Marvel's Death Merchant

“This is Frey and Cindy’s house,” Rick said, looking around. “I’ve been here before.”

“I’ve never seen them before,” the Black man said, shrugging. “It was empty when we moved in.”

Rick walked to the window and reached out to lift the felt covering it.

"Don't touch them!" the black man quickly stopped Rick. "The light will attract them!"

Rick looked at the black man with a puzzled expression.

“They’re getting more and more numerous,” the Black man said as he returned to the table to clean the stove. “I shouldn’t have fired that afternoon! The gunshot attracted them all, and now they’re everywhere!”

Rick left the window and turned to look at the black man, whose words had clearly awakened Rick's memories of the day.

“I was so stupid,” the Black man said, sitting down, “to use a gun!”

“You killed someone today,” Rick said sternly.

"A person?" A faint sneer appeared on the Black man's lips.

“Not human!” the Black child said to Rick.

“Shoot him,” Rick said angrily, “right on the street, at the door, a man.”

“Looks like you need some glasses,” the black man said, glaring at Rick. “That’s a walker!”

Rick looked puzzled.

“Sit down, don’t fall,” the Black man said to the weakened Rick.

"And you, Akara."

Plates had already been set on the table for Rick and Jie Liang, and the black man served each of them a spoonful of porridge.

“Here, eat up!” the black man said. Rick clearly didn’t realize anything.

“Thank you very much,” Akira said sincerely. “I’m also very sorry, it seems I’ve caused you a lot of trouble! Everyone has had a hard time since the disaster broke out. To be honest, I ate my last meal last night.” It has to be said that Akira can be quite good at lying at times.

“Dad, it’s time to pray,” the Black child said to the Black man.

“Yes.” The black man held the black child’s hand and looked at Rick and Jie Liang.

Jie Liang grasped the hand the Black child offered, and extended his other hand to Rick. Rick hesitated, glancing at Jie Liang, the Black man, and the Black child, especially at the Black child's earnest gaze. He could only reach out and grasp the hands of the Black man and Jie Liang. The four of them formed a circle, performing the apocalyptic ritual.

"Heavenly Father, we sincerely thank you for providing us with food. We pray that you will protect us from heaven and help us get through this crazy time! Amen!"

"Amen!" Akira said, looking out at the pitch-black world. (To be continued...)

Chapter 175 Night

Everyone was hungry, and they tried their best to eat their share of food, though it was very little. There was nothing they could do about it; in the apocalypse, they wouldn't be able to get any more food.

"Sir, do you even know what's going on outside?" the black man asked Rick. He was clearly puzzled by Rick's previous behavior.

“I just woke up today,” Rick replied. “In the hospital, then back home, that’s it.”

The black man and Jie Liang exchanged a glance, remained silent for a while, and seemed to have a headache.

"So you don't know about those corpses, do you?" The black man stroked his chin and continued to ask.

“No, I saw a lot. The loading and unloading areas were full of them, and those trucks were all loaded to the brim,” Rick told the Black man.

“No, no, no, not the dead ones… the walking ones! The zombies!” the black man explained to Rick with a somber expression. “Like the one I killed today, because he wanted to tear you apart alive, eat you, or at least bite off a piece of flesh from you!”

Rick looked at the black man with a strange expression, unsure whether the black man was crazy or he himself was.

“If this is the first time you’ve heard of this… I know it sounds hard to accept…”

"Are they all out on the street?" Rick asked seriously.

“Yes,” the Black man said, his eyes wide and his throat dry, “sometimes they are more active at night!”

“Maybe it’s because it’s cooler at night,” the Black man said through gritted teeth. “Damn it, I guess it’s because I fired the gun during the day! But as long as we keep quiet, we’ll be safe. By morning, they should be mostly gone.”

“Listen,” the black man said to Rick, frowning, “I’m only going to emphasize one thing—don’t get bitten!”

“We tied you up because we saw your bandages,” the Black man explained. “One bite could be fatal!”

"That kind of high fever... could burn you to death. But after a while... you'll come back to life!"

The black man's tone was tinged with sadness, and Jie Liang knew he was thinking of his wife. Everyone fell silent.

“I saw it with my own eyes…” the Black child said to Rick.

"Relax..." The black man forced a smile and squeezed the black child's shoulder.

It was late at night, and everyone laid out their mattresses in the living room, preparing to sleep. It had been a difficult day for everyone.

The Black father and son slept together. The Black man seemed a little uncomfortable with his new friend's presence and leaned against the wall, lost in thought.

Rick leaned back on the sofa, staring blankly out the window. Meanwhile, Jie Liang's mind was filled with a multitude of thoughts.

The night before, he was sleeping in his warm bed at home, drinking with his friends. Now, everything is gone... gone forever.

