Chapter 23

In the knee-high weeds, Xue Ling bent down, pushing aside the winter melon leaves as she searched for something.

Despite the lack of care, the seeds of vegetables, fruits, and melons left from previous years still sprouted, grew, bloomed, and bore fruit year after year in these fields.

Xue Ling searched intently, moving further and further away. Just as she found a large, green-skinned winter melon, she heard the sound of a truck stopping on the road nearby.

It was a cargo truck, and it made quite a noise as it started and stopped.

Standing up with the winter melon in her arms, Xue Ling quickened her pace to return the way she had come.

Earlier that morning, she and Wen Jiuze had passed a small town along the road. She had noticed several vegetable fields nearby and thought of finding some fresh produce.

As for Wen Jiuze, she sent him to nearby houses to look for clothes.

He had lived a pretty rough life, with only two T-shirts in his possession—one black and one white—that he alternated between.

One of the T-shirts was torn during the zoo incident, and she had scratched the other one, leaving it full of holes. The only wearable shirt left was a museum-themed T-shirt she had brought back. Now, Xue Ling had more clothes to wear than he did.

Meanwhile, Wen Jiuze, who was rummaging for clothes in an abandoned house along the roadside, heard the noise outside before Xue Ling.

He dropped the clothes he was holding, looked out from a second-floor window, then headed downstairs with a bag.

Three men got out of the truck—two middle-aged and one young man. Inside the truck was a young girl who leaned out of the window, chatting with them.

The group noticed Wen Jiuze’s parked car and started discussing it.

“Wow, this car is great, it’s been modified, right?”

“I don’t see anyone around, maybe it’s abandoned. Dad, Second Uncle, how about we take it?”

“Don’t be foolish. It’s clearly not abandoned. Whoever owns it is probably just inside looking for something.”

At that moment, Wen Jiuze came out.

He scanned the people around him, opened the car door, tossed his bag inside, closed the door with a loud thud, and leaned against the vehicle.

He was taller than the three men by over half a head, and the muscular build of his arms and chest indicated that he was no stranger to fights.

Apart from his imposing physique and a demeanor that suggested he wasn’t easy to mess with, the sight of his gun and dagger alone was enough to discourage any thoughts of theft.

The young man who had just suggested taking the car suppressed the greed in his eyes and returned to his own truck.

The older of the middle-aged men seemed more tactful. He looked at Wen Jiuze, smiled, and offered him a cigarette as a gesture to gather information. “Where are you from, young man?”

Wen Jiuze declined, waving his hand.

When traveling alone, one had to remain vigilant. He’d encountered people who had tampered with cigarettes before.

“If you’re unfamiliar with the area, just open doors and explore randomly,” Wen Jiuze replied.

The middle-aged man retracted the cigarette, lit it, and smiled as he asked, “Judging by the direction you’re heading, are you going to Pingqu Base or Chuan’an Base?”

The road could lead to either of the two bases.

He introduced his side briefly, “My brother, my two kids, and I came from Chuan’an Base. We’re out scavenging.”

Entering an abandoned city to search for supplies had come to be known as “scavenging.”

Such small teams, often family units, were common. They typically searched for minor resources on the outskirts rather than venturing deep into the city.

Wen Jiuze replied casually, “We might head to the Pingqu Base.”

The middle-aged man continued with a smile, “Are you from Pingqu Base? We’ve been there before, but I don’t recall seeing you.”

While the base was sizable, few dared or had the means to leave it, and most people worked within or around the base.

The young man standing before them seemed to travel alone and owned a car with enough gas for the road, clearly indicating he wasn’t just anyone.

People who traveled frequently usually kept themselves well-informed, so not hearing about someone like him was unusual.

“I stayed at Pingqu Base for a while,” Wen Jiuze replied, growing a bit impatient.

He scanned the middle-aged man, who appeared friendly but subtly tense, the other cautious and thin middle-aged man nearby, and the two younger members who had remained silent.

Running into people could often be riskier than encountering zombies; murder and robbery were real possibilities.

Although Wen Jiuze was alone against a group of four, his relaxed demeanor, physique, and weapons made the other group hesitate about starting trouble.

“So, are you scavenging here or just resting before moving on?” Wen Jiuze asked.

They had been to this area before, and finding the car on the roadside was the only reason they’d stopped.

The middle-aged man chuckled, “It’s getting late. We’ll be on our way now.”

He instructed the others to get back in the truck, which quickly drove away from Wen Jiuze.

Wen Jiuze watched as the truck left. The young girl peeked out of the window to look back at him, only to hurriedly pull her head back in upon realizing he was still watching.

After the truck left, Wen Jiuze turned around and walked to the back of the house.

He moved quickly but came to an abrupt stop upon exiting the back door.

Xue Ling was squatting against the back wall, holding the large winter melon, and looking up at him.

The indifferent expression he had held for the group of strangers softened into an involuntary smile when he saw Xue Ling hiding there.

However, the smile quickly faded.

She seemed even smaller now, possibly due to her transformation into a zombie. Squatting there with the winter melon, she looked rather pitiful.

“Did you hear people coming and hiding here out of fear?” he asked gently.

Wen Jiuze lifted the winter melon and playfully pulled Xue Ling up, wrapping his arm around her shoulders in a gentle hug.

