Chapter 142: Missed
Author’s note: Uh, I messed up! I actually left this chapter out, and it’s an important one at that! I’ll make it up by releasing 5 at one go today!
(Translator’s note: This had likely happened when the author was releasing, and he released 143 before 142 and received some notifications.)
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Zhang Xiao Qiang’s head laid on Shangguan Qiao Yun’s thighs, and she was slightly taken aback by his actions. Her body tensed up until he laid down fully like earlier in the morning. When she saw that, she slowly relaxed, and her hands started to caress his face just like how she did in the morning. The stubble on his face was slightly itchy, but she could not stop bringing her fingers over his face. Her eyes swept towards the criss-cross wounds on his hands folded across his chest, and she gently took up his right hand.
There were all sorts of wounds of varying degrees all over his palms and arms. The mult.i.tude of scars was like a layer of spiderweb wrapped all over him. There were some older injuries, while many more fresh from today’s battle. Some had started to scab, and due to the uneven surface, it could also be due to the pain earlier, Zhang Xiao Qiang’s hands weren’t washed very clean. Many of the wounds still had clumps of dirt. Some of his bigger wounds also had some grains of rice stuck to them.
Looking at those wounds, tears began to well up in Shangguan Qiao Yun’s eyes, as they flowed down her face, past her cheek, and dripped down slowly from her chin. As they fell on Zhang Xiao Qiang’s face and lips, there was no response from him. He was too exhausted, and could not feel the warm teardrops. He continued to lay there with his eyes shut, inhaling the fragrance from her body as he slept soundly.
The car came to a sudden halt, jerking Zhang Xiao Qiang awake. He sat up and immediately looked out the car, noticing that they had already arrived at the gates of the chicken farm. The main gate was shut tight, with countless old furniture and planks blocking it from the inside. Some of the yellow-skinned men were wielding some weapons and tools as they faced off against the men on Zhang Xiao Qiang’s side. They were hollering and shouting, wanting freedom.
He felt bewildered. Everything had been fine when they left earlier, how come these cowards started acting up all of a sudden? Where did they get the b.a.l.l.s from?
Some of the guys immediately went forward to try and find out what was happening. However, before they even got 2 sentences in, the men on the inside began to pelt stones at them. One even landed on the windshield of the vehicle Zhang Xiao Qiang’s group was in. He became furious, Yang Ke’er and Yuan Yi were currently recuperating, and he had not even had his lunch, having to fight for his life earlier. These f.u.c.kers dare to revolt?
“I’ve taken care of D2s and S2s, you little f.u.c.kers want to try me?!” When there’s someone to pity, there’s someone else to be d.a.m.ned. Zhang Xiao Qiang could care less about their troubles and wanted to charge right in.
He suddenly came to a stop. The men inside dragged out 2 bodies, that had ropes tied around their necks. They then hoisted the bodies up and hung them on the gate. The clothes were removed, and the naked bodies were covered in all sorts of injuries. Their limbs were chopped off, even the ‘little bird and its eggs’ were not spared. Looking at those 2 corpses, the men from Zhang Xiao Qiang’s group were all shocked. The ones in front quickly retreated, whereas the men from within the gate became even rowdier. They lifted their weapons and hollered loudly, some even rushing forwards to shake the gates in their madness. There were wretched screams that came out their mouths, as they shook the gates violently, causing the fresh blood of the corpse to splatter everywhere, dyeing the rusty old gate a fresh paint of blood.
Zhang Xiao Qiang looked carefully and discovered who the corpses were. One was Old Hairy who had been crippled by Yuan Yi, the other was Drunkard who watched the chicken coop. They had died wretched deaths, extremely violently at that. Their eyes had been gouged out, leaving only 2 empty sockets. Drunkard’s mouth was still open, his teeth having been smashed apart. There were all sorts of whip marks, bludgeon marks, hack wounds, even burnt marks as well. Seeing this, Zhang Xiao Qiang felt his skin crawl. No wonder the men in front had retreated so hastily. This was truly a sickening sight.
Seeing those crazed men behind the gates, Zhang Xiao Qiang simply could not understand what had incited such madness, even if they revolted and forcefully s.n.a.t.c.hed the rations inside the chicken coop, how long could it last? After that, would they have the courage to head out and steal from the zombies? Was this some last-ditch attempt in madness?
Such frenzy and irrational behavior, Zhang Xiao Qiang felt that he had seen something similar before. A similar situation had occurred during the 1998 Riots in Indonesia, those enraged citizens had suddenly looted, raped, pillaged and kill their own people and the foreigners, as they marched on through the cities.
Now that his fellow countrymen had begun to sink into madness, he had to find out why. Was it because of the constant chicken feed? Or was it because they finally had succ.u.mbed to their inner demons, and wanted to burn with everyone else?
The people inside suddenly became even more agitated, as they ran about amok, and the screams inside started to intensify. Some wails and screams resounded out from within before a group suddenly came out with 2 more wide planks and brought them to the gate. On the wooden planks, 2 people were still struggling madly. They had been nailed to the planks through their limbs, and fresh blood flowed.
One was a man, the other a woman, and both had been stripped entirely of their clothes, as they laid naked on the planks. The man was Cannon, who limbs had been stomped on and broken by Yuan Yi, as for the woman, Zhang Xiao Qiang did not recognize her. She seemed to be one of the middle-aged housewives, her figure slightly pudgy, her layers of fat visible. The 2 mounds in front were extremely large, as though they were the Himalayan peaks among women.
The wooden plank holding Cannon was slowly pushed upright, as he continued to scream for them to end his life. However, this bunch had turned mad, as they chopped off his limbs, and then proceeded to castrate him, before gouging his eyes out. He was then chopped through the chest. (Here the author writes, forget it, the subsequent scene shouldn’t be spelled out in detail. He also states that this part wasn’t from his imagination, instead, he had referenced the images he had seen on TV during the 98 riots in Indonesia, and how the military and rebels had acted then. The soldiers had not been allowed to fire without orders, and thus, they had been mutilated. He then proceeded to say that he would stop about the ‘98 riots.)
Cannon’s corpse was then hung up on the gate as well, his fresh blood flowing profusely, covering the entire gate. Some men from Zhang Xiao Qiang’s group could not take it anymore and vomit violently. Zhang Xiao Qiang had to suppress the urge to throw up as well when suddenly, a fragrant body leaped into his arms. Shangguan Qiao Yun sobbed as she buried her head in his chest.
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Translator Note: Interesting fact, this is the 2nd novel that I’m translating, where both authors depict an apocalypse and had referenced the ‘98 riots.