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墨書 Inktalez
The moonlight was cold, and the Ruined City was silent.
In the darkness, a faint sound of a blade piercing flesh echoed, followed by the thud of a heavy object hitting the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Song Jiu peeked around the corner, waving the Steel Saw Blade. Behind him, the Fake Taoist sneaked out, clutching his coat as he hurried down a narrow path. He stood at the T-Junction for a moment, glancing around before signaling back to Song Jiu.
"It looks like your old friends are still around," Song Jiu said as he moved closer, both of them hiding behind a rusted mailbox. They carefully observed the wandering Zombie at the street corner. "If there was nothing in the city, Zombies wouldn’t linger for long."
"How do you know that?" Lin Qiangu asked, puzzled. "Do Zombies have thoughts?"
"There are only a few things that attract Zombies," Song Jiu raised his left hand to count. "Smell, temperature... You see how there haven't been many encounters so far? The deeper we go, the more Zombies there are. This means there are Living Persons in the city center."
"How do you know that?" Lin Qiangu still looked confused.
"I’m just making it up," Song Jiu replied with an exasperated expression, casually brushing it off. "Can you help out instead of just standing there?"
"I can't; I faint at the sight of blood," Lin Daozhang said seriously. "I have to close my eyes when you kill Zombies."
"..."
"This way, just two more blocks," Boss Lin pointed to the road on their right and whispered, "There’s an overpass there."
"Right over there," Song Jiu perked up, gripping the saw blade tightly as he cautiously moved out first.
"No, we can rest at the overpass; the stairs are blown up. People can climb up, but Zombies can't follow."
"I'll tell you, there's the Military District Garrison Command in the city. I've always wanted to check it out. Do you think they have guns inside?"
"Right, what were you all talking about in the hospital? I couldn't understand a thing."
"I'm telling you, the way you guys do blood transfusions is wrong."
"Oh."
"By the way, what are those people that the Zombies are chasing after?"
"Shut up."
Song Jiu felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. He shrugged off the incessant chatter of the Fake Taoist beside him. He was somewhat amused, but this wasn't really the time for a chat. "When we get back, let's throw a feast and talk it out. I'll gather everyone together, and we can have an open conversation. What do you think?"
"I've hidden away a lot of alcohol," Lin Daozhang said, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "You better keep your word."
"Absolutely."
"No way," the excited Fake Taoist suddenly looked dejected and muttered, "Someone is chasing you, and you're still in a hurry to leave."
"Who said we were leaving?" Song Jiu chuckled, momentarily finding some fondness for this somewhat eccentric fellow. He patted his shoulder and said, "If you don't drive us away, we won't go, okay?"
"What if your enemies come after you?"
"Then you can come with us. With such a vast world, where can't we go? Staying in one city for a lifetime would be unbearable for you."
"Can I really join you?"
"Of course not!"
Song Jiu's eyes widened in anger. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the reflection in the counter's mirror. In an instant, he pushed Fake Taoist aside and sprang up, using his injured hand to vault over the counter. He plunged a knife into the eye socket of the silent Zombie that had entered, twisting his wrist to pry open its skull before delivering a kick that sent it flying out through the glass door.
"Damn it, while I was busy arguing with you, hurry up! Change routes; the Zombies are coming!" Song Jiu was both angry and amused. He felt like cursing at Fake Taoist but couldn't bring himself to do so. In his frustration, he ended up laughing and exclaimed, "The fact that you've survived this long makes sense; damn it, lead the way!"
Lin Daozhang grinned widely, his eyes darting around. He grabbed an overturned chair and smashed it through another window, calling out, "This way, let's go around!"
Song Jiu trusted him without hesitation. As he saw the Horde surging toward them, he grabbed Fake Taoist and jumped through the shattered window. They sprinted down the dark street but were soon blocked by wandering Zombies at the intersection.
"Dodge! Dodge!" Fake Taoist seemed to have suddenly wised up. Without wasting any more words, he pulled Song Jiu into a dilapidated convenience store. Inside was chaos; shelves were overturned everywhere, and there was a layer of dried black blood near the cash register.
