Chapter 1: Food and the Chinese People

The man noticed Jill observing his knife, and finally smiled, saying: "If you are referring to those two monsters chasing you, they are no longer able to come out."

Nicole nodded. At that moment, she had already walked to Jill's side and, upon seeing the wounds on the man's body, was taken aback and exclaimed, "Are you injured?"

Not only was Gil surprised, but even that man was taken aback. Nicole's movements were very natural and not fast; he had enough time to evade her. However, seeing Nicole's focused expression, he suddenly felt a bit hesitant. This hesitation did not last long, but Nicole was not a hemiplegic patient, so she easily caught hold of him.

Indeed, if the world has already become what it is now, Ye Zhiqiu's past is no longer important.

Nicole shot him a glance; Jill was right. Judging by the shape of the wound, it was not caused by a zombie's scratch. However, the blood on the man's body had already seeped into the wound. If he was correct, this blood should belong to the zombies he had killed. This was not good news, indicating that his body had already been infected by the virus, which was the reason for her anxiety. Regardless, he was the first person to be injured while actively attacking a zombie. She had seen other injured individuals who, unless pushed to the brink, would not dare to fight zombies, as those who had done so before had already met their demise. This blood should belong to the zombies he had killed. This was not good news, indicating that his body had already been infected by the virus, which was the reason for her anxiety. Regardless, he was the first person to be injured while actively attacking a zombie. She had seen other injured individuals who, unless pushed to the brink, would not dare to fight zombies, as those who had done so before had already met their demise. Therefore, she sincerely hoped that the man before her would be fine; this was a heartfelt wish, unrelated to any ulterior motives.

"As long as there is sunshine, there is nothing to worry about," Jill reassured herself, and then she saw Nicole standing in the middle of the street, holding her Remington shotgun and looking at her. Jill waved at her; the two had met when they escaped from Anchorage, at which time two men were robbing her. Jill scared them off with her handgun, and from then on, the two became companions in hardship.

Perhaps taking a detour could shake it off, but Jill immediately abandoned her idea; there was only a dead end left in the corridor. She could only bet on being faster than it.

Jill put the pistol back into the holster and forcefully pulled out the ham, which made a loud sound that startled her. The vacuum-sealed plastic packaging was very sturdy and undamaged, but this bag was larger than the backpack she was carrying. Therefore, she decided to send this out first. Just as she was about to stand up, she suddenly noticed a shadow flickering in the dark corner ahead.

Jill tightened her grip on the M1911, mentally scolding herself for being crazy enough to prepare to walk into this convenience store so far away. However, there was no other choice; she knew they were running low on food. Alaska is not a densely populated area, and they were currently in a small town with very little food left. Now that night was approaching, she could not afford to give up on this convenience store

Jill slowly bent down, carefully searching through the items on the shelf. It was evident that someone had been here before, as many items had been rummaged through, prompting her to search even more meticulously. Soon, she spotted some familiar packaging, buried beneath a pile of tissues. Jill reached out and pulled, revealing a large bag of ham. She felt a surge of joy; easily perishable foods in simple packaging made items like this large bag of food and canned goods her top choices. However, it was clear that this store had already been ransacked once, and this was the first time she had discovered such food.

Jill leaned against the car, watching the man warily, and said, "Don't you think that's more dangerous? Why are you alone?"

Jill exchanged a glance with Nicole and, upon seeing Nicole's expression, Jill knew her memory was not mistaken. She mockingly asked, "So the plane crashed just after taking off"

The man slowly turned his head to look, but there was no movement in the still-swaying door. He raised his right hand, and Jill saw that he was holding a very peculiar short knife.

Jill's heart sank; no one survives after being scratched by them. Some have joined their ranks, while many more have already died, becoming their food.

Jill's gaze froze; this was a person of Asian descent, "perhaps an Eskimo, perhaps a Native American," she thought. The man wore a pair of tattered jeans and a denim vest that had been torn to shreds, but what mattered was that he had a thick head of short hair, a beard on his face, and he could stand in the sunlight

Jill was taken aback, raised her hand and fired another shot, then discarded the handgun and ran towards the exit

Jill glanced at the somewhat worried Nicole and nodded: "It is no longer important now"

Jill was startled and was about to take a closer look when the shadow suddenly lunged out. Perhaps it was still afraid of the sunlight streaming into the store, so after jumping out, its body twisted in a strange manner. As a result, the action that could have knocked Jill down went awry, and it crashed into a nearby shelf. The tremendous impact immediately toppled that shelf, triggering a chain reaction like a row of dominoes. The shelves in the convenience and bookstore began to sway and collapse, with various goods falling to the ground, creating a loud noise. The action that could have knocked Jill down went awry, and it crashed into a nearby shelf. The tremendous impact immediately toppled that shelf, triggering a chain reaction like a row of dominoes. The shelves in the convenience and bookstore began to sway and collapse, with various goods falling to the ground, creating a loud noise.

