Preparations

Nan Shao took it and walked toward the iron gate. His right hand rose, the blade tracing a dazzling arc in the sunlight. With two sharp thuds, the zombie's outstretched claws fell to the ground. Then the blade passed through a gap between the iron bars and came down from above, actually splitting the zombie in two like a piece of firewood.

Chapter 28: Preparations

"Don't waste your strength." Zhang Yi knew Nan Shao had pent-up anger he needed to vent, but he had to remind him. Otherwise, they would be in trouble once he exhausted himself.

Nan Shao said nothing, but he had clearly taken the words to heart. He held back considerably on his next strike, his gaze utterly cool as he aimed the blade specifically at the elbow joints. But with the zombies' faces practically pressed against the gate, he couldn't put any force behind a sideways swing to cut off their heads. In the end, he still had to chop downward. He could only manage this because awakening his ability and cultivating over the past two days had given him considerable strength. For Zhang Yi, splitting a hard skull open with a single stroke would have been utterly impossible. Even so, after killing six zombies, Nan Shao's arms grew weak, and he retreated.

Six corpses lay piled before the iron gate, trampled and pushed aside by the zombies surging up behind them. Li Muran paced by the gate with her pickaxe. Just as she was about to strike, she suddenly realized the gaps in the gate were too narrow for the pickaxe head to pass through. With no other choice, she came back.

"Brother Yi, if only you'd brought your rebar." She asked for the machete and sighed.

None of them could have anticipated this, and she was only making an offhand remark. She took the machete to the gate and copied Nan Shao, first chopping off the zombies' outstretched hands before hacking at their heads. But she was even weaker than Zhang Yi, and sometimes her aim was off, sending sparks flying as the blade struck the iron bars. It took her a full six or seven chops to kill a single zombie, leaving her panting with exhaustion.

"This is killing me. It's a way to build strength, all right, but the machete can't take this kind of hacking." She walked back and tossed the chipped machete to Zhang Yi.

Zhang Yi shook his head with a wry smile. He picked up the machete and was about to head for the iron gate when Nan Shao caught hold of him. "Let's go. We'll come back tomorrow." He had acted out of momentary anger. Now that he had calmed down, he immediately realized what would happen if they kept this up.

Zhang Yi and Li Muran exchanged a glance, smiles appearing in both their eyes. They knew he had finally come fully to his senses after his fury over losing his weapon. Given their current circumstances, leaving immediately was naturally the better choice. Otherwise, the most likely outcome would be losing another weapon, making their withdrawal more difficult.

Once they had decided, the three ignored the layers of zombies crowding the iron gate, shouldered their bags, and quickly left through the stairwell they had opened earlier. Several headless skeletons lay in the stairwell, evidently killed by survivors leaving this section of the building, but there were no living zombies. The three reached the ground floor without trouble. After making sure there were no zombies outside, they immediately opened the door and slipped out. Before the horde gathered on the other side of the building could notice them, they darted into the narrow passage between an old house and the apartment building beside it.

The trip back presented little trouble. Zhang Yi and Li Muran dealt with the occasional zombies they encountered, while Nan Shao helped from the side with a kick or two. By the time they reached Wangyang Town, it was past three in the afternoon. They had accomplished little and spent most of their time on the road. They hadn't had the chance to dig the Corpse Crystals out of most of the zombies they killed, and no matter how they counted, they had only collected fifteen. After deducting the fare and the town entry tax charged once every three days, they didn't even have enough to pay a day's rent. Most importantly, they had lost a good blade.

All three felt rather dispirited. If they hadn't obtained some medicine at the hospital the day before yesterday, then made a hefty profit from a rich woman, and also discovered the supplies in the cave behind the house, they would probably have been going hungry and thirsty.

When they got home, Zhang Ruiyang was on all fours with his bottom sticking up, playing at something they couldn't identify. Meat Tower Chen was tuning the radio they had brought back. Static echoed through the room, occasionally interspersed with a mutter or two from Meat Tower Chen. Hearing the door, the adult and child looked up together, then both showed the same delighted surprise. The amusing sight lifted the three's low spirits a little. Whatever else happened, everyone was all right. That was what mattered most.

"Daddy!" Zhang Ruiyang scrambled up and charged over like a little cannonball, only to get confused for a moment and wrap his arms around Nan Shao's thigh.

Nan Shao finally smiled. Bending down to pick him up, he said, "Oh, little Yangyang is such a good boy. Come on, let Daddy give you a kiss!" With that, he planted a loud, smacking kiss on the sweaty little cheek.

"Ah!" Only then did Zhang Ruiyang realize he had called the wrong person Daddy. Instantly embarrassed, he shyly burrowed his head into Nan Shao's chest, then wriggled under his arm. Finally, he poked his head out behind Nan Shao's armpit, found his own dad, and called softly for help. "Daddy..."

Everyone burst out laughing, sweeping away the earlier gloom. Zhang Yi reached out to take his son from Nan Shao, kissed his forehead, and asked, "What were you playing, Yangyang?" That posture had been so strange. He had never seen him being mischievous like that before.

"A big tiger!" Once back in his father's arms, Zhang Ruiyang immediately returned to his usual self. As he answered, he curled his little hands into tiger claws and pawed back and forth, even letting out an imitation tiger's roar.

So that was what he had been playing. Zhang Yi relaxed, but then it occurred to him that, apart from humans and microorganisms, all other species seemed to have vanished. Never mind knowing what a tiger was-children born in the future would probably never even have a chance to see cats, dogs, or the other animals common before the apocalypse. For a moment, he lost the desire to ask any more questions. As a result, it was a long time before he learned that his son's tiger imitation had come from following the Five Animal Frolics book he had picked up.

"I spent all day tuning it and couldn't pick up a single station," Meat Tower Chen said dejectedly, watching the three put down their bags and rest. Without a station, they had no news of the outside world. A lone tree could not hold everything up. Without help from other forces, Wangyang Town would not last long in such harsh conditions.

The three were somewhat disappointed to hear this, but not terribly so. After all, they hadn't held out much hope to begin with.

"Where is the Vanguard Team staying?" Nan Shao suddenly asked.