I'll Cut You Down Right Now

The fireworks boomed through the silent city, their noise especially jarring.

The survivors nearby heard the explosions and tensed up at first, unsure what was happening. Once they listened more closely, they realized it was fireworks.

They were baffled. Who the hell was setting off fireworks at a time like this? Wouldn't the zombies go completely berserk when they heard them?

Sure enough.

As they watched, the roars of zombies rose from all around.

Zombies poured out from every direction, stampeding toward the source of the noise. The sheer size of the horde left the survivors trembling with fear.

If they were swallowed up by a horde like that, would they stand any chance of surviving?

Many survivors suddenly felt that this was a good time to make a move. They had suffered enough in the apocalypse, and supplies were what they needed most. There was a shop right downstairs, but they were so afraid of the zombies that they had stayed cooped up at home, too scared to go out.

Now all the zombies nearby had been drawn away by the repeated explosions. This was their chance, wasn't it?

What a good person.

They had already decided whoever was setting off the fireworks was the kindest person in the world.

Who else would do something like this if they weren't a good person?

Even a dog wouldn't do something so selfless.

On the roof of that building.

"Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you..."

A middle-aged man stood on the roof, raising his arms and howling furiously at the sky.

Behind him, fireworks bloomed and exploded overhead. Their deafening blasts still couldn't drown out his cries.

His eyes were bloodshot. Gripping the edge of the rooftop, he stared down at the crowded zombies, their claws reaching up as they snarled, and roared in fury.

"Why? Why did it have to be like this?"

"Fuck you..."

He kept screaming, "Fuck you!" In a moment of such rage, perhaps those three words were the only way he could let it all out.

His name was Jiang Hai. He'd had a happy family. He'd come to Huang City at eighteen to make something of himself. Though he'd hit plenty of walls, he'd never given up. He married at twenty, and at twenty-five, he had an adorable daughter. Now, thirty years had passed.

His life had improved immensely. He had his own business and a happy family.

Even when the apocalypse came, as long as he could stay with the people he loved, he wasn't afraid.

But today...

It was all gone.

Everything was gone. The apocalypse had taken his happiness—and his hope of staying alive.

He had severe diabetes and needed daily injections. During the past few days of the apocalypse, his medicine had run out. While he was exhausted and asleep, his wife and daughter had gone out to find more.

When he woke up, he found a note.

[My dear husband, the baby and I went to find medicine for you. Stay home and wait for us when you wake up. Love you, your little darling.]

After reading it,

he had rushed out in a panic to look for them. In the end, he found a body torn to pieces downstairs. He recognized the pink dress. It was his wife's.

And his daughter, her legs eaten away, had turned into a zombie. He ran up to her, saw what had become of her, and couldn't bear to let her go on like that. Through his tears, wanting to scream and cry, he strangled her.

Now,

Jiang Hai had climbed up and was staring down at the zombies. He was filled with hatred for them.

He spread his arms, ready to end his life.

"Wait..."

A voice called out.

Lin Fan climbed up the exterior wall and onto the rooftop. The entrance downstairs was locked, and he didn't know the code. Since he couldn't damage public property, he'd had no choice but to climb the wall.

As soon as he got up there, he saw someone about to jump.

He had to stop him. How could he just stand by and watch someone jump? He wasn't the kind of person who liked to gawk and urge someone to hurry up and jump.

Jiang Hai heard the voice and turned around to look at Lin Fan. A hint of surprise crossed his face. Perhaps he couldn't understand how the other man had gotten up there, but none of that mattered to him anymore.

Nothing could stir his heart now. Even if the world ended, he wouldn't waver in the slightest.

"Jumping won't solve anything. If something's bothering you, you can tell me. I think I can help." Lin Fan spoke gently, trying to calm him down.

He could tell the man was in a terrible state of mind.

Something was very wrong.

He seemed ready to snap at any moment.

Jiang Hai smiled calmly. When grief reached its peak, a person stopped showing any emotion at all.

"Help? You can't help. I just want to know why there had to be this damn apocalypse, why there had to be these damn zombies, and why I had to have this damn disease.

"My wife and daughter died because of me.

