When they arrived at the door where the zombies had rushed out, Zhang Xiaoqiang took out his NP22, turned on his tactical flashlight, and carefully walked upstairs. Yuan Yi took out a spare military knife from Zhang Xiaoqiang's waist and carefully followed behind him.
There were not many mutated shrimps that could climb up to the top of the slope. At the top of the slope, there was a one meter high flight of stairs from the side of the ship. At this point, the mutated shrimps couldn't go any further. They could only raise their pincers and crawl around. At this time, a team member would extend a steel pipe from the car. The mutated shrimps were very cooperative. Whenever a steel pipe was extended in front of them, they would use their pincers to tightly clamp it. Once they clamped it, they wouldn't let go.
Once his heart calmed down, Zhang Xiaoqiang's spirit recovered a lot. All kinds of sounds that he had ignored before also rang in his ears. The rustling sound of countless mutated shrimps crawling under the ship, the heavy breathing of some sleeping militiamen, and the faint howling sound in the distance. Finally, he heard a rhythmic muffled sound.
Seeing this picture, Zhang Xiaoqiang knew who Chi Yong's brother was. It was Liu Biao, who was killed by him. Zhang Xiaoqiang's calm heart was disturbed again. He softly leaned against the wall and silently looked at the dark corner.
He didn't know why, but when he hugged Yuan Yi's slightly cold body and smelled the fragrance of her hair, the worry and anxiety in Zhang Xiaoqiang's heart all disappeared. His heart returned to calmness, like the surface of a lake in the morning, there was no trace of a ripple.
The members of the search team split into groups of five and took turns fishing for the mutated prawns. Behind them, most of the people were resting. The sounds of snoring, grinding of teeth, smacking of lips, and farting could be heard continuously. Amidst all these sounds, some people were sleeping soundly with a frightened expression on their faces. They kept shaking their heads and bodies, as if they were struggling to wake up from their dreams.
Thinking of Liu Biao's tearful expression when he begged Zhang Xiaoqiang to kill him, Zhang Xiaoqiang's whole body leaned against the steel wall as if he had no bones. He closed his eyes. Zhang Xiaoqiang seemed to hear the shouts of the militiamen behind him when they broke through the siege, the loud sound of the ship exploding, and Liu Biao's pleading at the last moment of his life.
Not everyone was able to sleep. Some of the more sensitive or pessimistic people sat together and whispered to each other, guessing what they would encounter the next day. Their whispers were reprimanded by their captain, and then the three-story deck fell into silence.
Gently pushing Yuan Yi away from his arms, Zhang Xiaoqiang pressed Yuan Yi's shoulder and listened attentively. Not long after, he held Yuan Yi's hand and walked towards the building on the deck. The building had several floors, and the sound didn't only come from the third or fourth floor.
The team members patrolling the crowd walked over and quietly squatted down beside them. They carefully covered their mouths and noses and woke them up. This was to prevent people from waking up at night and causing chaos and killing each other. Before they went to sleep, they had been frightened and their nerves were stretched taut. Once there was a change, they would do something out of line. This was also the origin of the ancient camp howl.
It was a man crying, and the voice was unfamiliar. At least, Zhang Xiaoqiang didn't have any impression of it. He pulled Yuan Yi, who wanted to go over to take a look, and slowly got closer. Just as they turned a corner, Zhang Xiaoqiang saw a light in front of them. It was the light of a burning flame.
Zhang Xiaoqiang opened his eyes and saw the worry in Yuan Yi's eyes. He squeezed out an ugly smile and shook his head at Yuan Yi, telling her not to worry. Yuan Yi hesitated for a moment, and her slender body slowly leaned over. Slowly, she nestled into Zhang Xiaoqiang's embrace. She lowered her head and put her ear on Zhang Xiaoqiang's chest, listening to his heartbeat.
