Chapter 49 Zhou Qin and Gou Song’s Story

Chapter 49: The Story of Zhou Qin and Gou Song

Gou Chong closed his eyes, as if suddenly nothing mattered anymore. Leaning back on the cold metal chair, he rasped, "They found my family."

Gou Chong was no orphan. In fact, despite most people in the apocalypse being alone, that didn’t mean they had no family—just that they had been separated or taken by zombies.

Before the apocalypse, Gou Chong’s entire family had gone on a trip to T Province—his parents, his aunt’s family, his younger brother and sister. Only he had stayed behind due to work.

And then, as if fate had twisted the knife, the apocalypse struck right then, cutting off all communication.

Gou Chong lost contact with his family and remained cut off from them until recently, when the T Province delegation came for the auction.

Gou Chong shut his eyes in pain. "I don’t know how they found me—maybe because of the airport security check that day.

But the day after I was burned by Cruise, someone approached me and showed me a video of my family."

As he spoke, there was no joy in seeing his family again—only agony as he clutched his head. "The cruelest part was, none of my family members who could support us had manifested any superpowers.

Only my little sister had awakened a water-based superpower.

But she was just a child—only twelve this year. Even after three years of having her superpower, she was still trapped at Tier One, barely progressed. She couldn’t help our family at all—instead, that meager ability doomed them."

"Those beasts—what they did to a twelve-year-old girl was far more disgusting than you could imagine." Gou Chong’s veins bulged with rage. If those people had been in front of him, he would have killed them without hesitation.

"Those M-country and R-country people aren’t human—they’re animals. They forced me to watch it live, violating my mother and sister right in front of me—even my little brother, a boy—they still brutalized him.

I couldn’t take it. I really couldn’t. So I agreed to their demands."

The hatred in Gou Chong’s eyes faded, leaving only numbness and despair.

"They wanted me to contact Han Yaokun, the creator of the spatial storage device—they thought he was the one who developed it. I told them my rank wasn’t high enough to reach him—that even if they killed my family right then, I couldn’t get it. Cornered, I had to feed them lies."

"Later, they learned about the nutritional serum and demanded its core technology. I told them if I couldn’t even access the spatial storage device, how could I get the nutritional serum? So they forced me to pry intel from you."

Gou Chong looked at Zhou Qin. "They knew I’d saved your life, knew we were close. So I trashed you—said it was all an act, that you were just using me to build your image, that behind the scenes you beat and cursed me, treating me like dirt."

"I don’t know if they believed me, but they dropped the nutritional serum demand and switched to targeting Commander-in-Chief Gu."

The group turned to Gu Jinsheng, surprised he was involved—and that the M-country had even tried to assassinate him.

The M-country was truly despicable. The nutritional serum and Gu Jinsheng were the bedrock of Jing City Base—indispensable. Unable to steal the serum, they aimed for Gu Jinsheng, knowing that killing him would throw the base into chaos, giving the M-country a chance to infiltrate and steal both the serum and the spatial storage device technology.

Gou Chong gave a bitter laugh. "The M-country really overplayed their hand. How could I possibly scheme against Commander-in-Chief Gu? He doesn’t even know me—if I suddenly tried to get close, he’d see right through me."

"So I told them I’d do it, but I couldn’t guarantee success or failure."

The M-country, having finally secured this opportunity, wouldn’t accept such a vague answer.

"In the end, they ordered me to assassinate you—failure wasn’t an option. If I failed, my family would pay with their lives." Gou Chong’s composure shattered. "If they’d just given my family a quick death, I might have accepted it. But they refused—said if I failed, they’d sell my mother, sister, and brother into lifelong abuse.

As for my father, they’d flay him alive and throw him into a zombie horde—and promised to film it for me."

Gou Chong broke down. "I couldn’t do it. If it were me suffering, I could endure it. But I couldn’t bear my family going through that because of me."

"So you chose me instead?" Zhou Qin’s voice was icy.

Gou Chong stared straight at him. "I’d have made it painless—no suffering."

"Your idea of ‘painless’ was letting me turn zombie? Or rip me apart while I breathed?" Zhou Qin pressed relentlessly.

Gou Chong suddenly stood up from his chair, his composure breaking as he shouted, “Then what choice do I have? Tell me, what should I choose?”

Zhou Qin remained unaffected by Gou Chong’s outburst, his cold eyes fixed on him. It was the first time since they’d met that Zhou Qin had looked at him with such indifference.

In Zhou Qin’s gaze, Gou Chong saw his own pitiful, crazed reflection and abruptly calmed down.

“Zhou Qin, no matter what reasons I have, this time I’ve wronged you. Kill me. I beg you—record my death and air it on public channels. Maybe when the Americans and Japanese in T Base see it, they’ll stop tormenting my family.”

