Chapter 10

Chapter 10

That night, they slept in the cemetery.

One human and one zombie were sleeping in the car, with all the seats folded down to form a not-so-large bed.

Xue Ling found it quite comfortable, but for the long-limbed Wen Jiuzhe, it was very uncomfortable. He draped his legs over the steering wheel, staring up at the roof of the car.

Xue Ling noticed that he hadn’t taken any precautions, just casually lying next to her.

Before, he at least remembered to tie her up to avoid getting bitten, but now, perhaps because he realized she never actually bit him, he had become even more arrogant.

"Xue Ling," Wen Jiuzhe suddenly spoke, "The reason I broke up with you back then was because..."

Xue Ling pricked up her ears to listen.

But this jerk Wen Jiuzhe started a topic and then immediately lost the mood to continue. "Never mind, you wouldn’t understand anyway, nothing to talk about."

Xue Ling: "..."

She felt that familiar urge to get angry and lose her temper.

The roar of zombies echoed in the car, while Wen Jiuzhe nonchalantly shifted his legs into a new position.

Xue Ling really wanted to grab his head and shake him, urging him to continue.

Then he said, "Sometimes I feel like you're different from other zombies, like you can understand me."

The zombie in the car continued to roar, perhaps even louder out of guilt.

Wen Jiuzhe rested his head on his arm and muttered to himself, "But how could that be? It’s just because I like you that I think you're special."

Xue Ling: "...Ooooh-oah-oah-oah!"

The zombie’s roar faltered for a moment before resuming.

She hadn’t expected Wen Jiuzhe to suddenly say he liked her. Was this a confession?

When they were dating, he never said a single confessional word, his mouth was sealed tighter than a zipper.

He was quick to come up with sarcastic remarks, his words like poison.

Why didn’t you say it before? Now it’s too late! They were no longer even the same species!

Wen Jiuzhe turned over, smiling as he watched her roaring away, then suddenly had a new idea:

"Tomorrow, I’ll find a sturdy pair of handcuffs. If I turn into a zombie in the future, we can be cuffed together, so we’ll always have a companion. What do you think?"

What did Xue Ling think? Xue Ling thought it was a terrible idea. He ran like a wild dog, and even as a zombie, she probably couldn’t keep up.

If Wen Jiuzhe got excited by the smell of humans, he might run too fast, dragging her along the ground.

Absolutely not!

Had he forgotten how they used to fall over during the three-legged race?

But Wen Jiuzhe seemed genuinely interested. The next day, he drove out of the cemetery, mumbling about where to find handcuffs, wondering if they should check the police station.

And off he went. He found a police station by the roadside and parked to go inside.

As soon as he disappeared through the door, Xue Ling, sitting in the car, saw a modified electric scooter turning the corner from the street. A masked man approached.

Another ambush? When she was a zombie, it was hard to find a living person, but now, traveling with Wen Jiuzhe, people just kept showing up.

Come on then, try to pry the door open. She’d jump out and give him a bite.

Hey, a surprise awaits!

Xue Ling got into position inside the car.

But this time, she didn’t get her chance. The man on the scooter arrived, and Wen Jiuzhe came out of the door holding two silver handcuffs.

He immediately noticed the newcomer and placed his hand on the gun at his waist.

The man on the scooter was clearly startled when he saw him, stopping in his tracks with his feet spread apart.

"Brother Zhe?" The man pulled down his mask, revealing a young face filled with surprise.

"Fang Xianwen?" Wen Jiuzhe also recognized him.

"Damn, it really is you, Brother Zhe! Why are you back? When did you come back? Are you heading to Qiu Village?" Fang Xianwen approached, eyeing him up and down in astonishment.

Anxi City was the Wen family’s territory, and Qiu Village was the Wen family’s stronghold, where seven out of ten households shared the Wen surname, maintaining clan customs even before the apocalypse.

