The rear needs me
The factory was quite large, with a row of rooms on the south side, one of which should have a back door; the west side was piled with sacks of twisted wire, bulging like grain; and dozens of wooden crates were placed against the east wall, which, judging from their shape, looked like crates for storing weapons.
There are no windows on the east and west walls, so the reinforcements' sneak attack can only be launched from one of the rooms on the south side.
I looked around at the several tightly closed doors and pretended to try and break up the fight: "Don't hit him, please don't hit him."
She was bumped by one of the henchmen's arms and took the opportunity to fall at his feet: "Ouch, sob sob, you guys are bad people..."
"Hahaha, how can you be a bad guy? I'm your brother," the henchman laughed wickedly, pulling one hand out to me: "Come on, take your brother's hand and get up."
The two men behind them, casually smoking cigarettes, watched the show with smiles on their faces.
The door in the middle on the south side flickered briefly, revealing half of its face, before quickly disappearing back into the open.
I tilted my head back and gave the henchman a sweet smile. "Several people have asked me to acknowledge them as their brothers before. Do you want to be like them?"
Even after I told him my acting was superb, the henchman, completely oblivious to the danger, still stretched out his claws and said in a sleazy tone, "Yes, I do."
Before the word "ah" even finished, I suddenly stretched out my curled-up legs and swept them straight at the man's lower body. Caught off guard, he was swept to the ground, his head slamming into the ground with a thud.
Before anyone could react, I leaped up like lightning, stomping hard on his crotch. My sweet, delicate expression instantly transformed into a vicious grin: "Then you'll be childless just like them!"
As the shrill screams rang out, the small door on the south side burst open, and Han Bo, Zhou Yi, Fatty Luo, and the others rushed out.
"Don't move, put down your gun."
"Holy crap, there's an ambush!"
"Shoot! Shoot now!"
Chaos reigned inside the factory. People were shouting, swearing, brandishing guns, and frantically trying to release safety pins. Clearly, the enemy had been caught off guard and was at a disadvantage.
I ignored the clashes with the gun owners and focused solely on taking down the people around me. I got close, not giving them a chance to use their guns, choking them, gouging their eyes, smashing their temples, and kicking their groins—I used every trick in the book.
The henchman, holding onto his henchman A, saw Li Qiang standing there dumbfounded and angrily shouted, "What are you doing? Beat him up!"
"Oh, oh oh." Li Qiang seemed to snap out of his daze, hurriedly ran over and punched my "captive" twice, then turned and rushed into the chaos.
Our side didn't want to fire, and the enemy couldn't get their guns ready. Although both sides had weapons, it eventually turned into hand-to-hand combat.
I didn't pay attention to how the others fought; I only remember taking down two of them myself. While Han Bo had a moment to light a cigarette, I was kneeling on the ground, pressing my knee firmly against the throat of the henchman who wanted to "play with me," and punching his bloodied face again and again.
"Go ahead and play! Get up and play! Didn't you say you wanted to play with me? I'll play with you to my heart's content!"
Han Bola said to me, "Alright, alright, let's hurry up and deliver the goods home."
There were six inside, and two at the entrance were already lying down. I don't know how the guards and the one on the roof were dealt with, but since there was no movement, they must have been taken care of.
Princess Zhang Yanhuang, carrying a lifeless, bloodstained man, walked towards the door, sobbing.
I said with a grim face, "Just let Xiao Zhang take them back. We can't leave. If we're going to take them down, we have to take them down completely. Their boss isn't here, and there are still people outside who haven't returned. If we leave now, we'll be planting seeds of trouble for ourselves. We have to stay here and let them cause trouble in their own backyard."
Han Bo shook his head: "We need to go, but Xiao Zhang alone can't deliver the supplies and people. You'll have to go with him."
I was annoyed: "What do you mean? You're keeping me here to fight, and you want me to go home?"
Zhou Yi, over there, lifted the wooden crate and burst into laughter: "As expected, it's full of guns and ammunition, even grenades! If we throw this into a zombie horde, it'll wipe out a hundred or two in one go!" He then told Fatty Li Qiang to start carrying it out, while the tall Li Tonggu was attaching gun butts to the heads of the struggling henchmen.
Han Bo took a deep drag on his cigarette: "It's getting dark. I'm really worried about Binbin and Zhao Zhuobao at home. Your dad is getting old, and if Xiao Zhang takes another seriously wounded soldier back, they won't be able to take care of him. You have to go back and take charge. You don't need to participate in the second phase of the battle."
