CH 17

T/N: Lots of notes in this one

Jiang Miaomiao raised her hammer and smashed it recklessly.

The other party raised his hand, easily blocking her. A surprised expression on his face.

"Do you hate me that much?"

She heard a familiar voice and couldn't help but glance, shocked.

"Lu Qiming?"

Lu Qiming raised his eyebrows, "So it wasn't intentional to murder me."

Jiang Miaomiao was confused. "Didn't you leave a long time ago? Why are you back again?"

"I… " he originally wanted to make up an excuse. Such as too many zombies outside. Such as being sick and needing to rest for two days before leaving, etc… 

But looking into her eyes, he suddenly did not want to lie. He decided to tell the truth and sat down on the ground and said.

"I'm not leaving."

"Why?"

"I'm afraid that after I leave, there will be no one to open the gas tank for you."

He raised his head, and the corners of his mouth were curved like a smile yet not a smile.*

T/N: 似笑非笑 (idiom): as if smiling but actually not; an expression that’s not smiling but gives the feeling of smiling. A pretty close example would be Mona Lisa’s “smile”.

Because he lived in the basement for too long, his complexion was fairer than before, and he had thick eyebrows and wide eyes.*

T/N: 浓眉大眼 (idiom): mainly used to describe someone’s vitality. In this case, someone's rough appearance

Jiang Miaomiao was silent for a long time and asked uncertainly:

"Are you really not going to leave?"

"Yes."

"What about your friend?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure where they are right now. We need to look for them and we might have a better chance of staying alive."

Jiang Miaomiao stared at his face repeatedly, confirming that he was not lying. Her heart finally fell back into place with a light, unreal sense of comfort.

Lu Qiming looked around. "Have you been out since I left?"

She shook her head and went back to lying on the quilt in frustration.

"Why did you go out? Courting death?"*

T/N: 找死 (idiom): seek one's own death

Lu Qiming rubbed his chin where there was a layer of light cyan stubble - He always carried only three things with him: cigarettes, a lighter, and a razor.

"When I came back, I saw a house with solar panels on the roof. It should be equipped with a solar power system."

Jiang Miaomiao grunted twice. "So what? I still have the solar rechargeable battery in my hand. It's not much use at all."

"This is not the same level as your rechargeable battery. Looking at the area of its solar panel, powering the whole house’s appliances wouldn’t be a problem."

Her eyes lit up and she sat up, looking at him expectantly.

"Really?"

Lu Qiming nodded his head, yet his expression not very relaxed.

"But that house is far away from here, and I haven't figured out exactly what's going on inside. If it's better than here, we can move in."

Jiang Miaomiao stood up and reached out to him, "Then what are you waiting for? Let's go."

There was electricity there!

If someone had asked her what her dying wish was, she would have answered - air conditioning, watching TV, playing games, ice cream in the freezer, cooking on an induction cooker, bathing with a bath bomb, and lights in the room.

To live such a comfortable life in the last days, she would be happy to live 10 years less!

Lu Qiming frowned. "Are you going to go out like this?"

Jiang Miaomiao was puzzled. "Yeah, didn't you say that there are a lot fewer zombies outside?"

Seeing that he can get in and out quite freely, there shouldn't be any major problems.

Lu Qiming raised a finger and shook it.

"Less is less, but they are still there. I wasn't bitten by them because I ran fast. People with your kind of speed go out and get bitten."

"I… I'm a fast sprinter."

She retorted defiantly. Meeting the other's gaze weakly.

"What will you do then? Are you going to live there alone? I don't want to stay here. It's too smelly and stuffy here."

She looked pitiful, like a puppy about to be abandoned.

Lu Qiming sighed and stood up. "I'll go out and see if golden half butt is still here."

Jiang Miaomiao understood what he meant. He wanted her to apply golden half butt's blood.

Such a thing was really disgusting. Having experienced it once, she did not want to experience it a second time.

But if she could really move to a new house with electricity, nevermind coating, even if you l

told her to drink a couple of mouthfuls, she could probably bite the bullet and agree.

Lu Qiming went out and she nervously stood by the door.

It didn't take long for him to return and shake his head at her.

"It's gone."

It was probably gone with the tide of zombies.

Jiang Miaomiao let out an ah and slid down the wall, incomparably frustrated.

Lu Qiming ignored her and wandered around the basement, looking for something.

He must be ready to go, right? With a nice house to live in, who wants to nestle in a dirty basement? Jiang Miaomiao's heart was hard, she hugged her knees and whimpered.

