Ch 25 : The first casualty

The group of us split into three vehicles and headed toward an open-air parking lot in the county.

That parking lot was surrounded by places like KTVs and other entertainment venues.

It was usually packed with cars.

I had thought about coming here earlier to get a couple of larger, better vehicles, but because it was open-air and filled with cars, visibility wasn't great.

If we encountered walkers, it could be dangerous.

Since our current vehicles were sufficient, I had kept putting it off.

We first detoured to a store that sold agricultural and sideline products and found a few large plastic barrels with lids—those would be used later to store gasoline.

Still feeling uneasy, I asked Shen Feng to swing by the school and bring Yangyang out.

While there, I took a rough look at the school's layout.

It really was a solid, secure place—very suitable for hiding.

The other students stayed behind.

When we told them we'd be moving in over the next few days, they seemed really happy.

More people meant more of a sense of security.

These kids had depended on each other to survive until now, and with us joining them, no wonder they were so glad.

Leaving the school, our group drove straight to the parking lot.

The parking lot was directly facing the road.

There was a simple iron fence surrounding it.

At this moment, the parking lot, although not as full as I had expected, was still scattered with cars, filling up about half of the lot.

At least we had secured the gasoline.

We parked the cars along the roadside and left Shen Feng behind in the vehicle to guard and be ready to respond if anything unexpected happened, so he could assist us in escaping if necessary.

Li Jiaqiang, the blondie, and the others got out of the vehicles.

A few walkers that had been wandering on the road had already noticed us.

They began growling, stumbling toward us.

We all drew our daggers.

"Chen Yang, Song Meijing, you two go over there," Suo Tian said, pointing to the nearby walkers, then looked back at us.

I was momentarily stunned, gripping my dagger and ready to step forward, but Suo Tian pulled me back and said, "I didn't mean you!"

Yangyang glanced at me and pouted. "I really don't understand what our parents were thinking, using the same sound for both names."

Before I could respond, he exchanged a confirming glance with Mei Jing and then quickly walked toward the walkers.

To be honest, aside from the time I saved Rongrong, this was the first time I was watching Yangyang get close to walkers, and I couldn't help but worry.

I gripped my dagger tightly, ready to rush in at any moment.

I couldn't help but regret not leaving him at school, now that I saw how dangerous it was.

"They're pretty good," Suo Tian murmured to me.

If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed that Yangyang, who had never even killed a fish before, could become so efficient at taking down walkers.

The ferocity with which he kicked the walkers to the ground was almost unrecognizable.

Yangyang and Mei Jing worked together smoothly; Yangyang kicked the nearest walker hard, knocking it over, and Mei Jing quickly stepped forward to stab its head, smashing its skull.

Whenever a walker approached, the two of them would simultaneously kick it over and then quickly step forward to stab its brain.

They repeated this several times, and the walkers were quickly eliminated.

This tactic was something I had used when I saved Jun Di and the others before.

First, you kick the walker over—since they have terrible balance, it's easy to knock them down.

Once they're on the ground, it's hard for them to get back up, so it's the perfect opportunity to strike.

It's foolproof.

Yangyang's change brought mixed feelings for me.

The good part was, he could finally protect himself.

In this apocalypse, it was essential for anyone to learn how to survive, and that was the most important thing.

The concern was, I didn't understand how he had undergone such a drastic change.

Subconsciously, I still felt like he should be hiding behind me, receiving the protection of the safe "palace" I had built for him.

It felt like the same feeling a father has when marrying off his daughter—though it should be a joyous occasion, there's a lingering sense of loss, and an emptiness in the heart.

Carrying the barrels, our group quickly entered the parking lot.

After doing a quick sweep of the area, we split into teams of three to get things done as fast as possible.

I was grouped with Yangyang and Blondie.

Suo Tian, Mei Jing, and a burly man named Gu Hui made up another group.

Li Jiaqiang was with the other two—one called Shuang Zi and the other Wai Zui.

Heaven was watching over us.

Maybe all the car owners had coincidentally filled up before the outbreak, but after checking just two vehicles, we managed to fill both barrels completely.

Meanwhile, Suo Tian's team had already filled two cars with fuel.

We filled up the last remaining vehicle and loaded the extra barrel of gas into the car.

We planned to fill up the now-empty barrel again.

Just as we turned to head back into the parking lot, a sudden cry of pain came from behind a large van.

The sound startled us all.

Reacting quickly, I drew my dagger and rushed toward where it came from.

Rounding the van…

Wai Zui was lying on the ground, clutching his neck, blood gushing out.

Inside the open car door was a walker someone had just stabbed to death, its wide-open mouth still dripping with blood.

All of this clearly pointed to one thing—someone had been bitten.

Suo Tian, Mei Jing, and Li Jiaqiang stood silently to the side.

Blondie, who had arrived right after, gasped sharply and rushed forward to support Wai Zui.

Yangyang wanted to go too, but I held him back.

"Help… help me…" Whether it was from blood loss or pain, Wai Zui spoke with great difficulty.

