The Sanda champion has a problem.
Based on my years of experience watching zombie movies, a significant sign of the degeneration from humans to zombies is the complete loss of language function. Real-world experience has proven this; aside from hunger, they can no longer utter coherent words. This is compensated by a surge in their hunger; if a zombie attacks a person from behind, it is utterly incapable of issuing a warning.
I didn't know who was behind me, nor where he got the gun. Judging from how he silently crept up behind us and his calm, chilling tone, this person was most likely involved in organized crime. I was a little panicked. Although in the context of a zombie outbreak, humans are all comrades, and anyone with a brain should be aware of this, this person had clearly established himself as the king of the mountain and didn't want anyone to invade his territory.
"Hey buddy, don't be so tense," I said, adopting a surrender stance as I tried to communicate with the people behind me. "We're just here to find some food. There's so much stuff in the supermarket. Even if you wanted to take it all for yourself, you don't have to resort to guns, do you? We won't take it, okay?"
I tried to be friendly, but there was no response from behind. However, Han Bo suddenly became furious, his eyes turning red. He rushed forward and threw a punch, yelling, "Why are you wasting your breath talking to him!"
Taking advantage of the moment Han Bo closed in, I rolled forward, yelling as I rolled, "Watch out, he has a gun!"
Before I could even roll to safety, Han Bo was already fighting with that man. He was throwing punches wildly, tripping people up, and making sarcastic noises to himself as he fought with incredible ferocity.
All my panic vanished the moment I saw the person's face clearly, and I completely relaxed. Standing next to Han Bo, who was 1.8 meters tall, he'd probably have to jump to reach his opponent's face; even compared to me, he was a few centimeters shorter. Skinny and short, bouncing around like a monkey, he was probably no more than 1.65 meters tall. He wouldn't be at a disadvantage in a group fight, but in a one-on-one situation, cleverness alone wouldn't be enough.
When I saw what he was holding more clearly, I felt even more embarrassed and annoyed. It wasn't a gun at all, just a baton, yet it had scared me half to death. I guess I still lack experience in the ways of the world. Just thinking about it makes me angry. What kind of world is this? This guy has no sense of teamwork. He just took some vegetables! It's not like he owns the supermarket.
He's just a short man, nothing to be afraid of. Once Han Bo has taught him a lesson, I'll ask him who he is, where everyone else in the supermarket went, and teach him that he shouldn't be so selfish, that he needs to share to make friends... Perhaps it was the height difference and my understanding of Han Bo's strength that gave me confidence in this fight. While watching the fight, I was lost in thought and casually offered a couple of words of advice: "Stop fighting, we're all human, be friendly."
But to my surprise, before I could even finish speaking, an unbelievable scene unfolded before my eyes. I had clearly seen Han Bo unleash a few punches, leaving the short man defenseless, and he was dodging and weaving to escape his predicament. Then, in the blink of an eye, Han Bo suddenly collapsed to the ground, clutching the back of his head in pain. The short man, his eyes filled with malice, stomped on Han Bo's stomach and raised his baton to smash it down on his head!
"You dare!" I yelled, and without thinking, I bent over and headbutted the smaller guy. I hadn't moved earlier because I was confident that Han Bo could handle him, but Han Bo had actually been taken down by him. This was forcing me to take action! Growing up, I hadn't developed many other skills, but my fighting experience was extremely rich.
The short guy reacted quickly, dodging my bull-headed charge, which made me stagger a few steps and almost trip over Han Bo. He turned around and glared at me angrily: "You grandson! Your grandma will fight you one-on-one."
As I spoke, I quickly ripped off my denim jacket, leaving me in only a black tight-fitting vest. I ripped off the leather belt and twirled it around in my hand, keeping a close eye on the short guy's movements. Of course, I didn't forget to verbally attack him: "Who are you? Do you own this supermarket? Can a little chick swallow that much? Don't you know any rules of the game?"
Then I saw the short man stop what he was doing, his gaze slowly moving from my face to my chest, looking me up and down, left and right, a sudden smile appearing on his lips. He was dark-skinned, with thin eyebrows, a flat nose, and small eyes. He wasn't so ugly as to be universally repulsive, but he certainly didn't look like a nice guy. To put it simply, if he were to wander the streets, he would definitely arouse suspicion—he looked like a thief. Especially when he narrowed his eyes, he exuded an indescribable cunning.
