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"Where did you come from?" Luo Yu interrupted.
"I don't know. The forest isn't big, but it's quite dark. A Hai and the others searched around but didn't find anything unusual," Jiao Ziqian said, scratching his head in confusion. "I was about to drive when suddenly the car door was pulled open. A Hai was sitting in the back and swung a knife. I don't know if he hit me or not, then the back door opened too, and A Hai and that old guy were dragged out."
"I thought it was remnants from the train station, so I went down to rescue them. But that old guy was screaming, saying it was a Zombie." Jiao Ziqian exhaled heavily and continued, "I panicked a bit and didn't know what was happening with A Hai. I thought I should pull the old guy back; if he died, we wouldn't be able to search the riverbank. So I chased after them. Little Black must have gone to help A Hai. I heard them shout something, but I couldn't catch it. I saw them dragging the old guy into the woods, so I went to pull him back, but that guy was incredibly strong. Then I saw a few more coming over, and in a moment of heat, I ended up chopping off that old guy's shoulder."
Song Jiu and Luo Yu exchanged glances, both understanding the situation now.
"I brought the old guy back to the car. Little Black wanted to chase after A Hai, but I was worried he wouldn't come back, so I made the tough decision to drive away." Jiao Ziqian regretted his choice, saying, "If I'd known it would turn out like this, I wouldn't have run."
"It's not your fault; keep going," Song Jiu reassured him.
"I panicked and returned along the same route, worried that the noise of the car would attract Zombies from the station. So I took a detour. Somehow, a Zombie jumped onto the Cabin. My mind was completely scrambled at that point; I lost control of the steering wheel and crashed into a tree without noticing Little Black was injured. And that's how it ended up like this."
Jiao Ziqian explained himself clearly enough, though he struggled with details about the Zombies. It wasn't entirely his fault; given how sudden everything happened and all the rumors about Zombies along the way, it was commendable that he managed to bring both people back to their base without further complications.
"We can't stay here for long; we need to finish our business and leave as soon as possible," Song Jiu said, his brow furrowed with lingering frustration. Since leaving the camp, nothing had gone smoothly.
"Our current supplies aren't enough to sustain us," Luo Yu calculated appropriately. "The food we confiscated from the train station barely suffices; clean water will last us at most three days. We have enough gasoline for some distance, but we haven't scouted the surrounding area beforehand. I don't support blindly moving forward."
"Right, Brother Jiu. Didn't we say we would find a place to set up camp again?" Jiao Ziqian chimed in.
"This place feels too strange; something's off," Song Jiu said as he gazed at the empty night sky with hesitation in his voice. "Especially those Zombies earlier; we have no understanding of them at all. What just happened and Ziqian's experience lack reasonable explanations—there are too many hidden dangers. Luo Yu, have Dream Fan stop the car and get that old guy up; let's head to the riverbank first."
With many debts piling up, Song Jiu and his group were facing similar circumstances: troubles on the surface with a little girl and hidden threats from Zombies below. They could only prioritize their concerns one step at a time; they had to take things bite by bite. Luo Yu had already stopped the bleeding for Railway Guerrillas' man; most of their remaining bandages and medical supplies had been used on him. If it weren't for him leading them, Song Jiu really didn't want to waste their last resources. After some struggles and waiting, Middle-Aged Man finally woke up as expected.
Just as Song Jiu thought, Middle-Aged Man had been driven to madness by all that had happened during the night. As soon as he regained consciousness, he started shouting again—a burly man crying with snot and tears streaming down his face in utter despair. Song Jiu was already feeling overwhelmed and had no patience for humanitarian concerns; after asking him twice without getting any useful response, he slapped him twice to silence him.
"Just kill me! Please kill me! Don't torture me anymore!" The middle-aged man's gaze was vacant as he looked at his empty right shoulder while sobbing uncontrollably.
Song Jiu turned his face toward him so their eyes met and said firmly, "If you want to die, fine. But right now you need to sit in the passenger seat and guide us there; once we reach the riverbank, I'll give you a quick end."
"I won't go! They have guns! Please let me go!"
Song Jiu felt a wave of frustration wash over him as he rubbed his forehead in exasperation; this guy seemed close to losing his mind completely. He couldn't understand how someone with such poor mental resilience had survived until now.
"If you don't go, I'll chop off the rest of your arm, cut your tendons, and break your spine, leaving you to die in agony." Song Jiu crouched in front of him, doing everything possible to threaten and intimidate, while also trying to soothe the middle-aged man, managing to pull back the little reason he had left.
The middle-aged man's face turned pale as Jiao Ziqian dragged him into the driver's seat to replace Xin Mengfan. After everyone relieved themselves by the roadside, they turned back. They had been so focused on escaping that they didn't realize they had taken a wrong turn. Fortunately, there was enough gasoline; otherwise, it would have been another troublesome situation. The group in the truck nibbled on some cold food and drinks to replenish their strength in the night breeze. The journey along the riverbank was not short, and whether they would fight or kill remained uncertain; preparations were necessary. Seeing the situation, Xin Mengfan felt another fierce battle was imminent. With a sigh of resignation, she decided it was better to wrap herself in a blanket and catch some sleep.
