My Cherry Will Explode in the Apocalypse – CH86

Chapter 86: Meeting Familiar Faces Again

“Brother Zhan!” A man limped out of a dilapidated house, calling out Zhan Yun’s surname the moment he appeared.

Zhan Yun looked at him in surprise. He didn’t recall knowing someone like this.

“Brother Zhan, it’s me—Zhang Maorong!” The man saw the confusion on Zhan Yun’s face and quickly identified himself.

Even after hearing the name, Zhan Yun only found it vaguely familiar and couldn’t quite match it to the person in front of him.

It was Su Ruizhe who remembered. Wasn’t this the strength-type ability user who had once single-handedly set up a small safe zone and taken in a group of survivors, the one who spoke like a wuxia novel character? Su Ruizhe recalled him mainly because Chen Huizhen and Su Qiming had also appeared in that safe zone at the time.

Su Ruizhe quickly reminded Zhan Yun in a low voice, and only then did Zhan Yun remember. His impression of the man had been fairly good. When Zhang Maorong established that safe zone, it hadn’t been to play the tyrant or lord over others, but genuinely to save as many people as possible. Whenever danger arose, he had been willing to charge to the front.

Zhang Maorong had changed a great deal since then. His once-shaved head had grown out, but without any real style—messy tufts sticking out in all directions, like a bird’s nest. His build was still as robust as before, yet now it was marked with many scars. As for his left leg, which had caused his limping earlier, it was splinted with pieces of wood, clearly a broken bone.

“What happened to you?” He was, after all, a strength-type ability user—how had he ended up in such a miserable state? Hadn’t they said that ability users were treated well at Línchéng Base?

Zhang Maorong hesitated, finding it hard to speak.

“Oh! Brother Zhang, let me explain!” At that moment, another young man ran out of the same house. He was the one who had once been in charge of guarding the gate at that safe zone—the same guy who had taken a fancy to their off-road vehicle and wanted to offer it to Brother Zhang.

The young man was named Du Jiang. Sharp-witted, he had been rescued by Zhang Maorong from a pack of zombies after the apocalypse broke out, and had followed him ever since.

Du Jiang was eloquent and quickly explained everything that had happened after Zhan Yun and the others left. Soon after their departure, red rain had begun to fall. When it stopped, the zombies had grown much stronger. Just as Zhan Yun had warned them back then, relying on that single gate was nowhere near enough to hold off the zombies, and the small safe zone was quickly overrun. Thanks to Zhang Maorong’s efforts, however, most of the people survived. He led the remaining group through countless hardships out of the city, and along the way heard about a survivor base here, so they headed over without hesitation.

Because of their large numbers, Zhang Maorong and his group had handed over all the food they’d brought as the entry fee, leaving them no choice but to settle in the most rundown area of the city. They formed teams to venture out of the city in search of supplies and only barely managed to gain a foothold.

However, Zhang Maorong was ultimately just a strength-type ability user, capable only of close combat and unable to fight at range. His team frequently found itself in danger, not to mention the large amount of resources needed to buy gasoline and weapons. Gradually, some people began to waver, seeking refuge with other ability users. Zhang Maorong’s team grew smaller and smaller, until only the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled remained.

With Zhang Maorong holding things together, life was hard, but at least they could survive.

Later, though, they encountered an evolved zombie. Even for Zhang Maorong, dealing with it was extremely difficult. In the end, he killed it at the cost of severe injuries.

After that, even more people left. Only a dozen or so remained, grateful for Zhang Maorong’s past kindness, earning a bit of food by doing hard labor in the base.

Looking at the people standing amid the ruins, timidly peering at them, both Zhan Yun and Su Ruizhe felt a surge of sympathy. With winter approaching, if Zhang Maorong and his group continued living in Línchéng Base, they would be facing a dead end.

Zhan Yun felt that although Zhang Maorong was reckless, he was kind-hearted. Those who had chosen to stay and take care of him after he was injured still had a conscience. It was only because they were trapped in a place like Línchéng Base that their lives were so miserable. If they were willing to go to the Southern Base, as long as they worked hard and didn’t try to cheat or slack off, they would surely live well.

Thinking of Lin Jia, an idea stirred in Su Ruizhe’s mind. He leaned close to Zhan Yun’s ear and whispered a few words. Zhan Yun nodded, agreeing with the suggestion.

“Would you be willing to leave this place?” Zhan Yun genuinely wanted to lend them a hand, so he gave them a general overview of the situation at the Southern Base and asked for their thoughts.