Jill looked at Nicole running from a distance, waved to signal her to stop, and then gestured to the man: "You better get away from there; I can't be sure they won't come rushing out from inside."

The man tilted his head slightly, casually placing the knife on the roof of the car. He looked around and asked, "Is it just the two of you? Why aren't you working with anyone else?"

The man paused for a moment, nodding thoughtfully: "Zombie! I have heard someone refer to them this way, the undead."

Nicole kept her hands busy and replied, "The wound is indeed not deep, but it has already penetrated the dermis. If it gets infected, you will be finished"

After using a large amount of disinfectant, Nicole finally confirmed that she had no better options left; she couldn't possibly give him a tetanus shot, could she? She reached for a roll of gauze and wrapped it around the wound, sighed, and said softly, "May the Lord bless you"

The man snorted, not responding. He was convinced that Nicole was a member of the clergy, and of course, he would not be foolish enough to discuss religious beliefs with her. However, Jill could tell from his expression that this man had no religious faith, or at least did not believe in God, and interjected, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

He felt her hand was very soft; her strength was not great, but her will was very firm. Thus, he obediently followed her as they quickly walked towards the pickup truck parked in the center of the street, glancing at Jill, who was holding a shotgun, and found that she was also looking at her companion with a face full of astonishment

Just as she stood up to leave, the door opened again, and a man slowly walked out

Jill decided not to investigate why they were fighting among themselves; she had to leave this town while it was still light. Clearly, there was more than one of those monsters here, and the night belonged to them. Staying in the town was too dangerous. Thus, she called out loudly for Nicole and stood up

"Why is the FBI looking for you?" She changed the question

A .45-inch bullet struck the wall, sparking a trail of fire, and she vaguely saw two more shadows rushing in from the depths of the corridor

The exit was right in front of her; she could see a horizontal corridor there, while also sensing that something behind her was about to catch up. She knew how fast that thing was.

While Jill was hesitating, Nicole had already approached. Unlike Jill, she had much less suspicion towards this man. At this moment, she interjected, "Zomhttps://mhetushu.com.com bie? You killed two?"

Then? Ye Zhiqiu frowned and said: "Those two fellows wanted to bite my neck, I had no choice but to kill them"

Jill rushed through the corridor, sensing something sway slightly, but she paid it no mind. At that moment, she had only one thought: to reach the sunlight

Pulling the man to the side of the truck, Nicole dragged out a first aid kit from the back seat and began to tend to his wounds. Observing her serious expression, the man couldn't help but feel a mix of amusement and exasperation, and cautiously asked, "It's just a minor injury; there's no need to bandage it, is there?"

Jill was momentarily taken aback; she had never seen them turn on each other, yet she had witnessed many times how surviving humans would kill their own kind over a morsel of food, even when their own supplies appeared ample. This was also the reason why she and Nicole chose to stay away from the crowd

Jill looked at him, and he looked back at Jill. She immediately noticed that there was fresh blood on his left chest, and there was a faint scar on his left arm

This question is similar to the previous one, but the answers can differ vastly. Therefore, the man thought for a moment and replied: "I was originally planning to take the flight back home on December 22."

Jill also walked over. The man was with Nicole, and she couldn't use the shotgun, so she casually tossed the gun onto the back seat and said, "I don't have high hopes for his future"

The man hesitated for a moment, glanced at the neatly bandaged wound, and replied: "My name is Ye Zhiqiu. As for why I am here, that is a long story, and I need enough time to weave it.

The man clearly understood her meaning, furrowed his brow, and remained silent

What comes next

The man paused for a moment, followed her gaze to look at his arm, and shook his head, saying, "It's nothing."

Carefully maneuvering around a row of shelves, Jill reminded herself that she could not venture any further inside. The sunlight behind her had already cast a long shadow on the floor. They feared the sunlight; this was the conclusion she and Nicole had drawn after three months of hiding. However, they had no way to test what level of sunlight could pose a threat to them, which forced both of them to be particularly cautious

Ye Zhiqiu shrugged and asked, "Do you think this question is important?"

