Chapter 30
After the radio finished transmitting those broken, intermittent lines, it fell silent again.
Huan City, Ming City, and Zhou City—several cities dense with industry—had already completely fallen and become nests of the walking dead. The broadcast urged survivors to take advantage of the zombies’ slow movement during winter and head as quickly as possible to safe bases established by the cleanup forces in places like Yu City and Bei City.
In his previous life, young Wei Cheng had spent a very long time wandering in circles through Huan City’s urban districts, searching for Guanguan. It was only because of a man he had not known for long that he finally decided to leave. The man told him he had once seen many children being taken away by a cleanup-force helicopter, and from the direction it had flown, the destination was probably the ancient city of a thousand years—Yu City.
Wei Cheng thought about it for an entire night before deciding to go with the man to Yu City Base.
But just as they were about to reach Yu City, they were hit by a serious attack. Their group suffered heavy casualties, and the man had his throat torn open by a zombie. Before dying, he stuffed all the moldy biscuits he had been too reluctant to eat into Wei Cheng’s hands.
The man vomited black blood and cried at the same time, gripping Wei Cheng’s hand hard, telling him that he had to live well no matter what, that even if he never found his little brother, he still had to go on living…
Only then did Wei Cheng realize that the man had never actually seen any helicopter taking children away. He had simply been unable to bear watching Wei Cheng, all alone, wait for death in a Huan City full of walking corpses.
Wei Cheng had no way to carry the man’s body away. The only thing he could take was the family photo the man had hidden against his chest.
In the picture, the full-moon baby and the gentle, beautiful woman were most likely the wife and daughter the man had lost.
Later, after Wei Cheng earned money at the base, he specially bought a small bottle of alcohol and a few milk candies and burned them together with the photo for the man.
Guanguan bent down to pick up the yogurt bites that had fallen on the floor, only for Little Apricot to swoop in like a little black whirlwind and gobble them all up with urgent little awoos!
Once something hit the ground, it belonged to him!
Guanguan lost the race to Little Apricot, so, huffing angrily, he shoved himself into his brother’s arms. Then, thinking of something, he tilted up his little head. “Big brother? What’s a base? Is it the home of the Chick Squad?”
Only then did Wei Cheng come back to himself. He shook his head. “No. It’s like Sun Village—a place where we can temporarily avoid being disturbed by zombies. If one day Sun Village is no longer safe, we’ll have to go to a base for shelter too.”
With supplies as complete as theirs, and with their own abilities still not mature enough yet, hiding out at a base for the early stage of the apocalypse would actually be workable.
Yu City had three major bases: Watcher Community, Highland Shelter, and The Thirteenth United Cannery.
The one Wei Cheng entered back then was the most vicious and darkest of the three—Watcher Community. The things that went on inside were disgustingly beyond belief.
The Cannery had the richest supplies, but their standards for accepting survivors were extremely strict. No children under five. No elderly people above sixty. No pregnant women.
Highland Shelter, on the other hand, was the most humane base.
Later, Wei Cheng had done missions with hunters from Highland Shelter. He had heard that before the apocalypse, the leader of the base had been some kind of important figure, and still carried a sense of justice that the end of the world had not completely ground away. While hunters who risked their lives on missions still stood permanently above ordinary survivors, he treated the weak, the elderly, women, and children kindly. As long as people did not cause trouble and did their own part, everyone could fill their stomachs.
There was also an unspoken rule among the three major bases: once an ordinary person chose a base in the beginning, they could only survive in that one. Anyone who wandered between bases would be permanently expelled. Hunters with real ability, however, were not bound by that rule.
Guanguan looked curious. “Big brother, will we meet Mingming and Xiaotiao and Grandpa Director and Teacher Xiaomei at the base?”
Wei Cheng thought for a moment. “It’s possible. Right now, the closest cleanup-force bases to Huan City are Yu City and Bei City. But Bei City is a major population center. If Grandpa Director and the others wanted to leave Huan City, there’s a very high chance they’d go to Yu City Base.”
