Chapter 65 Lin Cheng
Zhang Xiulan and Lin Cheng lived closer, so she closed the courtyard gate first.
The zombies chased the footsteps until they were stopped outside the gate by the iron bars, then turned to chase after Liu Caifen and her companion who were still running.
Liu Caifen's house doesn't have an outer gate; the front door is an old-fashioned wooden door, and the sound of it closing isn't as crisp and powerful as an iron gate.
Three zombies pounded and twisted against the door with all their might, and the sound of shattering glass echoed in the darkness, followed by screams from Liu Caifen's house.
The villagers who were watching from the second floor were terrified when they saw what happened, and they all quietly went back to their rooms and locked the doors and windows.
Not a single house turned on its lights in the pitch-black night.
Lin Xi occupied the house, which provided a good vantage point. Even if zombies entered the village, he could hide on high ground and use binoculars to scout the situation.
The broken doorway of Liu Caifen's house foreshadowed the tragedy inside, while the gates of Lin Cheng and Zhang Xiulan's houses were tightly closed, indicating that they had escaped the calamity.
With the farce over, Lin Xi put away her binoculars and prepared to go back to her room to wash up.
However, as soon as the gaze shifted, the door to Lin Cheng's house was pushed open from the inside, and the "+" sign of the binoculars locked onto that door.
A person was seen retreating from the house, clutching his stomach and sitting on the ground, looking as if he had been pushed out or pushed out with a tool.
It's Lin Cheng.
Lin Xi's mind immediately conjured up a dangerous scene of Lin Cheng running slowly, being chased by zombies. Could it be that he was...?
Looking at Lin Cheng's side, the head of the family was so dejected that he was sitting on the ground, looking up at the door and waving his hand, his expression panicked, as if he was begging for something.
Zhang Xiulan's face appeared inside the door. She pointed at Lin Xi with her index finger and said something. Lin Xi couldn't read her lips, but she knew that her expression was anxious mixed with a bit of disgust.
Zhang Xiulan also pointed to her arm.
Lin Xi looked at Lin Cheng's arm and sure enough, there were several bloodstains on his short sleeve!
Lin Cheng didn't join in the shoving between Zhang Xiulan and Liu Caifen, so he didn't have a chance to get injured. Therefore, these bloodstains are very likely from being attacked by zombies during the chase.
Lin Cheng kept waving his hand, seemingly arguing his case.
Lin Xi was too far away to hear the sounds from the other side.
However, the zombies lurking in Liu Caifen's house next door might be able to hear them. Lin Cheng and Zhang Xiulan seemed to realize this as well, and they both glanced at Liu Caifen's house. Seeing no zombies emerging, they lowered their heads and seemed to be talking in hushed tones.
Another person walked out of the door; it was Lin Xi's cousin, Lin Jie.
Lin Jie was still holding a long-handled hoe in his hand. He was thinking...?
Seeing this, Lin Cheng cowered and looked at his son, retreating backward on the ground using both hands and feet.
Zhang Xiulan grabbed Lin Jie around the waist, trying to stop him. Lin Jie remained calm and muttered something, which Zhang Xiulan gradually loosened her grip on him.
Lin Chengze stared wide-eyed in disbelief, but he had already retreated to the courtyard gate. If he retreated any further, he would have to open the gate and run out of the courtyard, which was too unsafe.
But Lin Jie pointed the hoe at him, seemingly trying to force him to leave the courtyard.
It seems they've mistaken Lin Cheng for an infected person.
Lin Jie tried his best to persuade Lin Cheng, but Lin Cheng didn't dare to open the door and go out.
He shook his head and waved his hands frantically, almost kneeling down before his son.
Lin Jie was the eldest grandson of the Lin family, a source of great pride for the family. Even though he didn't do well in school and was not academically successful, he was still a worthy successor to the Lin family line.
Lin Cheng and Zhang Xiulan did not hesitate to bully Lin Xi, an orphan, in order to fight for more property for him. They never expected that one day they would be driven to their deaths by their own pampered son.
