Chapter 48: The Plague

Chapter 48: The Plague

Cao Kun, as Shenchi had anticipated, did not question the existence of the crystal core. He was exhausted and hungry, his body aching all over, his head dizzy, and the hot breath he exhaled onto his face made him feel like he was sick.

After Shenchi woke up, they left together. By then, the sky had completely darkened, heavy clouds hanging low overhead, threatening to unleash a torrential downpour at any moment.

The rain after a nuclear explosion is no good thing. They exchanged a glance and walked towards the residential area, one in front and one behind.

The houses here were not densely packed but scattered along the roadside, at the foot of hills, or standing alone amidst fields. Some farmlands had already turned sandy, making the entire town look abandoned.

The journey was quiet. Shenchi and Cao Kun searched several houses but found no zombies, only many dried corpses of ordinary people and zombies with smashed heads.

Apart from checking nails and head injuries, there was another reason for examining these bodies: zombie corpses do not easily decompose.

Some zombies' rotting wounds were sustained before their brain death; once they became zombies, the rotting stopped. Even if they suffered new injuries, there would be no massive bleeding or risk of infection spreading.

Thus, the corpses of killed zombies would not decompose quickly, nor would bacteria grow inside them.

Fortunately, they soon found some food, though most of it was spoiled, and even the few cookies had gone bad. But neither of them was picky; having any edible food was already a relief. However, they found no water, not even in the solar water tanks, suggesting that this village had been short on water resources during the apocalypse.

They had been out for half an hour when they suddenly looked up and rushed into the nearest tiled house just as the heavy rain started pouring down outside.

They closed the wooden door, blocking the splashing rainwater.

In a short while, the outside world plunged into darkness. Looking closely, one could see that the sky was still gray, but the rain seemed like a fine black silk curtain, blocking all light.

The first rain after a nuclear explosion is black because it absorbs radioactive pollutants and must not be touched. The Self-defense Corps repeatedly reminded them of this and broadcasted emergency instructions daily.

Shenchi found a half-used pack of candles and an unopened one in a drawer under the TV, along with two lighters. It seemed this household often experienced power outages and was well-prepared.

Shenchi lit the candles, illuminating the small bedroom with a dim yellow glow.

It was a typical room with a bed, wardrobe, two bedside tables, a TV, and a TV cabinet. The bed still had a mat, two pillows, and a banana leaf fan covered in dust and mold.

Outside the bedroom was a hall about twenty square meters in size, containing only two dining tables and rows of wooden chairs. The walls were unpainted mud, and a faded portrait of Chairman Mao hung on the wall opposite the entrance, giving the whole place a damp, gloomy feeling.

They checked the house thoroughly. Cao Kun found some farming tools in the toilet, such as hoes, rakes, shovels, sickles, and axes. He and Shenchi each picked a usable weapon.

The toilet was a pit dug into the ground, covered with wooden planks, with pigsties on either side, now empty.

After taking care of their needs, they discovered some hanging cured meat, sausages, and a pig's head on the roof of the kitchen, but they were covered in black spots—maggot corpses upon closer inspection.

Shenchi searched further and found a jar of rice infested with worms and emitting a foul odor.

The temperature had dropped to around twenty degrees, cool and refreshing. Shenchi found a whetstone to sharpen the rusty shovel and axe.

Cao Kun wrapped the mat and placed it in the hall, then took a sheet from the wardrobe and spread it over two quilts, finally leaning against the bedhead with a sigh of relief. "When we return, I plan to visit my uncle and aunt in the countryside of Jiu Zhou City. What about you?"

Shenchi nodded. "I need to find Xia Yi."

"If I'm not mistaken, has Xia Yi also awakened a special ability?" Cao Kun asked calmly. "Is it related to his profession or the zombies?"

Shenchi glanced at him.

Cao Kun shrugged. "When we returned from Tian Dong Town, he knew I was injured without looking. Later, he was the first to identify the zombies during the survivor riot. Plus, your unusual attitude towards him made me suspect."

"After observing him, I became even more certain." Cao Kun looked at him calmly, confident in his conclusion.

Shenchi lowered his head and continued sharpening the blade. "Yes, he awakened a clairvoyance ability, allowing him to see inside human bodies, including muscles and bones, and distinguish between humans, zombies, ability users, and infected individuals."

