Since we're already here
It was already evening when they left. Zhang Yanhuang didn't know the exact location of the bandits' lair; he could only remember the general route, which was said to be a place resembling a large warehouse. This young soldier had a good sense of direction; when he encountered an intersection, he could think for a moment and then confidently point to the left or right, making him more useful than a GPS navigator.
Not everyone went; my parents, Zhao Zhuobao, Binbin, and a few girls were left at home. Yu Zhongjian drove the Ram, with Li Tonggu, Hei Ge, and others; I dragged Han Bo and Zhou Yi into our minivan, and as soon as they got in, I started berating them.
"What kind of bewitching spell did Yu Zhongjian give you two that made you learn to discriminate against women?"
Han Bo felt wronged: "When did we ever discriminate against women?"
"Didn't you say you'd all thought it through? If you've thought it through, then you have a plan. If you have a plan, why didn't you tell me? Do you think I'm useless? You think it's funny to see me all anxious, like you're making a fool of me!"
Zhou Yi chuckled awkwardly: "It's not really a plan, we just discussed it roughly. How about I tell you first, we're thinking of..."
"I don't want to hear it! Do whatever you want!" I unleashed all the anger I had been holding in on them. "Do you think you're so capable and powerful now, that you don't care about anyone else, that you can live a good life without my family? Then come on, follow that Yu guy to conquer the world, start a rebellion! Do you think I, Qi Aifeng, can't live without you? Don't blame me for being harsh, but when that Yu guy has a mental breakdown, you'll all be in deep trouble! Don't you have any sense of vigilance? Don't you have any self-preservation instincts? Do you know how many illnesses that Yu guy has? Mania, delusions, paranoia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, he has almost every mental illness imaginable, and yet he acts like a good person! Are you stupid? Are you stupid?!"
Han Bo listened to my rambling curses without saying a word, then chuckled a few times and said, "Da Feng, are you jealous?"
I glared at him and said, "Bullshit! Why would I be jealous!"
Han Bo didn't respond to me, and started laughing with Zhou Yi: "She's feeling threatened. She loved being the leader when she was little. None of us childhood friends dared to disobey her. She was the type to go up and fight without saying a word, even fiercer than boys in a fight, and she was really heavy-handed. Later, we all agreed not to bother with a girl and just let her have her way."
I got even angrier: "What do you mean by 'yield'? Let's stop the car now, you try doing it with me."
Han Bo smiled so hard his eyes narrowed into slits: "No, no, I haven't finished yet! You're not just pretending to be tough, you're really tough! You've made several people cry! And you've never been afraid of anything since you were a child. Whenever we encounter trouble, you're always the one who rushes to the front. You have the demeanor of a leader!"
Zhou Yi turned around and winked: "I think my sister Dafeng is quite skilled, much better than the average girl. Otherwise, Xiao Yu wouldn't have let you come."
I flew into a rage: "You're still discriminating against me! Yu my ass! Do I need his permission to go anywhere?"
Han Bo quickly pretended to slap Zhou Yi across the face: "You're just talking nonsense without knowing the situation. Da Feng is not only good at fighting, but also smart. She's no less capable than Xiao Yu. Anyway, I'm a staunch supporter of Da Feng. I'll do whatever she tells me to do!"
Before my anger had even subsided, Zhou Yi spoke again: "I believe you. You're definitely smart, otherwise you wouldn't have brought your ex-boyfriend along on this mission. Don't tell me your mom doesn't approve; if I were your brother, I'd beat him up eight times a day! That pretty boy is useless at everything; he can't even lift a brick without shooting himself in the foot. Killing him wouldn't be right, but keeping him would be an eyesore. He's perfect as cannon fodder. If anything goes wrong, just throw him out to take the bullets!"
Zhou Yi once again demonstrated his powerful ability to end conversations; the car fell silent as soon as he finished speaking. I was speechless, unable to catch up for a while, while Han Bo chuckled, his shoulders twitching.
So all the previous annoyance vanished, replaced by a new surge of anger. Was Wu Bainian left behind just to be talked about, to repeatedly embarrass me? He might as well be dead.
The car circled the city, heading straight west for several kilometers. It circled back and forth at an intersection a few times before finally stopping, and I was immediately astonished. To the east was the suburban bus station, and to the west was a chemical company. Wasn't this the location right in front of the Veterans' Hospital? How did we end up here?
