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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Eleven: Clear Skies
The dawn broke, the rain ceased, the dark clouds dispersed, and the sun shone brightly in the sky.
At the mountainside, An Zheng and his companions moved cautiously. At the foot of the mountain, a gentle stream flowed. Although there was no flash flood here, a week of continuous heavy rain had caused some degree of flooding.
An Zheng calculated the date; it should be early September now. They had already spent quite some time in the mountains.
The Communications Soldier woke up, miraculously recovering from his fever without medication. However, the wound on his leg was healing slowly, and he would likely suffer from long-term effects unless he had the courage to break his leg and reset the bone. Otherwise, he would have to limp for the rest of his life.
Nevertheless, the Communications Soldier didn’t mind; he felt fortunate to have survived. Compared to the warrior who died saving him, what did it matter if he had a limp?
The mountain path was difficult to navigate after the rain. He Yong took the lead, clearing the way ahead while Er Jin tightly held onto An Zheng, not daring to slack off. The Communications Soldier was supported by two warriors at the back of the group.
“Dr. An, are you tired? Do you want to take a break?” Er Jin asked with concern.
“I’m fine, thank you,” An Zheng replied with a faint smile.
Since that night in the cave, the soldiers had become familiar with the usually cold Dr. An. Along the way, they frequently checked in on him with warmth and care.
Now, An Zheng was not just seen as a doctor who saved lives; his beautiful and alluring image from that night had left an impression on the young soldiers’ minds. After all, they had shared hardships together. To ease the awkward atmosphere that night, they had chatted casually throughout. The Little Warriors discovered that Dr. An was not as aloof as he appeared; he was actually quite easy to get along with.
With clear skies after the rain and a gentle breeze dispersing days of gloom, none of them anticipated that significant changes awaited them at their camp.
Jiang He and his group also left their camp, which had been submerged by flash floods. On the roof lay a wooden table with “Head West, Up the Mountain” carved into its surface.
Bai Yudong personally killed Xiao Yun and returned to the rooftop with her lifeless body covered in blood.
Everyone was momentarily stunned, unable to react.
Bai Yudong buried his feelings of sorrow for Xiao Yun deep within himself and armed himself with iron will and resolve. He hardly allowed himself any time for grief; after sitting silently for a moment on the rooftop, he called two other soldiers to join him in retrieving supplies from the water.
Jiang He and others did not stop him; they simply waited quietly. The three soldiers made several trips back and forth, retrieving firearms and flashlights from underwater.
Jiang He pushed the table back to rescue Xiao Pan Luo, who was nearly frozen in shock upon hearing about Xiao Yun’s death and could not process it at that moment.
The little girl stood beside Bai Yudong with tears in her eyes, her voice trembling as she said, "She was fine just a moment ago... She said it was nothing..." Before she could finish, she broke down in sobs.
Bai Yudong let out a deep breath, stood up, and gently rubbed Pan Luo's head. "Don't cry, don't cry."
"Vice Commander, what... should we do?" a soldier asked.
"Let's head up the mountain. Once the water recedes, we can come back and bury them," Bai Yudong replied as he removed the magazines from his firearms, checking for damp bullets before distributing them to a few people.
"Is the route you mentioned still passable?" Bai Yudong inquired.
Ming Junwei thought for a moment and replied uncertainly, "It should be. The terrain is higher over there; the water shouldn't reach it."
Bai Yudong nodded and looked around at everyone. "At dawn, we'll set off."
Among those remaining, only Ming Junwei had not fully recovered from old injuries while others were merely suffering from hunger and cold.
They could not handle Xiao Yun's body, so they covered it with a few pieces of clothing and left it on the roof. However, once the sun came out, temperatures would surely rise sharply. If Bai Yudong couldn't return in time to bury her, the body would inevitably be plagued by flies.
Chao Yifan marked the table with a knife and stood it upright in the center, hoping that An Zheng and the others would see it upon their return.
Jiang He and two soldiers retrieved several large floating logs. They tied them together with belts and formed groups of three to carry the logs through the water.
Erguotou led the way, swimming ahead. Jiang He and another soldier flanked Ming Junwei as they followed behind. Bai Yudong and Chao Yifan brought up the rear.
Though the rain had stopped, the water flow remained strong. If those holding onto the logs stopped kicking their legs, they would be swept into the dense forest by the current. Thus, navigating through the water was quite exhausting. The group swam for over half an hour until they finally reached a section where the water was shallower. Except for the little boy, everyone else could at least tiptoe on solid ground.
Along the way, scattered Zombies were caught in the treetops. Seeing the moving group, they howled and attempted to leap forward. Without exception, all were targeted by Bai Yudong's gun.
The forest was eerily quiet; there were no chirping insects or singing birds, as if only these few living people existed in the entire mountain.
Ming Junwei had dried blood caked on his forehead, looking quite miserable. Relying on his memory, he led everyone through the shallow waters until they reached a patch of grass that had not been submerged.
It couldn't exactly be called grass; it looked more like a sharp protrusion. Ming Junwei explained that this was a steep slope where Zhou Huai had once emerged from the forest below.
Jiang He cautiously released his grip on the log and surveyed their surroundings. He stared at the still water at the bottom of the slope and exclaimed, "How deep could that be?"
"Two meters? Or five? Not sure." Ming Junwei shrugged and pointed to a gentle slope on one side. "Let's go up from here, no need to cross over. Do you see that row of wind turbines up there?"
The others looked in the direction he indicated and indeed saw a line of wind generators still spinning at the mountain's peak, surrounded by lush vegetation.
"Time waits for no one; let's go. We need to get up there before dark." Bai Yudong pulled a floating log across the grass and pushed it into the deep pool. "Once we reach the mountain, we’ll have to circle back to the camp."
"Why?" Jiang He asked, puzzled about why they were going through so much trouble.
"The wind generators up there are all built by private companies; they only have the towers, no plant area. The power station above the camp has a large plant area, and if we clear it out, we can settle there." Bai Yudong grabbed the floating log and jumped into the water first. It was deep enough to submerge him completely, and another soldier hurriedly jumped in to hold down the other end of the log.
Bai Yudong surfaced, shivering from the cold. "It's deep enough; the water is chilly. You two girls might find it tough."
Song Yao, wearing Jiang He's jacket, cautiously dipped her foot into the water to test its temperature, her face turning pale from the cold.
Jiang He smacked his lips and leaned closer to her ear. "Um... it's not your time of the month, is it?"
Song Yao spat at him playfully and shook her head, then added, "Not yet."
With limited options, they had no choice but to get into the water. They let a little boy ride on the floating log while two others clung to either side to maintain balance as they shivered and kicked their way forward through the water.
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