Rotting Land: Survive

Under Tang Xiaoquan’s guidance, Old Xu drove the car around the village, occasionally honking the horn to attract the attention of any lurking zombies.

Unfortunately, it seemed that no zombies were interested in the commotion he made, which made Old Xu quite pleased.

Stopping the car at the intersection, it could be preliminarily concluded that there were no zombies in the village.

Old Xu immediately picked up the microphone and issued the command for the convoy to enter the village.

No surprise, cheers erupted from the hand-held radio. Old Xu had to move the microphone away from his ear.

As the cheering subsided slightly, Old Xu squeezed in a shout: "Little Wang, Old Zhao, Little Hu, the village roads are quite bumpy, be careful when you come in. Finished!"

Upon receiving the warning, Old Lin had to rise again to suppress everyone’s excitement, simultaneously warning: "Everyone sit tight! You should have heard Old Xu’s words, the road ahead is quite bumpy, so sit properly unless you want to fall off your seat, understand?"

"Un...der...stand..." Warming up the tone intentionally, Wenquan Xin, Wu Chao, and other young people replied excitedly.

The three vehicles entered the village road in the order they were parked.

Sure enough, as soon as they hit the road, everyone immediately felt the bumpiness that Old Xu mentioned.

"Damn! It’s really thrilling! Up and down! Non-stop!"

"Shut up! My ass is almost splitting open from the shaking! You call this thrilling?"

"What do you know! This is a free massage, don’t you get it?"

"You don’t know a damn thing! Let Zhongyu roll over you every day afterward!"

"Alright! Enough! Both of you, quit the chatter!" The bumpiness was already unbearable, and Wenquan Xin and Wu Chao’s banter only added fuel to the fire. Old Lin had to speak up to halt their nonsense.

After roughly 2 minutes of misery, the bus was the first to reach the village.

Upon entering, Wenquan Xin couldn’t help but exclaim just like Old Xu: "Wow, this place is really high-end!"

"No doubt, it’s high-end! Hey, look, there’s not even window glass in that house!"

"Not just that, look at that one, the roof tiles are scattered all over."

"Old Lin, are we going to spend the night in this broken house tonight?" Wenquan Xin expressed everyone’s concern.

Old Lin was unsure as well.

After all, it’s not summer, the weather is cold, and there might be rain or snow.

It’s manageable to block broken windows with some cloth scraps.

But without roof tiles, if rain or snow comes, it’s really not livable.

However, to comfort everyone, Old Lin replied jokingly: "I think this place is good, no zombies, no mutated animals, better than spending the night in the car. Ha ha, Little Wen, if you’re not satisfied, you can still sleep in the car tonight. This place has a roof and windows, meets your requirements."

Speechless! Wenquan Xin pretended to surrender; he had no better response to Old Lin’s answer.

As the other two vehicles entered the village, Old Xu picked up the microphone for further instructions: "Little Wang, Little Hu, Old Zhao... uh, never mind, just follow my car, we’ll go home to take a look."

As soon as they heard the word "home," the survivors became interested.

Wenquan Xin remembered Wang Qiang once said that they had set up a room at the shelter, and the latter had even bragged about personally painting a landscape in the room.

Thinking of this, Wenquan Xin couldn’t help but feel curiosity bubbling up and wanted to go ask Wang Qiang.

But when he saw Wang Qiang sitting there with a blank expression, his previous excitement faded quickly, replaced by a heavy sigh.

Ah, femme fatales! Hopefully, the women I find in the future won’t be as fickle as Yang Xue.

Led by Old Xu, the convoy reached the central part of the village; after parking, Old Xu jumped off the car.

"Everyone get off, we’ve arrived!"

With a wave of his hand, the survivors, after enduring all day, finally relaxed and delighted.

As soon as the bus door opened, Tang Xiaoquan hurried to the door, silently waiting for his beloved to come down.

"Yo, Quan, why are you in such a hurry?" Wu Chao teased knowingly.

His jest immediately sparked Wenquan Xin’s response: "Chao, what are you doing? Can’t you see what’s going on? Get moving, don’t be a lightbulb!"

Tang Xiaoquan was never thick-skinned, especially in matters of romance. Although his relationship with Wei Yang was clear, every time people brought it up, he wanted to find a hole to crawl into. Wei Yang, on the other hand, was more straightforward.

Holding Fangfang, Wei Yang got off the bus; she had heard the teasing from Wu and Wen while still inside. She noticed her partner’s bashfulness as well.

"Waiting for me?" She asked boldly, blinking her eyes without a care for Wu and Wen’s surprised looks.

Tang Xiaoquan couldn’t face it and responded in a vague manner, then changed the topic to ask with concern: "So, how was it on the bus?"

"Not bad! How about you?"

"Me? I’m good too."

"No, Uncle Xiao Tang, you’re lying!" Fangfang raised her little hand and pouted.

Wei Yang was puzzled and asked, "Fangfang, where did Uncle Xiao Tang lie?"

"He’s not okay; his face is all red! When I get sick, my face gets red too, so Uncle Xiao Tang must be sick. Aunt Wei Yang, you’re a doctor, you should check on Uncle Xiao Tang. Otherwise, he’ll feel uncomfortable."

Tang Xiaoquan stood speechless, Wei Yang looked bewildered as well, while Wu Chao and Wenquan Xin were laughing so hard they nearly fell.

"Hey, Little Wei, Fangfang is right, Xiao Tang is really ill, better treat her well." Wu Chao chimed in.

"Yes, yes, that’s right! He’s sick, definitely sick. We’ll leave you to treat him then. Remember, his body’s weak, so use strong medicine." Wenquan Xin added.

Saying that, Wu Chao pulled Wenquan Xin’s arm and walked toward Old Xu, not forgetting to pound his chest at the end, indicating to Tang Xiaoquan that it was heartache.

"Aunt Wei Yang, I won’t disturb you either. Uncle Xiao Tang seems pretty sick, you should take good care of him! Uncle Xiao Tang, don’t be scared, a red face isn’t scary. Whenever I get sick, I take medicine and drink water regularly, then recover quickly."

Children speak without a filter; Wei Yang found it amusing but wanted to leave immediately.

Wei Yang quickly held onto Fangfang, as this was a new place, she couldn’t afford to let the child out of her sight.

If the little one got carried away and ran off, she’d never forgive herself.

Thinking about it, Wei Yang glanced back at the bus, then calmly said: "Xiao Tang, go check on Wang Qiang in the bus, only you can comfort him now. As for me..."

With a gentle smile and a hint of coquettishness, Wei Yang said, "We have plenty of time later."

Having said that, she took Fangfang’s little hand and quickly headed towards Old Xu. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users can read on m.qidian.com.)