The World Turned into Zombies, So I Went Back to the Countryside to Farm 12

Chapter 12: Payment

There were two routes to the highway. One was the way Jiang Zao had come home, starting from the village, taking the dirt roads through the countryside to the town, and then to the highway entrance.

The second was to ride a bicycle through the heart of the nature reserve, cutting across the mountains to the side of the highway.

She chose the second option. For one, she didn’t want to startle the zombies in the village by driving. For another, it was the shortest distance between two points. Although it meant crossing the heart of the nature reserve, she was confident in her abilities and had downloaded an offline map in advance.

The sun came out, its light filtering through the dense canopy of leaves overhead, casting mottled spots of light on the fallen leaves. The wheels of her bicycle sped past, kicking up a cloud of dust. Jiang Zao gripped the handlebars, landed steadily after leaping over a hill, and then stopped.

She didn’t have time to wipe the sweat from her forehead, instead looking down at her watch: Almost there, almost there.

Just then, a rustling sound came from the forest ahead, as if something was running quickly towards her.

Jiang Zao’s expression turned grim. Although she didn’t know what it was, it definitely wasn’t an animal. An animal’s footsteps wouldn’t be this heavy.

She glanced around, pushed her bicycle into a bush, and ran up the hillside herself. The moment she crouched down, the roars of zombies came from far and near.

Looking through the gaps in the trees, she saw seven or eight zombies staggering towards her. They hadn’t noticed her and were heading in the direction she had come from. Jiang Zao gently took her bow and arrow from her back.

Although she didn’t know why they were running towards the village, she absolutely could not let them pass.

She held her breath and slightly squinted her left eye. Just as she was about to release her index finger, the zombie stumbling at the front perhaps stepped on a stone, fell to the ground with a thud, and twitched before going still.

Jiang Zao shifted her gaze to the ones behind, her lips slightly pursed. A white-feathered arrow shot through the leaves like a meteor. The zombie was hit in the eye socket and fell backward.

The few zombies stopped, circling restlessly. Jiang Zao quietly got up from her spot and moved behind a large tree. She turned back and shot another arrow, and another zombie fell.

The soft sound of her footsteps on the fallen leaves finally caught the zombies’ attention. They roared and ran towards her. However, she was upwind, dozens of meters away from the zombies, and the dense forest hindered their running speed, making it not so easy for them to catch her.

Jiang Zao created distance while drawing her bow. After a few rustles, before the zombies could even touch the corner of her clothes, they had all fallen to the ground.

Jiang Zao walked out from behind the tree, deftly pulled the feathered arrows from the zombies’ heads, wiped the blood off on their clothes, and put them back in her quiver.

She repeated the process and walked back to where she had parked her bicycle, only to find one zombie still twitching on the ground, apparently not quite dead.

Jiang Zao pulled the ice axe from her backpack, held it in her hand, and walked over quietly. Just as she was about to swing it at its head, a bloodstained hand grabbed her wrist.

Jiang Zao flinched. Just as the ice axe in her hand was about to smash into her own head, the woman struggled to lift her upper body, revealing a face covered in blood. Her voice was weak but just audible.

“Save… save me… I’m not a zombie.”

Jiang Zao flung the person away. The woman couldn’t support herself and fell to the ground, passing out completely. A black leather wallet rolled out of her pocket. Jiang Zao bent down, picked it up, and looked at it for a few moments, her brow gradually furrowing.

Four hours later.

“Jiang Wuni, open the door!”

An urgent call came from the walkie-talkie. Jiang Wuni, who was sweeping the courtyard, immediately dropped her broom and ran to open the door.

The door opened, and Jiang Zao quickly pushed her bicycle in. Only then did she see that there was a person on the back of the bike, covered in blood.

Jiang Wuni was startled.

“Who is this?”

Jiang Zao parked the bike. “Go boil some water and clean her wounds.”

Seeing the person covered in blood and dirt, Jiang Wuni nodded repeatedly and hurried to prepare things.

“Where did you rescue her from?”

“Near the highway.”

“She’s quite fair-skinned.”

