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墨書 Inktalez
Act 37: Whispers of Spring
"I told her, back in the day we lived well, enjoying life without a care. Now look at me, working like a dog. Oh, it’s exhausting!" A middle-aged man with pale skin and a plump figure leaned against the trench, venting his frustrations to a young man beside him.
The young man, with a waxy complexion but bright white teeth, found his animated gestures amusing. He spoke in heavily accented Mandarin, "Big brother, I can't understand what you're saying. Just focus on your work and stop complaining."
"Alright, alright, no more talking. I'm off to relieve myself," the middle-aged man waved his hand dismissively, dropped his shovel, and scrambled out of the trench, heading towards the wild woods downstream to take a leak.
It was afternoon, and the spring sun was not too harsh. A gentle breeze swept through the woods, making it quite pleasant.
The Fat Man found a patch of thick grass and hurriedly unbuckled his Crocodile Belt Buckle. Facing the wind, he let out a stream of murky water. He shivered with delight, shook off some water, then squatted down on the ground. From his pocket, he pulled out a flat box and opened it to reveal several sealed plastic bags about the size of matchboxes stacked inside. The Fat Man took one bag, glanced around to ensure no one was watching, and seeing that the trench was still bustling with activity, he sat down comfortably. He opened the bag and evenly sprinkled the white powder over the surface of the box. With his pinky finger, he scooped some powder and brought it to his nostrils for a deep inhale.
"Hiss~~" The Fat Man trembled all over as a wave of pleasure washed over his tense face. He closed his eyes and blissfully lay back on the ground, feeling like a carefree deity.
"Ahh~~ what a bunch of fools." The Fat Man spread his limbs wide, relishing this rare moment of leisure in springtime. He listened to the gentle breeze weaving through the trees and caught the sound of waves lapping against the riverbank.
Once wealthy and accustomed to indulgence, he loved going to the Bund to feel the night breeze and enjoy the sensation of Huangpu River water splashing against his face. He appreciated the sound of river water crashing against rocks—not as tumultuous as the sea but distinct from the tranquil babbling of streams. The woods were close to the riverbank; he could hear its flowing sounds clearly. Lost in memories, he felt as if he were by Huangpu River again, reluctant to rise.
"Hey," after lying there for a while, the Fat Man sensed something was off; why did he hear not only waves but also grunting sounds?
Curious, he sat up and crouched down to follow that faint noise. Taking a few steps downstream and parting some bushes, confusion froze on his face.
The lush grass by the river stretched endlessly toward the horizon. The sight before him dazzled his eyes and shattered any sense of superiority he had just moments before.
"Damn it," the Fat Man swallowed hard as his eyes fixated on a girl he could never forget after just one glance—her disheveled long hair lifted slightly to reveal her charming face beneath.
Fat Man's breath quickened as he recognized the woman; she was the sweet-voiced girl who had been hanging around the new boss at the camp. As for the man, he had no impression of him. Fat Man felt a pang of jealousy, wondering why he wasn't as fortunate as this guy, who seemed to be enjoying himself in broad daylight without a care.
His eyes nearly sparked with anger as he glanced at his own belly, then at the man's chiseled abs and toned physique. Fat Man quickly dismissed the idea of trying to take advantage of the situation, lingering for a few more moments before hurrying back to the trench.
The young man he had been chatting with earlier was squatting by the edge of the trench, puffing on a cigarette and grinning at him.
"Hey, brother, your kidneys must be weak; you've been holding it for so long," the young man teased.
"Come on, stop joking around. I just saw La San," Fat Man eagerly shared his new discovery but suddenly paused, pointing at the cigarette between Young Man's fingers with confusion. "Where did you get that?"
" Brother Jiu just handed them out; everyone has one," Young Man replied cheerfully, gesturing around him. Fat Man looked around and indeed saw that everyone who wasn't working was smoking.
"That's mine!" Fat Man exclaimed anxiously.
" Brother Jiu said those who aren't here don't get any," Young Man grinned widely, showing off his white teeth.
"Damn it!" Fat Man cursed under his breath but then relaxed; after all, he had his magic pills and didn't really care. He reached into his pocket only to realize he hadn't taken the box with him when he stumbled off to find water earlier.
"Damn it all!" Fat Man blurted out in frustration, causing Young Man to burst into laughter until tears streamed down his face.
Young Man clutched his stomach, laughing uncontrollably. With a flourish, he pulled out a cigarette from behind his ear and tossed it to Fat Man. "Just kidding! Everyone gets one. Look how panicked you are; your accent even changed!"
Fat Man could hardly care about the cigarette anymore. He turned around, intending to go back and look for it, but as he turned his head, he happened to see that alluring girl laughing and chatting with Young Man. What made Fat Man feel even more furious was that the girl was playing with the medicine box he had dropped in the bushes.
“Tsk tsk, brother, you used to be so impressive. Have you ever kept a beauty of this caliber?” Young Man laughed as he leaned closer to Fat Man, his eyes filled with envy. He murmured, “If it weren't for the mess caused by Zombie, she would definitely be a star.”
