Chapter 3

The convoy’s vehicles formed a circle, parked in a spacious clearing for a brief rest.

This was a location previously scouted by Brother Mi, Wen Jiuze, and Dai Ying. It had fewer zombies and was not far from the factory in the suburbs they were heading to. In the distance lay a stretch of abandoned farmland.

As usual, Wen Jiuze’s car was parked on the outer edge. The members of the convoy glanced at his car, some intentionally and others unconsciously.

Earlier, on that street, everyone had clearly seen Wen Jiuze bring a zombie into the car.

Zombies lacked rationality and constantly sought to attack humans. Having one in the convoy posed a threat to everyone.

As Dai Ying got out of the car, the team leader, Brother Mi, waved him over to inquire about the situation.

Dai Ying turned back to glance at the car and whispered, “That zombie is my cousin’s ex-girlfriend.”

Brother Mi was a man in his thirties, not very tall but sturdy, and he had a hearty personality. He looked surprised for a moment before sighing.

“I can understand Xiao Wen’s feelings, but bringing a zombie into the convoy will definitely raise concerns among the others.” 

“A zombie is a zombie after all, not a living person. Even if you keep a zombie close, it won’t remember its old friends and family. All it will want is to eat people. Hey, Xiao Ying, you should persuade your cousin to either kill that zombie or bury it,” someone suggested.

Dai Ying recalled how his cousin had been holding the zombie casually in the car, which gave him goosebumps. “I don’t think my cousin would agree to that.”

“If he can’t bring himself to do it, he can at least leave it behind. After all, he can’t keep a zombie with him forever,” said Brother Mi.

Dai Ying shared the same thoughts.

In the early days of the apocalypse, everyone had friends, relatives, or lovers who had turned into zombies. Some people couldn’t bring themselves to harm the zombies, even if they knew deep down that those people were already dead.

Many clung to the hope that their loved ones might one day recover, even after they had become zombies.

At first, it was manageable. But as time passed, those who kept zombies often ended up bitten and transformed themselves or were ostracized by others, ultimately dying alone outside the camp.

Some even kept zombies, feeding them and causing harm to others, and those people eventually faced a grim fate, killed alongside the zombies.

Dai Ying had witnessed too many of these tragedies in recent years. Now, everyone had grown accustomed to the idea that when loved ones turned into zombies, it was best to kill them and bury them for everyone’s sake.

He didn’t want his cousin to be ostracized because of a zombie, nor did he want him to accidentally lose his life to it one day.

Determined to talk to his cousin, Dai Ying returned to the car and turned to see his cousin still holding the zombie. The firm look on his face had turned to hesitation.

“Cousin, about that zombie…” he started.

“Shut up,” Wen Jiuze said, eyes closed, leaning against Xue Ling’s shoulder.

Dai Ying awkwardly turned back to the steering wheel, deciding to give his cousin some time to cool off and would talk to him later.

Because of the zombie, the atmosphere in the convoy was tense during their break, and there was no laughter like usual when they reached their destination.

They had come to Anxi City on a mission.

Three years into the apocalypse, the internet was still down, and long-distance communication had become a major issue, with various bases scattered around managing themselves independently.

The base that Dai Ying and his team had was neither big nor small, surrounded by fields and nearby forests. They were basically self-sufficient in food, but many essential daily necessities were in short supply.

There was a local in their base who knew about an industrial area in Anxi City that had weaving factories, a toilet paper production plant, a soap factory, and some smaller factories.

The base decided to send people to check the situation and see if they could transport a batch of machinery back.

Now that they had successfully found the factory area, they were pleased to see that it had not been significantly damaged.

The next step was to push into the factory area, eliminate zombies for safety, and move usable machinery onto the vehicles.

If there was a lot of usable machinery, they would need to return to the base to call for help.

Brother Mi pointed to the people in the convoy to assign cleaning tasks, and someone looked toward Wen Jiuze’s vehicle.

“Brother Mi, isn’t Brother Wen coming with us to clean out the zombies this time?”

Wen Jiuze was skilled and obviously had training, making everyone feel much more at ease with him around.

In the past, whenever Brother Mi asked about such zombie-clearing missions, Wen Jiuze would always give him the face and participate.

When someone mentioned Wen Jiuze, another person raised a concern: “If he goes along to clean, what will happen to that zombie? Just leave it in the camp?”

“I don’t feel safe leaving a zombie in the camp. My wife still has to cook there, and what if the zombie attacks someone?”

Dai Ying walked over and hurriedly said, “My cousin has tied up the zombie and locked it in the car. As long as no one goes near it, we’ll be fine.”

Someone else was about to argue, but just then, the car door opened, and Wen Jiuze got out. Seeing him approach, the earlier critic fell silent.

Brother Mi smiled and waved at Wen Jiuze. He said, “We’re going to check out the nearest soap factory. Are you coming with us to clear out the zombies?”

“As we agreed before, once the cleaning is done, I’ll give you two jugs of gasoline and a hundred bullets. How does that sound?”

Gasoline and bullets were hard currency in these times and difficult to obtain.

Wen Jiuze helped this convoy, not just because Dai Ying was here, but also because Brother Mi was generous.

Wen Jiuze thought for a moment before readily agreeing, “Sure.”

Everyone in the convoy visibly relaxed, and Dai Ying raised his hand, saying, “I want to go too!”

Wen Jiuze patted his cousin on the shoulder, saying, “You’re not going. Stay here and watch my car. Don’t let anyone near it.”