Jiang Wuni was wiping the dirt off the person’s face with warm water when she turned around and saw Jiang Zao tying her limbs tightly with a hemp rope. The other end of the rope was tied to the headboard of the bed.

Jiang Wuni stammered, “You… what are you doing? Aren’t we supposed to be saving her…”

“When I found her, she was surrounded by zombies and covered in wounds. I’m not sure if she was bitten. To be safe, it’s better to tie her up first.”

“That’s… that’s true…”

Jiang Wuni struggled internally for a long time, but the thought of the zombies made her agree with her actions.

“Then how do we treat her injuries?”

“Get the scissors and cut her clothes open first.”

After examining her, they found that she had more than ten injuries, large and small, mostly from falling. There were bruises and cuts from rocks on her face, legs, limbs, and abdomen.

The two most serious injuries were a broken left arm—Jiang Zao felt it, it was already limp and couldn’t be lifted, but thankfully it wasn’t an open fracture, otherwise, with the current medical conditions, this person would probably not have survived—and a wound on her abdomen, which seemed to be caused by some sharp object. The wound was deep and was gushing blood, with glass shards embedded in it.

Considering the commotion last night and the location on the highway, they guessed she might have been injured while climbing out of a car.

This person was so seriously injured, not a single part of her body was unscathed. No wonder Jiang Zao had mistaken her for a zombie. But it was a miracle that she could still run so far.

Looking at her wounds, the two of them looked at each other. Neither had any experience in treating external injuries.

Jiang Wuni spoke up, “Should we go find the village doctor?”

Jiang Zao glanced at her already pale lips and said, steeling herself, “It’s too late. I saw the village doctor last night. Bring me my tablet. We’ll have to treat a dead horse as if it were still alive.”

Fortunately, she had downloaded some basic first aid knowledge in advance, including how to suture a wound.

The first step was to clean the wound.

Jiang Zao washed her hands, disinfected them, and quickly put on gloves.

The many medical supplies she had stockpiled before came in handy.

Jiang Zao took a bottle of iodophor and poured it on the wound, then carefully used tweezers to pick out the glass shards embedded in the flesh. The blood-stained glass was very slippery.

She had to concentrate with all her might, trying repeatedly.

As she worked, the woman on the bed let out a few muffled groans, her muscles tensing up.

Jiang Wuni said anxiously, “Zao’er, can you do it?”

Jiang Zao was completely focused on the glass shard, a thin layer of sweat forming on her forehead. “Shh, don’t talk.”

When she finally pulled it out, both of them let out a long sigh of relief.

Before Jiang Wuni could be happy for long, her expression changed.

“Zao’er, she’s bleeding a lot!”

“Quick, give me the gauze!”

The two of them were in a flurry of activity again.

Jiang Zao pressed down hard on the wound on her abdomen, not daring to let go.

“This won’t work. Give me the fishing line and hook. We have to stitch it up immediately!”

The fishing line and hook had been soaked in alcohol.

Jiang Wuni quickly brought them over.

“The tablet, help me turn the page. Just swipe.”

“Okay, okay.”

Jiang Wuni also knew this was a matter of life and death and didn’t dare to be careless. She did whatever Jiang Zao said.

When the first stitch went through the skin, Jiang Wuni shivered. The sight of the bloody flesh made her stomach churn, and she quickly turned her head away.

“Hold her down, don’t let her move!”

Perhaps because of the pain, the woman struggled violently, and the hemp rope chafed her wrists raw.

Jiang Zao turned her head and shouted.

Jiang Wuni reluctantly turned her head back. She really couldn’t bear to watch. “You’re stitching her up without anesthesia…”

Jiang Zao said irritably, “Where am I supposed to find anesthesia for her!”

Fortunately, after a few stitches, the woman passed out completely.

Jiang Zao quickened her pace, going from clumsy to gradually skilled. Although the stitches weren’t very neat, at least the bleeding had stopped. She tied a knot at the end, and the job was done.

She put down the tweezers and only then realized she was drenched in a cold sweat, her back soaked.

