When it rains, it pours.
Yu Zhongjian's perplexing behavior wasn't a one-off occurrence, but this time, it was strangely heartwarming. It was as if he heard my thoughts; he brought me dumplings in the early hours of New Year's Day. No matter how tightly wrapped, they were cold after traveling over 200 kilometers, but they were still dumplings. The transition to the new year, a time of good fortune and auspiciousness, held far more symbolic meaning than practical significance.
How could ten dumplings be divided among twenty-four people? Han Bo said that it was a special gift from Yu Zhongjian to me, and it shouldn't be shared in the first place. He said he wouldn't be jealous if I ate them all. But I couldn't bring myself to do it, and I was also a little reluctant to give up this "special" gift. In the end, I asked Ma Li to boil some water and steam them. Each of the twenty-four people took a bite, and I ate a piece of dumpling skin.
The dumplings dispelled the negative emotions Xiao Qing had brought on New Year's Eve. I was in a good mood all day on New Year's Day, and my mind was sharp. I came up with a triangular sawtooth-shaped offensive tactic and successfully pushed the mopping-up line forty kilometers towards Ningcheng.
Before coming, I knew that the nine western cities had fallen and that there were countless zombies, but I had no idea exactly how many. In my imagination, it was probably five or ten times more than the zombie horde in Huai City. But when the battle actually started, I realized that General Shen's description of the zombie howls was not just empty talk. They appeared everywhere in sight, rarely wandering alone anymore. Instead, they were often in groups of hundreds or thousands, like tributaries of a tsunami, ultimately converging on the main wave.
The regular army deals with the giant waves, we deal with the tributaries. There are no defined areas or quotas; we engage in battle whenever we see a horde of zombies. The objective is to eliminate at least 80% of each group of zombies, scattering them, isolating them, and preventing them from posing a threat.
After clearing three cities in a month and a half, they were getting closer and closer to the main force of the million-strong zombie horde. Yu Zhongjian's two thousand-strong assault force had even come face to face with them. Bombers flew overhead every day, dropping bombs in permitted areas, and yet, not a single survivor from the west had been seen.
When our team entered Ningcheng from the east, Zhou Yi also came in from the north. The two teams met up on the streets littered with corpses. Before the excitement had even subsided, Han and Zhou got into another argument over who should go first.
Lemon City had been swept away by the regular army, but many zombies remained in the city. I drove a pickup truck slowly behind the team members who were clearing out the zombies on foot, and turned on the loudspeaker in the truck to play a pre-recorded broadcast over and over again.
"Capital Rescue, Capital Rescue! Survivors, come quickly! There is food, water and professional support personnel here! Survivors, come quickly!"
Like any other city, this place is deathly silent and gloomy, with only zombies as any living beings. Even the bright, scorching sun cannot diminish its eerie atmosphere, making it feel like a ghost town.
Having experienced the tragic events on the southern front, we treated the routine search for survivors as an important task, spending a great deal of time each time to ensure that the broadcasts reached every corner. We walked along the streets shouting, and in places that seemed well-hidden and secure, we would broadcast more often to ensure that no one was asleep or too deeply hidden to hear us.
Two hundred kilometers west of this city lies Liucheng, currently the front line, overrun by zombies. They have not only occupied the city but also all the north-south roads, fields, and villages, forming a massive horde of corpses that merges with Licheng and Songcheng. The regular army is attempting to disperse them, while the various guerrilla units need to remain in the rear for a while longer, waiting for reports of victory at the front so that the main force can shift its firepower before continuing its advance to clear out the remaining zombies.
They found a large hotel as their base, and the two squads set up camp in Ningcheng. The transport team's food and ammunition supplies would make a trip to the front line every ten days. Sometimes, if the squads were moving too fast and the channel was blocked, they couldn't be contacted. They either had to rely on airdrops or find them themselves.
Lemon City was not well-stocked; supermarkets and convenience stores were mostly devoid of edible goods, with much of the produce moldy and rotten, and very little food that could be preserved for long periods. Warehouses that we believed contained weapons had long been ransacked. It's clear that the city's inhabitants had tried to survive and resist that year, but ultimately it was in vain. Without strong rescue efforts, the vitality of city after city was extinguished by the horde of zombies.
