Ch128 – Raising a Big Cat in the Apocalypse (7)
Riding his motorcycle, Chi Xiaochi led the way forward.
Through the visor of his helmet, Chi Xiaochi looked at this world that had been turned upside down and was slowly turning into a wasteland.
By the light of the streetlamps, he saw a frozen corpse by the side of the road.
The man’s head was down, making him look like a drunkard in the throes of a hangover, his body was curled tight, a smile hanging on the corners of his lips. On the edge of his face, half-pressed to the ground, the red outline of livor mortis had already appeared.
Chi Xiaochi turned away, not looking any longer.
As dawn approached, fog rose outside. The road conditions became worse and worse, with minor sc.r.a.pe accidents occurring more and more often. Fortunately, right now most people were still in their homes, hurriedly putting on more layers and draping more quilts over themselves, so there weren’t any traffic jams on the roads.
Chi Xiaochi drove all the way out of the city.
The first light of dawn had started to spill over the horizon when they, having left the city, stopped at a city rest stop.
Because of the shadow left by the Boston ivy, Mother Ding of course didn’t bring up wanting to go home, but when any normal person encountered disaster, their first response would be to find a safe and familiar place to hide. “Qiuyun, let’s go back to the place you’re renting, or if that’s not possible, let’s find a hotel……”
Chi Xiaochi didn’t want to tell his mother, that the old humans who hid in hotels and residential areas, were basically the first batch to become slaves.
They hid in such small little cages, as if they were canaries that were voluntarily imprisoning themselves, simply letting themselves be caught with each casual grab.
Chi Xiaochi suppressed this matter, saying, “Let’s refuel first.”
This rest stop was originally a fixed foothold Ding Qiuyun had found half a year after the end of the world.
After the world changed, Ding Qiuyun’s parents died, and all his friends were scattered, so he got onto his motorbike and drove off in the opposite direction from this place, making a round through the nearby provinces and cities before bringing ten or so team members by this rest stop. It was here that he’d gotten to know Old Jing.
“Old Jing” was a woman. Her full name was Jing Zihua. She was twenty-seven years old, not old, and was particularly beautiful, but she liked having other people call her “Old Jing”, as if this nickname was more pleasing to the ear.
When she was pregnant, her husband got into an affair with her colleague outside. After acquiring evidence and giving birth to her child, she kicked her husband out, leaving him with almost nothing, and just spent her life together with her son, Yiming.
With the help of her old cla.s.smate from when she was doing her master’s degree, she entered a service job.
Before the apocalypse occurred, humans had already gotten used to relying on automatic facilities. Therefore, the nature of her job was no different from Ding Qiuyun’s, simply maintaining the system’s functionality and preventing theft.
This was a very interesting woman.
She was usually cold, lying on her rocking chair with white smoke billowing from her mouth and a wisp of loose hair falling across her forehead like a man from Yunnan, yet also full of femininity, like a gorgeous ghost from an ancient Chinese novel.
But no gorgeous ghost was as good with a crossbow as she was.
The first time Ding Qiuyun met her, she was dragging a hyena towards the gas station. Lodged in the hyena’s head was an arrow, and its gla.s.sy, dead eyes were open and staring blankly out into the world.
At the time, as Yan Lanlan watched from afar, she swallowed a mouthful of saliva. “Wow, hyena meat hotpot.”
Ding Qiuyun and his group just so happened to be about to take a break. Just as they were preparing to make a detour to this small rest stop, Lao Jing stopped in her tracks and aimed her crossbow right at them.
Ding Qiuyun responded quickly, stopping her motorcycle. “We’re here to exchange materials with you. How much to let us stay here for a night?”
Only then did Lao Jing relax and let them inside.
Ding Qiuyun used a set of cold proof clothes to make the exchange.
That night, they stayed in the rest stop, and had hyena meat hotpot.
After eating his fill, Ding Qiuyun wanted to discuss the matter of trading some materials for fuel. Even though they still had some stocked, having more fuel was never a bad thing.
And he’d observed, even though this rest stop was small, behind it was a regular sized fuel depot. The pavilion closest to the water was the first to enjoy the moonlight, so even just the oil reservoir buried below their feet was enough for her to become a veritable tyc.o.o.n in the apocalypse.
The only person watching over this place was Old Jing, so Ding Qiuyun could only go to her to discuss it.
”
Old Jing said, “Call me Old Jing. One hundred litres of fuel.”
Ding Qiuyun liked her straightforwardness, and began to bargain with her, “One hundred and twenty litres.”
Old Jing said, “My son is asleep.”
For a time, Ding Qiuyun couldn’t understand what this had to do with their business discussion. “En? That’s good.”
