“I’ve considered that question myself; the zombies don’t seem to be very good at finding people to eat—” Old Cao began, his brow furrowing again. “Wait.” “Rather, I’ve never seen zombies eat people.” “I’ve only seen them bite people, and after biting…”
Suppressing his fear, Old Cao recalled the zombie ambush that had just unfolded.
There had been no scene of zombies swarming to devour human flesh.
Zombies had tackled their targets, tearing at them, sending blood and gore flying.
Yet, he hadn’t witnessed any zombies swallowing flesh or their throats constricting.
If the driving force behind the zombies’ actions was truly hunger, then after tackling a target, biting, and drawing blood, they should have been drawn by the scent of gore, swarming over to sate themselves.
However, in the recent battle in the corridor, the zombies didn’t appear to be ‘hunting’ so much as simply killing.
They hadn’t immediately consumed their prey, which would have given the survivors an opportunity to ambush them.
Instead, they seemed focused on biting survivors, ensuring infection, and then… moving on to find the next survivor to bite.
A chill snaked through Old Cao’s heart.
‘Could the horde actually possess tactics?’ he wondered.
‘Do they prioritize eliminating all survivors before slowly indulging in blood and flesh?’
Further discussion of the zombies’ physiological traits would yield no answers, so the group shifted their focus to the issue of rescue.
More than ten days had passed, and there was no sign of military activity in the city whatsoever.
Little Ye shared what she had learned online while in Du Lan’s room: the country did indeed have countermeasures, having designated 50 relatively safe cities across the nation.
“Jianning, huh…”
Jing Lan, upon learning that his own hometown was now considered a safer city, offered a self-deprecating smile.
“If Ling Yechen’s final exams had been later, and we had departed later, planning to spend some time in Jianning first, perhaps…”
“Then I’d be gone!”
“Heavens, I’m clearly not even in your thoughts—” Keke grumbled indignantly.
Old Cao leaned against the nearest wall.
“Only two safe zones in an entire province?”
“That’s truly alarming.”
“If it’s not because the higher echelons of the government haven’t yet designated more safe zones, but because there genuinely are only these few dozen cities that qualify as such, then it implies that vast numbers of military personnel were directly infected, entire units at a time.”
“Otherwise, given the caliber of our nation’s military, even if a city had just one regiment, or even fewer soldiers, equipped with modern weapons, they could entirely suppress zombies that only bite, and immediately commence rescue operations.”
“While it might not be possible to save everyone instantly, there certainly shouldn’t be this absolute silence, as there is now.”
Jing Lan wanted to voice his long-held suspicion: that there must be a transmission route other than biting.
However, noticing some sleepless survivors in the corridor leaning in, seemingly listening to their conversation, he swallowed his words.
Uttering such a possibility could easily exacerbate the pervasive fear.
“That’s why I previously theorized that military camps might be safe zones, and we could try to approach them,” Old Cao continued.
“Now, it seems we might need to stay far away instead.”
“Zombies that were once soldiers are likely far more formidable than ordinary ones,” Old Cao stated grimly.
“We can’t determine how to proceed outside the camp at this moment.”
“What about going into the wilderness?” Old Li inquired.
“The wilderness also harbors some truly bizarre and unsettling things…”
Jing Lan briefly described the anomalous, leech-like creature he had encountered earlier.
“It’s highly probable that various animals could also mutate, which would make the wilderness incredibly dangerous.”
“For instance, snakes could turn into zombies,” Little Ye offered.
Jing Lan froze for a moment, his expression suddenly turning peculiar.
“How do you know that?”
‘Damn it, I’ve let something slip again.’
‘Seeing a zombie snake was something that happened when I was still a boy.’
“I saw one, right there on the street.”
“On the city streets?”
“Snakes?”
“In a place like this, it’s not strange for there to be snakes in the city, is it?” Little Ye insisted, trying to sound confident.
In truth, she wasn’t certain what the urban ecosystem here was like.
Somewhat unexpectedly, Jing Lan seemed to immediately accept her explanation.
In fact, Jing Lan had indeed heard rumors of snakes descending from the mountains into the city here.
Even if such occurrences were rare, nothing seemed particularly strange anymore.
“That would be truly problematic.”
“Snakes slithering into the city does happen here from time to time, and if we were to encounter zombie snakes, we’d be utterly defenseless.”
