Two tons of blood oath
When the broken marker stone by the roadside showed the number 233, it meant we had left Huaicheng County. Driving another 60 kilometers north along the provincial highway would take us to Yangcheng City. Around noon, the convoy rested. Each person was given a small bag of crumbly biscuits or mashed bread to tide them over; some men didn't even eat anything. There were only three buckets of clean water, and the little we received was barely enough to moisten our throats.
Although I was mentally prepared, the worse the road conditions became and the more corpses I encountered as I got closer to Yangcheng, the more uneasy I felt. This place had also been bombed; would supplies still be easy to find in the city?
After finishing their meal, Yu Zhongjian called a small meeting. They predicted that Yangcheng had been destroyed and that they must enter the city before sunset to begin searching. The priority was food, followed by fuel, tools, or any usable vehicles. Although the number of zombies had decreased significantly after the bombing, the team members couldn't let their guard down and remained vigilant, carrying weapons.
Around 1 p.m., the convoy was blocked by huge rocks and potholes on the ring road. Several small teams set off to walk into the city, while we, the elderly, women, and children, stayed behind to clear the road.
I didn't want to stay cooped up in the car, so I hopped on one leg with everyone to pick up stones and fill the holes. Grandpa Tang saw this and was very unhappy: "If you keep hopping like that, your leg won't be healed even in another month."
"It's okay, moving around is good for your health, I don't feel any pain anymore."
Grandpa Tang glanced at him and said, "If it doesn't hurt, why don't you run a few steps? Let me tell you, don't underestimate a femoral fracture. If it doesn't heal properly, it could affect your ability to walk normally in the future."
"How will it affect me? Will it make me crippled?"
"Okay, if you don't listen to me, then keep jumping around."
My mom came over with her hands covered in lime and wiping the sweat from her brow with her wrists: "Get in the car and lie down right now. It's hard enough finding a partner already, it'll be even worse if you become lame."
I'm amazed that she can think about finding a boyfriend at any time.
Grandpa Tang clicked his tongue and sighed, "Dr. Qi is truly a heroine among women. Her courage and demeanor far surpass those of ordinary girls. It's a pity my grandson is too young; otherwise, she would be a wonderful granddaughter-in-law for me."
My mom leaned closer to him: "You're even bringing up grandsons now, you're not being sincere at all. Hey Lao Tang, I heard you have a young son who's in his early thirties and still unmarried?"
Mr. Tang looked anxious: "I'm in Australia, I can't come back, and communication is cut off. I don't know what the situation is like there."
My mom quickly pointed at me, her face beaming: "Australia, your aunt is in Australia, if you... then you can see her, right?"
I was speechless and helpless: "Mom, you didn't eat anything for lunch, aren't you hungry?"
"I'm not hungry, I'll save the money for you. You should eat more since you're injured," she replied casually, looking at Grandpa Tang eagerly. "Which university did your youngest son graduate from...?"
Grandpa Tang said happily, "I'm not hungry either. I'll give it to my grandson. He's a growing child, so he needs to eat more."
The two continued their discussion about their youngest son. I quietly climbed back into the trunk, rested my head on my arms, and looked at the roof of the car. As I looked, I smiled silently. Such an optimistic and strong person, who treats adversity with amusement, and whose hearts are still full of hope and love—why couldn't my mother and uncle survive the apocalypse? As Ma Li said, learning skills is to protect those we want to protect. I have to protect them. Whoever prevents them from living, I won't let them live either. No problem there.
The search lasted seven hours. The men trudged through the ruins on foot and dug through the rubble with their hands. As night fell, several teams returned to the ring road, each with some finds. Some found instant noodles, some candy, some bottled water, and others carried back rice in damaged packaging. Zhou Yi's team unearthed bundles of women's clothing from somewhere, while Xiao Hei's team managed to obtain some usable hardware tools.
While the quantity of various foods might not be enough to make you eat your fill, it should be enough to last until you reach Maple City if you're careful.
The prisoner-of-war squad returned unscathed for the first time, bringing with them several packets of medicine to boast about their service. Old Tang glanced at them and said, "They're all veterinary medicine, for inducing labor, promoting lactation, and treating skin diseases; they're useless." The men's expressions immediately shifted from sunny to cloudy.
The three teams were still nowhere to be seen, and I was getting anxious. Only one truck in the convoy had its headlights on for illumination. Some people were huddled inside, while others stood outside. The wild wind was howling from all directions, and the world just ten meters away was pitch black. The temperature dropped rapidly at night, and the ordinary trucks didn't have roofs, so dozens of people couldn't just huddle up on them and freeze. Even if they weren't on the road anymore, they needed to allocate vehicles for everyone to take turns resting and sleeping overnight. But Yu Zhongjian still hadn't returned with his men; I wondered where he had gone.