"This is a dead end; we need to get out!"
"There's a way out back!" the Fake Taoist hurriedly moved a shelf to block the doorway and shouted towards the back of the cash register, "Climb out the window!"
Song Jiu rushed in to take a quick look, and indeed, there was a small room with a bed, and the window was wide open.
"Go!"
The two of them frantically blocked the entrance, climbed up to the windowsill, and jumped out. They landed heavily on a rusted protective net, nearly crushing their tailbone. Song Jiu's injured hand had already been numb, but this fall reopened the wound, causing him to kick the railing in frustration and curse under his breath.
"Run!" The Fake Taoist was now energized, helping to tear off the pant leg caught on the railing. He glanced around and dashed towards the alley on the left.
Song Jiu was exhausted and didn't have time to assess the situation; he simply followed along, thinking that this guy had managed to survive in the city for three years, so he must have some skills to avoid danger. However, this run turned into a marathon. The Fake Taoist showed no intention of confronting any zombies; even when there were only two or three zombies lingering at an intersection, he immediately changed direction. No matter if there was a clear path ahead or vehicles blocking the road, he ran whenever possible. If he couldn't run, he would crawl—anything to avoid a direct confrontation with the zombies, completely opting for prolonged evasion.
The Fake Taoist ran like the wind while Song Jiu felt like his insides were about to turn inside out. It had been years since he had run like this. Even though Song Jiu was physically strong, he was starting to struggle. Not seeing any zombies around for a moment, he urgently called for a stop: "Don't run anymore; let's catch our breath."
"You can't keep going?" Boss Lin turned back and supported Song Jiu. "Your body can't take it."
"You've been running for hours since leaving the hospital; is running your only way to survive?"
"Yeah."
"…"
"Alright, let's rest over there; we've circled around quite a bit and are almost there." The Fake Taoist finally showed some mercy and slowed down his pace that seemed impossible to catch up with. Supporting Song Jiu, they crossed through a patch of overgrown green belt and looked around before entering a store.
The shop was small, with a few seats by the floor-to-ceiling windows. There were long tables typical of fast-food restaurants, flanked by several single-legged stools. In the center, two transparent cabinets were tilted at an angle, filled with dark, unidentifiable items that resembled spoiled pastries. The walls were painted a warm pink, but time had taken its toll, leaving large patches of yellowing paint. Notes stuck to the walls had peeled off and littered the floor, revealing splotches of faded white underneath. Behind the counter lay a corpse; Song Jiu accidentally stepped on it, and with a crunch, a row of ribs snapped in response.
"Let's take a break; dawn is approaching," Fake Taoist said as he pushed the glass cabinet to the door to block it. Turning around, he saw Song Jiu standing dazed behind the cash register, holding something in his hands.
"Don't rush; it’s only a twenty-minute walk from here to their territory," Fake Taoist continued, shaking off the dust from his Universal Headband. "If they're still around, they might even send a car to take us back. Hey, what's wrong with you?"
Song Jiu didn’t respond like before when he had angrily told Fake Taoist to "shut up," nor did he roll his eyes at him. It was as if he hadn’t heard a word; all his attention was captivated by the object in his hands.
Lin Daozhang, puzzled, leaned over to take a look and saw that Song Jiu was holding a dusty picture frame. Inside it were two young ladies beaming at the camera with radiant smiles full of youthful exuberance. The girl on the left had short hair that reached her ears, while the one on the right had long hair cascading over her shoulders. The photographer had skillfully captured their dynamic poses; strands of hair danced in the bright sunlight, casting overlapping shadows on the ground.
Song Jiu felt a pang in his heart; his eyes instantly reddened. He used his intact hand to wipe away the dust from the frame, revealing an engraved line beneath.
"Fragrant Jade Pavilion, Just the Right Time of Youth," it read. "The time of youth is just right."
A warm tear fell onto the glass surface, blurring their smiling faces and clouding his vision.
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