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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Ninety-Eight: A Familiar Face (Part Two)
Jiang He overestimated his climbing abilities and underestimated the difficulty of the barbed wire.
This kind of barbed wire was only meant to prevent villagers from accessing the highway; it was not like the ones used in zoos to contain tigers, lions, or bears. Therefore, it was not as rigid as Jiang He had imagined. The wire was thin, about the thickness of a noodle, crisscrossed to form a fishing net. It was sturdy enough, but it shook uncontrollably inside and out. Perhaps it had been battered by Zombies for too long; the wire's resilience had its limits, bending and warping until it became a movable mesh of wire.
The holes in the barbed wire were large enough for fingers to slip through, but not for toes. If the wire had been taut, he could have leveraged the grooves between the holes with his toes, but now it swayed back and forth so much that when he tried to push off with his feet, he could only sink into the wire without gaining any leverage.
After struggling for half a day, Jiang He's fingers were sore and his arms were growing weak. Reluctantly, he pulled out a rag from his pocket and placed it in his palm to pad against the sharp end of the upright wire. With a flurry of kicks and a burst of energy, he finally managed to hoist himself up just before the wire pierced through his palm.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch..." Jiang He felt sharp pains in his palm and abdomen from the jagged wire. Holding his breath, he rolled over and tumbled out onto the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
In contrast, Jin Bo showed no signs of fatigue. He pierced through a Zombie's skull effortlessly and leaped up lightly on tiptoe. With a swift motion, he plunged his long knife into one of the higher holes in the barbed wire, using it to propel himself high into the air as if performing acrobatics. He landed steadily beside Jiang He.
"..." Jiang He brushed off the dirt from his clothes, trying to act as if nothing had happened.
"Are you alright?" Jin Bo asked.
"..." Jiang He firmly shook his head. The two waved goodbye to the Zombies outside the barbed wire and headed deeper down the path.
As they passed by a garbage heap swarming with flies and mosquitoes, they paused for a moment. Aside from household waste, there were mostly dead fish—thousands of them in various sizes—already rotting away and mixed with all sorts of trash, creating an unbearable stench.
"The fish from Nantang are quite famous; what a shame," Jin Bo said while pinching his nose in disgust. "They could feed so many people."
"Then why throw them away?" Jiang He asked in confusion.
"I chopped up some Zombies and tossed them into Fish Pond," Jin Bo replied as he turned to continue walking. He added casually, "Uncle Two instructed me to do so."
Jiang He looked at Jin Bo's gaunt figure and found himself at a loss for words. He could guess part of what was happening but suddenly recalled Principal Huang and his group back in town. Curiously, he asked, "You have quite a few people from Nantang; can't you go out and raid for food? How is that bald guy surviving? In town, we searched everywhere and found nothing edible except for piles of corpses—and there are still a bunch of kids."
Jin Bo climbed up a Poplar tree, parted some branches to survey the area for any Outposts before jumping back down.
"Whether it's in towns or counties, there are plenty of farmlands around here. He feeds those kids by farming," Jin Bo said as they walked intermittently, occasionally waving for Jiang He to stop while continuing to talk. "Kids are obedient and eat less. Most Zombies in the county were cleared out early on; those that remain have been kept under control—it's quite safe."
"I just wonder, are you raising Zombies to seek death?"
"You've been wandering around, so you naturally don't know the importance of Zombies," Jin Bo chuckled, revealing a gaze that belied his age. "Zombies have noses sharper than dogs and ears that work well. They can go without food or water for a month or two without dying. Where else can you find such a guard dog?"
"Hmph." Jiang He scoffed coldly. "Yeah, I've never seen a guard dog that treats its owner as a snack."
"Isn't that your fault!" Jin Bo glared at him.
"Even though I can't beat you, if you keep spouting nonsense, I won't mind splattering you with blood," Jiang He shot back with an eye roll, stepping in front of him. "I'm not here to argue with you. Let's finish this quickly and go our separate ways."
Jin Bo quickly changed the subject, curiosity piqued. "With the dead and injured on your side, where do you plan to go next? Leaving the Air Raid Shelter won't give you much time to live, right?"
"Didn't the person who taught you how to kill also teach you how to talk to people?" Jiang He was too exhausted to roll his eyes again. Seeing that he wasn't joking, he sighed. "We're going to find someone and then kill him."
"Hahahaha." Jin Bo suddenly burst into laughter, covering his mouth to avoid being too loud, shaking with mirth.
"What are you laughing at?"
"You guys? Going after someone else?"
"What’s wrong? You can fight, but how come your girl is dead too?"
"…"
The two of them glared at each other again, staring like turtles facing off for a long moment before both turned their heads away, ignoring one another.
After walking a short distance, they paused as rustling sounds came from a nearby Poplar Tree. A young man dressed in camouflage quietly descended from it. His face was painted with camouflage paint, and he sported a bird's nest on his head as if he wanted everyone to know he was a Scout.
The young man peeked out from behind a mound of dirt, watching the two young men make their way toward the camp with uneven steps. He pulled out a walkie-talkie from his pocket and whispered into it.
Su Lan and Zeng Yadong were living together, and Cheng Long had arranged for someone to clean out a tidy room as a welcome gesture.
