Chapter 15: Clarifying Things
Chapter 15: Clarifying Things
For an entire day, Zhan Lian has not come to terms with the sudden change, let alone someone as fragile as Anran. He has missed a call from his ex-wife. Although this isn’t the first time, he wonders if this time truly means an insurmountable distance between them forever.
Zhan Lian presses his lips together, furrowing his brows as if he is staring at an enemy. He looks at his phone—it has no signal! What to do now? He has lost his father in childhood, his mother in adolescence, married young like a beast, and divorced a year later. When it comes down to it, Anran is probably his only remaining “former” relative.
How can he let go?!
"Ah Lian, what do we do now?" asks Hua Lianjin, an older man with a Southern accent, around 35 years old, also known as Old Cat. He is holding a telescope he has somehow acquired and standing by the kitchen window. He says to Zhan Lian, "Not only have our team members turned into monsters, but other teams also seem to be in trouble. Otherwise, why haven’t we received any response to our distress signals?"
The military region is vast, and Zhan Lian’s team is a special unit within the entire military area. According to routine, if everyone except him and three others had been affected, there should have been some activity, but now there is no movement at all.
They are in a remote area, making it hard to access outside information. Should they continue waiting for rescue, or should they find another solution?
Zhan Lian grips his old phone, sitting on a stool. He lowers one foot from his knee, bends over, and stares at the screen. The words "Wife" appear, which is how Anran is listed in his phone. He hasn’t had the chance to change it. Every time he sees these two words, his heart stirs with memories of that day when his ex-wife cried and yelled at him on the phone.
She said, “You’re never around when I need you. Do you think I feel like I have a husband? We’ve been married for a year, and I’ve only seen you for three days during this year. And in those three days, all we did was sleep together. When I was sick, where were you? If you needed a woman to sleep with, why did you marry me? If you just want someone for sex, why did you marry me? Spend some money and go find a prostitute; it would be so much simpler!”
In fact, Zhan Lian has never told Anran that he has the same hopes as her: to have a home, to return to a woman waiting for him, to have a child together, and live a life as plain and peaceful as water. This is what he wants as well.
But at that time, he was so angry that he only wanted to strangle Anran, and he kept everything to himself. Now he isn't sure if there is still time to tell his ex-wife.
“We need to get out!” Zhan Lian grips the phone tightly and tosses it into the pocket of his chest where there is no signal. He looks up at the remaining three teammates and repeats firmly, "I need to get out. There are some things I need to clear up with my ex-wife. Whether it’s life or death, I have to say it to her face!"
With that, he turns and begins to pick up weapons from the kitchen counter. Given the situation outside, it seems unlikely that his teammates can be saved. There is no other option but to fight their way out.