The SOS banner that Yu Yu and the others had hung was still fluttering outside the seventh-floor window, and there was no sign of zombies in the courtyard for the time being. Everyone got out of the car, and I rushed to find Yu Zhongjian: "Why did you stop the car?"
"arrive."
"How could that be? This... I know this area best, where is there any large warehouse?"
Yu Zhongjian pointed to a secondary road opposite the Veterans Hospital: "Go straight to the end of this road, turn right to Qingshan Technical School, turn left into Huafeng Street, and there is a car repair shop there."
I was a little incredulous: "Xiao Zhang doesn't even know the landmark, how can you be sure it's there?"
Yu Zhongjian lit a cigarette and said nonchalantly, "He just needs to tell me the direction."
"You're something else." I hate this kind of unconscious pretentiousness. I rolled my eyes as usual, then turned to Zhang Yanhuang and asked suspiciously, "Xiao Zhang, are you sure you're not mistaken? Do you know how far this is from my house? A full ten kilometers! So you ran ten kilometers last night?"
“More than that.” Zhang Yanhuang looked around, seemingly confirming his memory, and said, “We’ve driven at least fifteen kilometers here just now.”
"That's because you took a detour."
Zhang Yanhuang said innocently, "I don't know the roads in your city. I was just wandering around, but I'm sure I didn't go the wrong way. As soon as I joined the company, I learned the fixed-point memorization method. I can remember dozens of kilometers of mountain roads without making a mistake. Ten kilometers of city roads is nothing to me."
I pursed my lips slightly in disbelief: "Aren't you a new recruit?"
Zhang Yanhuang said, "The new recruits train every day. Although I am definitely not as good as our squad leader, let alone our company commander, I can still remember this route."
I chuckled dryly, "Okay, you're awesome too."
The setting sun slowly disappeared behind the distant skyscrapers, its lingering heat still intense. The sky was filled with the glow of sunset, bathing the entire city in a golden-red hue. Our group waited there at the entrance of the mental hospital, some inside the car, some standing outside, some smoking, some gazing at the sky, some chatting—we didn't look like we were there to fight, but rather like we were on a spring outing.
I knew Yu Zhongjian had a reason for choosing this time to go out, and I guessed he wouldn't resort to a direct attack; it would likely be either negotiation or a sneak attack. So I didn't inquire about his specific plans. I figured since I was already here, the worst outcome would be a breakdown in negotiations and a fight. My preparation should be how to protect someone who was going back to report the news when we were at a disadvantage. If the other side decided to kill me, the best course of action was to move the family home as soon as possible.
Yu Zhongjian, hands in his pockets, strolled from one end of the electronic gate to the other, observing the veterans' compound for a long time, seemingly lost in thought. About twenty minutes later, he pulled Han Bo's wrist to check his watch, whispered a few words to him, and then walked alone across the street, onto the north-south secondary road, disappearing into the distance until his figure quickly became a small black dot. Zhang Yanhuang wanted to follow, but Zhou Yi pulled him back.
"Where did he go?" I was baffled. This guy had no sense of organization or discipline. He left a bunch of people here without even a word of explanation. I'm sure I wasn't the only one who was confused.
Han Bo quickly cleared up my confusion. He gathered the people from the two cars together and said to everyone, "Xiao Yu, go scout ahead first. Our main focus today is rescuing people. If we can get some weapons from here, that would be even better. Let's try to make sure everyone has a gun for self-defense."
The black guys perked up immediately: "Really? If we get guns, will you give them to us too?"
Han Bo laughed and said, "Of course we'll issue them if we can produce them. The key is how we produce them. We've discussed it before, but we still need to wait for Xiao Yu to come back and find out the terrain and the situation of the people there. If possible, we'll use a pincer movement, splitting into two groups. One group will be responsible for negotiations to buy time, while the other group will be responsible for the surprise attack. They're not regular military or police personnel; at most, they're just a bunch of people who used to be involved in organized crime. They won't be very vigilant. We'll try to take them down one by one, avoiding a direct firefight, which will make it easier to disarm them."
Anxious and furious, Zhang Yanhuang shouted, "Surrendering our weapons is secondary; saving lives is the priority!"
As I said before, since I'm already here, my worries seem completely unnecessary. I didn't have to do much mental preparation before I put my worries aside and started thinking actively.
