Chapter 96: Old Beast!
There was a small hill not far from the back of the restaurant, and there were a few bungalows atop the hill. At first glance, there wasn’t anything noteworthy, but upon closer inspection, one could see a bamboo pole sticking out from the roof. There was a red-coloured item hanging at the edge of the pole as the entire pole sway left and right. Zhang Xiao Qiang couldn’t determine if it was a problem with his eyes, but that red cloth looked suspiciously like a bra?
It had been a guess, but it was now a reality. Zhang Xiao Qiang sighed, “Shit, I still need to breathe in that gunk!” He eyed the bungalows, gritting his teeth and taking a step.
“Fuck, I’ll just go! Everyone else has died, how can my future generations find their partners? Do they have to become like Sun Wukong trapped under the Wuxing Mountain?”
Zhang Xiao Qiang tried to give himself an absurd reason, and he prepared to go check out who the survivor was. If he liked who he saw, he’ll bring along and dump at the chicken farm, otherwise? Amitabha.
He found a handkerchief of Yang Ke’er, that had been sprayed by some unknown brand of perfume. Yang Ke’er had treated it as some precious brand. He then wrapped it around his nose, and as he took a deep breath, he coughed out.
However, the surrounding stench had disappeared, and although the smell of the perfume was overpowering, it was still a fragrance.
Zhang Xiao Qiang did not go through the window in the kitchen, the grime and gunk were too terrifying. He walked to the end of the restaurant and jumped over a low wall to reach the backyard. The oil on the ground had dried completely, splitting at different areas. The wall on his right had a thick layer of oil that became a crust of at least an inch thick, and the slight reflection caused one to be nauseous.
He continued to walk through the narrow tunnel, careful to prevent any of the dirt and shit all around to get on his shoes. As he routed around the mountains of garbage, he turned to look behind.
“##￥#%%#……” Zhang Xiao Qiang began to curse, there was a path right behind the rusty signboard, the exact same one which Zhang Xiao Qiang had hugged as he was retching earlier. The signboard had blocked the path from outside earlier. As long as he went around that, he could reach the carpark. That meant that he had done all those things for the past 5 minutes for nothing.
Zhang Xiao Qiang didn’t say anything and walked out that way, getting Yang Ke’er and Yuan Yi to follow him. After a short distance, they came to the bungalow at the hill, noting that the bungalows happened to be surrounded by a few walls 2 meters high. The main gate was locked, and the rust had long since covered the entire door, covering any sign of the original color. Through the bars of the main gate, they could see that it was all quiet inside, not a single movement.
“Something’s not right!” Zhang Xiao Qiang became wary. There had been some signal, that was why he brought Yang Ke’er and the rest in. After they entered, there was suddenly no movement, what if it was a trap? What if someone inside had ulterior motives in seeking rescue?
After the matter with Xie Yuan Shan, Zhang Xiao Qiang was more cautious towards his countrymen more than zombies. Some people could be extremely dangerous when their inner demons got the better of them. The hurt they were willing to cause others were even worse than zombies. He loathed these type of people, if it happened to others, it wasn’t an issue to him, but if it happened to him, it was a humiliation. He would rather get more women on his team than getting other men. Women were weaker, as long as he maintained his dominance, women would usually not revolt.
Men were different, they had ambition, and because of women, or power, or any other reason, could decide to kill Zhang Xiao Qiang to become the head. Zhang Xiao Qiang had plenty of resources, if Brother Long was to find out that he had still hidden so much food, even at the potential cost of casualties, he would definitely fight him for it.
“Chi la” Yang Ke’er used the Beast Horn Spear to poke into the hole of the gate and twisted it. All sorts of small parts flew out, and they pushed the gate open. The garden was filled with all sorts of rubbish, and there was even a small water platform near the wall, as the rusted structure still flowed with water continuously.
The bungalow was somewhat old, and the lime powder of the walls was beginning to flake. The windows were shut tight, and it was impossible to see inside. It seemed quiet and peaceful, not a movement to be detected. If it wasn’t for the handle of the door to be lacking in dust, Zhang Xiao Qiang would have assumed that the place was abandoned long ago.
Zhang Xiao Qiang tried to push the door open, but he couldn’t make it move. It seemed that there was something blocking it from behind. He heaved a sigh of relief. It wasn’t a trap, if it were, the door wouldn’t have been blocked. It seemed that the person inside was fearful, even when the party outside was one man and 2 women. It must be because the person isn’t confident of dealing with Zhang Xiao Qiang, that was why they had sealed the door.
Zhang Xiao Qiang ignored the door and didn’t get Yang Ke’er to smash it open. Who knew if the person was waiting behind to retaliate? He held his Jing Wei Sword and walked over to the window, before smashing it with the hilt. “Hua La’ The glass shattered.