Guanguan’s eyes went round with delight, and he clapped his hands. “If we could meet them, that would be so great! Guanguan misses them so, so much!”
Wei Cheng was almost felled by how cute he was and smiled as he rubbed Guanguan’s head.
That evening, after hearing his bedtime story, Guanguan and the little black dog drifted off into deep sleep. Wei Cheng, meanwhile, entered the Cloud Mall once again.
If he wanted to extend the amount of time they could stay in the Cozy Little Home and upgrade the wiggle car’s major functions, then he needed to spend Twisty Coins to raise the safe house stockpile amount.
5000 Twisty Coins = 5 million yuan, which would give him 125 stockpile points. That would raise the safe house stockpile amount to 250, and the wiggle car’s intermediate form would also rise to 250 points, bringing them a little closer to the target of 2000 points—(When the wiggle car’s intermediate form reaches 2000, it unlocks ten-person escape…)
250 hours! They could live continuously in the Cozy Little Home for ten days!
How exactly to spend that money—and how to spend it where it mattered most—was what gave Wei Cheng a headache.
What were they lacking most right now?
The shelves and fridge already held enough food and bottled water for him and Guanguan to eat and drink without worry for ten years. Money had already been set aside for daily necessities, clothing, shoes, and socks. What they lacked most were gasoline, coal, and guns.
And, unfortunately, those were exactly the three things the mall did not have.
Wei Cheng wandered the mall while thinking, until his gaze suddenly froze. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
The Machinery Zone was open?
He pushed the shopping cart and ran straight toward the Machinery Zone, so shocked for a moment that he could not speak.
The zone that had previously looked like it was covered in mosaic blur was now as bright, clear, and neatly arranged as the rest of the open areas. Various guns were mounted on the wall.
The classic, never-outdated long-range god AK-47 rifle, MP5 submachine guns suitable for short to medium range, Skorpion pistols, compact lightweight automatic handguns, shotguns with massive power but equally massive weight, and sniper rifles for ultra-long-range use…
On the shelves beside them were densely packed wooden crates of bullets of every type.
Wei Cheng quickly realized that only the firearms-and-ammo section had opened. The areas beyond were still shrouded in white mist, making it impossible to see what other treasures might still be hidden there.
He took a handgun down from the wall and examined it. The grip felt excellent, the weight was extremely light. He quickly broke it open to inspect it—9mm bullets, 15-round magazine, perfect.
But the moment he saw the price tag, his joy cooled a little.
Too expensive.
The two crossbows he had been using recently cost 2000 yuan for the smaller one and 6000 yuan for the larger one, and he had stocked two or three of each. The most expensive part had been the steel bolts made with excellent materials and workmanship—about 80 yuan per bolt—which was why, when carrying out the mission to kill 500 zombies, he had chosen to use cheap steel pellets instead.
The bullets themselves were cheap. For example, 9mm rounds for submachine guns and handguns cost only 1.5 yuan per round, and each crate contained 100 rounds. But the guns themselves were outrageously expensive!
A single small handgun cost 200 Twisty Coins (200,000 yuan)! An AK-47 cost 500 Twisty Coins (500,000 yuan)! A sniper rifle cost 1000 Twisty Coins (1,000,000 yuan)!
They really started at a million, just like that.
Still, after calming down, Wei Cheng could understand why the prices were absurd.
Because in the apocalypse, guns and ammunition were the confidence to keep living.
He had drifted through ten years of the apocalypse, and by the end had only one old-fashioned pistol at his side.
Truthfully, he had intercepted plenty of guns many times. But he had no desire for fame or power. Even his own life had felt optional. He had only wanted to find his little brother. In the end, all those guns had been left to bases that genuinely still carried a larger sense of duty and righteousness.