Aside from Blondie, who was holding him up and desperately trying to press down on the wound, the rest of us just stood silently.

No one spoke. No one stepped forward.

Everyone knew, deep down—he was done for.

Finally, Shuang Zi and Gu Hui couldn't bear it any longer and stepped in as well.

"Help me… Anda… Shuang Zi… help me…" Blood began pouring from Wai Zui's mouth in thick, choking gulps.

"Let him go," Mei Jing said calmly. "He can't be saved."

Upon hearing those words, Wai Zui suddenly opened his already lifeless eyes wide.

He shook his head weakly, hands clutching at Blondie's and Gu Hui' shirts like a drowning man grasping desperately at a straw he hoped would save his life.

"Help me... help me..."

A strong, bitter ache clogged my chest, making it hard to breathe.

Watching Wai Zui leaning against Blondie's shoulder, at the very edge of death, I knew he must have realized it too.

But the instinct to survive kept him clinging desperately to life.

Blondie didn't say a word, his eyes red, letting Wai Zui's blood soak into his clothes.

Gu Hui and Shuang Zi knelt beside them in silence, heads bowed in defeated silence.

They were seeing their brother off in the only way men like them knew how—wordless and steady to the very end.

Wai Zui must've had an artery bitten through.

Within minutes, he slipped into unconsciousness.

Blondie, Gu Hui, and Shuang Zi took off their jackets, laying them down to make a sort of bedding, and gently placed the now-unconscious Wai Zui onto it.

With what happened to Wai Zui still fresh in our minds, we became much more cautious as we continued collecting fuel.

The fear lingered in all of us.

We had been far too careless earlier, only doing a quick check and then assuming everything was safe.

If Wai Zui hadn't been the one to open that van door, any one of us could have been bitten instead.

That thought filled me with growing anxiety.

It felt like danger was hiding everywhere, nothing was truly safe.

Soon, the fuel containers were full again.

After loading them into the vehicles, Blondie and the others returned to where Wai Zui was lying.

I couldn't bear to watch anymore—I pulled Yangyang into the car and sat down.

Suo Tian also got into the car in front.

I wasn't sure if it was on his orders, but Mei Jing followed Blondie and the others.

Shen Feng noticed something was off and asked me what had happened.

I told him someone had been bitten.

I didn't know the full details myself, so I just gave him a rough explanation.

Just then, we heard shouting from behind the van where Blondie and the others were.

I was just about to get out of the car to check it out when the shouting suddenly stopped.

Moments later, the group came running out from behind the van and quickly got into the car.

I noticed that Blondie, Gu Hui, and the others looked absolutely grim.

After we got home, Li Jiaqiang and the others only stayed briefly.

We set a time to meet again the next morning, and then they said their goodbyes and left.

"What's wrong with you guys?" Shen Xue asked, noticing the strange mood.

Huddled on the couch, none of us said a word in response.

All this time, although we had seen plenty of walkers and even witnessed people getting bitten with our own eyes, today felt different.

Wai Zui, while not someone we were especially close to, was still someone we knew.

Watching his life come to such an abrupt end—it was impossible not to feel a deep sadness.

Just two hours ago, he was a healthy man, laughing and talking.

And now, he lay cold on the floor of that parking garage.

After a long silence, I finally spoke and asked Mei Jing, "What happened after you went over?"

Mei Jing fiddled with the remote, then looked up at me.

"That guy died," she said.

Then, after a pause, she added, "And came back."

"You took him down?" Yangyang asked.

"Yeah."

I looked at Mei Jing in front of me and felt like suddenly, everyone around me had grown up.

Was she still the same frail woman who had once been starving?

And Yangyang...

And myself...

Come to think of it—

If their changes were so sudden, wasn't mine just the same?

When the riots first broke out, a language teacher—someone who used to teach children manners and etiquette—personally smashed in two skulls.

"Someone got bitten today?" Shen Xue cautiously asked.

"Yeah, someone from Li Jianguo's group. His name was Wai Zui. You probably remember him," I replied.

"Sigh..." Shen Xue let out a breath. "I remember. He was a big, strong guy."

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore," Yangyang spoke up.

"The world's turned into this mess, things like this are bound to happen. Are we going to get all gloomy every time?"

"He's right," Shen Feng chimed in.

"People getting bitten is inevitable. We can't always rely on luck. All we can do is be more careful from now on."

"Xiao Xue, go tell Lili and Jun Di that we're moving into the school building in the next couple of days. Tell them to pack up whatever they need," I said.

"Okay," Shen Xue nodded and got up to head downstairs.

"Yangyang, what's the situation with those kids in the school?"

"They were scared out of their minds. Hiding in there for so long—honestly, it's amazing none of them went completely insane," Yangyang paused.

"But seriously, they're tough. Lasted that long… If it were me, I'd probably have lost it already."

"Right? You think everyone's lucky enough to have a badass big sister like you?"

Mei Jing said with a smirk.