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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Four: Leisure
Time always flies by quickly. Before they knew it, Jiang He and the others had been at the Cement Observation Station for five days. These five days had been quite comfortable; every night, they could sleep soundly without a care in the world, and during the day, they enjoyed three meals on time. After eating, they would pester a few young Little Warriors to take them to the shooting range for practice. When there was nothing else to do, they would stroll around the cement walls, playing with chickens and teasing pigs. As evening fell, the soldiers on duty would gather together to rest and chat, enjoying a carefree time with Jiang He and his friends.
In the unit, aside from Bai Yudong, the highest-ranking person was the leader of the Culinary Team. The Medical Team was led by Xiao Yun, along with four young female medics. The soldiers were generally quite young as well, but military life had given them a unique air of discipline. When Jiang He, a carefree drifter, stood among the Soldiers, it immediately lowered the seriousness of their ranks.
Ming Junwei was recovering well under the careful attention of the nurses; at least he no longer needed to lie in bed being fed. However, his arm movement was still limited, and every day he could only watch Jiang He and the others waste bullets while he sat off to the side in silent sorrow. An Zheng had been very busy these days; aside from mealtimes, she spent most of her time in that coffin-like room. When Song Yao asked her about it, she wouldn’t answer; her once beautiful face was gradually becoming haggard, as if she were troubled by something that wouldn’t go away. A few days ago, An Zheng and Bai Yudong had gone to the highway to retrieve supplies left in a vehicle, along with Little Gold's body. Although Jiang He had covered the body with a thin blanket when he returned that night, it had already been bitten and was gruesome to behold as the blanket clung to blood and flesh. Chao Yifan silently shed tears as she took over the body and went alone in the dead of night to bury Jinhua in a clearing near the shooting range. At least now she could rest in peace. During this time, scattered Zombies were attracted by gunfire, but fortunately, the defensive fortifications outside held up well and no dangerous incidents occurred.
The only small incident happened at the shooting range when a group of eager youngsters began their official shooting practice.
Jiang He and Chao Yifan were both boys and thus physically stronger than Song Yao and Pan Luo; however, their differences in talent quickly became apparent. What surprised everyone most was how exceptionally perceptive Pan Luo was when it came to shooting. Although her arms trembled after holding the gun for too long, when she was in good form, her shots at a hundred meters rarely strayed off target. However, her wrist strength was still insufficient; she could handle an 81-style rifle but struggled with a pistol—this at least allowed the two boys to save some face. After Jinhua's burial, Chao Yifan's mood improved significantly; she no longer sat alone smoking cigarettes every day and occasionally joked with Jiang He and his friends, though traces of lingering sorrow remained in her eyes.
Another sunny day arrived as they all chatted and laughed while heading to the makeshift cafeteria to eat snacks. They waited for quite some time but did not see An Zheng come out. Upon inquiry, they learned that An Zheng had left the camp with several Soldiers. However, Bai Yudong refused to say what they were doing. Although Jiang He and his friends were puzzled, they didn’t press further.
After spending a week at the observation station with plenty to eat and drink, even Jiang He’s thick skin felt a bit embarrassed. He remembered that Song Yao had mentioned before that their stay here was only temporary; since they weren’t permanent residents, there would eventually be a day for them to leave. So he noticed that everyone’s injuries had mostly healed and began to entertain thoughts of leaving.
In the afternoon breeze on the mountain brought a hint of coolness. Jiang He and Song Yao wandered around the camp for a while before heading to Ming Junwei's cement room.
"Hey there! Are you two here for a visit?" Ming Junwei looked much better now as he leaned against his bed and teased the two who entered one after another.
Song Yao shot him an eye roll before shutting the door behind them and sitting on the edge of his bed. "I need to discuss something with you."
Jiang He grabbed half a cucumber from the bedside table and started munching on it while mumbling through bites, "How are you recovering? We need to think about our next steps."
"Oh? Are you planning to leave?" Ming Junwei was already mentally prepared for this news and showed no surprise upon hearing it.
