign with the unit's number hung on one side of the white fence gate. Outside the gate was a sentry post and a jeep with its door open.
Zhang Yanhuang said, "When we left the city, two battalions went out to carry out rescue operations and lost contact. There should be no one left in the regiment."
I asked, "What about the cooks and medical staff? What about the officers at the regimental headquarters?"
Zhang Yanhuang said dejectedly, "The personnel left behind all went with our battalion. The regimental commander told us to go to Yucheng, where the division headquarters and army headquarters are located, but we can't even travel on roads within the province, let alone across provinces."
I was relieved. Even if all the soldiers were fully equipped, the regiment would still have some spare weapons, which are now ours.
After parking, the zombies slowly surrounded them. To avoid alerting more zombies, everyone got out of the car and quickly dealt with them with guns without moving. After killing two zombies, Gao Chen walked alone to the gate and stood there staring at the empty guard post for a long time.
Taking down dozens of zombies was a piece of cake for the battle-hardened team members. I was distracted and retreated while killing as I went, leading one zombie to Gao Chen's side. I chopped off the zombie's head with a single blow, tilted my head and gave him a self-satisfied, bright smile: "Back in the old unit, does it feel familiar?"
As darkness fell, he probably didn't see my radiance, only staring blankly at the narrow gate of the sentry post: "Yes, I felt familiar when I drove onto this road, as if I had seen it in a dream."
"It's not a dream, it's a memory deep in your mind. Go in and take a look, and you might remember more."
"Okay." He let go of his heavy expression and returned my smile, a very warm one.
I've figured it out. Although he's gentle, polite, and handsome, he's not the complete person he is without his memories. My so-called liking for him is just superficial attraction to his looks. If he finds himself again and, with the enrichment of his life experiences, fully reveals his character and qualities, my affection for him will remain unchanged. That would be true liking.
As for what to do if I really like someone, I haven't thought that far ahead. I'll take it one step at a time. I have a great figure and good looks, right? I'm also good at survival and can even fight... How could I not succeed in pursuing someone? Of course not.
Looking into his starry eyes, my heart softened. What a wonderful man he is; I mustn't let him get away.
"Qi Aifeng!"
A chill ran down my spine, and I shrank back in fright. My soft heart instantly turned to a hard one. I turned around, annoyed, and said, "Are you a ghost who walks without making a sound? Are you trying to call back my soul?!"
Yu Zhongjian, carrying a knife, glared at me with hostility: "Everyone else is killing zombies, what are you two doing?"
Gao Chen immediately took a step forward: "I'm sorry, Captain Yu." He didn't offer any explanation for his actions, and left with his knife.
I moved, but Yu Zhongjian blocked my way as soon as I moved. He blocked me when I tried to move to the left, and he blocked me when I tried to move to the right.
"I'm not used to you becoming so childish," I said sarcastically.
Yu Zhongjian said, "I'm warning you for disobeying orders. You will be punished if you do it again. Now come with me to open the gate."
I chuckled awkwardly: "Are you out of your mind? How are you going to punish me? Fire me again?"
He carried the knife toward the gate and said slowly, "You wouldn't want to know."
I rolled my eyes as I followed behind: "That scared me to death, I was so scared."
The door appeared to be tightly closed, but it was actually ajar. Yu Zhongjian pushed it open, leaving only a half-person width between the door and the door, before cautiously peering inside. The next second, he suddenly stepped back, grabbed my hand precisely, and pulled me so hard I almost fell.
"How……"
"There are people inside! Grab your guns, quick!"
I was stunned for a moment. Someone was there? But I was only stunned for a moment before I quickly pulled out my 92-inch handgun from my side and retreated swiftly with him.
"All personnel, take up your guns! Attend your positions 30 meters ahead!"
As night fell, the elimination of the corpses beside the car was nearing its end. Upon hearing his order, the team members quickly dealt with the last few, retrieved their guns from the trunk, loaded them, and took their positions, some crouching and some standing on either side of the vehicle, with their guns pointed towards the gate.
Zhang Yanhuang asked in surprise, "There are still people in the regiment? Captain Yu... should I go and scout around? Maybe we know each other." Gao Chen remained silent, strictly following Yu Zhongjian's instructions before departure, and stood in front of the left rear wheel with his gun at the ready.
My position was at the right front wheel. When I heard Zhang Yanhuang's words, I glanced at Yu Zhongjian. He raised his hand and said, "Don't make any rash moves, wait."
