Remaining battery, 8%.
What’s going on? She charged it all afternoon, and it’s only this much? Even using potatoes to generate electricity would be faster than this.
With only 8% battery, what games could she play? What songs could she listen to? What movies could she watch?
Jiang Miaomiao looked at the solar charger as if it were a chicken rib – tasteless to eat, but a pity to throw away.
Lan Qiming walked over.
“Is your phone still working?”
“Why?”
“To check the navigation.”
The map app on her phone had cached data, so even without an internet connection, she could still see the city map.
Lan Qiming found the nearest supermarket to the villa, and indeed, the distance was about the same as Jiang Miaomiao had said. It would take seven stops on a bus, about twenty minutes. But driving, the shortest distance was 2.5 km, taking only about eight minutes.
Holding his phone, he calculated in his mind and suddenly asked, “When will you have your period again?”
All their previous stock was already used up.
Jiang Miaomiao’s mouth twitched, “You pervert, what are you thinking? Do you want to use my blood to attract zombies again?”
Lan Qiming spoke earnestly, “Since we’ll eventually have to dispose of them, why not make use of it?”
“No way.” The thought made her nauseous.
“Aren’t you afraid of starving here?”
“If we die, we die. I didn’t plan to survive until next year when I chose to stay here.”
Jiang Miaomiao continued, “I won’t go out and take risks with you again. If you want to go, go by yourself and don’t drag me along.”
Lan Qiming had no words to say. He tossed the phone into her lap and went to the dining table to eat.
Jiang Miaomiao had just eaten self-heating rice in the afternoon and wasn’t hungry. She wasn’t interested in bothering him and went to the corner by the refrigerator with a flashlight to check the bean sprouts she brought back.
The bean sprouts had grown half the height of her calf, and the leaves were out. They would probably bloom and produce pods soon.
If she could have a pot of fresh soybean stewed with meat before she died, that would be a worthwhile way to go.
However, the nutrients in the pot were too little to meet the growth requirements, and the bean sprouts were clearly drooping, likely to die soon.
They needed soil.
But there was no soil in the villa, only wooden floors or cement. Where could they find soil?
There was some in the yard, but she was afraid that Golden Half Buttock wouldn’t agree if she tried to sneak out to get some.
Jiang Miaomiao was in a dilemma.
Lan Qiming glanced at her, “I can help you get some soil from the yard.”
She guessed his request and immediately refused, “I’m not selling blood.”
“Who said you had to sell blood? Just give me half of what you grow.”
“Really?” This was worth considering.
Lan Qiming said, “Don’t trust me? Then you can get it yourself.”
Jiang Miaomiao stood up, “Don’t brag; I want to see what you can do.”
He sneered, finished eating, and left a “wait and see” before going upstairs.
That night, Jiang Miaomiao, with her pitiful battery life, listened to two songs, closing her eyes and enjoying the familiar music. Suddenly, she missed her previously ordinary life.
At this point in the original story, the people who escaped should have already established a base in Tibet. The male and female protagonists are still outside fighting zombies and saving people.
After the initial outbreak of zombies, they will launch a counterattack against the government forces, enduring hardships and finally returning to the city.
This entire phase lasts for over a decade, during which countless casualties occur, and those who survive are either incredibly lucky or exceptionally skilled.
As a useless person, it is evident that she won’t last until then.
The phone screensaver displays a bustling city night scene, and she sighs before falling into a deep sleep.
The next morning, Jiang Miaomiao was awakened by the sound of banging downstairs.
Rubbing her eyes, she went downstairs to check and saw Lan Qiming holding a kitchen knife, dismembering a desk, and picking up a desk leg, spinning it to make something.
Jiang Miaomiao was puzzled, “What are you doing? Making toothpicks?”
Without lifting his head, Lan Qiming replied, “Making weapons.”
“And what kind of weapon is this? A salted fish stabbing tool?”
“Enough with the sarcastic remarks, get ready.”
Jiang Miaomiao immediately became alert and silently stepped back.