“Ah….” A woman’s scream rang out from within the house. Zhang Xiao Qiang quickly charged in through the window and slammed the door open. A 4-layer cabinet which was red in color was stuck behind the door. The house was dark and dim, with only the light from the sunroof. The entire atmosphere was incredibly sinister, and the various paintings on the walls also felt dangerous.
The moment they entered the house, the woman’s screams had not stopped, it even sounded somewhat maniacal. Zhang Xiao Qiang followed the corridors towards the back, and the light became dimmer and dimmer. There was nothing on the floor, not even cement, it was just the old loess, which had been compacted over time.
(Loess: a loosely compacted yellowish-grey deposit of wind-blown sediment of which extensive deposits occur e.g. in eastern China and the American Midwest.)
The potholes on the ground were uneven, causing Zhang Xiao Qiang to be careful. In an unknown situation like this, he could lose his life if not careful, and he held his Jing Wei Sword in his right, while he used his left hand to follow the wall. Feeling the uneven ground, and touching the walls and thick layers of dust. He was calm but alert, prepared to deal with any sudden situation.
The dark and sinister place, together with the shrill screams, as well as Zhang Xiao Qiang’s heightened anxiety, it all added up and felt like some horror film. The chill reached his bones, and he felt like he had entered a terrifying movie world.
As he passed dark corridors one after another, the end started to get brighter, and he realized that there was a room up ahead. He came to a room where the sunlight was shining through the window and noticed that the woman’s screaming was right beside his ear. It was shrill to the point that his ears were ringing. He turned to look and was instantly stunned and shocked. His entire world was flipped upside down, and the scene in front of him caused him to realize what absolute tragedy meant. He could not hold it in any longer and vomit.
He dared not look any longer and left by the back door. There was a garden patch right outside, with firewood gathered. A path led to the hills, and the trail went on for a distance until it was blocked by some shrubs.
A man darted out from someplace ahead and followed the trail downhill. He was wearing an old-fashioned yellow military uniform, and he was carrying some bulky canvas bag. He wore black cotton shoes, and his legs were obviously giving him trouble as he sort of limped as he ran. His speed wasn’t fast. When he turned back to look, Zhang Xiao Qiang caught sight of his features.
He was an old man of about 60, his hair all white, and his face wrinkled. His eyes were small, like that of a mouse, and his nose was huge. It was even larger than Old Drunk back at the chicken farm. He had a goatee of about half a foot long, and it was blown about by the wind. When he saw Zhang Xiao Qiang almost catching up, he squealed in fright and continued to run downhill.
Zhang Xiao Qiang saw him run and did not waste his breath, continuing to chase. However, he was constantly thinking to himself, to break the bones of this inhumane bastard, one by one. The scene earlier had caused even Zhang Xiao Qiang who did not consider himself a good guy to be incredibly enraged. He thought he had seen the worst of humanity, where Brother Long and Chen Yi treated their women like dogs, and their male subordinates having to eat chicken feed. Even then, he had not felt that it was too excessive. When the man and his child had stolen the egg and were beaten to barely a breath from death, he had not felt it was wrong as well.
Women offered their bodies and pride but could eat their fill and gain the protection of their men. They might even avoid being raped by too many men. Those who ate chicken feed, they might not be living the best life, but they were at least alive. They could only blame themselves for not daring to work for food. They dared not look at the zombies that even women dare to kill.
Compared to this old man in front, Zhang Xiao Qiang felt that Brother Long was simply a saint. At the very least, Brother Long would bring survivors back under his wing. The day to day chores would also not be forced upon these people. After all, they knew the importance of staying together in this cruel world.
It was the first time Zhang Xiao Qiang had used the term ‘Beast’ to describe someone. The old man in front of him was truly worthy of the name. “This damn old man actually committed cannibalism.”
Zhang Xiao Qiang was young and speedy, in a matter of moments, he had reached the old man and sent a flying kick at him. The old man let out a shriek and fell to the ground, rolling forward, until he hit the pile of firewood and was stopped.
Zhang Xiao Qiang panted as he walked up to the old man, who was knocked silly. His chest was heaving up and down, his right leg broken. A part of his broken bone had pierced the skin and was exposed, as blood seeped out from the wound and dyed the pants red.
Zhang Xiao Qiang stomped on the chest of the old man, which resulted in a shout of agony. He opened his eyes, and saw the exposed broken bone, screaming even louder. Zhang Xiao Qiang had not yet pummeled this old man, but he was already screaming his head off. Zhang Xiao Qiang disliked torturing people, even the person who had tried to assassinate him was killed off quickly.
Only those who were truly despicable deserved torment, just like Xie Yuan Shan and the old man in front of him. He let the old man looked at his own broken leg as he wailed in despair. The despair was a more tasteful medicine than even the punches of Zhang Xiao Qiang.