The rabbit's doubts

"Well said. No wonder the Commander-in-Chief recommended you to lead the First Team."

Gu Cheng dug out the piping-hot roasted sweet potatoes, quickly picked them up, and tossed them into the other two men's laps.

"Hot!" Fang Ci dropped his on the ground and said helplessly:

"It doesn't matter who leads the team. The pay stays the same, and you have a whole pile of things to worry about."

Gu Cheng broke a sweet potato in half, blew on it twice, and stuffed it into his mouth.

The sweet aroma of the potatoes drifted through the air to the roof of the bus.

Tang Yi cried in frustration. "Brother..."

She had never expected the man she had secretly loved for so long to be so heartless.

Tang Yi remembered the day she had fallen to the ground and nearly been torn apart by zombies, when a strong hand had hauled her up and dragged her onto the bus.

The more she thought about it, the more her heart ached. Tang Yi sobbed softly.

Tang Cheng was already annoyed and was about to snap at her when his body suddenly stiffened.

"Shut up," Tang Cheng warned her in a barely audible whisper.

Tang Yi had no idea why, her face smeared with tears.

"I think there's something out there..."

Tang Cheng slowly raised his night-vision binoculars, his fingers trembling violently, and looked into the distance.

The trees around the farmhouse resort were all fruit trees and weren't particularly tall, leaving the scenery and paths beneath them in plain sight.

Through the binoculars, there were no lights, only the dim glow of the moon.

He could just make out some trees and the gravel road they had driven along on their way up.

Tang Cheng turned toward the place where he thought he had glimpsed a huge dark shape.

Something resembling a human figure stood motionless in the grass beside the gravel road.

Tang Cheng breathed a sigh of relief and lowered the binoculars. "Looks like a scarecrow."

"No..."

Tang Yi's teeth chattered. She was so terrified that she stopped breathing, her eyes bulging as though they would pop out of their sockets!

"There's a ghost... a ghost!"

Ye Ruan didn't get a good night's sleep that night either.

A scream woke him in the middle of the night. He had just picked up his gun to go outside when Gu Cheng came in and repeatedly assured him that everything was fine.

With soft, soothing words, Gu Cheng eased him back into his sleeping bag, then hurried out again, shutting the vehicle door tightly.

Ye Ruan could hear faint noises outside. He pricked up his ears and listened carefully for a while, but heard nothing useful, so he could only close his eyes and go back to sleep.

Yu Jingjing, meanwhile, slept soundly throughout it all and never woke up.

She seemed to be enjoying a feast in her dreams, occasionally letting out a silly giggle and even remembering to invite the others to join her.

The next day, Ye Ruan slept until noon. Once he woke, he folded his sleeping bag, got up, and went outside.

The first thing he saw was a group of people sprawled every which way in a corner of the courtyard.

With Ren Bing dead, his so-called brothers had lost their leader and huddled together, half-dead.

"Why didn't you sleep a little longer?"

Gu Cheng strode over and reached out to support him.

There was nothing wrong with Ye Ruan's legs. He waved away Gu Cheng's attempt to help him as though he were disabled and asked:

"Are the people who kidnapped those girls with Ren Bing still alive?"

"Yes."

Gu Cheng sighed helplessly. "The girls rested for two days and recovered a little. But they're timid. Even the fiercest of them only gave those men a dozen or so slaps, alternating hands."

Yu Jingjing sighed. "Watching them made my hands itch. Look, even if they don't have much strength, they could still take this dagger and stab them here."

She pointed at her own eyes.

"Or slash their throats. The blood would spray six feet high!"

Ye Ruan rubbed his eyes. His wound had hurt the night before, keeping him from sleeping well, and his voice was even softer than usual.

"That's strange. Where's Ren Fei'er?"

Gu Cheng paused. "You mean Ren Bing's daughter? The little girl who blocked our way?"

Ye Ruan said, "Yes."

Ren Bing had mentioned the little girl's name while he was alive, but only once, and most people hadn't paid attention.