Wei Cheng first bought bullets in different calibers and price tiers.
For 9mm rounds, each one cost 1.5 yuan, and with 100 rounds per crate, he directly bought 2000 crates, spending a full 300,000 yuan.
For 7.62mm rounds, which had greater power and were suitable for sniper rifles, each bullet cost 5 yuan. Again, there were 100 rounds per crate. Since sniper rifles were not used often, he only bought 300 crates, spending 150,000 yuan.
Bullets alone cost nearly half a million yuan. That left 4.5 million yuan, which Wei Cheng spent entirely on AK-47s, small handguns, and sniper rifles.
In the end, he chose two kinds of handguns that suited his hands well and bought ten total, spending 2 million yuan. He bought three AK-47s, spending 1.5 million yuan, and used the final 1 million to buy the most expensive sniper rifle.
Making money was hard. Spending it was like water flowing away.
In only that short time, the 5000 Twisty Coins he and Guanguan had earned the day before were completely gone.
[Twisty Coin Balance: 7900]
[Safe House Stockpile Amount: 250]
[Wiggle Car Upgrade Level: Intermediate Form 250]
Looking at the balance, now back down to four digits, Wei Cheng still could not stop himself from opening the Mission Section, which was flashing with a little red dot.
[Mission Section]
[Daily Missions]
(1) Learn ten Chinese characters [1 Twisty Coin per character]
(2) Early math enlightenment [Can earn 5 Twisty Coins]
(3) The little house owner baby is overweight! Please actively supervise the baby to do daily exercise! [Complete one little exercise check-in to earn 5 Twisty Coins]
[Basic Mission]
(1) Please find a suitable base for the little house owner and the bound person. [Successfully settle into a new base to earn 3000 Twisty Coins]
When Wei Cheng saw the basic mission, he was slightly surprised.
By now, he had thoroughly understood how much the system cared about him and Guanguan. If it was asking them to find a new base, then that meant that one day, Sun Village might also become unsafe.
Which made sense. Huan City had already fallen, and Changde Town, the nearest town to Sun Village, was in even more alarming condition. The fact that Sun Village had lasted this long was already remarkable.
Recognizing characters and numbers, plus daily exercise, would bring in 20 Twisty Coins a day, which meant 600 coins a month. At the very least, that was enough to buy a few small handguns.
But… was Guanguan really overweight?
He still looked so tiny and soft.
Maybe the system was judging by scientific developmental standards for toddlers.
Guanguan had always been able to eat a lot. Wei Cheng had known that for a long time. Grandpa Director had even taken Guanguan to the hospital for a check-up.
The child ate a lot, but had never once felt unwell. The system also constantly monitored Guanguan’s health, so if there were any real problem, it would surely have warned them in time.
If even the system said Guanguan needed to slim down, then it was real!
Wei Cheng thought seriously: being overweight was not a good thing. It needed to be taken seriously. Of course he could not just stop giving Guanguan food. It looked like the only choice was to make Guanguan exercise.
On the little bed, fast asleep, Guanguan rolled over, one little hand still clutching a corner of the blanket, and a tiny nose bubble quietly puffed out.
In his dream, the lamb skewers were delicious. One for big brother, one for him. One for Little Apricot, one for him.
—
“Exercise?”
Guanguan rubbed his eyes and, in a dazed way, pinched the little fat on his belly. “Big brother, is Guanguan a very fat baby?”
Wei Cheng lifted the child off the bed like pulling up a turnip and set him on the scale he had bought last night.
Guanguan was not good at numbers, but the moment he saw a figure that looked a bit complicated, he panicked. His clear eyes turned watery. “Big brother, maybe the bunny pajamas are playing tricks.”
These bunny pajamas had been bought at great expense for Guanguan, the kind that focused on being light, soft, comfortable, and promoting excellent sleep.