“What should I get ready? I haven’t even had enough sleep.”
“When I draw the zombies’ attention, you can use the opportunity to dig the soil. Follow my instructions and come back as soon as I tell you.”
She resolutely shook her head, “No way.”
“Don’t you want to plant the beans?”
“I do, but I also need to stay alive to eat them.”
Lan Qiming was extremely exasperated, “The zombies’ attention will be on me, and I’m the one in danger. You won’t be in any life-threatening situation, understand?”
Jiang Miaomiao nodded.
Lan Qiming’s expression softened a bit, “So will you go or not?”
“I’ll go, wait for me to change clothes.”
She said and walked towards her room. Once inside, she immediately locked the door and shouted outside, “I’m not going to throw my life away.”
With so many zombies outside, wouldn’t they take a few bites of Lan Qiming? After they were done, they would come after her.
She was slow and weak, and she would have no chance to escape.
She decided not to plant the beans. Having bean sprouts to eat was already satisfying enough.
Jiang Miaomiao stayed in her bedroom all morning and didn’t go outside. At noon, Lan Qiming came to knock on her door.
“You really won’t go? Then I’ll go alone.”
Jiang Miaomiao’s voice came from behind the door, “You alone, attracting zombies and digging soil, can you handle it all?”
He smiled, “If I’m lucky, I should have a chance.”
Jiang Miaomiao didn’t say anything. He looked at the door, speaking as if to himself.
“If I’m not lucky and don’t come back, the food is all yours.”
“You don’t need to collect my body. If I turn into a zombie, please don’t give me a name as unpleasant as Golden Half Buttock.”
“When the government comes back to recapture the city, remember to tell them that I sacrificed myself for a pot of bean sprouts.”
Unable to resist, Jiang Miaomiao opened the door, “I’ll go, I’ll go, okay?”
Lan Qiming stuffed the small bucket and spatula he had prepared into her arms and pushed her downstairs.
Before opening the door, Jiang Miaomiao asked repeatedly, “Are you sure you have a chance to come back alive? If you get bitten, I won’t care about you.”
Lan Qiming held several sharpened table legs and moved away the last barrier behind the door. Just as he was about to unlock the door, he put his hand on her shoulder and said, “Close your eyes, count to five silently, then go out.”
Jiang Miaomiao took a deep breath, followed his instructions, closed her eyes, and listened to the pounding rhythm of her heart.
Four…
Two…
Go!
Jiang Miaomiao rushed out with the small bucket and spatula in her arms. She squatted down and started digging whenever she reached a place with soil, not daring to waste time looking back. The screams and roars of zombies kept coming from behind.
She didn’t know how long she had been digging, perhaps only a dozen seconds, or maybe a few minutes. Due to the intense nervousness and haste, she couldn’t discern the passage of time.
Finally, Lan Qiming’s voice sounded, “Go back!”
She sprang up like a startled horse and ran back with the bucket and spatula.
In the middle of her run, curiosity got the better of Jiang Miaomiao, and she secretly glanced back. But when she did, she was shocked to see that Golden Half Buttock was less than half a meter away from her with its gaping mouth! The foul smell hit her, almost making her faint.
Startled, she took a step too slow, and Golden Half Buttock reached out with its fat and rotting left hand, grabbing her shoulder.
Jiang Miaomiao screamed, thinking she was doomed.
But then, a spear flew from behind and accurately pierced through Golden Half Buttock’s left arm from shoulder to wrist, its sharp tip brushing past Jiang Miaomiao’s skin.
Involuntarily, Golden Half Buttock loosened its grip and let out a fierce roar.
Jiang Miaomiao forced herself to gather her courage, seized the opportunity to run back into the house, and immediately shouted for Lan Qiming to hurry.
Lan Qiming’s body was already surrounded by the unending stream of zombies, and his voice came from afar, “Close the door!”
What?
Golden Half Buttock was coming again, Jiang Miaomiao had no time to hesitate, and with a slam, she shut the door, locked it, and barricaded it with furniture.
