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墨書 Inktalez
In the deep courtyard, the flickering firelight from the bungalow cast faint, barely audible voices. A white cloth curtain shielded the interior from prying eyes, while shadows moved back and forth, illuminated by the light. The wooden door creaked open, and a petite figure emerged, cradling an enamel basin. Carefully, she made her way to the flowerbed encircling the bungalow, using the light to guide her steps. With a quick motion of her arm, she poured out the blood-stained water.
The petite figure hurriedly ran with the empty basin, crossing a row of fences in the open space. She picked up a spoon from a simple ping-pong table and lifted the cover off a large water jar on the side of the table. Standing on tiptoe, she scooped out a ladle of clear water and poured it into the basin. With delicate hands resting on her slim waist for a moment's respite, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before bending down to pick up the water basin and preparing to return to the bungalow.
"Hmm," she paused as she heard a sound coming from the yard gate. Her face lit up with joy as she hurriedly set down the basin and ran toward it. Before she could reach, a gentle female voice floated over first: "Xiao Meng, you're back so soon."
The petite figure's words were abruptly cut off; her light footsteps came to an abrupt halt. The joy in her watery eyes swiftly transformed into terror. Trembling hands covered her mouth as she fought to suppress a scream that threatened to burst forth.
"Yes, it was quite fast," Yang Xiaomeng sighed heavily, sounding quite helpless.
Pure white moonlight poured down, casting a shimmering glow over Yang Xiaomeng and illuminating the dark figures lurking behind him.
The petite figure stared in horror at the rope binding Yang Xiaomeng's wrist. Her gaze followed the rope to a burly man standing beside him. His face was shrouded in darkness, his dusty clothes stretched tightly over bulging muscles. One hand gripped the rope while the other held a firearm commonly seen in movies, its muzzle gleaming with an ominous blue light, pointed directly at her.
"Shh."
At that moment, a slightly gaunt young man stepped out from behind Yang Xiaomeng. His face was also obscured, one hand wrapped in dirty bandages as he raised a finger to signal silence. Before she could react, more figures emerged from the shadows on either side of the yard gate and reported to the two men standing in front: "Safe."
"Tsk tsk tsk."
A young man carrying a long knife sauntered over, making clicking sounds with his tongue as he squinted at her with an unsettling smile on his face. He turned back to Yang Xiaomeng and said, "Not bad at all; look at her! If we’re going all out, you should check out that airport of yours—are you blushing?"
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly turned toward her, muttering something incomprehensible about "padding or enhancing." He raised an arm, and a calloused hand landed directly on her rounded chest. His expression seemed momentarily stunned before he earnestly squeezed it and remarked, "This feels real—soft."
"Ahhh!"
The stunned girl stood frozen for a moment, her mind blank as she watched the rogue groping and squeezing at his chest. A mix of shock, fear, and indignation surged within her, culminating in a piercing scream filled with resentment.
Jin Bo was taken aback. By the time he processed what had happened, the girl had already screamed and fled, darting into the brightly lit Bungalow.
"She... she is a girl, a genuine woman," Yang Xiaomeng said, staring in disbelief at the scene before him. He was utterly baffled; no matter how he tried to think it through, he couldn't comprehend why such a crude person existed in the world. Did he have to dress up just because his companion did? Couldn’t he have asked nicely instead?
Fang Fei in the crowd sighed and facepalmed, feeling utterly embarrassed to have such a leader.
Jin Bo still held his hands out in a grasping motion, dazed for quite some time. His slow-witted brain finally caught up, but after stammering for a while, he couldn't utter a single word, his face burning with shame.
Song Jiu and Wu Wentao could only pretend not to see it. They cleared their throats and signaled for the team to march confidently toward the two rows of coffins.
So far, Yang Xiaomeng had indeed not lied; the camp really existed, and there were no guards. Within the vast walls, only one room glowed with firelight, unlike a gathering place for Zombies or Survivors. Since Yang Xiaomeng hadn’t spoken falsely, it meant that their journey posed no immediate threat. Therefore, they should approach Yang Xiaomeng's companions in a different manner.
Although in this world strength often dictated authority, not everyone was keen on becoming a bandit. While there was wariness and suspicion, it didn’t mean that interactions had to be entirely forceful. Ultimately, communication between people was essential; if both sides carried hostility, then dialogue would be problematic from the start.