Han Bo rummaged through the driver's seat, turning over the toolbox and armrest box one by one, and after finding nothing, he groaned, "The night is so long, and I'm going to die of impatience without a cigarette."
"You're not focusing your mind on the right thing. It's almost eight o'clock and Xiao Yu still hasn't come back. Should we take some people to look for him?" I opened the car door and looked out onto the side road.
"Don't worry about him. All three teams are elites. Zombie bandits will only be wiped out if they encounter them."
“I’m not worried about him, I’m worried about where we’ll stay tonight. It’s okay if we’re freezing all night, but what about the elderly and children? My legs aren’t good, and Xiao Yu hasn’t come back yet. Why don’t you go and make some arrangements?”
Han Bo reneged, saying, "I won't make arrangements..."
"Xiao Yu is back." Several people emerged from the hazy night fog at the crossroads, led by Yu Zhongjian. I felt relieved and was about to ask Han Bo to call him over to discuss something when I saw that not only were the members of Team Three returning, but also a string of strangers, both men and women, following behind.
Yu Zhongjian found a cigarette somewhere, put it in his mouth and puffed away, then tossed one to Han Bo, who was so delighted he almost called him "Grandpa." He leaned against the car door with one hand and gestured with his chin toward the leader of the group: "Come, let me introduce you to Qi Aifeng, the head of the Huaicheng team. This is Mr. Fu Hua, a survivor from Yangcheng. He knows we're going to Beijing and plans to bring his thirteen men with us."
Let him go search for supplies, and he brought back a bunch of survivors! Although he taught me this morning the principle of exchanging one piece of food for a whole bunch of food, we're so poor right now that we're eating biscuit crumbs and breadcrumbs. How can we possibly take in the people from Yangcheng? Fourteen more mouths to feed! How will the food our brothers worked so hard to find today last us all the way to the provincial capital?
“Miss Qi.” Fu Hua extended his hand to me. He was around forty years old, with a square face, big eyes, and a 3/7 head. He looked quite energetic in the night.
I hesitated before shaking hands with him: "Hello Mr. Fu, it's not easy for you fourteen people to survive the bombing."
Fu Hua sighed deeply: "Alas, we were lucky to survive. There were originally sixty-five of us."
It's so tragic. More than half of them died at once. Compared to our compatriots in Yangcheng, our group of over a hundred people is nothing short of a miracle. But as tragic as it is, it's not impossible for us to stay with the group, but I'm powerless to solve the problem of food.
"Uh...I express my condolences to the victims, but Mr. Fu, our team has just escaped from the bombing zone, and it's a long way to Beijing. I would very much welcome you to join us, but I'm afraid we might not be able to find vehicles and food..."
“I have enough food,” Fu Hua said decisively. “Mr. Yu said you plan to go to the capital to seek justice, and that’s exactly what I was thinking too. We’ve been holding out in Yangcheng for half a year, and instead of rescue, we were bombed. My own brother died, my old father died, and all my friends lost their loved ones in the bombing. I can’t swallow this insult. Count us in when we go to the capital. Consider the food we’ve stockpiled these past few months our pledge of loyalty!”
The food they'd stockpiled for months sounded impressive. I shrugged and immediately perked up: "Yes, yes, we must get justice! Forget about the blood oath; we're all compatriots, we should be united. Where's your food...?"
“At the base, there are not enough people and the vehicles can’t get in. Mr. Yu said he will bring people to move the goods tomorrow.”
Fourteen people plus three teams of nine people couldn't move it, how much grain must that be? My spirits soared, and I warmly greeted the people behind him to express my welcome, urging Han Bo to make room for Yang Cheng's brother to rest in a car.
After everyone had left, I sneered at Yu Zhongjian and asked, "How much grain do they have?"
"It looks like it weighs two tons."
I leaned back and let out a long sigh of relief. Yu Zhongjian was right. We used to have an abundance of supplies, didn't we? Our country is a major agricultural nation with the world's largest grain reserves. Which city didn't have hundreds or thousands of tons of grain stored up? The bold survived, the timid starved. Brave survivors never worried about food, and we weren't worried about finding supplies along the way, provided we didn't get bombed underground by those unlucky bombers.
