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墨書 Inktalez
Life has never been an abstract concept throughout history.
The people living on this earth revere the existence of life and yearn for its true meaning, resulting in countless timeless works of literature.
For whether they are humans, beasts, plants, or even Zombies, their existence carries its own significance of life.
Regardless of their race, they can find that most brilliant point in their lives.
However, just like the dazzling fireworks in the night sky, brilliant things often cannot last long. Life, though radiant and beautiful, is also fragile and easily shattered.
Even the mountains, said to be indestructible, will eventually weather away with the passage of time, gradually eroding until they disappear from this world.
What is the meaning of life?
This is a question many humans have pondered.
They inquire within themselves, seeking answers. In pursuit of the desired truth, many spend their entire lives searching, only to leave behind an ancient tombstone as proof of their existence in this world.
In the early winter season, the air in Wocheng has not yet turned completely cold; it still carries the coolness of late autumn.
The howling wind stirs a few leaves to fall from the trees, gently landing on a somewhat shabby tombstone.
Amidst the overgrown grass that has flourished due to a lack of human care stands a lonely Mound. The morning sunlight shines upon it, and the inscription on the wooden plaque of the tombstone has begun to yellow.
Shishi feels a sense of dread towards this Mound.
What frightens her even more is the villa behind it.
Once, in this villa, she had endured one of the darkest periods of her life. The excessive abuse and beatings had caused her to forget many things.
Yet, even if the memories of the past had faded, the fear etched deep within her heart was something she could never expel.
As for the mound before her, it was erected by Chu Donglin after he returned to settle Shishi's father.
When the Zombie Tide had engulfed the villa, Chu Donglin had specifically hidden Shishi's father's remains in a place unreachable by Ordinary Zombies. Thus, amidst the tide of Zombies, Shishi's father's remains were spared and not devoured.
However, due to Chu Donglin's slightly inconvenient movements at that time and the lack of tools, he could only manage to create such a rudimentary mound. Even the gravestone was merely a piece of long wooden board with characters written on it using a brush.
"Shishi, this is your father's grave."
Chu Donglin stood with the girl Shishi, the young girl Xue, and the enormous White Wolf that resembled a fantastical creature, pointing towards the mound ahead as he spoke.
The girl felt a twinge of fear at the sight of the grave Chu Donglin indicated. After all, in her current memory, she had forgotten everything about her past.
But Chu Donglin would not lie to her; since he claimed this was her biological father's gravestone, she had no reason to doubt him.
She stood on the path, hesitating for a moment as she glanced at Chu Donglin beside her.
Chu Donglin released her hand and gently patted her shoulder in encouragement.
"Go take a look at him. Then say a few words; he must be very lonely here all by himself."
The girl nodded slightly, as if understanding, and walked alone to her father's gravestone. After pondering for a moment, she knelt down and gently bowed twice.
As for the girl's soft murmurs, Chu Donglin did not listen.
He stood by the roadside with White Wolf and Xue, leaning against the soft body of White Wolf. After a moment of thought, Chu Donglin pulled out a cigarette and lit it.
He rarely smoked; aside from a few drinks during social gatherings, he hardly touched alcohol or cigarettes in his daily life.
It wasn't that he couldn't; he simply didn't want to.
Watching the man quietly leaning there, his cheeks shrouded in smoke, Xue tilted her head and suddenly asked, "Don't you like it?"
Chu Donglin was taken aback and glanced at her, momentarily confused. "Like what?"
Xue pointed to the girl in the distance who was seriously contemplating something by a gravestone. "Don't you like that I turned Shishi into someone like us?"
Chu Donglin fell silent and smiled lightly. "It's not about liking or not; it's just that I feel..."
He thought for a moment, tossed away the cigarette in his hand, stretched his back, and stood up straight. "I really don't like smoking after all..."
Then he looked at Xue and said, "It's not that I dislike you turning Shishi into this; I just think... it's somewhat inappropriate."
Confusion filled Xue's face.
"Why is it inappropriate? Shishi has become stronger; she can protect herself now. She can fight alongside us without worrying about her anymore... Isn't that good?"
