On the drive back, we encountered a person.
This person had once played a very important role in my life, only to later become the only individual in my memories who made me sick to my stomach.
My college boyfriend.
Someone I loved with all my heart during my most innocent years, following him devotedly and foolishly, unafraid of hardship or poverty. During the coldest Northeastern winters, I'd walk to see him, wearing a thin padded jacket against the biting wind that felt like knives on my face, yet my heart swelled with a sweet warmth. In today's materialistic society, a girl like me back then is probably as rare as a panda.
But he didn't cherish it. Once our life together showed slight improvement, he betrayed me and hurt me deeply. I'll never forget the shameless things he said to me!
"Duo, every day with you is very happy, but you're not suitable to be a wife. You're not gentle enough."
I don't want to elaborate on how despicable he was back then, but it took me six years to recover from the damage he caused.
If I had to name the biggest difference between humans and zombies, I believe it must be emotion. Humans have rich emotions; zombies have none.
So, when this particular zombie stumbled and roared before me, I felt that, in essence, nothing had really changed.
He was always a beast without genuine feelings, a walking corpse. Before, his mouth was full of lies; now, it's full of flesh and blood.
I knew he certainly wouldn't recognize me. In his eyes, I was just fresh meat, just food. He was always greedy. I'm sure of that. Even when he was human.
My husband recognized him too. Seeing me holding my knife sideways, staring motionlessly as it approached without taking action, he thought I couldn't bring myself to do it. "Honey, I'll handle it," he said thoughtfully.
"No! Honey, let me end this myself!" My face was expressionless. Canaan silently stepped back.
Canaan's greatest quality is that he always understands and supports me!
It got closer and closer. The stench from that rotting, putrid face hit me head-on. One meter, half a meter...
Just as its claws were about to grab me, my long knife thrust upwards through its chin and into its brain.
It was all over!
Goodbye, hypocritical, despicable man!
Goodbye, liar!
Goodbye, beast without a conscience!
Goodbye, scumbag!
Everyone got back in the car. The atmosphere inside turned silent. I didn't speak, and no one asked why I had insisted on stopping the car for such an unremarkable, short, fat, ugly zombie and gone to deal with it personally.
"Sister Duo, I understand you!" Qiao said.
"Understand what?" I retorted. Did he also have a deeply hurtful past?
"I used to think about killing our unit leader every single day. Pity it's against the law, hehe. I just hope our leader turned into a zombie too, and that I get to catch him!" Qiao finished and gave me a thumbs-up.
I burst out laughing! So that's how Qiao understood it. Well, that works too!
There's a gas station opposite the Carrefour. It's the closest one to our compound, fairly large with a good fuel supply. We always refueled here.
Because the gas station is open-plan, a few wandering zombies were unavoidable. And since we couldn't use guns at the gas station, we had to use blades.
Hacking apart a few more zombie heads made me feel increasingly satisfied!
Suddenly, my stomach hurt. With my sensitive digestion, I sometimes get diarrhea. This was terrible timing! Everyone was still refueling. I assessed the feeling; I probably couldn't hold it until we got home!
"Honey, come with me to the restroom inside the gas station. My stomach hurts!" I asked Canaan to accompany me. Who knew if there were zombies inside?
"Let's go! If there are too many zombies inside, we'll come back out and get help!" My husband told the others that if we weren't back in ten minutes, they must come in to rescue us.
The gas station layout was simple. Through the door was an empty supermarket. The shelves had been cleared out. It seemed many survivors were brave enough to venture out for supplies. Yes, hiding at home is safe, but you'd eventually starve to death.
A tall zombie was shuffling behind the shelves. Judging by its clothes, it was a gas station employee. Under normal circumstances, cutting its head off would be nothing for me. But right now, my stomach pain was making me sweat. Damn it, I just wanted to get to the restroom quickly! I had no desire to fight. If any zombie dared to pick a fight at this moment, I swear I'd unleash my inner cosmos and turn any阻拦的丧尸 (zǔ lán de sàng shī - blocking zombie) into dust!!!
"Leave it to you. I'm going to the restroom first!" I wasn't worried about my husband. Dealing with one zombie was easy and enjoyable for him.