"You take other things. Leave the gum to me, OK? I want to taste orange again before I die."

Lu Qiming curled his lips, "What nonsense? Come over and help me find things if you have nothing to do."

She didn’t understand. "What are you looking for?"

"Plastic bags, bedsheets, all of them." Lu Qiming already had a rope in his hand, "Since golden half butt is gone, let's catch another golden half butt."

These days, zombies were an inexhaustible resource.

Jiang Miaomiao was immediately happy when she heard this and ran over to help find them things together.

They didn’t find plastic bags, nor were there sheets, so the two took the covers off the quilt and prepared it to cover the zombie's head.

As long as the mouth was blocked, there was no fear of it biting.

But catching zombies was still a difficult task.

Most zombies outside were in groups of two or three and were densely together, unlike golden half butt who was alone. Once you do something to one of them, the zombies next to it will definitely attack, and you will not be able to protect yourself.

It's best to keep them separate and deal with only one.

Lu Qiming looked at the bathtub and came up with a solution. He took a hammer and small shovel and started digging a hole behind the bathtub.

Jiang Miaomiao knew he was in the middle of doing an important job for her, so she was very polite. Handing him a glass of water, giving him food, asking from time to time, "Do you want help?"

Lu Qiming looked at her thin arms and legs and felt that she would break her bones if she walked faster, let alone help dig a hole.

Digging a hole in the basement was not an easy task. It took a day just to plow through the moisture barrier.

The next day he dug out a half-person high pit, jumped down, and tried it out. Guessing that the zombie would not be able to break free after falling in, so he moved the bathtub away from a crack and stood guard in the darkness.

Whenever one comes in later, he would close the door.

The zombie fell into the pit, could not climb up for a while, just time to trap it.

But even though the idea was very good, the reality was very different.

Both of them stood till their legs were numb and no zombies came in.

"The zombies these days are really unprofessional!" Jiang Miaomiao came up with a brilliant idea, "How about we shout a couple of times?"

Lu Qiming glanced at her then opened his mouth and shouted, "Hey!"

Jiang Miaomiao also shouted, "Come here! There's someone here!"

"Do you want to eat human flesh? No money if it's not fresh!"

The two of them shouted like it was a competition for a long time, but the outside remained silent.

Jiang Miaomiao was discouraged and wanted to go out directly.

Lu Qiming suddenly picked up his knife and dragged it on his arm.

She was horrified and quickly stopped. "What are you doing? I didn't even kill myself."

"Who said I was going to kill myself?"

He rolled his eyes, cut a shallow knife, filled a tissue with blood, and threw it into the pit. Then he found some hemostatic spray and bandage he had gotten from the pharmacy when Jiang Miaomiao was injured, and bandaged the wound.

Jiang Miaomiao looked at the bright red tissue paper in the pit and suddenly realized.

"So you want blood, why didn't you tell me? In a couple of days… "

She blushed, embarrassed to say further.

Lu Qiming made a gesture of silence. "Shh."

There was a "Hoho" outside the door, like an old man blowing a broken horn. Hoarse and harsh.

The zombies had smelt the blood and were coming.

The two people held their breath and focused on the door.

A few seconds later, a hand reached in.

Lu Qiming waited for it to fully walk in and immediately pushed the bathtub and closed the door.

Jiang Miaomiao picked up the quilt to cover it but looked around and could not find the target.

"Where's the head??"

Lu Qiming looked down and was very surprised.

“Oh, it's a young zombie."

He was about five or six years old, only half the height of an adult, and couldn't jump out of the pit, but was hissing at them with open teeth and claws.

He took the quilt from Jiang Miaomiao's hand and knocked the little zombie's head.

"Quiet, be behaved."

The other party was so angry that he wanted to bite off his neck.

Lu Qiming mercilessly snapped its head, tied its hands and feet with rope, tied a beautiful bow at the back of the neck, slipped it out of the pit, and threw it on the ground.

Jiang Miaomiao had never seen such a young zombie up close and curiously squatted next to it.

The young zombie's neck was broken, so its head was tilted. Its five senses were still well preserved. If his skin tone was normal, he would be a small cute boy with red lips and white teeth. *

T/N: 五官 (noun): Five organs of Traditional Chinese Medicine (nose, eyes, lips, tongue, ears). Basically facial features.

A gold Chang Ming lock hung on its neck, with auspicious clouds engraved on it, and the words "May you have peace year after year".*

T/N: 长命锁 (noun): a lock-shaped ornament hung on children's necks to symbolize longevity and bless the child with a long life.

