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墨書 Inktalez
The fireplace in the bar's lobby crackled with warmth, a large pot bubbling on the stove, ginger slices swirling in the broth. Chef Jia sprinkled some fine salt into the pot, checking the heat before ladling out a bowl and carrying it into a small office. Two hours earlier, a girl had been brought to the hospital by Song Jiu, and the bed still held her lingering warmth; now, another girl occupied the space.
Song Yao and Luci sat around the bed, engaged in conversation with the new arrival. The girl looked pale, her body trembling despite being wrapped in a blanket. Yinuo used a dry towel to dry her hair and quickly took the ginger soup from Chef Jia as he entered.
"Thank you," the girl said hoarsely, blowing on the steaming bowl before taking a spoonful. The soup was still hot; she drank eagerly, the scalding liquid warming her from within and gradually restoring some color to her ashen face.
"Do you feel any better?" Song Yao asked gently, pointing to a cabinet beside the bed. "There are some cold medicines here; you should take some."
"I'm fine," the girl replied, coughing a few times to steady herself. "Can I see your leader?"
"Just rest for now; there's no rush," Song Yao said softly as she set aside the empty bowl. "We have questions for you too, but you need to recuperate first."
"I'm fine; there are more important things that need to be said right now." The girl shook her head stubbornly just as the door opened.
Ming Junwei and Liu Yan entered one after the other, Liu Yan carrying a sturdy rifle. Ming Junwei nodded at everyone and pulled up a chair to sit down. "You wanted to talk to me?"
"Yes, it's very important." The girl tightened her grip on the thin blanket and nodded seriously.
"I'll ask you a few questions first, if that's alright," Ming Junwei said, holding a short knife adorned with gold inlaid jade and gesturing toward Liu Yan's rifle. "Who are you, and how did you find this place?"
The girl's straightforwardness didn't surprise him; seeing the rifle made everything clear. She explained, "My name is Dong Yuhan. I'm just an ordinary survivor. The gun isn't mine; I heard gunshots and guessed there might be people here, so I came."
"Gunshots?" Ming Junwei paused for a moment before recalling that they had indeed fired shots last night during their encounter with zombies at the hospital. However, given the stormy weather at that time, he hadn't expected anyone would be able to distinguish gunfire amidst it all.
Noticing Ming Junwei's silence, Yuan An continued, "There are some people at the train station; that gun belongs to them. I killed one of them and escaped into the city."
"The train station..."
"Yes, I arrived yesterday morning."
"Is someone chasing you?"
"I don't know. I can hear the gunfire here, so they should be able to hear it too."
"Go on," Ming Junwei said, exchanging glances with a few others and handing the floor to the girl on the bed.
Yuan An lowered her head, pondering for a moment, unsure of where to start. Song Yao gently reassured her, then got up to fetch a bowl of hot soup.
"Three days ago, my companions and I encountered a train near Zhengzhou Railway." Yuan An thanked her and decided to start from the beginning, omitting unnecessary details. "It was an old-fashioned Steam Car, and there were many people on board. My companions and I got on the train."
Luci furrowed her brow, wanting to ask a question, but Ming Junwei shook his head, signaling her to continue.
"I was a bit dazed at the time and didn't think much of it. The people there were very friendly, just like you all." Yuan An observed everyone's reactions and saw that they were listening intently. She continued, "My companions and I were taken to a compartment to rest for the night. Then yesterday morning, the person in charge of the train asked to conduct a physical examination on us. I didn't understand their purpose, but since I didn't drink the milk they prepared for us, they didn't get the results they wanted. During that time, I had some arguments with them and noticed that my companion seemed to have some issues; she appeared to be unconscious. The doctor on the train was drawing her blood, and I panicked and ran away."
"Go on," Ming Junwei nodded lightly, indicating he was still listening.
"I climbed onto the roof of the train. No one came after me at that moment. Before long, the train entered Platform, where abandoned trains blocked the tracks. The train stopped, and I took the opportunity to sneak off and hide. Then I killed someone and escaped into the city. There were many Zombies in the city; I hid in a building for a day. In the evening, I heard some commotion here, so I came."
Yuan An's account was brief. Song Yao and the others listened in confusion; they had a general understanding of what had happened to this girl, but many key points remained unclear.
"Steam Locomotive physical examination?" Song Yao repeated several keywords thoughtfully before suddenly brightening up. "Are you saying there was a doctor on the train?"
"Yes," Yuan An replied, surprised by her unusual focus. After hesitating for a moment, she added, "I heard them say they needed to clear the railway tracks; it's been over a night already. I must go back. Thank you for saving me; that's all I know."
"You need to go back and save your companions," Ming Junwei raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are there many of them? How many people have such weapons?"
"I'm not sure, maybe more than ten. They are divided into specific roles, with specialized combat personnel and many ordinary people," Yuan An's complexion had returned to a healthy color, but after being drenched for so long, she seemed to be showing some symptoms of a cold, her head feeling a bit dizzy. She felt uneasy, thinking that she might have just escaped from one danger only to fall into another. She hadn't drunk the milk on the vehicle, but she had downed two bowls of ginger soup here.