As for the broken left arm, Jiang Zao followed the method on the tablet and made a simple splint with two branches.

Finally, she helped the person up and fed her two antibiotics.

In the apocalypse, any medical supplies were extremely precious.

This rescue had been very costly.

Jiang Zao looked at her pale face and thought to herself:

You’d better be of some value to me.

Jiang Wuni was soaking the blood-stained gauze in a basin of water when she turned around and saw Jiang Zao searching through the strange woman’s belongings. She pulled a gun out of her backpack and was examining it.

Jiang Zao removed the magazine and found that it was empty.

Jiang Wuni’s eyes widened when she saw what was in her hand. “My heavens, where did that come from?”

Besides the handgun, Jiang Zao had also found her ID. The black leather cover was stamped with the four letters “PRRF.” Inside, the name “Wen Zhao” was written in the name field, but the photo was soaked in blood.

Jiang Zao wiped it with her finger a couple of times and found that the blood had already seeped into the page. She could only vaguely make out that the person inside had shoulder-length hair and bore some resemblance to the pale-faced woman lying on the bed.

Jiang Wuni leaned over. She couldn’t read, but she had a feeling this was someone important.

“My goodness, is she from the government?”

Jiang Zao looked at the ID over and over. “Prison Rapid Response Force. I guess so.”

This was a special department established by the Chinese government a few years ago to deal with the endless stream of ex-convicts who reoffended and the high rate of high-tech crime. It was a special force responsible for the security of maximum-security prisons and the arrest of heinous criminals.

It was said that they only selected from active police inspectors, and those who were chosen were the best of the best.

Below the name on the ID page were the position and identification code.

Hong City Action Team, Third Squad, First-Level Commander

Identification Code: 2681157

Jiang Zao pulled out the inner page and turned the ID over.

Jiang Wuni watched her examine it carefully.

“What are you thinking? With a gun and an ID, it can’t be fake, can it?”

“That’s hard to say.”

In her previous life, two weeks after the zombie outbreak, a group of people in a jeep had also broken into the residential complex. The leaders were two men in “military uniforms.” The other survivors in the complex thought rescue had arrived and happily went out to greet them, only to be gathered in the complex’s activity square, held at gunpoint, and forced to hand over all their stored food.

Those who were unwilling, the men were dragged out and beaten half to death, while the women were pulled into the car, their cries echoing through the air.

Jiang Zao had hidden behind the curtains, shivering with fear, secretly glad that she had held Chen Jianing back and hadn’t gone down immediately.

Thinking back now, those uniforms were probably stripped from dead soldiers. People’s hearts were hard to fathom. After all, it was not uncommon in this land for people to hang a sheep’s head but sell dog meat. Especially in turbulent times, one could not easily trust strangers, or it would lead to disaster.

“Then what do you plan to do?”

“We’ll see if she wakes up. If she does, we’ll question her carefully and get some information that’s useful to us.”

“And if she’s not?”

Jiang Zao closed the ID and put it in her bag along with the gun.

“Throw her out to feed the zombies.”

Hearing this, Jiang Wuni clasped her hands together and bowed repeatedly. “Oh my heavens, Bodhisattva, please don’t create any more killing karma!”

Wen Zhao woke up in the middle of the night on the second day.

She had been unconscious for almost thirty-six hours. They had thought there was no hope. Just as Jiang Zao was planning to throw her out that night if there was no movement, to stop her from wasting medicine lying in the house.

When Jiang Wuni came in to change her dressing, she heard her murmur weakly, “Water… water…”

The things in her hand almost fell. She quickly picked up the walkie-talkie and called Jiang Zao, who was on watch on the balcony.

In her dream, Wen Zhao also felt an unbearable thirst, as if she were walking in a vast desert, a fire burning in her organs. Until a hand helped her up, and an enamel bowl was brought to her lips.

Wen Zhao lowered her head and took a sip. It was slightly sweet, not water, but the taste of rice water from her memory.

She couldn’t help but drink it in big gulps, but inevitably, she choked on a few mouthfuls because she was drinking too fast and coughed violently.

