Meat Tower Chen

Watching the people carrying empty bottles along the road, Nan Shao found the water exchange at the town's former supply and marketing cooperative. It was a two-story concrete building with a flat roof. Its bare walls looked ugly but solid, giving the people forced to flee here an involuntary sense of security. Once inside, he discovered that they could exchange for not only water but also food, such as rice, flour, and biscuits. The bran cakes Zhang Yi had brought back, however, had come from the former government canteen right next door.

Few people were exchanging for water at this hour, and only two young women were inside. Their eyes lit up when they saw Nan Shao, but that quickly gave way to disdain when they discovered he was exchanging for only two bottles of water. Nan Shao had no interest in women anyway, so he did not care. He took the water and headed back. At the entrance to the shantytown, he saw a pedal tricycle parked there. As he passed, he glimpsed blood that had yet to dry in its rear cargo bed. His brow furrowed involuntarily, but he pretended not to have seen it. He had not gone far when he saw two men toss a large black lump onto a rubbish heap in a corner, then turn and head his way.

As they hurried past each other, Nan Shao glanced casually at them and suddenly thought the two men looked familiar. Then he remembered that they were members of that vanguard team. He paused, his steps involuntarily slowing. Only after he heard the tricycle's creaking recede behind him did he look back. Once he was certain they were gone, he walked toward the rubbish heap.

Chapter 16: Meat Tower Chen

Only when he drew close did he see that it was an obese man haphazardly wrapped in a black bedsheet. The man lay sprawled there, his face ashen, his lifeless eyes staring woodenly at the sky, his chest rising and falling rapidly. The sheet had fallen open, revealing a broad expanse of pale flesh. He was clearly naked underneath. One glance was enough for Nan Shao to recognize Meat Tower Chen, who always liked to greet Zhang Yi with a cheerful grin.

He looks as though someone's brutalized him. Then he saw the two exposed fat legs, mangled and bloody, clearly ruined. His heart lurched, and he turned and left.

Meat Tower Chen was a mutant. Although his mutation affected only his speed, it also heightened all his bodily senses. However despairing he was, he still knew that someone had come and gone, yet his eyes did not move in the slightest, much less did he call for help.

On the way back, Nan Shao turned the whole matter over in his mind several times before finally deciding to tell Zhang Yi. Left to him, of course he would not save the man. The wounds on Meat Tower Chen's legs were obviously gunshot wounds inflicted by someone. Saving him would mean not only feeding an extra person who could contribute nothing, but possibly offending whoever had shot him as well. Given their present circumstances, it would be a truly unwise decision. But this man was Zhang Yi's friend. If Zhang Yi wanted to save him, he would not object, because he did not know whether he might one day face the same choice.

"Where is he? Take me there!" Sure enough, as soon as Zhang Yi heard that it was Meat Tower Chen, he decided to save him without even hesitating.

"By the rubbish heap at the exit," Nan Shao answered, his gaze falling on Zhang Ruiyang, who was still sleeping soundly in Zhang Yi's arms. Before he could speak, Zhang Yi had already stood up with the child and headed toward Li Muran's shack.

They had only just approached and had yet to call out when Li Muran emerged. "What is it?"

"Watch Yangyang for me. We're going to save someone," Zhang Yi said.

Li Muran asked no further questions and carefully took Zhang Ruiyang. Seeing that the child seemed about to wake, she quickly began rocking him gently. She looked practiced, clearly having done this before.

"I have two younger sisters and a younger brother," she explained casually, then bent down and went back into her shack with Yangyang in her arms. She truly did not ask a single question about their rescue, because she understood that, having survived until now and with a child to support, they would not go looking for burdens. If they were saving someone, it had to be someone they could not leave to die.

"Bring the weapons." With someone looking after his son, Zhang Yi felt reassured and turned to tell Nan Shao.

Nan Shao froze for a moment, not understanding why they needed weapons to rescue someone. Then he saw Zhang Yi return to their shack, pick up the machete, and bring out the pickaxe for him as well. He had no choice but to take it. His mind was full of questions, but at the sight of Zhang Yi's taut face, he ultimately held them back. When they reached the rubbish heap, however, his bewilderment was finally answered.

In the short time since he had left, several skeletal men had gathered in front of the rubbish heap. They surrounded Meat Tower Chen, wanting to approach but not daring to, their eyes gleaming like those of starving wolves.

"Hey, what are you doing? We saw him first!" Seeing the two approach with weapons in hand, one of the men shouted in displeasure, though his body instinctively retreated two steps. They might not have been familiar with Nan Shao yet, but they recognized Zhang Yi. They knew that despite his limp, he was as ruthless as anyone when it came to killing zombies. Of course, that was not the main point. The main point was the weapons in their hands, still stained with zombie blood. Accidentally getting nicked or scraped by one would be no laughing matter.

"He's my friend." Zhang Yi's answer was simple.

The men exchanged looks. Although doubt and reluctance lingered in their eyes, they still backed away, though they remained at a distance to watch. Zhang Yi ignored them and crouched in front of Meat Tower Chen. First, he lifted the sheet to check his body and found that apart from his legs, he had no other injuries. But the member hanging between his thighs and the hair around it were coated in dried whitish fluid and a woman's juices, all in a mess. Clearly, he had been dragged out of bed.

"Little Chen... Little Chen..." Only after covering him with the sheet again did he pat the face that seemed to have lost all awareness of the outside world.

At the familiar voice, Meat Tower Chen's eyes finally moved, then slowly settled on the face looking down at him with a calm gaze. Recognizing Zhang Yi, he blinked. Then, like a wronged child who had found his mother, he let out a wail and burst into loud sobs.

Seeing that he still had a fair amount of vigor, Zhang Yi relaxed. He neither comforted him nor asked what had happened, instead signaling Nan Shao to help carry him back. When those watching saw this, they knew Zhang Yi had not lied and could only disperse in disappointment.