Chapter 10, Unexpected

"Do you have a knife? Where did it come from?" For some unknown reason, in just a few short hours, the atmosphere in the Zhoujitang suddenly became filled with hostility. He pushed Chang Bing back a step and also took a small step back, maintaining a distance from Zheng Jieming

But just at that moment, a figure suddenly jumped out from the bus.

Zhou Jitang held a wooden paddle, walking at the end of the line, while Chang Bing held a baton, walking in the middle of the formation. Zheng Jieming carefully led the way in front, carrying Ma Qi.

I am shocked

The person behind aimed the handle of the knife at Zheng Jieming's temple and struck him hard. Zheng Jieming's vision went white, and he collapsed to the ground. Immediately afterward, his knife was seized, and his right hand was stepped on by the person behind him. The woman stepped forward, unfastened his backpack, and slung it over her shoulder. The two then turned and ran in the direction of Zhenya Road.

"Do not rush, do not act impulsively! I thought you were a zombie just now." Zheng Jieming extended his left palm forward, signaling both parties not to advance, yet his right hand still firmly gripped the kitchen knife

Water... Probably not, just some fruit that is about to spoil. I wonder if there is any mineral water. Zheng Jieming recalled the words of the old lady, feeling a bit uneasy, but he did not intend to ruin Chang Bing's beautiful hopes

Many times, life seems to play tricks on us; when you least want something to happen, the worst scenario often unfolds in the next moment

"Let Zhou Jitang come! Didn't you just wake up?" Chang Bing clearly favored Zheng Jieming

Zheng Jieming spat and, feeling frustrated, touched his forehead. Having faced life-and-death peril twice in one day, he felt that the threat posed by humans was more uncertain and dangerous than that brought by zombies

Oh? That's really great! This small temple indeed cannot be stayed in for long! Moreover, the old lady's house must have water! Chang Bing was very happy; she left most of the water for Ma Qi, only allowing herself, Tu, and the Weekly Journal Hall to drink a little bit.

"Buddy, why are you covered in blood?" Zhou Jitang, with keen eyes, noticed the blood on Zheng Jieming and, while shielding Chang Bing, questioned Zheng Jieming.

There are still some scattered zombies in the community, mostly the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled. With the experience from the earlier battle, Zheng Jieming has become more cautious, trying to avoid them as much as possible. Of course, there is another important reason: when he helped the old lady retrieve her late husband's ring, he became more acutely aware that these zombies were once "people." This realization made him feel exceptionally uncomfortable when he raised his knife, as if he were a "murderer." Of course, there is another important reason: when he helped the old lady retrieve her late husband's ring, he became more acutely aware that these zombies were once "people." This realization made him feel exceptionally uncomfortable when he raised his knife, as if he were a "murderer."

As Zheng Jieming bypassed the bus and faced the entrance of the community, he was met with an incomprehensible scene—what had just moments ago contained only a few elderly, weak, sick, and disabled zombies was now filled with a large number of zombies.

Oh? That's truly wonderful! Your charm is indeed powerful; even the old lady has been won over by you" Zhou Jitang pretended to say with great joy

Anping Lake Community. However, we must be cautious; the two little thieves from earlier are also active in that vicinity said Zheng Jieming, feeling a slight unease in his heart

"It's alright, it's alright! The old aunt's house must have blankets, and in May and June, only the small temple here has a cold floor; it definitely won't be cold at home." Chang Bing was very optimistic, "Moreover, these blankets are already spread on the ground and have gotten dirty, so let's leave them! Just take the oars!"

The two zombies in the middle of the road had slowly moved to the sidewalk at some point, blocking the path of the three individuals. Zheng Jieming could only carefully navigate through the gaps between the cars.

The two sides faced each other, and the atmosphere instantly became tense

Zombie! Zheng Jieming immediately heightened his vigilance, slightly lowering and leaning his center of gravity forward, with his knees slightly bent, ready for combat

Zheng Jieming walked briskly out of the corridor, his steps appearing much lighter. The backpack on his back had not been set down at any point; now armed with a knife, he tucked the baton into the side pocket of the backpack, holding the knife in his right hand, feeling a greater sense of confidence.

"I apologize, I just saw you covered in blood, and I was a bit on edge, suspecting that you had been bitten." Zhou Jitang finally relaxed the tense string.

It seems that he does not particularly trust me, but this is quite normal. Zheng Jieming thought to himself. In this world, it is indeed very difficult to trust someone.

Go boating by the lake

"What do you want?" Zheng Jieming did not know the background of the person behind him and did not dare to turn around to look, his voice trembling slightly

How is Ma Qi?" Zheng Jieming walked over to Ma Qi, crouched down, and felt his forehead. The temperature had slightly decreased, but it was still very high. "It seems his condition is still not good. Has he regained consciousness?"

If one were to go with companions, it would still be dangerous for the three of them, but if one does not speak up, their own life would likely be in jeopardy. Zheng Jieming quickly calculated various risks in his mind. In the end, he uttered an answer that he himself could not comprehend the reasoning behind.

"Who will carry the horse team?" Chang Bing asked Zhou Jitang, the meaning was quite clear, hoping that Zhou Jitang would take on the responsibility.

"I was fighting zombies." Zheng Jieming looked down at himself and noticed that his clothes were already soaked with blood. It was then that he understood Zhou Jitang's intention. "Oh, I wasn't injured; I had a knife in my hand at the time"

Occasionally waking up for a while, you two have been taking turns, and now he is taking over for you. I have calculated that you took more than a whole day to wake up, and he is likely the same.

