Chapter 7

Charlotte closed the book. She was tired after a whole day of fussing.

She got up to turn off the lights, but as soon as she stood up, she noticed that Malone was still awake on the bed, sitting upright and looking out the window.

I said, 'Little mute, what are you looking at?' Charlotte looked in the direction of his gaze. Outside the window, it was pitch black, with no tall buildings or magnificent scenery lit up by bright lights. The dark ridges and rows of low-rise buildings looked nothing new. 'Go to bed early, I'm turning out the lights.'

She reached for the switch and turned off the lights.

The room suddenly became dark, but there was no curtain on the large window beside the bed. The moonlight outside was bright, and it shone into her room.

She lay down, paused, and said, "Good night."

Of course, Malone didn't respond to her, but after a while, she heard movement on the bed, and the mute boy lay down and fell asleep.

Sleep well tonight.

The next morning, Charlotte prepared to take Malone back to the satellite city.

After eating the canned breakfast, Charlotte gritted her teeth and decided to give two of her clothes to Malone to wear. She had thrown away her own clothes because they were too dirty to wear.

I have to say that although this little mute may be mentally retarded, he is really handsome. Charlotte's clothes look very good on him, even if they are women's clothes, and she silently admires him.

The two drove to the satellite town they visited yesterday. The fog had dissipated, and the dilapidated and desolate streets were directly in front of them. The walls of the buildings that had been in disrepair for years were mottled with debris and ruins. The once vibrant town was now empty, and the neon signs of the collapsed coffee shop on the corner had been lost for many years. Such a scene filled people with a myriad of emotions.

There are countless abandoned towns like this one in the world.

Charlotte drove slowly. Now that the fog had dissipated, she felt as if this town was not the same as the one in the fog yesterday. She had a terrible sense of direction and kept circling around several streets, but she couldn't find the parking place she had stopped at yesterday.

She felt a jolt in her heart, as the two boxes of cigarettes were probably gone. Although the satellite town was uninhabited, smuggling vehicles came and went, and there was no fog, so others would definitely pick them up if they saw them.

It's really bad luck to give away 7.2 million to others for nothing.

Charlotte felt increasingly angry and unwilling. She drove around for over an hour, feeling that she had walked the streets of the entire satellite city at least ten times. There were no two boxes of cigarettes on any street, and she finally gave up struggling.

She turned her head and looked at Malone, who was sitting in the passenger seat. "Little mute, do you remember where your house is?"

Malone looked ahead and didn't say anything.

"Oh, I forgot that you're a bit silly..." Charlotte patted her head with one hand, racking her brains to find the right words. "It's... your home, the house you live in. You know the house? It's where I found you. She patted her belly with her hand. "It's where you were shot, the bullet, the gun, you know!"

Malone nodded.

Charlotte was excited and sincerely expressed her joy for her excellent communication skills: "Yes, yes, that's right. Then can you take me there?"

Malone didn't say anything.

Charlotte confirmed, "Take me there, and I'll take you to find your parents. Is that good? If it's okay, nod your head so I know."

There seemed to be a sparkle in Malone's eyes, and then he slowly nodded.

"Great!" Charlotte grabbed the steering wheel with both hands. "If you want me to go left, point left, and if you want me to go right, point right. Let me know the direction."

Malone started to guide her way, and the satellite city was actually quite small. After driving for less than five minutes, they stopped under a building.

Charlotte turned off the engine and got out of the car, glancing up at the old building with almost all its wall paint peeling off, revealing the red bricks exposed to the air. According to the standards of Moon City, buildings like this were strictly uninhabitable. She didn't notice it yesterday in the heavy fog, but today in the sun, it felt eerie.

They walked upstairs and arrived at the top floor room where she found Malone yesterday. Everything was still the same as yesterday, with half-open cans and a glass of water on the table, as well as a large bloodstain on the bed sheet that had darkened.

Charlotte saw the bloodstain and felt a pang in her heart. The scene of yesterday's memories flashed in her mind again. She took a step back and grabbed Malone's arm.

"No, I need to check again." She squatted down and lifted the hem of Malone's shirt, exposing his stomach. She touched it with her hand and felt that there was no injury or scar.

Malone struggled unexpectedly and pushed Charlotte away. Charlotte lost her balance and fell butt down on the ground.

"Well, you're quite strong, little mute."

Malone quickly put his clothes back on and looked away from Charlotte.

