The Journey of Resident Evil

I walked over and patted the mud off Ye Xiang, shaking my head as I said, “Go wash up and then come eat. Dinner is ready, and you didn’t even thank Qimeng and Xueqi for it.”

Qimeng pinched my arm, “Look at you, all covered in dirt. Aren’t you going to wash up before eating?”

Ye Xiang and Liu Yonglin were tired too, and the girls even more so, their hair all muddy. Ye Ling looked particularly disheveled. I suddenly wished none of this had happened-I really longed for such a pastoral life, living here happily with Qimeng and Xueqi.

It was as if Qimeng knew what I was thinking. She tugged at my arm and said, “Actually, we can live like this here, really.”

“It would be nice, but…” I wanted to say something but stopped myself. I was still afraid, afraid of losing any one of us. If being alive is good, then being alive and happy is bliss, true bliss. In such times, all we hope for is safety, nothing more!

After cleaning up, Liu Yonglin returned to the yard and saw Qimeng, Xueqi, and me sticking together. He paused, then continued, “I feel… I don’t want to go anymore. Because I don’t want to risk it anymore. Saving people is important, but us being alive is even more important. Their lives are their own, and if they die, that’s their bad luck.” Liu Yonglin’s voice was low by the end, but I could still hear him.

“I too want to save people, but I share Liu Yonglin’s fears. I really don’t dare to take the risk!”

“Qian Jing, you said there might be people on that mountain. How sure are you?” I asked, looking at Qian Jing, who was sitting on a rice bag.

Qian Jing thought for a moment, then said, “Well, I’m not really sure, but I do think there must be people there. Otherwise, with so many people in our village, why have only so few turned into zombies? Where did the others go?”

Qian Jing was right; the village seemed large, and even after the number of zombies we killed last time, there should still be people around, even if they had turned into zombies. Where did all the zombies go? Why aren’t they coming after us? There are two possibilities: they might still be alive, or they might be dead. But then, where did the dead go? And where did the military go?

The helicopter that passed by last night said it would return, but it hasn’t come back yet. It probably didn’t fly too far.

It’s likely located in a cave on the mountain cliff, but we’re not sure. It would definitely be dangerous to go there, but less dangerous if we don’t.

“To go or not to go! Let’s eat first and think about it later! I’m starving,” Liu Qi broke the discussion.

“Yeah, let’s eat. After lunch, we’ll collect the food outside, including the watermelons,” Liu Yin added.

Here in the south, rice is the staple. Luckily, Qimeng knows how to cook. Although I know a little about cooking, I’m not sure how tasty my cooking is.

The meal was simple: rice and a few vegetables, but it was delicious because Qimeng made it. We hadn’t eaten yesterday, so everyone devoured several bowls of rice.

Since this is a military base, there are no small bowls, only large metal basins. Qimeng usually eats less, but this time she ate a lot. Everyone was hungry, and no one mentioned the zombie incident again.

I don’t want to bring it up either because I’m hungry, and mentioning it means another hungry day. After finishing this meal, we’ll take a stroll in the midday sun, hoping to find some living people. There will be watermelons to eat later, but I have a stomach condition that causes pain if I eat watermelon. But right now, I can’t worry about that. I’ll deal with it after I eat.

Just thinking about the watermelon makes me happy.

Soon, the meal was finished, not a single grain left. The girls helped wash the dishes and the pots. Fei Fei was obedient this time and didn’t fuss with me.

She looked like she wanted to start something, but with Qimeng and Xueqi around, she knew better. I had a talk with her once, made things clear, but she’s always been like this, either messing around with Ye Xiang, Liu Yonglin, Liu Qi, and Liu Yin!

There’s no helping it. They are all in their twenties, a few years older than me, yet they act like children.

“Liu Qi, Liu Yin, Qian Jing, and Liu Feng, you guys are locals and know the situation here best. What do you think we should do?” Liu Yonglin asked.

“I think… we should go!” Liu Feng pondered and then said.

“How likely is it that we will find anyone if we go?” I wondered aloud.

After all, human life is at stake. Even if we find them, it might not be helpful if they are safe and sound in a cave!

If they are in danger, we can save them, and that would be fine. But the inherent risk to those who go is undeniable-there is a 100% chance of danger, not to mention the high mountains and possible encounters with tigers!

Although we now have guns, which would certainly reduce our fear of these threats, I am still worried about the zombies from yesterday that couldn’t be killed. What on earth is going on there? No one knows why!

