Chapter 30 – Special Zombies 特殊丧尸
When Jiang Yulian and Jiang Tianming decided to leave their residence, the environment had become so harsh that it was despairing. Several buildings in their residential area had collapsed, including the one where Lin Yuan and his aunt had originally lived. The food reserves of the Jiang siblings were almost exhausted, the surrounding water sources were gradually being polluted, and the air was filled with the stench of decay. Jiang Yulian packed some essential items, including a water bottle, a radio, the black dog Xiaohei's dog food, and the little bit of dry food left.
Jiang Tianming twirled the steel pipe a few times, looked at the brightening sky outside and said, "Let's go. If we're late, we may not be able to get through."
Jiang Yulian nodded and led Xiaohei over. At this time, Xiaohei's body size was almost twice that of a normal black German shepherd, and there was a hint of vigilance in its eyes.
Jiang Yulian gently stroked Xiaohei's head and said in a low voice, "I hope you can protect us."
Xiaohei gave a soft snort, as if it understood her words.
On the first day after leaving their residence, Jiang Tianming and Jiang Yulian quickly noticed that the number of zombies seemed to be increasing rapidly. Xiaohei was very alert on the journey and spotted lurking zombies several times ahead of time.
In an abandoned supermarket, the siblings were surrounded by a group of ordinary zombies. When Jiang Tianming was protecting his sister, his leg was hit by a collapsed shelf and was directly broken. Jiang Yulian made a prompt decision and used the cloth and wooden sticks in the supermarket to simply fix his wound. Meanwhile, Xiaohei desperately bit and killed the zombies, buying them time.
Jiang Tianming was sweating profusely from the pain but gritted his teeth and didn't make a sound. He said hoarsely to his sister, "Go alone. I... I'll only slow you down."
Jiang Yulian slapped him on the shoulder. Her voice was slightly trembling but firm. "Don't talk nonsense. Even if I have to crawl, I'll take you to the shelter!"
At this moment, Xiaohei came back to them with the arm of a zombie in its mouth. Its eyes were shining, as if silently reminding them that the danger wasn't over yet.
In the following two months, due to the lack of sufficient medical treatment, Jiang Tianming's broken leg gradually deteriorated. He finally decided to let his sister use a large machete found in the ruins to completely amputate the blackened broken leg. That night, Jiang Tianming bit a towel hard, his sweat and tears mingling. Jiang Yulian, in tears, trembled while performing the amputation.
After the amputation, Jiang Tianming became even more silent, but he never gave up the hope of survival. He began to rely on a makeshift crutch and still protected his sister and Xiaohei. Xiaohei increasingly displayed its mutated intelligence and strength, gradually becoming their main support as they moved on.
...
On Lin Yuan's side. When he and Cao Yuwei were searching for supplies once, they encountered a powerful strength-type zombie. This kind of zombie had swollen muscles, and its strength was extremely terrifying. It could even punch through a wall with one punch.
Lin Yuan tried to communicate with the surrounding plants using his ability, but there were hardly any plants nearby that could fight back against the zombie. This made him realize that in an environment with scarce resources, the limitations of his ability were very obvious.
"Jiuchong Ring! What's this? Why didn't you give a warning about this strong zombie?" Lin Yuan said.
The Jiuchong Ring said coldly, "This is a natural evolution in the apocalypse. The host must learn to deal with different types of threats and improve his own abilities."
In a critical moment, Cao Yuwei used her spatial ability to temporarily hide Lin Yuan and herself. However, the keen sense of smell of the strength-type zombie made it impossible for them to hide for a long time. Lin Yuan had to use his last few homemade molotov cocktails to set the zombie on fire and barely escaped.
...
After months of arduous trekking, Jiang Yulian and Jiang Tianming finally reached the shelter. However, they found that the shelter was not a completely safe place. The number of rescue team members had decreased by nearly one-third, and the supplies inside the shelter were also in short supply.
When Jiang Yulian led the travel-weary Xiaohei and pushed Jiang Tianming in a wheelchair into the shelter, everyone cast complex glances at them.
Jiang Yulian asked the guard, "Are we the last to arrive?"
The guard nodded and sighed. "Since two weeks ago, fewer and fewer people have been able to arrive. Most of them died on the way."
