Jiang Miaomiao was seriously injured.
Her neck and shoulder were covered with many small cuts from the broken glass, and those glass fragments got lodged in her wounds. Liu Qiming used a flashlight to clean them up for over an hour before finally getting them all out.
Her arm had over a dozen blisters from the hot oil, and he heated a safety pin to puncture them, causing her to grimace in pain.
Before the apocalypse, Jiang Miaomiao had prepared some basic medical supplies such as adhesive bandages, fever-reducing medicine, and disinfectant.
Liu Qiming helped her bandage the wounds and looked at the dreadful injuries with a serious expression.
“Just using adhesive bandages won’t do. With so many wounds, and the weather turning hot, they might get infected.”
Jiang Miaomiao lay on the bed, her breath weak. “Then what should we do?”
“I’ll go out to find medicine.”
He was about to leave when she quickly grabbed him.
“Are you crazy? The zombies are so ferocious now. Going out is like seeking death!”
“It’s okay, I’ll smear some of Gold Half-butt’s blood on me.”
Jiang Miaomiao thought for a moment but still disagreed.
While she hoped her injuries would heal quickly, the current zombies were too terrifying. The horrifying scene from earlier was still vivid in her mind. What if he went out and got bitten to death? She would be left alone in the villa, facing a dead end.
It was better to stay together, at least they could rely on each other.
Thinking this, she held onto Liu Qiming’s arm even tighter.
“Don’t go, just stay here, don’t go anywhere.”
Liu Qiming couldn’t help but smile at her words.
“You wouldn’t want me to leave, would you?”
Considering he had saved her life, Jiang Miaomiao didn’t want to argue, and simply said, “Regardless, you’re not allowed to leave.”
“Alright, alright, I won’t go. I’ll go get you some water to drink.”
He pushed away her hand and went to the living room to pour a glass of cold water. Passing by the window, he heard the noise outside growing louder.
After drinking the water, both of them were tired from the previous struggle, and they dozed off.
Liu Qiming lay down next to the bed, and Jiang Miaomiao lay on the bed. Even in her sleep, she refused to let go of his arm, afraid that he would escape.
Feeling both pain and exhaustion, she fell asleep for three or four hours before waking up.
The room’s windows were sealed, and she couldn’t tell if it was day or night. She wanted to check the time on her watch, but found her hand was empty.
Where was Liu Qiming?
Feeling extremely nervous, she searched the entire room, enduring the pain in her body. She checked every corner but couldn’t find any trace of him.
Had he gone to find medicine for her? Or had he already left?
Anxious, she hurriedly ran to Gold Half-butt’s room and saw that its wounds had increased even more, adding to her unease.
At this moment, a zombie climbed onto the wall and began banging against the window, seemingly eager to attack.
She grabbed the mop, staring at the door with a lifeless expression.
Outside the door, there were noises, and Jiang Miaomiao felt her scalp tingling.
Dealing with one zombie was already tough enough, but if two of them came in at the same time, it would be even more disastrous.
Wuwu, what should she do?
The door lock clicked, and she immediately ran towards the stairs like a startled rabbit.
A familiar male voice came from behind.
“Are you awake?”
Jiang Miaomiao turned around and saw Liu Qiming walking in from outside, locking the door behind him.
“It’s you…”
She let out a sigh of relief, and her tense body relaxed as she slowly sat down on the floor.
Liu Qiming glanced at the window that had been hit, pushed a cabinet to block it, and then pulled her into the bedroom.
He had a plastic bag in his hand, filled with various emergency medicines.
He found the anti-inflammatory spray and painkillers, then poured a glass of water.
“Take this medicine.”
He was covered in Gold Half-butt’s blood, emitting a foul and nauseating smell. But Jiang Miaomiao didn’t care about that at the moment. She obediently followed his instructions and took the painkillers.
Liu Qiming sat behind her and sprayed the anti-inflammatory spray on her wounds.
Unable to hold back her concern, she asked, “What’s the situation outside?”
Liu Qiming paused for a moment and sighed.
“Not good at all. The number of zombies has increased by at least a third, and they are noticeably more aggressive than before. Several times, they almost recognized me.”