“I found some powerful bombs in the armory,” Ye Xiang said.

I had been holding back for so long and finally couldn’t help but speak out. Ha, he knew I wouldn’t ask.

I smiled, “Ye Xiang, you wanted to talk about this today, didn’t you? Let’s go check it out now!”

“Sure! I thought you would keep asking questions! I didn’t expect you to let it go today,” Ye Xiang punched me in the chest and joked.

I pretended to be in great pain!

“Ah! Cough cough… Murder!”

It was all in jest, but my pained expression caught Qimeng’s attention. She rushed over and patted my chest, “Ye Xiang, how could you be so rough…”

Actually, Ye Xiang hadn’t hit me hard at all; I was just pretending. But Qimeng didn’t know that, and Ye Xiang got a thorough scolding. Soon after, Xueqi joined in, and then Shen Wei came over to plead on Ye Xiang’s behalf. I snickered on the side, forcing Ye Xiang to come over and apologize reluctantly. He had no other choice.

Ye Xiang came over to me, and I glanced at Qimeng and said, “It’s really nothing, Ye Xiang just playfully tapped me, no harm done.”

“I saw him punch you quite hard in the chest, and you say it’s nothing?” Qimeng expressed her concern.

“Really, it’s nothing. Ye Xiang and I were just joking!”

“That’s not okay either. Even a playful hit is still a hit, not acceptable.”

Then, a burst of laughter ensued, and Liu Qi said with a laugh, “Qimeng, it’s really okay! They were just joking, it wouldn’t have hurt him, he’s just upset that Ye Xiang didn’t inform him about something today.”

“That’s still not okay. You just can’t hit our Tian,” Xueqi interjected.

“Alright! I won’t argue with you guys. Isn’t it enough if I apologize to Tiankuang?” Ye Xiang said with a laugh.

“Tian, I apologize to you, I’m sorry,” Ye Xiang couldn’t help but chuckle.

“It’s fine now,” I said, patting Ye Xiang on the shoulder.

“That doesn’t count, not with a grin,” Fei Fei joined in from the side.

I have no idea what’s gotten into this girl, making a fuss over nothing, and Ye Xiang apologized to me again.

This time with more sincerity, Qimeng and Xueqi finally let Ye Xiang off the hook.

Ye Xiang and I horsed around a bit more before we felt comfortable leaving after getting the yard and other things sorted out. The girls followed us as well, although it was safe to stay, no one felt completely at ease as it was nearby.

Ye Xiang led us to the armory he mentioned, which looked quite large, and it had “ammunition depot” written in big letters on it.

Walking into the ammunition depot, we saw a lot of bombs and even some vehicles. My gosh, isn’t that the armored vehicle?

So this is what Ye Xiang meant!

But what use is it, who knows how to drive it? It seems like Liu Yonglin can drive, but can he handle an armored vehicle?

I asked, “Liu Yonglin, can you drive? Can this thing even be driven?”

Liu Qi walked in and saw the vehicle. “Wow, what is this? A vehicle, wow, it’s the first time I’ve seen the real deal.”

None of us here had ever seen such a thing before.

“Who can drive it?”

“Driving isn’t the issue, but is this thing just like a regular car?” Liu Yonglin said as he touched the armored vehicle.

“If you can drive, that’s enough. It’s just got a few extra features, that’s all. Just go take a look inside, Liu Yonglin,” Ye Xiang said.

“That makes me feel more at ease. I’ve decided that we’re going to save people. This armored vehicle is completely sealed, so even if zombies come, we’ll just crash through them. And if that doesn’t stop them, I’ll just drive away. What can they do to me?” I replied.

“Drive the vehicle into the yard, and load up plenty of ammunition. Also, let’s pick some watermelons later.”

Cook the corn and bring it along, and take anything else edible. Bring plenty.

“No problem,” Liu Yonglin said as he went inside to inspect the vehicle. After confirming everything was fine, he came out.

“It’s just like a big truck, with a few guns in the back, from what I saw,” Liu Yonglin explained.

“Great! Now we don’t have to be afraid of any zombies. They can’t get to us while we’re in the vehicle, so let’s see what they can do!”

Ye Xiang and I carefully carried a box of bombs onto the armored vehicle, handling them gently.

Unlike older bombs, these won’t go off without pulling the fuse.

It’s nothing like what they showed on TV in the old days, where mishandling would lead to an explosion.