At this time, Xiaohei gradually regained its spirits, but its changes in body size and strength became even more obvious. Jiang Yulian felt a vague sense of worry in her heart. She stroked Xiaohei's head and asked Jiang Tianming softly, "Do you think its changes are good or bad?"
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江玉莲和江天明决定离开住所时,环境已经恶劣到令人绝望.他们的住宅区有几栋楼都塌了,当然包括林远和他小姨原本居住的那一栋.江家姐弟的食物储备即将耗尽,周围水源逐渐受到污染,空气中弥漫着腐烂的气息.江玉莲打包了一些必需品,包括水壶,收音机,小黑的狗粮,以及仅剩的一点干粮.
江天明将手里的钢管在手心里转了几圈,看了一眼窗外微亮的天色: "走吧,再晚点怕是连路都没法走了."
江玉莲点点头,把小黑牵过来.此时的小黑,体型比正常黑背犬大了近一倍,眼中带着一丝警惕.
江玉莲轻轻摸了摸小黑的头,低声道:"希望你能保护我们."
小黑轻轻哼了一声,像是听懂了她的话.
离开住所的第一天,江天明和江玉莲迅速察觉到,丧尸的数量似乎在迅速增加.而小黑在旅途中表现得异常警觉,几次提前发现了潜伏的丧尸.
在一个废弃的超市里,兄妹俩遭遇了一群普通丧尸的围攻.江天明在保护姐姐时,腿部被一个倒塌的货架砸中,直接折断.江玉莲当机立断,利用超市里的布料和木棍帮他简单固定了伤口,而小黑则拼命咬杀丧尸,为他们争取时间.
江天明痛得直冒冷汗,但咬牙没有吭声.他用沙哑的声音对姐姐说:"你一个人跑吧,我... 会拖累你们的."
江玉莲一巴掌拍在他的肩膀上,声音微颤但坚定:"别说傻话,哪怕是爬,我也会带你走到避难所!"
小黑这时叼着一只丧尸的手臂回到他们身边,眼中闪烁着光芒,像是在默默地提醒他们,危险还没有结束.
在接下来的两个月里,江天明的断腿因为没有足够的药物治疗,逐渐恶化.他最终决定让姐姐用一把从废墟里找到的大砍刀,将已经发黑的断腿彻底截去.那一夜,江天明紧咬毛巾,汗水和泪水混合着流下,而江玉莲一边流泪,一边颤抖着完成了截肢.
截肢后,江天明变得更加沉默,但他从未放弃生存的希望.他开始借助临时做的拐杖,依然保护姐姐和小黑.而小黑也越发表现出变异后的智慧和力量,逐渐成为他们前行的依靠.
...
林远这边.他和曹雨薇在一次搜索物资时,遭遇了一个强大的力量型丧尸.这种丧尸肌肉膨胀,力量极其可怕,甚至能一拳打穿墙壁.
林远试图用异能与周围的植物沟通,但附近几乎没有能够反击丧尸的植物.这让他意识到,在资源匮乏的环境下,异能的局限性十分明显.
"九重戒!这是什么鬼东西?这么强的丧尸不提前警告一下吗?" 林远在心里吐槽.
九重戒冷冷道:"这是末世中的自然进化,宿主必须学会应对不同类型的威胁,提升自己的能力."
在危急时刻,曹雨薇利用她的空间异能将林远和她自己暂时藏了起来,但力量型丧尸的敏锐嗅觉让他们无法长时间躲避.林远不得已用他仅剩的几枚自制燃烧瓶,在丧尸身上点燃了一片火焰,才堪堪逃脱.
...
经过长达数月的艰难跋涉,江玉莲和江天明终于抵达了避难所.然而,他们发现避难所并不是完全安全的地方.救援队的人数已经减少了近三分之一,而避难所内部的物资也捉襟见肘.
当江玉莲牵着风尘仆仆的小黑,推着轮椅上的江天明进入避难所时,所有人都投来复杂的目光.
"我们是最后一批赶到的人了吗?" 江玉莲问守卫.
守卫点点头,叹了口气:"从两周前开始,能赶来的人越来越少了,大部分人都死在了路上."
此时的小黑逐渐恢复了精神,但它的体型和力量变化愈发明显.江玉莲心里隐隐有些担忧,她抚摸着小黑的头,轻声对江天明道:"它的变化...你觉得,是好事,还是坏事?"