Fang Xianwen didn’t share the Wen surname but was also from Qiu Village. He called Wen Xuan’s mother 'Cousin' and Wen Xuan 'Cousin Brother.'

Because of this connection, Fang Xianwen had been Wen Xuan’s lackey since childhood.

After Wen Jiuzhe was taken into the Wen family, Wen Xuan disliked him and would sometimes make Fang Xianwen harass Wen Jiuzhe.

At first, Fang Xianwen tried to confront Wen Jiuzhe, but after being beaten by him several times, he began calling him 'Brother Zhe' and even helped him deceive Wen Xuan.

To make things difficult for Wen Jiuzhe, Wen Xuan secretly changed his college application, sending him to the same school.

As Wen Xuan’s nominal lackey, Fang Xianwen had also gone to the same school voluntarily. He was a few months younger than Wen Jiuzhe, in the same grade, and had even been his college roommate.

During college, Fang Xianwen’s relationship with Wen Jiuzhe was actually better than with Wen Xuan.

Three years ago, when Wen Jiuzhe left Qiu Village, Fang Xianwen had not seen him since. Now, encountering him suddenly, he was both surprised and delighted.

However, thinking of the current situation in Qiu Village, he felt a bit worried for him.

Wen Jiuzhe could tell at a glance what he was thinking and said, "Just passing by, leaving soon, not planning to go to Qiu Village."

Before finding Xue Ling, he did have a plan to visit Qiu Village, but now it was unnecessary.

Hearing this, Fang Xianwen also relaxed a bit. "That's good. Qiu Village has been quite chaotic recently. If you went now, it would probably cause more trouble."

Qiu Village was now the only remaining base in Anxi City, and there were still many people there. Given the Wen family's previous prestige, one of the current leaders in the base was Wen Xuan's father, Wen Jiuzhe's second uncle.

"Quite chaotic?" Wen Jiuzhe asked.

"Just a few days ago, a motorcade from another base in Anxi City arrived in the factory area to move things. When people in Qiu Village found out, they reported it, and my cousin-in-law sent people to stop them."

The factory area... Wasn't that Dai Ying's motorcade?

In this postapocalyptic world, abandoned things were considered fair game, whoever got them first owned them. The machines in the factory area on the outskirts of Anxi City were previously unwanted, so why the fuss now?

"What's the situation now? Did they end up fighting?"

"I heard there was a firefight, both sides had injuries, but no deaths. The external motorcade couldn't take anything away and was driven off."

Fang Xianwen shared what he knew, "There's a concern that those people might still be hiding here, so the base sent us out to patrol and confirm they really left."

Wen Jiuzhe chuckled, "Wen Laoer always claims to be a generous person, yet he doesn't allow others to pick up the scrap he doesn't want."

Fang Xianwen smiled awkwardly, "Well, my cousin-in-law doesn't want to get involved. But with my cousin Xuan insisting, what can he do?"

"He's a domineering person, insisting that Anxi City is our territory and what's in it belongs to us. Outsiders taking it is a provocation. Even if we don't want it, we can't let others have it. He insisted on getting involved, so my cousin-in-law had no choice but to listen to him."

"Wen Xuan?" Wen Jiuzhe suddenly asked with confusion.

"Yes, it was Cousin Xuan's idea," Fang Xianwen said, not understanding why his expression suddenly changed.

"How is Wen Xuan doing now?" Wen Jiuzhe asked with a controlled expression, playing with the handle of his short blade.

"Not well. It seems Cousin Xuan was injured three years ago and has been in poor health since. His face is deathly pale, and he rarely comes out to see people now, staying in his room all day."

Fang Xianwen cautiously asked, "Brother Ze, do you still hold a grudge against him? It's all in the past..."

Wen Jiuzhe gave a faint smile and dismissed Fang Xianwen.

Watching Fang Xianwen wave goodbye, his indifferent expression turned thoughtful.