Old Jing tied back her long hair. “One hundred litres of fuel, and a bonus night with me.”
Ding Qiuyun instantly understood. His face turned red. “……No need.”
Old Jing started to unb.u.t.ton her shirt.
Ding Qiuyun pressed her hand down. “Really no need. One hundred and ten litres, that’s enough.”
Old Jing stared at him for a moment.
Even at this time, Ding Qiuyun didn’t forget to comfort her, “Jing-jie, you’re very attractive, really. If I were straight, I might really have agreed.”
Old Jing pursed her lips in amus.e.m.e.nt.
“I even thought, after such a long time, I’d finally met a proper gentleman.” When Old Jing smiled, she still looked alluring and cold, her pair of cat eyes slightly curled. “In the end, you’re gay. Ha.”
Ding Qiuyun didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Ding Qiuyun and Old Jing formed a relationship as business partners. As they talked back and forth, they became familiar with one another.
Old Jing had never been one to tell everyone her story, as if she had already been the present Old Jing from the time she was born, to the point that it was as if her life was nothing to write home about, and she had no interesting experiences to talk about.
As for her story, it was learned through her chats with Yan Lanlan and the other human teams trading with Old Jing.
Half a year ago, Lao Jing was still that tough, unyielding woman, Jing Zihua.
Her son, Jing Yiming, had just turned three. The night before the apocalypse began, he got a fever.
After feeding her child antipyretic medicine, Jing Zihua coaxed her son to sleep, wanting to keep an eye on the situation for a while. If the situation wasn’t serious, she would wait till she got off work the next day to take her son to the hospital.
When she woke up from the cold in the middle of the night, Jing Zihua found that her son was burning up, like charcoal in a furnace.
She rushed out of her house, her son in her arms, keeping him warm with her own body. She brought him into her car, only to find that her electric car needed to be charged.
At that point, all power had been cut off, so she had no choice but to put her son in the car, while she bore the brunt of the cold, and ran through the snow to the convenience store.
The person who had always shared shifts with her was Xiao Han from the convenience store, and there were anti-inflammatory and antipyretic drugs behind the counter.
If she could get him medicine in time, or borrow Xiao Han’s car, her son’s illness should be able to be controlled.
Who knew, after Xiao Han heard why she’d come, he didn’t feel any sympathy whatsoever.
Practically salivating, he said cheerily, “Wanting to take medicine without offering anything in exchange, that isn’t very good, isn’t it?”
She pleaded with Xiao Han, pulling out all the money she had on her and placing it in front of him.
Xiao Han swept away the money, shining his flashlight onto Jing Zihua’s beautiful face. “I don’t want that. Jing-jie, I’ve liked you for a very long time.”
Jing Zihua instantly spat at him and left the convenience store. She began to beg the drivers resting at the rest stop to bring her son to a nearby hospital to be treated.
Two of them found it too troublesome and rejected her. One kindhearted person agreed, but said that he’d just told his wife and daughter that he’d be home by seven, and sending Jing Yiming to the hospital would probably take some time, so he needed to let them know first.
Jing Zihua was incredibly grateful.
Who would have thought, just as she brought her child over, the driver would throw his communicator onto the shotgun seat, his face filled with worry, and apologise to Jing Zihua, saying, “Miss, I can’t contact my wife and daughter. I asked everyone else, and they’re all facing the same thing……”
He nodded to Jing Zihua, his face apologetic. “Sorry. I need to rush home and check on them.”
At three o’ clock in the morning, there weren’t many cars parked at the rest stop. Upon waking up and realising that something wasn’t right, they immediately rushed home. Some of the drivers had already fallen asleep, and wouldn’t wake no matter how she knocked on the window.
Jing Zihua sank into despair.
Just like that driver had said, the communication lines were broken, she couldn’t even contact the hospital.
As she watched her son’s fever become higher and higher, she could only settle her son down and return to the convenience store.
Xiao Han was calm and unruffled amidst the chaos, a smile on his face as he looked at her.
Seeing the switchblade he held in his hands, Jing Zihua put away her thoughts of taking what she needed by force.
She let him sleep with her, right there on that counter.
Half an hour later, she hurried back to the car, her clothes in disarray and clutching the medicine.
But it was already too late.
Her child woke up, but he was no longer that cute, clever child of before. Both his ears were deaf, and his movements were hindered. He didn’t even have the strength to squeeze a tube of toothpaste.
After her child woke up, he watched as Jing Zihua said many things to him. He just stared with his pair of shiny, puppy-like eyes. He waited until Jing Zihua was done speaking, before asking in a soft voice, “Mama, what are you saying?”