T/N: 岁岁平安: A New Year’s Greeting

Jiang Miaomiao was a little distressed because when she thought of his family giving him the Chang Ming lock, they certainly didn't expect he would end up like this.

Lu Qiming was an emotionless butcher and wiped a blade to cut its artery.

Jiang Miaomiao said, "Do you really want to use its blood? It's still so small."

"Its strength is not small at all when it bites you."

She thought about it. After all, she knew to pick the tender ones when she ate roast chicken, so she couldn't be Virgin Mary right now.

The little zombie became pork on the chopping board and at their mercy.

Lu Qiming skillfully cut open its thighs and let out a small basin’s worth of blood.

Jiang Miaomiao pinched her nose and painted her whole body and Lu Qiming did the same.

The duo used a rag to block their mouths and noses and walked out of the basement.

This was the first time Jiang Miaomiao had walked out of that damp and dark place in the past month.

The moment the sunlight fell on her body she was so excited that she was about to cry.

As Lu Qiming said, the villa was badly damaged. The walls were full of big holes. The windows and doors were not spared and it looked like it would collapse at any moment.

Outside the villa, the number of zombies was significantly much less than before.

The last time she went to the villa, she could see at least thousands of zombies in hordes after walking a few kilometers. Now there were only a few scattered ones wandering around.

She began the zombie walk and swayed behind Lu Qiming.

When she passed the peach tree, she couldn't help but stop.

The peach blossoms had already faded, and the branches were covered with small, green, hairy peaches.

She scanned it roughly and found dozens of them.

Jiang Miaomiao gulped and secretly decided: if she was still alive in the summer, she must come and pick peaches to eat.

"Keep up."

Lu Qiming turned around to find that she was far behind and whispered to remind herself.

She hurriedly chased after him and walked with him through the streets and alleys for over an hour before finally seeing the solar house he was talking about.

It was a lakeside villa in the center of town. It was much larger than the villa she had rented before, and its appearance was much more luxurious.

The roof was covered with black solar panels, and there was even a private pool in the garden.

Outside the community, there was a supermarket in front and a middle school in the back. To the left was a commercial area, and to the right was a government building.

The backyard was connected to a small gravel road, and a hundred meters away was an artificial lake with inexhaustible water.

It's a paradise!

Jiang Miaomiao was so excited that she couldn't hold back and she hugged Lu Qiming and kissed happily on the cheek.

The latter froze. A faint blush floated on his cheeks.

Lu Qiming coughed twice and wanted to speak, but Jiang Miaomiao had already released him and couldn't wait to walk towards her new "home".

He had to follow. Thinking of the touch and temperature of her lips when he entered the door, he couldn't help touching his cheek.

The courtyard door of the villa was locked. Jiang Miaomiao tried it but couldn't open it. She took two steps back and looked at the towering courtyard wall with worry.

"Should we… "

Before she finished speaking, a light breeze blew around her. Lu Qiming had climbed onto the courtyard wall, crouched there, turned to her, and held out his hand.

Dumbfounded, she gave him a thumbs up and then grabbed his hand in an effort to climb up.

Lu Qiming dragged her up like a burlap sack.

“Thanks."

She could hardly stand still and looked up to say thanks, the other party had already jumped down and landed firmly on the ground.

Jiang Miaomiao: … long legs are terrific.

She grabbed the wall and clumsily climbed down. Lu Qiming held her armpits and carried her to his side.

He withdrew his hand and lifted his chin in triumph.

"If I hadn't come back, you wouldn't even be able to climb over this wall."

The gratitude in Jiang Miaomiao's heart suddenly dissipated. She gave a middle finger and lifted her feet towards the gate.

Halfway to the door, she looked at the closed door and suspected that it was also locked, so she turned around and went around to the back of the window and climbed in through it.

Lu Qiming followed her and laughed lightly.

"Finally grew some brains. Children can be taught."

Jiang Miaomiao could not stand it anymore. Squatting on the windowsill she turned back to say.

"You either shut up or find your friend and go. Choose yourself."

She hoped to stay with a competent partner, not a pesky fly spirit.

Lu Qiming sneered. "You are too faint-hearted to allow others to speak criticism."

She glared at him, looking like she wanted to gnaw on someone.

He made an OK gesture, carried her in, propped himself up on the windowsill with one hand, and easily tumbled into the house.

Jiang Miaomiao was already fantasizing about her wonderful life in the new house. Who knew that after going in, she looked around, and it was like she splashed with ice water and her excited heart was poured cold.

"Here... why is there nothing here?"

