"Ding Dang"… Zhang Xiao Qiang stepped onto something hidden in the mud and used his feet to shake the mud off. A squarish metal board appeared in front of him.
"A secret base?" His heart stirred, "Maybe I've truly found a treasure?" He pulled on the chains, and a huge black tunnel was revealed. There were steps leading downwards. There wasn't much dust, therefore, the location shouldn't have been empty for too long.
Following the steps down, he turned on the light of his phone, and a pa.s.sageway that could fit 2 to 3 people at one time was revealed, the 2 sides of the aisle were reinforced with cement, the same went for the ground. Walking in the tunnel would cause footsteps to echo. Zhang Xiao Qiang wasn't sure what was in front, he could only be more cautious, his Jing Wei Sword in hand, and his ears p.r.i.c.ked for any movements.
The tunnel wasn't long, only about 10m, the moment he pa.s.sed it, he came to a cave-like s.p.a.ce, where the walls weren't cement, but rock and stone. He used his hands to brush past them and felt a warm temperature. However, when he used his light to s.h.i.+ne into the room, he got a scare.
He stared numbly, wanting to curse but not sure to curse at what. He suddenly had the desire to vent his frustrations, by burning everything in front of him cleanly.
He walked in more carefully, noting that there were many machines and working desks around. His luck was good, and he found a diesel generator. After activating it, the room was lit up, and the machines stirred to life.
He saw countless discs on one working desk, with various beautiful women in poses on the cover of the discs. There were also games and movies that were stacked neatly.
If it were only one piece, Zhang Xiao Qiang would cherish it. If it were 10, he would be happy, but seeing these thousands of discs, he felt like cursing.
Everybody knew that this apocalypse had no time for entertainment, relaxing once in awhile was still acceptable. But to actually indulge every day, hoping to die faster?
"Wa! So many!" Yang Ke'er's voice had just sounded out when she pounced on the stack and began rummaging. There were games, movies, and she continually stuffed them into her pockets, as though they would disappear.
"What're you doing here?" Zhang Xiao Qiang couldn't be bothered and just asked out of habit. As long as she didn't touch his secret stash, he would thank his lucky stars.
Yang Ke'er popped out from the mountain of discs and said: "Time to eat!"
==
Zhang Xiao Qiang sat at the table, looking at Yuan Yi with her charcoal face, and began to wonder if Yuan Yi wanted to stop being a violent fighter and instead, become a housewife. On the other hand, Su Qian seemed as though she had something to say.
Looking at her, Zhang Xiao Qiang nodded for her to speak.
"Can… Can I start to kill monsters too?" She stammered her words out, not daring to look at him, as though he would suddenly lash out at her for being out of line.
Zhang Xiao Qiang nodded, an ordinary zombie was actually much weaker than most human beings. As long as one was careful, it wouldn't be a problem. Yang Ke'er was initially like Su Qian, but she also managed to take down a zombie herself. Furthermore, the ability to survive in the future did not depend on one's strength, rather, it was the courage and wits. After all, a person's strength could not rip apart a bus, but a D2 could.
"You must think carefully, we would not provide aid, even if you were to be eaten by the zombies, I would not bother with you. Yang Ke'er and Yuan Yi had to go through this, you will not receive any special treatment as well!"
He looked straight at Su Qian, to him, one should not regret one's choice. Since she didn't want to be a slave, she had to have the courage to face a zombie and the possibility of being eaten. Of course, Zhang Xiao Qiang would not actually let her be eaten. The moment she was infected, he would end her misery fast.
After Su Qian spoke her mind, the atmosphere in the room became sullen. Yang Ke'er continued to reach for food, grabbing a sausage onto her plate. She removed the fatty parts and ate the rest, placing the fatty parts on Zhang Xiao Qiang's plate. To her, Su Qian's well being was of no concern to her.
Yuan Yi only ate what was in front of her. Her head was lowered at all times, and she had paused momentarily when Su Qian spoke up. She then continued, as though they were from separate worlds. Even though Su Qian had helped plead on her behalf before.
This was the first time that Su Qian looked straight at Zhang Xiao Qiang, her expression resolute and her chest stuck out proudly. To her, it was a chance to shed off her status as a slave. Zhang Xiao Qiang wasn't lenient, as long as he felt that you weren't useful, you could be abandoned immediately. In this zombie-filled world, being abandoned meant that one would be eaten or starve to death.
Su Qian's life had been a hard one. She could not trust others, and would rather control her own fate. To her, men could not be relied on, even if Zhang Xiao Qiang was better than Chen Yi, and did not step all over her, so what? She still had to lower herself in front of him, afraid to anger him and had to step carefully.
She had her schemes, amongst Chen Yi's women, she wasn't his favorite, but she suffered the least. When Chen Yi had sought her opinion on being gifted to Zhang Xiao Qiang, she had maintained an expression that it was up to him. Being by Zhang Xiao Qiang's side, she had maintained this aura of being a weak woman. She knew men liked to protect rather than facing a strong woman. She had succeeded, gaining his affection, and felt that she gained an edge over Yuan Yi.
Until Yuan Yi had single-handedly killed the D-Type, obtaining his recognition and approval. His own words were that she had no need to kneel anymore, and could walk upright. Su Qian was stirred, this was what she wanted. Her life now was more shameless than when she had been a call girl. She had never thought that she was worse than anybody, even Yuan Yi. If their fates had been switched, she would definitely have done better.
Zhang Xiao Qiang gave his instructions and they proceeded to dig in. However, his mind traveled back to the secret base of bootleg operations. It was now his. The place wasn't small, and there was electricity, as long as they prepared some living necessities, it would be suitable. If they could strengthen the metal covering at the entrance, then it would be even more secure. Of course, water had to be prepared beforehand, since there wasn't any within. They would also need to get an induction cooker.
Zhang Xiao Qiang had become like a squirrel preparing for winter hibernation since the apocalypse started. He had not much hope for the future, and could only ama.s.s resources to the best of his abilities. He had no big ambitions and was a simple, traditional Chinese man. Even if the amount was enough to last him a lifetime, what about his future generations? As a future ancestor, he sought to gather as much since the future was going to be uncertain.
Thinking about it, as Su Qian kept the dishes, he brought Yang Ke'er and Yuan Yi to move their supplies into the secret base. Yuan Yi was cooperative, doing whatever he asked. The human excavator Yang Ke'er was the one that complained. Why must she carry the items back and forth like a camel, furthermore, it was so inconvenient?!
"Why? Will they spoil outside? You're slave driving us!" Yang Ke'er complained as she threw a bottle of water on the ground, and sat down.