"I saw her after her father was killed, but not since."

Ye Ruan couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. "Captain, where are Fang Ci and the others?"

Gu Cheng pointed toward the road they had come along. "He, Number Six, Li Rang, and the others borrowed a few bicycles and went out to scout the route. Why?"

"No... reason." Ye Ruan frowned slightly. "What was that scream last night?"

At the mention of it, both their expressions darkened.

Yu Jingjing had gotten up early, so she knew what had happened.

Gu Cheng stood with his hands on his hips in silence for a moment, then said flippantly, "I'm afraid telling you would scare you."

Ye Ruan stared at him and said slowly, "It was Tang Yi's voice."

Gu Cheng looked surprised. "You've got sharp ears."

Yu Jingjing sighed. "It was her. She's gone mad."

"Mad?" Ye Ruan asked in confusion. "What happened?"

Just then, someone jumped down from the bus parked nearby.

It was Tang Yi.

Her hair hung in disarray as she made incoherent sounds, flailed her arms, and ran aimlessly around the courtyard.

Several middle-aged women and Tang Cheng together couldn't restrain the slender girl.

Ye Ruan tilted his head and listened carefully for a while, then repeated:

"A ghost?"

Gu Cheng smoothed down the little rabbit's tuft of unruly hair. "Let's not let her scare you. I'll take you somewhere else. She's bad luck."

"What exactly happened, Captain?"

Annoyed by his dawdling, Ye Ruan curled his slender, pale fingers around Gu Cheng's sleeve.

His beauty worked its magic, of course. Gu Cheng said:

"Last night, she and Tang Cheng were keeping watch on the bus roof. Around two or three in the morning, Tang Yi screamed and passed out."

"After they came down, Tang Cheng said Tang Yi had seen a female ghost with a very long body and long black hair dragging on the ground, like a snake."

Gu Cheng's hand wouldn't behave, slowly sliding back toward the nape of Ye Ruan's neck.

"That ghost's eyes glowed green, and she had... a hand in her mouth!"

Ye Ruan reached back and caught Gu Cheng's wandering hand with perfect accuracy:

"You big bad wolf. Up to your tricks again!"

Disappointed that he hadn't managed to frighten him, Gu Cheng buried his face against Ye Ruan's shoulder and nuzzled back and forth like a big dog.

Ye Ruan planted his palm against Gu Cheng's face and pushed him away without mercy.

The courtyard was crowded at this hour. Survivors had brought out their dirty clothes and gathered in groups to wash them at the nearby pool.

Li Tuantuan led a group of children running around the courtyard.

When Li Tuantuan saw Ye Ruan come out, she charged over like a little bomb and hugged his legs.

"Big brother! Are you all better now?"

Ye Ruan asked, "Better?"

"Yes! Jingjing said you were sick. I brought candy and wanted to visit you, but the others wouldn't let me in."

Li Tuantuan puffed out her chubby cheeks, making them look like white steamed buns.

Ye Ruan broke into a bright laugh and cupped Tuantuan's cheeks, gently squishing them.

"I'm better now. But could you tell me whether you've seen Ren Fei'er today?"

"That really skinny girl with the long hair?"

"Yes."

Li Tuantuan rubbed her cheek against Ye Ruan's leg.

"I saw her! Auntie Wang took me out to pee this morning, and I saw her heading down the path! The one we came along!"

"Okay. Thank you."

Once Li Tuantuan had skipped away, Gu Cheng lightly touched Ye Ruan's back.

"What's going on?"

A trace of worry crossed Ye Ruan's face. "I keep feeling there's more to Ren Fei'er than meets the eye."

Gu Cheng said, "Isn't she only seven or eight?"

"Yes, but she didn't react at all when she saw me kill Ren Bing."

Ye Ruan's unease grew stronger.

For some reason, when Gu Cheng met his eyes, he seemed to catch that unease too.

The next instant, a red signal flare shot into the sky!