"I'll go negotiate! I've got an idea."
I grabbed Zhang Yanhuang and told him my plan. The more I talked, the more relaxed I felt, and the more cunning I became. I made everyone in the group laugh along with me. Zhang Yanhuang nodded repeatedly.
Han Bo patted my head: "Courageous and resourceful, with the demeanor of a great general."
I became serious: "No matter what you do, once you're on the opposite side, a fight is inevitable. You can't rely on others for protection then, so be smart, your lives are the most important thing."
Everyone nodded in agreement, even Wu Bainian, that weakling, put on a determined expression. I found him annoying, so I quickly looked away.
Not long after, Yu Zhongjian returned, bringing both good news and bad news.
The good news is that the repair shop has front and back doors and is loosely guarded. There are only ten people in the shop, which means that some of them have gone out, making it possible to defeat them one by one.
The bad news was truly bad. Yu Zhongjian said he saw a blood-soaked figure, or possibly a corpse, in the factory, lying motionless in a corner. Judging from the military boots on the feet, it seemed to belong to a very powerful company commander.
Zhang Yanhuang burst into tears on the spot, and despite everything, he was about to charge forward again, but Zhou Yi stopped him.
I repeated my idea, and Yu Zhongjian agreed with it, so we quickly started assigning personnel.
As darkness fell, the sky, devoid of its rosy glow, took on an eerie gray-orange hue, resembling a moldy orange peel.
Without further ado, I led Zhang Yanhuang and Li Qiang, jogging towards the main entrance of the repair shop. On the way, I began to build up my emotions, encouraging them from time to time. Zhang Yanhuang was as angry as a young bull, while Li Qiang was somewhat nervous.
Don't stand at the alley entrance. Look, the gate across the street is right in front of us. The red-lacquered gate is closed, and a young guy is sitting on a stone stool in front of it, smoking, with a gun leaning against him. I turned around and told them, "Just cry along, don't say anything, understand?"
The two nodded, and I rushed out without delay, calling out as I ran, "Cousin! Cousin, where are you, cousin!"
The gatekeeper's hand trembled, he dropped his cigarette, and frantically grabbed his gun: "Who? Who goes there!"
I didn't dare raise my voice, after all, the conflicts between survivors didn't need zombies to mediate. I just held back my sobs and cried out: "Who are you? Why did you capture my cousin? Release my cousin!"
The man seemed completely bewildered. He didn't say anything at first, but instead looked us up and down. His gaze lingered on Zhang Yanhuang for a moment, and then he seemed to understand.
I frankly showed him that there were three people, unarmed, and a woman among them; no matter how much he looked, he couldn't see anything special.
The man lowered his gun slightly and spoke with a cold laugh: "Who are you? What are you doing here looking for me?"
My naive and arrogant acting was so natural that I sobbed as I said, "Stop pretending! My cousin is a soldier. You're the ones who arrested him. Release him now!"
The man's smile grew even more sinister: "I have no idea who your cousin is. Why don't you come in and take a look? We have plenty of brothers here."
“Okay.” I made a move to leave, waving my finger behind me, but Zhang Yanhuang immediately stepped forward and grabbed me: “You can’t go in. They’re all bandits. They’re capable of robbery and murder. The company commander has already been tied up by them.”
The guard pointed his gun at Zhang Yanhuang and said in a roguish tone, "Don't talk nonsense, you little brat, or I'll shoot you dead."
I sighed inwardly. Look how arrogant these people have become. With the end of the world approaching, morality has declined. They have to be beaten up!
Sniffing, I shook off Zhang Yanhuang's hand and said to the man, "My cousin is Gao Chen. These are the soldiers my cousin brought. He said the person is here with you. My cousin came to Huaicheng to find me. What's the meaning of you holding him captive?"
"I told you I don't know who your cousin is!"
"Then let me in to take a look."
The guard glanced at the three of us again: "Where are you from? There are zombies everywhere, and you still dare to run around like this? Do you have a lot of family members?"
I pouted, rubbed my eyes, and cried out of disgust at myself: "It's just me and my brother left, and we were hoping my cousin would take us away..."
Li Qiang also sniffed; he was thin and weak, and looked like a student.
The guard relaxed: "What's your name?"
"Zhang Shan".
"Oh, okay, I'll go ask. If you can't find him, then come in and try to identify him."
