As a city that once had a large population, the consequences of such an outbreak are predictable.
Fortunately, some parts of the mountain area had sparse populations, so the further we went, the fewer dangers we encountered. However, each encounter became more difficult to handle, as there were fewer sounds around to alert us. Many of my kind barely moved, but their constant hunger made them more irritable.
Especially recently, we often encountered creatures that were nothing but skin and bones. They posed a significant threat to living people, with their strong bite force and quick movements, making them difficult to evade.
After Alu fired three shots, one finally blew the creature’s head apart. The thing, mid-leap in the air, crashed down in a perfect arc.
I stood at the gate of the courtyard and signaled to the others that they could enter.
The layout of the small farmhouse wasn’t ideal for defense, so we parked a car at the broken entrance. We closed the other door and reinforced it with wooden stakes from both inside and outside. Two women went to the kitchen, which I had already checked, in search of food.
Finding cooked food was unlikely, but heavy items like rice and flour probably remained in stock.
Given the two completely dead bodies in the yard, the skin-and-bones creature outside, and the two small vans parked on one side, I figured this place had been abandoned for a long time.
After helping at the gate, he walked over, took off the hat I was wearing, and put it on his head. He smoothed my hair before pulling me into one of the open rooms. “Quick, see if there are any clothes. The nights these days are freezing.”
The temperature in the mountains was lower, and they didn’t have many warm clothes. Whatever they had was given to the women and children.
My body temperature was too low to help warm him up, but there was no need for him to drag me inside either. I had already checked the house and found it safe. There was only one wardrobe, so I couldn’t help much.
He rummaged through the clothes for something warmer while I stood by. After a while, he whispered, “Next time, I’ll check the place with you.”
I shook my head.
He glared at me in dissatisfaction.
His glare wouldn’t change anything. He was not a creature without a heartbeat, and I was likely the only one in this world who didn’t want to eat him. I couldn’t protect him while checking for danger and negotiating at the same time: ‘This is my person. No one touches him.’
He turned to me. “What if someone’s still living in the house you check?”
“I’ll hide.” After a pause, I added, “Carefully… I can… smell them.”
While I couldn’t detect fresh meat from a distance, there were other signs—like the freshness of blood from injuries, the scent of human food, steam, and sweat.
I had considered this possibility, but fortunately, in the past two months, no one had been living in the houses we’d entered.
He had worried more than once, but him following me, making me divide my attention was also one of his concerns, So, he tried to make me seem more human.
I thought the plan was quite good. I no longer walked as stiffly as before. Although I moved a bit slower, dressed in normal clothes and with a hat covering my eyes, I could still pass as a human.
Before he could say anything else, my right hand shook slightly.
Ruirui, with wide eyes, tugged at me. “Brother Persi, my brother says there’s solar power here. We can use it.”
That meant there could be warm water.
His eyes brightened as he knelt down and gently took Ruirui’s hand from mine. “Can you take Brother Xu Lin to check it out?”
Ruirui nodded and led him outside. I glanced at the few clothes he had found and picked them up before leaving.
Meng Chao, along with two others, did a perimeter check. The walls were intact, only the gate was damaged. The three vehicles were positioned outside, ready to go at any moment. Meng Chao and one of the others then tried to repair the two vans.
These vehicles were better for transporting people or goods than the truck with a bed. But the large truck was more useful for clearing a path, so we couldn’t leave it behind.
We were lucky. Despite the thick dust, the vehicles were still functional, and the gas tanks were half full. One of the guys even found two barrels of gasoline inside the house.
The natural gas still worked, so cooking was no problem.
When he came out of the nearby room, the older boy named Zheng climbed down from the roof, carrying a pile of stuff. “Look what I found!”
It was dried persimmons, hung out by the farmers. There was running water here, so they could be washed and eaten.
The person checking outside the courtyard reported back over the wall: “It’s been a while since the gunshots, and nothing’s come this way. Seems safe.”
So, we decided to rest here for the next few days.
While they ate dinner, I stayed on the roof to keep watch. In the distance, I could see one or two of my kind wandering aimlessly. They posed no threat. If they got close and made too much noise, I’d consider dealing with them.
I hadn’t eaten in a long time, but my hunger wasn’t getting worse either.
I still had no interest in human food, but I resisted eating any raw meat. Luckily, despite not eating for so long, my movements were unaffected, and I hadn’t lost any weight.
During the first month, he would occasionally try to feed me human food, but it was a waste. He doesn’t try anymore. Now, he just jokes casually, “At worst, I’ll starve you thin and let you eat one of my arms.”
As dusk fell, he tossed a small stone at me. I turned to see him standing below, wearing an extra jacket. One hand was in his pocket, and the other gestured for me to come down.
When I did, I saw two sets of clean clothes beside him.
I suddenly wanted to ask him if, before the disaster, we’d ever discussed how a germaphobe would survive in this world.
Tonight, he didn’t need to stand guard. After everyone had washed, the two of us went in. We’d already bathed together many times over the past two months. I watched as he tested the water. There was only a little steam, so I couldn’t help but say, “Make it warmer.”
It wouldn’t hurt me to bathe in hotter water.
He shot me a skeptical look. I turned the dial for warmer water, though I wasn’t sensitive to the change in temperature. He chuckled and adjusted it again. “The water you set would peel my skin off.”
I shrugged. The bandage on my wrist darkened as it got wet. I didn’t dare take it off; if the water loosened the bones that hadn’t healed yet, it would be a disaster.
During this time, neither of us had dared remove the splint supporting my wrist. I wasn’t sure how much I’d healed. While I felt like I was still mending, I couldn’t control my wrist at all. It was just there, completely useless.
He grimaced as he washed my hair, sometimes playfully flipping it back, sometimes letting it down again. Under the water, I helplessly watched him until he smiled. “Your hair’s still so soft when it’s down, no wonder kids like you more.”
…Had we always communicated like this?
I slapped his hand away and grabbed a towel to dry my hair. He quickly washed and dressed, then came over to help dry my hair.
Even though I couldn’t feel the cold or heat, he stubbornly made me put on warmer pants and a top.
Then, sitting at the table, he replaced the wet bandages on my wrist with clean gauze we had scavenged from a hospital two weeks ago.
The surface wounds were healing well, visible by the faint scars. I was happy, knowing that was a good sign.
My wrist was the same. The external appearance was no longer as gruesome.
As he carefully bandaged my wrist, he spoke in a hoarse voice, “If you use this hand to shield me again, I’ll chop it off myself. Got it?”
I nodded.
He narrowed his eyes. “You’re lying, aren’t you?”
After thinking for a moment, I nodded again.
He rolled his eyes at me. I saw that the tips of his hair, still damp, were dripping into his collar. I turned to grab a towel.
When I turned back, his face was close to mine. Before I could react, his warm breath brushed against my lips.
Instinctively, I wanted to pull away, and I actually moved back, but he followed me.
It was just a simple touch of our lips.
The contrast between his warmth and my coldness only highlighted our differences.
But I didn’t pull away again.
I looked into his eyes, seeing his fearlessness and indifference to our differences.
It lasted only a few seconds before he stepped back, smiled with his eyes, and teased, “You’re so obedient.”
I shoved the towel into his hand. “Dry your hair… then go rest.”