"Hey, you shameless bastard!" I was enraged by that lewd smile, so I grabbed my belt and rushed over, whipping him mercilessly while yelling, "I'll gouge your eyes out if you look again!"
Surprisingly, the short woman didn't fight back. She just kept using her arms to deflect my attacks and retreated repeatedly. I managed to push her to the side of the shelf in one go, and then she raised her hand to grab it, muttering, "A good man doesn't fight with a woman!"
My arm jolted, and I froze. I stood there for a long time, unable to react. I looked at my empty right hand, and there was the belt in his hand. I didn't even see how he did it; I only saw a claw flash before my eyes, and my weapon was disarmed in an instant.
"Stop it right now!" Han Bo got up from the ground, rubbed the back of his head, and walked over angrily, saying, "Zhou Yi, you bastard, you even hit women."
The short man wrinkled his nose and glared at him, then revealed that indescribably lewd smile: "Which of your dog eyes saw me hit her? She hit me, okay?"
Han Bo said, "She's a woman, so you should just take it if she hits you. Why are you trying to snatch her belt? That's indecent!"
The short man said, "Don't you dare try to pin this on me. You always like to bully the weak with your numbers. You think I'm afraid of you just because you brought a woman? Let me tell you, this supermarket is my territory. Everything here belongs to someone else, and you're not allowed to take a single thing."
Han Bo said, "What do you mean your territory? The boss is gone and you, a penniless wretch, come here to pick up scraps. I'm telling you, why can't you learn to be good? From the past until now, you've only ever done these petty thefts."
The short man said, "Are you ever going to stop? If you hadn't tricked me first, would I have done that kind of thing?"
The two of them were chatting animatedly, one after the other, while I stood by, completely bewildered. Judging from their tone, these two... knew each other? I asked疑惑地问道, "Are you two acquaintances or something?"
Han Bo scoffed: "Who knows this guy?"
The shorter man nodded: "We've known each other for quite a few years, but we always end up fighting whenever we meet, so we're pretty familiar with each other."
"Have you had a grudge?"
Han Bo didn't speak, but the short guy chuckled: "He stole my girlfriend, and I beat him up. Does that count as a grudge?"
Han Bo flew into a rage and punched him in the stomach: "Bullshit!"
I finally saw the short man's movements clearly. He was backed against the shelf, with nowhere left to retreat, but when Han Bo's fist came up, he gently lifted Han Bo's fist with one hand at his lower abdomen, and then stepped forward with his other elbow, pressing it into the crook of Han Bo's elbow. With a slight lift, Han Bo was instantly pushed back three or four steps before regaining his footing.
Han Bo and I exchanged glances, blinking at each other. Han Bo blushed, but still stubbornly retorted, "Don't try to make yourself look good! When did Ma Li ever date you? She doesn't even know your name. You're the one with a crush on her, okay? Girlfriend? You're still a virgin!"
The short man wasn't angry. He just pursed his lips and said, "Fine, fine, I won't argue with you. You two can go. Considering we've known each other, you can take the things in the basket, but don't even think about the rest."
I was both shocked and delighted. Although my first impression of the short guy wasn't great, after I finally confirmed that he was quite skilled, I immediately changed my superficial opinion. This guy could be very useful! If I became friends with him, would I still be afraid of fighting in the future?
“Um,” my attitude changed as my thoughts shifted, and I began to smile amicably, pointing to the shorter man’s hand, “Could you give me back my belt?”
The short guy handed me the belt, and seemed a little bewildered by my sudden smile. His face twitched a couple of times, and his originally carefree smile became unnatural.
I pressed my advantage, extending my hand: "We've become friends through this unexpected encounter. Hello, my name is Qi Aifeng, what's your surname, brother?"
The short guy glanced at Han Bo, his face twitching even more violently. He reached out and shook hands with me, stammering, "Oh, um, my name is Zhou Yi. I'm sorry... I didn't recognize Han Bo earlier, please don't mind."
"It's no trouble at all," I quickly said. "It's all a misunderstanding. There wasn't much food left at home, and we had two elders with us, so we came here. We didn't know you had taken it first. Please don't blame us."
