After Marcus Kai was hacked to death, William Guodong still stepped on his mutilated corpse and gasped for breath. Even though the bloody knife tip dripped hot blood on the instep of his feet, he had no intention of moving away. The whole person was immersed in a huge atmosphere of sadness.
"Boom~"
At this time, Gao Chujiang walked up and kicked Marcus Kai's head away. Under William Guodong's destructive glare, Gao Chujiang took out a cigarette and handed it to him, saying helplessly, "Man, you are not the only one who is sad. I also have a wife who, like Chen Yalan, was led by Ruien Tingyu to mess around with others. I was also the last one to know. Alas~ we are inseparable."
William Guodong glanced at Gao Chujiang expressionlessly, and did not pick up his cigarette. Instead, he dropped the knife and turned to pick up Chen Yalan's mutilated body. He placed Chen Yalan's body in the innermost corner and picked it up. Bags of soil for growing mushrooms were slowly dumped on her body. After the soil completely covered Chen Yalan's body, William Guodong patted all the soil firmly with his hands, and then sat in front of Chen Yalan's simple grave without saying a word for a long time.
"Thomas Xu, how many more died?" Cao Mei crossed her arms and looked at Thomas Xu who walked in with some schadenfreude. Whether the people in the tunnel died or not had nothing to do with her. Even if they were all dead, she would applaud and welcome them. Who told those people to choose to give up their men?
Thomas Xu was carrying an unconscious woman on his shoulders, but looking at the petite but proud figure with double peaks, he knew it was Chen Jie. Thomas Xu carefully placed Chen Jie next to Lu Jia and Bing Bing to take care of her, then wiped the sweat on his head and said, "Nana was bitten to death by Liu Lan, now. Only William Fang, Xiao Min and Ruian Li were left inside. That boy William Peng was shot dead. Not only did he push Xiao Jie to the living corpse, he even tried to open the hole in a panic. Lao Hu, you go in and see Ruian Li. She was so frightened that she couldn't control herself. She had shit and urine all over her body."
"Damn, this is so troublesome!" Boss Hu frowned in displeasure, clearly unwilling to go. Finally, under Cao Mei's extremely disdainful gaze, he reluctantly went out.
"Hmph~ Why didn't they all get bitten to death? That way, they wouldn't come begging Lin Ye to take them along, which makes me sick!" Jiao Jiao had been carefully leaning Jack's body against herself. Now that she saw Jack's breathing gradually stabilize, she immediately stood up and said angrily.
"Exactly! Tomorrow, let's persuade Lin Ye together. Those who locked us inside tonight shouldn't be taken along; let them fend for themselves!" The grand gamble had finally come to an end, and Jiang Yan, who had won the bet, jumped up excitedly, loudly echoing Jiao Jiao's words.
"Hmph! These guys are so fickle; they don't even think about who brought them out of the sea of suffering in the first place. They actually turn their backs on Lin Ye when he's in trouble!" Bing Bing also said disdainfully. Deep down, she was secretly relieved; she knew she was just a decorative woman. Regardless of whether Thomas Xu saw her as merely a plaything, at least in terms of her future, she had finally made the right choice in men.
"But Jiao Jiao, with Chen Fang who died on the mountain, nine people have already died. Let's just forget about the rest!" A Xue was definitely a kind-hearted girl. Seeing everyone cursing, she spoke up with great reluctance.
"Alright, when did it become your place to make decisions for Lin Ye? Whatever happens tomorrow, Lin Ye will naturally have his own judgment!" Cao Mei glared at the few women unhappily, then looked at the very excited Jiao Jiao with interest, saying lightly, "Little Jiao, your performance tonight was quite good. Since I see you genuinely care for Lin Ye, I will slowly forget about the phone incident!"
"Thank you, sister!" Jiao Jiao's eyes lit up, and she immediately exclaimed with joy.
...
"Sigh~ I didn't expect that after fainting for a night, nine people would die!" Jack, with a pale face, squatted in front of the tragically dead Rui En Ting Yu, reached out to examine her corpse, then shook his head and stood up, saying, "Rui En Ting Yu's transformation was caused by my infection. She probably got her thigh scraped after being knocked down the mountain by Marcus Kai. After I carried her, the corpse poison from my arm entered her gaping wound. I really didn't expect it to be so coincidental!"
