Edge of the Apocalypse

Chapter 111: Chapter 105: For Her Child, She Would Do Anything

"Dongzi, the security guard from the Lin Gang you mentioned, the one who drove Sister Xinyi to suicide... is that really this Liang Mian? He seems pretty cheerful to me."

Zhao Youcai rubbed his chin and smacked his lips.

"Hmm~ Looks like his girlfriend really likes him. And she’s... wow. She’s dynamite."

Huang Zhiqiang felt that calling Liang Mian’s girlfriend, Zihan, ’pretty’ was too plain. She was just... dynamite!

The kind of girl everyone would like.

"She has the kind of beauty that... makes your period not hurt," Huang Zhiqiang added.

Yu Dong couldn’t help but laugh.

"That’s a surprisingly fitting description. But about Liangzi... he’s completely different from my last life. It’s like he’s a whole new person."

After his rebirth, Yu Dong had actually considered bringing Liangzi into the team, hoping to guide his behavior and get him onto the right path.

But in the end, he’d screened Liangzi out, concerned for the safety of the other women in the group.

After all, Liangzi was big and athletic. If a fight really broke out, it was hard to say who would be able to subdue whom.

But the world was a strange place. The Liangzi who had aided the evildoers in the last life now not only had a dynamite girlfriend but was also following a capable leader, fighting his way through all obstacles, and even heading off to help a police settlement.

"Doesn’t Liangzi seem a bit like the protagonist of a Western zombie road movie?"

"You know, you’ve got a point... Escaping from the jaws of zombies, on the run, meeting teammates, overcoming a few setbacks, and finally seeing the light..."

Huang Zhiqiang started laughing at his own description.

Zhao Youcai said, "That Gao Yan guy looks tough! He’s a badass."

Yu Dong replied, "But he’s a good person, too. I can tell. He genuinely wanted to take us with them to Huangyang Port. A person who can narrowly escape a horde of zombies, endure who knows how many hardships over the past two months, and still be willing to offer a helping hand to strangers... that shows great inner strength."

Even after just a brief meeting, Yu Dong had a very high opinion of Gao Yan.

Because in both lives, Liangzi had encountered zombies and been saved, but his mental state was completely different.

This could only mean that Gao Yan’s character was the polar opposite of Lin Xiaojun’s. Liangzi was gullible, and by meeting Gao Yan, he had actually become a better person.

’Life is truly strange,’ Yu Dong thought. ’Sometimes, just meeting different people is enough to change your entire life...’

Just then, Zhou spoke up.

"Those school zombies he mentioned... what do you guys think? Will they be a threat to us?"

"No. The outbreak happened at 7 PM on a Sunday. There weren’t that many students at the schools at that time. Besides, both schools are a few kilometers away from us. As long as we don’t set off any huge explosions, they won’t notice us. If worst comes to worst, we can just watch from the upper floors with binoculars every day. We can get a rough idea of what’s happening at both schools. If a horde really does head our way, we’ll all just hole up on the 32nd floor, pull the curtains, and wait for them to pass."

Yu Dong rattled this off without hesitation. He had already considered this scenario, which was why he had directly refused Gao Yan’s invitation.

Zhou nodded repeatedly as he listened. "So my detonators... should I just stop making them?"

"No way. We might not need to use them, but we can’t be without them. If we run into real trouble, being able to blow something up to solve the problem will be worth it, even if it attracts zombies."

"Alright, you’re right. I’m heading back to my lab."

Zhou left, leaving only the trio from the old dorm.

Yu Dong hadn’t asked Liu Ye’ye and Shen Xinyi to come over, afraid their beauty might cause unnecessary conflict.

In the apocalypse, beautiful women were, in fact, a scarce resource.

Not everyone followed a basic moral code like their team did...

Even Zhao Youcai, who wanted to get with Yang Yi, would only try to tempt her into his arms willingly; he would never force her.

And don’t even get started on Huang. Before anything had even happened, he was already helping raise someone else’s kid, and enjoying it too. ’Sometimes, I’m afraid he’s turning into a second Zhao Wenjie...’

"What do you guys think about that cruise ship settlement they mentioned, and that Officer Wang?"