Jiang Miaomiao felt worried. “What should we do then?”
“Don’t go out for now, try to protect yourself as much as possible.”
This was the apocalypse, not a shopping trip. How could protection alone ensure safety?
Jiang Miaomiao remembered the countless dangerous situations the protagonists in the original story went through, often on the brink of death. She really didn’t want to become like them. After applying the medicine, she ran downstairs and hesitated when she saw the gas cylinder.
Should she open it? She would rather die peacefully than suffer in pain.
She reached out and grabbed the valve of the gas cylinder, ready to turn it on. But Liu Qiming also came downstairs and immediately stopped her, feeling exasperated.
“What are you doing?”
Jiang Miaomiao told him her thoughts and said, “I won’t force you to do the same. If you’re afraid of inhaling it, just help me move the cylinder to the bedroom. I’ll close the door and then release the gas.”
Liu Qiming furrowed his brow. “Are you really planning to die? What a joke.”
“I’m not joking, I’ve thought it through.”
He couldn’t be bothered to persuade her, so he flicked her forehead.
“Pull yourself together, we’re not at a dead-end yet.”
Jiang Miaomiao frowned and said resentfully, “Then what’s the solution? You tell me.”
“The walls of the villa are still too thin and can’t withstand their attacks. But we can move to the basement. As long as we seal the exit, I don’t believe they can dig underground.”
Her eyes brightened as she heard his words. However, within three seconds, she thought of the downside of this plan.
“But how can we live in the basement? It won’t be convenient to come out, and when the food runs out, won’t we starve to death down there?”
Liu Qiming was quite confident about this.
“Don’t worry about that. The main goal of the zombies is to head south in search of food. They won’t stay in this city for too long. Once we hold out until they leave, we win.”
Jiang Miaomiao was half-convinced, but besides believing in him, she had no other choice. In any case, she would follow his plan for now, and if the food ran out, she would consider whether or not to die.
After all, committing suicide also required courage, and she was a coward.
Seeing that she had no objections, Liu Qiming began to move things to the basement.
The first priority was water.
After all this time, there were still more than a hundred barrels of water that Jiang Miaomiao had stocked up. They would last for at least another month.
Liu Qiming carried a barrel on his left shoulder and another on his right. Just as he was about to walk towards the basement, she suddenly let out a low cry.
“You’re injured!”
On his sturdy right arm, there was a large blister, almost the size of half a palm. It had been hidden by his clothes, and she hadn’t noticed it until now.
Liu Qiming looked down and said, “It’s fine, it’ll heal on its own.”
“No, you can’t. If you die of illness, won’t I be unlucky too? Sit down.”
Jiang Miaomiao pressed him onto a chair and brought over the spray and burn ointment. Just like he had taken care of her before, she carefully applied it to his blister.
A woman’s fingers were slender and soft, and her touch on his skin was cool.
Liu Qiming didn’t know if he was tired or embarrassed, so he kept his head down and remained silent.
Without looking, Jiang Miaomiao was taken aback when she saw his body full of scars—burnt by hot oil, scratched by zombies, and cut by glass. When she carefully counted them, she found that he was worse off than her, but the bleeding wasn’t as severe, so it didn’t look as dramatic.
She was very concerned. “You have wounds all over your body, and you applied Gold Half-butt’s blood. Won’t you get infected?”
Liu Qiming wasn’t worried about it at all, but he was curious about her reaction.
“What if I get infected? What will you do then?”
She looked conflicted and pained.
“I don’t know. If you become a zombie, I definitely won’t be able to beat you. But it doesn’t seem right to kick you out before you turn into a zombie. How about… I lock you up first?”
Liu Qiming grumbled, “What a heartless woman.”
Helplessly, Jiang Miaomiao said, “You tell me what to do then.”
“We’ve known each other for so long, can’t you let me have a good meal before I die? Even ancient executioners got a last meal before their beheading.”
“That makes sense.” She put down the burn ointment. “Then I’ll make you some food now. Just tell me what you want to eat, don’t be shy.”
Liu Qiming retaliated with another tap on her head.
