Chapter 77

Three hours later, Shu Fu, who had successfully left with Lu Zheng and the others, arrived at the abandoned gas station, where she saw the “split” man that Lu Zheng had mentioned.

The abandoned gas station was small, with only two fuel pumps. The high, flat roof connected to the low buildings behind it. The building that had once been a small supermarket was now completely clean, with even the metal racks removed. According to Lu Ce, the remaining supplies and metal racks were scavenged by them earlier when they passed through here on their way to the Salt Lake.

The metal racks had been cut and reinforced with tools to modify their vehicles. One of the metal plates from the rack was now part of the off-road vehicle that Lu Zheng used to drive them away.

The two vehicles were parked under the flat roof on either side. After Lu Zheng turned off the engine and got out, he handed the keys of the off-road vehicle to Shu Fu, officially transferring the vehicle to them.

Shu Fu, Chen Fa, and Chen Yuezhen got out, locked the car, put on the N95 masks Shu Fu handed them, and boarded the bus on the other side.

In just three or four days, aside from repairing broken windows and reinforcing all the car windows and the roof, they had turned the back half of the bus into a space similar to an RV. The seats were removed, and single metal bunk beds, preassembled in the container house, were installed. There was one bed on each side, and it could accommodate up to four people.

The overhead luggage rack wasn’t removed. It had railings installed to ensure that no items would fall out during the vehicle’s movement due to bumps.

At this moment, the “split” man lay on the lower bunk of one of the double-decker beds. Still under the effect of the sedative, he was asleep, but his body twitched uncontrollably, likely due to the pain.

“Turning the back half of the seats into beds was his idea. Long-distance relocation during a crisis is too hard. He wanted to make things a little more comfortable for Xiao Yi, hoping that if she’s happy, she might be willing to talk to him again…”

The bald man, leaning against the opposite bed frame, spoke with a mocking tone. “He probably didn’t expect that the first person to call him a zombie today would be Xiao Yi.”

Behind him, Lu Ce lay on the upper bed with the tabby cat, unusually quiet due to the solemn atmosphere in the vehicle. When he saw Shu Fu approach, he didn’t speak.

Next to the “split” man’s bed, Xu Jiechu stood outside the bed, holding his cheese cat. Their faces were solemn. When they saw Chen Fa unusually not showing her typical combative expression, Xu Tingfeng reached over and lifted the thin cloth covering the man’s body, unsure if it was to avoid putting pressure on his wounds or because of the lighter cloth.

Under the thin cloth, the “split” man’s body, covered in dry, crusted scabs, was revealed. Just as Lu Zheng had said, he had “split open.”

The hardened, dry scabs appeared to have been pried open from within, as though something or some force had cracked them open. The scabs and the skin underneath had slightly detached, though not completely.

Through the cracks in the scabs, they could faintly see the flesh underneath moving as if it were alive. The flesh was wriggling, and blood and pus flowed out from the cracks, making him look horrifically painful.

The air was filled with a foul stench. Shu Fu and the others, wearing masks, could only vaguely smell it, but for some reason, the smell reminded Shu Fu of the red liquid stored in glass bottles.

Although the two seemed completely different now, the smell led Shu Fu to have some suspicions about the red liquid. After all, Tang Ping had been researching these kinds of patients for a long time. If those liquids really came from the patients, it might make sense.

That night, the three didn’t stay on the bus for long and soon returned to the off-road vehicle to rest.

Before leaving, Shu Fu gave Lu Zheng and the others some painkillers, saying she didn’t have many and wasn’t sure if they would be useful, but it was better than nothing, so they could try feeding them to him.

Since they were outdoors, Shu Fu and Chen Fa took turns resting and keeping watch. One sat in the driver’s seat, while the other slept in the reclining back seats. The travel bags and backpacks that had originally been in the trunk were temporarily moved to the front passenger area.

The rain wasn’t heavy that night, but the wind was strong and had been blowing for a long time. Occasionally, building debris was blown against the vehicle, making scraping sounds.

By the middle of the night, it seemed the sedative had worn off, and the “split” man woke up, immediately screaming in pain from his split skin. He began thrashing about, as if trying to tear off the painful skin and rip off the scabs.

They tried to stop him, but he attacked them instead. He seemed completely out of his mind, tearing at his former teammates, screaming and throwing punches.

In the end, a few strong men had to forcefully tie him down to the bed frame to stop his unconscious self-harming actions and attacks.

After this, the scabs on his body cracked further, causing him to scream even more desperately. He was still delirious and couldn’t recognize anyone, and they couldn’t even get him to take medicine. In the end, they had no choice but to cover his mouth to stop him from causing more disturbance.

It wasn’t until near dawn that he gradually calmed down. The bald man checked on him and found that his scabs had slowly started to reattach, though blood still seeped out. It seemed the cracking had stopped, and things were calming down.

