Chapter 23 Astonishment

Breakfast consisted of leftover pancakes, leftover rice porridge, and the remnants of last night's roe deer meat.

Even though it was leftovers, the morning still marked the pleasant beginning of a good new day.

Luo Xingyu stayed busy at home while Gao Yuan and Xiang Weiguo made their way to the village with light steps.

Zombies were unlikely to find their way here, so Luo Xingyu wouldn't be in any danger staying behind. Plus, with her thin arms and legs, she really couldn't move much, so she wouldn't be taking part in today's moving activities.

"Xiao Yuan, you're a good person!"

Gao Yuan looked back at Xiang Weiguo with a somber expression, asking, "Are you cursing me or praising me?"

Xiang Weiguo replied in puzzlement, "I just don't get it, what's with young people these days? How did 'good person' become an insult?"

Gao Yuan said softly, "Good people suffer losses. In this age where everyone is a self-serving egoist, being a good person has indeed become an insult."

Xiang Weiguo shook his head, "That's not right. No matter the era, a good person should never be an insult. If someone thinks that way, their brain must have a problem."

"What if the whole society thinks that way?"

"Then it's the society that has a problem!"

Gao Yuan said softly, "Your thinking is too old-fashioned; I don't want to talk about this anymore."

Xiang Weiguo replied gravely, "You are an upright gentleman, and I am not saying this to be sarcastic. In a situation with a man and a woman alone together to be able to conduct oneself as you do, I believe truly few can match. So, you are a good person."

"Oh, that's what you're talking about."

"What else would I be talking about? As of today, I can finally say I've truly seen who you are. There are some things that, even if done, wouldn't be wrong, but not doing them, that's what makes one a good person!"

Gao Yuan gave a wry smile and said, "Too familiar, too close; it's hard to make a move."

"What?"

"I just mean I'm too familiar with her, it's hard to make a move, don't you get it?"

"I understand even less now. Back in my day, when you were to find a wife, you definitely started with someone you know well."

Gao Yuan gestured dismissively, "It's too close, do you understand? When I found her, I saved her life, but she also saved mine. Do you get it?"

"What do you mean by that?"

Gao Yuan sighed, "At that time, I was alone. I didn't know what it was like outside, countless times I thought of suicide or just going out to see, even if I encountered a zombie and died it would be worth it. The thought of possibly being the only person left alive here, just me, all alone, I'd rather be dead. So, when I saw her, you can't imagine how happy I was. I would have given her anything because I knew if she died, I would surely die too."

"Humans are social animals. The soldiers I trained can endure hardships and exhaustion but they dread solitary confinement. It's the same with the most stubborn recruits, and the veterans fear it even more. They may not fear death, but they do fear solitary confinement."

Gao Yuan said quietly, "Special forces soldiers have it the hardest, don't they? They aren't afraid of death, so can they really be afraid of confinement?"

After pondering for a moment, Xiang Weiguo shook his head, "No, you need to understand something. Special forces soldiers endure a lot of hardness, but it's not the hardest."

"There's something harder than that?"

Xiang Weiguo fell silent for a bit before continuing, "Listen to me, one year I went to the Gao Yuan region to scout for suitable high-altitude training grounds. I was accompanied by an official and stayed at a military post. That place could snow any time of year. I happened to arrive during a heavy snow that blocked the roads, and I had to stay in the post for a few extra days. I met two border soldiers who had just come down from their outpost. Everyone was annoyed by them but still had to engage in conversation with them, letting them eat whenever they wanted, sleep whenever they wanted, and even their chatter during guard duty wasn't considered a breach of discipline."

"Why is that?"

With a grave expression, Xiang Weiguo said, "Because they'd just come down from an outpost that would be sealed off by heavy snow during winter. For seven months, they couldn't get in or out, it was just the two of them together. They couldn't even leave the outpost for more than a hundred meters."

"That's like being in prison!"

"Even prisoners get to go outside for a walk!"

Xiang Weiguo sighed deeply, "Things were different back then. They survived on canned food and compressed biscuits, even pickles were considered a luxury. Seven months, just the two of them, and by the time they came down from the outpost, their fingernails had curled up, shaped like bowls."

Shaking his head with emotion, Xiang Weiguo said to Gao Yuan, "Is being in the special forces exhausting? Absolutely. Is it tough? Very tough. Dangerous? Extremely. But compared to those soldiers holding down the fort at the outposts, it's really nothing. Any soldier who can hold out at a post for seven months is a hero, as long as they don't go mad."

Gao Yuan nodded, "I might not have understood before, but now, I truly understand. Loneliness can drive a person mad."

Xiang Weiguo smiled, "Those two soldiers could talk to someone all day, not letting go of their hands, just endlessly jabbering about nonsense for days on end. Why? They hadn't seen another soul for too long. To put it bluntly, they could talk for hours to a dog if it meant they didn't have to continue talking to each other. Eventually, I spent two days chatting with them about everything imaginable. I learned so much that I even found out one of the soldiers wet his bed when he was sixteen."