I only learned from Yu Zhongjian's explanation that Fu Hua's group was originally stationed in an electronics industrial park in Yangcheng. All their supplies were stored in the underground garage. The bombing killed people and collapsed buildings, but the underground garage luckily escaped the attack. If they hadn't encountered the squad entering the city, they originally planned to go to the provincial capital to inquire about the cause of the bombing. However, after hearing our speculations and thoughts about the bombing, they could no longer suppress their grievances and resentment. Had the leaders' brains been glued shut? How unjustly their loved ones died! How could they not seek justice for them?
I clicked my tongue in admiration: "Mr. Fu is a man of courage and integrity. He would rather die than live a life of dishonor. He does what he says he will do. I admire people like him."
Yu Zhongjian bluntly exposed my flattery: "Your high praise for him is mainly because he has money in his hands."
I rolled my eyes at him: "You have the nerve to say that? The other team brought back supplies, even a thread or a piece of candy. You're just a layabout!"
"I recovered two tons."
"There are still fourteen mouths to feed!"
He chuckled: "If you encounter another suitor offering their services in the next city, will you accept them?"
I rested my chin on my hand, pretending to think: "I'm not going to petition, I'm not rebelling, why would I need so many people? First, we need to see what his purpose is in going to Beijing. Priority will be given to those who suffered heavy losses in the bombing and want revenge. I won't take on those who ask us to be their bodyguards and escort them to the capital base. Second, we need to see if his pledge of allegiance is significant enough. If it's exceptionally strong, I might as well be his bodyguard."
Yu Zhongjian shrugged: "You're quite frank about being profit-driven."
I shook my head dismissively and leaned back to look: "Hey, where's Gao Chen? Go call him for me."
Why call him?
"I need to talk to him about something."
"What's up?"
"What's it to you? Don't pry into our private affairs. I haven't even asked about your private matters."
"You can ask me anything."
I smiled wryly: "Really? Then tell me first who the girl you admire is, and then tell me about your life from childhood to adulthood."
Yu Zhongjian must have gotten cigarettes from Mr. Fu, and he seemed determined to smoke as much as he could in the past two days, one after another. However, he was standing on the other side of the car door, his arm always resting on the window, so the smoke drifted away and didn't reach me. Hearing my words, he turned to look at the dark city and said calmly, "You can only answer one of the two questions. You choose."
The subtle signs of liking someone are impossible to hide. The girl he admires is definitely in this group. As long as I pay close attention and observe carefully, I'll eventually figure it out. How could I waste such a great opportunity to learn about his private life?
"Choose your childhood to adulthood experiences!" The night is long and the weather is freezing, so listening to some private stories can ignite your gossip spirit.
“I grew up by eating,” he said. “That’s all.”
My gossip spirit was extinguished before it could even ignite, and I retorted indignantly, "You're just trying to fool me. Don't you understand what 'experience' means? I'm talking about my growth experience."
"I can't remember what happened two days ago. Yesterday it was about cookies, and today it's about cookies too."
"Pooh!"
The next day, led by Mr. Fu, the men returned to the city to move the grain. However, it was impossible to move two tons by hand alone, so Yu Zhongjian drove a large truck in, and people were arranged to clear the road ahead. By the time the transfer was completed and we returned to the camp, we had been stuck in Yangcheng for most of the day.
In the late afternoon, the convoy finally set off again, continuing north along Highway 233. The people who had been sitting in the empty truck beds were now sitting on the grain sacks. Although they hadn't had a decent meal yet, their gloomy expressions vanished, and they chatted happily.
As our numbers increased and seating became more cramped, we scavenged for vehicles along the way, stopping in every village and town to gather supplies, search for water, and even cook our meals using the villagers' stoves. Our pace wasn't fast, but our supplies grew steadily. By the time we were almost on the road to Fengcheng, we had acquired plenty of bedding, summer and winter clothing, shoes, and other necessities. Our fleet expanded to twenty-four vehicles, and we ransacked every gas station along the route, whether rudimentary or remote.
Along the way, the basic roads remained intact, though zombies were a constant presence. The bombings were clearly only targeting cities. However, hordes of zombies still roamed near some large villages, and large numbers of zombies still clung to the highways. Given time, they would eventually converge into a massive tide, surging towards a place where there were still living people.
If you're so capable, then blow up all the survivors across the country, leaving only those narrow-minded, short-sighted fools. We'll see if the zombie horde can handle you then.
Speaking of the zombie horde, they should be surging towards Maple City from the east. Based on the timeline, they shouldn't arrive so quickly. If the leaders detect their presence beforehand, the best-case scenario is that the horde is wiped out halfway, and Maple City escapes unscathed; the worst-case scenario is…
I didn't want to think about the worst-case scenario, but it soon appeared before my eyes.
