Look, the zombies are coming!
"No way!" I immediately objected. "These people just had a meal at our house. They haven't even had a chance to toughen up yet. How can we take them out?"
Han Bo nonchalantly twirled his fist: "What's there to be afraid of? You've already said it. If they're willing to stay, they're naturally prepared to risk their lives. Besides, they're not risking their lives for us, they're doing it for themselves. After I finish teaching Zhou Yi, I'm going to teach them how to quickly deal with zombies. Don't delay my lesson preparation."
I pondered for a moment and said, "I've been thinking about this for the past two days. It's been more than half a month since the zombie outbreak. Is it really possible that the granary is still intact and waiting for us to move it? Making a trip is fine, but what if there's food inside, but we run into other groups that are also trying to grab food? Should we fight or make peace? And what if there's no food inside, and someone else has already taken it all? How do we deal with that?"
Han Bo became serious: "We're on the same page. Xiao Yu's idea is to make sure we don't leave empty-handed. If we can't find grain, we'll find people who transport it. No one can eat hundreds or thousands of tons of grain by themselves. We not only need grain, but also weapons. Once we find that gang's hideout, there's only one word: wipe them out!"
I kind of understand what Yu Zhongjian meant: "So you're saying the granary and all that are just excuses, and that Yu just wants to wipe out the group that robbed the armory?"
Han Bo raised an eyebrow: "You don't want to?"
“I do think about it,” I said, feeling it was unreliable, “but you’re going to go crazy just because that guy surnamed Yu is acting like this? Do you think you can take down someone’s entire hideout just by teaching them a couple of moves? Please, think about the difference in strength. You can tell from the two times we followed them to pick up scraps that this group is not simple. They kill without blinking an eye, and their weapons are powerful. They probably have more henchmen than we do. Wouldn’t it be a waste to send our few kids home to their deaths? We have enough supplies for us for a while. We should observe for a period of time and make a plan before we act.”
Han Bo was quite confident: "We need to plan, but Xiao Yu is right. The longer we drag this out, the harder it is to estimate their strength. Let's go to the grain depot first, find an excuse to start negotiations, and find out what the other side is really like. As for fighting, that's a matter for later."
I felt a little relieved, but also a little angry: "I've discovered that the guy surnamed Yu has quite the ambition. If the other party doesn't provoke us, what's wrong with each of us going our own way? Why does he have to go looking for trouble!"
At this moment, Han Bo fully revealed his true nature as a man. He said with a smile, "Have you ever studied history? All that talk about dividing the world into three parts and ruling across the river is nonsense. Who wouldn't want to unify the world if they had the strength? Even if we don't want to, we can't let our guard down against those who do. If you fall behind, you will be beaten. That's the truth."
I looked at him with disdain: "Yu Zhongjian has really brainwashed you thoroughly. I'm almost impressed by him. A small company owner, a supermarket security guard, and a few mental patients, and you're talking to me about unifying the underworld? I can tell you with certainty that although I have refuted my father's rescue theory, as long as the government intervenes, all of you irregular armed groups will be wiped out."
"Where are they? We haven't seen a single regular armed group! They've probably all been wiped out by zombies."
"You wish! They're saving the capital first, so they don't have time to deal with small, fourth- or fifth-tier cities like ours. Just wait and see."
"Okay, I'll wait, but while I wait, I need to equip myself and get enough food and weapons so I can wait with confidence."
"Anyway, I don't care. No one is allowed to go without being fully prepared. If they all die out there, my parents won't be able to collect our bodies."
I was having a lively argument with Han Bo when Yu Zhongjian slowly strolled in from outside. He was still wearing his training uniform, still carrying a gun and smoking a cigarette, looking every bit the scoundrel. He didn't show any expression when he saw us. He took a couple of steps into the living room, then turned back, looked at me, and said, "Don't worry." Then he went inside.
I grabbed Han Bo by the collar and said solemnly, "I'm telling you the truth. It's true that Xiao Yu has some skills, and I don't know where he learned them, nor do I have time to investigate. But you can't let him fool you completely. You must always remember that he's mentally ill, and his thought process is different from a normal person's. Now that no one is watching him, he's completely let loose. His desperate thinking is very typical of a mentally ill person. But you and I are different. Our lives are precious, and we can't use him as guinea pigs for thrills. I'll think about going to the grain depot more carefully, and I'll tell you when I've thought it through. Do you understand? We're on the same side, and we're responsible for everyone in this compound. Think things through carefully, Xiao Bo!"