Since Xue Ling didn’t have her writing board with her, she pointed to the road ahead, and Wen Jiuze reassured her, “The person has left. It’s okay.”

As they walked together, he glanced at the winter melon in his hand and suddenly muttered, “I don’t like eating winter melon.”

Xue Ling shot him a glare. It was a luxury to have something to eat, and he dared to be picky!

Just as Wen Jiuze was about to take her out of the door and into the car, Xue Ling tugged at his clothes to remind him.

Wen Jiuze replied, “These clothes are too small for me. I can’t wear them.”

Xue Ling didn’t believe him, so Wen Jiuze followed her back into the house. She picked up a T-shirt he had carelessly tossed onto a pile of clothes, unfolded it, and compared it to his size.

It did seem a bit small, but the fabric was stretchy, so maybe it would fit.

Wen Jiuze quickly changed out of his clothes with one hand and slipped on the shirt she held.

Xue Ling struggled to hold back her laughter. It looked like an adult trying to wear children’s clothes, making the situation both tense and amusing.

When that shirt didn’t work, she found another one meant for a middle-aged man. As Wen Jiuze put it on, the front wouldn’t close, and the sleeves were too short.

Xue Ling: Really, why are you so tall? You can’t even find clothes that fit you.

When they returned to the car, Xue Ling noticed a bag on the seat filled with colorful clothes—her clothes.

While he hadn’t found anything for himself, he had picked out new clothes for her.

Inside was a chiffon dress suitable for a middle-aged woman with good taste.

Wen Jiuze remarked, “This area is closer to the inhabited base, and you might encounter people frequently. Next time, just sit in the car and ignore anyone who tries to talk to you.”

Xue Ling understood that he wanted to avoid anyone discovering she was a zombie.

She had fully prepared herself. As long as she wore long-sleeved shirts and long pants, gloves, and a hat to cover all her skin and kept a safe distance from people, there shouldn’t be a problem.

“That’s right, you can wear this outfit. Put on this long-sleeved base layer under the chiffon skirt, then wear black stockings…”

Xue Ling knew his fashion sense was terrible, but she was still shocked by his choices.

How could he think of pairing a high-neck, long-sleeved chiffon skirt together?

His taste was so different from most people’s. Was he a designer for a luxury brand?

Moreover, those weren’t black stockings but rather women’s long johns.

Xue Ling rejected Wen Jiuze’s clothing combination, opting for the long-sleeved trousers she had found last time. She covered herself with a larger windbreaker jacket that could conceal half her face.

Luckily, zombies weren’t sensitive to heat; otherwise, she would have suffered from heatstroke in this outfit.

Wen Jiuze gathered several pairs of gloves for her to choose from.

Xue Ling rolled down the car window, tossed out the light blue strawberry wool gloves, and put on a pair of ordinary black cycling gloves instead.

“And the hat,” she added.

This time, she had no choice but to wear a forest-style straw hat adorned with floral ribbons and lace flowers.

Even though it felt ridiculous to wear such clothes and a hat in the car, Xue Ling still endured it.

“Glasses.”

The pair of sunglasses Wen Jiuze found was probably the only accessory she was satisfied with.

Xue Ling happily put on the large sunglasses to cover her dark red zombie eyes and admired her reflection in the small mirror of the car, feeling pleased.

She hadn’t felt so human in a long time.

Wen Jiuze also wore a pair of sunglasses, matching hers.

Though they were somewhat outdated, making some people look like blind fortune tellers, Wen Jiuze looked cool and handsome in them, as if he were wearing a retro fashion item.

On their way, they indeed passed by several people.

However, Wen Jiuze ignored them, driving past without engaging anyone who approached.

He planned to head to the Pingqu Base to stock up on supplies. This was the base where his cousin Dai Ying and his aunt and uncle lived. He had met them here by chance before and stayed for a while.

The convoy Dai Ying was with was not the first he had followed.

During his search for people, he had gone to dozens of bases and followed many convoys.

However, his relationships with the caravans had been lackluster. They merely exchanged supplies and went their separate ways when disagreements arose.

The convoy Dai Ying was in had traveled to Anxi to move machinery but was stopped by people from Qiu Village and returned empty-handed. According to the timeline, they should have already returned by now.

Wen Jiuze didn’t want to search for them. He drove the car to the gate of the Pingqu Base, ready to get out, trade some items, and leave.

There was a supply exchange area near the entrance where passing convoys could conduct transactions to prevent outsiders from causing trouble.

Before getting out of the car, Xue Ling retrieved a bag from the space under the back seat and handed it to him.

Wen Jiuze noticed the words “Anxi Wenkang Hospital” on the bag and spotted another medicine bag on the back seat.

It turned out the bag contained allergy medicine, sleeping pills, and psychiatric drugs. These were special medications for him, and there was also a hidden stash of other items.

“How much medicine did you take that time?” he asked.

Xue Ling explained that this was all she had. She had packed various medicines into the bag haphazardly and didn’t know if they would be useful.

However, given the current shortage of medical supplies, they should fetch a good price.

Xue Ling said generously: Take them all and exchange them for money!

Wen Jiuze, who was living off the rich lady again, got out of the car with the reward from the rich lady.