Seven days later, the convoy arrived at the provincial capital. This city, which had always been known for its exploitation of other cities in the province, hoarding all the good things and projects for itself, and boasting of its rapid and dramatic development, was now engulfed in flames.
The sky above was clear, a deep blue with solitary white clouds, and the sun shone brightly on everything on earth. The highway glittered, as if millions of jewels were embedded in the asphalt. Because no one was speaking, it was extremely quiet all around. If one did not look at the billowing flames and thick black smoke a kilometer away, one would mistake oneself for a traveler taking a break in the wilderness, far from the hustle and bustle.
Yu Zhongjian stood on the top of the truck using binoculars. After a short while, he came down and said to us, "The bombing situation in the provincial capital is more serious than in Huaicheng and Yangcheng. We suspect they used cluster bombs and explosives. Obviously, they found more zombies here, and the cleanup needs to be more thorough. The city is already ruined. We'll do a simple search of the surrounding area and then set off. Let's not waste any time."
Gao Chen stepped forward: "Perhaps there are still survivors. How about I take Xiao Zhang into the city to search for them?"
Yu Zhongjian said seriously, "I don't recommend you do that. The fire is raging in many places and the temperature is extremely high. Many buildings that have not been destroyed will collapse one after another. We don't have protective equipment, and it would be very dangerous for us to rush into the city."
Zhang Yanhuang frowned and said, "I wonder if Xiao Liu is still alive. I wish I had kept him back then."
Gao Chen said in a deep voice, "If there are any survivors, we are their only hope."
Yu Zhongjian shook his head again: "Don't forget, we are also survivors. Our rescue capabilities are not up to the standard to go deep into dangerous areas. Don't make unnecessary sacrifices. I will not agree to it."
Han Bo stood to the side, watching the smoke and dust obscure the sky in the distance, and kicked a tire angrily: "Are those so-called leaders crazy? They just bomb the provincial capital without warning. What good will it do them to turn the whole country into ruins and raze it to the ground!"
Yu Zhongjian said, "This shows that so far no way has been found to eliminate the zombie virus, and the capital must have also been under deadly threat. The leadership feels it is time to make a tough decision."
"We are that arm."
Yu Zhongjian gave a sneer: "Perhaps in their eyes, we're not even worth mentioning, just a hair on their head."
Gao Chen ultimately failed to persuade Yu Zhongjian and regretfully went with the team to conduct the surrounding search mission. Seeing the deep sorrow and anxiety in his and Xiao Zhang's eyes, I wanted to offer my support but held back. Yu Zhongjian was right; Fengcheng City was like a giant furnace right now, and they didn't want to lose themselves while trying to save others.
But I couldn't bear to see him disappointed, so after thinking for a while I came up with an idea and went to talk to Yu Zhongjian. He said impatiently, "Whatever."
So I had the convoy move as far into the city as possible, until we couldn't go any further. I held a short meeting with all the remaining personnel for a brief training session, and then commanded them to shout at the top of their lungs.
"Survivor! We'll be waiting for you on North Welcome Avenue for two hours! Don't miss out!"
The voices of middle-aged and elderly men are mellow and full, while those of middle-aged and elderly women are high-pitched and sharp. The voices of young girls are crisp and clear, while those of young boys are shrill and clear. Together, they form a powerful and penetrating sound that can travel very far in an environment that is almost deathly quiet except for the slight crackling of flames.
After we shouted more than a dozen times with all our might, several field teams in the distance joined in the call, searching and shouting aimlessly. If the people in the more distant urban areas to the east, west, and south couldn't hear us, there was nothing we could do; we could only do our best.
The chanting went from unison to group relays, then to individual relays. The survivors didn't react, but several short-lived zombies did come running. Two hours later, everyone's voices were hoarse. The field team returned, and Yu Zhongjian announced that they should depart immediately.
Gao Chen made a special trip to thank me for my indirect support, saying that rationally speaking, this was the limit of what we could do, and he only hoped that his little comrade Liu Sicheng was smart enough to have already escaped from Fengcheng.
I felt a little relieved. Ever since Huaicheng was bombed, he had been in a bad mood, always looking troubled and deep in thought whenever I saw him. I've been busy lately and haven't had the energy to try to get closer to him, so seeing his smile today made me feel much better.
I watched through the car window as Gao Chen climbed into the driver's seat of the military truck. Just as he was getting into the seat, something suddenly slipped out of his side pocket. Zhang Yanhuang behind me immediately shouted, "Company Commander, your wife's letter fell out!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