The guards went through the small gate. I noticed that there were still figures walking around on the roof of the factory building inside the courtyard wall. From their high vantage point, they must have seen everything here. They would definitely recognize Zhang Yanhuang, so we can't leave now even if we want to.
Lowering my voice, I said to them, "Once you're inside and see the company commander, wait for my signal to attack. Try to fight in close combat and don't give them a chance to use their safety net."
Zhang Yanhuang naturally agreed, but Li Qiang trembled slightly: "Sister Dafeng, I... I'm not good at fighting."
"There aren't many of them, but we have backup. Catch the nearest one, grab him around the waist and slam him to the ground, choke him, gouge out his eyes, punch him in the groin, and then give him a good thrashing on the head. Can't you even do something this simple?"
"oh……"
I glared at him: "This isn't a fight, it's a fight to the death. It's the apocalypse, you should be aware of this, no one can protect you forever."
Li Qiang didn't say anything more. He straightened his thin body and suppressed his trembling.
Two minutes later, the guard peeked out from the small door and said with a grin, "Hey little sister, come in, your cousin is waiting for you inside."
I pulled Li Qiang away, but Zhang Yanhuang lagged behind and called out, "Ah Qi... Miss Zhang, be careful! There are bad people here!"
The guard swiftly raised his gun and pointed it at him: "What the hell are you talking about? You come in here too!"
"I'm not going in!"
"If you don't go in, I'll kill you!"
The enemy made no attempt to conceal their ferocity, and Zhang Yanhuang, half-heartedly resisting, followed behind me.
I glared at the guards and asked, "Why are you being so fierce? Did you hit my cousin?"
"No, no, come in and have a look. It's so nice here. We have plenty to eat and drink. Your cousin is very happy."
Detained, searched, shot, with Zhang Yanhuang, the witness, right beside them, the guards knew perfectly well what was going on but still managed to spout lies. So do I look like I have a low IQ? Of course not, it just means these guys were too confident in their own strength.
Entering the spacious courtyard of the repair shop, I anxiously looked around, quickly taking in the situation. A large truck and two cars were parked on the north side of the courtyard. Two men were huddled together, smoking and pointing at us. The man on the roof of the factory building was walking back and forth with a gun. A wooden ladder was placed against the west wall.
The rusty iron gate was pulled open by the guards with a clanging sound. The factory was dimly lit, with a few dim yellow lights burning weakly, and a strong smell of soot wafted out.
I looked panicked, cautiously peering inside, and then stopped going any further.
The guard grinned and said, "Go on in, your cousin is inside."
I took small, hesitant steps, winking at Zhang Yanhuang as I called out in a trembling voice, "Cousin...cousin! Gao Chen, are you there?"
Zhang Yanhuang walked past me without hesitation and entered the factory, whereupon a series of nasty laughs immediately rang out.
"This stupid dog dares to turn around, it really has a death wish, haha."
"Soldiers' brains are all made of cement, they're practically offering their buddies women, you'd feel bad refusing!"
Several men slowly emerged from the shadows. Based on their positions, they all looked like weasels with shifty eyes, clearly villainous lackeys.
"Hey girl, you're here?" one of the henchmen greeted me, his lewdness practically overflowing from his eyes.
I counted silently, and there were exactly six of them. They all came out just to see the stupid soldiers and girls who were "feeding kills".
Li Qiang and I huddled together, trying to control our trembling and fear, and I stammered, "I...I'm looking for my cousin."
The man grinned, showing his big teeth, and said, "I have plenty of cousins. We may not have much else, but we have plenty of cousins. All of us cousins will play with you, okay?"
I pouted, stomped my foot, and glared at them: "You, you, you shameless!"
The group burst into wicked laughter, laughing so hard they nearly fell over.
Zhang Yanhuang didn't speak, but looked around. After a while, his eyes adjusted to the dimness of the factory and soon stopped on one spot.
"Company Commander!" he roared in grief and indignation, and tried to run towards the northwest.
"Hey kid, don't you know the rules?!"
"Run! You think you can run? Run!"
The men, guns drawn, blocked his way, forming a circle around him and pushing him back and forth, occasionally tapping him with the butts of their guns—more of a mockery than a beating. Seeing his eyes widen in fury, they laughed even harder.
I quietly turned around and saw the guard leave. The two men in the courtyard blocked the entrance, cutting off our escape route.
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