Chapter 24: Yang Ke Er’s Strangeness
Zhang Xiao Qiang just rode along the road on the bike, with Yang Ke Er behind him.
Along the side of the roads were row after rows of rice paddies, like a chequered clothes scattered along the pond. The coming of springtime meant that branches on the trees were growing anew. There were already swallows flying by the river stream in the distance. The scene ahead was covered in fresh green.
Girls nowadays seem really heartless. Yang Ke Er, who is behind him had already recovered. The issue of her pregnancy tossed aside.
“Uncle! The stick you have on you is poking into me!” Yang Ke Er said while pulling at the spear in Zhang Xiao Qiang’s backpack.
Hearing her say something about a stick and poking, he almost drove the front of the bike into a ditch!
“Just endure it!” Zhang Xiao Qiang didn’t look back. He just said these 3 words.
“Your stick poking me really, really hurts!” Yang Ke Er was still pulling at the spear.
Zhang Xiao Qiang was riding the bike. His nose was hot. It felt almost like his nose was about to bleed, then he turned his head, willing his thoughts to the morning bath scene, to shake him out of it. Thinking of how featureless she was, it cooled him down like ice water from the winter.
Zhang Xiao Qiang stopped caring about what she said and continued pedalling, but she only became more animated.
“Uncle, did you kill all those monsters from yesterday alone? You’re so strong!” she suddenly thought of.
“Uncle, where do you live? What do you do?” The life of a recluse wasn’t something particularly exciting so he kept quiet.
“Uncle, does carrying the backpack and cycling make you tired? Do you want to take a break? Sitting at the back makes my butt hurt!” Do you not see the zombies by the side of the road? Zhang Xiao Qiang muttered, continuing to ignore her.
“Uncle, what does your mum do? My mum works at XX, so its possible that they know each other!” Her mouth was like an unzipped zipper, talking non-stop. Zhang Xiao Qiang felt like there was something next to his ear making a “buzzing” sound.
“Uncle, what does your dad do...”
HELP!!!
Thinking back to that time when he saw <>.
“She’s just like a fly buzzing... buzz... buzz... all the time, never stopping. I really want strangle her and take out her intestines and wrap her neck with it. Ahh!! Then the whole world would be quiet.”
Zhang Xiao Qiang was suddenly filled with an urge to kick her off the bike, grab her neck and choke her.
“If you don’t want to die then shut up!!” Zhang Xiao Qiang roared.
The noise behind him disappeared. The whole world was quiet, too bad it was only quiet for 2-3 minutes.
“Mum!! Dad!! I’m so scared!! Boooohooooo...” she burst into tears. The zombies in the distance were attracted to them because of her crying.
Zhang Xiao Qiang regretted his decision. He shouldn’t have saved her yesterday. She’s just a brain dead loli. She is unable to discern the situation. She can’t see the zombies by the side of the road, only knowing how to cry.
Zhang Xiao Qiang wanted to leave her alone on the road and leave, but he couldn’t get the resolve to do it. He was a recluse, not a murderer.
“Hey little sister, don’t cry anymore, I was wrong alright? If you keep crying you’ll attract the monsters!” Seeing that there was a passenger bus by the side of the road, surrounded by dozens of zombies. Zhang Xiao Qiang didn’t want Yang Ke Er’s weeping sounds to attract them.
At least Yang Ke Er wasn’t completely dumb. She stopped crying and just sobbed behind him. He rode the bike and rushed past the bus. The zombies were trying to follow him from behind.
“Crunch”
Zhang Xiao Qiang stopped the bike, putting one foot on the ground. On the right, there was an S zombie rushing towards him from the road ahead. It was blocking the road.
“Quickly escape! The monster is about to catch up!” Yang Ke Er cried out in a hurry. The S zombie’s speed was too fast, if he were to ride past it, it would definitely pull them off the bike.
It appeared too suddenly, so Zhang Xiao Qiang was unprepared. The zombies from behind were getting closer and closer. The back of the bike was also carrying something cumbersome.
“Get off the bike” Zhang Xiao Qiang yelled, and he pulled out the hammer and headed towards the S zombie.
There was no movement from behind him.
“There are monsters!!” Yang Ke Er protested.
Zhang Xiao Qiang didn’t bother with her. He got off the bike first. He didn’t have time to get out his spear, so he took out his knife.
“Crash”
The bike crashed into the ground. Zhang Xiao Qiang didn’t bother to look back to see if she was dead or alive.
Numerous encounters at fighting zombies have given him the experience to come up with a plan. Although he didn’t have his spear in hand, it was only 1 S zombie so Zhang Xiao Qiang didn’t feel afraid.
The hammer smashed into its chest. It recoiled and took 2 steps back. Zhang Xiao Qiang rushed towards its side and cut at its neck. At the same time it also felt that Zhang Xiao Qiang was near it, so it swung its arm to grab him.
The knife hit the nails of it’s claws, making an ear piercing metallic sound.
“FUCK, what kind of nails did it grow? Are they like Wolverine’s?” Zhang Xiao Qiang was surprised.
The knife was knocked aside by the claw, and the other claw started to swing towards him. Zhang Xiao Qiang leaned his head back. The claw swung just before his eyes, giving him a mouthful of the corpse’s stench.
Then Zhang Xiao Qiang kicked the zombie in the thigh. It fell back and sat on the floor. While it was struggling to climb back up, Zhang Xiao Qiang ran up behind it, gripped the knife and pointed it downwards.
The blade pierced the zombie’s head till it was stuck. Zhang Xiao Qiang yanked it back up, but it was stuck in its skull, so Zhang Xiao Qiang used the zombie’s shoulder as a footrest to force the knife back out.
Yang Ke Er was letting out a bloodcurdling scream at the side. Listening to it chilled Zhang Xiao Qiang to the bone.
“That Yang Ke Er must be food to the zombies by now!” Zhang Xiao Qiang exclaimed as he looked towards the bicycle.
“Pfffsshhh!” Zhang Xiao Qiang spurted with a smile. That girl ran to the boundary between paddy fields, screaming, running and jumping at the same time. The zombies behind her were pushing and shoving in a row. Every now and then a zombie would trip over into the paddy field. Just like a girl in a game pulling along a train, every time the zombies couldn’t keep up and were about to be left behind, she would look back at the zombies bewildered and once she saw a zombie she would scream and continue to lead them around.
“She’s just too talented! Her running speed was at such a strange place; just enough to not get caught by the zombies and not enough to leave the zombies behind. The entire process flowed smoothly. It was just very amusing to watch.”
If you didn’t know she was scared, you would think that she was excited right now.
“Quickly come!!” Zhang Xiao Qiang cried at her. She didn’t have any reaction to the outside world, all she did was bow her head and yell and run and jump.
Zhang Xiao Qiang set up the bicycle and rode near her, she was writhing around as he tried to get her, as if she didn’t know him. Zhang Xiao Qiang put her on his shoulders and started heading in the other direction. She was deliriously searching around his backpack while on his shoulder.
Zhang Xiao Qiang put her on the frame of the bicycle, and started pedalling ahead.
An acre of paddy field slowly slid away from sight. She also sat in silence. It was getting dark, and the night will come once again.