Han Bo finally stopped arguing with me and nodded.
The hot water ran out, so we ran the generator for a while that evening, boiling five kettles of water for tea and washing. My mother and her three daughters made hundreds of dumplings with pickled vegetables and cured meat; the pickle jar was almost empty. During dinner, I stepped on Han Bo under the table and suggested that our next plan was to go to Luyang to get cement. Han Bo reluctantly agreed, while Yu Zhongjian remained silent. Zhou Yi was a little surprised, probably because it was different from what they had discussed before, but seeing that no one else objected, he agreed as well.
Blackie and the others offered to come along, but I agreed to go with Fatty and Li Qiang, and refused Blackie, asking him to stay and help Wu Bainian move bricks and watch the house. Blackie pursed his lips and agreed.
I slept a lot in the afternoon, so I couldn't sleep at night. Liu Meili was snoring softly beside me, and the other two beds were also quiet. Only my mind was in turmoil, and I tossed and turned for most of the night before finally closing my eyes for a short while around four o'clock.
It really was just a short while. I was in a daze, and I kept hearing strange noises. It was like I was dreaming, and I wanted to open my eyes, but my eyelids felt too heavy. Then, a loud "bang" rang in my ears, as if it were right outside the window. I jumped out of bed with a start and yelled, "Someone fired a gun!"
I startled the three girls awake. They were completely bewildered and didn't know what was going on. I didn't have time to say a word to them. I stumbled and ran out the door barefoot in the dark.
I ran all the way to the rooftop, and there was that bastard Zhao Zhuobao, who had actually fallen asleep using the solar panels. I slapped him awake, and he reached for the gun next to him: "Who? Who?"
"Who the hell are you? Didn't you hear the gunshots?"
Zhao Zhuobao stared wide-eyed, his face full of innocence: "What gunshot? I didn't fire a shot."
I was furious and kicked him hard: "I practically blew your ear away! Weren't you deaf? I told you to keep watch, so you'd better go to sleep. No food today!"
Zhao Zhuobao touched her thigh in grievance: "I'm just sleeping for a little while, aren't you all sleeping too?"
"Get out of here!" I ignored him and rushed to the edge of the building, gazing into the distance. The night was as dark as ink, and I couldn't see anything clearly. But I did hear gunshots, very loud, very close, and more than once.
People came up from behind; it was Han Bo and Yu Zhongjian, both of them carrying guns.
"You heard that too, didn't you?"
Yu Zhongjian shushed me, gestured for me to lower myself, raised my gun and aimed at the distance, then whispered, "Someone has lured the zombies here."
"What?" I exclaimed in surprise.
“Look,” he said, pointing to the east side of the makeshift market, “there are many coming this way.”
I couldn't see anything; the surroundings were still empty. I couldn't understand how Yu Zhongjian could see! My womanly sensitivity suddenly made me suspicious. The person who fired the gun should be near my house; how could they have disappeared in an instant? A multitude of thoughts raced through my mind—more than eighteen, maybe twenty-eight. I stopped looking at the darkness and just stared at him, wanting to say something but unable to utter a word.
Han Bo said, "Which bastard did this? There's nobody around for miles, it's obviously intentional!"
I hesitated and whispered, "Yeah, no one would believe it wasn't intentional. It's the middle of the night, and they're not sleeping. It must have been planned beforehand, right? And there's a gun... It's really strange."
Yu Zhongjian lowered his gun, glanced at me, and after a long pause said in an extremely calm tone, "There are 1,500 rounds of ammunition in the box, and the original gun had a full magazine of 30 rounds. I fired 23 rounds at Baolong Ace, Han Bo fired 9 rounds, and Zhou Yi fired 17 rounds; at Guantang, I fired 2 rounds, Han Bo fired 1 round, and Zhou Yi fired 2 rounds. After returning, everyone reloaded their magazines, so there should still be 1,446 rounds of ammunition in the box. If I heard correctly, the other side fired a total of eight shots."
My face flushed instantly, and I stammered, "Why are you telling me this?"