The young men were silent, exhausted from the past few days. Their first confrontation with the zombies had ended in a complete defeat, leaving them anxious and hesitant. They were intensely curious about the riverbank that seemed to be a safe haven in such an environment. Luo Yu reloaded two guns with ammunition but couldn't come up with any ideas. He wanted to discuss things with Song Jiu but turned his head only to find him already asleep against the truck frame.
When Song Jiu was awakened, dawn was breaking. The men and women in the truck were groggy, rubbing their sleepy eyes and looking around in confusion.
The middle-aged man hadn't lied; this riverbank was indeed more than just "the bank by the river." From their surroundings, it was clear they had left the county town behind. Luo Yu hadn't slept all night; his eyes were bloodshot as he recounted the situation on the road. Now it was up to Song Jiu to make specific arrangements.
The truck stopped on a dirt road flanked by barren land on one side and dense forest on the other, stretching for several acres. Initially thinking this was a piece of abandoned farmland, Song Jiu got out to investigate and soon realized it wasn't quite that simple. The land was relatively flat but dotted with tree stumps of varying sizes like a minefield. After looking around for a while, Song Jiu finally understood that this barren land had once been part of a forest; all the trees here had been cut down. Although he wasn't an expert in agriculture or forestry, he could still glean some clues from various details—like the smooth and even cuts on these stumps.
" Brother Jiu, what do you see?" Jiao Ziqian followed closely behind Song Jiu, puzzled by his stops and starts.
"Nothing much," Song Jiu thought for a moment before returning to the truck and asking, "Should we go into the forest?"
"Yes, but we still have to walk a bit inside," the middle-aged man replied with a poor complexion; after a night of jostling around, he felt half-dead from exhaustion and humidity.
"We can't drive in?"
"No, we can't get in."
Song Jiu paced thoughtfully before saying, "Ziqian and I will go; everyone else stays here."
"What? Just you two? Won't you get crushed?" Xin Mengfan interjected. The group at the riverbank had a particularly large camp and regularly cleared out the forest; they were practically local tyrants here. Initially skeptical, Song Jiu gradually began to believe it as they walked deeper into the woods for over ten minutes without encountering any living creatures. The further they went in, the more obvious markers they found.
"What is this?" Jiao Ziqian pointed at an arrow symbol carved into a large tree.
"It's a directional marker; this forest is vast, and without specific directions, it's easy to get lost," the middle-aged man explained.
"How strange! Other camps are afraid of being discovered; here they are putting up signs," Jiao Ziqian chuckled foolishly as he pulled out his dagger and carelessly added two strokes to the arrowhead, turning a perfectly good directional marker into coordinates.
"If you can't find it, how can you do business?" Song Jiu snorted dismissively at Ziqian's doodling and glanced toward where the path ended—still just a combination of tree trunks and canopies—and couldn't help but ask, "How much further?"
"Almost there."
Song Jiu glanced back at the path they had taken; the barren land was no longer visible, and he could hardly remember which direction they had come from. Fortunately, he had been cautious enough to have Jiao Ziqian mark their route along the way. Otherwise, if something went wrong, the two brothers would struggle to escape. After another stretch of trekking, the flat terrain suddenly became uneven. They climbed over several high mounds of earth, and the trees around them grew sparse. Looking out into the distance, he could vaguely make out the outline of what appeared to be buildings beyond the forest.
Jiao Ziqian checked his watch and couldn't help but exclaim, "Damn, it's been forty minutes!"
Song Jiu nodded without speaking. He was beginning to regret leaving most of the team behind. The Middle-Aged Man hadn't mentioned any issues with the journey at first; who would have thought this forest would be so vast? Noticing the hesitation in Song Jiu's eyes, Jiao Ziqian whispered, "Should we go out and call for help?"
"We're already in here; let's take a look first," Song Jiu shook his head, determined. "Going back and forth would waste too much time. If it really comes to that, we'll signal for help."
The guerrilla fighters were nearly exhausted, with the latter part of the journey almost entirely supported by the two of them. Their voices grew quieter as fatigue set in. Reluctantly, Song Jiu allowed Ziqian to carry him on his back to quicken their pace. Although there were only some rolling hills in the forest, it was still physically draining. From the moment they spotted the building's outline until they got closer, another twenty minutes had passed.
At this point, Song Jiu no longer cared about the journey's length. Despite having seen all sorts of strange people and things over the past three years, he was still taken aback when he finally saw the full view of this "riverbank." Looking at Jiao Ziqian again, he noticed his mouth was nearly stretched to his ears.
"Damn it! This is a camp!" Jiao Ziqian exclaimed in astonishment.
"No wonder," Song Jiu squinted as he gazed at the castle-like wooden walls and towers. He finally understood how that barren land outside had come to be.
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