Charlotte stood up, brushing off the dust from her buttocks, and decided not to care about the little idiot. She looked around the house, which had a lot of dust. She judged the number of people living in the house based on the state of dust accumulation, and found that their activity range was actually very small. It didn't look like a family of three lived here, nor did it look like there were adults. It was very much like the style of Malone, who would sit there dazed off into space, especially sitting in front of the window staring out at the窗外He sat on the brick window sill so much that it was now shiny and spotless, without a speck of dust. Other areas with leisure and entertainment functions had a thick layer of dust accumulation.

Charlotte was shocked that this little mute might actually live here alone.

She also didn't care about Malone's level of intelligence. She put her hands on Malone's shoulders and asked, "Where are your parents? Who brought you here?"

Malone shook his head.

"What do you mean by shaking your head? Do you not know, or do you mean something else?"

Malone never responded to her again.

Charlotte shook her shoulders, "Little mute! Malone! You tell me, I want to take you to find your family! It's very dangerous for you to be here alone! There are many many zombies here! Zombies, you know? They will eat people! If they bite you, you will also become a zombie!"

Malone looked at her with those eyes that were as bright as stars, and there seemed to be a hint of emotion floating in them. Charlotte looked at him for a long time before realizing that Malone's expression was one of slight disdain, as if he was gazing at an idiot.

Charlotte shook her head thinking she must have misunderstood before realizing that Malone had turned his head back to her and was now shaking his head.

"Alright then, I'll ask you questions and you can only nod or shake your head, okay? Nodding means yes and shaking your head means no, got it?" Charlotte was determined not to give up.

"First question, did your parents live here before?"

Malone turned back and shook his head.

Who lives with you?

Malone paused and shook his head.

"No," Charlotte corrected herself. "You should ask, 'Do you live here with anyone?'

She looked at Malone with great expectation, but saw that he shook his head without any hesitation or hesitation.

Charlotte was silent, she sighed deeply, and sat down on her sofa, raising a cloud of dust in the room.

She fell into deep thought, wondering what to do in this situation.

She had originally made up her mind to send Malone back to his relatives, but now that she had arrived at the place where she first found him, she discovered that he was really alone and living on his own. But in this world, there may be zombies outside the walls at any time, and he is just a boy of eleven or twelve years old. How can she possibly leave him alone here?

Charlotte fidgeted, and noticed that Malone was sitting on the bay window again. She asked out loud, "Are your parents still alive?"

Malone thought for a moment and shook his head.

Oh my god, my parents are gone. I'm really an orphan now.

To say nothing of the other things, the fact that she lives here alone is a miracle in itself. There are so many strange things happening to Malone, even he himself, a handsome mute who doesn't speak, is like a thick fog, a mystery. No matter what you want to know from him, you can't get the answer.

However, Charlotte felt that she couldn't treat him as a small mentally disabled person in the future. From her reaction just now, she realized that he actually didn't have any mental disabilities, and his communication and understanding were quite normal. Maybe he just didn't want to talk to Charlotte sometimes...

It may be a psychological disorder called autism. Charlotte had seen this kind of disease in the book, where the patient lived in their own world, refused to communicate with others, ignored the existence of others, and could not respond normally to the words and actions of others. Charlotte thinks that this is Malone's disease. It's exactly the same. She looks out of the window every day and sees a flower. What is it not to indulge in her own world?

Not a small mental retardation, but a small autism in the future.

But regardless of whether she is a minor mental retardation or a minor autism, there is a very thorny issue at the moment: where should he go?

Charlotte doesn't want to be a villain, but the end of the world will harden people's hearts. Too many deaths will make people feel no guilt for the death of others. Charlotte is not a heartless person, but compared to her compassion and mercy, it is less important than what she wants to do. She wants to save money, and she needs a lot of money. With this belief, Malone's existence can only be a stumbling block.

She can't afford to raise a child.

She took a deep breath and made a decision in her heart.

She stood up, took out a pistol, pulled the safety catch, showed her how to load it, and placed it on the table. "I know you're not a fool, you're just too lazy to talk to me. I've put this pistol here for you, and there are fifteen mercury bullets in it. When you need to use it, just load it the way I just showed you, aim at the person and shoot. Don't touch it unless you have something to do."

I need a lot of money, and I am not capable of supporting you. Now that the gunshot wound on your stomach is okay, let's return everything to the original point. How did you live before? Now continue to live like this, okay?