Chapter 25
Half an hour later, Wei Cheng and Guanguan arrived in the woods a hundred meters outside the town.
There might still be survivors in town, so to avoid exposing their secret, they got out here ahead of time.
Wei Cheng had also disguised both himself and his little brother. They had smeared yellow over their cheeks, and their snow boots and hats had been deliberately scuffed and worn-looking in advance. On the outside, they seemed to be wearing thin, dirty jackets and pants, but underneath they were actually layered in extremely warm down clothing. Those two sets of down jackets had each cost sixty coins even in the cheap, good-value Cloud Mall.
To outsiders, they looked like two sallow, starving children who had run into town to search for supplies.
“Brother, Guanguan is sweating already!”
Guanguan pulled down his children’s mask and let out a puff of white breath. “When are we going to fight monsters?”
Wei Cheng said in a low voice, “First we’re going into town to find a safe, hidden place to stay. After we observe how the zombies are gathered in town, then we’ll make our move.”
The north wind howled, and the sky was dim and gray. The road was full of wrecked, messy cars and garbage. Most of the shops on both sides had shattered doors and windows, with dried blood all over the ground. A few homes still had their doors and windows tightly shut, black blackout cloth covering the glass doors, while the three-story buildings above them were deathly silent.
Wei Cheng was very familiar with this town. Whenever he and Grandma returned to the countryside from the city, they always had to get off at the town’s coach station. And every time they came back, Grandma would bring him down this street to buy fruit and eggs for her old friend in Sun Village.
As long as they walked past this long market street and through two alleyways, they would reach the coach station. Beyond that was an old resettlement neighborhood, always crowded with people.
This market street was too quiet.
Just then, several figures ran out from the alley ahead.
Not zombies—living people.
Wei Cheng’s gaze sharpened. Taking Guanguan with him, he darted behind an overturned black car for cover, while his palm clamped tightly around the small crossbow hidden in his clothes.
The footsteps drew closer.
Wei Cheng and Guanguan saw that these four adults—two men and two women—were carrying slightly bulging travel bags.
One young woman suddenly stopped.
“What is it?”
“That shop with the black cloth over the door is the town’s grain and oil store!”
“The grain and oil store? Those shopkeepers really are slippery—they even took down the sign to avoid getting robbed. Big Brother, are we doing this or not?”
The man leading them thought for a moment. “Are you sure it’s the grain and oil store?”
The woman nodded. “I’m sure!”
The lead man wiped his nose and flicked the snot onto the ground. “Xiao Jun, A-Meng, you two go drive the car in! Zhou Zi, let’s make this quick! Smash the door!”
“Got it!”
The moment the words fell, the skinny man swung a baseball bat wrapped in thick iron and smashed it hard against the glass door of the grain and oil store.
The pounding on the door got louder and louder.
Not long after, the two of them broke in, and fierce sounds of fighting immediately erupted from inside.
Wei Cheng’s face changed. Just as he was about to leave with Guanguan, he turned and saw more than ten zombies filing out from shops in every direction.
“Brother! The monsters are here!” Guanguan’s voice tightened.
Into the safehouse?
Wei Cheng swept the area sharply—and the instant he looked up, the black curtain on the third floor of the grain and oil store moved ever so slightly.
They could not enter the safehouse!
Someone had been watching them the whole time.
As another wavering group of zombies came from the street corner, his eyes landed on an abandoned freight truck with all its windows shattered. One side of the truck was pressed against the wall of a building, while the lower view on the other side was blocked by the overturned black car that was currently helping hide them.
It was a perfect hiding spot.
Calmly, he said, “Guanguan, crawl under the truck and enter the safehouse!”
Guanguan obeyed at once. Though he was small and chubby, he was incredibly agile and quick, and in no time he had crawled under the truck. Wei Cheng followed right behind him.
The moment their hands touched the freezing concrete, both children shivered.
The commotion at the grain and oil store grew louder and louder. It seemed the owners were not the kind of easy prey who would just let themselves be robbed without a fight.
Before long, the sounds of human fighting suddenly stopped, replaced by terrified human screams as the group was attacked by zombies.
“Zombies! So many zombies!”
“Big Brother! Big Brother! Why haven’t Sister Meng and Xiao Jun come back to back us up yet?!”
“Idiot! Don’t you get it? Those two bastards abandoned us and ran!”
“Ahhhhhh! Big Brother, save me!”
“Xiao Zhou!”
The wailing of humans faded into the freezing air. A thick smell of blood rushed over them, and the sound of zombies chewing and swallowing seemed to be right beside their ears.
The next second, Wei Cheng and Guanguan successfully entered the safehouse.
Hearing the noise, the little black dog ran over excitedly. “Woof woof woof!”
But at a moment like this, neither of them had the energy or mood to hug the puppy.
Still shaken, Guanguan swallowed. “Brother! So many, so many monsters!”
Wei Cheng crouched down and hugged him. “Don’t be afraid. We’re safe for now. Brother is going to see what’s happening outside.”
He strode to the living room and pulled open the curtains. Since they had entered the safehouse from beneath the truck, all they could see through the window were blue-black, rotting zombie ankles.
Suddenly, a glass bottle landed exactly under the truck. Green shards exploded against the safehouse window, but left no mark.
One bottle, then two, then three.
The next second, several zombies that had been feeding were drawn over. They crowded and shoved against one another, trying to crawl under the truck, their bloody hands still smeared with fresh intestines slamming against the glass in front of the window.
Without the protection of the safehouse, those sharp corpse claws would likely have torn the two children open alive!
