Chapter 76: The Road Is Blocked Again
Chapter 76: The Road Is Blocked Again
Behind the door, Hu Zhen walks in holding He Wen. She has just come down from the fifth floor and has no idea what has transpired between An Ran and Chen Jiao. She only knows that Chen Jiao has stormed back to the fifth floor, looking furious. Holding He Wen, Hu Zhen asks, “What happened between you two this time?”
"Nothing," An Ran replies, shaking her head.
She doesn’t want to repeat what she has said to Chen Jiao. With only a handful of survivors left, she doesn’t want to stir up conflict that could leave her completely isolated. Call her hypocritical, call her fake, but An Ran figures human nature is just like that. If their roles were reversed, she doubts Hu Zhen and Chen Jiao would protect her when push comes to shove.
Hopefully, it won’t come to that.
An Ran sits on the bed and takes out some hand sanitizer, rubbing her hands vigorously. The hospital walls have dispensers for this alcohol-based hand sanitizer everywhere. She hasn’t thought much of it before, but after seeing Chen Jiao throw the bottle at the baby zombie earlier, she realizes it is a good idea to keep her hands clean.
Meanwhile, Hu Zhen is busy by bed 17, gently placing the sleeping He Wen down before she starts organizing the food they have brought down from the fifth floor. She works for a while, straightening things up.
An Ran, still rubbing her hands, glances at Hu Zhen and asks, "Why did you move down again? Isn't it a hassle to keep moving back and forth like this?"
"We have no other choice. You're our guardian angel now. Since you're down here, we have to be down here too," Hu Zhen says, bending down to tidy up the bed. She glances lovingly at He Wen, who is fast asleep, a gentle smile on her face. But her words, so matter-of-fact, echo the same sentiment Chen Jiao expressed earlier, leaving An Ran feeling uncomfortable once again.
She lowers her eyes and doesn’t respond, continuing to rub her hands. A sense of depression settles over her. Hu Zhen and Chen Jiao now see her as their guardian angel, but where is hers? Who in this broken world can protect her?
As the sky darkens, the hospital becomes shrouded in shadows. Outside, the surrounding blocks, stretching across the entire star region and beyond to Xiangcheng, have been reduced to ruins. The stars slowly begin to appear in the sky, and a sharp, cold full moon casts a silver light over the earth. In the desolate ruins, aimless zombies wander about.
Occasionally, a zombie evolves mid-step, letting out a hoarse "ho ho" cry. The sound attracts other nearby zombies, causing them to gather around the evolving one. It seems like the next phase in their evolution is the ability to summon their kind.
Under the night sky, a black Land Rover speeds down the road. Suddenly, it screeches to a halt in front of a chaotic pile-up of cars. Zhan Lian, who is driving, chews on a betel nut and opens the window, peering at the vehicles blocking the road. Slowly, one, two, three, then four zombies appear in the distance. Irritated, he spits the chewed betel nut out the window.
"Shit, the road is blocked again."
The old cat, sitting in the passenger seat, is the eldest of the four soldiers. He cracks his knuckles, the sound sharp in the tense silence, and tilts his head toward Zhan Lian.
"Ah Lian, what do we do? Are we still heading to Xiangcheng?"