I woke up to find myself in a desolate world. A world filled only with monsters and death… Windows and doors were nailed shut with wooden planks… or there were no windows or doors, no ceiling… Dinner consisted of only a spoonful… or not at all… I had to sleep with a gun in my hand… or I was too afraid to sleep at all… This was the rest of my life…

“Karl…is that your son?” the black man suddenly asked Rick. “My son heard you say that name before you passed out.”

“He’s still young, even younger than your son,” Rick said.

"Is he with his mother?" the Black man asked.

Rick sighed, his face filled with worry.

“I hope so,” Rick said.

"Dad," the Black child suddenly called out.

"What's wrong?" The Black man patted his son's head.

"Did you ask him?" the Black child asked.

The Black man couldn't help but laugh.

“Your gunshot wound… I made a little bet with my son,” the black man explained to Rick. “My son says you… robbed a bank…”

Rick was touched by the boy's innocence, and a smile appeared on his face.

“…That’s me.” Rick said to the Black child with a smile, “Just like John Dillinger in Public Enemies—I’m actually the deputy sheriff of this town.”

“Ah-ha.” The black man nodded knowingly, clearly understanding why Rick was questioning him about whether he had killed someone.

Just as everyone fell silent again, a piercing car alarm suddenly blared outside. The Black child was startled and sat bolt upright in bed.

“It’s okay.” The Black man quickly pressed him down. “Dad’s here.”

“Don’t worry,” the black man said, turning to Rick and Jie Liang. “One of them must have crashed into the car.”

"Are you sure?" Rick asked worriedly.

“This has happened before,” the Black man told Rick. “It’s been ringing for a while.”

Everyone stood up instantly. Although Su He was familiar with the plot, being actually in the situation—four people hiding inside a house surrounded by zombies, the silent night suddenly shattered by a piercing alarm—he couldn't help but tense up.

The black man ordered the black boy to turn off the light, and then went to the window with Rick.

The Black man gently lifted the felt cloth and looked inside.

“That blue one, over there on the street,” the black man whispered to Rick and Jie Liang.

Jie Liang and Rick both went over to look. Outside, the shadowy figures were filled with wandering zombies, and at the other end of the street, the headlights of a car were flashing.

“Same as last time,” the Black man whispered to the two.

"Won't this alarm... attract them all?" Rick asked worriedly.

“There’s nothing we can do now. We can only wait until they all disperse tomorrow,” the Black man said.

At that moment, the Black child walked to the window and looked outside.

Around the corner, a Black woman infected by zombies walked out with wide eyes.

"Ah! There she is!" the Black child exclaimed softly.

The black man's expression was complicated; he had clearly also seen the black woman.

"Don't look! Stay away from the window!" the black man ordered.

The Black child stared intently at the figure, unwilling to leave.

“I told you to leave! Hurry up!” the black man yelled at his son.

The Black child turned and ran away, and the Black man lowered his head sadly and also left the window.

Jie Liang returned to his bunk with a somber face and lay down without saying a word. Only Rick was still observing outside.

The Black child threw himself onto the bunk and burst into tears. The Black man went over and hugged him.

"Quiet...quiet..." the black man pleaded with his son, afraid that his loud crying would attract the zombies.

Jie Liang knew what was happening outside. Perhaps because he heard the black child crying, the black woman walked straight toward the house.

She walked up the steps, entered the porch, and met Rick's gaze in the peephole. She kept turning the doorknob, trying to get into the room. She looked somewhat dazed, as if she had lost something important, and now, she had found it.

“She died in the other bedroom… right in bed… I couldn’t do anything… that fever… her skin was burning hot…” The Black man choked up, “I should have killed her… I really should have killed her… but… I just couldn’t bring myself to do it… she was the mother of my son…”

The doorknob kept turning... (To be continued...)

Chapter 176 Departure

The next morning, all the zombies had left. Only one remained by the gate, leaning against the wooden fence of the yard, sitting motionless on the ground, as if it were completely dead.

Rick wanted to go back to his house and check it carefully.

The three of them worked together to quietly remove the wooden planks from the door. Rick put on a transparent protective mask, grabbed a baseball bat, and led the way out of the house.

“Are you sure he’s really dead?” Rick asked, turning around. “I have to ask again.”

“He’s really dead,” the black man said, looking at Rick. “Except for something left in his brain, which is why we had to shoot him in the head.”

Hearing the noise, the walker turned to look at Rick and stood up. He was filthy, his skin a disgusting bluish-green, his face bearing bite marks, and he let out a low, inhuman growl as he lunged at Rick.

Rick didn't hesitate any longer. He rushed to the walker, swung his baseball bat in a wide arc, and smashed it down on the walker's head, but the walker just swayed as if it hadn't felt anything.

Seeing this, Rick dared not relax and continued to strike the walker's head with all his might.