All Gao Yuan could do was agree, and Xiang Weiguo continued, "So, when you say that when you met Xiaoyu, it wasn't so much you saving her as it was her saving you, I honestly believe and understand that, very much so."

As he spoke, the village came into view, and Gao Yuan couldn't help but pick up the walkie-talkie and said, "Xiaoyu, how are things over there?"

Luo Xingyu's voice came through from the walkie-talkie quickly.

"Brother, it hasn't even been an hour since you left, this is the third time you've asked, I'm fine, nothing's wrong, I'll tell you if anything happens, don't worry."

Gao Yuan felt a bit embarrassed and said to Xiang Weiguo with a smile, "Already starting to worry?"

"Yeah, it's the first time Xiaoyu has been left alone at home, so I'm a bit concerned."

"Yet you won't let her come with us."

"Hey, she wouldn't be able to carry much anyway, it would be too tiring to run back and forth."

Xiang Weiguo shook his head and said, "If you're really that worried about her, you might as well have brought her along."

If they didn't carry anything and took the shortest route, it would still take two hours from the small mountain village where Gao Yuan lived to the village where they were moving things, which meant the round trip would take at least five hours at the fastest.

In other words, Gao Yuan would have to be without Luo Xingyu for at least five hours.

In the past month or so, besides training times when Gao Yuan would temporarily be apart from Luo Xingyu, the only other time they were apart was when using the toilet, so this was the first time they had been apart for such a long duration and at such a distance, and he was indeed a bit worried.

"Hmm, we'll have to come back again in the afternoon. If it doesn't work out, let her come with us then. I remember how happy Xiaoyu was when looking for food."

In the end, Gao Yuan compromised. Being away from Luo Xingyu made him feel insecure, and he couldn't quite tell if he was more worried about himself or Luo Xingyu.

They were about to enter the village, and although they had already searched several houses the day before, they still needed to be vigilant. The two fell silent and cautiously approached the village on tiptoe.

They bypassed the houses they had already searched and arrived at the door of a house that seemed relatively new. Xiang Weiguo held a wooden stick in one hand and gently pushed the metal gate with the other, while Gao Yuan wielded an axe.

The metal gate was locked. Xiang Weiguo made a hand gesture, then lightly knocked on the metal gate, and soon they heard a clattering noise from inside.

Both their complexions changed at once, and Xiang Weiguo motioned for Gao Yuan to leave the place with him.

There were zombies inside the house. They hadn't come out because the metal gate was locked, and the courtyard wall was very high. It wasn't the first time they had encountered such a situation; they'd found a house in this state yesterday.

There was no need to risk fighting zombies. They wouldn't go in, and that was fine. Any zombie capable of leaving its house had already been dealt with, and it was ultimately much riskier wandering around a village still infested with zombies. Not allowing Luo Xingyu to come was one of the main reasons Gao Yuan was reluctant.

Another house, its main gate wide open, the two exchanged a glance, and Xiang Weiguo immediately walked in.

Xiang Weiguo stood at the doorway while Gao Yuan followed and looked inside, only to see human bones scattered all over the courtyard.

Xiang Weiguo sighed softly and said in a low voice, "This family must have met with misfortune. They locked the door, but when someone got sick and they tried to leave, zombies caught up to them. Well, it should be safe inside, let's check it out."

Xiang Weiguo could always make a basic inference about what happened in a place based on subtle clues. If he said a place was safe, there would be no danger; so far, he had never been wrong, and Gao Yuan would never doubt Xiang Weiguo's judgment.

They stepped inside, and just then, Gao Yuan's walkie-talkie suddenly made a noise, but it was very brief, just the sound of the walkie-talkie turning on when the other person called.

However, the walkie-talkie tuned on for only a brief moment, less than a second, and the call from the other side ended.

Both of them stopped in their tracks, and Gao Yuan quickly pressed the transmit button, saying, "Xiaoyu! Respond!"

There was no sound, no response, and both Gao Yuan and Xiang Weiguo's faces drastically changed.

"Not good!"

Just as Xiang Weiguo blurted out an alarm, the walkie-talkie activated again, and then they heard Luo Xingyu scream, "Brother!"

The call was cut off again, and Gao Yuan and Xiang Weiguo took off running, with Gao Yuan lifting the walkie-talkie to make a call, but Xiang Weiguo urgently said, "Don't call out!"

Gao Yuan forcibly suppressed his urge to call out, feeling as if he had been waiting for a long time, even though in actuality less than ten seconds had passed.

Finally, Xiang Weiguo urgently said, "Now do as I say, you call out, but don't say much, just say one sentence. Ask Xiaoyu, 'How are you?' Now call!"

Gao Yuan pressed the transmit button and urgently said, "Xiaoyu, what's wrong with you?"

There was no response, utter silence.