Jiang Zao put down the bowl and laid her back down.

The coughing pulled at the wound on her abdomen, and a sharp pain cleared her drowsy head considerably. Her vision also went from blurry to gradually clear, finally focusing on the woman’s face.

She had sharp eyebrows and eyes, a beautiful nose, and thin lips slightly pursed, as if she were examining herself carefully, but her eyes were somewhat dark and unreadable.

The room was small, with the curtains drawn tightly, blocking out all light. On a low table was a dim outdoor camping lamp. On the portable stove next to it, porridge was simmering.

That was probably where the bowl of rice water had come from.

“Don’t move, the wound on your stomach has just been stitched up.”

The old woman speaking next to her had a face etched with the ravages of time, but she was very kind, and her words seemed to carry a smile. Seeing that she was awake, she stirred the pot and served her a bowl as well.

“Are you hungry?”

Wen Zhao looked at it eagerly and swallowed. Her throat still felt fiery, and her voice was exceptionally hoarse.

“Thank… thank you for saving me.”

She tried to reach for the bowl, but a sharp pain shot through her arm. Wen Zhao hissed. Only then did she realize that her left hand was fixed to her chest, probably broken, and her right hand was tied to the bed.

“When we saved you, you were surrounded by zombies and covered in wounds. We couldn’t be sure if you were infected. For our own safety, we had to tie you up. If you’re fine after 72 hours, we’ll release you. I hope you can understand.”

Although Jiang Zao said, “I hope you can understand,” she took the bowl of porridge and placed it on the small table in front of her, looking as if she had questions to ask.

Wen Zhao nodded with difficulty. To make it easier for her to speak, Jiang Wuni helped her up and put a pillow behind her back so she could lean against the headboard.

Jiang Zao played with the ID, looking up at her as if by chance.

“What’s your name?”

“Wen Zhao.”

A letter arrives from afar, opening it I know it’s from an old friend.

Consoling me with good news, promising me a bright tomorrow. [1]

It was a good name.

“Age?”

“3… 32.”

“Identification code?”

“2681… 157.”

This position was actually not conducive to the recovery of her wound. She gasped for air, and with every word she spoke, cold sweat dripped from her temples.

“ID number?”

“46… 8975… xxxx… 1219xxxx.”

Jiang Zao glanced at the number on the ID; it matched perfectly.

“Blood type?”

“O type…”

“Position?”

“Hong City Action Team… Third… Squad… First… First-Level Commander… am… am I being interrogated?”

Wen Zhao gasped for air, breathing with difficulty, and looked up at her.

Jiang Zao smiled, tossed the ID aside, and started peeling a sweet potato with a small knife. The peeled sweet potatoes were placed in a basin on the floor.

“I guess so. After all, we can’t save someone whose identity is unclear.”

Jiang Wuni nudged her arm and whispered, “That’s enough. Look how much pain she’s in… don’t kill her…”

Jiang Zao picked up the basin of peeled sweet potatoes and handed it to her.

“Go steam them.”

After Jiang Wuni left, the room fell into silence.

Wen Zhao looked at her, seemingly not understanding what she meant.

It was Jiang Zao who broke the silence first, still playing with the small knife, her tone casual.

“You’re from Hong City. How did you end up in our Cangchuan?”

“Hong City also… also had an outbreak of the Pandora virus. The situation is not good. The prison also… also had an infection… my superiors ordered us… us to transfer the prisoners to… uh…”

Wen Zhao clutched her wound, her expression pained, but Jiang Zao pressed on, not wanting to miss any micro-expression on her face.

“To where?”

“To… the Dongyuan City survivor base.”

“Is that the only survivor base in the country?”

“No… no… besides the Dongyuan City survivor base, there are several others… in the northeast… the Greater Khingan Mountains… there are also some in the south… on… on an island…”

Dongyuan City was over two thousand kilometers from Hong City and about one thousand seven hundred kilometers from Cangchuan. It was already in the center of the roof of the world, with a cold climate and long hours of sunshine all year round. Although it was not suitable for long-term human survival, the cold, dry air was not conducive to the reproduction of the virus.