I blinked and hesitated, then asked, "Is this... discrimination against women again?"
Han Bo replied sincerely and firmly, "Absolutely not! The rear needs you!"
Han Bo, Zhou Yi, and Li Tonggu are proven fighters; Luo Pangzi and Hei Ge are slightly weaker, but still usable in team battles. Li Qiang, on the other hand, has no combat experience, and Wu Bainian is a complete weakling—keeping them around is a miracle if they don't cause trouble. In terms of combat strength, I undoubtedly deserve to be on the main roster for the raid, and if anyone's going home, it'll be those two. But Han Bo has a point: their home, recently besieged by zombies, only has the elderly, weak, and disabled left; they clearly need someone capable of making decisions.
My dad has a lot of ideas, but he has a peculiar way of thinking, is stubborn and impulsive, and wouldn't make him a good leader. After thinking it over, I'm the only one who's suitable to go back.
Not being able to participate in the Dark Night massacre made me very unhappy, but this unhappiness turned into confusion when Zhou Yi hurriedly ran over to pull me and Han Bo away.
"What's wrong?"
Zhou Yi pointed to one of the small houses in a row to the south and stammered, "You...you go and take a look."
Han Bo and I walked to the door of that room. It was already dark. There were no windows or lights inside. Several blurry shadows were huddled together, making familiar low moaning sounds.
“They were gagged,” Zhou Yi whispered in Han Bo’s ear, standing on tiptoe. “Several women, probably kidnapped.”
Han Bo glanced at them casually and said indifferently, "We can't do anything about it now. Let them stay put for now, and we'll deal with it later."
I said I felt something was off as soon as I walked into the repair shop. It was a den of bandits, a haunt of hooligans, a gathering place for a bunch of scoundrels. How could they not have a few women on their hands?
Sure enough, they're all tied up and locked up. What a bunch of scoundrels!
"It's definitely not voluntary. Release them later and give them some more food."
I didn't dare to think too much about what they had gone through, so I turned around and left. But as I walked, I turned back and said, "Don't bring them to my house, there's no room for them."
Seeing that neither of us had looked closely, Zhou Yi jumped up and down anxiously, pointing his finger into the room: "No, no, Han Bo, look who that is, isn't that Ma Li?"
Huh? I stopped abruptly and turned to look at Han Bo. He suddenly frowned, took a few steps closer to the door, and tentatively called out in a low voice, "Ma Li?"
He was met with a loud sobbing, and someone inside the room collapsed to the ground.
“Marie? Marie! It really is you, how could you…”
I pursed my lips into a straight line, unconsciously slowed my pace, and walked out of the factory gate.
Two people were lying in the courtyard outside, with Li Tonggu standing on one of their heads, looking up at the sky. The truck had already driven off, Zhang Yanhuang was busy in the back sleeper berth, Fatty Li Qiang, Wu Bainian and the others were quickly packing boxes and bags, and Yu Zhongjian was leaning against the front of the truck smoking.
I climbed straight onto the driver's side, opened the door, and leaned out to say to him, "Excuse me, I'll take them home first."
Yu Zhongjian slowly stepped aside without saying a word, his cigarette glowing and his eyes shining like a wolf's.
I glanced back at the bloodied man lying on the sleeper berth and Zhang Yanhuang, who had calmed down, started the car, and stuck my head out to say to Yu Zhongjian, "Be careful. Before those people return, set up the scene, make sure the escape route is clear, fight the bad guys, and guard against the zombies. After you're done, drive around a few times before going home. Don't leave any trouble behind. If we get exposed, we'll have to move."
Yu Zhongjian remained silent.
The fat man jumped out of the car, patted the vehicle, and signaled that I could leave. Blackie, clutching a gun, excitedly chatted with Li Qiang. Wu Bainian deliberately walked to the car window, looked up at me, and asked, "Aifeng, can you drive a big truck?"
I rolled my eyes knowingly and ignored him, then continued to Yu Zhongjian, "Han Bo seems to have found his friend and is a bit agitated. Keep a close eye on him and make sure nothing happens to him."
Yu Zhongjian remained silent, but finally nodded. I thought for a moment, and realized there was nothing more to say. Things had come to this point; it was a dog-eat-dog world, and we had no choice but to fight.
So I waved my hand nonchalantly, shifted gears, released the clutch, and stepped on the gas. The truck roared and lurched forward.
Wu Bainian waved at me in the rearview mirror: "Aifeng, slow down, a truck is not like a car..."
