After racking his brains and using all sorts of innuendos to refer to the item, Zhang Xiao Qiang finally managed to obtain “it” from Yang Ke’er, even when holding it, he could feel the warmth. He got Yang Ke’er to back up a distance, so as to not attract the zombies.
Zhang Xiao Qiang then used 2 fingers to gingerly grab “it”, and placed it carefully at the tip of the beast horn spear. The beast horde was nearing, and he stretched the spear outwards over the river, awaiting the zombie horde to get hooked.
The beast horn spear and the “item” hanging at the tip looked like a flag waving in the air, with that bit of red that attracted the attention of the zombies.
Zhang Xiao Qiang stood behind the tractor, coupled with the length of the spear of about 1.5m, he stood out of reach of the zombies.
The D-Type had reached the bridge by then, and as the blood on “that thing” was fresh, the D-Type seemed to ignore everything else and tried to lunge for “that”.
“Splash!” The D-Type stepped on thin air and fell into the river below. The remaining zombies behind immediately lurched forwards in agitation, smelling fresh blood. Their steps quickened, as they scrambled to reach the “item”, falling into the river like ducks in the meantime.
The D-Type was below the bridge and struggling to get up, but was constantly knocked back down by the falling zombies one after another. The pile of zombies began to grow like a pyramid until all of them had fallen into the river. Their limbs were intertwined, locking each other in place, and one could even hear the muffled groans of the D-Type underneath!
“Haha! As expected, I’m amazing for having such a bright idea! Haha!” Zhang Xiao Qiang gloated in glee on the bridge, before beckoning for Yang Ke’er to come back.
He then shook the beast horn spear free of the “item”, dropping it on the mountain of corpses below, and without sparing a second look, he drove the tractor further into the village.
As he drove, he whistled a tune happily, while Yang Ke’er sat restlessly in the trunk.
“That D-Type was truly one of its kind, it actually got baited but the ‘gelatin’ to its demise.” Zhang Xiao Qiang thought happily to himself. “Oh right, it seems like if a man were to touch it, one would become unlucky? Will it really bring me bad luck?” He started to feel goosebumps.
The tractor came to a stop outside the bungalow that was surrounded by the zombies earlier. Zhang Xiao Qiang came down and surveyed the surroundings, seemed like the owner of the place was well off. There was a plot of land in front of the house that was converted to a flower garden, and he assumed that the owner must have appreciated flowers.
He knocked on the iron door.
‘‘No response?”
He then called out, “Is there anyone at home, I’m here to save you!”
There was still no response after a while.
Zhang Xiao Qiang then climbed over the fence, jumping into the garden. It had been neglected for too long and there were wilted flowers everywhere. The area was about 30 to 40sqm, with a well in the middle, which was covered with a metal board to prevent things from falling in.
He came up to the door and yanked it open.
Inside the house, one could see a few old-fashioned furniture that looked a little weathered, and there was a layer of dust over everything. There were no modern decorations, and the entire feel was ancient and aged, giving Zhang Xiao Qiang the impression that he had stepped into the 1920s or 1930s.
Following the wooden staircase up to the 2nd storey, the interior decor was a huge contrast, being extremely lavish and modern. However, there was a lack of light, and it gave off an eerie feeling.
“Cough, cough” Coughing sounds came from a corner, which made Zhang Xiao Qiang swivel his gaze over.
There were 2 leather sofas at the corner, with a glass side table. Some plates were placed on it, while a man sat at the edge of one of the sofa, looking aged, his hair showing signs of white.
He was extremely emaciated, looking like skin and bones, even worse than a zombie. The moment he caught sight of Zhang Xiao Qiang, he became agitated, opening his mouth as to say something. However, all that came out were coughing sounds.
He tried standing up but had no energy, and he got even more agitated.
“Food, food!” He finally managed to string 2 words clearly.
Zhang Xiao Qiang retrieved a piece of beast meat and gave it to the man, who immediately grabbed it and shoved into his mouth. He started choking from the hasty eating, till his eyes rolled up and the whites were showing.
Zhang Xiao Qiang stood silently by the side, observing the man, who had gobbled the meat up extremely quickly and cleanly.
He knew that the meat was extremely distasteful, its texture coarse and hard to swallow. Its only good point was that it could help curb hunger, just a small piece could last for a bit, comparable to those dry biscuits.
After consuming the meat, the man looked positively better, and his sentences became more coherent.
“Do you have more? Give me some more!” The man looked at Zhang Xiao Qiang pleadingly.
“You have gone hungry for a long time, you can’t just stuff yourself. Give it a while, I’ll pass you later!” Zhang Xiao Qiang tried to persuade him gently.
“No, I want it now, I.. I have money, I can give you loads of money, it’s true! I’m not lying. Please, just give me more!” The man became agitated again.
“I have no need for cash, I do have food, but I won’t give you now, you’ll have to wait.” Zhang Xiao Qiang spoke quietly.
“You don’t want cash? Speak, whatever you want, if I have it, I’ll give it to you, please just give me food.” The man was positively begging now.
“You will die if you eat so much at one go, having survived till now, shouldn’t you be more careful?” Zhang Xiao Qiang rebuked gently.
“Haha! Death? Why would I fear death? I’ve been waiting for death for a long time, starving to death, do you know that feeling? I hope that I die choking on food!” The man was looking slightly demented.
“You won’t have to die, come with me, I have a never-ending supply of food, it’ll be enough for you to eat till your old age.” Zhang Xiao Qiang wanted to take him away from here.
“No, I’m not going anywhere. This is my home, there’s my wife…wife? Oh…..oh……..” Speaking halfway, the man suddenly became hysterical.
“My wife has been with me for 30 years, 30 whole years ah……..”
As he spilled his story, Zhang Xiao Qiang found out that this man was extremely wealthy, and had a number of consignments at WH City. He was usually based there, but he would come back to his old home near the end of each year to spend the new year with his wife. Last year, he had ended his assignments earlier than expected and returned home early. The disease struck then, and while the couple was lucky to be spared from infection, their home was unfortunately not well-stocked with food. They were stuck inside for 2 months eating sparingly before the wife passed away from hunger due to her weaker constitution. The man, who had succumbed to hunger, resorted to cannibalism, feeding on the flesh of his wife, surviving all the way till now.
“I’ve eaten her!! I deserve death!! I should have accompanied her a long time ago!! Give me food, let me choke to my death!!” The man began asking for food again the moment he finished narrating his story.
During the story, Zhang Xiao Qiang felt his repulse growing by the minute. Just the thought of feeding on human flesh was enough to make him gag. However, he knew that the man couldn’t be blamed, because if he was in his shoes, it was not certain if he might have resorted to cannibalism as well.
“Do you have weapons? Do you have any weapons here?” Zhang Xiao Qiang decided to fulfill the man’s wishes. After all, ending his life earlier in this godforsaken world would be cutting short his tragic life.
“Weapons? Haha, yes, yes, wait here, I’ll go get them.” The man then stood up shakingly, and shuffled into the study nearby. Soon he came back carrying a wooden briefcase.
Zhang Xiao Qiang opened it up, discovering a handgun, 3 magazines, and a number of rounds packed nicely.
“Why didn’t you use this to kill those monsters?” He couldn’t help but ask.
“I’ve tried.” The man replied, “But they’re impossible to kill!”
Zhang Xiao Qiang was thoroughly speechless.
He then went back down to the tractor, pulling out a few dozen jins of rice and meat. After handing them to the man, the man went back and shut the door tight, never to appear again.