Jing Lan’s voice trailed off as he spoke.
“I suggest we don’t share this information with others; we can’t let panic spread.”
“If there are zombie snakes, simply adding a few more patrolmen wouldn’t guarantee anyone’s safety.”
Under the dim beam of the flashlight, the faces of those present appeared somber.
****
The group quickly divided their immediate tasks.
Old Cao and a few other older men went to deal with the remaining corpses in the parking lot—they would temporarily pile them in a corner, later needing to move them further away or cremate them.
Jing Lan intended to personally search a nearby hospital for medicine.
“The best-case scenario would be to find a doctor,” he stated.
“Doctors are the most crucial human resource right now.”
Little Ye declared she would accompany him—no one voiced any objections.
A subtle fear now lingered in everyone’s hearts regarding this almost alien-like girl; her white hair, stained with blood, was as striking as a fresh bandage on a warrior.
The enigmatic silhouette, a blend of fragile appearance and impressive combat skills, exuded an aura that transcended the ordinary, leaving anyone who wished to speak with her feeling uncertain of how to approach.
Another burly man also volunteered to go along.
This man, Kong Cheng, was tall with a round head, and was the same individual who had nearly thrown a tantrum before the zombies ascended the stairs; he reeked of sweat.
“I’m familiar with this area; I can help.”
Keke glanced at her cousin, silently asking, ‘What do you think of this guy?’
Based on his previous behavior, the man wasn’t malicious, but he possessed a volatile temper.
“Then you can go too.”
“Keke, you should stay here and rest.”
Keke did not refuse—her face was now a sickly bluish-white, and her eyelids were fighting to stay open.
Having been rescued from the brink of starvation only yesterday, her body was far from recovered.
While willpower might overcome exhaustion, it couldn’t conquer cramps.
Forcing herself to continue fighting could lead to a sudden and violent protest from her body, which would be fatal.
The injured person’s condition was not optimistic; immediate action was imperative.
However, a problem arose during the final preparations.
They discovered approximately thirty or more zombies persistently blocking the main entrance.
Perhaps attracted by the earlier commotion, the zombies, much like workers demanding their wages, patiently shuffled in small steps around the iron gate, never straying far.
The original plan was to drive out, but with so many zombies gathered at the iron gate, doing so would be extremely perilous.
Jing Lan drove the car that had previously crushed zombies in the parking lot to the iron gate, stopped, and turned off the engine, urging everyone to remain silent to see if the zombies would gradually disperse once they detected no movement.
After waiting for five minutes, peering through the gap beneath the iron gate, they observed no change in the zombies’ shuffling gait.
“Do the zombies’ alert levels not naturally decrease…?” Little Ye muttered from the passenger seat.
Many reasons were plausible.
Perhaps it was the corpses, or the lingering bloodstains on the ground—when the horde of zombies had been crushed earlier, many had burst open, making it impossible to immediately clean up the blood and fragments of internal organs.
Earlier, Jing Lan and Ling Yechen had conducted a simple test during their overnight stay at the farmhouse inn, concluding that zombies were likely attracted by scent.
The scent of blood, then, was very likely the factor drawing them in.
However, time was truly of the essence; if they wished to save the critically wounded Zhao Long, waiting for the smell of blood to slowly dissipate was not an option.
“Get out of the car first.”
Jing Lan opened the car door, and the three of them exited together.
“Can’t get out?”
Old Cao, having finished clearing the corpses, ran over, tilting his head to listen for sounds beyond the gate.
“That’s trouble then; we absolutely can’t get out this way.”
“The moment the gate opens, they’ll all rush in.”
“However, there’s another exit from this camp.”
Jing Lan immediately interjected, “Are you referring to the front door of the convenience store?”
The convenience store where Jing Lan, Little Ye, and the others had rested earlier connected to the parking lot via its back door, while its front entrance was naturally a roller shutter door facing a small alley, currently closed.
If the zombies were indeed drawn by the scent of blood, the main parking lot gate, a sheet metal door, was currently precariously secured with handcuffs, leaving a significant gap through which odors could certainly escape.
The convenience store’s front door, however, was tightly shut, suggesting the scent of blood might not permeate through it.
“Yes.”
“But if you take the convenience store route, you’ll have to travel entirely on foot—” Old Cao turned his head, glancing in the direction of the hospital.