"My wife was so timid, and my daughter was so afraid of pain. But my wife was torn to pieces, and my daughter lost both her legs. I can imagine how much they suffered before they died, how desperate they were, thinking, 'Husband, Dad, please come save us. I'm scared. It hurts so much.'"

Jiang Hai spoke to Lin Fan, but he also seemed to be talking to himself, imagining what had happened back then.

Lin Fan listened quietly, like a faithful audience member hearing the man's story.

He knew the apocalypse had driven many people to despair.

Sometimes it was the zombies. Sometimes it was other people.

Lin Fan said, "I'm sorry for your loss. The dead can't come back. I'm sure they'd want you to live well. Carry their hopes with you, and keep living, no matter what. There's always hope.

"You set off fireworks and drew all those zombies away, giving other people a chance to survive. Why not keep going? Together, we'll restore Huang City to the way it used to be."

Jiang Hai seemed to ignore Lin Fan's words of comfort. He kept talking to himself, chuckling.

"I'm not some great person. Today is my thirtieth wedding anniversary. I'd been preparing for it for a long time. I wanted to watch the fireworks I'd prepared so carefully with my wife on the rooftop today.

"When we first met, I was dirt-poor and still struggling to make it. But she never looked down on me. She always encouraged me. She didn't work, and she couldn't cook, but she kept trying to learn.

"You know, my wife was wonderful, though sometimes she made me laugh even when I was annoyed.

"When I was working myself to the bone to earn money, she spent ten days' worth of my wages on a dress and asked me if she looked pretty.

"I got mad and told her she was wasting money and didn't care about the family. She immediately clung to me like a little bird and said she just wanted to look beautiful for me, and that it would motivate me to work harder. I was so angry I ended up laughing.

"But don't think she was immature. She was actually very considerate. After we had a child, she worked so hard, looking after the baby all by herself. When the baby cried at night, she never disturbed me. She'd carry the baby outside and rock her to sleep. Sometimes it took an hour or two.

"I understood. She knew I was exhausted from earning money for the family and needed to rest, so she never bothered me.

"Later, things got better and better. I started my own business and made money. She was still the same, always buying things. I told her she was old enough to stop dressing like a young girl.

"When I said that, she'd snuggle into my arms and tell me, 'No matter how old I get, I'll always be your little baby.' I was so annoyed I ended up laughing again."

Jiang Hai kept talking to himself, like a host onstage telling a huge audience the heartwarming stories of his life with his wife.

When he got to the funny parts, he even smiled.

Then Jiang Hai grew agitated. His face twisted as he howled in anguish.

"But why did there have to be an apocalypse? It took everything from me, everything I cherished most, and my hope of staying alive. I wish this were a dream, but it isn't. This is a living hell.

"Fuck this apocalypse! I hate this fucking apocalypse!"

He took a deep breath.

Jiang Hai gave Lin Fan one last smile.

"Sorry for making you listen to all this and for venting my anger and resentment on you. Look, I've been bitten. I'll turn into a zombie. Don't blame yourself for failing to talk me down. No matter what, this would've been the end result.

"Don't leave just yet. When the fireworks are over, the zombies will scatter.

"Goodbye. I hope this apocalypse ends soon."

As soon as he finished speaking,

Jiang Hai spread his arms and leaned backward. He looked up at the sky, as if he could see his wife and daughter there, and smiled with relief.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

The fireworks continued to bloom, as if celebrating Jiang Hai's reunion with his family.

They were also celebrating his thirtieth wedding anniversary with his wife.

Lin Fan stood there, staring at the spot where Jiang Hai had disappeared.

He listened to the fireworks booming.

He lifted his head and looked at the sky.

Then he murmured to himself,

"I hope the apocalypse ends soon, too."

"Farewell. I hope you reunite with them in heaven."

He sighed deeply.

The apocalypse was such a pain.

He truly hoped Huang City could return to the way it had been.

Bang!

The rooftop door burst open.

Zombies surged in. When they saw Lin Fan, they opened their mouths and roared.

"Why the fuck are you still roaring? You know you destroyed someone's family, don't you? And you've still got the nerve to roar. You're a bunch of damn beasts!"

"I really want to cut you all down."

"No... I'll cut you down right now."

Lin Fan drew his sword and cursed. His voice mixed with the explosions of the fireworks. Who knew if those damn things had heard him at all.