Chapter 6：Salvaging Supplies from the Broken-Down Vehicle

Twenty-five days have passed since Chen Dao arrived here. On this morning, he woke up early and sat before the vanity mirror, picking at the numerous blood clots clogging his ears. He felt it best to clean them out for a swifter recovery, though lacking phenol glycerine drops, which would have expedited the process.

The itching, rather than pain, in his ears suggested his eardrums were intact. A little phenol glycerine would help them recover nicely. Sadly, most of the medications he found were general oral drugs.

At this point, Chen Dao could hear faint sounds, but it was like the buzz of a mosquito, indistinct and colorless. After unsuccessfully trying to dislodge the stubborn blood scabs, he gave up. Glycerin-based solvents would easily clean dried blood in the ear canal, but for now, he'd have to rely on the ear's natural oils to gradually dissolve them.

Rubbing just below his ears, Chen Dao stepped out to a new day. Demnia was making a roasty dish rich with cabbage and canned goods. He hadn't ventured beyond the farm's gate yet and only knew from Payton that they were near the outskirts of Fellaria Village.

Payton was still busy with his tools, causing quite a clatter.

Chen Dao felt much improved. He could walk normally, and his neck wound was healing well enough that the stitches might come out in another week. He informed the two of his departure and walked out to find out precisely where he was.

Stepping outside, he was greeted by brilliant sunshine, lush grass, and layers of greenery. It was a two-story farmhouse surrounded by turned red soil and a cement road leading straight to the farm. A small grove was visible, and he could see the tarmac of the county road.

With sparse trees, the view was all grassland with no landmarks. However, Chen Dao could see a village building—the church steeple—south eastward in the distance. He covered his eyes from the glaring sun, recalling that Fellaria Village had no high-rise buildings.

In fact, Knox County had few structures over seven stories, especially since it was 1993, and the game developers didn't create Louisville's skyscrapers for optimization reasons.

In Kentucky, commonplace rural church steeples were a rarity in the game map. The farmhouse even had its own garage and tool shed, with a barn and garden in the back. Now, only troughs and a dog house occupied the barn, devoid of livestock and guard dogs. Even the garden's scarecrow was a lonely plastic figure without a stitch of clothing.

But a few unattended cabbages were growing persistently, perhaps picked from this very spot, considering the trail leading up to it through the underbrush.

Chen Dao settled onto the overgrown grass, taking a deep breath of fresh air, acknowledging his "Farming" skill was non-existent. He urgently needed to find some instructional books on cultivation, seeds, and chemicals like pesticides and fertilizers – all of which would be at Fellaria Village's farm cooperative, amongst the weapons and potentially ammunition. His vehicle contained a few bullets, but not nearly enough.

Resting his chin on his hand and soaking up the Kentucky July sun, Chen Dao pondered whether he should start sharpening his shooting skills right away. Indeed, the location seemed secure, offering wide open spaces that would make any approaching zombies clearly visible.

In his memory, other nearby habitations were not visible to the naked eye; one could only spy the distant church tower through the leaves. Wide-open spaces have their advantages and disadvantages, he mused.

Concluding his survey of the surroundings without pinpointing his exact location, Chen Dao realized he needed more information from Payton and Demnia. There were things that needed to be discussed in detail; they had to survive together, and cooperation was key.

As Chen Dao returned to the door, he encountered Payton stepping out, looking concerned since Chen Dao had left unarmed and still recovering. Payton's relief at seeing him return turned into enthusiasm, quickly ushering Chen Dao back to the farm for the meal Demnia had prepared.

Once again, like the day before, each held a plate of food – this time Demnia had prepared a serving of fresh cabbage rolls filled with salted beef for each, accompanied by mashed potatoes Chen Dao recalled were instant from the sachet he had found.

After Chen Dao finished his meal and waited for the other two to do likewise, he sifted through his backpack. Pulling out a few small tools and scraps of cloth and thread, he started crafting something. When he put down the needle and thread, Demnia and Payton had also finished eating.

Noticing Chen Dao seemed to have something in mind, they turned their attention to him. "I suppose we're a team now," he began. "I think we need to work together more, given our mutual goal is to survive. Cooperation is vital."

"A person might survive alone, but they can easily end up like me," he said, pointing to his wound. Demnia and Payton nodded in agreement.

"I'm talking about 'those people,' the zombies," Chen Dao continued, explaining their habits and methods for dealing with them. "Zombies act on instinct, divided into walkers and sprinters, which you've likely seen."

Demonia agreed, writing, "You can't tell if they'll run or walk before they move."

"Can you distinguish them?" she asked.

Chen Dao shrugged awkwardly. "No, I can't. No one knows for sure until they move. But from my experience, the recently dead or those with good physical conditions are likely sprinters."

"If you see a clean-looking zombie or young lads in school team gear..." Chen Dao remembered a sprinter dressed as a football player he encountered at Riverside Funfair; he was fast until Chen Dao's shot turned him into a walker.

Their vulnerability, he shared with them, was in the head, or more precisely, the brain. "I don't know how they manage with rotten brains to control their bodies, but they've only got one weakness: the destruction of their head."

"Only those whose heads are thoroughly damaged won't rise again."

He asked if they had seen any downed zombies that rose again. Demnia shook her head; she hadn't encountered any playing possum.

"Then you'd better be careful. Many seemingly normal corpses are just dormant zombies that will lurch back to life on provocation!" Chen Dao emphasized. "The best way to finish them is to smash or sever their heads."

"But all this talk doesn't match actually observing them. I've rested enough these past days." He addressed them: "I noticed you brought a lot of food from the car but left behind the books, tools, and, most importantly, the generator."

"If we can get it, we might restore power to this house," he gestured to the ceiling light.

They looked at each other, and Payton wrote: "I get what you mean, but are you sure you're up to it?"

Chen Dao flexed his neck, feeling the wound healing well. "No problem. Fights may be tough, but escaping is a sure thing."

"Must I go too?" Payton's surprise was evident when Chen Dao included him.

"Of course. You can't expect to avoid zombies forever. There's always a first time." Chen Dao could tell Payton was a good kid and hadn't faced zombies like Demnia had.

"Don't worry, I'll guide you, and following my instructions, you can easily outsmart those foolish enough to walk into walls."

"Besides, we're just checking my car and grabbing a few things. We may not even encounter them."

With a towel and old shirt, Chen Dao fashioned a neck protector to shield his wound from further contamination.

"Let's go. Lead the way to the car," he said, shouldering his backpack and tightening his belt.

Demonia placed the cleaver back in her small backpack and followed silently, while Payton hurriedly picked a hefty wrench from his toolbox, anxiously tagging along.

Outside, Demnia led the way to the north, towards a small, picturesque lake called Shade Lake, nestled within a grove where lovers often sought tranquility and romance.

Chen Dao's car was not far from the lake, crashed through the forest from the county road.

Under the warm morning sun, the trio embarked on their first low-risk team expedition, guided by an experienced survivor alongside two novices.