Yu Zhongjian turned and left, saying as he went, "You keep watch, I'm going down to wake everyone up."
After he left, Han Bo leaned closer, tilted his head, and looked at me: "You suspect that Xiao Yu brought the zombies here?"
Although Zhao Zhuobao was still eavesdropping behind the solar panel, I didn't want to lie to Han Bo, so I stammered, "Yes, I was petty. I just had a momentary lapse of judgment and somehow thought that he would retaliate against me because I stopped him from carrying out his plan... After all, he's mentally ill..."
Han Bo patted my head helplessly: "You said people's brain circuits are abnormal, but you yourself are no better! Xiao Yu is definitely fine, I can vouch for him. He was coming out of his room when I went upstairs."
Zhao Zhuobao interjected, "Aifeng, don't discriminate against mentally ill people. We don't have episodes every day."
I could only lower my head and say, "He has explained it very clearly. I know it wasn't him. I was wrong."
Han Bo said, "Doing this will discourage people. You should apologize to Xiao Yu."
I wanted to apologize, but there wasn't time. The horde of zombies, previously invisible, had crossed the makeshift market and was slowly but surely making its way towards the rubble-covered clearing.
If the hundred or so zombies I encountered in Baolong Ace were the largest horde I'd ever seen, then this dark mass before me could truly be called a zombie army. Like monsters of the night, they stirred at the slightest hint of human presence. Some missed the long wall, scattering across the empty rubble outside, swaying left and right, searching for their prey. A few made their way into the alley; I could vaguely see a few banging their bodies against the crumbling walls of a neighbor's house, but most were howling "Hungry~" at my building.
Before the deepest darkness before dawn arrived, my little courtyard was already facing a crisis.
Everyone in the family went up to the rooftop because the view was better there, and they could see the direction the zombies were moving. Yu Zhongjian somehow managed to get them to behave, and although they were tense and panicked, no one stupidly screamed.
"What should we do?" Han Bo asked.
"Shoot when it gets close," I whispered, snatching the gun from Zhao Zhuobao.
Yu Zhongjian stopped me: "Wait, lie down, don't panic, they can't get in."
I lay down, pretending to have forgotten what had just happened, and said only, "You want to wait until dawn, until they disperse on their own? Did you see how many there were?"
Yu Zhongjian answered me with a straight face: "I think there are at least a thousand."
"Then what are we waiting for? We can't kill them all. With the alley as cover, let's fight our way out, transfer everyone to the car, and then we can rush out."
My dad, unusually, didn't argue with me. He also realized this crisis was extraordinary; there were simply too many zombies, and staying behind would only mean being trapped. There was no chance of winning by outlasting the zombies; being trapped would ultimately mean death, and my family was definitely doomed.
Yu Zhongjian asked, "You want to give up here?"
I frowned: "What else can we do? We can find more supplies, but once people are gone, we lose everything."
Yu Zhongjian shook his head: "Giving up voluntarily and giving up passively are different."
I snapped, "Can't you stop showing off now?!"
Yu Zhongjian smiled. It was dark, so his smile wasn't clearly visible, but his white teeth were still very noticeable. His eyes were exceptionally bright, as bright as a wolf's. He said, "You weren't happy last time that I used you as bait, so this time I'll be the bait."
I sent my parents and Binbin downstairs, telling them that if we absolutely had to escape, they would be responsible for carrying my second uncle. The rest of us lay quietly on the roof, not daring to breathe. Hei Ge and the others were dragged out of their sleep, without even a coat, shivering in their undershirts against the cold ground. They thought they could finally have a few good days after being abused, but they didn't expect to have to live in fear and cold again. They were really unlucky.
The three girls huddled next to the satellite dish, wanting to watch but too afraid to, holding each other's hands and pressing their heads together.
The guys with guns were lying on the edge of the building. Han Bo was to my left and Yu Zhongjian was to my right. As the zombies got closer and closer to my house, we all released the safety and got into aiming positions.
I listened silently to the zombies' cries, glancing to my right out of the corner of my eye. After mentally preparing myself for a while, I decided it was best to deal with this before the fight, so I spoke up: "Uh... just now, right..."
"Shh!" Yu Zhongjian didn't even glance at me, directly interrupting my apology.
I thought to myself, okay, you told me not to say it, so I'll take that as acceptance.