"Did you see the leader on the train?" Ming Junwei asked.
"I did."
"Was it a man or a woman?"
"A man."
"Foreigner?"
"Ah," Yuan An was taken aback, unsure why he asked that. After thinking for a moment, she replied, "He's Chinese, but there are a few foreigners with guns."
"Is there a blonde woman among them?"
"No."
"Alright, you should rest for now. We'll continue our discussion later; I need to verify the information you brought," Ming Junwei signaled to a few people, who brought her some hot water and rations. He left Chef Jia to take care of her while the others returned to the bar's main hall.
Song Jiu was sitting at the bar counter, fiddling with the items Yuan An had brought. Upon seeing everyone come out, he waved the tactical dagger in his hand and said, "Does this look familiar?"
Liu Yan nodded and put the rifle back on the table. "It's their standard equipment, but that girl said the leader is a man, not 'E'."
"It’s not certain. If she isn’t lying, then she was only on the train for less than a day. Perhaps the people she met weren’t really the ones in charge," Ming Junwei said as he walked to the bar and pulled out a bottle of vintage wine. He opened it and took a sniff, then asked, "What do you all think?"
"I find it suspicious. The moment something happens, a train arrives right after. Isn’t that too coincidental?" Luci replied skeptically. "The authenticity needs to be verified. It’s strange for a steam locomotive to just appear out of nowhere, and those two girls dared to board it? If there were that many armed men inside, how did she manage to escape and even kill one to grab a gun and run?"
"One shouldn’t judge by appearances," Song Jiu remarked calmly, smiling as he glanced over at Lin Daozhang, who was playing poker with the militia at a booth. "When I first saw him, I never imagined he would be a martial arts master."
"I’ll go check the truth. There’s a doctor on the train, and we need one," Luo Yu said succinctly. She didn’t have much to add to the discussion; she was focused on what needed to be done.
"Wait a moment," Song Yao frowned in thought for a while before saying, "There’s one detail she mentioned that I find odd."
"Yeah?"
"Health check, blood test, milk," Song Yao shrugged with a wry smile. "The mere appearance of a train is strange enough, but this method of health check is quite bizarre."
"Stop guessing and let’s go take a look," Ming Junwei waved his hand decisively. "There have been plenty of strange occurrences these past few days. If she was indeed drawn here by gunfire, those people might also find this place. Yao Yao, you and Yinuo should go talk to her later while I check out the situation at the train station."
"I’ll go instead; it’s too stuffy in here. You stay back at headquarters," Song Jiu said as he picked up a steel saw blade and twirled it around. "I’ll take Liu Yan and Old Lin with me."
"That works too; just be careful," Ming Junwei guessed that Song Jiu was feeling unsettled due to that girl’s death. After thinking for a moment, he cautioned, "Safety first. If you discover anything, don’t engage directly."
"I know what to do," Song Jiu replied and went over to pull Lin Daozhang away from his poker game.
Song Yao found three raincoats and brought them over seriously. "Put these on; don’t forget there’s acid rain above us. Avoid it if you can."
"Alright, just wait for news from us," Song Jiu said as he donned his raincoat. Before leaving, he checked on Ziqian, who had been his right-hand person in the past. Bed Rest had been recovering well for about half a month; he looked like he had gained some weight and was lounging on the sofa chatting with an unfamiliar woman.
“Jiao Da Ye, when will you be able to get out of bed?” Song Jiu patted his backside and joked, “Don’t let yourself develop any rich man’s disease.”
Jiao Ziqian felt a sting in his rear and awkwardly shifted his body, forcing a smile as he replied, “ Brother Jiu, please don’t bully me. I’m trying my best to return to the team soon.”
“Just kidding. Take care of your injury,” Song Jiu said with a chuckle, squatting down to ask, “Any changes?”
Jiao Ziqian looked around and noticed the woman who had been chatting with him had walked away. He then cautiously rolled up his sleeve, revealing a row of tender red wounds on his arm. “Look, this was cut yesterday morning. It’s almost healed.”
Song Jiu rolled his eyes and scolded, “Are you stupid? Who the hell told you to harm yourself?”
“I can’t see the ones on my backside,” Jiao Ziqian protested, feeling quite wronged. “Besides, Doctor Yu did the debridement for me. I don’t know if it’s the medication or the Zombie blood that helped.”
“And what about this on your arm?”
“I cut it myself. At first, it was shallow, but it’s gotten deeper over the past few days.” Jiao Ziqian winked mysteriously and added, “Although I don’t have my sister’s insane recovery ability after getting shot, it does heal faster than before.”
“Alright, that’s enough. Be careful not to go too far,” Song Jiu nodded, having made up his mind about something. After giving a few more instructions, he left the bar with Liu Lin and Fool in tow.
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