Shenchi did not mention that different abilities manifest in different colors, as he was a dual-element ability user and couldn't be sure if other single-element ice ability users also appeared blue.

Fortunately, until this mission, he was the only ice ability user in Jiu Zhou City.

"I see," Cao Kun said. "A very useful ability."

The conversation ended there. Neither of them was talkative, often working quietly on their own tasks.

They ate the remaining half-pack of cookies, then took turns keeping watch while the other slept fully clothed, switching every two hours.

The rain lasted through the night. When dawn broke, they continued their journey. The road was muddy, and their ill-fitting rain boots made walking feel like stepping on cotton, lacking traction.

Cao Kun shook his head and tied a cloth strip around his shoe opening.

They still found no signs of life but encountered more animal corpses on the road, such as rats, frogs, snakes, insects, and flies feeding on them.

As the sun rose, the distant sky glowed with a beautiful orange-yellow hue, the rolling clouds layering beautifully.

They were heading towards a denser area of houses when they suddenly heard piercing cries.

For a moment, Shenchi wondered if he was hallucinating, but seeing Cao Kun's gaze confirmed that someone was indeed crying, multiple voices, male and female, rising and falling in sorrow.

They cautiously approached the source of the sound and soon saw a river about ten meters wide. Although the river had not completely dried up, its water level had dropped significantly, and it was murky with a layer of oil and garbage floating on top, emitting a pungent stench!

Shenchi covered his nose and moved away.

As the cries grew louder, they gradually saw the scene before them: four or five bodies covered in flies, with visible pus-filled blisters and oozing fluids, crawling with maggots.

"Ugh—! Ugh!" Shenchi couldn't help but retch, vomiting acid repeatedly.

Seeing Shenchi's distress, Cao Kun handed him the last bit of water they had and stood beside him, shielding him from the wind. "Drink this. Didn't you tear a cloth strip? Use it to cover your nose."

Shenchi was about to do so when a sudden gust of wind triggered another bout of nausea.

The cries abruptly stopped, as if they had heard their movements.

Cao Kun and Shenchi exchanged a glance, gripping their axes tightly behind their backs. Shenchi, ignoring his discomfort, joined him, and they walked forward together.

In front of them stood an ancient building with upturned eaves and an imposing structure. The couplets pasted beside the door and on the pillars supporting the eaves had lost their once vibrant colors. Two tattered red lanterns hung limply under the eaves, and dried bloodstains on the ground seemed to mark where corpses had been dragged. Above the entrance, a plaque bore the inscription "Wang Family Ancestral Hall" in large characters.

The two men stepped into the spacious front hall with its wide-open doors, flanked by tightly shut rooms. Passing through the central hall and a foul-smelling pond, they entered the upper hall, which was dimly lit and filled with cobwebs in all four corners.

In front of them, the altar table was cluttered with numerous memorial tablets arranged haphazardly. A faint smell of blood lingered in the air, adding an eerie atmosphere to the desolate space.

"Cough... cough..."

Shenchi suddenly turned around as a coughing sound came from behind the altar table again.

Shenchi and Cao Kun cautiously approached and lifted the white cloth, revealing seven or eight bodies piled haphazardly in a gap less than a meter wide, with blood splattered everywhere.

Upon closer inspection, they noticed that the person at the bottom had their eyes open and was still shedding tears!

"Save... save me..." the person reached out weakly.

Neither Shenchi nor Cao Kun moved; an ominous feeling permeated the air. Other "corpses" began to emit faint, insect-like moans, and it turned out that two were still alive.

"What's going on? Could it be radiation poisoning?" Cao Kun squinted his eyes and examined them closely. He saw that their filthy bodies were covered with pus-filled sores that had burst and rotted. Painful coughs could be heard intermittently from the pile of bodies, with blood flowing from one person's mouth onto another below.

For a moment, Cao Kun thought he saw black spots on the feet of a woman chained up nearby and was about to move closer for a better look when someone pulled him back, whispering urgently, "Don't go over there. It's the plague. Let's get out of here!"

Cao Kun felt a chill run down his spine and was about to step back when a sudden sense of danger surged within him. Immediately afterward, a whistling sound came from behind his head!

Author's note:

Thank you, Xiao Tian "the white rabbit who doesn't like white radishes," for your support with 1 nutrient fluid! Mwah! (^з^)～