Chapter 46p2: Midsummer
After letting it sit for an afternoon, the emerald green fairy tofu was ready in the evening, and the rain had also stopped.
The finished fairy tofu was cut into small pieces, and minced garlic, chili, and chopped scallions were sprinkled on top, and then a spoonful of hot oil was poured on to bring out the fragrance.
Jiang Wuni was carrying the bowl out and shouted loudly.
“Time to eat!”
Day after day, dawn and dusk.
Time flowed by like water.
Sometimes, when Jiang Zao was busy and forgot, when she remembered to change the water in the vase, the flowers in the vase had never withered.
In the blink of an eye, autumn had arrived.
The person and the dog who were always jumping on the ridges had grown taller, like wild grass that could grow in the wind.
The baskets were filled with the harvest of their hard work for a whole year.
The sun was about to set, and the golden sunlight shone on the top of Chongming Snow Mountain, a magnificent sight. Wen Zhao was carrying a hoe and couldn’t help but hum a familiar song.
“The sun sets in the west, and the red clouds fly. The soldiers return to camp after target practice, return to camp…”
Jiang Wuni also joined in, “The red flowers on their chests reflect the colorful clouds. The joyful songs fill the sky, fill the sky…” [1]
The desolate and powerful song traveled far and wide, echoing between heaven and earth.
Of course, besides these happy moments, they still had to go out to find medicine for Jiang Wuni on time. Every trip out was a matter of life and death.
But Wen Zhao never regretted it.
When the first snow of the year fell again.
They finally arrived at the entrance of the town hospital.
Lying on the roof of a three-story house opposite the town hospital, Jiang Zao looked at the dense hordes of zombies inside through her binoculars.
“No, the zombies are still too dense. We can’t get in. Why don’t we just find another place?”
She was about to get up when Wen Zhao grabbed her hand.
“We’ve searched most of the places in the village and the town. This is our last hope.”
As time went by, things like medicine became harder and harder to find. Their search range had gradually expanded from the village to the town, and they had searched all the pharmacies in the town.
Considering that the population of Luohe Town was mostly middle-aged and elderly people, they had even searched house by house.
In the end, only the most dangerous hospital was left.
Wen Zhao’s gaze fell on the Hummer parked downstairs.
“Give me the car keys. I’ll be in charge of driving to attract the zombies. You guys go in and get the medicine.”
“No, I’ll do something that dangerous…”
Wen Zhao gently placed a hand on her shoulder and took the keys from her pocket.
“I won’t let you do something that dangerous a second time.”
She glanced at her watch. “Let’s synchronize our time. You only have half an hour to get the medicine. I can only lure the zombies for half an hour at most.”
Kele let out a whimper and bit her pant leg.
Wen Zhao turned her head and patted its head.
“Kele, be good. You go with Jiang Zao and the others.”
When the sharp horn of the car sounded downstairs, the zombies from the whole town swarmed out, roaring. The car, which was gradually surrounded by the horde of zombies, was like a lone boat.
Jiang Zao clenched her fists, her heart constantly urging:
Start the car!
Start the car!
Why aren’t you starting the car!
Seeing that she was about to become the center of the storm, she couldn’t help but pick up the walkie-talkie on her shoulder. “Wen Zhao!”
The moment she finished speaking, the Hummer, which had been waiting downstairs for a long time, shot out like an arrow from a bow, knocking away the zombies in front.
A mist of blood splattered on the front windshield.
Wen Zhao calmly turned on the windshield wipers to scrape off the remains and rotten flesh. She looked back, then deliberately slowed down. After waiting for the main force of the zombies to surround her, she turned onto the main road.
“Big sister, are we going down?”
Jiang Zao held her down, not losing her judgment of the situation because she was worried about Wen Zhao’s safety.
“Wait a little longer.”
It wasn’t until all the zombies had disappeared at the end of the street that she quickly got up and rushed downstairs with Li Mi and Kele.
The group ran at the speed of a hundred-meter sprint, climbed over the obstacles at the entrance of the hospital, and successfully entered the hospital.
Jiang Zao followed the direction in her memory, leading them carefully through the blood-stained corridor to the pharmacy door. Looking through the display window, she saw rows of neatly arranged medicines on the shelves, a dazzling array.
Li Mi was overjoyed and ran over to push the doorknob hard, but the security iron door did not budge.
Jiang Zao knew that even an ice axe could not break the bulletproof glass. She put down her backpack, took out the handheld cutting machine inside, and held it up. “Get out of the way.”
The noise from the cutting machine made the counter tremble slightly. Fortunately, the zombies had all been lured away now.
The noise Wen Zhao was making was even louder.
Under the goggles, her eyebrows and eyes were calm and sharp. Jiang Zao expanded the cutting range from the frame where medicine was usually dispensed on the counter.