However, the "zombie" before him also assumed a vigilant posture. Zheng Jieming focused his gaze and realized that this was not a zombie at all, but actually a woman. She was dressed in a black hoodie, with the hood pulled over her head, nearly obscuring her entire face, and long hair spilled out from around the collar. In her right hand, she held a household cleaver, and her eyes were filled with a murderous intent.

Anping Temple is right ahead, this solitary little temple quietly sits by the lakeside greenbelt, like a little monk in meditation. He arrived at the entrance, and Chang Bing opened the door for him

"It is possible! We do not need to be adversarial!" Zheng Jieming said, slowly lowering his right hand and straightening up to return to a normal standing posture, indicating that he posed no threat

The zombies, for reasons unknown, are slowly moving from Zhenya Road towards Changchun Street

"What kind of person?" Zhou Jitang repeated, indicating to Zheng Jieming that he was the primary reviewer.

"Stop talking nonsense, what are you going to do by the lake?" The woman stood in front, asking sharply.

"You lost your backpack, what should we do about the quilt?" A wave of jealousy surged in Zhou Jitang's heart

"Where is the old lady's house?" Chang Bing asked Zheng Jieming in a lowered voice.

"Two individuals wearing black hoodies, I do not know who they are, one male and one female." Zheng Jieming felt much more at ease upon seeing that Chang Bing bore no ill will.

Four people set out, Zheng Jieming carried Ma Qi on his back, and Zhou Jitang turned around to lock the door again, in preparation for any future needs

As he was speaking, he suddenly felt an unusual presence behind him. Before he could turn around, a knife slid across his throat.

You are back! Chang Bing appeared very happy, Have you found anything?

Zheng Jieming helplessly extended both arms to the sides, indicating that he had even lost his bag

Worse still, they turned to the left, and a zombie's leg stepped out from the intersection at Zhenya Road.

Where is the knife now

The most perplexing person is Zheng Jieming. He had previously investigated that the community only had this one entrance and the library, surrounded by walls on all sides. Changchun Street remains calm and peaceful, so where on earth did these zombies come from

Did you just come out of this neighborhood? Zhou Jitang simply could not believe that Zheng Jieming could emerge unscathed from such a scene—he would struggle even if he had a gun.

"It's fine, I just went out for a stroll myself." Zheng Jieming said firmly

What did you just say about the old lady? Chang Bing asked

He subconsciously touched his waist, feeling even more frustrated as he remembered that his baton was also in the side pocket of his backpack. He looked down, casually picked up a stone, and jogged towards the lakeside road.

Zheng Jieming felt as if he were a suspect being interrogated and not trusted, yet he continued to cooperate, not wanting to be hostile towards his benefactor. "An old lady gave it to me. She also said we could go live there."

"Where are you going?" The woman did not put down the knife in her hand and continued to question Zheng Jieming

"What are you going to do by the lake?" the woman continued to ask.

"Who is it?" Chang Bing eagerly asked, her tone lacking any aggressive undertone, instead imbued with a sense of surprise and concern

Your knife! Put it down! The woman looked at the bloodied knife in his hand and issued a stern command to Zheng Jieming

However, Zheng Jieming is the one who has truly engaged in bloody hand-to-hand combat with zombies. He is extremely grateful for his fortunate survival last time, and unless absolutely necessary, he is unwilling to take greater risks.

The goose boat is still docked at the shore, while the duck boat has already carried Liu Junluo's body away, drifting into the unknown

Oh! That's right, such an important matter!" Zheng Jieming turned to look at Zhou Chang and the other two, "I met an elderly lady before, and she said she would like the four of us to live with her.

You have also encountered them. The tone of Zhou Jitang relaxed.

Why not just hit them directly? There are only two. Zhou and Secretary Tu indeed had experience dealing with zombies before, but at that time, five subway workers were shoulder to shoulder clearing out the remaining zombies in the subway. Most of those zombies were engrossed in gnawing on the corpses on the ground, and he struck them on the back of the head, causing their heads to burst open. Therefore, his understanding of zombies is—home run! But at that time, five subway workers were shoulder to shoulder clearing out the remaining zombies in the subway, and most of those zombies were engrossed in gnawing on the corpses on the ground, and he struck them on the back of the head, causing their heads to burst open. Therefore, his understanding of zombies is—home run!

"What does it mean? Have you encountered it as well?" Zheng Jieming felt somewhat puzzled; this implied that the two of them had also seen those two strange hooded figures just now

"I said, beautiful lady, could you please lower the knife a little? I have already put mine down." Zheng Jieming felt that this woman was clearly overly tense and wanted to ease the situation.

"What do you want me to do? I helped you that time out of pity!" Zhou Jitang said with a face full of reluctance

"Let me carry the horse team," Zheng Jieming guessed Zhou Jitang's thoughts. He had originally planned to carry the horse himself. "You all ran such a perilous stretch of road for me before; I must contribute on this stretch."

As he stepped out of the community, the bus remained parked at the roadside with its front door wide open—Zheng Jieming thought to himself, it was inevitable; who would still be running around on the streets now

"Where to?" This question puzzled Zheng Jieming; he could not discern the purpose behind it and was unsure of what she intended to ask. "I am going to the lakeside."

Hmm. The two individuals just now appeared by the lakeside road, surrounded by numerous corpses, and later came to this small temple. Chang Bing explained, "They saw the three of us inside and observed for a while from outside. At that moment, Zhou Jitang was about to speak to them, but they turned and ran away."

Following closely are the second, third, ... ...

The knife was snatched away by two individuals on Changchun Street

Zheng Jieming got up and looked at the two figures disappearing into the distance—besides the woman, the other person was also wearing a black hoodie, and judging by the build, it was a man

A zombie passed by