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墨書 Inktalez
The air seemed to grow cooler, and Lin Yi tightened his grip on his already tattered clothing, shrinking his neck slightly.
"What’s going on?" Li Qiweng, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, asked softly as she approached the downcast Lin Yi.
Lin Yi lifted his head, quickly adjusting his emotions. The momentary sadness he felt faded away upon seeing Li Qiweng's charming appearance. No matter how much sorrow lingered in his heart, it would quickly diminish in her presence.
"Vice Captain, there was just one Zombie, and I, the Brave one, took care of it," Lin Yi said, feigning pride. He had just prevented Li Qiweng from following him by promising her the position of Vice Captain. In reality, with only a dozen or so people in their group, there was no need for so many titles. It was unclear whether Li Qiweng was genuinely easy to please or simply humoring Lin Yi by accepting the title.
"Oh, it's good that there was only one Zombie; otherwise, it would have been Trouble," Li Qiweng remarked as she glanced behind Lin Yi, just in time to see Witerson II and Gal supporting a woman as they approached.
Lin Yi turned to look as well. Their five companions had returned, seemingly without encountering any more Zombies. However, they had brought back a woman, indicating that something must have happened. To be honest, Lin Yi felt a selfish side within him; when it came to strangers, he believed in helping those he could and ignoring those he couldn't. He wasn't a saint and had neither the obligation nor the ability to do more than that.
"Captain, this girl is asking us to take her with us," Tony said as he stepped forward and saluted Lin Yi.
Lin Yi couldn't help but smile bitterly inside; he was still searching for a way out himself and certainly couldn't take on the responsibility of saving everyone. However, he knew he couldn't let everyone down at this moment by ignoring someone in need.
Lin Yi nodded and pulled Li Qiweng along as they headed back. They didn't have much time to waste on the road; they needed to find an escape route quickly. Everyone was struggling for their own survival now; they could only rely on their individual efforts.
The group of eight soon returned to where the convoy was located, but everyone looked at the suddenly added member with puzzled expressions directed at Lin Yi and the others.
"Um, this lady was rescued from inside just now. She will be traveling with us for the time being," Lin Yi explained briefly.
"Welcome, welcome!" Jiao Jiao exclaimed as she led the applause. The others soon followed suit, welcoming the new member into their ranks.
However, it seemed that this new member did not respond to their enthusiasm; she continued to stare blankly into an unknown direction.
"Hey, what’s your name?" Lin Yi suddenly felt awkward; he didn't even know her name yet!
The beautiful woman seemed to have just awakened from a dream, her voice hoarse as she said, "Jones!"
Fortunately, Ms. Jones did not continue to treat him like air. Upon hearing her introduction, Lin Yi quickly tried to ease the situation, saying, "Sister Jones has just been through a great shock and needs some rest."
After Lin Yi spoke, Aoling Er stepped forward to support Jones. Reiko had always been a caring person; when Lisa was handed over to Froeman for care, Reiko had secretly cried. However, she also knew that her own situation was precarious and that she lacked the strength to protect the poor girl, so she didn't insist on taking Lisa with her.
Seeing that no one had any objections, Lin Yi organized a few people to search the town for food and fuel. Since Jones had managed to survive here, it seemed that the place hadn't been abandoned for long. The town wasn't very large and likely hadn't existed for long either; there was only one big store. However, it was quite messy inside, and there were few edible items available. Adhering to the principle of not letting anything go to waste—even if it was expired—Lin Yi led everyone to scour through everything. Fortunately, there were shopping carts in the store, so each person took one filled with food. There was also a makeshift gas station by the roadside with several barrels of gasoline, which they loaded onto their vehicle and filled up the tank.
Once they had gathered everything they needed, the group returned triumphantly. Although they hadn't encountered any real danger yet, it was always better to be prepared.
A new exploration began; the path ahead seemed far from easy to navigate.
Jones and Lin Yi sat in a vehicle together—not because of any cliché romantic subplot involving Jones trying to seduce Lin Yi. She was the only survivor in the town, and perhaps she could provide useful information.
"Um, Sister Jones, could you please tell us what happened in this town?" Lin Yi asked gently, trying to comfort the poor woman who had clearly been through a lot.
Jones lifted her head and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Though her expression was weary, it couldn't hide her delicate features; she appeared quite young.
"You can just call me Jones," she replied shyly, indicating that she wasn't very comfortable speaking with strangers.