“Do you really think that’s possible?” Zhou Qin’s voice was icy, devoid of any emotion. “Given the nature of the Americans and Japanese, do you honestly believe that? Whether you fail or succeed, do you think they’ll spare your family?”

“They promised me! If I succeeded, they’d release my family—at least let them live ordinary, if difficult, lives like the common people in T Base. No more enduring that filth.”

“No, they won’t.” Wan Xueying, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up. “If you succeed, your family’s fate will only be worse. They’ll record the torture and broadcast it for the world to see.”

Ji An added, his voice icy cold. “Because it’s their trophy, their glory! They’ll flaunt it!”

Gou Chong wept bitterly, tears and mucus running down his face. “But I’m pushed to the edge! There’s no way out for me!”

“There is! You could’ve told me!” This was the first time Zhou Qin had shown any emotion other than cold indifference since reuniting with Gou Chong.

“You could’ve told me, and I would’ve helped you!” Zhou Qin roared. “They ordered you to assassinate me? Fine! I’d play along. Tell me when to die, how to die—I’d do it! For example, today we go out, replace everyone with my trusted men, then come back and claim you succeeded. Would they even know?”

“They would! To prevent us from faking it, they made me record a video!” Gou Chong shouted back.

“So what? Pre-apocalypse movies were all staged—could you tell real from fake? Through a screen, could you distinguish human blood from anything else?” Zhou Qin demanded.

“Zhou Qin, the Beijing Base has leaks. They have people here—among us! Otherwise, how do you think I got my hands on a pinhole camera in these times? They provided it. They hid it in the restroom at headquarters, our own stronghold, and had me retrieve it personally. It’s a threat, a warning not to act recklessly!”

Gou Chong was truly desperate. “I don’t know what to do anymore. Zhou Qin, I can’t take that gamble—the stakes are too high.”

“Just pretend all those years of friendship were garbage, that I schemed my way into it. Let it go, then make it quick! Life is too painful. I don’t care about becoming a zombie, about dying—but I can’t bear the weight of my family’s lives!”

“I’m just a coward. Kill me!”

“You are a coward!” Zhou Qin snapped, his composure breaking. “You think dying solves anything? Do you have any idea what’ll happen to your family?”

“What else can I do?” Gou Chong was completely broken. “Like you said, whether I succeed or fail, they’ll suffer! What options do I have? The only thing left is to die!”

For Gou Chong, fate seemed to offer no choice—no matter what he did, destruction awaited.

Zhou Qin closed his eyes briefly, knowing there was nothing left to say. “Your punishment will follow the base’s regulations.”

Surprisingly, Gou Chong relaxed completely and replied, “Okay.” His tone was eerily casual, as if Zhou Qin had simply asked which cafeteria they’d eat at that morning.

Zhou Qin said nothing more. Using his cane for support, he made his painful way to the door. Just as he was about to exit, Gou Chong—watching his labored steps—suddenly asked, as casually as old friends chatting, “Is there any hope for it to heal? Can any healers with superpowers in our base fix it?”

Zhou Qin didn’t answer, pausing only briefly before continuing out.

Ji An turned back, his voice icy cold. “No hope. Fang Rurong said maybe a seventh-level healing ability might help, but so far, no known healer has reached that level. And even that’s just her speculation—no one knows if a seventh-level healing power is truly that strong.”

After a moment of silence, Gou Chong said, “I’m sorry, Zhou Qin. I failed you. On the day of my execution, please come. If only to see justice served.”

Zhou Qin finally responded, coldly, “I won’t. I don’t want you thinking I came to see you off. There’s nothing left between us.”

Gou Chong’s tears, which had finally stopped, flowed anew. But this time, he said nothing more.

As the others left the interrogation room, Gu Jinsheng asked, “What are you going to do?”

Zhou Qin turned his face away, preventing Gu Jinsheng from seeing the redness in his eyes and the tears he was barely holding back.

"Business is business." Even so, Zhou Qin's hoarse voice betrayed him.

"Fine," Gu Jinsheng agreed immediately. "Publicly nullify his superpower, then feed him to the zombies."

Zhou Qin nodded without a word, leaning on his crutch as he limped forward. After a few steps, he stopped again and rasped, "Boss, I know you've been in contact with some spies from T Base recently. Could you have them rescue his family?"

Gu Jinsheng didn't say yes or no. Instead, he asked, "Do you understand that proceeding with this would expose the spies I've gone to great lengths to contact?"

"I know," Zhou Qin said, still facing away. "Boss, I'm willing to step down voluntarily as Deputy Commander. Anyway, someone like me, who's now missing a good leg, can't continue serving in that position. Once I'm gone, you can appoint whoever you want, and I guarantee my people won't object."

In other words, Zhou Qin was offering his deputy commander post in exchange for rescuing Gou Chong’s family. Normally, even if Zhou Qin wanted to step down, he could recommend a successor—especially since it was due to injury sustained during an outside mission, which almost always ensured his recommendation would be accepted.