"But what happens after Shishi becomes stronger? Will she fight and kill like us, over and over again, until we evolve to a point where we can no longer evolve?"
Xue's face was still filled with confusion. "Isn't that a good thing?"
Chu Donglin sighed and forced a smile.
"Xue, what do you think humans are?"
The girl's answer was calm.
"Food."
After a pause, she added, "Very delicious food."
Then, she looked at Chu Donglin with a hint of grievance. "But you never let me eat..."
Chu Donglin fell silent for a moment before smiling bitterly. "I thought you had changed your view on humanity long ago, but it seems... sigh..."
With a somewhat speechless sigh, Chu Donglin said, "But no matter what, we were once humans. Don't you find it strange that we eat our own kind?"
Xue looked at him in confusion. "Isn't cannibalism the only way for us to become stronger?"
Chu Donglin was momentarily at a loss for words.
Indeed, the path to strength for zombies was to hunt their own kind, consuming their Evolution Crystals to grow stronger.
As for why High-Level Zombies do not eat Low-Level Zombies, it is simply because the Evolution Crystals from Low-Level Zombies lack utility for the evolution of High-Level Zombies, nothing more.
As a true Zombie, Xue had no resistance to the idea of cannibalism among her kind.
After shaking his head for a moment, he offered a different explanation.
"But the evolution of Zombies will eventually reach a limit. Once we have evolved to our peak and can no longer find Zombies of the same level to hunt, how will we become stronger? What will we do then?"
Xue looked at him, thought for a moment, and said, "I want to follow you."
"And then?"
"That's all..."
The girl tilted her head and added, "I just want to stay by your side."
Chu Donglin fell silent for a moment.
He smiled, feeling both comforted and moved, and shook his head.
"But Shishi... I can always take you with me until you grow tired of this following and want to leave. But Shishi is different; children always grow up."
He gazed at the girl's figure in the distance and sighed slowly, looking somewhat melancholic.
"Right now, she enjoys clinging to me, but there will come a time when she grows up. At that point, she will be drawn to more novel things and will tire of just you and me. She will want to meet more people and make friends with many others."
"But a Zombie can never have friends, and a Zombie can never become her friend. As she grows up, she will gradually come to hate the monotonous world filled only with bloody slaughter. She will yearn for human society... After all, humans are social creatures. Days spent only with Zombies like you and me will eventually bore her, and she will want to escape."
"Yet right now, she is a Zombie. And Zombies are inherently unable to get too close to humans. I have been trying hard to protect her, hoping that she can have a healthy life in the future."
"At her age, she should have companions, should be studying and learning, and then gradually growing up. She might develop a crush on a boy from the class next door, feeling shy and anxious about it. As she matures, she will understand more things and be able to find someone she truly likes, living a stable life together, experiencing a life belonging to Normal Humans... That has always been my thought."
Chu Donglin looked at the girl's silhouette and sighed.
"I have never underestimated the power of humans. Although we have driven them into a corner with our numerical advantage, considering their resilience and vitality, if we cannot wipe out all humans at once, they will eventually reclaim their world."
"Are Mutated Zombies powerful? Indeed they are, but even powerful Mutated Zombies appear weak against humans' advanced High-Tech Weapons. While I might ignore bullets and ordinary shells on the battlefield now, stepping on a landmine would severely injure me, and humans possess many weapons far more formidable than these."
"Eventually, when humans finally recover from the crisis posed by Zombies and use their wisdom and knowledge to recreate powerful weapons, facing those capable of destroying an entire city with one strike—no Zombie will escape unscathed."
"I have been waiting for that moment when humans reclaim their world. When that time comes, Shishi can return to a life belonging to Normal Humans, and civilization in this world will be rebuilt."
"My original plan was to protect Shishi's safety until that moment arrived, ensuring that the dangers of this apocalypse would not threaten her. But clearly... I have failed."
He looked at the girl's back and smiled bitterly. "She has become a Zombie, which means she can no longer return to the human community." (To be continued...)
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