Chapter 41
Only after their identities had been verified were Guanguan and the others finally allowed into the Hot Spring Villas.
The sky was dim, and towering trees grew thick on both sides, blotting out the heavens. A long bamboo-and-wood suspension bridge stretched across ahead of them.
Fortunately, the guard used a flashlight to light the way for them.
This was Guanguan’s first time seeing a suspension bridge high in the air. He cautiously tested it with one little foot, but the moment an adult stepped onto the bridge behind them, the whole thing began to sway.
He immediately hugged his brother’s leg and refused to go forward. “Brother, Guanguan is a little scared.”
Wei Cheng picked him up. “It’s okay. Brother will carry you.”
Ten minutes later, they finally reached the other side. Then they were checked by the guards once more for any hidden knives before being allowed through.
The moment the heavy stone gate swung open, a scene completely unlike the survivor community spread out before them.
The White Villas and the Grand Hotel had no electricity, but here the lights blazed brightly, water flowed and murmured, and towering mountain villas stood in neat rows atop the peak like some hidden realm in the mountains.
One big and two little country bumpkins all lacked experience—even before the apocalypse, they had never seen a place this beautiful.
A middle-aged man in a refined suit with a warm smile walked over from not far away and extended his hand. “Manager Shen, please follow me.”
The farther they walked, the stronger the scent of wine became.
The well-dressed men and women, all elegant and polished, showed no surprise at these three uninvited guests. They merely glanced over and then continued swirling their wine glasses, chatting and laughing softly.
Only then did Shen Zheng realize that this group was holding a lawn banquet.
When the middle-aged man pressed a glass of red wine into his hand, Shen Zheng suddenly felt an indescribable discomfort.
Wei Cheng’s gaze swept across the crowd. So this was the kind of life those two hundred people here lived.
The middle-aged man said, “Manager Shen, the big leader is just ahead. You may bring the children to meet him.”
Following Shen Uncle, they moved through the crowd until they reached the poolside.
There sat several men wearing bathrobes.
The one surrounded in the center had a handsome face and was unusually young, looking about the same age as Shen Uncle.
In his previous life, Wei Cheng had never met Highland Shelter’s top leader. He had always assumed that a leader who treated survivors relatively kindly would be a middle-aged or elderly man.
The man smiled gently. “Shen Zheng, you’ve come.”
Shen Zheng nodded slightly. “Leader.”
The man turned his head and looked at the two children beside Shen Zheng. His gaze, sharp as an eagle’s, lingered on Guanguan’s face for a long while before he finally crooked a finger. “Good child, come here.”
Guanguan lowered his little head and shuffled forward one tiny, tiny, tiny step.
The kind that could practically be ignored.
The people around them burst out laughing. “Boss Qin, look at you scaring the child!”
“This child is really beautiful.”
“And that’s his older brother? He’s beautiful too.”
Wei Cheng stepped forward and took Guanguan’s hand. “Uncle, my little brother is a bit timid.”
“Your courage is bigger than his.”
Boss Qin smiled. “How old are you this year?”
Wei Cheng said, “It’ll be New Year soon. I’ll turn nine at New Year.”
“Only nine?” Boss Qin said. “At your height, I thought you were already in your teens.”
Resting his chin on one hand, he said lazily, “Child, you’re this tall, and your little brother is this chubby. After entering the base, you only earned one or two meal tickets a day. Tell Uncle—how did you two make it through these past seven days?”
Wei Cheng answered smoothly, “My brother and I are too small. We can’t do heavy work, and we can’t grab many jobs suitable for us. We managed with one meal ticket a day plus some roasted flour.”
Not being able to grab work was true. There were simply too many adult survivors.
“Roasted flour? Where did you get roasted flour from?”
Wei Cheng unzipped his down jacket and showed the hidden inner lining sewn inside. “We hid it in here and brought it in.”
Boss Qin narrowed his eyes as he examined the child not yet even nine years old.
If it was a child this clever and prematurely mature who had spotted a survivor about to turn into a zombie early on, then maybe there really was nothing suspicious about it.
As for whether he had hidden roasted flour or dried meat, that was another matter.
After all, there sat that plump-cheeked little chub as clear as day.
Wei Cheng remained calm, letting the big leader scrutinize him.
He had sewn the hidden inner layers into both his and Guanguan’s clothes back in Sun Village. Originally they were meant for hiding guns, but before coming here, he had guessed this leader would not be simple, so he had put the gun back into the safehouse. Since the shelter had not conducted body searches, that meant survivors were tacitly allowed to bring things in privately. That should not count as wrongdoing.
Shen Zheng had already broken out in a cold sweat. Only now did he realize that the big leader had not brought the children here to play at all. He was suspicious of something! Damn this capitalist!
Grinding his teeth, Shen Zheng secretly clenched both fists. He was already prepared to fight this man to the death if he dared hurt Guanguan or Chengcheng.
There was no family left in this world for him anyway!
Boss Qin gave a low laugh, then beckoned to Guanguan again. “Child, come here. Uncle has candy for you.”
Guanguan’s tiny little head began spinning rapidly. Brother had taught him what to do if a stranger offered him candy!
He let out a little “aiya” and pressed one small hand to his pink, soft cheek. “Guanguan’s tooth hurts.”
Thus was born a tiny little stage actor.
That set off another wave of laughter around them.
“Boss Qin, even with a face like yours, children still won’t buy it!”
Boss Qin looked around. “A toothache? Now, if I remember right, isn’t there a dentist here?”
Guanguan gave two awkward little laughs and scratched his cheek. “Hahaha, the pain flew away!”