Now, though, Zhou Qin was willing to give up that right just to save Gou Chong’s family.

"You've contributed greatly to the base, and there's no rule saying a cripple can't be Deputy Commander. You don't need to resign," Gu Jinsheng assured him. "I'll arrange for Gou Chong’s parents to be rescued as soon as possible, but I can't promise success."

"Just do your best," Zhou Qin replied, continuing to limp forward on his crutch. "Still, Boss, my offer to resign is sincere. You can start making arrangements."

"Jingshi Base doesn’t kick people when they’re down, and neither do I, Gu Jinsheng," Gu Jinsheng said coolly.

A few of them stepped out of the interrogation room. Outside, the sun hung high, unchanged from any other day, yet the air hung heavy with unspoken tension.

Gou Chong’s punishment wasn’t delayed long. As soon as Zhou Qin made the decision, the sentence was carried out the same day.

According to Jingshi Base’s rules, first came the nullification of his superpower, then being fed to the zombies.

Gu Jinsheng made no effort to hide the scandal, broadcasting the execution live through public channels for all of China to see—including certain parties in T Province.

They carried out the sentence at twilight. Gou Chong was led to the platform without protest. He obeyed without resistance until the energy-nullifying helmet was placed on his head, at which point he twisted his body to glance toward the building where Gu Jinsheng and others stood.

He stared intently, trying to pick out a familiar figure among the crowd, but the executioners gave him no time. Rough hands wrenched his head forward before fastening the helmet in place.

Almost instantly, Gou Chong lost consciousness, his eyes whitening.

One of the executioners spat and cursed, “Ungrateful traitor. Serves you damn right. After everything Commander Zhou did for you…”

Bound tightly to the iron chair, Gou Chong could no longer hear the insults hurled at him.

His thoughts dissolved into fog. Memories of Zhou Qin flickered in and out, leaving behind only blankness—as if decades of living had been erased in an instant.

Seizing violently, foam bubbling from his lips, Gou Chong writhed in agony. But within a minute, it was over.

When the helmet was removed, he lay lifeless, save for occasional spasms.

Someone dragged him away, dumped him into a truck, and tossed him into the zombie horde...

Gou Chong died never knowing Zhou Qin had watched. And he’d never know that the moment the vehicle pulled away, Zhou Qin—who had been hiding in the shadows—finally broke.

He lurched forward, howling, his sobs raw and uncontrollable until his crutch could no longer support him. He collapsed to the ground, curling into himself like a wounded animal, arms wrapped tightly around his trembling frame.

Ji An approached, crouched beside him, and pulled the weeping Zhou Qin into an embrace.

Zhou Qin clung to Ji An’s jacket, tears and snot smeared across his face. He gazed through Ji An, staring at something unseen.

"How did it come to this? What twisted us into this?" Zhou Qin didn’t know whether he was asking himself, Gou Chong, or no one at all. "Back then, he rushed into a zombie horde to save me. Neither of us had even unlocked our superpowers yet, and the leader of that horde was a Level Two zombie..."

He fisted Ji An’s jacket tighter, voice breaking. "He nearly died for me... And now... this." His voice shattered.

"For us who hadn't awakened our superpowers back then, a level-two zombie lord was like death itself with a scythe harvesting lives.

Sure enough, we both got bitten by zombies, but we still managed to escape."

Zhou Qin recounted the past. Though it happened seven years ago, his memories remained vivid, as if it had just occurred yesterday.

"He didn’t blame me, not a single word of resentment. He even joked with me, saying that even if we turned into zombies, at least we’d have each other for company." Zhou Qin’s voice seemed to overlap with that of the person who, despite being bitten by a zombie, still grinned brightly at him that day. "Even if we had to become zombies, we wouldn’t serve under that zombie lord. We’d follow another, stronger one and bring our new boss back for revenge."

At that moment, Zhou Qin genuinely felt that becoming a zombie might not be as terrifying as he had imagined.

While waiting for the zombification to take hold, Gou Chong even took out the supplies they had painstakingly protected from being stolen by others along the way and told Zhou Qin to eat up quickly.

"Eat while you can still taste the food. Even if we die, let’s die as full-bellied ghosts." After all, the two of them had always rationed their meals, unwilling to take even an extra sip of water. Now, at least before death, they could finally eat their fill—some small comfort.

And so, the two began devouring the food ravenously. As Zhou Qin ate, the taste gradually faded from his mouth until it became like chewing wax, impossible to swallow. At the same time, his zombification began.

Zhou Qin turned into a zombie before Gou Chong did, but Gou Chong didn’t distance himself. Instead, he stayed close, pressing his head against Zhou Qin’s, keeping him company.

