Xin Meng returned the card to Li Yougen, glanced over the faces of the people around him, and noted their expressions. He frowned slightly and spoke in a low voice, “There’s still a problem.”
Xiong Jiabao, who trusted Xin Meng a lot, quickly asked, “What problem?”
Xin Meng said, “Have you thought about it? There must be quite a few people from the military, and they’re all gathered together. With so many zombies, how can we ensure that we can get the guns without getting injured? The car can’t keep hitting zombies, or it’ll be scrapped. We’ll have to fight our way through, which is dangerous enough. Even if we get the guns, can any of you use them? Without training, they’re just lumps of metal and might even cause friendly fire. So, we really need to reconsider whether it’s worth the risk.”
These words were like a bucket of cold water, waking up those who were in a frenzy. The atmosphere immediately turned cold. Xiong Jiabao and Li Yougen looked at each other, hesitation in their eyes. However, Dong Xiu couldn’t stand being upstaged by others. He wanted a gun for his own reasons, so he wouldn’t let Xin Meng’s words ruin his plan. He sneered and said, “If you’re scared, just say so. Don’t think everyone is as timid as you. This place is dangerous, and without weapons like guns, who knows when we’ll die. If the car breaks, we can switch to another one. There are so many cars on the road. Surely, we can find one that works. As for aim, we can practice. Since it’s the military, there won’t be a shortage of guns and bullets. Even if we’re not accurate, we will be after a few magazines.”
He turned, his gaze firm. “I propose we vote!”
Then he looked at Xin Meng, who paused and nodded. “Alright, I vote not to go.”
Dong Xiu said, “I vote to go.” Then he looked at Xiong Jiabao, who hesitated for a moment, glanced apologetically at Xin Meng, and weakly said, “I also want to get a gun.”
The three of them turned their eyes to Li Yougen, whose face twitched and eyes flickered. Finally, he cleared his throat and said righteously, “I think having weapons is safer. Although I’m a Party member, I definitely wouldn’t touch a gun myself, but, well, they often say exceptional times call for exceptional measures…”
He supported going.
The result was three to one, and Xin Meng had nothing more to say, so he simply said, “Let’s go then, but we have another teammate, and we should wait for him to increase our chances of success.”
Li Yougen thought the number was wrong and asked, “Aren’t we missing two?”
The others then remembered there was a woman in the basement. They weren’t sure if she would join them. Xin Meng thought he’d ask her tomorrow.
Dong Xiu took off his glasses and slowly wiped them with a soft bed sheet. “We can’t wait forever. If he doesn’t show up by tomorrow afternoon, we’ll go get the guns and find him later.”
The next morning, the last person was already standing before them.
“Wow!” Xiong Jiabao circled the newcomer. “So cool!” He couldn’t resist squeezing the man’s bulging muscles. His eyes sparkled. “Dude, what do you do? How did you build these muscles?”
The muscular man grinned, showing his white teeth, casually rested a steel pipe as thick as a child’s arm on his shoulders, and put a hand in his pocket with an air of nonchalance. “I’m a fitness coach. Just call me Jiezi.”
He was not tall, about 1.7 meters, but his body was full of well-developed muscles. It looked a bit exaggerated, but in such an environment, it gave a sense of security. Even the always arrogant and picky Dong Xiu stepped forward to shake hands and explain the situation.
The other two also gathered around him. Only Xin Meng stood a bit further, watching the muscular man. He felt a strange sense of incongruity but couldn’t pinpoint why. His gaze fell on the man’s bronzed skin and sleeveless vest. He suddenly asked, “Where’s your arm badge?”
The conversation stopped, and everyone looked at Jie’s arms, but there was no familiar emblem. Jie scratched his head, “Oh, you mean that thing pinned on the sleeve with the S? It was on my jacket, but it got dirty when a zombie grabbed it, so I lost track of it.”
Xin Meng looked at him suspiciously but didn’t see any issue in his expression. Jiezi appeared puzzled, looking back with a head full of question marks. Dong Xiu glanced at Jiezi and said, “No problem, losing the badge is no big deal. There are only a few players in this game, and everything else is a monster. There’s no issue.”
Xiong Jiabao whispered to Xin Meng, “I touched him earlier. He has body temperature and a heartbeat. He’s alive, not a zombie in disguise!”
His smug expression as he secretly raised his eyebrows made Xin Meng smile. It made sense. He couldn’t see anything wrong with Jiezi and thought since he knew what the badge looked like, he probably really lost it. It didn’t matter; after clearing this level, they’d likely have another in the next game.
The earlier sense of incongruity was probably due to Jiezi’s physique. Despite having muscles like Schwarzenegger, he lacked the height, looking like a sturdy short stump. It was a bit amusing, but after observing him for a while, he seemed okay.
With no more issues, Xin Meng went back to what he planned to do yesterday—ask the girl downstairs if she wanted to go with them.
To prevent theft, the supermarket entrance was separately located. The stairs led to the first floor, from which one had to go through the lobby and take the escalator to the basement supermarket.
