Chapter 2: Bro, Let’s Team Up for Warmth
Every building had its experts. People like Ji Nian, who could climb, would always appear at night to find food.
Every species, every second, is facing extinction and evolution.
Perhaps this virus outbreak is an evolution, a natural selection of the fittest.
The night was deep.
Ji Nian had enough food in his backpack to last him a few days, so he didn’t venture out again.
He pulled the sofa to the window to cover the hole in the glass, and lay there like a corpse, motionless, conserving his energy.
His backpack was placed close by. He rested his head on his hands, staring at the ceiling.
His long, narrow eyes lacked warmth, his deep double eyelids making him look even more sharp and indifferent.
“Bang!”
After an unknown amount of time, Ji Nian had closed his eyes.
A crashing window startled him, followed by the clatter of broken glass falling, narrowly missing him.
Ji Nian opened his eyes and was about to get up when he saw a shoe on the armrest of the sofa, followed by a person jumping in.
The newcomer was tall, wearing a headlamp on his shoulder. Because the beam was focused straight ahead, his appearance wasn’t clear, only that he was probably a teenager.
The teenager asked twice, “Is anyone here?”
Ji Nian didn’t respond.
The back of the sofa blocked the meager moonlight from outside, completely concealing Ji Nian in the darkness.
To be more accurate, the teenager was a bit of a fool, because he didn’t look towards the sofa, and thus didn’t notice Ji Nian.
Thinking the room was empty, the teenager began searching the room, pulling out drawer after drawer, but finding nothing.
So he went into the bedroom. When he came out, the light flickered across the sofa, and he exclaimed, “Whoa!” He finally saw someone on the sofa.
Ji Nian didn’t bother to move; lying there, his eyes half-closed, he glanced coldly at the teenager.
He saw the teenager walking towards the sofa. His headlamp was malfunctioning; perhaps it was running out of batteries, or perhaps it was broken. It flickered a couple of times, then died completely.
The teenager patted the headlamp a few times, but it wouldn’t turn back on, so he gave up.
His eyes adjusted to the darkness, allowing him to see somewhat more clearly.
He reached the sofa, crouched down, and according to what he could see, reached out to touch the backpack.
The brief flash of light had not shown Ji Nian’s open eyes, only the backpack beside him, and he assumed the person on the sofa was dead.
After all, he had called out twice when he came in. If there was anyone breathing in the room, they should have made a sound.
Even a mute would have made some kind of sound, wouldn’t they?
However, before his hand touched the backpack, it was grabbed by the “corpse.”
“Holy crap!”
The teenager jumped, Ji Nian released his grip, sat up, leaned back against the sofa back with a listless air, looking extremely cold.
The teenager was momentarily stunned but remained bold, sitting down next to Ji Nian. “You’re not dead, why didn’t you say anything? You scared the hell out of me, you know?”
Ji Nian ignored him. He was already taciturn, and besides, who knew what this guy was?
He clutched the backpack, held it close, and after a moment, warned him, “There’s nothing here.”
Meaning, leave.
If he didn’t leave, this teenager would absolutely try to take his backpack.
If they were going to fight, they should just get it over with and then he should get lost.
The room was dark.
The teenager’s face was indistinguishable. The faceless teenager showed no intention of leaving, and even chatted familiarly with Ji Nian, “Dude, you’re not the owner of this place, right? How many days have you been here?”
“What?”
Ji Nian raised an eyebrow, his tone displeased.
The teenager was good-natured, “Nothing, just asking. It’s fate that we met. Let me introduce myself. I’m Qin Xiao, 19 years old, from Building 2, Unit 902.”
He then extended a hand to shake Ji Nian’s.
Ji Nian looked at him warily, sneering.
In just seven days, he had seen the ugliest side of humanity.
For survival, strong men could push three or four-year-old children to the zombies.
Couples knelt on the ground begging to let their nine-month pregnant wife hide in a shop, their heads bleeding, yet the shop door didn’t open.
They could have been saved, but fear had made people cold-hearted.
In such a cold world, how could Ji Nian trust this teenager?
Ji Nian ignored him, picked up his backpack, went into the bedroom, and locked the door.
Ji Nian was a light sleeper, especially now; the slightest sound would wake him.
So he practically didn’t sleep that night.
Because the guy outside hadn’t left, he was messing around like he was demolishing the place, causing the “neighbors” to howl all night.
When dawn broke, Ji Nian came out of the room and saw that the living room had been transformed.
The sofa, originally facing inward, was now facing outward. Several flashy craftworks were placed on the windowsill, and a tenacious cactus was placed next to them; it was quite nicely arranged.
Seeing Ji Nian come out, the man who had been busy all night greeted him, raising his chin and asking with a boastful tone, “How is it? Do you feel a sense of hope…”
“…”
Ji Nian ignored him and went to urinate.
“Don’t go, bro, I haven’t finished yet.”
Qin Xiao followed him a few steps, “I have something to say to you. Can we talk about something?”
Ji Nian stopped and turned to look at him.
He couldn’t see clearly last night, but now, he saw that although the teenager’s hair was a little messy, his features were handsome, and his appearance striking.
He had incredibly long legs and was tall, a little taller than Ji Nian.
His eyes were bright and black, his nose was straight, and his smile was pure.
Especially in this distressing apocalypse, his smile seemed to purify the malice in people’s hearts.
“Speak.”
Ji Nian uttered a single word.
“It’s like this, I thought about it for a long time yesterday. Look, you’re alone, and I’m alone. Why don’t we team up? That way, we can help each other…”
“No need.”
Ji Nian replied coldly, then closed the door, shutting Qin Xiao out.
“So ruthless?”
Qin Xiao sighed, leaning against the door and waiting for him.
When Ji Nian came out, Qin Xiao stubbornly continued, “No, bro, listen to me, I have a strategy…”
“Bang!”
Ji Nian went to the bedroom and closed the door again.
Damn it!
Qin Xiao cursed silently, scratching his head in annoyance, and went to sit on the sofa.
A skinny guy had encountered him a couple of days ago and wanted to team up, but he hadn’t agreed.
It seemed that karma was a real thing; the retribution came so quickly.
He should have agreed with that skinny guy.
The sofa was turned, and he had a wide view. Qin Xiao sat there with his long legs spread casually, looking down at the army of zombies wandering below.
So many familiar faces.
Wang, the vegetable vendor from the community; Liu, the fruit seller; Old Zhang from the mahjong parlor; Strong Uncle who did car repairs…
Wandering aimlessly.
Only no one knew each other anymore…