Looking at the number, even Wei Cheng was a little surprised. For a three-year-old, this number was indeed a bit high. But Guanguan was so good at hiding his little rolls of fat that in everyday life it never looked like he weighed this much!
He said delicately, “It’s not entirely the bunny pajamas causing trouble.”
Guanguan’s logic was very clear. “Then is it Guanguan’s little fat pieces causing trouble?”
“Guanguan, think about it. After every meal, what else do you eat?”
Guanguan hung over his brother’s shoulder, counting on his plump little fingers. “Yogurt bites, sour-sweet dried apricot, big strawberries, shrimp crackers, jelly, cheese sticks, applesauce pouches, zhizhi cakes…”
Wei Cheng froze. “Do I really let you eat that much every day?”
Guanguan’s eyes darted around. “All the yummy things ran into Guanguan’s tummy by themselves!”
Wei Cheng laughed helplessly. “Then were they doing it on purpose, or by accident?”
Guanguan answered instantly, “On-purpose by accident!”
Wei Cheng pinched his peach-soft cheek. “See? Those things all run into Guanguan’s tummy every day. But after eating, Guanguan only kicks the little ball for a little while, so they all stay inside his tummy. If those things don’t get used up, they’ll affect Guanguan’s ability to eat lamb skewers and little beef pieces.”
Guanguan’s eyes went round. “That’s not allowed!”
If the fat survives, the snacks will forever remain concubines!
Wei Cheng bounced him lightly in his arms. “Then starting today, should we exercise a little more?”
Guanguan puckered his mouth and nodded. “Okay then.”
He did not even say “yay” this time, so he clearly really did not like exercise.
In the morning, Wei Cheng and Guanguan had crab-roe soup dumplings with light, fragrant vegetable porridge.
After breakfast, Wei Cheng first taught Guanguan Chinese characters. He knew that three-year-olds could not sit still, so he only taught characters from the lines of cartoons.
Guanguan was especially smart, and in no time at all he learned them all, bouncing around as he went.
As for early math, after thinking about it, Wei Cheng decided it would be better to combine it with exercise.
“Come on, Guanguan. Let’s go to the old house and play frisbee with the puppy.”
The moment he heard that, Guanguan jumped down from the child’s chair with a plop. “Charge, charge, charge!”
When the little black dog saw the frisbee, it was so excited it barked nonstop at them.
Wei Cheng placed six frisbees on the table and said, “Guanguan, how many frisbees are here?”
Standing on tiptoe, Guanguan counted, “One, two, shan…”
“It’s three.”
Guanguan obediently repeated, “Three!” Then, with powerful confidence, “Four five six!”
Wei Cheng smiled. “Very good. Okay, today big brother will throw the frisbee, and you and Little Apricot will race to catch it. Tomorrow, you’ll throw it, and big brother and Little Apricot will race for it. All right?”
Guanguan still did not understand big brother’s real intention. He waved both little hands, full of excitement. “Yay!”
The first floor of the old house had thick carpets laid down. At first, Guanguan and Little Apricot played with incredible enthusiasm.
But after only a few rounds, Guanguan began to want to slack off. Scratching his head, he said, “Big brother, Guanguan wants water.”
Wei Cheng immediately handed him his little dog cup.
Guanguan pretended to drink two sips, then added, “Big brother, Little Apricot wants water too!”
Wei Cheng laughed. “Guanguan, tomorrow it’ll be your turn to throw the frisbee while big brother and Little Apricot run for it, you know.”
As soon as he heard that, Guanguan resigned himself to his fate. He grabbed another little frisbee, waddled over to his brother, and plunked it onto the table with force. “Very angrily serving big brother!”
“Need hug!”
Wei Cheng laughed so hard it hurt and immediately picked him up. “You’re angry at me, and you still want me to hug you?”
Guanguan’s little mouth puckered like a chick’s beak. “Need hug! Big brother, do you have another Guanguan now?”