Zhou Yi didn't seem to be a good conversationalist. His attitude was completely different from his previous sinister and arrogant demeanor. The lewd look he had when he was staring at my chest without any restraint was gone. He seemed so embarrassed by talking to me that he didn't know what to do with his hands and feet. He stammered, "Oh, it's okay, just take it."
Han Bo seemed particularly unhappy when I started exchanging pleasantries with him. He reached out and grabbed my arm, saying, "What nonsense are you talking about? Let's go! Your parents are waiting."
I picked up the basket from the ground and gathered the scattered vegetables back up, saying as I did so, "Brother Zhou, it must have taken you a lot of work to clean this place up so well by yourself, right?"
Zhou Yi was silent for a moment, then murmured an "Mm".
Han Bo saw me picking things up, so he took out a pack of cigarettes, tossed one to Zhou Yi, lit it and took a puff. He didn't offer Zhou Yi a light, and still mocked him with lingering anger: "What trouble could it be? Your brother Zhou is the Sanda champion of our province. Taking care of a few zombies is a piece of cake for him. He just doesn't know how to deal with women. He always makes himself miserable."
I didn't want to pry into their mess; it was obvious even to a fool that it was all because of a woman. I also knew Ma Li, the woman they mentioned earlier—a famous beauty in Qinghe District. Unfortunately, her reputation wasn't solely based on her looks; the stories I'd heard about her could fill a book. Whenever someone who knew her mentioned her, they'd usually give a knowing smile before cryptically saying, "Oh, that pretty girl."
Han Bo moved away a few years ago, and since they were both busy with work, they didn't have many opportunities to get together, relying on phone calls to maintain their relationship. I never imagined he'd had an affair with this woman.
No matter what, I'm a woman. I have an instinctive aversion and contempt for beautiful women, especially those with bad reputations. Even if she's not as terrible as the rumors say—so what? So many people despise her, who am I? Out of 10,000 points of damage, I only account for 0.01% at most.
So I also gave Han Bo a disdainful look; he really wasn't picky about food. Then I looked at Zhou Yi with admiration: "Wow, Zhou-ge, you're a Sanda practitioner! No wonder you're so agile."
Zhou Yi chuckled and said, "Nothing special. He's not well-educated and just makes a living with his fists."
I pretended to look around curiously and asked, "Is there anyone else in this supermarket besides you?"
“There were three security guards the day before yesterday, but they’re gone now,” Zhou Yi replied, then added after a moment, “There’s no one left alive except me.”
After hearing this, the three of them remained silent for a long time. I'm sure there must have been many bloody scenes here, far more brutal than anything I've ever experienced. I don't even want to ask where he sent those who died or turned into zombies.
Han Bo's tone still carried a hint of sarcasm: "So you plan to just stay here alone, eating at the supermarket for ten years? Pay attention to the expiration dates, or you'll get sick from eating them."
Zhou Yi didn't take it seriously: "Then tell me where else can I go? Since the day the zombies appeared, I've been to many places, and the number of living people is decreasing day by day. There's no one competing with me for food here, so it's the best place to survive."
Everyone has a family, right? But now Zhou Yi is all alone in the supermarket, like a vicious wolf guarding its food. I think his family is probably in grave danger.
Han Bo said, "Short-sighted! Do you even know what it means to be outmatched? The number of zombies is increasing every day. No matter how skilled you are, you can't withstand thousands upon thousands of zombies attacking you. Your small frame wouldn't even be enough to fill their teeth. We humans should unite and go out together to find more survivors and a better way to survive."
He glanced at me after he finished speaking, and I understood immediately. Han Bo had indeed thought the same thing as me. Zhou Yi was indeed a good helper. To leave this city, we needed someone who could fight tough battles. So I immediately said, "Yes, yes, Brother Zhou, it's too unsafe for you to be here alone. Why don't you come to my house? It's not far, just behind the vegetable market on Huafu Street. We can go together. My mom cooks really well, and having you here will just mean one more pair of chopsticks. If we encounter zombies, we can help each other out."
Unexpectedly, Zhou Yi scoffed, "No way! I'll live one day at a time, I'm not afraid of death. This is perfect, I'm overjoyed! So what if I'm a Sanda champion? When there were plenty of living people, did anyone give me a way out? Now that I want a way out, where were you before? Heaven has eyes, sending zombies to kill these bastards, they're all being bitten to death one by one. I'm the boss of this supermarket, anyone who dares to mess with me will have to try!"