They hadn’t expected anyone to be in the yard at this late hour. Wu Wentao hadn’t even had time to untie Yang Xiaomeng before they were caught off guard by an armed group. Seeing such a heavily armed crowd in their own courtyard at midnight—with their companion still in captivity—would trigger an instinctive reaction of defense from any normal person. Moreover, Jin Bo’s actions had branded them with labels of robbery and assault; now it would be impossible to clear their names.
Sure enough, before they could approach the Bungalow, the door swung open wide. A tall and sturdy man lunged out with a pole across his shoulders. Upon seeing the dark cloud of people approaching, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes, but he did not retreat an inch. He stood firm with the pole held horizontally in front of him, glaring at Song Jiu who led the group.
"Now that's some guts," Jiao Ziqian chuckled from behind. He admired this kind of fearless individual who would charge forward even against overwhelming odds. Whether or not he had the ability was another matter; just this display of courage earned his respect. Clearly, Jiao Ziqian had no concept of recklessness in his dictionary; all actions that fit that description were replaced by notions of bravery and boldness.
Song Jiu raised his hand to signal for everyone to stop and tilted his head slightly, indicating for Yang Xiaomeng—who had already been untied—to step forward for diplomacy. As the guide, it was naturally his responsibility to explain the situation.
Yang Xiaomeng shot Jin Bo a glare, her hands still tingling from the strain. She leaned closer to the Shoulder Pole Angry Man and whispered something in his ear. The man's expression shifted dramatically, moving from anger to surprise, and finally settling into a palette of mixed emotions.
After a moment, their negotiation concluded. The Shoulder Pole Angry Man furrowed his brow, still skeptical as he sheathed his weapon and asked, "Who was acting like a rogue just now?"
Jin Bo shrank back a few steps. Although their group could easily overpower these Survivors in an instant, it was clear that things were not heading in a bad direction. As fellow Survivors, there was no need for them to resort to such extreme measures.
Yang Xiaomeng sighed and shook her head, signaling for the Shoulder Pole Angry Man to let it go. "Can your doctor help us out first?"
"We need to check the other rooms first," Song Jiu replied, neither refusing nor agreeing outright; they had to follow the necessary steps.
Yang Xiaomeng shrugged in resignation, indicating that it was up to them.
Thus, Jin Bo lowered his status from one of the leaders to a scout, leading a few people away to search every locked Bungalow inside and out.
They found nothing—empty rooms, empty rooms, warehouses, warehouses.
Song Jiu exchanged glances with Wu Wentao and gestured for Luci to take Dr. Zhong to another room.
"Let's talk somewhere else," Yang Xiaomeng reluctantly took on the role of a bridge between both sides. To his relief, Song Jiu's group did not storm in as he had feared; this eased his tension considerably.
The cafeteria lit up with candlelight as everyone took their seats.
Yang Xiaomeng sat at the table with the Shoulder Pole Angry Man while Song Jiu and Wu Wentao faced each other across the table. The others remained outside, keeping watch while taking a breather. After all the effort they had expended on this journey, everyone was glad for a moment of peace without fighting.
Song Jiu surveyed the surroundings and noted that this cafeteria bore some resemblance to the one at Riverside Camp, though it lacked Chef Jia's well-equipped kitchen; it only had a dark stove. The space was not large, with six very ordinary tables placed against either wall, spotless and gleaming in the flickering candlelight.
The two parties introduced themselves somewhat stiffly, with Yang Xiaomeng mediating the situation. Chef Jia spoke on behalf of Song Jiu and Wu Wentao, and after some conversation, the hostility that had filled the room dissipated considerably.
The man with the shoulder pole was named Cao Zheng. He was two years younger than Wu Wentao, with a robust physique that suggested he was quite muscular. However, he had a harmless-looking face—fair and clean, reminiscent of a cultured graduate student. His appearance was not particularly striking but rather decent; when he wasn’t speaking, he often wore a somewhat dazed expression, though the occasional spark in his eyes indicated that he was indeed thinking.
The girl who had been assaulted by Jin Bo was called Qianqian, about the same age as Luci. She was in another room tending to the injured and did not participate in the bilateral talks, so Song Jiu and the others were unaware of the specifics. However, from their introductions, it seemed that Qianqian had a special relationship with Cao Zheng. Regardless of what that relationship was, Jin Bo's actions were inappropriate. From Cao Zheng's words, it appeared that this matter was far from over.