"Lin Ye, you don't need to blame yourself. If she hadn't transformed in time, it definitely wouldn't have just been number six who suffered at the hands of Lu Bin; I wouldn't have escaped either!" Cao Mei gently linked her arm with Jack's, speaking with great sorrow.
"Actually, I had already noticed that Lu Bin's mental state was off, showing signs of a mental breakdown. But at that time, I didn't think too deeply about it. Who would have known he would do something so heinous?" Jack sighed softly, for the first time looking at Cao Mei with a gentle gaze, and with a hint of apology said, "It's just that you and number six have suffered!"
"I... I'm fine!" Cao Mei's pretty face turned red at that moment, looking as shy as a young girl experiencing her first crush, shaking her head bashfully, and then using her gaze to tell Jack that she was truly touched.
"When I first met Old Lu, he wasn't like this!" William Guodong suddenly spoke up from the side. His eyes were deeply sunken, with dark circles, making him look as if he had aged a decade overnight. But it wasn't surprising; whether it was the pain of losing his wife or the betrayal he suffered, it nearly broke this strong man. The fact that he could still stand here without collapsing was already a miracle.
William Guodong gazed deeply at Lu Bin, who was almost cut open, and furrowed his brows as he said, "Back then, Lu Bin still had hair and was much more cheerful than he is now. I think the significant change in him was likely due to that incident years ago, when his wife was caught fooling around with an online acquaintance in a private room at a teahouse, right in front of their child. He caught her in the act, and later, naked photos of her and the online acquaintance were leaked online. Unable to bear the blow, she committed suicide by jumping off a building a few months later. After that, he completely changed, frantically seeking out prostitutes and playing with women. But I never expected he wouldn't even spare my wife!"
"Hmph~ You reap what you sow, he deserves it!" Cao Mei glanced at the two incomplete corpses still entangled together and disdainfully spat.
"Master Lin... can we still follow you?" Xiao Min looked at Jack with a face full of shame, her fingers nervously fidgeting with her clothes. As soon as she asked this question, even Gao Chujing and Boss Hu lowered their heads in embarrassment.
"There's nothing to follow or not follow; it's the same as before. At most, I'll take you a little further. With so many people dead, I've shed a big burden!" Jack said淡淡地. Because he was still a bit weak, he turned back into the depths of the tunnel with the support of Cao Mei and Bai Ru. However, although Jack spoke calmly, everyone here could tell he still harbored some resentment about the matter, at least making his attitude towards leaving them in the gathering place more resolute.
"Honey, I think we should part ways after we get out?" Bai Ru looked at Jack with anger, saying indignantly, "If it were in the past, I would have thought we were all survivors and would help each other, but in the end, these people repay kindness with enmity, which really breaks my heart!"
"Human nature is like this; those who are willing to sacrifice themselves in a crisis are extremely rare!" Jack shook his head bitterly, leaning against the wall and looking at Bai Ru helplessly. He said, "Actually, I have some responsibility in this matter too. Recently, I've been too complacent, hungover, my vigilance has dropped, and I've been lingering among you women, even forgetting the most basic survival rules of the apocalypse. This would have been impossible before!"
"No one is perfect, dear!" Bai Ru gently bit her lip, looking at Jack with a very complex expression, and softly advised, "As long as you are still human, you will be swayed by emotions. If you realize you've made a mistake, it's never too late to correct it!"
"Sigh~ Maybe I really should learn how to be a better person…"
...
Thus, everyone spent a boring five days in the air-raid shelter before finally emerging, confirmed by Michael's nose. Despite the deaths of nine people, at least they did not face the embarrassment of food shortages that forced them to gnaw on mushrooms.
"Ah! After living like a groundhog for four or five days, I finally realized how beautiful this scorching sunlight is!" Thomas Xu climbed out of the hole, stood on the hillside with an empty gun on his back, and shouted contentedly with his arms wide open.
"Yeah, I feel great too! If we stay down there any longer, those incomplete corpses are going to stink, really stink!" Bingbing happily hugged Thomas Xu's waist from behind and shouted along with him.
