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墨書 Inktalez
The long-awaited gate of Jinghui Temple quietly opened, welcoming a group of incense burners filled with vitality. Returning to this familiar place, everything had changed; the monk's quarters remained the same, and the begonia trees still stood tall. The graduate student brought a few people to guard the temple gate, while the others, led by Chef Jia, passed through the corridor, dragging their weary bodies into the Great Hall of Great Hero. A faint glow illuminated the hall, where a solemn Buddha statue sat beneath a canopy of lights, and a small candle flickered gently on the lotus platform, exuding a serene and soft ambiance. Exhausted, the crowd could not continue onward; in such moments, they cared little for reverence or disrespect. They casually found cushions to lean against the Arhat statue, some sitting, some lying down, sighing deeply in unison, their sounds echoing with the murals of eighty-eight Buddhas on the dome above, creating a dreamlike atmosphere. No one lit any lamps or spoke; outside the hall, the moonlight was cold and clear, and the wind whispered through the trees as leaves fell.
Pockmarked Girl helped Dr. Zhong carry a medical kit and squatted beside a cushion to re-bandage Chef Jia's wounds. On their way here, they had unexpectedly encountered several large hordes. Although this group’s combat power was almost negligible compared to that of the Militia, when faced with life and death, even the most timid could unleash a fierce courage… though it yielded little result. When leaving Roundabout, this team had more than ten members; less than half made it alive into the Great Hall of Great Hero, each one injured. Judging by the composition of Roundabout's personnel, it was clear that Wu Wentao's group suffered the heaviest losses. The train sped along its tracks with seasoned Field Duty personnel guarding both front and back. Those classified as logistics by Old Tian had no resistance against the overwhelming tide of zombies.
Pockmarked Girl watched helplessly as several panicked individuals fled from the group only to plunge headlong into a horde of zombies; their sheer numbers left no chance for screams before they were swallowed whole in an instant. Next were Song Jiu's group of women from Riverside Camp; they were equally matched with the passengers—neither side was significantly stronger. They had resilience but lacked recovery from serious injuries. This group had endured the fall of Riverside Fortress, zombie invasions in ancient cities, and turmoil at Roundabout Hospital; their hearts had gained some toughness through these trials. Unfortunately, their actual capabilities remained stagnant—there was no formation or coordination among them. Often one would bravely charge at zombies only to find no companions by their side; before they could react, they would be pulled into the horde and torn apart.
The natives of Roundabout and Song Jiu's faction managed to hold on somewhat; neither group had pure leisure time to recuperate. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they fought to sustain themselves. Regrettably, after fleeing from the riverside, Song Jiu's faction had suffered heavy losses; now only Luo Yu and a few others remained alive. Roundabout faced similar fates, primarily suffering losses during that chaotic hospital incident. Surprisingly, those who seemed most useless—the cave-dwelling women—had shone brightly for a moment. These dozens of women had no prior interaction with Roundabout's members; when Song Yao commanded their escape, she did not abandon them entirely. Thus they received rations and weapons.
As the team crossed over a bridge, zombies broke through barriers set up by patrols on the other side; hordes of zombies surged forward while beneath the bridge lay starving corpses waiting for sustenance. With no way to advance or retreat, Chef Jia initially intended to hold out in midair but unexpectedly heard Big Peony give an order—those wild women charged ahead with ferocity that rivaled even that of the Militia! Seeing Big Peony rush forth made it unreasonable for anyone else to remain behind; as they witnessed these cave-dwelling women forcefully pushing back the horde, subsequent personnel seized the opportunity to retaliate fiercely without pause—miraculously carving out a bloody path!
However, this victory came at a steep price; under Big Peony's leadership, nearly all those cave-dwelling women perished. The reason was simple: those who followed behind cut off their retreat options. In that moment of bloodlust, they managed to carve out an escape route but were not like those mindless Bald Gang members from within the cave; exhausted yet unable to retreat, they could only watch as companions were dragged into the horde by gnarled gray hands and claws amidst screams and cries—a scene too horrific to behold.
Ultimately, only about twenty exhausted and battered souls reached the temple alive. Chef Jia initially wanted Dr. Zhong to check everyone's injuries; during their fight for survival, faces were often pressed close together—there was no guarantee that anyone hadn’t been bitten by zombies—but looking at the desolate Buddha Hall filled with sorrowful cries made him reconsider. Dr. Zhong and the graduate student were among the last remaining men in their group; throughout their journey, they fought desperately to protect Huihui while Jiao Ziqian—the injured one—was cared for by Pockmarked Girl until he managed to escape unscathed himself; however he was also considered a zombie—being bitten meant little to him.
As for Song Yao’s situation? It seemed unlikely that zombie bites would lead to immediate transformation into undead beings; right now everyone remaining was physically and mentally exhausted—they should just set that aside for now. Even if someone did get bitten by a zombie at this moment… Huihui—the human antidote—was still there; using poison against poison should have some effect.