Wu Wentao responded to this with a cold laugh. He didn’t care what Cao Zheng was feeling; frankly speaking, for Wu Wentao, as long as he held the initiative, it didn’t matter if Jin Bo had assaulted that girl—he could just keep it to himself. The only reason they were sitting down to talk was due to Song Jiu and Chef Jia's insistence. In his view, when faced with a gun to his head, one should ask what needed to be asked and take what needed to be taken before leaving. However, this was merely his inner thought; at this moment, they were part of a team, and he didn’t want to concern himself with trivial matters as long as they didn’t affect their progress. He let Song Jiu handle things as she saw fit.
As for the injured party, his name was Dai Wei. It was said that they had originally gone into the tunnel looking for something but suddenly noticed some movement and retreated hastily. They knew there were many zombies in the tunnel; usually, as long as there wasn't any loud noise, the zombies would disperse after wandering around for a while. Therefore, Dai Wei did not heed his companions' advice to retreat and continued searching ahead. Before long, chaos ensued; gunfire erupted, and they realized it wasn’t zombies causing trouble but rather someone entering the tunnel.
During the panicked retreat, several people got separated in the darkness. Soon after, Song Jiu and her group arrived at the tunnel entrance. Unfortunately for Dai Wei, he found himself blocking a side path when a girl came rushing toward him and struck him with her weapon. She probably thought he was a zombie because she didn’t check after knocking him down. Stunned by the blow and fearing further injury if he continued running, Dai Wei covered his wound and hid until the group of desperate individuals left before shakily returning to his companions.
Their vehicle was parked at the tunnel entrance. Song Jiu's group lingered there for some time; they couldn’t figure out these people's background and were afraid of venturing out too soon in case something unexpected happened. They waited until those individuals left before cautiously driving away.
Dai Wei had been struck during his panic but hadn’t felt it was too serious at the time and planned to deal with it later. Little did he know that Song Jiu’s standard Steel Saw Blade was incredibly sharp; the wound cut deep enough to see bone. With their limited medical skills, they found it difficult to treat properly. Thus, Yang Xiaomeng took the initiative to head to the Industrial Park in hopes of finding a doctor; if not, they would have to leave Dai Wei’s fate up to chance.
There’s no need to elaborate on what happened next; ultimately, by some stroke of luck, a doctor was indeed found. As for everything else, that could wait for another time.
It is worth mentioning that these four individuals were not survivors who had come together after the disaster; they were old friends who had run a medium-sized outdoor club for many years. By previous standards, they belonged to the same tier as Chao Yifan and Lin Daozhang—living comfortably without worries and seeking thrills as their only hobby.
Wu Wentao remained aloof throughout the conversation—listening but not speaking—clearly showing no interest in these people.
Song Jiu picked up on this and noticed that the atmosphere between both sides had eased considerably. She casually asked, “So you used to organize activities like mountain climbing?”
“We’ve been involved in all kinds of outdoor sports—it's quite diverse,” Cao Zheng replied dismissively; it seemed absurd to him that anyone would still associate outdoor activities solely with mountain climbing in this day and age.
“Oh,” Song Jiu said nonchalantly, appearing genuinely interested as she asked, “Does going out to sea count as an outdoor activity?”
Chef Jia and Wu Wentao were taken aback, silently observing the two people across from them.
Cao Zheng's face darkened; what kind of question was that? Going out to sea to fish? That was just a fishing activity.
Yang Xiaomeng cleared her throat and replied dismissively, "As long as we're not stuck at home, anything else is fine."
"Can you guys operate a boat?" Song Jiu transformed into a curious child, ignoring the impatience in the eyes of the two men, persistently pressing on with her questions.
Cao Zheng frowned, glancing at Wu Wentao, who was holding a gun. He suppressed his urge to mock and said calmly, "We can handle small to medium-sized boats and racing yachts. For us, this is work. If there's nothing else, I'd like to go see a friend first. Let's leave it at that for tonight; we can discuss other matters tomorrow. Is that okay?"
Song Jiu leaned back in her chair, satisfied, and let out a contented sigh, chuckling lightly, "Of course."
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