"If we don’t leave soon, I might just want to stay here forever," Jiang He wiped his mouth and said. "There aren’t any extra supplies here either; I suspect we’re just eating what’s scraped off from soldiers' rations. The White Company Commander won’t let us go out foraging or raising livestock either—staying here eating for free isn’t sustainable."
Ming Junwei nodded in agreement and said, "You're right, but I'm half useless right now. If I go out, I probably won't be of much help."
"Can you drive?" Jiang He glanced at the bandage on his shoulder, a hint of concern in his eyes.
"I can't drive; it hurts," Ming Junwei shrugged his shoulders, feeling helpless.
"Why don't we wait a bit longer? We can leave once you're feeling better," Song Yao suggested, her voice laced with sympathy. Chao Yifan still had blood scabs on his head, and it was easy to imagine the extent of Ming Junwei's gunshot wound.
"Healing takes time," Ming Junwei waved his left hand. "My legs are still functional; I just worry about unexpected situations."
After finishing his cucumber, Jiang He moved a stool over and sat down. "Then let's stay a few more days. I mainly wanted to talk to you about Dr. An. You were in no condition to discuss it the other day."
"Huh?" Ming Junwei paused, surprised. "What's going on with An Zheng?"
Song Yao furrowed her brows and hesitated before speaking. "What do you think of Sister An?"
"Haha!" Ming Junwei laughed. "She's very beautiful! At least you two have a conscience, knowing to play matchmaker for me!"
"Pfft! Be serious!" Song Yao was both amused and exasperated by Ming Junwei's antics, pretending to be angry as she threatened to hit him.
"Cough, cough, cough. What do you mean? I'm not quite following," Ming Junwei said, finally dropping the jokes and becoming serious.
Jiang He took a moment to gather his thoughts and explained what had happened at the hospital before they left the city and the strange behavior he had noticed from An Zheng over the past few days. After listening, Ming Junwei frowned and fell into deep thought.
"I'm not saying Sister An has bad intentions; I just feel like she seems to be hiding a lot from everyone," Jiang He shrugged. "I know it's a bit gossipy, but it just feels off."
Ming Junwei scratched his ear, a half-smile on his face as he said, "Isn't it a bit gossipy, brother? Why are you acting like a woman?"
"What’s wrong with being a woman!" Song Yao retorted, clearly displeased.
"No, no, I’m not being sexist. I just don’t quite understand what you two are thinking," Ming Junwei quickly backtracked, trying to smooth things over. "Everyone has their secrets. Since Dr. An isn’t saying anything, it probably means it’s none of our business. There’s no need to dig so deep, right?"
Jiang He nodded in agreement. "I think so too. Private matters naturally don’t concern others, but what if they do involve us?"
"What do you mean?" Ming Junwei asked.
"Don’t you think Dr. An seems quite familiar with the White Company Commander? They've been in that coffin room almost all the time these past few days, and today they went out with a squad of soldiers again without saying what they were up to... Sister An doesn’t seem to be a military doctor either; it feels like she’s returned to the embrace of the organization. She hasn’t been taking care of the kids much these days; it’s been Pan Luo watching over them," Jiang He pondered for a moment before adding, "What I mean is, this place feels like a strange observation station, and Sister An is a doctor. I can’t shake the feeling that they’re involved in something significant."
Ming Junwei was starting to lose interest and interrupted, "The question still remains: what does this have to do with you and me?"
Song Yao shot Jiang He an exasperated look. "Can’t you just get to the point… The day before yesterday, they caught a few zombies."
Jiang He fell silent, suddenly feeling like he had been demoted from speaker to listener.
"Oh?" It seemed that changing speakers made a difference; Ming Junwei became intrigued and asked, "What do you mean by 'caught a few zombies'?"
"Alive. The night before last, Jiang He and I were at the shooting range pretty late when we heard some commotion at the front door. So we quietly went over to take a look and saw Sister An and several soldiers dragging two zombies back with them. The zombies were still alive; they hadn’t died yet. Now everyone is…
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