Jing Zihua hugged her son and cried for a very long time, until she didn’t have any tears left to cry.
Xiao Han waited for a day and a half before finding that nothing had reverted to normal. His confidence growing stronger and stronger, he came to knock on Jing Zihua’s door, smiling. “Jing-jie, Jing-jie, I miss you.”
Jing Zihua opened the door, quietly letting him in.
Xiao Han eagerly began to unb.u.t.ton her shirt. “You missed me too, didn’t you?”
Jing Zihua smiled slightly, her eyes red. “……En.”
As he unb.u.t.toned her shirt, Jing Zihua wrapped her arms around him, sneaking her arm around his back, and plunged a pair of scissors into his spine.
After that, Jing Zihua became Old Jing, guarding the fuel stores, using it to swap for a crossbow, and turning herself into currency that could be exchanged and circulated.
Once, as Ding Qiuyun was drinking with Old Jing after having become familiar with her, he asked, “Why are you sacrificing yourself like this?” Clearly she could get by perfectly well just selling goods.
Old Jing didn’t catch what he said. “En?”
As she spoke, she picked up her cup and brought it to her lips. Suddenly, her expression softened, and she c.o.c.ked her head and listened closely for a moment. “Ding, is Yiming calling me?”
Ding Qiuyun had very keen hearing. He shook his head. “Nope.”
Old Jing smiled, and tucked a loose lock of hair over her forehead behind her ear. “I misheard again.”
Seeing Old Jing like this, Ding Qiuyun thought, he didn’t need to ask that question any longer.
A woman with a child, would take the initiative to become a warrior.
In the end, Old Jing’s fuel stop was besieged by a group of new humans.
They had been planning to take out this shelter that had been serving the old humans all this time.
At the time, Ding Qiuyun’s team was also there. They hadn’t been carrying enough firepower at the time, and because of all the fumes from the fuel there, they couldn’t open fire, so they had no choice to fight as they retreated.
Old Jing was familiar with the area, and was good with a crossbow. She helped them hold the new humans off for a long time, even handing Yiming over to Ding Qiuyun, wanting him to retreat with Yinming.
After successfully escaping the encirclement, Ding Qiuyun originally wanted to go around from behind to cover Old Jing’s retreat, but they didn’t have any bullets left.
……Just short those few bullets, and the new humans were able to complete their encirclement.
Old Jing waved to them, then hid behind a fuel pump.
She used the handgun she’d gotten from her very first deal with Ding Qiuyun and the one remaining bullet, pressed it to the fuel pipe, and pulled the trigger.
The entire gas station was lifted into the sky, dying it red, like a gorgeous nuée ardente.
Ding Qiuyun stood still, staring at the sea of fire for a long time.
The last thing Jing Zihua said to Ding Qiuyun was: “Doing business with you was, in the end, a loss.”
……
Chi Xiaochi drove into the dark rest stop.
……If it was now, there was still time.
Sure enough, the moment he drove in, Chi Xiaochi saw an anxious woman knocking on the windows of cars one by one, begging for a chance of life for her son.
Her appearance wasn’t very different from that of the Old Jing from Ding Qiuyun’s memories. Her hair was tied up into a neat ponytail, emphasising her slender neck. From her figure, she looked like a gentle, delicate and slender woman, just lacking that bit of forceful charm.
Chi Xiaochi stopped his motorcycle, and Jing Zihua quickly noticed them.
She hurried over. “Mister, please help me, my son——”
……Being called “Mister” so politely by her, was still a first.
After hearing her explain the situation, Chi Xiaochi said, “The situation’s too serious. We just came from the city. The entire city’s stopped running, so sending him to the hospital might be useless.”
Before Jing Zihua could fall into despair, Chi Xiaochi continued, saying, “Take your son back into your house. I have oral anti-inflammatory medicine, and antipyretics. ……Right, is your son allergic to cephalosporins?”
Jing Zihua’s eyes lit up. “He’s not allergic……”
“I have some cephalosporins,” Chi Xiaochi said, “Quickly go in, don’t stay out in the wind. If you, the mother, also fall ill, that would be terrible.”
As he spoke, he walked over to Jing Zihua’s car, beckoning his parents to follow as well.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a pair of cold eyes staring out at him from the convenience store.
061 warned him, “It’s that person.”
Chi Xiaochi didn’t even raise his head. “What person? There’s a person?”
As long as the other didn’t come to make trouble, Chi Xiaochi would just take it as if he’d seen a c.o.c.kroach.
In the convenience store.
Xiao Han, who’d just been about to succeed, smashed a fist onto the counter, cursing, “f.u.c.ker, mind your own business!”