Stock Up For Natural Disasters And Cubs Survive – CH61

Chapter 61

The night was pitch-black, and fat raindrops slanted down with the wind.

They ran out of the cabin, rain blurring their vision while the plastic raincoats on their bodies flapped loudly in the gale.

“Who’s there!”

The blinding beam of an ultra-bright flashlight clashed with the truck’s headlights. For an instant, it was as if the whole sky lit up, forcing the intruder trying to pick the lock to stagger backward again and again.

The farm gate had iron fencing on both sides. The original owner had built the entrance arch high for appearances, but the actual gate was quite low, hung with two useless faux-weathered wooden doors.

Neither the wooden fence nor these flimsy doors could stop determined intruders—or a zombie horde.

Shen Zheng and Yi Qi raised their guns, while Wei Cheng stood behind them holding the flashlight.

“Who are you? What do you want!” Yi Qi’s expression was severe. “Leave now, or I’ll shoot!”

“Big brother, big brother, don’t shoot!”

The man wore a leather jacket and had a buzz cut. He looked about the same age as Yi Qi and Shen Zheng.

He shakily raised both hands. The rain and flashlight glare made it impossible for him to open his eyes, so he could only shout with them squeezed shut, “O-our car ran out of gas. We drove around down the mountain forever before we saw this place. I just wanted to bring my family somewhere to spend the night. We really don’t mean any harm!”

Shen Zheng kept his gun trained on him and said coldly, “This isn’t convenient. Leave immediately!”

“Big brother, please show mercy! We really can’t go any farther. The rain is pouring, the mountain temperature is dropping, and both my son and my wife are in poor health. We’ll freeze to death out there!”

Wei Cheng shifted the flashlight slightly toward the white Volvo.

In the back seat sat a very young woman and a little boy with a pale face.

The boy looked about the same age as Mingming. Whether from nerves or fear, he was clutching… a puppy, kitten, or doll?—something small and furry—tight in his arms.

When the beam swept over them, both of them shrank back.

The woman suddenly opened the car door and dropped to her knees in the mud, crying, “Big brother! Please, please let us stay one night. We’ll definitely leave tomorrow morning!”

The man rushed over to help his wife up by the arm. “You’re in poor health—why’d you get out? Get back in!”

The sallow-faced woman covered her face with both hands and sobbed. “I really, really can’t go on anymore. I really can’t hold out any longer…”

“Mom, Dad…” The little boy, frightened because he couldn’t see his parents anymore, flung the “thing” he was holding aside like garbage.

It seemed to land under the seat, letting out a pitiful whimper.

The boy then pounded hard on the car door. It wasn’t locked, and with too much force he pitched right out of the seat and fell to the ground with a thud.

The man and woman cried out in alarm and hurried over to scoop up the child, now drenched in mud and rainwater.

The family of three clung together in the storm, crying.

Shen Zheng and Yi Qi exchanged a glance, then both looked toward Wei Cheng.

Wei Cheng’s gaze was cold as it swept over the family.

After a moment of silence, he said quietly, “Search them. They don’t keep a single blade of any kind. Take their car keys. Let them stay in the cabin farthest from the core zone, then lock them in after they go inside.”

Shen Zheng kept his gun up while Yi Qi stepped forward. “Stop crying. Get up, all of you. Hands up.”

He added, “You can stay for one night. But tomorrow morning you must leave. We don’t want your supplies, but you must hand over your car keys and any blades on you. Even nail clippers are not allowed.”

The man immediately clasped his hands above his head and said anxiously, “Big brother, big brother, thank you. We’ll listen. We’ll do whatever you say.”

Without hesitation, he tossed the small knife and screwdriver off his body to the ground, then ran back to the car and brought out two large bags. “Big brother, this is everything we have. Search it however you want!”

Yi Qi searched the man and little boy thoroughly. But when it came to the young woman hugging her arms and trembling in fear, he hesitated.

He looked awkwardly back at Shen Zheng and Wei Cheng.

The way he’d been raised made it hard for him to search a woman’s body, even now.