The series of actions were all mechanical, driven entirely by instinct.
She didn’t have the mind to see how much soil she had dug up. All she could think about was that Lan Qiming might die.
In the apocalypse, people dying was normal. In the original story, there were hundreds of cannon fodder characters with names and backgrounds who died, so having one more Lan Qiming wasn’t a big deal.
But when she thought that it was all for her bean sprouts, she felt guilt-ridden to the point of vomiting blood.
What should she do? Should she help? But what can she do?
Jiang Miaomiao rushed to the basement and found the diesel fuel that was originally prepared for the generator. She hugged it and moved the things behind the door.
Diesel fuel can ignite, so she planned to splash it on the zombies and set them on fire to save Lan Qiming.
Looking at the doorknob, her legs went weak.
Woo, she was scared…
Jiang Miaomiao pinched her thigh desperately, telling herself: people are destined to die. She had eaten and drank her fill, lived more than a month longer than the original host, so it wasn’t a complete waste to die.
Her thighs turned purple from her pinching, and she mustered the strength to rush outside. But just then, she heard a sound coming from the second floor.
“Where are you? Help me!”
This voice… was it Lan Qiming?
Jiang Miaomiao forgot to put down the diesel fuel and rushed up, holding it in her arms.
In Lan Qiming’s room, he was stuck under a ventilation opening.
She stared at this blood-stained man in disbelief.
“Aren’t you dead?”
“Who said I’m dead?”
“But you were…”
“Give me a hand, I got a bit fat these days, and I can’t get out.”
Jiang Miaomiao belatedly nodded, put down the diesel fuel, and leaped to grab his hand.
Lan Qiming frowned, “Couldn’t you find a stick?”
Before he finished speaking, she made a big jump, grabbed his hand, and used her body’s strength to pull him out. Both of them fell to the ground in a heap.
Lan Qiming was too heavy; she felt like her ribs were about to break, it hurt so much that her vision went dark, but her heart was happy.
Lan Qiming touched her chest, “Don’t use your back to poke me.”
She was stunned, then raised her leg and delivered a low blow, “Get off me.”
After kicking him, she regretted it because when Lan Qiming fell, the apron was left stuck in the ventilation opening, and the thin fabric was swaying with the airflow.
Which meant that he was…
Lan Qiming painfully rolled over, clutching his lower body, and writhed on the floor.
“You’re more vicious than the zombies, woman.”
Jiang Miaomiao’s cheeks reddened slightly. Pretending as if nothing happened, she stood up, pulled out the bedsheet, and asked, “How did you manage to come back alive when you were surrounded by zombies?”
Lan Qiming sat cross-legged on the floor, wrapped himself up in the bedsheet like a ball.
“Who knows, maybe they found me handsome.”
She thought of another strange thing, “How did you throw that stick so accurately?”
“I practiced shot put when I was a kid.”
“Just because of that?”
“Then what else?”
She was puzzled.
Originally, she suspected that he might be some formidable hidden master or a powerful person like a special forces soldier. But seeing him stuck in the ventilation opening like that, he probably really learned shot put.
Jiang Miaomiao shrugged, intending to go downstairs and secure the front door. As she passed by Lan Qiming, he grabbed her wrist.
“Have you fallen in love with me?”
“What?”
“You thought I was going to die, couldn’t bear it, so you were willing to risk your life and rush out with the diesel fuel to save me, right?”
He patted the diesel fuel bucket beside him, looking very pleased.
Jiang Miaomiao rolled her eyes, “Don’t be so narcissistic, I was planning to make a fire for cooking. Who cares about you?”
She snatched the diesel fuel bucket and walked downstairs. Lan Qiming leisurely stood up, tidying up the bedsheet on him, considering whether to wrap it around his waist like a towel or drape it over his shoulders like a robe.
A few seconds later, Jiang Miaomiao returned, looking terrified.
“Not good! It’s inside!”
“Who?”
“Golden Half-Butt!”
A long howl from Golden Half-Butt echoed downstairs, sending shivers down their spines.
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