Chapter 90 Wanted
As dawn broke, Bai Chenzhu led Zhou Mengmeng to a nearby rural house. The house was made of red bricks and was in a mess inside. As they entered, a small zombie pounced on them.
Bai Chenzhu's pupils contracted sharply, and his first reaction was to raise his arms to protect himself. But Zhou Mengmeng reacted quickly, kicking the little zombie against the wall. She then went up and stomped on its head several times, smashing it to pieces.
They don't look like a normal middle school student at all.
Bai Chenzhu was greatly shocked.
Zhou Mengmeng threw the trash out and casually wiped the stains on the wall. "Brother Bai, do you have something to say?"
Bai Chenzhu's expression was complicated. He had just noticed that Zhou Mengmeng not only had injuries on her face, but also a lot of bruises on her legs. "Your calf is injured, so you should be careful not to hurt yourself."
"Huh?" Zhou Mengmeng tilted her head in confusion.
Bai Chenzhu looked away and glanced around. He had relaxed a moment ago, but now he looked carefully and, after confirming that there was nothing else in the house, he chose a room and changed out of his wrinkled clothes that had been wet and then dried.
There was a knock on the door, followed by Zhou Mengmeng's clear and bright voice, "Brother Bai, apply the medicine."
Bai Chenzhu opened the door for her, and the girl came in carrying Ji Chen's wound medicine, gesturing for him to roll up his sleeves and trouser legs.
One wound after another fell on his body, some of which were already red, swollen and festering. His knees were particularly bruised and swollen, the deepest wounds, which caused Bai Chenzhu to walk with a limp.
The most painful part was his head, which felt like it was under a tight band. Zhou Mengmeng examined his forehead and said, "There are no external injuries."
"Was I in the car from the beginning?" Bai Chenzhu asked.
"You don't remember?" Zhou Mengmeng asked in surprise. "You were walking in the tunnel soaking wet when that human trafficker picked you up."
Bai Chenzhu had no memory of it. He didn't know why he was soaked, nor why he was covered in wounds... His eyes hardened. "A mirror! I need a mirror!"
The person in the mirror was extremely handsome, with phoenix eyes and a red mole, refined and dashing, with long hair cascading over his collarbone, and ginkgo leaves swaying gently by his ears, everything about him mirroring his own appearance.
Whenever Bai Chenzhu tried to think hard, his head would throb with a sharp, needle-like pain. He clutched his forehead, his thoughts in disarray.
How did I get here from the restaurant?
"Don't think about it. If it's an internal injury, you'll remember it when it heals." Zhou Mengmeng patted his shoulder to comfort him like a little adult.
After Bai Chenzhu calmed down, Zhou Mengmeng said seriously, "There's one more thing, Brother Bai."
"What's up."
Zhou Mengmeng tentatively asked, "I'm going to Kangcheng to find my dad. Where are you planning to go next?"
Asking someone with amnesia would yield an obvious answer, especially considering Zhou Mengmeng's recent running around; her intentions are not hard to guess.
Bai Chenzhu wasn't blind; he could see the expectant look in Zhou Mengmeng's eyes. He hesitated for a moment, "What if I said I had no plans?"
“Then come to Kangcheng with me!” Zhou Mengmeng was not surprised by his choice at all. She lied through her teeth, “The base in Kangcheng is developing very well now, and we can keep each other company.”
According to Zhou Mengmeng, the apocalypse has been underway for nearly half a year.
Six months ago, she originally intended to go to Cannes to find her father, which was halfway across China from her home. During the journey, they entered several cities that were under lockdown, encountered zombie hordes, and other incidents. In the end, she was separated from the group by a series of unforeseen circumstances.
Because she didn't know the way and only had her own two legs, it took Zhou Mengmeng a long time just to figure out the location of Kangcheng. She asked passing cars for help, but she always encountered inhuman or despicable people. Recently, she was even caught by human traffickers and sold as goods.
Bai Chenzhu rested his chin on his hand and thought for a moment, "Do we already have a base?"
Zhou Mengmeng was very excited, "Yes! I heard along the way that many cities have already established bases, and there's one in Kangcheng! My dad must be there!"
Without saying anything discouraging, Bai Chenzhu smiled weakly, her face pale, and said, "Then I'll go with you."
Fortunately, he had nowhere else to go.
Zhou Mengmeng cheered with a fist pump, but thinking of Bai Chenzhu's current condition, she said seriously, "Brother, you should rest. I'll go find something to eat."
"No rush." Bai Chenzhu grabbed her wrist, his cool fingertips lightly touching her cheek, then pointing to her bruised calf. "Let's put some medicine on your injury too."
Zhou Mengmeng blinked, then remembered the injury on her face. Thinking about how she always had a big, smeared face, she hesitated and asked uncertainly, "Hmm? Hmm! Am I very ugly?"