Turn around there were only four white walls. Let alone luxurious decorations, even a small bench can not be seen!

Lu Qiming said, "It should have just been built not long ago, so there was no time to decorate."

She sat dejectedly on the ground, very disappointed.

There was electricity here, but there were no appliances, so what is the use of having electricity?

Lu Qiming looked at her with downcast eyes, "Don't you like it?"

Jiang Miaomiao said weakly, "No, I don't."

"So should we move here?"

"How can we live here? No bed, no table, no chair, no stove. How can we live?"

Lu Qiming already had a plan. "Let's settle down for two days and we can go around during that time. There are houses next to us and supermarkets are close by, so if you need anything, bring it back. It won't take long to meet the normal needs of life."

She gave an ah.

"Go directly to someone's house to get it? Isn't that stealing?"

The food in the supermarket will go bad even if you don't eat it, so it's better to accept it in your heart. Going directly to someone's house to carry things like this always feels weird and goes against what she’s been taught for so many years.

Lu Qiming said, "It depends on what choice you make. You can go back to the basement to grab food with the rats, and you can sleep on the floor here. Or you can do as I say and take whatever you want."

She struggled in her heart. On the one hand, it was difficult to break through her moral bottom line, and on the other hand, she really yearned for a life with electricity.

A few minutes passed, the latter defeated the former, and Jiang Miaomiao got up and said.

"Listen to you, go get it now?"

"No hurry. Let's go back now and bring back all the useful things."

Especially the small zombie, with poor physical strength and low aggressiveness, is most suitable for staying around as a blood pack.

The two went back again, and Jiang Miaomiao calmly reached out to him when he stepped over the wall.

Lu Qiming helped her over the wall. Words couldn’t hide his smugness.

"Is it not possible to leave me?"

She snorted lightly and dusted off her clothes.

"Be a ladder and see what makes you happy."

Lu Qiming suddenly felt like eating poop and he didn't want to say anything.

Jiang Miaomiao successfully smashed him, and on the way back, she was in a good mood, her steps much easier than when she came.

The two returned to the basement. The small zombie laid on the ground twisted like a mud loach. He was even more restless when he saw someone coming.

They didn't care about it, they pushed out the carts they brought back from the supermarket, and put everything they needed in.

Naturally, you have to bring food, no one will produce it after the end and you have to eat a little less. Even a slice of potato chips is very precious.

Water was too heavy to carry, but the good thing is that there was a lake next to the new home. There should be no shortage of water.

The quilt and clothes hadn't been washed for a few months and it was terribly dirty. She would rather freeze to death than wear it on her body.

Collecting and picking up half an hour, the food was loaded in half a cart.

Lu Qiming looked at their entire household goods, incredulous.

"That's it?"

"Yes, flashlights, rechargeable batteries, paper and pencil… and food. All that can come in handy."

Well, fortunately, they are moving immediately, otherwise, their quality of life would not even be comparable to that of beggars before the end of the world.

Jiang Miaomiao pushed the car, her eyes fell on the small zombie.

"How will it be brought? Tied to the cart?"

Lu Qiming shook his head, tore off a strip of cloth from the cover, tied one end to the rope tied to the small zombie, and held the other end in his hand.

"Go."

He tugged on the cloth, and the little zombie stumbled forward two steps.

It hissed, obviously not satisfied with this treatment. But his head was so tightly draped that he couldn't bite anything, couldn't see anything, and could only follow the rhythm of the cloth strips and walk forward like a headless fly.

Jiang Miaomiao pushed the cart. Lu Qiming held the little zombie, dragging the family out of the basement, before dark to the new home. *

T/N: 拖家带口 (idiom): literal meaning is dragged down by having a family to feed. In this context, it refers to being inferior.

The night was the most dangerous time in the city. Zombies didn't have to endure the scorching sun and have the strongest perception. They can easily detect their presence.

So once inside, Lu Qiming unlocked all the windows and put the little zombie in a separate room. While he and Jiang Miaomiao went to sleep in a small room without windows on the second floor.

There was no stove or fuel in the house, and dinner was two pieces of dry noodles for one person.

The weather had become hot, so it wouldn’t be cold without a quilt. But the floor was too hard, and Jiang Miaomiao's wounds were scabbed again. No matter how she slept, it was all awkward, and it was very uncomfortable to turn over and over.

Lu Qiming listened in the dark for a long time, then suddenly got up, took off all his clothes and pants, leaving only his underpants, and said:

"You sleep here."

She touched it, surprised.

"Aren’t you wearing clothes?"

"I'm hot."

