TDRA Chapter 27

“NingNing, how come it’s Xiao Fang who sent you back?” Mother Gu asked curiously, having only met Fang Fa twice, she was already calling him Xiao Fang straight away.

Gu Ning was in a hurry to get back to the post-apocalyptic world and didn’t have much patience to explain to Mother Gu, so she casually gave a passing remark that Fang Fa was kind and helped her in bringing back all the things when he saw her carrying them. Then she changed the topic and said: “By the way, I’ve just been out and seen that there’s a job for the home-based tutor, and the pay is very good, so I’m going to apply for it.”

Mother Gu was surprised for a moment: “Really?” Then she was a little worried: “You’ve only been home for a couple of days, would you be able to cope with it?”

“No problem. It just so happens that I’ll have more free time as a home-based tutor, which I can spend the time learning self-defence.” Gu Ning replied. This was something she had thought of saying when she was in the car, on one hand, to give herself a plausible excuse for her frequent disappearances, and on the other hand, she hoped to take on some of the family burdens.

“That’s pretty good then. Dad supports you.” Gu SiYuan said as he sipped his tea. He felt that a fuller life for Gu Ning would help her to come out of that shadow more quickly. Although they had not asked Gu Ning about what had happened during the three months when she was missing, the wretched appearance of Gu Ning as she returned and the subtle changes which she couldn’t conceal despite her best efforts, proved that her life during that period was certainly not a pleasant experience. Both he and Mother Gu tried to act as if it was as usual, but in their hearts, they were worried that Gu Ning would have some traumatic experience that haunted her.

“Then I’ll go in first and do a bit of preparation. Revise for a bit, so I can get ready for the interview tomorrow. If there’s nothing important, it’s best not to call me, I’ll need to concentrate on my preparation and I’ll come out to eat on my own if I’m hungry.” Gu Ning informed and then went back to her bedroom.

Without delay, she took out a large checker patterned bag like the one which they used to carry quilts in school and packed it all up, also tossed the plastic bag out from under the bed and stuffed it in, then with a thought, she travelled back to the space. The first thing Gu Ning did whenever she returned to the space, was to shift the golden pointer on the compass in the opposite direction.

Then Gu Ning looked at the bottle of anesthetic lying quietly next to the plush quilt and smiled faintly.

Back in the post-apocalyptic world.

The familiar air mixed with the stench of decay rushed into her nose.

Gu Ning carefully walked out of the small restaurant.

Due to the colony, the area around this school has been cleared of zombies, and some people are responsible for daily clearing out the zombie that wander in from other places.

Gu Ning effortlessly carried the big bag with her as she walked towards the entrance of the colony.

There were already many people lined up at the entrance of the colony.

Before entering, they have to go through the security room at the side entrance for inspection.

Gu Ning was just about to get into the queue when she was called out.

“Gu Ning?!” A twenty-three or twenty-four years old guard ran towards her excitedly.

Gu Ning looked at him suspiciously, realizing that she didn’t know this man, and immediately became cautious.

“I’m under Brother San! My name is Zhang ZhanXing!” His dark face was cracked with big white teeth and he looked very simple and honest, he was inexplicably very excited and with some nervousness, he continued: “Brother San already told us that you are his niece and asked us to keep you safe. You don’t have to queue, just come in with me!”

Then Gu Ning was led straight in by Zhang ZhanXing amidst a sea of envious gazes.

“Thank you.” Gu Ning thanked Zhang ZhanXing.

Zhang ZhanXing waved his hands violently and looked at Gu Ning with glowing eyes and replied: “No need to thank me! I heard Zhang Yang say that if it wasn’t for you, they wouldn’t have made it back! You saved the lives of my comrades, so I should be the one thanking you! Zhang Yang said you’re a particularly good shooter! You can kill a zombie with each shot!” His eyes were full of admiration, not even belittling Gu Ning just because she looked younger than him.

Gu Ning was a little overwhelmed from being viewed with such adoration and said with a smile: “It’s not as exaggerating as he said.”