A delicate little hand took the initiative to burrow into his palm. Yuan Yi leaned into his embrace and used her cheek to rub his chin. Smelling the cold fragrance on Yuan Yi's face, Zhang Xiaoqiang was speechless and let out a long sigh: "This f * cking apocalypse … …"
Zhang Xiaoqiang recognized this person. It was Chi Yong, who was wearing a militia uniform. His performance today was outstanding. As for him shooting Liu Biao, Zhang Xiaoqiang didn't blame him. Instead, he was somewhat grateful. At least he didn't have to bear the crime of killing his own people. Once he carried that crime, he would have to bear it for the rest of his life.
Zhang Xiaoqiang leaned against the wall and didn't move. In the darkness beside him, Yuan Yi couldn't hold it in anymore. She walked out and stood in front of Zhang Xiaoqiang. She looked at him with eyes full of concern.
In a small corner of the sleeping crowd, Chi Yong hugged his rifle and leaned against his backpack. He looked up at the morning star in the sky. No one knew what he was thinking. He didn't take off his helmet. No one knew that his head was wrapped with a dark red bandage. That was his atonement for Liu Biao.
Chi Yong knelt on the ground in repentance. In front of him was a pack of cigarettes that had been dismantled. All of the cigarettes had been lit and were spread on the ground. Chi Yong kowtowed to Liu Biao's backpack. On the backpack was a family photo. Liu Biao was holding his daughter and standing with his wife. Behind them was a dark red taxi.
It was four in the morning. Most of the people on the ship were asleep. Only the search team members on the side of the ship were wearing night vision goggles. They were vigilant of the mutated shrimps under the ship. From 11 at night to 4 in the morning, the mutated shrimps had reached the side of the ship several times. However, they didn't pose any threat to the people on the ship. Instead, many of them were captured alive.
Zhang Xiaoqiang tightly hugged Yuan Yi's soft and delicate body. Hugging Yuan Yi, he looked out of the side of the ship. It was as if the sky was burning red. At this moment, the two of them didn't do anything. They just quietly snuggled up to each other.
A man was kneeling on the ground and banging his head on the ground. The repeated banging caused his forehead to crack. Blood flowed down his cheeks and splashed on the floor like a plum blossom.
Zhang Xiaoqiang endured the exhaustion of his body and silently smoked a cigarette. Everything that happened tonight was inexplicable. It happened suddenly without any warning. From the beginning to the end, they were passive. They lost the reconnaissance point, the dock, the camp, and the counterattack on the dock failed. The only thing that could be praised was that they succeeded in breaking through. At the last moment, they lost an excellent militia.
Zhang Xiaoqiang asked Huang Quan to arrange people to guard the entrance of the gentle slope. He poured gasoline on it. In case of an emergency, they could burn it. He stood in a dark corner and smoked. The ground around his feet was full of people. The militia leaned on their backpacks and listened to the sound of the burning flames in the distance. They fell asleep in extreme fatigue.
Zhang Xiao Qiang and Yuan Yi stopped at the same time, looking at each other, as they crouched down warily, heading towards the source of the sound. As they neared, Zhang Xiao Qiang was about to pounce out, when he heard the faint sounds of crying.
The fate of the mutated shrimps that were caught was self-evident. They would definitely be beaten to death. Their shells were invulnerable, but their abdomen could be pierced. Every time a mutated shrimp was killed, their claws would be removed, their shells would be opened, and they would be thrown to the side of the ground to be piled up, waiting to become breakfast.
"Big brother … I'm sorry … Big brother …"
Zhang Xiaoqiang tiptoed on the steel floor. From time to time, he would step over the zombie corpses lying on the floor. He passed through the garbage on the ground and slowly went upstairs. The two of them walked very carefully and did not make any sound. Slowly, they heard the sound getting louder and louder. It seemed like something was hitting the iron plate.
In a small room filled with junk, there was a pile of split wooden boards on the floor. There was a small bonfire on the side of the boards. The fuel was a few wooden boards that were stacked together.