The repair shop was left behind as the car drove off Qingshan Road and onto the main road. At the intersection, I hesitated for a moment, then decided to turn back the way I came.
As darkness fell completely, the city, which should have been brightly lit at dusk, became as silent and gloomy as a tomb. I didn't turn on the headlights, relying entirely on my naked eyes to see the road, and asked Zhang Yanhuang, "Did you get your gun?"
"Take it." Zhang Yanhuang tapped the car window with his gun.
"Okay, how's your company commander doing?"
Zhang Yanhuang spoke with a heavy nasal tone: "His breathing is quite weak, I dare not move him."
"It's good that you're alive. There are medical staff at home. You can get treatment when you get back. You'll definitely get better. Don't worry."
"Um."
After exchanging a couple of sentences, I fell silent. Zhang Yanhuang was clearly not in the mood for small talk either, and the car immediately became quiet. The mechanical sounds of pressing the accelerator and shifting gears became even more pronounced and oppressive, making one feel a heavy weight in their heart.
Zhang Yanhuang and I both felt heavy burdens, but in different ways. He was worried about his comrade; I, on the other hand, was frustrated by my family's capacity to take in patients. After tonight, there would be another seriously ill patient and two more mouths to feed... no, perhaps more than two. Han Bo had met Ma Li, and with their lingering feelings, wouldn't he lend a hand when someone is weak and helpless? Besides, Ma Li was Zhou Yi's secret crush; he finally had a chance to save her, would he let it go?
I can't refuse either of them if they ask to take that woman in! I just hope they don't fight over this in the future.
"Beautiful women are such a damn source of trouble!" I cursed angrily, but Zhang Yanhuang remained silent.
The car turned onto Jiefang West Road, and it was another kilometer east to my home. It was already difficult to see the road conditions with the naked eye. I reached for the headlight switch on the truck, and just as I was about to turn it on, I suddenly saw a beam of light flash horizontally from the dim light ahead.
My hands moved faster than my brain; instinctively, I swerved to the right, skidding towards the buildings along the roadside. Seeing the light growing brighter and more pronounced as it began to curve, I slowly applied the brakes and turned off the engine in the shadow of a building.
"Sister Qi..."
I waved my hand, signaling Zhang Yanhuang to be quiet, pulled the handbrake, and crouched down, peeking out from the edge of the windshield with my eyes.
The beam of light quickly turned onto Jiefang West Road, the engine roaring loudly, the wheels heavy—it was also a large truck. Behind the truck followed an SUV, its windows open, revealing a man with his arm and half a bald head sticking out, laughing and cursing unrestrainedly, looking quite pleased with himself.
The truck was moving very fast, and no one noticed us hiding in the shadows. Although the truck was huge, it was not conspicuous on the road where many cars were parked haphazardly.
The two cars headed west and quickly disappeared from my rearview mirror. After waiting another five minutes, I restarted the engine and drove onto the main road.
"Sister Qi, these people must have gone somewhere to rob something. They are ruthless, and I don't know if they have killed anyone."
I didn't turn around and said, "It's alright. They've gone too far. We're waging an ambush, and we'll definitely wipe them out in one fell swoop."
“No, I mean…” Zhang Yanhuang’s voice was filled with suppressed anger, “How could humanity be so evil? Even if society is in chaos and people need to scavenge for supplies and equipment to survive, why do they kill people? Why do they kill innocent people? Why do they torture people who no longer pose a threat to them? My company commander…”
Zhang Yanhuang couldn't continue speaking and began to sob softly. I was speechless.
I wonder what kind of environment he grew up in. If he was born and raised in the streets like me, and had close ties with society, he might be more accepting of the stimulation brought about by the good and evil of human nature.
Some people are born with the gene for evil, possessing an immense passion for doing bad things, even if it harms others without benefiting themselves. Having been suppressed for too long in a world governed by the rule of law, the end times become their paradise.
Actually, dealing with these kinds of people isn't that difficult; you just need to be more ruthless, vicious, and cruel than them.
Faced with Zhang Yanhuang's grief and questions, I couldn't bring myself to say them. He was only eighteen, innocent, kind, loyal, and passionate—such a fine gem. Let life take its course regarding the matter of brutally attacking and shattering his values.
The truck stopped outside the makeshift market. Looking towards my house, it was all dark. The warm lights that used to make me feel at home were gone. The small building amidst the rubble and bricks was just a shadow, quiet and desolate, as if no one had ever lived there.