"No," Bai Chenzhu said sincerely. "She's a very pretty young girl, very strong, and very capable."
It was his good fortune. Bai Chenzhu thought, how could he not like being given a 'guide' right after arriving?
——
This is a small mountain village at the border of Beiming City and Nanshan City, near the national highway. Bai Chenzhu was seriously injured, and Zhou Mengmeng could have easily abandoned him and left alone, but she didn't, insisting on waiting for Bai Chenzhu to recover before leaving together.
“I’ve been walking alone for a long time, going around in circles, unable to find the way to Kangcheng. Brother Bai, you’re older and smarter than me, at least you know the way better than me.” Zhou Mengmeng raised her index finger and poked at the spot. “It won’t make a difference if we take a little more time.”
So the two of them temporarily occupied the small house to recuperate.
The house had a small courtyard for farming, and some rice and grain. Of course, there were also many villagers who had turned into zombies around the courtyard, who would occasionally pass by with wailing sounds.
Zhou Mengmeng went from being on high alert at the beginning to becoming indifferent in the end. Every day she would climb over the wall to find ingredients and busy preparing three meals a day. At other times, she would move a chair to sit by Bai Chen's bamboo bed and tell him about her experiences.
Upon hearing this, Bai Chenzhu couldn't help but sigh: What a pitiful girl.
She's had all sorts of bad luck.
But Zhou Mengmeng was also lucky, because she discovered that she seemed to have superpowers, and her strength and speed had increased a lot. However, this strength was limited. For example, she couldn't beat the human trafficker Ma Dayong and was beaten black and blue.
Before Bai Chenzhu arrived, she had been looking for an opportunity to escape.
She said that her father and sister were both doctors, so she also knew a little medicine and could give Bai Chenzhu some basic treatment for his wounds. In addition, Bai Chenzhu also had a problem with his right knee, so Zhou Mengmeng found two splints to immobilize it and applied medicine to it.
Bai Chenzhu felt indebted to Zhou Mengmeng because of her dedication, and he felt he had to send Zhou Mengmeng to Kangcheng to repay this favor.
——
They lived on the outskirts of Beiming City for a month.
Then I packed my things and set off for Cannes.
The first stop was Nanshan City.
Unexpectedly, everyone they encountered along the way was running in the opposite direction. Bai Chenzhu and Zhou Mengmeng exchanged a glance, and Zhou Mengmeng shook her head in confusion.
Bai Chenzhu tried to stop someone to ask, but the person went crazy, yelling "They're fighting! They're fighting!" and pushed Bai Chenzhu aside before leaving.
A series of loud, chaotic noises came from the road ahead.
Bai Chenzhu and Zhou Mengmeng happened to be passing by, so they headed there to see if anyone else was there, only to find wreckage scattered all over the ground.
"Brother Bai! Look here!" Zhou Mengmeng exclaimed, pointing to a figure on the ground and looking at Bai Chenzhu.
What is this? A human? Bai Chenzhu looked closely and saw that the 'human' had a pair of tentacles on its head, wings on its back, strange clothes, and blue blood flowing from its body.
Just as Bai Chenzhu was about to take two steps forward to examine the situation more closely, he heard footsteps ahead. His eyes sharpened, and he decisively pulled Zhou Mengmeng away from where he stood.
The further they went into Nanshan City, the more similar places they encountered.
Even the most oblivious person could realize that they were getting closer and closer to the battlefield, which was not good news; the direction of the war seemed to be towards Kangcheng.
How could this be? Zhou Mengmeng was deep in thought, biting her lip and remaining silent. She had originally thought that the only difficulty they would face was zombies, but it seemed that there was also a 'man-made disaster' involved.
Besides zombies, they also have to guard against strange people from who-knows-where, and war.
Bai Chenzhu glanced at her worriedly and gave the short man an apple, which they had picked from the big tree in front of the farmhouse before they left.
"Thank you, thank you!" The dwarf said excitedly, giving his information, "I advise you not to go to Nanshan City. There's a war going on, and ordinary people like us will just become cannon fodder."
"What kind of war?"
Upon hearing this question, the dwarf looked at him as if he were someone who had come from the deep mountains and wilderness. He tucked the fruit into his pocket like a precious treasure. "You don't know? It's a foreign race. The foreign race is fighting with the adults. Nanshan City is sealed off! Those who go there now are all 'soldiers'."
"What is a foreign race?" Bai Chenzhu hesitated.
“Aliens! Hey, they’re really bad. They’re the ones who created the zombie virus.” The dwarf spat as he spoke. “The nasty creatures are trying to kill people to cover their tracks. More and more people are dying, so the adults with superpowers have all gathered together and formed an alliance. All the cities are under their control.”