After a month of arduous fighting, not a single survivor had been rescued. It would be a lie to say that there was no sense of frustration. Even though I was just an ordinary survivor myself, seeing the empty and dead cities filled me with a sense of regret that "we were too late."
If the capital city had reacted sooner... Sigh, let's not talk about it, it only makes me angry.
We shouted through loudspeakers for two days, but no one came. Instead, we summoned a lot of zombies from various buildings. With our ammunition running low, we reverted to fighting with melee weapons, just like we did in Huaicheng, wielding swords and axes in this city thousands of miles away.
Ma Li finally got the chance to go to the "front line." After she argued with Han Bo and got angry, Han Bo gave her a knife and asked me to take care of her.
I'd be willing to take care of her, but it's not my turn. As soon as Zhou Yi saw Ma Li come out, he ran to her side like a little motor to protect her. Whenever a zombie got close, he would kill it with a single slash, keeping it within five steps of him. Ma Li stood there for a long time, but she didn't manage to kill a single one.
I really wanted to say that Zhou Yi was like a knight protecting a princess, but his shifty-eyed, lecherous smile at Ma Li was hard to match with the word "knight".
Ma Li was not happy. She hid her annoyance in politeness and said to Zhou Yi, "Could you please stay away from me? I want to kill him myself."
"Fine, go ahead and kill it." Zhou Yi had no objection and took two steps back behind her. Another zombie ran over, and Ma Li raised her knife with both hands, ready to strike, when a figure darted away, a flash of silver light, and the zombie's head fell to the ground.
Ma Li's eyes blazed with fury, and Zhou Yi quickly explained, "You raised your knife too high and too slowly. By the time you bring it down, the zombies will be hitting you. One is fine, but if two or three come at you at once, you won't have enough time. Shall I teach you how to kill them quickly?"
Ma Li sighed, suppressing her anger: "Okay, thank you."
The two thus became allies. Zhou Yi was incredibly patient, teaching Ma Li everything he knew, not only how to use a knife but also how to use a gun. Under his guidance, Ma Li successfully killed several fast zombies, feeling a sense of accomplishment, and showed Zhou Yi a genuine smile.
Watching Zhou Yi's infatuated expression after Ma Li turned away, I got goosebumps. Usually, when Zhou Yi tried to be attentive, Ma Li would ignore him and always avoid him. Later, as things got more complicated, they had less and less contact. I thought Zhou Yi would gradually give up his unrealistic ideas, but I didn't expect that he would never waver in his feelings.
As the saying goes, even the most virtuous woman can be won over by persistent suitors. If he finds the right approach, he might just be able to win the heart of a goddess.
Back at the hotel, Han Bo was in the lobby adjusting a walkie-talkie. I ran over and nudged him, pointing to the two "master and apprentice" figures in the distance who were still harmoniously discussing technical issues. "Do you think Zhou Yi's dream might one day come true?"
"No." Han Boton answered without even speaking, then shouted into the walkie-talkie, "Hello, Gao Chen, Gao Chen, where are you? Please respond if you hear me."
"Why? I think there's a chance. Ma Li's attitude towards him has improved a lot."
“Being nice to people is basic courtesy. Do you think you’ll be attracted to someone just because you’re nice to them?” Han Bo was multitasking and continued talking on the phone: “Hey, where is Xiao Hei? Our team is at the Howard Johnson Hotel on Aiguo Road. Howard Johnson Hotel, please respond if you hear me.”
"Attitude is at least the foundation. Only by maintaining a good attitude towards each other can there be any possibility of further development. People who hate each other and argue with each other every time they meet can never get together."
Han Bo glanced at me: "Didn't you swear you'd never discuss relationship issues with me again? What's wrong today? If you want to discuss it, how about we have a proper discussion about your relationship problems? Gao Chen is already outside the city, and that woman is still following him. What do you plan to do?"
"What does this have to do with me?"
I was deterred by his words, turned around and left, returning to my temporary room where I remained depressed for a long time. What could I do? I've never made it clear that my relationship with him is still that of comrades-in-arms. Am I supposed to gossip and brainwash Gao Chen as a comrade-in-arms? He'd have to let me brainwash him first! Xiao Qing, perhaps due to a woman's keen intuition, not only felt angry at me for being deceived but also wary of a "love rival." She constantly proclaimed that I had "bad ideas," putting me in a dilemma. I was unwilling to stay too far away from Gao Chen, but getting too close would make me seem like I had ulterior motives.