After loading up the bombs, we also brought several bags of rice from another armory. This armored vehicle doesn’t even have seating. The seats at the front were taken by Shen Wei, Ye Ling, and Liu Feng. I had to sit on the bags of rice, while Xueqi, Qimeng, and Fei Fei sat across from me.

Others preferred to stand, unwilling to sit, fearing that Liu Yonglin’s driving might not be up to par. Given that he hadn’t driven in a long time, there was always a concern he might bump into a wall.

However, the entire journey was quite smooth, with none of those incidents occurring.

We parked the vehicle in the yard and loaded the rice onto it. Concerned about running low on fuel, we grabbed a few bottles of gasoline from the armory and filled the tank.

“Let’s go pick some watermelons,” I said. “Even though it’s blazing hot, there’s no other option. Picking watermelons at this time of day means the zombies won’t come out.”

We found a few fields full of large, delicious watermelons, much better than what you’d find in supermarkets before. These watermelons were free of pesticides and tasted much better than the greenhouse-grown ones we were used to.

Even though eating watermelon tends to upset my stomach, I couldn’t resist. I cracked open a watermelon with my hands and started eating, since we didn’t have a knife. Ye Xiang stood guard nearby, watching out for any strange zombies that might appear, especially since we’d already encountered ones immune to bullets. Who knows if a sun-resistant zombie might show up?

To be safe, Liu Feng and Ye Xiang stood watch while we ate the watermelons. Qimeng didn’t eat any to avoid stomach issues, and the other girls didn’t eat much due to health reasons.

Being a big guy, I also had to limit myself because I started feeling a stomachache after eating too much. After finishing up, we continued picking watermelons. Tonight, these watermelons would be our dinner. We also picked a few woven bags full of corn from the nearby field. Qian Jing and Liu Yonglin carried a few bags of watermelons and corn back, while Ye Xiang kept guard with his gun.

“Alright, it’s time to head back. We’ve picked almost all the watermelons around here,” Liu Qi said. “In the past, someone would have come to stop us by now.”

Stealing is illegal, but right now, there’s no one to enforce such rules.

With a chuckle, I said, “Okay! After eating watermelon, let’s rest for the night and set out in the morning. I’m too tired to move right now.”

“Let’s go home!” Qimeng said, pulling me by the hand.

Today was quite fun for everyone except Ye Xiang and Shen Wei, who didn’t really participate much. Shen Wei stayed by Ye Xiang’s side, keeping him company with conversation.

Xueqi was diligent in helping me pick watermelons today, while I mostly played around with Qimeng. Xueqi has always been the well-behaved one in school, not one for roughhousing. But when she gets angry, it’s a different story. Like this morning, she scared Ye Xiang so much he was practically jumping in fright. Thinking about it makes me laugh.

Shen Wei used to be my crush and is now a good friend. Qimeng and Xueqi are my real girlfriends, though admittedly, there are two of them.

Sun Jing and Liu Feng are a couple, and it’s obvious to everyone that Liu Yonglin and Shen Wei share some kind of secret, although none of us have really brought it up. But it’s definitely there.

Fei Fei treats everyone the same, but they all suspect there’s something going on with me.

However, Fei Fei and Liu Feng seem like a good match. They’re about the same age, both probably around twenty, though Liu Feng hasn’t ever confirmed his age. I don’t really know Fei Fei’s age either; girls like to keep that confidential.

Ye Xiang, Liu Yonglin, Shen Wei, Qimeng, and Xueqi are all the same age-19. I got to know these girls’ ages from my desk mate back then. It’s a bit regretful thinking about her now. After having fun for so long, we didn’t even think to ask her along when we left. I regret that. And my teacher-if only I had taken the whole class out back then.

Sigh.

I carried several bags back home, placing the watermelons one by one into the armored vehicle. The corn was already cooked and packed in a clean plastic bag. The army’s plastic bags are large, but to prevent tearing, we also wrapped them in a woven bag.

“I want to eat watermelon!” I said playfully, patting Qimeng on the head. “I really want some!”

Ye Xiang, seeing me act childishly, said, “If you want to eat watermelon, go ahead! Didn’t we have some left from the day before yesterday? I’ll get some for you.”

I had already finished the watermelon from yesterday, so I knew Ye Xiang must have hidden a few somewhere.

I followed Ye Xiang to his and Ye Ling’s room, and sure enough, there were still some watermelons left.