Zhang ZhanXing replied: “You don’t have to be modest! You killed those b*stards, the whole colony knows about it, they’re all talking about you! That Mr. Wang was so angry that his face was crooked! His gang of thugs often disturbs us and bullies the commoners. They’re so hateful! You killed them, that’s a big relief!”

This was the effect Gu Ning wanted.

If people don’t offend me, I won’t offend them.

But if one messes with her, or even tries to kill her, one will have to pay a terrible price.

She had to resort to such means to ensure that even in her absence, no one would dare touch her parents and family.

Gu Ning bid farewell to Zhang ZhanXing and walked straight to the school infirmary.

Gu Ning walked down the road with such a big bag that it caught the attention of the rest. Those fiery gazes fell on that very bulging big bag, but when they landed on Gu Ning’s very dazzling and iconic short blonde hair, the fire in those eyes instantly quenched.

The news that a short-haired blonde girl had killed three people in a row, seriously wounded five others, and sent five others fleeing in terror had spread through the colony, with people describing in vivid detail how terrifying the blonde girl was.

No one dared to covet what was in her hands.

When Gu Ning visited the school infirmary, Doctor Gao looked at her with some surprise.

Then as she checked at those things on the list which Gu Ning brought to her, she fell into silence. It has only been less than an hour, even using a car for a round trip to Lishui Hospital and back would have taken a longer duration……

She opened her mouth but held back her question as she was just a doctor and all she needed was to treat people, the rest, it was not her place to ask.

She tidied up a bit and followed Gu Ning towards the student dormitory.

Along the way, countless glances were cast from both sides of the road and from the buildings too.

Yet none of them dared to come close.

A little girl of four or five years old looked at Gu Ning curiously on the roadside and was hastily picked up by a young woman as she left the place in a hurry, as if like Gu Ning was some kind of a menacing and evil person who would kill anyone who bumped into her in the slightest. This was due to Gu Ning having killed three people in a row less than half a day after entering the colony, which admittedly was a bit appalling. It would have been acceptable if it had been a big, fierce man, but it was a young girl who looked innocent and harmless, whose physique even looked a little weak. The contrast was unimaginable thus it was a little more frightening.

Some people who had just entered the colony and didn’t know what actually happened were a little baffled since Gu Ning’s image just looked too harmless. How could they link her with the scene of a person wielding a knife expertly and killing people.

What made Gu Ning slightly surprised was the Brother San had sent Zhang Yang and Luo Long to guard the dormitory to protect Father Gu and Mother Gu. This was also in consideration of the fact that Gu Ning offended Wang JiZhong to a certain degree that Brother San worried he wouldn’t be able to swallow down the anger and take it out on Gu Ning’s parents when he couldn’t deal with her.

Gu Ning was very grateful for the arrangements made by Brother San.

Once Gu Ning returned, Cheng Ming and the others were relieved. They all knew about Gu Ning’s siege and attack, after that they only heard that Gu Ning went out of the colony alone and was nowhere to be found. They were really worried for a while, but now when they saw that Gu Ning had returned safely, they all felt reassured. And at the same time, they were shocked that Gu Ning managed to find all the items Gao Yue listed in such a short period.

Mother Gu was still in a deep sleep, while Gu SiYuan had woken up in her stead.

He had already learned through the mouths of Cheng Ming and the others that Gu Ning was still alive.

However at that moment, when he saw Gu Ning being alive and standing in front of him, he couldn’t help but burst into tears.

He just patted on Gu Ning’s back repeatedly and soundlessly.

After a few moments, Gu Ning and Gu SiYuan both calmed down and the two of them exchanged their experiences after the separation.

Gu SiYuan lamented: “It was thanks to your Auntie Li on this journey. If she hadn’t accompanied us, your mother and I would’ve never been able to find this place, let alone find you.”

Gu Ning was still a bit surprised, their family had never had any dealings with Li HongJuan’s family before the apocalypse started and Mother Gu had also said frequently that Li HongJuan was too vulgar, there had been a lot of bad rumours about her in the neighbourhood. Thus when they bumped into each other, they would just nod and smile. Nevertheless, after Gu Ning saved her twice during the apocalypse, she had been close to Mother Gu since then. However at that time, because Gu Ning was daring enough to kill the zombies, everyone that was on the bus was fawning over Gu Ning’s parents so Li HongJuan didn’t look too peculiar either.