Jill reached out to take the Remington gun from Nicole's hands. If there is anything in this world that is more terrifying than zombies, it must be humans, especially a human who can kill two zombies with just a knife, or one who feels more at ease with a gun in hand. As she was contemplating how to find an excuse to leave this man without making him angry, Nicole made a surprising move. She quickly walked over, reached out, and grabbed the man's arm, pulling him closer. As she was still thinking of an excuse to leave this man without provoking him, Nicole made a surprising move again, quickly walking over and grabbing the man's arm, pulling him closer.

Jill forcefully pushed open a door and discovered that it led to a corridor, where a beam of sunlight filtered in from over thirty meters away

"Damn it," Jill cursed, turning and rushing towards the adjacent aisle. Behind her came the sound of items being disturbed as it pursued her. However, its fear of the sunlight hindered its speed, forcing it to leap from shadow to shadow, and as a result, it failed to catch up with Jill

She looked up again at the sky outside the display window. The town, lacking tall buildings, has one advantage: it casts very few shadows, so in the afternoon, the convenience store is still filled with sunlight

Not far away, Nicole's anxious voice calling for her could be heard. Jill could imagine her appearance; Nicole was a practicing surgeon, but remaining calm during surgery and handling a firearm were two different matters. They also did not have enough ammunition for her to practice, so essentially, Nicole could only be considered an armed civilian at this point. She was armed, yet still a civilian.

Nicole glanced at him and did not deny it, but softly said, "What else can we do besides praying to God?"

I am Chinese! Ye Zhiqiu shrugged and said, "It seems I never claimed to be American."

Jill nodded in understanding, as that period was precisely when the virus was spreading on a large scale. Friends would suddenly collapse on the ground, never to awaken again, or within forty minutes, turn into zombies, biting into the necks of their grieving friends. She had once witnessed a wife bite her husband, who had been desperately trying to save her.

A distance of thirty meters, at her speed, would only take a few seconds; however, at this moment, those few seconds felt incredibly long, and she could even hear the heavy breathing coming from behind her

Jill jumped back decisively, dropping the food in her hand, reaching for her gun, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw that the fallen shelf blocked her escape route. The shadow rolled on the ground, obstructed by a shelf, allowing Jill to see its bald head and those fierce, menacing eyes.

Jillian raised her eyebrows and said with understanding, "A fine day, which flight?"

Jill snorted, knowing he did not want to answer. Just as she was about to say something else, she suddenly remembered the man's name and blurted out: "Aren't you American?"

Jil felt that she saw a sneer at the corner of the man's mouth. Although this person had a scruffy beard, making it difficult to confirm, it still left her feeling displeased

When her body collided with the door, she felt something brush against her leg, but it did not grasp her. Jill executed a standard forward roll and stood in the street, feeling wonderful to be bathed in sunlight again. At that moment, she heard the sound of angry shouts coming from the corridor

The man, upon hearing her prayer, paused for a moment and asked, "Are you a nun?" Most clergy in Western churches have studied basic medical knowledge, enabling them to take immediate action in the event of a large-scale disaster. The man assumed this because he observed Nicole's skilled technique in treating wounds.

She instinctively reached for her gun, but found nothing; it was only then that she remembered she had thrown the M1911 in the corridor to run faster. The door she had just burst through was still swaying, and through the gap created by the opening and closing of the door, she noticed that there seemed to be two things struggling behind it

Ye Zhiqiu waved his hand in annoyance and said, "I have to thank your FBI; they stopped me before I boarded the plane"

Nicole saw Jill looking at her and gestured with her hand, indicating that it was about enough. Jill nodded but was preparing to walk further inside. The convenience store entrance was lined with chewing gum, CDs, and other items. She didn't have time to consider cultural refinement; she still needed to find something to fill her stomach.

Jill was taken aback; the silence behind the man's door seemed to confirm his words. However, she still could not believe it. The vitality of such things was incredibly resilient. She had once seen someone empty an entire magazine from an M16 and still get tackled. How could this man have killed two with such a bizarre-looking knife?

"Damn!" Jill exclaimed, and Ye Zhiqiu responded in a very authentic North American English, making her think he was an Alaskan native. To her surprise, he turned out to be Chinese. "How did you end up in America?"

Jill closed the door behind her and was just about to run towards the exit when she suddenly heard a click. She immediately raised her gun and pulled the trigger in the direction of the sound.

The man held the knife upside down in his hand, allowing Jill to easily determine that the knife was approximately 40 centimeters long. It had three sides, each with grooves, and the tip appeared to be rounded. This knife lacked a guard, and the short handle was carefully wrapped with strips of cloth, which were already soaked in blood, revealing a color close to black.

Eastern Airlines Flight 818 (Note: This flight is entirely fictional)