Standing at a distance, Lin Xi was not surprised. After witnessing the behavior of Gu Lanjuan and Yang Xin's family, she knew that it was normal for relatives to turn against each other in order to survive in the apocalypse. It could only be said that their family's character was inherently flawed.
Lin Cheng remained at the courtyard gate, still unmutated, arguing and pleading, occasionally pointing to his wounds as if to prove that they weren't caused by a zombie.
But Lin Jie's patience had run out, and he raised the hoe in his hand, giving the old man an ultimatum.
Seeing that reasoning and pleading were useless, Lin Cheng became enraged and stood up abruptly, pointing his trembling index finger at Lin Jie and shouting angrily.
The sound was quite distinct in the quiet night; even Lin Xi's house could hear the angry shouts, though the specific words were unclear.
Curious heads began to pop out from the second floor of nearby houses.
Lin Cheng also realized this and tried to take advantage of the onlookers' desire to watch the spectacle to seize the moral high ground, making his accusations against Lin Jie even more righteous.
Lin Jie was so angry that his hands trembled, and he kept looking around.
Knowing that sound can attract zombies, the longer he and Lin Cheng remain locked in a stalemate, the more dangerous it will be.
But Lin Cheng valued his life. Once he was driven out of the courtyard, he would become a sitting duck for the zombies. He insisted that he was not infected and refused to leave.
Lin Jie glanced at the onlookers upstairs next door, then looked at Lin Cheng, who was furious because his patriarchal authority had been offended, and pointed to his trembling hands, saying, "He's shaking! He's going to mutate!"
"You're talking nonsense..." Lin Chengyuan's eyes suddenly widened, and his gaze slightly downwards fell on the hoe resting on his shoulder.
Blood gushed out, covering most of Lin Cheng's face, and the dull pain rendered him unable to move.
Taking advantage of the moment, Lin Jie pushed open the door and shoved Lin Cheng out.
Lin Cheng clutched his shoulder, powerless to resist, his lips trembling as if he were blaming something.
The smell of blood caused a commotion.
Everyone in the distance, including Lin Xi, saw the shadow moving in the darkness; it was a very tense moment.
Lin Jie slammed the iron gate shut. Zhang Xiulan quickly retreated back into the house, leaning halfway out and waving to Lin Jie: "Xiao Jie, come back quickly!! The zombies are coming out!"
Lin Jie didn't move. Amidst everyone's astonished gazes, he slowly knelt down and kowtowed to Lin Cheng outside the iron gate.
"Dad, I'm so sorry... You've been infected with the virus, and I can't bring myself to kill you directly. This is the only way. Please run..."
Lin Jie seemed unafraid of attracting the zombies closer with his voice, speaking in a loud voice that the nearby residents could hear clearly.
After saying that, he went home and closed the door.
Lin Cheng, standing outside the iron gate, clutched his shoulder and trembled, muttering incoherently as he looked around, seemingly cursing his family who had abandoned him or pleading for help.
Blood kept gushing from his shoulder, soaking through his clothes.
Zombies are not only sensitive to sound, but also stimulated by the strong smell of blood.
Soon Lin Cheng saw zombies rushing towards him. His survival instinct drove him to frantically bang on the door, but he knew they wouldn't open it, so he had no choice but to run away.
He was already clumsy, and now that he was injured, he moved even slower. He was quickly pounced on by the zombies, and then two other zombies pounced on him as well, causing a commotion.
Lin Xi silently put down the binoculars.
Whether Lin Cheng was infected with the virus or not, she didn't know. Perhaps he was caught by zombies during his escape with Zhang Xiulan, or perhaps, as he himself said, he was scratched by a door.
But none of that matters. He returned home with his wounds, already sentenced to death by his family.
Although Lin Cheng was not killed by Lin Jie, he was directly involved.
In the apocalypse, people dare not face the zombies, but their fear directly leads to the death of their loved ones.
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