"Stop yelling, I'm about to starve! Let's hurry down the mountain and get some food!" Boss Hu impatiently glanced at Thomas Xu and the others, then led Ryan Li down the hill.
There were originally twenty-seven people and a dog going up the mountain, but coming down, the number had sharply reduced to eighteen people and a dog. Although many were saying that those who died deserved it, whenever they recalled the tragic face of Thomas and how he used to look alive, everyone felt a chill and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Human life is indeed so fragile; with just a little carelessness, one could either die or be injured. No one wants such a terrifying thing to happen to themselves. Perhaps, as Jack said, unity combined with caution is the fundamental way for humanity to survive!
The descent was noticeably faster than the ascent. In just about twenty minutes, the group reached the small tile house from before. Looking at the grotesque and decaying corpses scattered around and the business vehicle perched on the stone pile, it was hard for everyone to remember how they had been here just a few days ago, enjoying themselves. But upon reflection, those two days of debauchery did have a bittersweet flavor!
As everyone gradually arrived in the courtyard, the original living corpses had been swept away by the newly formed tide of corpses, leaving not a single one behind. What was surprising, however, was that despite the devastation here, the fat cat Dubi was still alive and well. Seeing the crowd approach, it lazily rolled over on the roof, meowed, and continued to bask in the sun.
"Thank goodness, thank goodness! These living corpses aren't interested in regular food; otherwise, we'd be starving again!" Boss Hu excitedly climbed onto the pickup truck and rummaged around, filling his mouth and hands with food and drinks.
"Come on, come on, let's not think about anything else. Filling our stomachs is the most important thing; only when we're well-fed can we think about other desires!" Boss Hu placed all the food on the old office desk, frowned at a dismembered corpse lying at his feet, thought for a moment, and then grabbed its waistband and casually threw it out of the courtyard.
"Honey, should we tidy up a bit and then set off?" Bai Ru peeled a rural-style marinated chicken leg for Jack and handed it to him. After a few days of rest, the residual corpse poison in Jack's body had mostly cleared, and his complexion had finally returned to normal.
Hearing Bai Ru's words, Jack smiled and nodded, saying, "Are you really planning to sleep in this pile of corpses tonight? We should clean up and leave soon!"
"It's time to go. My sister-in-law's due date is coming up soon, and there's not a single person here who can deliver a baby. Even the only experienced one, Ryan Tingyu, has turned into a zombie. I need to hurry to the settlement to find a doctor for my sister-in-law!" Thomas Xu said after taking a big gulp of beer.
"By the way, I've heard you mention that doctor several times. His last name is Qin, right? What specialty does he have?" Jack turned his head to ask.
"I don't think I've ever heard her mention it!" Thomas Xu frowned and thought for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "Anyway, her medical skills are pretty good, and she's one of the most beautiful women in the settlement, so even people who aren't sick will find all sorts of excuses to see her, just to strike up a conversation!"
"Is she a female doctor?" Jack asked curiously.
"Yes, she's a woman and the only doctor we have!" Thomas Xu nodded, then said with a somewhat strange expression, "Although Dr. Qin is beautiful and has good medical ethics, she's just a bit too cold. She always sits there looking very calm, as if the sky could fall and it wouldn't matter to her. Once, when I had a fever and was feeling dizzy, I went to see her, and she just expressionlessly threw my consultation fee back at me and said, 'No need for treatment, you can go.' It scared me so much that I broke out in a cold sweat. Later, I found out she just meant for me to go home and get some sleep, but seeing her cold face made me think I was terminally ill!"
"Haha~ she sounds like quite a character!" Bingbing said while slurping instant noodles, looking up and laughing.
"Isn't she too much of a character?" Thomas Xu grimaced and said, "She's the only doctor we have, so anyone who gets sick has to go to her. She might be the only woman in the entire settlement who can support herself without selling her body, so she doesn't have to please anyone. The men in our settlement line up every day to pursue her, but she coldly scolds them all away."
"Could she be a lesbian?" Bingbing speculated maliciously.
"Uh... a lot of people say that, but aside from that little nurse in her clinic, I haven't seen her get particularly close to any woman. Those jealous women even gave her a nickname, calling her 'Cold-Faced Lily,' you know, 'lily' means lesbian!" Thomas Xu chuckled, filled with vulgar humor!