"Alright, Jones. Can you help us? We need to know about your experiences," Li Qiweng interjected at this moment. Perhaps noticing Jones's difficulty in speaking, she felt that as a woman herself, she would be more suited to communicate with another woman.
Jones took a deep breath as if trying to expel all the pressure building up inside her. After about a minute of waiting, she seemed to finally stabilize her emotions and began recounting what she had witnessed over the past few days.
Jones was a senior student at the University of Nairobi and was about to graduate and start working soon. However, not long ago, a zombie outbreak occurred in Nairobi. She had moved with her teachers to a nearby town. But worried about her father's safety at home, she decided to return early to a place called Evans. Originally, she had planned for her father to visit Nairobi for some sightseeing upon her graduation; now that plan seemed impossible as returning home became urgent.
Jones had arranged her return date with her father and assured him that she would definitely come back. Due to martial law being declared in the capital city, vehicles in nearby towns were scarce. It wasn't until after their agreed time that Jones finally arrived in Evans. This town, which had once been bustling with life and warmth when she left home, now lay desolate before her eyes. Feeling uneasy in her heart, she got out of the car and walked not far before spotting her father waiting for her in the square. Her childhood memories were filled with moments spent in that square; it was a place rich with nostalgia for her.
Although her father's presence eased her worries, the nearly deserted town still left her feeling anxious. She quietly approached her father, who was smiling at her, but suddenly his expression twisted into one of agony. Concerned, Jones hurried over to support him and asked what had happened.
Her father grimaced and then crouched down to tell Jones something utterly unimaginable. It turned out that a zombie had appeared in the town early that morning, and these zombies were frantically attacking the townspeople. Fear gripped everyone, causing them to abandon everything they had worked hard for and flee for their lives. Soon after, they discovered something even more horrifying: those who had been bitten by the zombies soon "came back to life" and began to attack others. Those still fighting the zombies fell into despair, disregarding everything as they ran for their lives. Before dawn, everyone who could escape had already fled. With no one left in sight, the zombies began searching for their next targets.
Jones's father had been hiding in his room until daylight broke; he had opportunities to escape but was preoccupied with his promise to his daughter. However, he did not expect there to be another zombie in town. Although he ran with all his might, he was still scratched by that zombie during his escape. He managed to get onto a rooftop, and when the zombie realized it could not reach him, it wandered off after a while.
But the ordeal was not over. Jones's father was not foolish; he knew that those bitten by zombies would quickly turn into new zombies themselves. He believed that since he had only been scratched, nothing would happen to him. Yet the thought of waiting for his daughter kept him going—he was determined to wait for her return. When Jones finally came back, Old Jones recounted this bloody tale and suddenly smiled, blood seeping from his pale teeth. Jones was frightened by her father's appearance but did not turn away; she simply stared at him. However, Old Jones grew increasingly agitated, nearly choking Jones several times. In the end, at her father's insistence, Jones found a steel chain and tightly bound him to a stone pillar. After that, Old Jones completely lost his consciousness as a human and could only snarl at Jones.
Moreover, Old Jones's skin began to dry and rot at an alarming rate, which only intensified Jones's fear. She noticed her father looking at her with a ferocious gaze as if he wanted to devour her, so she started bringing him live animals to feed him. During this time, she found that he became much quieter but consumed the food she provided with a terrifying ferocity greater than that of a lion on the savannah.
However, none of this could change the fact that Old Jones was turning into a zombie. Jones continuously searched for any remaining living creatures in town to feed him, and each time she returned, Old Jones devoured everything without leaving a trace. Yet Old Jones grew more frantic, as if he might break free from the chains at any moment and consume his once-beloved daughter.
"If we come back later, maybe he'll break free from the chains and eat you," Lin Yi sighed after hearing Jones's story. There were too many tragedies; even if he could understand Jones's feelings, how many could truly empathize?
To Lin Yi's surprise, Jones did not express any gratitude or even polite words. She gazed out the window and spoke in a low voice: "If I were eaten by my father, I wouldn't feel so bad. For so many years, my mother has long been gone; he's worked tirelessly alone to support my education. Now that I'm about to find a good job to ensure he can enjoy his old age, he's leaving me behind. If I could be with my father—even if it meant being eaten or dying on the road—I could keep him company so he wouldn't have to be so lonely."
Tears silently slid down Jones's cheeks; there were no "ifs" in this world—she could only watch as this became reality.
Goodbye, my dearest Evans.
Goodbye, my beloved father. Jones silently prayed and vowed to live on—for her father and for Evans.
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