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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Forty-Eight: The Patient
Luci turned around inexplicably, noticing the tense expressions on several faces. Unable to help herself, she pulled out two stress balls.
"Meow..."
A Tabby Cat, about the size of a forearm, poked its head out from Luci's arms. Sneaky glanced at the group and let out a low purring sound.
"Damn!" Jiang He and the others relaxed their guard and followed Luci into the Small Building in single file.
"Seriously? There's nothing to eat, yet you keep a cat?" Chao Yifan scoffed, unceremoniously plopping down onto the leather sofa in the living room.
Cao Liang merely smiled in response. He used a lighter to ignite the candlesticks on the TV stand and coffee table, inviting everyone to sit comfortably. "These little creatures don't require much care, and they're more sensitive to danger than people."
"That's true," Ming Junwei said as he surveyed the two-story space before circling back to the living room. "Little Pan's Yellow Dog is quite clever."
"Yeah, clever until danger strikes, then it's nowhere to be found," Jiang He chuckled as he slipped into the bathroom beneath the spiral staircase.
The house was quite spacious, around two hundred square meters. Cao Liang only lit the candles in the living room, casting a warm orange glow throughout.
Luci ignored the group of ruffians and hurriedly pulled An Zheng upstairs. Ming Junwei exchanged a knowing glance with Song Yao, who silently followed suit.
"This place isn't bad," Chao Yifan said comfortably nestled in the sofa, turning to Cao Liang. "Have you two been hiding out here all this time?"
"There were originally four of us, but we lost one recently," Cao Liang replied generously. He rummaged through the kitchen in the dark for a while before emerging with a basket of carrots, which he thumped onto the coffee table. "Not much else; just make do with this."
The group wasted no time, grabbing a carrot each and munching away like a bunch of rabbits.
"What do you do? Local?" Ming Junwei asked after finishing one carrot, licking his lips but feeling shy about taking another.
"I'm an Outdoor Coach. About two months ago, I took a bus to the city for a trip, but there was some trouble at a Service Area along the way—many people died. Xiaoqian and I took advantage of the chaos to climb over some barbed wire and escape," Cao Liang said as he accepted a cigarette from Ming Junwei and took a deep drag. "We’ve been running for about two days now and somehow ended up in this village."
“Service Area?” Jiang He suddenly sat up straight and asked, “Is it the last Service Area leading to City? The Two-Story Office Building, with a Gas Station next to it?”
“Yeah, have you been there?” Cao Liang's eyes brightened as he looked at the others with interest.
Jiang He swallowed hard, exchanged glances with Ming Junwei and the others, and then recounted everything they had seen at the toll station. When he mentioned the little girl they found in the kitchen, Cao Liang's expression noticeably changed.
“What a coincidence, I was on that same bus…” Cao Liang lowered his eyelids, stroking his chin where stubble had turned blue, murmuring, “There were indeed soldiers who came by at that time, but I didn’t see the other group you mentioned. So it seems I’m lucky to have run fast.”
The group couldn’t deny it; they thought how small the world was that they could encounter survivors from that batch of passengers.
“I remember that little girl you mentioned; I was sitting right behind them. The Girl was quite well-behaved.” Reflecting on the past, Cao Liang sighed a bit. “What about that Girl?”
Ming Junwei spread his hands with a somber expression. “A few days ago there was a flood in the mountains, and the camp collapsed… We lost many people, and the little girl is missing too.”
The atmosphere fell silent for a moment. Speaking of the camp inevitably reminded them of Old Bai and the others who were responsible for covering their retreat. It had only been three or four hours since they descended from the mountain; by now, Old Bai and his team should have caught up.
The three from Pillar felt a bit downcast and requested to step outside for some fresh air while keeping watch.
“Are you all… military personnel?” Cao Liang glanced at their firearms, feeling somewhat puzzled.
“The three outside are; we’re just ordinary people,” Ming Junwei replied honestly. After considering for a moment, he asked, “What are your plans? Are you just going to hide here?”
“Hmm, for now we don’t have any other ideas. Besides occasional Zombies in the woods, it’s quite safe here,” Cao Liang said with a harmless smile. “The well in Village is dirty, but fortunately it’s not far from the reservoir. The Corn Vegetables in the fields have all died, but every household in Village has food and seeds. As long as we can get through this winter, we can plant our own crops later.”
