Chapter Twelve: The Wishes of Apocalypse People
"Hehe!" Jack took a puff of his cigarette and asked with a smile, "Hu Laoda, what is your biggest wish right now?"
"Biggest wish?" Hu Laoda was taken aback, slumping back in the big chair, and said to Jack dryly, "In this damn world, what wish is there? Just living one more day is enough; every extra minute we live is a gain!"
"Then that's settled; we all have to die eventually, it's just a matter of sooner or later!" Jack fiercely extinguished the cigarette butt in the ashtray in front of him and said, "Nanzhou is my hometown, and my biggest wish right now is to go back and take a look, even if I die when I return, at least I can say I've returned to my roots!"
A simple phrase about returning to one's roots resonated with many people in the room. Most of them were not locals but had found themselves hiding here due to various coincidences. For a moment, everyone fell silent, even Hu Laoda leaned back in his chair, lowering his head with a complex expression, seemingly recalling his own hometown as well.
"Alright, it will be dark in an hour!" Jack looked at his black flying watch, stood up from the sofa, and said, "Thank you for the tea, Boss Hu. I need to find a place to rest; I have to hit the road early tomorrow!"
"Uh... Lin, let's have a meal together!" Boss Hu also came back to his senses, stood up to keep him, but he awkwardly glanced at the supplies behind him and said helplessly, "There isn't much food, but there's enough rice to fill you up!"
"Really, thank you. I brought some food with me, and your remaining supplies aren't much either. With so many people to feed, I don't want to add to your burden!" Jack smiled understandingly and shook his head dismissively.
"Sigh~ Who doesn't say that? These supplies will last us at most half a month. It's getting harder and harder to find resources. The twenty people I sent out this morning haven't returned yet; it's probably not looking good!" Boss Hu shook his head with a gloomy expression. It seems that leading these three hundred people isn't easy, especially with the food issue weighing heavily on him.
"When looking for supplies, it's best not to send out more than five people at a time. If you can handle it, apply some thick dark red blood from the zombies on your clothes; the chances of being discovered will be lower!" Jack said with a smile, noticing Boss Hu's surprised expression, "Hehe, just some survival tips!"
After saying that, Jack took out the last two packs of 95 Supreme from his pocket and placed them on the coffee table. He nodded at Boss Hu and turned to walk out. Cao Mei, who was beside him, glanced at Boss Hu, saw him nod, and quickly followed Jack out.
"Boss, should we do something about this kid? That gun on him is a good thing!" Old Ma said, leaning in to Boss Hu in a low voice as soon as Jack left.
"Do something? What can we do? With my broken gun and one bullet?" Boss Hu irritably picked up the gun from the table and threw it into the drawer, then said harshly to Old Ma, who still looked eager: "That guy came all the way from the north, killing his way here. He's been in a gathering place of thousands; who could do that without some skills? Let me tell you, outside, not only are the zombies dangerous, but so are the living. The moment he walks in, you're all staring at his gun, thinking others are fools who don't know what you're up to? Hmph, I can guarantee you, he's killed as many living people as zombies on his way down from the north!"
Boss Hu's words immediately deflated all the restless subordinates in the room. Indeed, they had encountered lone survivors before, but those people were either insane or on the verge of madness. Who could live as well as Jack, not only without worries about food and drink but also raising a big dog? Looking at their own group, even Boss Hu was no exception, his face pale and clearly suffering from long-term malnutrition and lack of sunlight. Compared to him, their group was like the difference between a rich man and a beggar.
Thinking of this, everyone secretly broke out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, Boss Hu had some sense; otherwise, if someone didn't know their limits and tried to take Jack's gun, they would probably all be lying on the floor as incomplete corpses by now.
"Brother Lin, over here!"
As soon as Jack stepped out, he saw Lingling happily waving at him from a corner of the wall not far away, with Michael, whose tail was wagging, standing beside her. Jack glanced at Cao Mei, who was following behind him with a submissive and obedient expression. He didn't say anything and walked towards the small stall where Lingling and the others were.
"Brother Lin, come over quickly! You can sleep in our bed tonight; it's all tidied up for you. Just lay a clean cloth on it, and it won't be dirty!" Lingling happily linked arms with Jack, who was walking with a bit of a stagger. Seeing Cao Mei following behind, Lingling shot her an unhappy glare and said, "What are you following for? Why don't you go serve your Master Hu?"
"Master Hu asked me to serve Master Lin!" Cao Mei cautiously glanced at Jack's expression before biting her lip and speaking.
"Hmph, we didn't prepare dinner for you!" Upon hearing it was Boss Hu's order, Lingling lost her temper but shot another glance at Cao Mei before happily linking arms with Jack and walking towards her stall. Usually, Cao Mei relied on Boss Hu's authority and never treated them well, so Lingling naturally ignored her now.
"Brother Lin is here, come sit!" A-Xue, wearing a snow-white shirt that Jack had given her, stood up from the stall and looked at Jack with a charming demeanor, her slightly shy appearance reminiscent of the excitement of letting a boy sneak into her dorm for the first time in college.
"What are you having for dinner?" Jack walked into their stall, casually surveying the environment. In fact, their living space was incredibly simple, just a corner with an old Thomas mattress. The left and back sides were walls, while the other two sides were separated by a Thomas fabric curtain.
On the bedside of the mattress were some jars and miscellaneous items, and a few dirty clothes were neatly folded at the head of the mattress. Perhaps because of Jack's arrival, the two girls had somehow found two half-burnt candles, and it was only when Jack came over that A-Xue hurriedly lit them, bringing a bit of light to the small corner.
"We'll eat the cookies that Big Brother gave us later. Brother Lin, we specially cooked rice for you!" A-Xue said as she picked up a small black iron pot from the ground. When she opened the lid, it turned out to be a pot of fragrant white rice. The enticing aroma made A-Xue, as well as Lingling and Cao Mei beside her, swallow hard.
"Huh?" Perhaps because they had been hungry for a long time, a woman living in the stall next door curiously lifted the curtain separating them. Lying on a wooden board, she looked up at the rice in A-Xue's hand and swallowed, saying, "A-Xue, are you crazy? How did you cook five days' worth of rice at once?"
"Why do you care about other people's business? Can you have a little professionalism? Do you believe I won't give you even a grain of rice?" A man rudely interrupted the woman's question, lifting the curtain with a large, dark hand and impatiently glancing at A-Xue and the others. The woman then smiled apologetically at A-Xue and covered the curtain again.
Until this moment, Jack finally saw that the woman next door, who was quite attractive, had a naked man on top of her. The man was vigorously thrusting his lower body, heavily colliding with her. The woman's delicate body swayed continuously with the rough movements, her long, beautiful legs pressed against her chest, almost folded in half. Yet, even in this situation, she still had the energy to talk to Lingling and the others, clearly accustomed to it.
"This dead woman, I told her not to make a sound, and she still leaned over!" Both Lingling and Axue blushed at the same time, awkwardly glancing at Jack. But seeing that Jack didn't seem surprised, Lingling picked up a pair of chopsticks, wiped them vigorously with a tissue, and handed them to Jack, saying, "Brother Lin, you can use my chopsticks. We just scalded them with boiling water, they're very clean!"