Zhao Youcai said, "I’ve seen videos of that Caribbean International Cruise before. It’s super luxurious and expensive. A single ticket costs several thousand yuan. You’d sail the ocean to countries like Korea and Japan, spend a few days, and then come back. The passengers would be lounging on deck chairs in bathrobes, elegantly holding a glass of red wine, enjoying the sea breeze... Tsk, tsk, tsk... Unbelievably bourgeois."

This was the first Yu Dong had heard about it.

"So you’re saying it’s a pretty livable place, then?"

"More than livable, it has massive amounts of supplies and a complete, self-contained power system! Just think about it... a ship that can support over 5,000 tourists on a one- to two-week trip abroad—how terrifying must its stored supplies be? 5,000 people! Just think how much they’d eat every day!"

"Hiss~ That Officer Wang really knows how to pick a spot. He hit the jackpot. And a ship can float on the ocean, a natural defense against zombies... I’ve never heard of a zombie that can swim!" Huang Zhiqiang was getting a little jealous just talking about it.

Yu Dong chuckled. "It sounds... nice, for sure, but it doesn’t have much to do with us. Today is already Day 75 of the apocalypse. I feel like the military must have accomplished a lot by now. We just need to hold on for a few more months and it’ll all be over."

"True. Our place isn’t bad either. At least it doesn’t rock when we sleep, and we can grow our own vegetables."

"Hiss~ It’s so cold. Let’s go, let’s head back. It’s a good time to give Qiao Yunliang a call."

"Yeah, the weather... it’s getting colder and colder. Perfect for hibernation. We should be grateful to them. Without these true guardians, how could we just lie back and relax..."

"If it’s this cold, why don’t the damn zombies just freeze to death?"

The three of them walked back to Building One with their arms slung over each other’s shoulders.

...

That afternoon, it took a full eight calls before Qiao Yunliang finally picked up.

It gave Qiao Ping quite a scare.

"Uncle, is everything okay over there?"

"Yes... we’re fine. We just ran into some very troublesome zombies. It took some effort to deal with them."

Qiao Yunliang’s voice sounded exhausted.

Yu Dong asked, "Did you encounter a new type of zombie over there?"

"Not exactly new, no. It’s just that a lot of climbing zombies were mixed in with the regular horde, crawling all over the place, making them hard to hit effectively... But luckily, they triggered the tripwire traps we set up high, and we blew them all up."

"Oh... Climbing zombies are definitely a huge pain. Even one is dangerous."

Yu Dong knew this all too well. Not only could they climb, but they were also quiet and had camouflage coloring.

This was the main reason Yu Dong hadn’t been going out lately.

Because there was no way to defend against them completely.

A sudden sneak attack could cause serious problems. Forget about casualties—the chaos from a single attack could tear a team apart.

Yu Dong had wanted to ask when the army might arrive, but after hearing this... ’Better not rush them. After all, the initial estimate of three months was for dealing with ordinary zombies.’

"Uncle Qiao, when do you think you’ll be able to push through to our side? Sister Qiao is about to give birth... it could be this week," Huang Zhiqiang blurted out.

Yu Dong: "..."

Qiao Yunliang fell silent for a moment, having likely figured out what this implied.

"It will take some more time... Wait a little longer. Wait for us to end this disaster. My men and I are working as hard as we can."

At this, Qiao Ping lowered her head slightly and didn’t say a word.

Because she still hadn’t told Yu Dong and the others the truth about the military’s situation. She was afraid it would truly provoke their anger.

’They’ll blame me for Zhao Wenjie’s death.’

She could bear it herself, but... her child was innocent. She had to ensure her child survived.

She was a mother. For her child, she would do anything.

’I’ll pretend that phone call never happened. I’ll pretend I’m just as in the dark as Yu Dong and the others. When the day comes that the truth must be told...’

’...I’ll just throw all the blame on my uncle, who’s out there fighting for his life on the front lines.’

And that was what Qiao Yunliang wanted, too.

His goal was to keep this team stable and protect mother and child.

At this moment, for the continuation of their Qiao Family bloodline, the uncle and niece had to continue being ’liars’.

Qiao Yunliang hadn’t called for half a month because he was trying to find a way to fulfill his promise.

It might take a very long time, and he might die trying, but... this was what he had to do.

As they exchanged a few more pleasantries, suddenly... BANG! BANG! BANG!

A barrage of gunfire and shouting erupted from Qiao Yunliang’s end of the line.

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