This is apocalyptic

Chapter 111: Still Mutating

Maybe it was a long-standing habit, but when winter came, Lin Duoduo always seemed to be unable to wake up. She would wrap herself in a green military coat that was much bigger than her and fall asleep wherever she leaned.

When the sun comes out, you can bask in the sun; when the sun isn't out, you can warm yourself by the fire. It's like hibernating like that.

I only feel energetic when I leave the yard.

The next morning, Bai Xiao and Lin Duoduo went out. Both of them were dressed warmly. Lin Duoduo, who was holding a gun with his sleeves tucked into his sleeves and wearing a big hat, walked with the skinny zombies, leaving two long footprints on the snow.

Although the wolves and they were both survivors of the apocalypse, they invaded each other's territory and had to expel one of them.

They just work hard every day, not for anything else, just to survive.

The same is true for Bai Xiao.

The mountains are a public hunting area, while the area outside the village is their territory.

The wind had stopped. The snow on the hillside was very thick and it squeaked when you stepped on it. On the first day, you couldn't find any trace of them. You could only see the claw marks on the snow to see signs of their wandering. But you could hear the howling of wolves at night.

After going out for two consecutive days, Bai Xiao finally encountered them near the mountain road. They were no longer as large as before, and only a few were left, standing on guard under the leadership of the leader wolf.

Bai Xiao looked back and saw a man in a green coat on the snow, holding a gun and running towards him, closing the distance.

The assassin and the warrior were tug-of-war, but the warrior did not follow the ethics of martial arts and brought a shooter with him. The result was naturally self-evident. The leader wolf was shot dead, and the two wolves fled in panic, and finally the territory was guarded.

Dragging the spoils back, Bai Xiao patrolled the area with a fork for the next few days, looking for traces on the snow. All the footprints were left before, and no new wolf footprints were seen. He was sure that the escaped wolf had left and was no longer wandering around.

The crisis was over and there was no need to worry about Lin Duoduo and Aunt Qian being taken away by the wolf. Bai Xiao breathed a sigh of relief and was not so irritable anymore. After peeling off the wolf skin, he and Lin Duoduo took two large bags of meat to Aunt Qian.

The snowy road was difficult to walk on. He took one deep step and one shallow step and finally arrived at Aunt Qian's door. Bai Xiao always suspected that the old lady was dead, but she would always drag her old body to open the door and stare at him with her cloudy eyes.

It was impossible for Aunt Qian not to be surprised when she saw the meat the two men brought. It was rare to be so abundant in winter. Only when she was lucky enough to encounter some animals that got lost and came down the mountain, such as roe deer, could she have a few full meals. She couldn't help but sigh. Having a man in the house made things different.

In the past, Uncle Cai would carry a gun and go up the mountain, and then bring back some prey for her to eat.

Thinking of Bai Xiao's reminder a few days ago, Aunt Qian asked: "Is this... did you kill the wolf?"

"Ah."

"They will come into the village." She said worriedly.

"They're all killed."

"Hmm...ah?" Aunt Qian looked at Lin Duoduo blankly.

"After we killed them, only two ran away and didn't dare to come back. Bai Xiao goes to see them every day, but he hasn't seen them for several days." Lin Duoduo comforted.

Aunt Qian looked at Lin Duoduo, then at Bai Xiao, who had become as thin as a dog after going out. She seemed to have heard words that were difficult to understand. What did they mean by... all killed?

Aunt Qian was silent for a while, leaning on her crutches, and said nothing more.

Lin Duoduo chatted with her for a few words and returned the gun. Bai Xiao looked at the gun. Originally, he asked Lin Duoduo to exchange it for the homemade gun, but it was different this time. It was just that Uncle Cai left it to her, and she could only borrow it when needed.

When she was about to leave, Aunt Qian called Lin Duoduo into the house.

"I see this young man...his name is Bai Xiao, right? He looks like a zombie." Aunt Qian said.

"No, he is just sick." Lin Duoduo said.

"Really?"

"No." Aunt Qian looked at her, and she also looked straight at Aunt Qian.

Lin Duoduo was not surprised by Aunt Qian's suspicion. When it comes to understanding zombies, they are among the majority, if not the most. Living with zombies in this small mountain village for many years, they are already very familiar with them. Uncle Cai has been wandering in the village for many years, and Lin Huayou has been locked up in the yard. They were once the closest people. Over the years, the two of them have spent more time with zombies than with people.

Even if Uncle Cai turns into a zombie, he is still a thought.

"Just keep it in mind," said the old lady.

"He's just sick." Lin Duoduo repeated.

"In the village...what about those two?" Aunt Qian changed the subject.

"It snowed heavily a few days ago and we were locked in the yard. We didn't know if the wolves would attack them," said Lin Duoduo.

"Well, I'll just hang around for two more years if I can."

Aunt Qian lowered her eyes and nodded slightly. After a moment, she said, "He has found a shelter. When are you leaving?"

"We'll see when the time comes." Lin Duoduo said.

After leaving Aunt Qian's yard, that feeling of decay and old age was swept away. The dark clouds in the sky were rimmed with gold, and it looked like the sky was going to clear up.

The two young men walked down the winding road, their footprints extending all the way to the village. When they returned home, Lin Duoduo took off Bai Xiao's sunglasses and looked at his face carefully.

Bai Xiao was not used to being stared at like this. Ever since he became a zombie, he no longer looked at himself carefully in the mirror.

After coming back this time, it became even more terrifying.

"What are you looking at?"

"It really looks like a zombie." said Lin Duoduo.

"It's not like, it is."

"Why can't you eat it back?"

Lin Duoduo touched the zombie all over, trying to find the place where it had become fatter.

"Because you watch it all day, you don't feel the changes obviously. In fact, I am recovering."

Bai Xiao lifted his clothes to reveal his belly. "Before, the ribs were exposed here. Are they not so obvious now?"

Not only was his body recovering, he also felt that he was still changing, just like the time he had spent recovering from the infection, and it had never stopped.

"The virus is still mutating in my body," said Bai Xiao.

"is it?"

"Those zombies don't have enough flesh and blood. Their infection instinct makes them stop eating their own kind after biting a human to complete the infection. That's why they are always hungry. No zombie has ever eaten as much as I have."

There was a lot of wolf meat this time, enough for them to eat for a long time. Lin Duoduo never thought that one day she would be worried about having too much meat. Fortunately, it was not easy to spoil in winter.

After she cooked, she sat under the eaves and processed the new wolf skins. She scraped off the meat and residue with a knife, cleaned them, and soaked them in a bucket together with the previous skins to soften them and remove the fishy smell.

The crisis was resolved. Bai Xiao opened the gap in the courtyard wall again and shoveled the snow in the yard together to form a big snowdrift. Occasionally he looked back and saw Lin Duoduo poking the leather in the bucket with a stick, trying to make a mattress.

(End of this chapter)