"You can't hold it? The restroom might not be safe either. Let me deal with it first, then we'll go in together!" My husband is very cautious; he never feels comfortable with me acting alone.
"No, I can't hold it! I can handle myself. You deal with it quickly!" After saying this, I ran towards the restroom on the right side of the supermarket.
I couldn't be defeated by diarrhea instead of zombies! What kind of nonsense is this!
I kicked open the restroom door. Thankfully, no zombies inside. Two stall doors, both closed.
I kicked open the outer stall door first. Empty. Then I kicked open the inner one. Damn! There was a corpse inside. Not a zombie, and not killed by a bite. It was a suicide! A knife was stuck in her chest. The blood had dried. Looked like she'd been dead for days. This woman was psychologically fragile. Seeing no escape while hiding here, she simply chose death!
Enduring the stomach pain, I checked her. No signs of turning. Whatever, solve the stomach problem first!
So I ducked into the first stall and habitually locked the door.
A great release felt fantastic!
Actually, diarrhea is a matter of a few minutes, hehe. I felt reborn, completely refreshed!
My husband had long since dealt with the zombie outside and came in to check. He also saw the dead person in the stall and quietly closed that door tightly.
My husband and I walked out of the gas station. It took eight minutes total. The others had finished refueling and were about to come in to assist us.
Since we had a full tank, and Carrefour was right across the street, I suggested we go stock up on more supplies. Mainly, I wanted to find some books to read. I've always been an avid reader. Also, the children should have some picture books. Beautiful things can only be experienced through illustrations now!
No one objected. When we parked in front of Carrefour, I noticed several SUVs parked relatively neatly, facing outward, unlike the haphazardly abandoned vehicles.
Was it Shan Qi Er Shi Yi and his group again? Or someone else?
Entering the supermarket, we saw Shan Qi Er Shi Yi's sunny, smiling face. They were carrying large and small bags, preparing to leave. Turns out they were here for supplies again.
"Halo, Sister Duo! Met again! Looks like you're surviving well! Thinking of joining us at our place?" Shan Qi Er Shi Yi was still as enthusiastic. What a good kid!
And today, standing next to him was a tall, stylish girl with chic栗色的长卷发 (lì sè de cháng juǎn fà - chestnut-colored long wavy hair), thick eyebrows, and big eyes that revealed a wildness. She wore a short beige down jacket and tight jeans that showed off her very long legs! On her feet were black flat-heeled riding boots. Her style was so sharp! Seeing her, I instantly liked her secretly. Age-wise, probably eighteen or nineteen. Although her face was as cute as a Barbie doll's, she was definitely a formidable character!
I smiled. "Shan Qi, our compound is full of elderly and children, whole families. We can't join you at the school, but I appreciate the offer! Who is this pretty girl?"
"Sister Duo, this is my girlfriend, Zeya. Zeya, these are the brothers and sisters I met last time. They're strong too! Very professional at killing zombies!" Shan Qi Er Shi Yi introduced us. So the girl's name was Zeya.
Zeya's beautiful big eyes were fixed on the long knife in my hand. After the introduction, she extended her hand to me: "Hello, Sister Duo. That knife is really beautiful. Where did you find it?"
Ha, so she was interested in the knife! "This knife isn't for sale. It was a珍藏 (zhēn cáng - treasured possession) from a neighbor. Quite rare. The ones in stores are probably imitations. Fine for appreciation, but not effective for use," I answered honestly, shaking her hand.
No matter what world we're in, maintaining proper courtesy feels very good. It makes me feel we haven't descended into complete barbarism.
"By the way, Shan Qi, if you want your vehicles modified, come to us. I see your cars are still running裸奔 (luǒ bēn - naked, meaning unprotected)," Liu Yuxuan, also a straightforward person, suggested kindly.
"Vehicle modification?" Shan Qi was stunned.
We took them outside. When Shan Qi saw our cars, now armored into versions that made zombies helpless, his eyes lit up.
"Brother, you guys are so cool! But we don't have the skills. Can you help us? In the future, if you need anything, I, your younger brother, would go through fire and water for you!" Shan Qi Er Shi Yi was excited! Really, what man can resist such temptation!
Just like that, we exchanged phone numbers and agreed to help them modify their vehicles at the auto parts city in a couple of days.