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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 22: The Video Content
Ming Junwei successfully cleared the Zombies, but how to unlock the door lock puzzled the three of them. They had no key, and smashing the glass might attract nearby Zombies, so after some hesitation, they decided to wait until dawn to break in.
The cold moonlight shyly filtered through the dark clouds, casting a layer of chill over the empty Service Area. The quiet night was eerily still, with only the low whispers of the three breaking the silence. In the distance, shadows of trees swayed gently, barely discernible.
“Let’s check the vehicle first,” Jiang He suggested.
“Sounds good,” Ming Junwei nodded.
Chao Yifan, not understanding what was going on, followed the two to the Golden Dragon Bus. The three opened the bus door and scanned the interior with their flashlights. It was a large Coach about six meters long, equipped with over forty seats. Jiang He often rode such long-distance Coaches in the past. As travel options expanded, long-distance Coaches continued to innovate; this one not only adjusted seat spacing for passenger comfort but also featured a mini restroom at the back. Both the front and middle sections had onboard mobile TVs that played movies and songs to pass the time during journeys.
The bus was empty, with no Zombies inside, just a lingering smell of gasoline due to poor ventilation. Ming Junwei sat in the driver's seat, inserted the key, and turned it; the Coach rumbled to life. Ming the Great Hero fumbled around on the Operation Table for a while before turning on the interior lights. Jiang He and Chao Yifan stood inside the bus as warm yellow light illuminated rows of seats, evoking an indescribable feeling.
For safety's sake, Ming Junwei turned off half of the lights. Chao Yifan, unsure of what they were doing there, plopped down into a seat and crossed his legs, enjoying the illuminated night. Jiang He and Ming Junwei paid him no mind and began rummaging through each seat.
It was evident that passengers had disembarked calmly; overhead compartments were stuffed with bags of all sizes, while clothes, handbags, and snacks remained scattered across seats. Ming Junwei searched from front to back while Jiang He started from the rear. When he saw the belongings left behind by passengers, he suddenly felt a wave of emotion wash over him. Rubbing his nose, Jiang He opened a laptop that a passenger had forgotten. When that familiar startup sound and screen appeared, he felt an overwhelming sense of returning to a normal world, as if everything that had happened over these past months was just a dream.
With a stiff smile on his face, Jiang He slid his finger to open the browser; after a slow struggle with loading, it displayed “This webpage cannot be displayed. Please check your network connection.” He chuckled self-deprecatingly and returned to the desktop where he spotted a familiar icon. Grinning foolishly, he clicked on it and navigated through adding files into the disk until he found a certain pirate company's live-action combat video.
“Hehehe…” Jiang He chuckled as he clicked play and turned up the volume to maximum. The sounds of moans from an actress suddenly filled the air, causing Ming Junwei and Chao Yifan at the front to jump up in alarm, their faces pale with shock.
“Hey! Don’t panic!” Jiang He laughed foolishly while blowing bubbles from his nose as he turned the screen away. “Nostalgic?”
“Damn! Can you do something serious?” The two shouted in unison after breaking into a cold sweat before putting aside their tasks and moving closer.
“Damn it!” Chao Yifan grimaced fiercely, pointing at the busty female lead on the screen. “J-Cup Tian Zhongtong!”
Ming Junwei displayed an admiring expression. “You remember her name?”
Chao Yifan smiled modestly. “It's hard to forget such weapons.”
Jiang He, who hadn’t watched the video, wore a silly grin on his face. The sight of the two of them huddled in front of the screen reminded him of his college days in the dormitory.
“Ahem, can we get back to business?” Ming Junwei coughed awkwardly. “If that girl sees you two like this, she might get the wrong idea.”
The two exchanged sheepish glances and scratched their faces. Jiang He quickly shut down the computer; he was hoping to save some battery for later.
“What do you mean by ‘that girl’?” Chao Yifan grinned. “We’re just friends through thick and thin.”
“Come on, that girl’s eyes have been glued to you,” Ming Junwei teased. “Youth is great; even in tough times, you don’t forget to find a partner.”
“I naturally exude a charm aura,” Chao Yifan boasted, no longer hesitating as he bent over to rummage through his bag.
“Ming the Great Hero, I just thought of something,” Jiang He raised his hand. “What exactly are we looking for?”
“Oh? Right,” Chao Yifan paused and echoed, “You don’t know what we’re looking for either, Team Leader?”
Ming Junwei sighed deeply, feeling utterly hopeless about these two dimwits. He pulled out a digital camera from his pocket and shook it at Jiang He. “Where’s your brain? Did a dog eat it?”
Only then did Jiang He remember that Ming Junwei had mentioned there was a video on the camera he wanted to show him.
The three of them had been out for quite a while. After some commotion, they no longer delayed and quickened their search. Before long, Chao Yifan pulled a cable out of a lady's handbag.
"Is this it?"
"Let’s try it."
The two of them gestured, and the connector of the data cable fit perfectly into the camera.
"But where do we charge it?" Jiang He asked.
Ming Junwei pointed to the laptop on the back seat and said, "It should still have some battery left, right?"
Jiang He opened the laptop with a pained expression, glancing at the twenty percent battery remaining, feeling a pang in his heart.
The three of them sat in a row, connecting the data cable to the computer, then opened the external device folder. The owner was a young girl; her camera was filled with numerous selfies and some scenic photos from her journey. They didn’t have time to admire the owner's various poses and quickly scrolled to the bottom, where they found two video files. Jiang He clicked on the first one based on the shooting time and double-clicked to play.
The screen first showed a young man; judging by the background, he seemed to be eating in a dining area bustling with people and noise.
"Fast forward a bit, go to here," Ming Junwei pointed at the playback progress bar.
Jiang He slid the mouse to drag it forward; earlier footage showed the owner randomly filming without much substance. After fast-forwarding to where Ming Junwei indicated, the scene changed. A loud gasp echoed from the video, seemingly coming from outside. The owner and a young man across from her also heard the noise and stood up to look outside. At that moment, the footage shook violently as the camera moved erratically. It became clear that the owner was running outside, with voices of people asking each other questions in the background. Since the camera was focused on the ground, all they could see were many people heading toward the entrance. Then at the entrance...
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