“The journey is less than a kilometer, but several sections are main streets, and your bullets will absolutely not be enough.”
Just now, besides the significant ammunition expended in defending the second floor, Jing Lan and Keke had also used a considerable amount of bullets to clear nearby zombies when closing the parking lot gate.
Currently, the three-person team carried only an AK with a dozen or so rounds, a P22 with a single magazine, and a Type 92 pistol, which they left for Old Cao, instructing him not to take all the ammunition.
“We can try our best to avoid combat; I’m quite familiar with this area,” Jing Lan stated, mentally reviewing the layout of the nearby streets.
He realized, however, that some details were actually a bit hazy.
After all, this wasn’t where he had lived for years.
Keke had previously possessed a map marking important supply points—but it was of little use now.
As a high school geography student might put it, the map’s scale was too small, lacking crucial detail.
“I can’t feel at ease when you say things like that,” Old Cao sighed.
“What I actually mean is,” he lowered his voice, “otherwise, just forget it.”
“Deaths are… deaths are unavoidable now.”
“And if the camp loses you all too, then it’s truly over.”
“If we’re not going to be of any use, then what difference does it make whether we’re here or not?” Little Ye pressed forward, speaking with a touch of timidity but resolute conviction.
Old Cao silently gazed into the white-haired girl’s eyes, nodding only after a long moment.
“Alright, I’m not in a position to stop you now.”
“Then I’ll ask you one last question—Kong Cheng, you listen carefully too.”
“If you’re truly cornered, and you need to abandon your companions to survive, what will you do?”
“My companions and I will live and die together,” Little Ye answered, her tone cold and decisive—it was somewhat abrupt, almost stunning Old Cao.
“Are you certain?”
“Certain.”
Kong Cheng chimed in, “I’m the most loyal.
If my brothers are in trouble, I never run.”
Old Cao then turned to Jing Lan.
“What about you?”
Jing Lan cursed Old Cao inwardly.
He detested these kinds of moral dilemmas, which, detached from practical circumstances, always devolved into a tug-of-war of abstract concepts.
Yet, he already held a very clear answer in his heart.
He had a mission to complete, and when necessary, sacrifices would have to be made.
If a universally happy outcome truly wasn’t possible, then under absolute rationality, treating human lives as data to maximize benefit was an unavoidable strategy.
He found himself somewhat unable to comprehend Little Ye’s thinking.
Why would this girl so resolutely declare that she would live and die with her companions?
‘I’m not her lover, after all,’ Jing Lan mused.
‘I should probably try to talk her out of being so eager to play the hero later.’
“My mission is to survive and return safely, achieving my objectives as much as possible.”
Jing Lan tried to discern the subtle shifts in Old Cao’s expression, guessing that he wasn’t an unyielding extremist humanitarian (or, as some might say, a “saint”), and thus offered an answer he hoped would satisfy him.
“Excellent.”
“That’s precisely the mindset to have.”
Old Cao smiled, patting the young man’s shoulder.
“Little Kong, you shouldn’t talk about loyalty either.
Of course it’s good to save others, but if saving someone means both of you end up finished, then running away alone isn’t shameful, understand?”
Kong Cheng blinked, shaking his head up and down in a somewhat dazed manner, unsure if he was agreeing.
“And you, Little Sister, with your excellent skills, there’s even less need to live and die with others…”
“I’ve considered that aspect.”
“But I’ve already promised…”
‘Promised what?’
‘To be the bodyguard for a friend she cherished?’
Little Ye found it somewhat difficult to explain to herself her current feelings for Jing Lan.
“My own will is to protect others.”
“Even if you yourself might…”
“I don’t care.”
Little Ye tried her best to keep her tone calm, though she could feel a slight surge of excitement within herself.
“You truly are interesting.”
“I’ve never met anyone quite like you.”
Old Cao smiled meaningfully.
“Come on, let’s go check out the convenience store.”
Behind the convenience store’s roller shutter door, it was indeed very quiet.
Observing through the window, there were no figures in the alley either.
However, the roller shutter door would be extremely noisy if opened or closed, making it impossible to use.
“You should go across the rooftops,” Keke, who was preparing for sleep, suggested to the group.
“From now on, you’ll probably have to force yourselves to learn urban parkour.”
“Oh, right, Big Brother, don’t forget to stop by my place on the way.
Your ‘special weapon’ is there.”