The other bases were probably chosen for similar reasons, either for their geographical advantages or their environmental advantages. It seemed the country had not given up on saving the survivors.

“How is the situation in Hong City?”

Wen Zhao gasped for air and squeezed out a few words from between her teeth, “Even if… you’re interrogating a prisoner… you can’t be like this…”

Jiang Zao twirled the small knife in her hand beautifully and neatly sheathed it.

“This is the apocalypse. You should understand the principle of being at the mercy of others.”

“I… what reason do I have to lie to you… you saved my life… I’ve already told you… everything I know.”

After just a few words, Wen Zhao’s forehead and nose were covered in cold sweat. Her lips were chapped and pale, without a trace of color. She was like a flickering candle in the wind, as if she could faint at any moment.

Jiang Wuni came in at this moment. “Zao’er, the sweet potatoes are steamed.”

Jiang Zao picked up the bowl of already cooled porridge and put it in her still-mobile right hand. “Drink it.”

Wen Zhao lifted it and wolfed it down, even licking the rice grains at the bottom of the bowl clean.

Jiang Zao left her two pills and a glass of warm water, placing them on the bedside table where she could reach them.

“Antibiotics, take them half an hour after your meal.”

Seeing that she was about to get up and leave, Wen Zhao called out to her.

“Wait, my… my things…”

Jiang Zao picked up a military green backpack from the chair and handed it to her. “Your personal belongings are all here.”

Wen Zhao quickly opened it. There was only a water bottle inside. She opened the outermost zipper of the bag. The harmonica was still there, but it was covered in mottled marks from being dropped.

She sighed in relief, but then she suddenly seemed to remember something and rummaged through the bag again in disbelief.

“The gun… where’s my gun?”

“It’s not yours anymore. It’s mine now.”

As soon as she said this, even Jiang Wuni was stunned, looking at her as if she had seen a ghost.

The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Wen Zhao looked at her.

Jiang Zao calmly met her scrutinizing gaze, with a sense of fearlessness and entitlement.

“This is the payment for saving you.”

“You…!” Wen Zhao was furious. She tried to sit up, but the sharp pain from the wound on her abdomen made her fall back down. She could only glare at her from the head of the bed, panting heavily.

Jiang Zao didn’t wait for her to finish and pulled Jiang Wuni away, turning to leave.

“A friendly reminder, I went to a lot of trouble to stitch up your wound. If it opens up again, I don’t have any more medicine to use on you. And you don’t have anything else to pay me with, do you? Useless people can only be fed to the zombies.”

Wen Zhao clutched her wound and struggled to lift her head to look in the direction she had left. “I… I still don’t know your name.”

***

After they went out, Jiang Wuni followed behind her.

“Zao’er, what did she tell you?”

“She said the country has established a survivor base one thousand seven hundred kilometers from Cangchuan City.”

“Then are we going to that survivor base? It sounds like there are a lot of people, and it’s protected by the army. It should be safer than being in the village.”

Jiang Zao shook her head.

“Not for now. We’re not at a dead end yet.”

The supplies at home were enough to last them for two years. The risk of driving there was too great, and finding gas on the way would also be a problem.

“Then… what are you going to do with that person? You’re not really going to throw her out to feed the zombies, are you?”

Jiang Zao glanced at the dark room, noncommittal.

“You don’t need to worry about that. Go to sleep.”

Translator’s Notes

[1] “A letter arrives from afar, opening it I know it’s from an old friend. Consoling me with good news, promising me a bright tomorrow.” (门外远书至，启函知故交。慰我以好音，期我以明昭。) – This is a quote from a poem by the Han Dynasty poet Qin Jia, titled “A Poem to My Wife.” The name “Wen Zhao” (闻昭) is derived from the last line, “期我以明昭” (qī wǒ yǐ míng zhāo), which means “promising me a bright tomorrow.” The character 闻 (wén) means “to hear” or “news,” and 昭 (zhāo) means “bright” or “clear.”

Jiang Zao:

Wen Zhao: