Chapter 3: The Icy Little Guy
Qin Xiao stayed in the building for three days.
That cold, emotionless guy, who was clearly younger but still called “bro,” might have social anxiety.
Otherwise, three days? Why hadn’t he said a single word to him?
Well, not exactly no words; sometimes a single word would burst out: “Scram!”
When Qin Xiao arrived, he also carried a backpack containing a few sausages and half a bottle of sour, likely expired, drink.
Though it tasted bad, it didn’t cause diarrhea, so it was passable.
On the evening of the third day, Qin Xiao ran out of food and had to leave.
He had repaired his headlamp and tested it. He’d just put it on when Ji Nian came out of the bedroom.
Qin Xiao glanced at him, his voice dragging slightly, unhappy. “You stay here alone, I’m leaving.”
He took out his rope and secured it to a sturdy point when he saw Ji Nian also take out his rope.
“Whoa! You agreed to team up with me?”
Qin Xiao’s eyes lit up. Ji Nian remained silent.
In this dangerous environment, teaming up was a good choice, but the person had to be reliable and capable.
Ji Nian hadn’t agreed before because he didn’t know if Qin Xiao was good or evil.
Over the past three days, at least the guy didn’t seem to be bad.
His only flaw was that he was annoying and talked too much.
After securing the rope and standing on the windowsill, Qin Xiao said, “I came from the east; almost every house had zombies. Where did you come from?”
“Straight above.”
“That means the west is still unknown. Bro, shall we go west?”
Ji Nian found the “bro” irritating; his narrow eyes glanced at him. “My name is Ji Nian, and I’m not that old.”
Then he jumped out of the window.
They were on the fifth floor; climbing up was too difficult, down was easier.
The fifth floor was less than twenty meters from the ground. Seeing the flickering lights, the zombie horde immediately rushed toward them, looking like they were ready to eat.
Ji Nian moved nimbly, taking a few steps down, then moving horizontally westward.
Qin Xiao followed him. He was agile, and his long arms and legs gave him an advantage.
He quickly caught up with Ji Nian and, incredibly, had the energy to chat. “How old are you then?”
“Eighteen.”
Ji Nian’s tone was cold, observing the movements in each window, unwilling to engage, taking a large step to another windowsill.
“Eighteen, oh, younger than me.”
Qin Xiao was about to say something else when his ears twitched; he heard a sound.
“Ho ho… roar roar…”
The next second, he knew what it was. He saw a crack in the glass window; inside, three zombies were pushing together, and the window shattered.
An arm, its flesh hanging, reached out, grabbing at Qin Xiao’s leg.
The window hadn’t shattered completely, but it was enough for one zombie to reach out.
And if they pushed harder, they would definitely enlarge the opening!
“Ho ho…”
A thick stench of decay wafted from the window, a blood-stained hand firmly gripping Qin Xiao’s leg, the arm ghastly pale, the flesh rotting to the bone.
So damn disgusting!
The playfulness vanished from Qin Xiao’s eyes; it was replaced by an unfathomable ruthlessness. He abruptly raised his other foot and stamped down hard, “Crack!” crushing the disgusting arm.
But the zombie felt no pain; the broken arm still clung to Qin Xiao, pulling itself out, its sharp teeth closing in, its gums bared hungrily; red blood dripped from its mouth.
“Damn it!”
Qin Xiao pulled out a long knife from his body and, accurately and powerfully, slashed at the zombie’s neck.
The headless zombie instantly quieted, but Qin Xiao hadn’t had time to breathe a sigh of relief when, with a “bang,” the entire window shattered, and the other two, excited and elated, as if saying, “Little rascal, nowhere to run, ugly monster,” greeted him with open mouths.
“Get out of the way!”
A shout cut through the night, and Qin Xiao witnessed the ruthlessness of an eighteen-year-old boy.
Every move was brutal; wielding a spiked club, he swung hard, smashing the zombies’ faces apart.
His long knife wasn’t far behind, swiftly plunging into a zombie’s mouth. He twisted the hilt powerfully, exploding the zombie’s head.
“Quick!”
Ji Nian gave Qin Xiao a look, and Qin Xiao surprisingly understood.
Under the moonlight, the two teenagers leaped, simultaneously jumping into the room. Qin Xiao quickly untied his rope and ran to the door, closing the wide-open door.
On the windowsill, Ji Nian threw the three zombies out; his wrists were thin, and it looked strenuous.
He was only about five foot ten; he’d had a recent growth spurt. His mother used to say he was like a telephone pole, a little malnourished, and needed to eat more.
“Let me help you, bro.”
Qin Xiao came over quickly after closing the door, grabbing one of the zombies’ legs and throwing it out with Ji Nian.
Then the two checked the room, found no other zombies, and sat down.
“Click.”
Ji Nian turned off the headlamp, his chest rising and falling; there was a sense of relief after surviving a near-death experience.
So… this was what it felt like to kill them?
He lay back, directly on the cold floor, raising his hand to look at the hand that had held the spiked club.
“What? First time killing monsters?”
Qin Xiao lay down beside him, turning off the headlamp; only darkness remained in the room.
Ji Nian lowered his hand, ignoring him.
Qin Xiao rested his hands behind his head. “They’re not human anymore. It’s okay; you don’t need to feel guilty.”
Then he ruffled Ji Nian’s hair.
Ji Nian brushed him away, saying in elegant Mandarin, “Get lost!”
“Still embarrassed.”
Qin Xiao laughed, letting out a long breath. “Don’t worry, I won’t make fun of you. Everyone has a first time.”
“Want to know what my first zombie kill was like?”
Ji Nian didn’t respond, letting it go in one ear and out the other, just passing the time.
“My first zombie kill was when the virus first broke out. A big guy, six and a half feet tall, all muscle, at least four hundred pounds.”
“The most important thing is, do you know what?”
Qin Xiao knew Ji Nian wouldn’t answer, shamelessly launching into a self-question-and-answer narrative. “He’d been bitten on the nose; his entire nasal bone was exposed, his whole face was bloody and messy, really damn disgusting.”
“He was swinging his arms running towards me. Hey? You know what, little guy?”
Little guy?
Ji Nian looked at him displeased.
Catching a glimpse of Ji Nian looking at him, Qin Xiao propped himself up on his elbow, his hand supporting his cheek, turning sideways to look at Ji Nian. “That big guy was knocked flying with one punch.”
“He got up to grab me, so I stepped on his body, light as a feather, went ‘thump thump thump’ and climbed onto his shoulders, ‘crack’ I broke his neck, and then…”
Ji Nian couldn’t take it anymore; he felt he needed to distance himself from this lunatic.
“Hey? Don’t go, little guy, the most exciting part of my story is about to begin. You’ll regret it if you don’t listen!”