The “split” man’s pain lessened, and he fell into an exhausted, unconscious sleep.

The next day, the wind was still strong, and the rain had grown heavier, but there was no thunder or hail. For people struggling to survive in such chaotic times, it was already considered good weather.

The people in both vehicles ate something before setting off again.

On Lu Zheng’s side, there was only a paper map. Every time they went out, they had to carefully pay attention to the road signs to avoid getting lost.

But Shu Fu had the entire map of the Northern Plateau on her phone. Although the road conditions were changing daily, having navigation was certainly better than not having it.

Chen Fa didn’t have a power bank, and Shu Fu hadn’t packed one in her bag earlier, so they had to be very cautious with their phone battery on the journey. They only turned on their phones when absolutely necessary. Now, however, with a car, they could keep their phones fully charged as long as they had a charging cable, which also meant they could use their phones freely.

After agreeing, they decided that the off-road vehicle with navigation would lead the way, with the bus following behind.

From the Salt Lake Scenic Area to Youcheng in the southwest, the distance was about 500 kilometers, and with some detours, the total distance was estimated to be around 600 kilometers.

Shu Fu had initially been worried about the off-road vehicle’s fuel consumption, as some mountain roads were difficult to navigate. She also considered the possibility of extreme weather forcing them to take detours. She wondered if the 60L of fuel would be enough to get them to Youcheng and how she could secretly add a little more fuel to the tank.

But on the first day of the trip, during a break at a rest stop by the provincial road, Xu Tingfeng approached their vehicle. He wasn’t wearing a raincoat but had pulled up the hood of his waterproof jacket. He knocked on the passenger side window.

Shu Fu lowered the volume of the music player and cracked the window slightly.

He came to thank them. During the day, the scabs on the thin man’s body didn’t crack open, but he would occasionally cry out in pain without realizing it.

That morning, when they were feeding him breakfast, they had given him a painkiller, and it seemed to have some effect. He was much calmer that day. Although his condition was still worsening, at least he could sleep well. Only after resting during the day could he muster the energy to deal with the pain at night.

He also told them not to worry about fuel on the way to Youcheng. The issue before had been the limited space in the vehicle, which didn’t allow for carrying extra fuel. But now that they had a bigger car, they had enough fuel. If they ran low, they would help top up the tank.

He expressed his gratitude through action, so Shu Fu also politely thanked him.

When Xu Tingfeng left, he looked at Chen Fa, the driver, and asked, “Will this happen every night?”

Chen Fa knew what he meant and replied, “Though I haven’t seen it myself, every night, we can hear the patient’s cries of pain.”

Xu Tingfeng’s expression grew serious, and he nodded before returning to the bus.

At this point, neither Shu Fu nor the others could have anticipated that the journey to Youcheng would turn into a painful road where they would witness the suffering of the patient firsthand.

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Youcheng was located on the southern side of the Northern Plateau, in the southwest corner of Lankou Province. From the map, it appeared to be near the northern part of Xiangzhou Province.

From Tianyan Salt Lake to Youcheng, the elevation dropped from 1500 meters to 700 meters. Most of the surrounding areas were wilderness, with occasional villages, but these villages were far from the provincial road.

There were many mountain roads in between, and even though they avoided the steeper sections, the current weather made driving difficult. For safety, they had to slow down and occasionally find places to stop and rest.

Once, after driving for three hours along a mountain road, they discovered a large section ahead had collapsed, forcing them to turn around and retrace their steps to the previous section. They then checked the map and navigation and re-planned the route.

Since setting out, they had spent two nights on the road. Each night, the thin man, who was usually calm during the day thanks to painkillers, would cry out in agony at the cracking of his scabs, like a clock set to go off.

These scabs would start cracking as soon as night fell. They couldn’t get wet, as water would cause them to spread rapidly, covering his limbs in large patches, leaving no part of his body unscathed.

After some of the scabs cracked twice, they began to fall off. What dropped looked like dried, dead skin. They initially thought this was a sign of recovery, but underneath the scabs, new, lighter gray scabs grew. They weren’t as firm as before, felt smoother, and still formed small patches that overlapped. These scabs appeared as dense layers of light gray that would even move at night, causing discomfort for those with a fear of clusters.

Meanwhile, the other passengers on the same bus as the thin man were fine and showed no signs of illness. Xu Tingfeng, Xu Jiechu, and Chen Fa, who had all been bitten or injured by the strange fish, didn’t develop any similar symptoms.

On the third night, after multiple detours and avoiding a massive storm, they finally arrived at a suburb near Youcheng.

When they reached a new place, they didn’t dare enter the city at night due to uncertain conditions. Plus, the thin man became restless every evening. They found an isolated, abandoned factory, drove the car into a large warehouse, and rested for the night.