Línchéng Base wasn’t very far from the Southern Base—only two or three days’ journey. Once the rain stopped, they could set off immediately and might make it there before winter. Moreover, according to Su Ruizhe’s plan, he wanted to get Lin Jia out. Lin Jia was a rare healing-type ability user and would be of great help to the Southern Base. But since they were in a hurry to head northwest, they couldn’t take Lin Jia with them. If Zhang Maorong and the others were willing to go south, they could take him along instead. As for Xu Fengying, although her personality was odd and she was a bit noisy, she seemed to be a decent person. If she was also willing to come along, the journey would be much safer.

“Of course! Of course!” Zhang Maorong and Du Jiang nodded vigorously, like chicks pecking at grain. They never could have imagined that there was a place like the Southern Base, where everyone was treated equally and even ordinary people received such good welfare—completely different from Línchéng Base. Such a blessing was beyond anything they could have hoped for; how could they possibly refuse?

“Alright then. You can’t stay here anyway—come with us to the other side.”

The three-story building across the way didn’t have many rooms, but it was spacious. After spreading sheets and bedding on the floor, squeezing a dozen or so people into the living room wouldn’t be a problem. They planned to leave as soon as the rain stopped anyway, so there was no need to be too particular.

Braving the rain, everyone ran over to the small building across the street.

Zhan Yun and the others were wearing ski jackets, so they hadn’t gotten too wet. Zhang Maorong and his group, however, were drenched like drowned rats. Their clothes were already tattered beyond repair, and as they stood shivering at the doorway, they looked utterly pitiful.

“I remember there are some old clothes upstairs. I’ll go get them,” Su Ruizhe said, winking at Zhan Yun before dashing upstairs.

“Come in, all of you. It’s windy outside,” Zhang Shuoliang couldn’t help but urge.

“The f-floor…” Du Jiang looked at the clean, neat wooden floor and felt too embarrassed to step inside.

“Cut the crap! Get in, all of you!”

Zhan Yun’s brows shot up and his expression hardened. The group immediately obeyed and filed inside.

Su Ruizhe soon ran back down from upstairs, arms full of a stack of clothes he had painstakingly rummaged out from his storage space—half-new, half-worn items he had collected while taking part in rescue missions in City A. They finally came in handy. Behind him was Song Chengshu, carrying two large buckets filled with hot water for everyone to wash up.

Wu Jing and Cheng Jiao also came down from upstairs to help. They were carrying a packet of powdered milk and, using the hot water Song Chengshu had provided, mixed each person a cup of warm milk, serving it in disposable cups and handing them out one by one.

After a simple wash and changing into soft, comfortable clothes, the people cradled their cups of warm milk, sipping carefully, one small mouthful at a time. Tears overflowed from their eyes. They had suffered so much in recent days that the scene before them felt like a dream.

Su Ruizhe brought down several quilts from upstairs. Two of them belonged to the three-story building itself, while the other two had come from his storage space. The bed sheets in the house had been dusty and were thrown away, but the quilts were still fairly clean. They had been used as padding earlier and were now just right to spread on the floor for them.

Zhan Yun and the others also brought down some biscuits and handed them out so everyone could fill their stomachs.

“Get some rest. Once the rain stops, we’ll set off immediately.” Línchéng Base had never valued ordinary people. With Zhang Maorong now having a broken leg, he was as good as useless in their eyes. If they chose to leave, Línchéng Base certainly wouldn’t care.

“Thank you! Thank you!” The group kept expressing their gratitude.

Zhan Yun waved it off, and everyone returned to their rooms to rest.

Though the people in the living room had to sleep all crowded together, it was the most comfortable night’s sleep they had had in a long time.

After going upstairs, Su Ruizhe and Zhan Yun didn’t return directly to their own room. Instead, they went to Wu Jing and Zhang Shuoliang’s room. They were there to find Wu Jing.

They wanted to rescue Lin Jia, but before that, they had to help him deal with the problem of overexerting his ability. Wu Jing’s ability was extremely special—no matter how tightly guarded the place where Lin Jia was being held, it would be useless against her. She could enter and leave freely.

They planned to have Wu Jing quietly pay Lin Jia a visit, bring him a few crystal cores to replenish the energy he had consumed, help him recover his strength as quickly as possible, and then tell him about the Southern Base. As long as he was willing to go there, they would definitely find a way to get him out.

Although Wu Jing wasn’t feeling well—her period had started and she had caught a cold—so it felt a bit unfair to send her out in the rain, time was tight. They had no idea when the rain would stop, and they couldn’t afford to linger. Fortunately, the place where Lin Jia was staying wasn’t far. A round trip wouldn’t take long, and with the cover of darkness and rain, it would be even easier to act.

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