Zhou Mengmeng suddenly spoke up, "What about Kangcheng? Is Kangcheng also at war?"
"No." The dwarf's expression was strange. "Where did you come from? You're not some alien race in disguise, are you? Kangcheng is currently the alliance's main city, how could you not know that?"
As she spoke, several guards from the small settlement were drawn over, looking at Zhou Mengmeng suspiciously. Bai Chenzhu pushed Zhou Mengmeng behind her, hiding her, and said calmly, "Nothing of the sort. Look, the blood is red."
He raised his elbow to show them the rusty red of the fresh wound on his elbow.
Seeing that the guards had dispersed, Bai Chenzhu looked at the dwarf and asked, "We are going to Kangcheng to find our relatives. If we can't get to Nanshan City, how should we get there?"
He then slipped another fruit into the dwarf's arms.
The dwarf wiped the fruit peel off and said cheerfully, "Let's go around it, head north to Shicheng, and then east to Kangcheng."
——
Shicheng was once a remote and sparsely populated city.
However, due to the scarcity of zombies, it is now highly sought after. Most bases in other cities are located outside the city center, far from the city center. Stone City, on the other hand, directly eliminated the few remaining zombies in the city center, occupied the new city, and established its base center on the only building.
Bai Chenzhu walked into Shicheng with his bag on his back, brushing past the group of superhumans who had gathered together.
He approached the inner city and surveyed the empty roads around him.
At that moment, as if sensing something, he pulled Zhou Mengmeng aside to avoid the outstretched dirty hand.
The person traveling back and forth among the group of superhumans was an old acquaintance.
"Hey! Isn't this that pretty boy? Cough, Mr. Pretty Boy, long time no see." Ma Dayong popped up, beer belly protruding, reeking of cigarettes. He was a far cry from his usual self; the skinny guy who used to follow him was gone, and he greeted them obsequiously, his words dripping with sarcasm.
This is a superhuman who can kill a person alive, yet he's speaking to them so politely. It's strange.
Zhou Mengmeng, standing next to him, bristled with anger. Bai Chenzhu patted her head to soothe her, his expression indifferent. "Mr. Human trafficker, what brings you here?"
“We’ve known each other for a while now. I was the one who led you out of the tunnel. Don’t be so wary, right?” Ma Dayong complained.
This posture, when applied to him, seemed somewhat awkward and affected.
"So what?" Bai Chenzhu raised an eyebrow, noticing out of the corner of his eye that the group of superhumans had already left, and it seemed that no one cared about Ma Dayong's departure.
Being entangled like this is going to be bad, Bai Chenzhu thought.
"So it's fate that we meet again today! Since I live here and you have nowhere to go, why don't you come and stay with me for now? After all, housing here requires a lot of supplies. I even mortgaged my car. You..." He glanced at the two of them with disdain, "You're penniless. How can two people afford to stay here?"
"We can't afford it." Bai Chenzhu's smile didn't hide his true feelings as he looked down at Zhou Mengmeng and said, "Let's go."
He put his arm around Zhou Mengmeng's shoulder and turned around.
"Wait!" Ma Dayong immediately followed. "You can stay here! I have room! Gentlemen, it's dangerous outside with zombies, oh right, and there are those damn aliens too! Gentlemen, gentlemen! Look at me!"
Passersby wouldn't have noticed them, but Ma Dayong was jumping and leaping around like a mischievous monkey. Bai Chenzhu noticed that the people around them started whispering, making noises of unknown origin.
Zhou Mengmeng looked around. With her sharp ears and eyes, she followed the passerby's words and looked at a place that resembled a bulletin board. There, among the notices, was a portrait.
The person in the painting has phoenix eyes and thin lips, with medium-length black hair. The small mole under the eye and the earring are very eye-catching, and the painting is very lifelike.
Zhou Mengmeng's expression changed, and she grabbed Bai Chenzhu and turned to run!
Bai Chenzhu stumbled as she pulled him, but he ran along with her momentum, asking hurriedly, "What's wrong?"
"Brother Bai, you're wanted!" Zhou Mengmeng exclaimed in shock. She had been wondering why Ma Dayong had changed his attitude; it turned out he wanted to lure them into the city to sell them for money.
Upon realizing his scheme had been foiled, Ma Dayong's expression immediately changed. Fighting was forbidden within the city, which was why he'd been so long-winded, but now he didn't care. He pulled a wooden stick from his waist, raised it, and shouted urgently, "Don't run! Come with me to see the city lord!"
With his words, the eyes of the people who were previously unsure became fervent. They ignored Ma Dayong's loud declaration of ownership and chased after him.
"It's the person in the painting."
"The city lord said that finding this person will provide three months' worth of supplies."
"Quick, after them!"
...
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