I held my breath and told Zhang Yanhuang to leave the car to look after the company commander, while I climbed over the rubble wall and went home to call for help.
After knocking on the door three times long and two times short, a polite voice came from inside shortly afterward: "Did the late emperor's great undertaking end prematurely?"
A sense of relief washed over me, and I replied, "He's dead."
He then said, "Are all the women jealous of my beautiful eyebrows?"
I replied, "It's a rumor."
"The Peng bird has migrated to the Southern Ocean..."
I got annoyed: "Are you ever going to stop? Open the door!"
The door opened, and Binbin, holding a candle, looked annoyed: "We agreed to exchange passwords, but we haven't finished yet. How am I supposed to know if you're one of us?"
"Are you deaf and can't you recognize my voice?"
Binbin stubbornly insisted: "What if the enemy spies include someone skilled in ventriloquism..."
I glared at him, not having time to continue playing the code game with him. I rushed into the living room and saw my dad squatting in front of the coffee table with the broken glass, holding a tape measure and measuring dimensions, as the candlelight flickered.
"Is everything alright at home? I saw someone leave in this direction when I came back."
My dad pointed to the black cloth on the window: "No light can get through, so no one will know we have someone in the house. It's fine."
"Alright, quickly call Xiao Zhao to come along and carry the person back."
Because the alley entrance was blocked by bricks and stones, reaching more than half a person's height, it was extremely difficult to transfer the wounded. Several people carried a folding bed as a makeshift stretcher, pulling and pushing, and with great effort, finally managed to get the company commander home.
Several candles were lit in the living room. All the remaining members gathered, and the nine people with eighteen eyes stared intently at the blood-soaked figure lying in the center.
His head was tilted to the side, his eyes closed, silent and motionless, as if he were dead. Strands of dried blood ran across his face, obscuring his features and making any obvious injuries impossible to see; his drooping fingers were swollen and bluish-black, and his uniform was a mixture of blood and grime, torn in several places. From his collar insignia, one could barely make out one bar and three stars, undoubtedly a captain.
Binbin and the other girls remained silent. My dad's fists clenched so tightly they cracked. My mom glanced at them, then turned away, choking back tears, and said, "These damned men, he's a soldier..."
Zhang Yanhuang stopped crying. He knelt on the ground, carefully tugging at his sleeve to wipe the blood off the company commander's face, and whispered his name.
I called out to Liu Meili, "It looks like you're badly injured. Can you take care of it?"
"I will do my best."
"Okay, let me know if there's any shortage of medical supplies, and I'll figure something out."
The company commander was carried into his second uncle's room, and Liu Meili pulled out her medical kit and busied herself with it. To facilitate treatment, I turned on the generator for lighting and heated plenty of hot water, ready to be used at her call.
The blood-stained military uniform and boots were brought out, and Zhang Yanhuang held them, staring blankly at the door, motionless. My mother wanted to take them to wash, but he wouldn't let go.
About half an hour later, Liu Meili came out wearing rubber gloves and said, "His ribs are broken. We'll immobilize them with a chest strap for now. He'll be fine after a few weeks of rest. All the external injuries have been treated, so it's not a big problem. However, there's a lump on the back of his head, which probably indicates a severe blow. I can't determine if there's any bleeding in his skull right now. If there is, it will be very troublesome."
Zhang Yanhuang asked anxiously, "What's wrong? Will he wake up?"
Liu Meili shrugged: "It's hard to say. The conditions are rudimentary, and further examinations and treatments are impossible. I gave him mannitol to try and control the intracranial pressure. If the patient regains consciousness, that would be great. If not, he might remain in a coma, or worse..."
She didn't say it, but everyone understood what she meant. If the company commander didn't wake up, he wouldn't be far from death.
Zhang Yanhuang's legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground, burying his head in his blood-stained clothes and wailing loudly.
I tugged at Liu Meili: "Why are you scaring him? His company commander is in good physical condition, he can pull through."
Liu Meili sighed: "Even an iron man couldn't withstand this kind of torture. You'll see for yourself. He's covered in open and closed wounds, can you believe it? There are even burns! In all my years as a nurse, this is the first time I've seen so many external injuries on one person. It's horrible, truly horrible."
"Damn it!" I spat out the word through gritted teeth.
Liu Meili was taken aback, looked up at me, and then nodded heavily: "Yes, it was the work of a beast."
Everyone who heard this was outraged. My father had been silent for a long time, but at this moment he could no longer contain his anger: "These scoundrels have become completely lawless!"
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