Then Yi Qi thought of something. “Chengcheng, you do it…”

Sure enough, seeing a child approach to search her eased the woman considerably. She took the initiative to unzip her down jacket and empty every pocket herself to prove she had no dangerous blades on her.

After that, they searched the family’s luggage and the car from end to end.

Only then did Wei Cheng get a clear look at the thing that had been whimpering earlier.

A little dog.

Its breed was impossible to tell. It was skin-and-bones, its fur matted and filthy, its tail tucked tight. It barely looked like a dog—more like a sickly little cat.

Its eyes were half-closed, with a faint bluish tint visible underneath.

Wei Cheng frowned. “This dog…”

The man hurriedly smiled ingratiatingly. “The kid likes it? We picked it up in Fanglin City a few days ago. We were planning to eat the meat in the next day or two. If you like it, you can have it!”

The little boy’s face crumpled. “That’s my dog…”

The woman immediately tugged on the boy and hissed, “If these good people don’t take us in, we’ll freeze to death tonight. What matters more, your life or that dog!”

The boy whimpered twice and fell silent.

Wei Cheng stared at the filthy little dog lying motionless beneath the seat. He lifted it up and studied it for a moment. “I want it.”

Seeing that Wei Cheng had actually asked for something on his own initiative—something rare—Yi Qi turned to the family. “We’re not taking the dog for free. Tomorrow morning, when you leave, we’ll give you some coarse rice. We don’t have much ourselves.”

Coarse rice? Actual rice?

They hadn’t eaten rice in a very long time.

The family naturally had no objections.

They had only picked up the dog in the first place as future food.

Shen Zheng and Yi Qi led them to the cabin farthest from the core zone.

These cabins had not been thoroughly cleaned, but they had been lightly disinfected and aired out back when the zombies were first cleared, so now they only smelled a bit dusty.

As soon as the soaked family of three entered, the bone-deep chill eased a little.

Shen Zheng said, “To prevent any of you from mutating and hurting others, we’ll lock you in here tonight. Tomorrow morning we’ll let you out. Any objections?”

The man held his son and replied, “Big brother, whatever you say. We’ll cooperate.”

Then he yanked the watch from his own wrist. “Big brother, my name is Chen Fangshun, my wife is Li Miao. Thank you for saving our family of three. Please don’t dislike this watch…”

Shen Zheng didn’t take it. He waved it away. “Keep it. Use it later to trade for supplies.”

Chen Fangshun’s eyes reddened. “Big brother, you…”

Shen Zheng said no more. After he left, he locked the cabin from the outside.

Yi Qi shot him a look, and Shen Zheng understood at once.

One of them walked away, while the other stayed by the door and didn’t move.

After a moment, voices came from inside the cabin.

The woman said, “It feels like a dream. I thought the three of us would die on the mountain. I never thought there would really be good people willing to take us in.”

Chen Fangshun sounded like he was taking off his wet clothes. “We leave tomorrow. We won’t trouble them.”

Shen Zheng listened at the wall a while longer before sneaking quietly away.

By the time he returned to the core zone, lights were on in his and Yi Qi’s cabins.

As soon as he stepped inside, he saw Chengcheng frowning at the filthy little puppy.

The dog lay on a towel, barely moving, looking half-dead.

“Uncle Yi, is this dog a lost cause?”

Yi Qi quickly walked over and checked it. “It should live. Get hot water and formula first.”

Shen Zheng went to boil water, while Wei Cheng directly took out animal milk powder. Relieved to hear the dog could be saved, he asked curiously, “What kind of dog is it?”

Lifting the limp little pup, Yi Qi smiled. “This is a silver-gray merle border collie.”

Then he glanced lower and clicked his tongue. “Ah, too bad it’s not a female. Otherwise we could’ve raised her as Little Apricot’s child bride.”

Author’s Note:
Little Black Apricot: Don’t reject it on the dog’s behalf so casually!
Tomorrow morning, when Guanguan wakes up and sees the adorable puppy, he’s definitely going to be over the moon! [laughing]

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