The girl had left the door open since they knocked yesterday. Dong Xiu and the others came down in the morning for food. Now the glass door was wide open. Xin Meng stepped outside, saw the darkness inside, and found it empty.
He wasn’t sure if the girl was still there, so he knocked on the glass door and called out, “It’s Xin Meng. Are you still here?”
A dark shadow moved in the corner of the shelves. Xin Meng, with sharp eyes, noticed it, but he didn’t approach, asking again, “We’re planning to find a way out of the town. Do you want to come with us or stay here?”
The shadow didn’t move.
Xin Meng asked again, but got no response, so he stopped. It seemed the girl wanted to stay here.
It made sense. Compared to the outside world filled with man-eating monsters, this place was much safer. Given her strong sense of distrust, it was normal for her to choose to hide alone. Xin Meng wasn’t disappointed; it was her choice, and he wouldn’t interfere. But he kindly reminded, “We’ll leave first. If we haven’t cleared the game in three days, it means we failed. You’ll need to plan for yourself.”
After speaking, he turned to leave, but halfway up the escalator, he heard very soft footsteps behind him. Turning back, he saw the girl silently following him. She hung her head, long black hair covering the sides of her face, leaving only a small slit in the middle, watching Xin Meng with no emotion. It scared Xin Meng, and his heart nearly leapt out of his chest.
Thinking about his teammates, Xin Meng felt hopeless. He hoped Jiezi, the last arrival, would be reliable.
He brought the girl, who had inexplicably changed her mind, to join the others. Li Yougen and Jiezi, who hadn’t seen her, curiously stared, but she ignored them, keeping her distance, hanging her head silently.
No one knew her name, age, or background. She was just incredibly guarded, and her cold stare chilled them. Besides Xin Meng, the others ignored her and avoided contact.
“Xin Meng, what did her card say?” Li Yougen looked at the girl several times and whispered to Xin Meng.
Xin Meng shrugged, “I don’t know. I asked her for it, but she didn’t react.”
If her eyes weren’t fixed on him, he would have doubted she’d heard him.
…But even if she heard, it didn’t matter. She didn’t show it.
“That’s no good,” Li Yougen said, rubbing his fingers and frowning. “If her card shows the exit, we’ll be like headless chickens, searching randomly. That’s dangerous! Can you ask again?”
“No way!” Jiezi suddenly interrupted. “Because the exit’s location is on my card, and it says to go west.”
“Where’s your card?” Xin Meng asked.
Jiezi scratched the back of his head, “I left it in my jacket and lost it, but it definitely said to head west. I’ve already walked a bit west, but turned back when I saw the writing upstairs. There’s a police station to the west, filled with zombies in military uniforms holding guns.”
Military uniforms, guns!
They were looking for those soldier zombies!
Everyone was excited, especially Xiong Jiabao, who almost jumped up. He mimicked holding a machine gun and went “dududududu” at Xin Meng and Li Yougen like an elementary schooler, nearly spitting on them. Dong Xiu, anticipating this, had already moved away and calmly wiped his glasses. When he put them back on, they glinted coldly as he stood up and walked out, waving his hand grandly. “Let’s go!”
Xiong Jiabao and Li Yougen clapped, “Brother Dong is awesome! Brother Dong is mighty!”
Dong Xiu arrogantly glanced at them, snorting through his nose.
Xin Meng: “…”
They began packing their things. Everyone wore several thick layers to cover exposed skin and prevent zombie scratches. They carried backpacks full of food and water and weapons and went down to the first floor. The Land Rover was still blocking the entrance, with the driver and passenger doors wide open.
They turned to Jiezi, who scratched his head and apologized, “I came in that way. I was too focused on finding you and forgot to close the doors. I’m really sorry.”
Xiong Jiabao patted his shoulder, “It’s fine. Just be careful next time. Luckily, there are no zombies outside.”
Li Yougen muttered, “No zombies? Leaving the door open is like inviting them in. If they snuck in and ambushed us, we wouldn’t stand a chance.”
Jiezi was embarrassed and kept apologizing, sweating. Dong Xiu finally said to let it go this time and be careful next time, making Li Yougen stop, though he was still grumpy.
The girl looked at them and then at the silent Xin Meng, quietly lowering her head.
Usually, Xin Meng drove, and the others squeezed in the car. But just as Xin Meng was about to take the driver’s seat, Jiezi quickly stepped up, offering, “How about I drive? I know where the police station is.”
Xiong Jiabao chimed in, “Brother Xin, Jiezi used to play racing games. His skills are top-notch!” He gave Jiezi a thumbs-up and winked.
Jiezi scratched his head in embarrassment.
Though they had just met, the two felt a connection as if they’d known each other forever. They were already calling each other brothers, inseparable, and Xiong Jiabao had forgotten he used to stick to Xin Meng. His new best friend was Jiezi now.
Seeing this, Xin Meng wisely didn’t mention the map in the car and nodded, letting Jiezi take the spot. Jiezi asked him to sit in the passenger seat, but Xin Meng looked at the girl and said, “Let her sit here. She’s a girl and shouldn’t be cramped with us.”
The girl peeked through her hair at him.
Xin Meng: “…”
Still so scary. QAQ