“Fool, you probably won’t have a chance to do it in this lifetime. Maybe next lifetime.”
Jiang Miaomiao was furious about being hit, wanting to strike back, but hesitated as she looked at his battered body.
After applying the ointment, Liu Qiming didn’t rest and immediately started moving things.
Jiang Miaomiao also wanted to help, but he thought she was too weak and told her not to interfere. He planned what to move and what not to move.
She wandered around the villa.
The basement had limited space, so they couldn’t store too many things. Liu Qiming couldn’t move large items on his own.
Therefore, things like beds, wardrobes, and tables were the first to be abandoned.
Next, heavy items like gas cylinders were difficult to move.
Finally, things that were useless were left behind, like air conditioners, washing machines, refrigerators, and that useless generator.
After going around, she made a list.
Water, food, clothes, blankets, fuel, flashlights.
All were essential for survival.
Despite already minimizing their belongings, the more than a hundred barrels of water alone were enough to move.
Seeing Liu Qiming working while injured, she couldn’t just stand idle. She saw the small cart they had pushed back from the supermarket and had an idea.
When Liu Qiming came out of the basement, ready to carry the water barrels again, she pushed the cart over.
“Let’s put the water barrels in here and then push it down together.”
The cart could hold at least four barrels at once, making it much easier than carrying them on his shoulders.
Liu Qiming rarely gave her an approving look and placed the barrel he was carrying into the cart.
Working together, they spent almost a whole day to move all the water to the basement and neatly stack it against the wall.
They didn’t have the energy to cook, so they each ate a self-heating rice box and lay down to rest for a few hours.
When they woke up, they didn’t care whether it was day or night, they continued to work and finally moved everything on the list downstairs.
Outside, the noise from the zombies grew louder, and Gold Half-butt in the room was particularly agitated.
Occasionally passing by outside the door, Jiang Miaomiao could clearly hear it howling.
Next was sealing the door.
The entrance to the basement was next to the villa’s kitchen, a small wooden door leading down the stairs.
The quality of the wooden door was average, made of the most common composite material. Someone with enough strength could probably kick it open. Hoping that it would hold back the zombies was unrealistic.
Liu Qiming searched around the villa and laid his eyes on the master bedroom’s bathtub.
The bathtub was made of cast iron and covered with a layer of ceramic, quite sturdy and capable of withstanding the weight of four people. It was also fireproof and water-resistant, making it difficult to break unless they used a digging machine.
Of course, the bathtub was heavy, Liu Qiming estimated it weighed at least 90 kilograms.
But its height and area were just about the same as the small door, making it the best substitute.
The cart couldn’t be used anymore, so he found a bundle of rope, tied it to the bathtub, and dragged it out with force.
Jiang Miaomiao also came to help, and both of them used all their strength, sweating profusely. Finally, they managed to drag the bathtub into the basement.
Liu Qiming then dismantled a room door and used it to block a corner.
Standing by the door, he asked, “Is there anything else you want to bring? If not, I’ll seal it now, and we can’t open it until the zombie tide passes.”
She thought carefully and realized that they had taken everything they needed, so she shook her head.
Liu Qiming was about to seal the door when he thought of something. He ran to the living room and brought back a mineral water bottle with a peach blossom inside.
The peach blossom was still alive, thriving even after being picked for so long, just kept alive with water, and it even produced some small flower buds.
Jiang Miaomiao took the water bottle, surprised, and asked, “Why did you bring it?”
Liu Qiming’s lips curved up slightly.
“Because it’s beautiful and smells nice. Don’t you like it?”
They were about to enter a life of true isolation, unable to see even sunlight. With this peach blossom beside them, it reminded them that the outside world was bright and beautiful at this moment, making it seem not so bad.
Jiang Miaomiao sniffed the floral scent and placed the bottle on top of a water barrel.
Finally, Liu Qiming looked outside for a moment, then withdrew his gaze, stood the bathtub up to block the door, used wooden planks taken from the door to nail it shut, and sealed it with paint. Only a gap as narrow as a finger was left for ventilation.
Inside the basement, it was pitch-dark, and the sounds of the zombies seemed distant, as if they were coming from another world.
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