Previously mentioned, Nantang Township is not large, with a main road lined with residential houses and shops, and more Fish Ponds. In the past, the houses were all Rough-Cast Houses, but after contracting the Fish Pond, the economy improved. The uneven Rough-Cast Houses were all torn down and replaced with red-roofed bungalows, totaling over twenty households. Each house has the same internal layout: two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. In front of each household, there is a low wall with a half-height black Iron Gate. The yard is small but sufficient for the residents to plant flowers and grass.
Su Lan had never imagined that such a living environment would exist in this marginal area. Her ancestral home is in Jiangsu, and she moved abroad when she was very young. After graduating from school, she joined a biological company’s project team alongside her senior Wang Chengyu, gradually working her way up from an intern to a senior researcher. Her team’s work cycle lasts six months, after which they have free vacation time. As a young, beautiful woman with wealth and leisure, she spent all her time traveling, covering various parts of the globe over the years.
Six months before the Cataclysm, it was time for her to enter the research lab again. At that moment, she received an order transferring her to an outer team at Central Hospital in a certain city. She did not know what this meant at the time and happily went along, planning to resign after this project ended. She had already decided that there were many places she wanted to visit; once she had explored them all, she would settle down in her favorite location.
Then came the Cataclysm.
Su Lan reclined on a lounge chair in the small courtyard, wearing sunglasses and basking in the warm sunlight without a care in the world. This feeling was familiar; it felt like returning to some vacation resort where she would wake up to find her enthusiastic senior excitedly sharing various experimental results with her.
The aroma of grilled meat and charcoal smoke pulled Su Lan's thoughts back from her daydreaming about vacation spots. She turned her head to see Zeng Yadong squatting beside a small stove, flipping skewers with his left hand while vigorously fanning the flames with his right hand to make the charcoal burn brightly.
“…” Su Lan found herself swallowing involuntarily as she thought about her earlier reverie. Looking at the scene before her made her chuckle in amusement: “What are you doing?”
“Grilling skewers!” Zeng Yadong was busy as ever, having unearthed a pile of jars and bottles from somewhere and sprinkling seasoning over them in what looked like an impressive manner.
Su Lan sat up and looked at the sizzling chicken wings and meat skewers on the grill in surprise: “Where did you get these?”
“Ah?” I found them in the kitchen; it seems this family used to run a barbecue stall.
“I mean, where did the meat come from?” Su Lan took off her glasses and looked around. It was common knowledge that food was scarce in their camp; everyone was conserving water and rice. Yet here was Zeng Yadong hosting an outdoor barbecue.
“Shh, it's Gu Yan's.” Zeng Yadong squinted conspiratorially and said, “The delicate gentleman loves chicken; he secretly raised several!”
“You… stole it?” Su Lan couldn’t help but chuckle as she glanced at Gu Yan’s workstation across the way.
“I’ll save him a chicken butt later.” Zeng Yadong was too tempted; he picked up a skewer and brought it close to his mouth for a taste but yelped as it burned him.
Su Lan found it amusing and felt her own appetite stirring. Life on the road these days was nothing compared to being at the base; there were no regular meals provided—sometimes full and sometimes hungry—it was quite exhausting.
“Isn’t it bad if someone sees us?” Su Lan walked over to the Fence gate; there weren’t many people strolling on the street. The mayor’s courtyard was bustling with activity while their neighbors seemed absent.
"The town head called for a meeting, hurry up and eat, we should be heading out soon," Zeng Yadong said as he picked up a nearly burnt chicken wing and pushed it into the tray he handed to Su Lan. "Are you going?"
"Going for what? Didn't they say I don't need to handle equipment maintenance anymore?"
"I heard they're going to Daliugou." Zeng Yadong spoke with his mouth full, his eyes suddenly drifting towards Su Lan's back, and then he grinned widely. "Hey! A little glutton has come in, come on, taste your sister's cooking!"
Su Lan turned around at the sound of his voice and froze in place at the sight behind her.
The courtyard where Cheng Long was located used to be a center for middle-aged and elderly activities. Besides the ping pong tables in the yard, there were automatic mahjong tables in the side rooms, and a variety of ethnic musical instruments like suonas and erhus filled the space. Silk fans, donkeys, and big-headed dolls used for folk dances were piled high in one room.
Cheng Long found this place spacious enough to serve as a base. Usually, it was just him and Gu Yan living here, only gathering the neighborhood watch team and women's federation during meetings.
The original mahjong tables had been rearranged into a long table. Cheng Long sat at the head, with Town Grass Chen Zhao Zhou on his left and a young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes named Song Zhiping on his right. He was the true village official of Nantang. Below them sat Cheng Long's four comrades along with representatives of local villagers and outsiders.
Behind these people stood several men and women, mostly idle women and young girls who didn’t need to participate in defense duties, so they had time to come in and listen. Cheng Long never forbade them from attending; however, important matters were rarely discussed here.
The women were cracking sunflower seeds while whispering among themselves, their eyes fixed on the cold-faced Chen Zhao Zhou, occasionally sharing hushed comments with their companions. Chen Zhao Zhou ignored them completely, showing no change in expression.
At the end of the long table sat Old Timer and Zheng Qiutong, who was constantly looking outside as if searching for someone. Old Timer surveyed the people around him, secretly sighing to himself: Damn it, it's good to be on solid ground.
After a moment, Cheng Long cleared his throat to quiet the surrounding noise and smiled lightly. "It's commendable that Uncle Pao made a special trip here; we need to discuss this matter. How about we first take Uncle Two's daughter somewhere to rest? The cafeteria still has food; let’s fill our stomachs."
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