As soon as the words were spoken, the gate in front slowly opened, and two extremely dazzling beams of light suddenly shone on us. For a moment, our eyes stung, and everything in front of us was a white blur, making it impossible to see anything clearly. We had to squint and turn our eyes to avoid the light.
I'm familiar with these lights. Without traffic rules for oncoming vehicles, the field team drives with their high beams on every night when they come back from work. But our high beams are a bit inferior to these two; judging by their height and intensity, they've clearly been modified.
"We're alive, don't be impulsive!" I shouted, guessing that the other party was probably also someone who had occupied territory and was barely surviving in the apocalypse. As fellow survivors, everything could be discussed.
With no sign of the headlights turning off or dimming, Yu Zhongjian quickly retreated to the side of the vehicle and turned on our headlights as well. The two lights shone on each other, one strong and one weak, and for a moment the area in front of the military base was as bright as day.
There was silence on the other end. Yu Zhongjian nudged me and said, "Shout out."
I shaded my eyes with my hand to block out the light, and then raised my voice: "Hey! Are you survivors from Tongcheng? We're from Huaicheng. We've come to your esteemed place with no ill intentions. We're here to bring back two comrades who used to serve here to retrieve their belongings. We won't take your territory or your food. Put down your weapons and let's talk this out!"
This time, after the shout, there was finally a response on the other side. A man from the location of the bright light asked, "Who is serving here?"
Zhang Yanhuang hurriedly called out, "Gao Chen, Company Commander of the First Company of the Third Battalion, and Zhang Yanhuang, Soldier of the First Platoon of the First Company of the Third Battalion!"
The male voice suddenly became excited: "Zhang Yanhuang? Little Zhang? Is that you? It's me, Liu Sicheng!"
Zhang Yanhuang suddenly stood up, shielding his eyes from the light, and quickly took a few steps forward: "Liu Sicheng? Fellow villager, it's great to see you still alive!"
The exchange lasted only a few words. Zhang Yanhuang moved away from the vehicle's guard post and approached the gate within five or six meters. He wanted to continue, but Yu Zhongjian called out in a low voice, "Xiao Zhang, stop."
Zhang Yanhuang was, after all, a soldier. No matter how excited or impatient he was, he instinctively stopped in his tracks upon hearing the order. Almost at the same moment he stopped, someone on the other side shouted, "Don't come any closer!" and then suddenly fired. With a "bang," dust billowed up from beneath his feet, and a layer of muddy mist rose from the ground under the bright light, catching us completely off guard.
He was just 20 centimeters away from being shot; one more step and the bullet would have pierced his instep.
Yu Zhongjian immediately ordered: "Cover!"
Gunshots rang out behind me. Lai Yunfei and Han Bo, who were standing by the two car doors, fired a burst of bullets at the ground in front of the gate, shielding Zhang Yanhuang behind the swirling dust. Gao Chen darted forward with lightning speed and dragged him back.
"Holy shit!" As soon as the gunfire stopped, I yelled, "You shot your comrade before we even exchanged two words! Who the hell are you, Liu? Did you think we didn't have guns?!"
"Xiao Zhang! Mmm..." The man surnamed Liu shouted two words and then fell silent, sounding as if his mouth had been gagged.
"Alright, alright, don't shoot! What are you people from Huaicheng doing here?" A different man spoke, his voice rough and hoarse.
I already felt a deep dislike for the person inside, so my reply was anything but friendly: "Are you deaf? Can't you understand that we're sending someone back to the army?"
"This is no longer a military base, there's no one here anymore, you'd better get out of here!"
"Aren't you human? Get out if you want!" In my dictionary, there is only triumph, not getting out.
"Don't blame us for being impolite if you don't leave."
"Hahahaha!" The conversation broke down, and my blood rushed to my head. I didn't care about the warning positions anymore. I stood up, grabbed a submachine gun from the back seat floor mat, released the safety, cocked it, and walked straight to where Zhang Yanhuang had been standing, exposing myself completely to the light.
As I passed Gao Chen, he reached out and grabbed me. I shook him off forcefully. Yu Zhongjian called out to me from behind, "Qi Aifeng, I order you to come back here!"
"Come on, shoot! Let's see how you dare to be so impolite." The blinding light nearly blinded me. I raised the gun with one hand, and with the other, I quickly pulled a small melon from my pocket, deliberately waved it a few times in front of me, then tilted my head and bit the buckle. Why would I be so stupid as to court death? Of course, I was fearless.
