The burnt stench of Flying Zombies incinerated by Pure Yang Gang Qi had yet to disperse. Fang Gang's enormous golden body stood amid the ruins of the studio building, like a molten-gold war god beneath the murky green sky.
He spread open his palm, and the bottle of shampoo bearing a cartoon ginger design lay quietly in it. The bottle was cold, while the word "Parasite" on its bottom glimmered an ominous dark red beneath the distant ghostly light of the ghost gate.
"Fatty..."
Fang Gang rubbed the slightly rough cartoon pattern on the bottle. Beneath his fingertips, he could feel the familiar uneven grooves—the crooked words "For the strongest scalp," forcibly carved into it by Fatty Chen with his fingernails.
He could almost still hear that round figure yelling with exaggerated winks and grimaces in the smoke-filled temporary base while chewing on compressed biscuits:
"Gang! Look! Pure natural ginger extract, strengthens the hair roots, cures every kind of baldness... Bah! It's specially made for a strong man's scalp! Once this mission's over, we brothers can wash our hair together. I guarantee your lightbulb... cough, your symbol of strength will shine even brighter!" His greasy face had worn an exaggerated expression as though presenting a treasure, but genuine concern had been hidden in his eyes.
Back then, the shadow of the Fengdu Ghost Gate had not yet drawn so near. Fatty Chen had always loved teasing him about his bald head, but he had also always been the first to stuff his saved supplies into Fang Gang's hands, saying that a body-tempering glutton ought to eat more.
This bottle of shampoo was probably some "treasure" he had dug out from a survivor mini-mart in some remote corner, but never found the chance to give away.
Fang Gang's lips twitched. There