He's currently in a crucial stage of recovering his memories. He'll remember everything and know how to handle things with Xiao Qing. But I'm worried that with his mind filled with so many complicated memories, will he still be able to feel even the faint, beautiful feelings we once shared?
In the evening, the other teams arrived in Lemon City to meet us. The weather was as clear as ever, the setting sun was half-hidden in the afterglow, and fiery clouds pressed down on the sky, sometimes rolling and sometimes dispersing, dyeing the streets, buildings, vehicles and zombies in red and gold.
Half an hour later, everyone ate some food, and Gao Chen gathered several squad leaders in his room to discuss the next steps and group plans. While he was speaking, I kept my eyes fixed on the fiery red sky outside the window. When it was my turn to express my opinion, I simply said "agree" to get by. Actually, I was absent-minded the whole time because Xiao Qing was standing right next to him, arms crossed, chin slightly raised, staring at me with arrogance and disdain.
"If you want to stare at men, then stare at men. Why are you staring at me? You're fucking sick and deserve a beating!" I cursed inwardly, but I didn't want to get into a flirtatious exchange with her in this serious setting. It would be too embarrassing!
I didn't look back, which only emboldened her. Every now and then, she would inexplicably let out a cold laugh. Gao Chen was interrupted twice and told her to leave in a stern tone. She apologized to everyone and then behaved herself for a while. But when everyone started discussing it, she began to stare at me with a sarcastic smile again.
I endured and endured, and finally the meeting ended. As the team leaders left one by one, I walked straight up to Gao Chen and said, "I need to talk to you, alone."
"Okay." Gao Chen looked at me with a complicated expression, a really complicated one, completely different from his gentle gaze before.
Xiao Qing didn't move. I glanced at her and said, "What are you still doing here? Get out!"
"Tch!" She rolled her eyes, leaned against the table, and stood more firmly.
Gao Chen said, "Xiao Qing, you can go out first. Ai Feng and I have something to talk about."
"No!" she said sarcastically. "Aifeng? You call her so affectionately. Who is she to you? Is it appropriate for a man and a woman to be alone together like this? I'll stay here to keep things quiet for you. Say whatever you want, I can't hear you."
Gao Chen frowned: "Stop messing around. This isn't the capital. Nobody will put up with you forever. Get out!"
Xiao Qing's ability to change her expression was astonishing. One moment she was arrogant and sharp-tongued, and the next she was on the verge of tears: "How many times have I apologized to you? It was just a moment of impulse, a moment of impulse. You promised not to be angry with me anymore, and I have no other requests. I just want to stay by your side. Why are you making me leave! You were fine just a few days ago, but you changed the moment you saw this woman!"
Gao Chen's heavy sigh struck my heart like a hammer blow. It was a mixture of anger, frustration, nostalgia, and helplessness—a sigh containing far too many meanings I couldn't comprehend. It was his past, a past that had nothing to do with me.
I looked at Xiao Qing, whose uniform remained impeccable even in the harsh conditions of the front lines, her radiant apple-shaped face, her short, fluffy hair... I wondered how much dry cleaning supplies she had stocked up on. Then I looked down at myself, filthy and disheveled, my fingers covered in black gun oil, my cheeks constantly stinging from dehydration, and slowly took a step back.
"Let's talk about it tomorrow. You should get some rest."
"Love the wind".
"Gao Chen!"
Gao Chen took a step forward to pull me, but Xiao Qing immediately blocked him. I smiled and quickly walked out the door.
I'm not a shy person; I could confess my feelings. But who doesn't want to reciprocate the feelings of the person they secretly admire? I like him, and he likes me too. Before we made our relationship clear, a kind word, a knowing glance—these were all incredibly intimate and beautiful feelings. I wanted to savor the joy of this ambiguous period a little longer, but Xiao Qing's appearance and the return of his memories made me uneasy.
I was just about to go all out and tell him straight up that I have feelings for him, and I asked him what he thought. But when I stood in front of him and saw his eyes, I backed down.
Gao Chen is still Gao Chen, only she's no longer innocent. And dealing with complicated interpersonal relationships is precisely what I'm worst at.