Wen Xuan was still alive.

But this was impossible. Three years ago, when he left Qiu Village, he clearly saw Wen Xuan infected with the zombie virus.

How could Wen Xuan, infected with the zombie virus, still be alive without turning into a zombie?

He tossed his short blade in the air and caught it, quickly making a decision.

Xue Ling sat in the car, watching Wen Jiuzhe finish his pleasantries outside. When he got in, he said to her,

"I'll be going out for a while, and I might not be back tonight. Stay here and don't wander off, alright?"

"If you agree, I won't tie you up and lock you in the car."

Xue Ling: "..."

What ordinary zombie could understand and agree to that?

She randomly roared a couple of times.

Wen Jiuzhe said, "Good, you agreed, so you can't wander off."

He parked the car in a secluded yard and locked the gate from the outside.

He needed to go to Qiu Village, but driving this car would attract too much attention. He prepared to switch to a less conspicuous mode of transport.

In a house, he found a gasoline-powered motorcycle. Wen Jiuzhe put on a helmet and rode towards Qiu Village.

He was also familiar with the area around Qiu Village. After three years, many new buildings had appeared, and an outer wall and fence had been added.

It might stop zombies, but for someone with Wen Jiuzhe's skills, it was no problem.

Waiting patiently until it was dark, Wen Jiuzhe climbed over the wall and navigated the changed landscape of Qiu Village base in search of the Wen family's location.

The Wen family used to live in an antique-style villa, expensive to build, with gardens in the front and back, excellent feng shui, facing the mountains and water.

When Patriarch Wen was still alive, his sons, daughters-in-law, grandchildren all lived there, and Wen Jiuzhe stayed there when he returned to the Wen family.

Patriarch Wen was gone, and three years had passed in this postapocalyptic world. He didn't expect them to still be living there.

It was convenient for Wen Jiuzhe. He easily found Wen Xuan's room.

In such a large house, fewer than ten people lived there now, and any noise wouldn't easily attract others—perfect.

Wen Jiuzhe moved like a panther hunting in the dark, his footsteps silent. He approached the door of Wen Xuan's lit room.

He stood still for a moment, listening to the sounds inside, then lightly knocked on the door with his finger.

"Who?" A hoarse voice came from inside the room.

Wen Jiuzhe almost didn't recognize Wen Xuan's voice; it was so rough and grating, uncomfortable to hear.

There was no response from outside, and Wen Xuan came to open the door. His footsteps sounded somewhat sluggish.

He obviously felt that inside the base, in his own family mansion, there would be no danger, and he let his guard down completely.

The door had barely opened a crack when a strong force from outside suddenly pushed it wide open, and Wen Xuan was abruptly thrown to the ground.

His reactions were slow these days, and it wasn’t until he was pinned firmly to the ground that he realized something was wrong. He opened his mouth to curse.

But a hand yanked his jaw out of place, and with great force, pushed his face to the ground, stifling his voice.

His cheek scraped harshly against the ground, and Wen Xuan strained to turn his head, his neck cracking loudly, before he could finally make out who was attacking him.

When he recognized Wen Jiuzhe, his eyes almost burst from their sockets in rage.

Wen Jiuzhe, how could it be him!

Wen Jiuzhe grabbed his two wrists, using his knee to pin Wen Xuan’s back, preventing him from getting up, while holding a short blade in his other hand.

From the corner of his eye, Wen Xuan saw the blade flash, and felt a chill on the side of his face as a soft, fleshy mass plopped onto the ground. That was… his ear!

Wen Jiuzhe observed the ear for a moment, holding it up with the tip of his blade.

Zombie blood was a dark red. When a zombie’s body was cut open, very little blood flowed out, and it would clot quickly.

Wen Jiuzhe suddenly let out a soft laugh.

“You’re a zombie.” His tone was certain, tinged with confusion and curiosity. “Why do you look so different from ordinary zombies?”