“Where would another Guanguan come from? There’s only one Guanguan, and that’s you.” Wei Cheng was both amused and helpless.
Guanguan tucked his little hands together pitifully. “Guanguan’s little fat pieces were all eaten bite by bite. Guanguan has deep feelings for them.”
The Chinese characters had definitely not been learned for nothing. “Deep” had been learned the day before yesterday, and “feelings” today, and now he was already using them together.
Wei Cheng bounced him in his arms and said softly, “Guanguan, but little babies really can’t be too fat. If they are, they’ll get sick. When they grow up, they’ll also turn into little chubby lumps. Big brother wants you to eat well and play well, but big brother also wants you to be healthy.”
This time, Guanguan understood. He shook his head. “Guanguan doesn’t want to get sick!”
“Mm. In the future, whatever you want to eat, you can still eat normally. But we can’t just kick a little ball after meals like before. We might need to do exercises like back at the welfare home, and play frisbee too. How about that?”
Guanguan accepted immediately. “Okay! Guanguan is super good at exercises, and will lead big brother and Little Apricot!”
Wei Cheng smiled. “All right, then from now on we’ll do exercises.”
—
In the early hours of October 20, the temperature plummeted, and a violent blizzard suddenly descended upon the already ravaged land.
The snowstorm lasted seven days. Many people froze to death in buildings without heat or electricity, and many more died on the road while trying to reach safe bases.
The cold did not make the zombies disappear. Instead, it seemed to evolve their intelligence. As if aware that they moved too slowly, they buried themselves beneath the thick snow to wait for the right moment, ready at any time to burst from the drifts and devour humanity’s last sliver of hope.
Seven days later, the snow stopped and the temperature slowly began to rise. In the village, one could occasionally hear the hoarse, shrill zombie cries of roaming packs.
It took Wei Cheng two full days to force open the house door, which had been blocked by packed snow. The courtyard wall had been built higher, and the yard faced away from the sun on all four sides. The snow inside the courtyard had piled all the way up to Wei Cheng’s thighs, and there was no way it would melt quickly.
Guanguan, bundled in a thick hat and scarf, had cashmere thermal underwear underneath, then two sweaters, then finally his down jacket and down pants.
The child wrapped up into a little ball of fat was stunned by the sight.
“So much snow!”
Wei Cheng had trouble moving through the snow himself, but he still had to shovel it out of the courtyard. Left for too long, it would not only breed bacteria, but make the old house even colder and damper.
He straightened his hat to protect his ears. “Guanguan, stay by the doorway and play. Don’t run into the snow, understood?”
Guanguan shook his little yellow duck snow mold and yellow bucket. “Big brother, Guanguan hasn’t exercised yet today!”
Wei Cheng glanced back at him and laughed. “Be good. Little babies can’t exercise in the snow.”
Guanguan nodded. “Okay then! Then Guanguan will make little ducks here!”
“All right, go make them. When you get tired, go back inside and play with Little Apricot.”
Little Apricot was a short-haired dog and still only a puppy. Neither Wei Cheng nor Guanguan wanted him romping around crazily in the snow.
After working for a while, Wei Cheng realized the tool was not good enough. He still needed a large snow shovel. He instructed, “Guanguan, big brother is going to buy another tool. You stay by the doorway and play. Don’t run around.”
At this point, Guanguan had already molded out two neat rows of little ducks.
His eyes sparkled brightly. He was having the time of his life. “Okay, okay! Guanguan won’t run around.”
The snow mold pressed into the snow, clamped tightly, and when opened a moment later, out came a plump little duck.
Just after one new duck joined the line, there was a slight noise at the iron gate.
Guanguan only looked at the gate curiously, still holding the little duck in one hand, saying nothing.
Then the iron gate was knocked on from outside.
Guanguan gently set down the snow mold and immediately entered the safe house.
Update Posting Schedule: Starting next chapter, posting schedule change from posting every day to 3 chapters every Sunday~
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