Jiang He and the others nodded repeatedly; in these chaotic times, being self-sufficient was undoubtedly a wise choice. With a safe camp and water source, they could survive.
“And you? Did you come down from the mountain?”
“Yes, there’s a Power Station at the top; do you know about it?”
"I'm not quite sure. We haven't been anywhere outside the reservoir."
Cao Liang seemed to have been holding back for a long time. He had become quite familiar with Jiang He and the others through their exchanges. Chao Yifan and Pan Luo showed little interest in chatting, each leaning back in a corner of the sofa with their eyes closed, while the graduate student remained curled up in silence, pretending to be dead.
Jiang He and Ming Junwei were more talkative. Before long, the three of them had finished an entire pack of cigarettes, filling the living room with a thick haze.
"Don't worry, we won't disturb you for long. We'll leave early tomorrow morning," Ming Junwei mentioned briefly about the troubles his group was facing. Noticing Cao Liang's troubled expression, he proactively assured him they wouldn't stay too long.
Cao Liang chuckled and said, "You misunderstood. The world has changed now. I can tell you aren't bad people; otherwise, with all these weapons around, we would only suffer in silence."
As they spoke, An Zheng and his group came down from the second floor. Luci, holding Tabby Cat, frowned and waved her hand to fan away the smoke, saying irritably, "There are patients upstairs; can you smoke less?"
The three men exchanged awkward smiles and extinguished their cigarettes in the ashtray.
An Zheng noticed a few people were missing and asked curiously, "Where are Zhuzi and the others?"
"On lookout outside. How's it going up there?" Ming Junwei made space for the three women to sit down and picked up a carrot to munch on.
"Not good. It seems like acute Gastroenteritis; there are already signs of dehydration. We don't have any medicine here, and if this continues, it could lead to complications," An Zheng said as he pinched his brow, holding the little boy in his arms. "How far is the county hospital?"
"About forty kilometers away, but there are quite a few Zombies in the county. We initially planned to look for supplies, but we were blocked by Zombies before we even got into town," Luci said anxiously as she grabbed An Zheng's arm and shook it. "Dr. An, please think of a way to save Wheat. Her health has always been poor; I'm afraid she..."
"Don't worry," An Zheng nodded understandingly and gently patted her hand.
"What medicine do we need? Gastroenteritis shouldn't be too serious, right?" Jiang He raised an eyebrow, realizing they would likely need to make a trip to the hospital. They had scavenged extensively at Central Hospital before leaving town but ended up discarding everything impulsively at the Service Area.
"It can be serious or mild," An Zheng adjusted his hair and counted on his fingers. "Glucose and atropine tablets aren't prescription drugs; you can find them at any pharmacy."
Cao Liang immediately stood up, grabbed a coat from the hanger, and said, "There's no time to waste; I'll go find them."
"I'll go with you," Luci said decisively, standing up and heading for the door.
An Zheng shrugged and exchanged a questioning glance with Jiang He and Ming Junwei.
"Wait a minute, sis. You stay here to take care of your friend, and let Old Cao take us," Ming Junwei stopped Luci, rising to his feet. "It's just right; our people are injured too, so it works out."
Luci turned around, biting her lip in silence, but her gaze softened slightly as she looked at everyone.
"Dr. An, why don't you check if you need any more medicine? Make a list," Ming Junwei called back the three people who had been keeping watch outside, planning to discuss the matter of getting medicine.
An Zheng nodded and followed Luci to find paper and a pen. The group gathered around the tea table to brainstorm.
Chao Yifan listened to their plans with a somewhat displeased expression. However, despite his annoyance, he did not object and simply said lightly, "I won't go; I'll stay behind to guard the place."
"Yeah, your injury is serious too; you need to rest well," Ming Junwei replied as he took the paper and pen from Luci and handed them to Cao Liang. "Let's sketch something out. We made impulsive mistakes before; this time we need to do our homework first."
Cao Liang nodded, biting the end of the pen as he carefully recalled their previous experiences.
"Brother Ming, you all stay here. I'll take Xiaomi and the others with me," Zhuzi said, two years younger than Ming Junwei. Without hesitation, he agreed when he heard they were going to find medicine to save someone.
"No way. We need to leave someone here to guard. It's fine for us to run errands, but if those guys come after us, it could be a big problem." Ming Junwei's tone was serious.
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