“A star? She's just a La San,” Fat Man couldn't muster the courage to demand it back and could only watch helplessly as the girl walked into the doorway, disappearing from view.
“What’s a La San?” Young Man asked.
“Just a whore,” Fat Man switched to Mandarin and cursed loudly, swinging his shovel vigorously, trying to alleviate his inner pain through hard labor.
Young Man scoffed, flicked away his cigarette butt, and jumped down into the trench, muttering, “Sour grapes. You rich folks are all the same.”
“You little brat,” Fat Man huffed, rubbing his nose. He whispered, “I just saw that girl in the woods doing something with someone. Her skirt was empty underneath; it was broad daylight, no shame at all.”
“Shut up with your nonsense,” Young Man rolled his eyes and ignored the fat man.
Xin Mengfan and Rugged Man parted ways at the Brick Wall. The former headed towards the Cafeteria, while the latter took over the post at the side door, gazing at the departing graceful figure with burning eyes.
The guards nearby envied him, saying, “You’re quite lucky; that beauty must have taken a liking to you.”
“Nope, just went off to do some labor,” the rugged young man casually lied, but the deep red hickey on his neck betrayed him.
“That labor sounds good; let me take a turn next time,” another man said with a lewd grin, making a suggestive motion.
The Song Jiu and Young Men of the Direct Line exchanged cold glances, unable to suppress their sneers.
The Pervert realized he had misspoken and chuckled awkwardly, "I was just thinking out loud, don't take it to heart."
The Direct Descendant Young Man smirked, "Think whatever you want, but keep your mouth shut." He then turned to the rugged man and warned, "Just a heads up, don’t get any ideas. Dream Fan is just looking for fun; she belongs to Brother Jiu."
The Pervert widened his eyes and blurted out without thinking, "Why does your boss want a worn-out shoe?"
With a sharp crack, a heavy slap landed squarely on the Pervert's face.
Holding his cheek, the Pervert mumbled in pain and spat out two teeth.
Xin Mengfan headed to the cafeteria, where only a few Militia guards were having their meals. After asking around, she learned that Sister Jia had been called away by Song Jiu, apparently to see Pockmarked Girl. Those two girls had completely integrated with Dream Fan, and wasn’t that their own place? Xin Mengfan smiled lightly and swayed her hips as she left the cafeteria, leaving a trail of fragrance behind.
Sure enough, before she even entered the door, she could hear Jiao Ziqian shouting. Stepping into the living room, she saw that Song Jiu, Luo Yu, Chef Jia, Jiao Ziqian, Pockmarked Girl, Xiaofei, Liu Yan, Pan Sheng'an, Big Boss, and Small Leader were all gathered together.
"What’s going on?" Xin Mengfan tossed off her slippers and walked barefoot into the room. Her space was carpeted; due to limited resources in the county town, she hadn’t found the coveted wool carpet and had to settle for something else.
Everyone seated around the rosewood round table turned their heads and quieted down.
"Where have you been? We’ve been looking for you forever. Didn’t you see the leadership team was having a meeting?" Jiao Ziqian continued with his big mouth, grinning mischievously. "Wow, why is your face so red?"
"Feeling revitalized," she replied.
"Why has it turned yellow again?"
"It's the cold-resistant wax." Xin Mengfan accompanied him and spontaneously performed a piece from Linhai Xueyuan, flipping her hair as she walked into the bedroom. "You all start first; I'll change my clothes."
" Brother Jiu, let me tell you, it's a good thing you met Dream Fan after the disaster; otherwise, you really wouldn't be able to afford her." Jiao Ziqian raised his crystal goblet and took a sip of the crimson wine, sighing. "You have no idea; in this tiny county town, I estimate that everything of value has been moved into her place." He glanced at Pockmarked Girl and Xiaofei, chuckling. "You two are lucky to live with her; you don't have to worry about anything and can just enjoy yourselves. Damn it, I want to move in too."
"Stop talking nonsense and get back to business." Song Jiu smiled, cutting off his complaints. "Is it really clean in the county town?"
"How could it not be?" Jiao Ziqian gestured towards Xiaofei. "If you don't believe me, do you not trust them? We drove for less than half a day, and the town was so quiet you could hear a ghost. Not a single Zombie encountered, let alone any others. Otherwise, how could we have brought back so much cargo?"
At the mention of "Zombie," Liu Yan's expression changed slightly. Song Jiu noticed and glanced at Chef Jia before speaking up. "What do you all think?"
"I don't know; they used to come back at fixed points, so I have no idea which route they took." Chef Jia swirled his goblet thoughtfully. "The county town isn't the only route; what you encountered that night might not even be the same batch supplying here."
"But being so close, they shouldn't have missed this place." Luo Yu furrowed her brows in hesitation. "We haven't seen them since that night, and given the circumstances then, it feels very strange."
"There must be a connection." Liu Yan, who had been silent until now, raised his head. "I suspect Brother Jiu has figured something out; otherwise, he wouldn't have called us here."
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