Was the temperature that high?

She touched her shoulders, thinking that it is better to have something to cushion them rather than nothing, and laid down.

Lu Qiming laid naked on the cold floor, and soon there was a slight snoring sound.

Jiang Miaomiao used to think it was noisy, but now the more she listens, the more at ease she is, and soon she also feels sleepy.

Her upper and lower eyelids gradually closed, and when she almost fell asleep, she suddenly felt a heavy body come over her.

The man's sturdy arm rested on her chest, breathing so close to her ears that her ears became hot because of the warm breath.

Jiang Miaomiao was frightened and instantly awake, asking alertly.

"What do you want to do? Are you playing a hooligan?"

She was answered by a series of light snoring sounds.

His skin was cold, like tomatoes soaked in well water in summer, and he was very comfortable to lean on.

Since he was smeared with zombie blood and was in no condition to bathe, he smelled bad. But Jiang Miaomiao also stank, the two had 50 steps to 100 steps, who can not dislike who. *

T/N: derived from 以五十步笑百步 (metaphor): A person who has retreated fifty paces in battle ridicules a person who has retreated a hundred paces. Meaning one has the same shortcomings and mistakes as others, only to a lesser extent, but without any self-awareness to ridicule others. 

It was uncomfortable without a pillow. She touched his arm and found that it was a very good substitute. She tiptoed to change her position, slept like his arm was a pillow and pulled his other arm over, and put it on her waist, covering the belly button, and then fell asleep in peace.

The next morning, Lu Qiming woke up.

Through the faint light coming in through the doorway, he saw the girl lying in the crook of his arm, sleeping sweetly, with her red lips opening and closing slightly as she breathed.

He held his breath and gently leaned over.

Jiang Miaomiao suddenly opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling for a long time, as if she remembered where she was, stretching her waist like a kitten

Lu Qiming hurriedly closed his eyes and pretended to still be sleeping.

She sat up and patted his face, "Wake up wake up, are you a pig? Sleep early and wake up late."

Only then did he open his eyes slowly and looked at her and said.

"Did you secretly chop off my hand in the middle of the night?"

"Huh?"

"Why else would I not feel its presence?"

Jiang Miaomiao's thick-skinned face flushed and she stammered:

"Maybe it's because you're sleeping in a bad position. I'm always like this too. Let me rub it for you."

She diligently moved over and hugged his long arm and rubbed it hard.

The blood gradually circulated, and Lu Qiming clenched his fist, his muscles hardened.

The two opened the door and walked out, deliberately pausing at the corner to listen to the movement outside.

Luckily, the windows and doors were intact, and the zombies didn't come in during the night.

Lu Qiming went to check on the little zombie, Jiang Miaomiao laid on the cart, finding food for breakfast.

All the good food had been eaten, the rest was either cookies or instant noodles.

Seriously, usually, as a snack to eat is okay. But a few months in a row to eat, she now wanted to vomit when she looked at it.

She found two bags of braised beef noodles and two bags of scallion-flavored soda crackers, which were barely meaty and vegetarian.

The two of them sat cross-legged in the empty living room and finished eating this dry breakfast

Jiang Miaomiao clutched her neck in pain, "My throat is about to be cut..."

She should have brought half a bucket of water yesterday. She’s so stupid.

Lu Qiming also tried very hard to eat, but he couldn't swallow the remaining half of the crackers. He threw it aside and stood up and said:

"Let's go. Work."

"Where to?"

He looked around, locking his eyes on a villa not far away, and lifted his chin.

"Start there first."

Jiang Miaomiao wiped her mouth and replenished a bit of zombie blood to her body first, then followed him to the destination.

Unlike their new home, that house was occupied, and they were probably in a hurry when they left. The door was unlocked, wide open, and there was a white BMW X5 parked in the garage.

Lu Qiming went to see the car first, looked around, and didn’t find the key. He sighed with regret.

He turned around and found that Jiang Miaomiao had already entered the house and followed her in. He saw her standing expectantly in front of a double-door refrigerator, her eyes bright as if filled with stars.

The next second, she opened the refrigerator. She was stunned for two seconds then bent over and vomited wildly.

The refrigerator had been out of power for a month or two, and the eggs, bread, meat, fish, shrimp, fruits, etc. inside were stored in a refrigerator comparable to a greenhouse, and they had long begun to rot.

The stench had not been dispersed, it was held in it, the more it was held, the more it smelled, and the moment it was opened, it rushed out… 

The smell, so extreme!

Jiang Miaomiao regretted that she had grown a nose.