Guanguan was so frightened by the sudden bloody sight that he stumbled backward again and again, screaming in terror, “Brother! Monster! Monster!”
“Guanguan, don’t look!”
Wei Cheng immediately pulled the curtains shut.
He carried Guanguan back to the sofa and turned on the television, putting on Guanguan’s favorite cartoon.
The familiar theme song began to play, but Guanguan still did not dare open his eyes. Like a frightened little kitten, he buried himself deep in his brother’s arms.
That person must have seen them hiding under the truck, so from upstairs they had thrown bottles to deliberately attract the zombies and have them eaten!
If not for the safehouse, he and Guanguan would probably already have been doomed.
Wei Cheng’s eyes turned vicious as he thought of that faintly moving curtain on the third floor of the grain and oil store.
What kind of person could be so vicious as to try to kill two stranger children like that?
This dogshit apocalypse really had given certain dogshit people the chance to come out and wreak havoc.
And twisted killers always came back to admire their own handiwork.
There would be a chance to settle this score.
“Guanguan? Guanguan?”
Wei Cheng stroked Guanguan’s head and said softly, “Guanguan was amazing. When it was that dangerous, Brother told you to crawl under the truck, and you did it right away without any hesitation. Even when the frozen concrete was so cold it hurt, you didn’t scream or cry out. You didn’t attract the zombies either. Guanguan is the bravest three-year-old baby Brother has ever seen.”
The little black dog also sat below the sofa, looking worriedly at Guanguan and his brother.
After a while, Guanguan lifted his stuffy, flushed, tear-wet face from his brother’s chest. “Really? Even if I got scared and cried, I’m still a brave baby?”
“No one could see a scene like that and not cry.”
Guanguan reached out and touched his brother’s face, only to find it dry. “Liar. Brother didn’t cry!”
Wei Cheng gave a bitter little smile. “Brother cried before too.”
When he was thirteen, he had once gone out on a mission with a team. He knew perfectly well those teammates had brought him along to use him as cannon fodder. But he had heard that in the small town where the mission was, there was a Western-style church, and many four- and five-year-old orphans were living there in misery.
When Wei Cheng rushed to that church full of hope, it had already been overrun by zombies.
Alone, he had been attacked from both front and back, trapped in a dead alley by the horde. Inside him was the obsession of finding his younger brother. He knew he could not die. So, weeping as he fought, he carved out a bloody path to survive.
Guanguan scratched his little cheek. “Okay then.”
Then he turned his head to glance at the television. “Brother, Guanguan has already seen this episode!”
Wei Cheng laughed. “No wonder you weren’t even watching the cartoon. Go wash your hands. Brother will get you strawberries and beef jerky.”
Guanguan obediently bounced off the sofa. “Going right now!”
That was the good thing about Guanguan—no matter what emotion hit him, he always managed to digest it quickly.
While Guanguan went upstairs to wash his hands, Wei Cheng quietly pulled aside one corner of the living room curtain again.
The market street still reeked strongly of blood. The zombie horde was still wandering about the street, unwilling to leave.
Even while eating, Wei Cheng remained by the window, keeping watch.
Whenever that person appeared, the zombies outside would finally scatter completely.
Cowards like that always cherished their own lives the most.
At eight in the evening, a pair of sneakers appeared near the freight truck.
This person circled the small truck three or four times, then finally bent half his body down to look underneath.
The strong flashlight beam shone onto the safehouse glass, and Wei Cheng finally saw his face clearly.
It was a skinny boy of about twelve years old.
“Fuck! Damn zombies, they didn’t even leave me a single piece of body meat?”
The boy curled his lip in boredom and muttered to himself, “Boring. So boring!”
Wei Cheng coldly raised the small crossbow in his hand, then lowered it again.
That would be letting this juvenile offender off too easily.
At eleven-thirty that night, Wei Cheng quietly brought Guanguan out from under the truck.
Outside, it was pitch black, impossible to see even your own fingers.
But both Wei Cheng and Guanguan were wearing night-vision goggles, and they accurately avoided every obstacle that could make noise.
The grain and oil store was a complete wreck. The floor was covered in dried blood and corpses that had been dug hollow, leaving only pale white ribs.
Men, women, and children—there were all kinds.
Wei Cheng tightened his grip on Guanguan’s icy hand and whispered, “Don’t be afraid. In the apocalypse, corpses are the most common thing. The scariest thing is people. Zombies come second. Do you understand?”
Half understanding, Guanguan nodded. “I understand!”
It seemed that besides the grain and oil store family and that twisted boy on the third floor, there were probably other survivors on this street too, because they found there was not a single grain left in the store. The shelves and storage room were completely empty, and even the most basic seasonings in the kitchen had been swept clean.
That group of looters had died for their greed toward the grain and oil store, only to end up benefiting the people who had been waiting and watching all along.
The truly innocent victims were still the family who owned the grain and oil store.
Wei Cheng found a room with an intact door and said to Guanguan, “Guanguan, go into the safehouse and sleep. Brother will be right back.”
Guanguan yawned and rubbed his eyes. “Where is Brother going?”
“Aren’t we supposed to kill zombies for missions?”
Wei Cheng smiled faintly. “Brother found a very good lookout point. And he also found a very good bait for attracting zombies.”
He watched with his own eyes as Guanguan entered the safehouse. Only then did he head up the stairs of the grain and oil store to the third floor.
In the pitch-black stairwell, a steady knock sounded on the door.
Author’s Note:
Big Brother is actually a hardcore little-brother addict and a deeply vindictive dark-hearted guy. [covering face and peeking]