Rubbing the black grease off my fingers, I went downstairs and saw Han Bo, Zhou Yi, Xiao Hei, and the others still discussing something in the lobby. I casually greeted them and went back to my room. I lit a candle, held it in the bathroom, and was about to take a closer look at myself in the mirror to see how I looked lately when I suddenly felt the floor beneath my feet shaking violently, and the tiles behind me made a cracking sound.
Shouts came from outside: "Earthquake! Run!"
The bombing I experienced a few months ago left a deep scar on me. When I heard about an earthquake, I didn't react at all; I just ran outside. I had only run two or three steps, not even getting out of the house, when there was a loud "bang" above my head. It felt like someone had hit me on the head with a club, and I instantly lost consciousness.
I don't know how long I was unconscious. When I woke up, it was pitch black, and I thought I had gone blind. Apart from a dull ache on the top of my head, I had no other discomfort. My limbs must have been numb because I couldn't feel them, and I couldn't even tell whether I was lying flat or curled up.
There was no sound around, as quiet as a tomb. The hotel was a nine-story building, and I was on the first floor, east side. If the whole building collapsed, I would probably be buried underground.
My safety training taught me to hide in a triangular area near a water source during an earthquake, and if there's no time, hide under furniture with a large load-bearing area. But I was hit by a falling object at the doorway, with nothing to hide in. I'm lucky I can still breathe.
Unable to see, hear, or move, waiting was all I could do. Strangely, I wasn't panicked about my own situation, but extremely worried about my brothers outside: Han Bo, Zhou Yi, Xiao Hei, Zhang Yanhuang, Ma Li, the hundreds of team members, and Gao Chen and Xiao Qing. Had anyone escaped? If we were all buried under the rubble, who would rescue us?
I thought of Fengcheng after it was bombed. Liu Sicheng rescued Lao Lin and the base commander, but many more were buried and died. So, will someone come to rescue us?
This is what they mean by "when it rains, it pours." The evening sun was perfectly normal, the sunset clouds were beautiful, there was no wind, no rain, no lightning or thunder—no warning whatsoever—and then the earthquake struck so suddenly. Were zombies and temperature differences no longer enough to satisfy the god's twisted sense of humor? Did it want to see humanity struggle in dire straits once more?
I didn't struggle; even if I wanted to, I couldn't. After what seemed like an eternity, I slowly began to feel pain in my body. My arms and legs were pinned under heavy objects; it was a suppressed pain, not intense, bearable. I started to feel thirsty and hungry, even though I had eaten a lot for dinner.
Later I fell asleep, and when I woke up I felt like I had just blinked. It was still dark and quiet around me. I guess I just blinked and didn't actually sleep, so I'll just sleep a little longer.
I slept and woke up, woke up and slept again, and I became increasingly thirsty and hungry. When people are thirsty and hungry, they miss home and their mothers. I remembered a story my mother told me when I was a child. It was about a deaf-mute man who went into shock and pretended to be dead. His family buried him, but he woke up in the coffin and couldn't get out. So he drank urine and ate dirt to survive for more than twenty days. Later, a flash flood washed away the grave soil and the poor coffin boards, and he was discovered and rescued.
I feel like I've been buried for a long time, and it's time to drink urine to survive, but I can't move, so how can I drink it?
Thinking about drinking urine consumed so much of my time that I was no longer in pain or hungry, only thirsty. I even had the absurd thought that if I couldn't die from drinking urine, then my time buried underground would have been wasted. Then I started laughing at myself in the darkness, and as I laughed, I felt a hot, metallic taste in my throat, and a mouthful of blood welled up. I quickly swallowed it; it was all my own body fluid, and swallowing it was in accordance with the laws of survival.
A person will die if they don't drink water for three to seven days. I felt like I was about to die. My mind was flashing wildly with images of various drinks and fruits. As the images flashed, I could almost smell the fragrance of fruits and vegetables in my nose, and I could almost taste the carbonated sugar on my tongue. I must be going crazy with thirst.
So when I heard the sound of metal clashing against stone, and someone calling my name loudly, I didn't even lift my eyelids. A hallucination, I thought.
Until a hand truly touched my face, a familiar male voice called out, "Aifeng."
I couldn't open my eyes, my lips were stuck together with blood, and I could only move my tongue around, murmuring very weakly, "Gao Chen..."
After a moment of silence overhead, a male voice said, "Gao Chen is dead."
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Words spoken in anger.
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