Wei Cheng rubbed Guanguan’s head and said with a smile, “Don’t be afraid. Brother said not to take candy from bad people, but the big leader took in so many people and doesn’t mind that we’re useless little children. He must be a truly good and kind person. If you want some, don’t forget to say thank you.”
Guanguan tilted his head and looked at his brother’s expression. The brothers already had a silent understanding unique to the two of them.
A little nervous, he waddled forward two steps like a baby penguin and held out both hands high. “Uncle, you can give Guanguan one candy.”
This time Boss Qin was genuinely amused. So this little brat was actually kind of tsundere?
He signaled to the middle-aged man beside him, and very soon that man took a white box from a tray.
Guanguan shook his head. “One is enough!”
Boss Qin said generously, “Save the rest for tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Uncle!”
Guanguan recognized the design on the box. There were lots of that chocolate in his Little Cloud Mall.
But Brother only let him eat one piece once in a while!
Boss Qin said to the middle-aged man beside him, “Isn’t there a children’s hot spring playground up ahead? Take these two children there to play. Don’t forget to prepare them dinner. Eating roasted flour all the time isn’t good for the body.”
That last sentence was directed at Wei Cheng.
Shen Zheng quickly said, “Leader, I can take the children myself—”
“Shen Zheng, stay.”
Boss Qin leaned back slightly, lips moving just a little. “I have something to ask you.”
Wei Cheng said, “Uncle Shen, I’ll take care of my little brother. We’ll wait for you at the children’s playground.”
Shen Zheng clenched his fists, unwilling. “All right… yes, Leader.”
“Brother! Brother! Look over there!”
The scene before them was like a fairy-tale kingdom: a brightly colored spiral slide, a donut-shaped rocking car, a carousel, ice-cream-shaped Lego climbing walls, bowling…
There were four or five children already inside playing. Judging from the look of them, they were probably the children of wealthy people from outside.
This was probably the first time in Guanguan’s entire life that he had come to play in a children’s indoor playground.
And to be able to experience something like this again after the apocalypse—how rare it was.
Wei Cheng helped Guanguan out of his down jacket and shoes, then smiled. “Go play. Brother will stay here with you.”
Guanguan carefully approached the spiral slide and glanced down at Brother below. “Brother, Guanguan is coming down!”
“Go ahead.”
Summoning up all his courage, Guanguan sat down inside, and in no time at all he slid downward. A sweet creamy scent rushed up to greet him.
At the very end, his whole little self tumbled into a pile of colorful balloons.
Wei Cheng got such a fright that he ran over at once. “Guanguan, Guanguan, what happened?”
Then the chubby little cub in the cherry sweater popped up out of the balloons. His little face was flushed red as he cheered, “Brother got tricked by Guanguan!”
Wei Cheng let out a breath. “What a mischievous child.”
“Brother play with Guanguan too!” Guanguan tugged on Brother’s hand and would not let go.
“Brother won’t play. Brother will stay here and watch over you.”
Guanguan lowered his eyes and kicked a balloon away with one little foot. “Children like playing. Brother must like it too.”
Wei Cheng paused a little. He had been too tense and guarded. Acting that way might instead make that suspicious leader even more suspicious.
He took off his shoes and coat. “Brother will play with you.”
The other children were all playing the more “advanced” bowling and archery games. They probably looked down on the slide and donut swing as childish games. Every time they passed by the Wei brothers, they gave a few strange little laughs.
Which actually worked out fine. That way, no one disturbed the rare childish joy that Brother and Guanguan were getting to share.
After they had played for quite a while, the middle-aged man brought over two portions of black truffle steak and two glasses of milk.
The little curls on top of Guanguan’s head were a bit sweaty. In a tiny voice, he asked, “Brother, is Guanguan not eating beef noodles tonight?”
Wei Cheng cut up the steak for him and smiled. “Isn’t steak tastier than beef noodles?”
Guanguan speared a little cherry tomato with his fork and answered seriously, “Guanguan likes the food at our own home!”
“If you get hungry tonight, Brother will make you beef noodles.”
Guanguan’s cheek puffed out into a little bulge as he judged the size of his own chubby tummy. “Guanguan will definitely get hungry!”
But by the time the lawn banquet ended, Guanguan was already fast asleep in Brother’s arms.
The child had truly been unusually excited today.
On the way back, the smell of alcohol on Shen Zheng was strong, and his steps were slightly unsteady. “Chengcheng, come, Uncle will carry Guanguan.”
Wei Cheng did not let him. He was afraid Shen Zheng might drop Guanguan. “I can carry him. Uncle, are you okay?”
Behind them was the stone gate, shutting out all the glittering luxury. Ahead of them was only the dim light that could be found by flashlight.
“It’s already the apocalypse, but there are things that if nobody tells you, you’d never know.” Shen Zheng’s voice was heavy. “Only now did I find out that recently the shelter hasn’t been sending hunters out to gather supplies. They’ve been sending them to encircle and kill zombies. They want the dark green stones inside zombie heads. They say that stuff looks like coal and can be used as a kind of fuel. My friends are still out there risking their lives while I…”
“Chengcheng, if one day there’s a chance, then… forget it.” Shen Zheng gave a bitter laugh and wiped at his face.
In the White Villas, the best meat dish was chicken legs with potatoes. But in the Hot Spring Villas, the lights blazed bright and steak and king crab were available in abundance.
And yet Highland Shelter was still considered the most humane base of them all.
Wei Cheng understood the unspoken meaning.
If one day there was a chance, he should build a survival base of his own.
He could be a low-level hunter, but he would never let a grown-up Guanguan sell his life for these people.
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