Jiang Zao saw that it was about right, just wide enough for a child to pass through. She put down the cutting machine, smashed the cut glass with her elbow, and then moved aside.
“Little Mi.”
Li Mi nodded in understanding, climbed onto the counter, put her head through first, then her body, tucked in her arms and legs, and squeezed in bit by bit. Jiang Zao was in charge of holding her bow and arrow and guarding the surroundings.
After she landed steadily, she opened the security door from the inside.
Jiang Zao ran straight to the shelf with the label “Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Diseases” and frantically stuffed the medicines into her bag.
Li Mi also did the same. For some of the boxes that were too big, she would tear open the packaging and then stuff them into her bag.
“Hurry up.”
The two of them were busy packing the medicine when Kele suddenly barked at the direction behind them.
Jiang Zao’s alarm bells went off instantly. She picked up the ice axe from the ground and turned her head. A dozen or so zombies rushed out from the other end of the shelf.
Most of them were wearing white coats or nurse uniforms. They were probably the staff who had been trapped here when the zombie outbreak occurred.
Jiang Zao stood up.
“Little Mi, let’s make it quick. Don’t delay.”
Li Mi also nodded with a serious expression. “Alright.”
Wen Zhao had been honking the horn, dodging left and right in the horde of zombies. She stepped on the gas and smashed a zombie into a meat pie against the wall, then quickly changed gears and turned the steering wheel to back out.
Although her driving skills were good, she couldn’t withstand the tide of zombies that pounced on her. To keep them on her tail, she couldn’t go too fast, so there were still agile zombies that grabbed onto the back of the car and jumped onto the roof.
Hearing the sound from above, Wen Zhao’s expression turned grim. She rolled down the window, held the steering wheel with one hand, and took out a handgun from her pocket with the other. She stuck her head out and fired a few shots at the roof.
The zombie rolled off and fell onto the road. Wen Zhao stepped on the gas, and the car body shook violently as it ran over it.
At the end of the road, another group of zombies surrounded her. Wen Zhao’s pupils shrank. She looked back and saw that there were also zombies chasing after her relentlessly.
The cold marble floor reflected their fighting figures. Another line of blood splattered on the display window, and the sound of shouting and killing was endless.
Jiang Zao forcefully pulled the ice axe from the zombie’s temple. Just then, she heard the gunshot.
She was stunned for a moment. In that moment, a zombie pounced on her from the side.
Kele’s fur stood on end. It arched its back and instantly rushed over, leaped up, and bit the zombie’s arm, bringing it down to the ground.
Jiang Zao turned her head and raised her ice axe, smashing it down hard.
She stood up, panting, and glanced at the bodies on the floor. Blood was still dripping from the tip of the axe. She picked up the bag from the ground and put it on her back.
“Go!”
As she ran out of the hospital, she called her name on the walkie-talkie. “Wen Zhao! Wen Zhao!”
The street outside the hospital was empty. There was no one, and no sign of a car.
The sound of the horn that could be faintly heard just now had also stopped.
The countdown on her watch had also reached its end.
The world was terrifyingly quiet. Only the sound of falling snow could be heard.
After a long time with no response, Jiang Zao squeezed the walkie-talkie, and her eyes suddenly turned red.
“Wen Zhao, say something!”
“Wen Zhao, Wen Zhao, Wen Zhao… don’t scare me…”
She called out several times, but the walkie-talkie was always silent. Jiang Zao slowly lowered her arm.
Just then, a figure stumbled out of the alley behind her. “I… I’m here.”
Jiang Zao turned her head, and the ice axe in her hand fell to the ground with a clang. She rushed towards her in a single bound.
Before Wen Zhao could come to her senses, she was hit full in the chest. She couldn’t help but take a few steps back to catch her.
Just as she was about to speak, she felt a warm liquid spill into her neck. Wen Zhao’s whole body trembled. After realizing what it was, she also slowly raised her hand and hugged her back.
“Alright, alright, I’m fine. Little Mi and the others are still watching…”
Li Mi raised a hand to cover Kele’s eyes and also covered her own eyes with the other hand. “Children shouldn’t look.”
Kele: Awoo
Translator’s Notes
[1] “Eye contact is the spiritual kiss of humanity, without desire.” (对视是人类不带欲望的精神接吻。) – This is a quote from the movie “Portrait of a Lady on Fire.” The original line is slightly different, but the sentiment is the same, emphasizing the intimacy and connection of a shared gaze.
[2] “A treasured sword is hard to come by, and it is rare to meet.” (宝剑不可得，相逢几许难。) – This is a line from a poem by the Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu. It speaks to the rarity and preciousness of finding something or someone truly valuable.