“…Alright.” Dai Ying watched as his cousin and Brother Mi’s group left, leaving only a few people in the temporary camp.

He returned to Wen Jiuze’s car, peeking inside the window to see the tied-up zombie sitting quietly, which reassured him. He sat down beside the car, helping Puff groom, rubbing its head and playing with it.

With his cousin gone, he didn’t dare stay in the car alone with the zombie. That was too scary.

A middle-aged man approached, holding a pale little boy in his arms.

“Xiao Ying.”

“Uncle Feng, what’s the matter?”

“That’s right, uncle wants to ask you, does Xiao Wen want to keep the zombie in the car with him?”

“Ah… about that…”

“I’m not saying this lightly, but that’s not a good idea. Just look at those who keep zombies, none of them end up well.”

Feng Wei and his son weren’t regular members of their convoy. They had joined the trip to Anxi City hoping to find medicine.

The little boy, Feng Zicheng, was only nine years old and suffered from a heart condition. His medication was unavailable at the base, and Feng Wei couldn’t bear to watch his son die from the illness. So, he made the tough decision to join the convoy, hoping Anxi City might still have a pharmacy with his son’s medicine.

Because of the boy’s heart condition, Feng Wei took him everywhere, guarding him like a hawk. The people in the convoy were kind and looked out for them, allowing Feng Wei to help in the camp instead of participating in zombie-clearing missions.

Gasoline is now scarce, and the number of usable vehicles has also decreased. Everyone is crammed into the available cars. The little boy can’t stand the crowding, so he and his father often take Wen Jiuzhe’s vehicle because it’s the most spacious.

Considering the boy’s heart condition, Wen Jiuzhe allows the father and son to ride with him. On regular trips where there’s no need to fight zombies, they sit in his car.

However, if there’s a zombie in the car, they would never dare to ride with him again.

“Xiao Ying, you should handle the zombie while Xiao Wen isn’t around,” Feng Wei advised earnestly.

“No, no way!” Dai Ying instinctively refused. “My cousin will be angry!”

“I’ll take care of it if you can’t!” A sturdy middle-aged woman approached with a kitchen knife in hand. “Just say I killed the zombie, and I doubt your cousin will dare to hit me!”

This woman, who handles cooking and guards the camp, is known as Sister Lu among the older members of the group, along with her husband, Brother Wang.

When there aren’t enough people in the group, she often joins the men to fight zombies, and she’s quicker at it than many of the weaker men.

Having witnessed their only daughter being devoured by a zombie, she harbors a deep hatred for them.

“What are zombies? They’re man-eating beasts that have long ceased to be humans. It’s because of these things that we can’t live peacefully. I refuse to keep a zombie in the camp!” Sister Lu shouted.

If it were just Feng Wei urging him, Dai Ying would still hesitate. But since Sister Lu has been with him for a longer time, her words are harder to dismiss.

After all, he himself feels that his cousin shouldn’t be bringing a zombie along.

“Let’s just… get rid of her. No, wait, how about I drive and dump her somewhere far away?” Dai Ying said after a moment of hesitation.

“Dumping her somewhere else still puts people at risk. It’s better to just kill her and be done with it!” Sister Lu insisted.

“No, my cousin will really get angry!” Dai Ying emphasized. “I’ll just send her away.”

———

Xue Ling sat in the car. She tried to escape several times but failed and was forced to stare blankly.

Zombies can’t open car doors, and this damn man is so paranoid that he locked both the doors and the windows.

Suddenly, someone sat in the driver’s seat. It was Wen Jiuzhe’s cousin. He glanced at her and quickly said,

“Sorry, I have to drop you off far away. Don’t blame me, it’s not my fault you’re a zombie.”

He knew that zombies couldn’t understand human speech. He only said this to make himself feel better.

Before driving off, he checked that the zombie in the backseat was tied up and secured with a seatbelt, ensuring she couldn’t suddenly lunge at him before quickly starting the car and driving away.

Xue Ling didn’t expect such an unexpected twist. As she thought about escaping, this little cousin came to help.

Thanks, brother!

Xue Ling cooperated all the way, not intentionally screaming or struggling to scare him. This allowed Dai Ying to safely drop her off at a secluded edge of the woods.

The car stopped on the side of the road for a moment, and then Dai Ying quickly left her there before driving off.

Xue Ling climbed to her feet, feeling disheartened.

Why couldn’t he go the extra mile and help her unbind her hands behind her back?

Wen Jiuze had tied her up so tightly that it was nearly impossible for her to free herself as a zombie!

It seemed she would need to find someone and get to a kitchen to grab a knife to cut off the leather bindings.

Great, she was free again! Time to hurry!

She stumbled down the desolate road, determined never to see Wen Jiuze again.

She had been just fine before. Being held by Wen Jiuze in the car felt like dying all over again.

In the evening, the men who had finished the cleanup returned from the factory area, all in good spirits since many machines in the factory were still usable.

Wen Jiuze left the group, his pants stained with blood and dirt, wiping his short knife clean while a gun was slung at his waist.

He walked to his car and asked, “Did you keep an eye on my car? Did anyone come close?”

“Uh…” Dai Ying’s expression shifted, and he mumbled a vague response.

Seeing his expression, Wen Jiuze felt something was off. He suddenly frowned and yanked the car door open.

Inside sat Feng Wei and his son, the honest-looking middle-aged man cradling his sleeping child, greeting him with a forced smile. “Xiao Wen, you’re back!”