At 4:50, the zombies began ramming against my iron gate. Hundreds of them crammed into the narrow alley, which was only five steps wide, and the stench was so strong that it was almost impossible to breathe. They had also sensed that there were living people in the building, and they howled loudly. In the dim light, their strange claws stretched and twitched, reaching towards the air with an evil intent to drag all life into hell, making them terrifying and awe-inspiring.
I heard soft sobbing behind me. I turned around and glanced back, but couldn't see who it was, so I stomped my foot hard on the ground. The sobbing stopped abruptly.
Time ticked by, each second an agonizing struggle. The iron gate to the courtyard creaked as it was pushed open, and the sounds of zombies scratching at the gate were incredibly irritating, but dawn was still a long way off.
Yu Zhongjian glanced at the alley entrance and said softly, "We can't wait any longer. I'm going down now. You guys cover me."
Zhou Yi lifted his head from the gunstock: "How about I go? I think I'm pretty agile."
Yu Zhongjian asked, "Are you 100% sure?"
Zhou Yi was taken aback: "No."
Yu Zhongjian smiled confidently, like a domineering and arrogant CEO in a movie: "I have one."
What's with this familiar pretentious attitude? If it weren't for the fact that the person in front of me was performing noble acts of serving the people and sacrificing himself for the territory, I would almost have mistaken him for that pervert Yu Yu appearing in person.
Before I could think any further, Yu Zhongjian had already taken action. The moment he stood up with his gun on his shoulder, it triggered a frenzy among the zombies downstairs. Their screams surged like a tide, growing ever more terrifying with each movement he made.
He walked to the left corner of the building, faced us, and said, "Aim carefully before you fire. Don't waste bullets, and don't hit me." After saying that, he bent down, braced himself, and jumped, and disappeared.
My heart was in my throat. You see, in just half an hour, my building, the area around it, the left and right sides, and the alleyways were completely overrun with zombies. What if he didn't see where he was going and jumped into a pile of zombies?
In just a few seconds, I realized my worries were unnecessary. A dark figure darted into view from the top of the alley wall. As soon as he appeared, I heard Zhou Yi and Han Bo both breathe a sigh of relief.
Of course, this relief was only temporary. As the shadowy figure moved forward on the wall, the zombies noticed him, and more than one turned and pounced on him. The wall was at most two meters high, and the zombies could easily reach him with their arms outstretched.
"Attack!" I shouted in a low voice.
Gunshots rang out, and the zombies below the wall fell down, while the zombies outside the wall were drawn towards this side by the gunshots.
It was dark, and my marksmanship was poor, so I didn't dare to raise the muzzle too high. I just followed what Yu Zhongjian had taught me twenty minutes earlier, aiming as close to the top of the wall as possible, firing a shot and quickly pulling back the bolt to fire again. The recoil made my collarbone ache terribly. I don't know how many shots I hit. My palms and back were covered in cold sweat from the tension.
Han Bo and Zhou Yi remained calm and collected, aiming intently and striking decisively. As the zombies in their line of sight fell one by one, the pressure on Yu Zhongjian eased considerably.
He wasn't hit by our gun. He stood firmly on the wall, paused briefly in front of the building, shot down a few zombies outside the wall, then made a gesture to us and moved forward at lightning speed.
We immediately ceased firing, our eyes fixed on the blurry black figure without daring to blink. He moved with the ease of walking on the narrow wall, barely two palms wide, without even stumbling, steadily making his way to the end of the alley.
During the brief cover fire, as planned, those unarmed on the rooftop began to quietly retreat downstairs, first the three girls, then the black man and his group. They each grabbed their weapons, locked their doors, and were not allowed to come out until they heard the coded signal.
We held our breath, remaining completely still, pressing our heads down so only our eyes were visible, trying to minimize any stimulation to the zombies. I thought worriedly, Yu Zhongjian had been hospitalized for so long; his body must be very weak. Even if he was mentally sharp, without physical strength, it would be useless. The top of the wall was at least three meters from the large shed above; unless he had wings, how could he possibly jump up there?
The dark figure stopped on the wall at the alley entrance. He seemed to look back, then spread his arms and jumped without hesitation.
With a loud "crack," my blood nearly stopped flowing; it sounded like asbestos roof tiles breaking. Did he catch it? Or did it fall?
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