As Zhou Yi spoke, he suddenly became agitated, his last sentence almost a howl. Han Bo and I were speechless for a moment, then exchanged another glance. He hesitated before asking, "You used to... work at this supermarket?"
Zhou Yi took out his lighter, lit the cigarette Han Bo had given him, took a deep drag, exhaled a smoke ring, stared at a certain unremarkable eye in the supermarket, and said, "He worked as a security guard for two years, and was fired without any explanation for what he did wrong. The next day when he came to collect his wages, that bastard had been bitten down to just his head. Heh, that felt good!"
I hadn't paid attention before, but after he finished speaking, my years of professional experience finally alerted me to something was wrong with this man. In just a short while, he displayed four different personality traits: sinister, dull, irritable, and now, this half-smiling, almost perverted expression. I suddenly had a sense of déjà vu; his blank stare was very similar to that of the patients in our ward.
She tugged at Han Bo's sleeve and gave him a wink, signaling him to give up on recruiting Zhou Yi. This guy definitely has psychological issues; if the zombie outbreak hadn't occurred, he probably would have gone on to take revenge on society.
Han Bo remained calm, bent down to pick up his basket, took my hand, and laughed, "Your dream has come true. Fine, we're not on the same page. You can continue to rule here. We're leaving now, don't bother seeing us off."
After saying that, he pulled me away, and after several steps, there was no sound behind us. I breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt a little regretful. Being a pervert is often shaped by one's environment; a pervert in a living society might not necessarily be a pervert in a zombie society. He didn't harm us, did he? The world has changed. Those days of petty, scheming lives are over. It's a waste of talent for a martial arts champion to be relegated to obscurity in a supermarket.
As I walked outside the supermarket, the sun was blindingly bright. I raised my hand to shield my eyes from the sunlight and saw that the square was still deserted. Han Bo's car was still parked at the entrance, with the passenger door open.
Han Bo walked briskly to the car, taking three steps at a time. I looked back, but Zhou Yi was gone. After a false alarm, we finally got what we wanted.
As I was walking toward the car, I suddenly saw Han Bo, who had walked around to the driver's seat, freeze there as if he had been struck by a magic acupuncture point. Just as I was about to speak, Han Bo quickly looked up at me, and I too froze five steps away from the car, as if I had been struck by a magic acupuncture point.
"Zombie." I mouthed silently. Han Bo didn't answer. He crouched down extremely slowly, and I could only see half of his head moving inching along the edge of the car. He wanted to move closer, but I didn't know whether I should remain frozen or make a move. From my angle, there was nothing unusual in the driver's and passenger's seats, so the zombie must be in the back seat. How it climbed in was a mystery. I only knew that I was now completely exposed to the zombie's line of sight, but I couldn't see it because Han Bo had tinted his beat-up car with dark tint.
In those few seconds, countless thoughts raced through my mind. Run or fight—it was a life-or-death decision. If we ran, how would we get home? It was a long walk, and we were carrying our shopping baskets; our safety was uncertain. Even if we found another car, we couldn't look for one near the supermarket entrance—a commotion that would attract more zombies would be disastrous. I strongly suspected that the only zombies in the car had been startled by the noise we made when we drove up earlier.
Han Bo had moved to the right side of the front of the car. He stood up very slowly, his eyes fixed on the car, and moved sideways toward me.
At that moment, I made up my mind in a moment of impulsiveness. I gritted my teeth and strode towards him. Before Han Bo could even frown and glare at me, I had already pulled out the screwdriver, grabbed the right back door handle, and could see that there was indeed something sitting inside, swaying and doing nothing. I gestured to Han Bo and whispered, "Go over there, kill it and get out of here."
Han Bo was probably annoyed by me, and he laughed. He glared at me twice, put down the basket, and walked a few steps to the right.
The person in the car had already noticed our presence, and I heard that familiar "Hungry..." again. The car door shook violently from being slammed.
Han Bo stopped and, without giving me a signal, yanked open the left rear door. A flash of light, and he was already bent over and buried in the car.
I hurriedly opened the door on this side, and a stench hit me. Without even looking at the zombie's appearance, I grabbed the screwdriver and plunged it into its head.
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