Chapter 39
Chapter 39
At the Foot of the Mountain
The Bespectacled Man crouched in a corner of the villa’s terrace. From here, he could see most of the resort, along with much of the surrounding neighborhood.
Today was his turn to keep watch. Sister Li’s orders had been clear: keep a close eye on the villa and report the slightest sign of trouble.
It was a difficult job. Not only did he have to monitor the people in the villa halfway up the mountain, but he also had to stay constantly alert for maniacs who might emerge from any corner at any moment.
He held up his phone with the camera zoomed in as far as it would go. The image was blurry, but he could still make things out.
“Goddammit…” he muttered. Shifting position, he rubbed his aching eyes.
Just as he was about to look away, a string of shadows darted across the corner of the screen.
The Bespectacled Man froze and frowned. He aimed the camera back in that direction. The image was blurry, but he still managed to see what was there.
About a kilometer away, seven or eight figures had gathered in the street. Their bodies were covered in dark stains. One particularly tall figure appeared to be holding something long, dragging it across the ground as it walked.
It was a human leg.
The maniac carrying the leg gnawed on it as it walked. The others trailing behind it were also gnawing on various human bodies.
The Bespectacled Man’s stomach churned, and he instinctively held his breath. He had seen maniacs before. He had even witnessed them torturing and killing living people up close.
He was about to turn the camera away when the maniac chewing on the leg suddenly stopped.
As if it had sensed something, it slowly raised its head.
Its face, smeared with blood and scraps of flesh, turned directly toward the Bespectacled Man.
They were too far apart to possibly see each other. And yet, the Bespectacled Man couldn’t shake the feeling that those eyes were staring straight at him.
Through the phone screen and across the vast distance between them, its pure malice seemed to wrap itself around him.
“Holy shit!” Every hair on the Bespectacled Man’s body stood on end. His hand jerked, nearly sending the phone flying. Heart pounding, he hurriedly ducked back inside.
A few seconds later, he worked up the courage to slowly peek out again and raise his phone.
The maniacs were gone.
“Goddammit…” the Bespectacled Man muttered, his voice still trembling. “It was just a coincidence… but that scared the fucking hell out of me.”
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and was just about to get back to work.
A hand gently patted him on the shoulder.
“Aah!” The Bespectacled Man nearly jumped out of his skin. He sprang into the air, only for his legs to give out and send him collapsing to the ground. Still badly shaken, he looked up. The moment he recognized the two people standing there, his fear turned to anger.
“Gao Yizhou! He Qianxue! Do you two not make a goddamn sound when you walk?! Were you trying to scare me to death?!” The Bespectacled Man scrambled to his feet, cursing as he dusted off his backside.
Ignoring his tirade, Gao Yizhou lowered his voice. “Zhang Qingsheng, I need to ask you something.”
Zhang Qingsheng, the Bespectacled Man, snapped, “Spit it out! I still have to keep watch!”
“The key to the small kitchen,” Gao Yizhou said bluntly. “You know where it is.”
Zhang Qingsheng’s expression stiffened for a split second, and his gaze immediately turned knowing. “What key? Didn’t Sister Li confiscate all the keys to the small kitchen? Why are you asking?”
Gao Yizhou stared at him without a word. Then he slowly reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and took something out.
It was a chocolate bar.
Zhang Qingsheng’s eyes instantly locked onto it. He hadn’t eaten anything in two days.
“I-I really don’t know…” Zhang Qingsheng’s voice grew weak, but his eyes remained glued to the chocolate bar.
Gao Yizhou weighed the chocolate in his hand, his tone calm. “Zhang Qingsheng, before the apocalypse, you managed this B&B. We all know you kept copies of the spare keys to every room. Sister Li only took the set everyone knew about. You must have another set hidden somewhere.”
He stepped half a pace closer and lowered his voice to little more than a whisper. “Tell me where the keys are, and this chocolate is yours.”
Zhang Qingsheng’s expression shifted uneasily. “What… what do you need the keys for?” he finally asked, his voice unsteady. “There’s no food left in the kitchenette. It was cleared out last time…”
“That’s none of your concern,” Gao Yizhou cut him off. “Just tell me whether you have the keys and where they are.”
Zhang Qingsheng remained silent for a long time. In the end, hunger and his craving for food overcame his fear. He licked his cracked lips and whispered so softly he could barely be heard, “…I do. They’re in the staff quarters where I used to live, at the very end of the third floor.”
Gao Yizhou’s gaze sharpened. “You’re sure?”
“I’m sure.” Zhang Qingsheng reached for the chocolate. “Give it to me!”
Gao Yizhou pulled his hand back and stared at him. “How do we know you’re telling the truth?”
Zhang Qingsheng flew into a rage. “Screw you! Believe me or don’t.”
Gao Yizhou exchanged a glance with He Qianxue. She gave a slight nod.
“Fine.” Gao Yizhou finally handed over the chocolate.
Zhang Qingsheng snatched it from him, tore open the wrapper, and began cramming it ravenously into his mouth.
Gao Yizhou watched him with mixed emotions but said nothing more. He turned, took He Qianxue by the hand, and headed for the stairs.
Watching their retreating figures with his mouth still stuffed with chocolate, Zhang Qingsheng suddenly began to snicker.
“Idiots. You really think Sister Li is that stupid? Hahahaha!”
As if he would ever be kind enough to help them.
……..
On the other side of the lobby, inside the small room that had been converted into a makeshift cell, Li Wei’an slowly opened her eyes.
A sharp pain in the back of her neck made her suck in a breath. Her vision remained blurry for a while before gradually clearing. She found herself lying on a cold floor, her hands bound behind her back and her ankles tied with coarse hemp rope.
“Ji Feifan…” she rasped, turning her head.
Ji Feifan lay nearby, bound just as tightly. He seemed to have woken up earlier and was trying to feel around for something with his hands tied behind his back.
At the sound of her voice, he stopped and asked quietly, “You’re awake? How do you feel?”
“My head hurts,” Li Wei’an answered honestly. She struggled into a sitting position and leaned against the cold wall. “How long have we been here?”
“I don’t know.” Ji Feifan sat up as well, his back against the wall and his expression grim.
Li Wei’an closed her eyes. She had been careless. She had sensed something was wrong, but instead of retreating immediately, she had hesitated for those few crucial seconds.
That had been more than enough time for the enemy to surround them.
What were they supposed to do now?
Qingshui was still waiting for them to return. If they stayed away much longer, she would know something had happened.
But… how could the few of them possibly take on so many people?
“We wait,” Ji Feifan said. “We wait for an opportunity. That woman called Sister Li won’t kill us right away. We’re still useful to her.”
“How do you know?” Li Wei’an looked at him.
“A gut feeling.” Ji Feifan paused, then added, “Besides, if she’d wanted us dead, she could have killed us in the woods. There would’ve been no reason to bring us back here.”
Meanwhile, back at the villa, Qingshui stood beside a second-floor window, staring outside with her brows tightly furrowed.
Li Wei’an and Ji Feifan had been gone for four hours.