The rain started to ease as night fell, and by the time they were ready to rest, it had completely stopped.

Lu Ce called out to Shu Fu from outside, saying the clouds had cleared, and they could see the stars.

Eventually, Shu Fu followed him up to a small platform beside the warehouse. They sat on a damp metal frame and looked up at the rare sight of the starry sky.

Cities on the Northern Plateau were few, and the wilderness was vast, with a more primal and natural ecosystem. It had long been a haven for driving enthusiasts, and camping and stargazing were essential activities.

“When I invited you to come experience the city, I thought, when you arrive, on a day when it’s not raining, I’d take you to the rooftop to watch the stars. The starry sky here is so beautiful, the stars are incredibly bright. Today’s not even as bright as usual…” Since the thin man fell ill, Lu Ce had been in a low mood. He spent the last few days with the constant sound of the thin man’s cries and couldn’t sleep properly, leaving him feeling drained and dispirited.

Shu Fu reached into her backpack and pulled out a jar of chocolate beans, gently pressing them into his hand. “Eat something sweet, it’ll make you feel better.”

But Lu Ce looked at the chocolate beans in his hand and his expression grew even more sorrowful. “Are you going to separate from us again?”

“…” It took Shu Fu a moment to remember that last year, when they were in Suicheng, she had given him a jar of chocolate beans before parting ways. This guy must have remembered it all this time. “No, I’m just giving you a jar of chocolate beans.”

At this, Lu Ce cheered up again. He thanked her and said he was going to show off to Xu Jiechu, then quickly climbed down the platform and ran toward the bus parked in the warehouse.

Shu Fu didn’t sit alone for long. Soon, Chen Fa, Lu Zheng, and Xu Tingfeng all climbed up one by one.

They had been traveling outside for several days, not sleeping well and constantly on high alert. Now, as they were about to arrive in Youcheng, and with the rare break in the rain, everyone was silent, just wanting to quietly watch the stars.

The few of them spread out on the racks. Shu Fu reached into her backpack again and took out a small tin of hard candies. She popped one into her mouth and then passed the tin over to the side. Over the past few days, even though they hadn’t talked much, they had developed a tacit understanding. When one of them got the candy tin, they took a piece for themselves and then passed it on to the next person.

Once everyone had their candy, they passed the tin back to Shu Fu to put away, saving it for next time.

The sweetness of the fruit-flavored candy quietly spread on their tongues and seemed to gently expand in their hearts as well.

In these disaster-ridden times, life was tough. Sometimes, the bitterness of life was so overwhelming that it made them forget what life was supposed to be like.

On a night like this, with the rain neither too cold nor too hot, they should have been gathered with friends in a restaurant. The June crayfish would still be plump and delicious, and they could sit in a street-side shop, order some grilled skewers and beer, and wash away the fatigue of the day’s work.

They all longed for the sweet cold desserts, chilled drinks, the smell of grilled meat, and the spicy and savory taste of the crayfish…

“I’m craving grilled skewers,” Chen Fa suddenly spoke.

“A bowl of spicy hot pot would do too,” Xu Tingfeng surprisingly joined in.

“A cup of iced coffee would be great, American-style would be fine,” Lu Zheng sighed. He usually drank lattes, but now he needed milk for that, and milk was hard to find.

“Who needs iced coffee at this hour? A hot milk tea would be much better,” Chen Fa gazed at the stars and sighed. “Even something like Xiangpiaopiao would be fine…”

Shu Fu remained silent. She had everything she needed. She could even instantly conjure a set of barbecue equipment and grill meat right here on the platform, and they could all enjoy iced coffee, hot milk tea, and chat while watching the stars.

But then what?

She trusted Chen Fa and Lu Zheng, but she didn’t trust Xu Tingfeng that much, and even less the other people on the bus.

People’s hearts were unpredictable, and at least for now, she wasn’t willing to take that gamble.

The group sat quietly for a while, enjoying the peaceful starry sky, but they were soon brought back to reality by the loud shouting from the bus. One by one, they climbed down the platform, with Shu Fu being the last to descend. Lu Ce was in front of her. After watching Chen Fa and Xu Tingfeng climb down, he was about to bend down to climb himself, but his movement suddenly froze.

The pause was so abrupt, as he stayed in the bent position for several long seconds.

“What’s wrong?” Shu Fu asked.

Lu Zheng stood up straight again. He first shook his head, then stretched his hand out in front of him, as if trying to wave something away.

After a while, he turned to face Shu Fu, his face blank and shocked. “I think something’s wrong with me.”

“What? Did you… remember something related to me?”

“No,” he shook his head, then pointed at the air in front of him. “Can you see it?”

“Huh?” Shu Fu didn’t quite understand.

Lu Zheng continued to point at the air in front of him. “Here—right here—I see a panel.”

Shu Fu:！？