The hoarse voice behind the bright light snapped angrily, "There are zombies all around, you dare to blow it up? I think you're fucking insane."
I loosened the buckle and sneered, "Try me and see if I dare. You fired first. Even if we go to the King of Hell, you'll be the ones who are guilty. I'm tough as nails and I'm never afraid of death. I hate being provoked!" With that, I bit down again.
He said in a hoarse voice, "I don't talk to crazy women. Find a capable man!"
Yu Zhongjian slowly walked from behind to my side, his eyes lowered to avoid the light, his face full of impatience.
"I've already told you this isn't a military area anymore, there are no soldiers here. I don't want any conflict with you, so please leave!"
Yu Zhongjian asked, "Who are you people?"
"Who do you care who we are? If we tell you to leave, then leave now! This is not a place for you!"
"We want to go in."
"Don't even think about it!"
Look at that hoarse voice, so eloquent! You don't want a conflict, so you shoot our people first. Asking where we're from, you just start yelling. This isn't our place. Who gave you, you little brat, permission to act so high and mighty in someone else's military base?
Yu Zhongjian is aloof, calm, and loves to show off, but I haven't forgotten his most prominent trait: belligerence. After listening to what the other person said, I looked at him.
He raised his hand and gestured behind him, then leaned close to my ear and said, "If you don't follow orders, I'll settle the score with you when we get back. The target is about twenty meters away from you, so don't throw it too hard."
I didn't hear anything about accounting or not. Before the last two words "Dali" were even finished, I was already smiling excitedly, biting open the metal buckle, and throwing it out in a big swing.
"Ah!" Several screams came from the other side. Yu Zhongjian didn't waste a second. He grabbed my waist, pulled my head down, and pressed me to the ground.
Zhang Yanhuang screamed from behind, her voice filled with anguish: "Liu Sicheng, get out of the way!"
The explosion was deafening, and the dust kicked up covered my head and face. The surrounding light flickered instantly; the blinding glare disappeared, followed by towering flames. Yu Zhongjian and I lay prone on the ground, drawing our weapons. The team members behind us had already received the order to open fire.
Once the flames started burning and our high beams took over, the situation inside the gate became clear. A modified truck was blocking the main entrance not far away, its front end blown to smithereens, a person lying on top of it, and several other figures darting around behind it.
It's been a long time since I've had a conflict with any survivors, and I'm incredibly excited. Zombies don't provoke or curse; killing too many just breeds endless annoyance. They lack the vibrancy of humans. You curse me, I curse you, and if we disagree, we start fighting. The winner can even make the loser kneel down and sing "Conquer." That kind of thrill is something zombies can't provide.
Yu Zhongjian stood up and directed us to charge forward with our guns at the ready. He didn't give a ceasefire order, so everyone kept firing at their targets. Some of the enemy soldiers recovered from the explosions and began to fight back, using the trucks as cover. Both sides occupied the front and rear of the trucks, which were engulfed in flames. Bullets were flying everywhere, and the environment was extremely dangerous.
I saw Gan Mingde crouching and firing to my right front. Suddenly, he swayed, and the muzzle of his gun dropped. My heart skipped a beat: "Big Gan!"
He looked down and checked his abdomen, then waved his hand at me: "It's nothing, the bullet grazed my waist."
I thought to myself, this won't do. If the fuel tank burns out, it might explode. Besides, shooting battles can kill people. It doesn't matter if the enemy is courting death, but it's so rare and fortunate that our side has maintained a record of zero casualties all the way. We can't let it be ruined by infighting among the survivors.
So I yelled at the top of my lungs: "Grenades ready, mortars ready, rocket launchers ready! Blow them all up! Flatten this place! Don't leave a single blade of grass for these bastards!"
The gunfire paused for a moment, and sure enough, someone on the other side started shouting frantically, "Don't bomb! Don't bomb anymore! The zombies will surround us! Surrender! I surrender!"
After that first shot, neither side fired another shot, and two more people at the back of the car shouted that they were surrendering.
Those who roam the martial world must first be ruthless enough, willing to go all out, and always have the mindset of inflicting eight hundred casualties on themselves while injuring a thousand on the enemy; secondly, they must be clever enough to master the skill of acting according to circumstances and changing course with the wind, and if they are certain that they can inflict a thousand casualties on the enemy, they would rather avoid injuring themselves if possible.
I'm quite proud of my skillful use of underworld tactics. You all knelt down quickly. For the sake of the zombies, I won't let you sing "Conquer".
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