After a night, Gou Chong finally started turning, however his transformation came late and passed quickly. After a short period of high fever, Gou Chong awakened his superpower—he had survived and become superpowered. He wouldn’t turn into a zombie!

By then, Zhou Qin’s zombification had progressed severely, with nearly 70% of his body transformed and still worsening. His consciousness blurred, and he lost control of his actions, repeatedly attempting to attack and bite Gou Chong.

The most sensible and compassionate thing Gou Chong could have done at that point was to leave Zhou Qin behind and walk away alone.

But Gou Chong didn’t. He stuffed Zhou Qin’s mouth with scraps of cloth, tied a rope around his own waist, and fastened the other end to Zhou Qin’s waist. Like this, he began hauling Zhou Qin around, living a life of constant hiding.

They had to evade both zombie-hunting humans and other zombies. Gou Chong also had to guard against sudden attacks from Zhou Qin, who was mid-transformation.

Under such extreme hardship and danger, when Zhou Qin seemed almost certainly beyond hope, Gou Chong still kept him with me.

Perhaps it was the constant companionship and care, the endless chatter in Zhou Qin’s ears that refused to let his nerves forget he was still human—but at the very last moment, Zhou Qin miraculously recovered and successfully awakened his superpower.

He still remembered the moment he regained consciousness. Gou Chong had his back to him, digging for god-knows-what roots in the dirt, while Zhou Qin was tied to a tree not far away.

Gou Chong muttered to him as he dug, as if Zhou Qin could still understand him. "If I’d known you’d really pull through, I wouldn’t have wasted all our supplies that day. Now we’ve got nothing left to eat. Damn our luck—today’s roots are the worst kind, so bitter. The ones with round leaves aren’t bad, not as bitter, just harder to chew."

"Who told you to be so petty, afraid someone else would benefit, and ruin all the food?" Zhou Qin worked the rag out of his mouth and retorted.

"Yeah, turns out you really shouldn’t be so stingy. Gotta be generous, or else—" Gou Chong suddenly froze mid-sentence. Just now, someone had responded to him—a voice so familiar, it sounded like Zhou Qin.

Gou Chong whipped his head around and locked eyes with Zhou Qin, who had turned back into a human and was struggling to untie the rope binding him.

"Holy shit, Old Zhou! You made it! You actually made it!" Gou Chong’s words got all choked up as tears streamed down his face. Without bothering to wipe them away, he rushed over and hugged Zhou Qin tightly, still tied up.

"This is amazing, Old Zhou. I thought you wouldn’t make it. I was ready to spend the rest of my life wandering the world with a zombie companion." From the very beginning, Gou Chong had never believed Zhou Qin would recover. He had planned to carry him along, even as a zombie.

"No way I'd turn into some ugly-ass thing. I haven’t even found a wife yet—I still need to get married!" Zhou Qin’s tears flowed uncontrollably. "Did you pawn your damn brains for that Superpowered Crystal Core? How could you even think of dragging a zombie around?"

Gou Chong grinned foolishly. "I’ve already imagined it. Doesn’t it sound badass? Drifting around with a zombie in tow—so badass!"

The memory faded, returning to cold-ass reality—only the icy ground and cruel betrayal remained. The person who had promised to stay with him even as a zombie was gone.

And Zhou Qin finally cried till he passed out.

Watching this scene on the public feed, the M-country and R-country representatives in the T-base were so furious they trashed their screen with a chair.

"Worthless piece of shit!" Dewitt roared. "Didn’t they say he was close with that Deputy Commander from the capital base? How did he still fail?"

The R-country representative bowed his head meekly and said respectfully, "That man claimed the Deputy Commander of the capital base was a two-faced bastard—saying one thing to his face but acting differently behind his back, never truly trusting him and just using him as a prop. Judging by the outcome, what he said might very well be true."

"Damn it! Those goddamn hypocritical Chinese!" Dewitt's veins bulged on his neck. "Kill them—all of that useless bastard's family! I want them to die horribly!"

"Yes, I'll arrange it right away!" The R-nation agent immediately complied, trembling as he scrambled out to carry out the orders.

Dewitt's eyes darkened with malice. "The Capital Base, China—one day, our M-nation's military forces will set foot on that land again!"

Meanwhile, at the Luo City Base, Du Ruanlan sneered, "Another scheme by the M-nation and R-nation—those two rats hiding in the gutter."

Owen added, "After the miserable death of Cruise, here comes another reckless fool, Dewitt. The M-nation never learns its lesson, always playing with fire."

Jiang Fuzhong fumed, "At a time like this, instead of uniting to overcome hardship, these scum only think about thuggery."

At the Northern Base, Cong Xun guessed the truth and cursed them out with fury.

Han Zhiwei from the Southern Base sighed, "Tall trees catch the wind, and the leading bird gets shot! The Capital Base won’t get a moment’s peace from now on!"