Yet unexpectedly, at a time like this, she was the only one who stood up and suffered together with Father Gu and Mother Gu.

Gu Ning felt emotional in her heart, then asked: “Where is she?”

“She’s sleeping next door.” Huang MengYao replied.

Gu Ning asked again: “Dad, have you eaten yet?”

“Already ate.” Father Gu replied.

As soon as he woke up, he was fed with food and water under the care of several people. At this point, him still being alive and getting the chance to see his daughter again, he felt that God had been kind to him and didn’t feel any bits of resentment at all.

Gu Ning squatted on the ground and said to Gu SiYuan: “That injury on your leg needs to be operated on. This is Gao Yue, she will do the operation.”

Although Gu SiYuan was a little scared, he still nodded his head.

Huang MengYao volunteered to stay and gave Gao Yue a helping hand. Everyone else was kicked out of the dormitory by Gao Yue.

Therefore, a clean-up surgery began in this small girls’ dormitory.

“After my hand injury heals up, I’m going to make a trip to Lishui Hospital.” Gu Ning said to Cheng Ming and the others as she stood in the corridor.

Cheng Ming and Jia DaoZhang were both stunned and Cheng Ming asked: “Didn’t you get everything that Gao Yue wanted? Why do you still have to take the risk of going to Lishui Hospital again? There’s usually a lot of people visiting there, and I’m afraid there’ll be even more zombies. Also, the wave of zombies that we met this morning was near there, we don’t even know if it had dispersed yet.”

“We’ll have more people getting injured in the future. That bit of medicine is not enough.” Gu Ning replied. If she was a wealthy girl in the other world, then perhaps it could all be solved with money, but in reality, she was poor and she was poor as hell. Going to Lishui Hospital and transporting it directly would save her a large amount of money.

“I agree with Gu Ning.” Jia DaoZhang replied, stroking his small tuft of goatee: “Just now when you were away, Cheng Ming and I went out for a spin and got some information. If we go to Lishui Hospital, just a few of us as the *luo luo bing won’t be enough, but we can recruit a bit more manpower in the colony, just give out some supplies and there will be people willing to sell their lives for you.”

(T/N: 啰啰兵 Luō luō bīng: Foot soldiers as in the cannon fodder that is expendable or exploitable.)

Jia DaoZhang continued: “I wandered around with Cheng Ming and got a clear picture of this colony. The person in charge of this colony as of now is that Bai Lang. He used to be a mafia leader, with a bunch of gangsters with guns working under him. The main thing about him is that the group of people working for him are all fierce and aggressive, killing zombies without mercy, and he has almost a hundred or so such people under him. A man wearing glasses that often follows him around is called Yin Yu. It is said that he is Bai Lang’s military advisor.”

“Brother San used to be a company commander in the army. It seems that many of their troops turned into zombies at that time, he was one of the only few who rushed out of the place bringing with him about three dozen people, along with a lot of guns and ammo. After arriving here, he’s staying for the time being, but he is not under Bai Lang’s control either, so he formed his faction. As for Mr. Wang, he used to be an owner of a supermarket chain. When the apocalypse started, he united the dozens of employees in the supermarket, and he had a few cars filled with supplies then fled to join as Bai Lang’s underling. It is said that he has a secret warehouse full of supplies which he’s the only one who knows where it is. A lot of people in the colony hate him to death, but with him being the main source of supplies nobody dares to touch him. The dozen or so jerks today were all his underlings.”

Gu Ning watched Jia DaoZhang speak eloquently and was astonished. She had just gone for only over an hour and he had already pried out this amount of information with clarity?

As if he could see what was on Gu Ning’s mind, Jia DaoZhang said with a small smile: “This poor old me doesn’t have remarkable skills, but I can still spy for information.”

Gu Ning was unaware that although Jia DaoZhang seemed to be making light of the situation, he put in a lot of effort to make it seem light to showcase his abilities in front of Gu Ning, for her to see his worth and that he wasn’t useless.

Obviously, he succeeded.