With personnel losses exceeding half their number and rations dwindling significantly as well—eating was manageable but given how numb everyone felt amidst all this carnage before them—they hardly had any appetite left at all. However after such long travel combined with life-and-death struggles, water was critically lacking; relying solely on personal supplies was insufficient for quenching thirst—not to mention many people's bags had been lost in the horde.
Pockmarked Girl still held up reasonably well; being thinner than most didn’t matter much since she hadn’t been touched by zombies thanks to Jiao Ziqian’s presence—only some bumps during their frantic escape left her looking disheveled. Hearing dry coughs echoing in dim Buddha Hall while seeing exhausted individuals wetting their lips with drops from empty cups made Pockmarked Girl feel despondent—without strong leaders around her she felt utterly helpless… Wait?
Suddenly Pockmarked Girl’s eyes lit up as she struggled to sit up and staggered toward an exit at one side of the main hall.
“What are you doing?” Jiao Ziqian asked but quickly felt he’d spoken out of turn—she probably just needed to relieve herself.
“Getting water,” Pockmarked Girl replied slyly with a wink. “There’s a well in Tower Forest—remember?”
Jiao Ziqian shook his head blankly; when he first came to this ancient temple he’d been severely injured himself and needed Xiaofei and others to bring food over from Guest Hall—he knew nothing about anything else.
“Just wait,” Pockmarked Girl pouted before waving goodbye to Chef Jia and heading alone into dark Tower Forest.
Before long, one of the graduate students guarding the front gate returned looking heavily fatigued; he swapped places with several more energetic girls before sitting down on a cushion beside Dr. Zhong and others.
“How is it?” Chef Jia couldn’t sleep despite his exhaustion—his body felt drained yet his eyes wouldn’t close as they kept twitching.
The graduate student sighed heavily in frustration: “For now there hasn’t been any horde approaching—just scattered ones wandering outside—the temple seems fine.”
“Let’s wait a bit longer—they might be on their way here,” Chef Jia said uncertainly whether he was comforting him or himself as thoughts drifted towards Song Jiu Ming Junwei Wu Wentao—and even Ming Junwei’s former companions—with so many strong individuals combined together how could they have been turned upside down like this… Such outcomes did nothing for morale.
“This time really feels like capsizing in a ditch,” said another graduate student pulling out a crumpled pack of cigarettes offering one each to Dr. Zhong and Jiao Ziqian before searching his pockets for a lighter but finding none instead stood up apologetically before Buddha statue lighting it against candle flames.
“What do we do next…” The graduate student passed cigarettes around while wearing an expression full of despair.
“Zombies can’t stay forever right?” Jiao Ziqian frowned scratching at his dry itchy wound saying: “Can’t we go back to Roundabout?”
“Shouldn’t be possible,” said another graduate student glancing at Chef Jia who wore an equally regretful expression: “Once fire dies down once zombies disperse… Roundabout will just become ruins.”
“The key laboratory has also been destroyed,” Dr. Zhong said hollow-eyed—the samples he needed weren’t collected while what little resources remained lay scattered like garbage beneath collapsed floors. Remembering this only brought pain mixed with guilt—if he hadn’t played tricks back then Yinuo and Old Tian wouldn’t have risked going towards train station—and if those two hadn’t gone missing then reinforcements wouldn’t have needed rushing over…
But alas there are no pills for regrets—the past has already happened guilt solves nothing.
“Huihui is still here so there’s still hope,” said another graduate student trying his best at comfort though deep down he wasn’t thinking about vaccines anymore—not when so many comrades’ fates hung uncertainly in balance… Vaccine? What good is that?
Just then someone rushed into view—a short-haired girl from lookout duty ran inside breathlessly before even entering she called out: “I’m back!”
Everyone perked up immediately struggling against fatigue standing upright just as Luo Yu dashed forward followed closely by just a handful more people…
The candlelight flickered back on in Buddha Hall where Pockmarked Girl returned from getting water finding many candles collected from Old Lin’s stash in Vegetarian Kitchen illuminating vast space within Buddha Hall—the golden statues glimmered brilliantly casting vibrant colors all around.
Song Yao Luci Yuan An… Song Jiu Luo Yu… Wu Wentao… Jin Bo Fang Fei Ying Dou Dou… four Oil Paint Youths…
Chef Jia stared dumbfounded watching thirteen battered figures approach two among them unconscious still.
“Where’s Ming Ge?” The graduate student turned pale trembling lips whispering: “Xiao Wei? Liu Yan? Old Lin? Where are others?”
Only sorrowful gazes met him accompanied by swollen red eyes.
“Dr. Zhong please,” Song Yao said flatly handing over unconscious Song Jiu Jin Bo into Dr.Zhong’s care whose expression mirrored that of graduate student staring blankly at Wu Wentao who seemed like he crawled out from underground dry throat hoarsely asking: “Guangxu…?”
Wu Wentao sighed heavily shaking his head expressionless.
“Ming Ge…” The graduate student felt dazed as if all strength drained away causing him to collapse onto ground.
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