Chapter Eighty-Three

Where am I? Why am I here? He lay helplessly in the bed, his chest still aching fiercely.

“Changsha Prison. We were the ones who saved you.” The voice was cold, but not hostile.

“Oh. Then thank you. I should be going.” After offering his thanks, he struggled to sit up again, but the pain in his chest was pulled open by the movement. After a futile effort, he could only lie back down once more.

“Your injuries are severe. Though it was only a through-and-through wound, we have already treated it, but I advise you not to move around recklessly.” A doctor in a white coat examined him carefully, confirming that the wound had not split open because of the strain.

“But...” He grew anxious.

“There is no but. You need rest now. Whatever it is, wait until your injuries have healed before you say it.” The doctor in white paid no heed to his anxiety, his words sounding like an order.

He wanted to argue further, but a syringe was already piercing his arm. As the medicine flowed in, his consciousness blurred once again.

When he woke again, the pain in his chest seemed much improved, though it still throbbed faintly. Just as he turned over, an exclamation came from beside him.

“Oh, you’re awake!”

He turned his head and saw a pretty young nurse standing at the doorway, pushing a cart of medicines. She was looking at him in delighted surprise. Since he could not move easily, he could only smile at her.

The nurse quickly recovered. Seeing him struggling to sit up, she hurried to the bedside, cranked the lever for a long while, and the head of the bed slowly rose.

Li Zihan deftly helped him settle properly. After checking his wound, she mischievously stuck out her tongue and said, “Hello. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Li Zihan. From now on, I’m your nurse.”

“My name is [NAME]. Thank you.” He felt a little embarrassed. In all his life, he had never been attended to like this by a girl.

“No need to be polite. By the way, are you hungry?” Li Zihan skillfully helped him change the IV bag.

...

A steaming bowl of noodles was set before him, generous in portion, with a poached egg resting atop the snowy white strands. More astonishing still, bright green scallions floated in the broth. He could not remember the last time he had eaten so fully. At the airport, every day had been nothing but plain rice porridge with a bit of pickled side dish, not a trace of oil to be seen.

Just as he finished the noodles, a plump man in full combat gear walked in. Before he could say anything, the other man’s large hand was already reaching out, his round face beaming with warmth. He hesitated for a moment, then extended his right hand and shook it firmly.

“My name is Zhao Qiang. I handle all external affairs. Yesterday, I was the one who came with my brothers to bring you back,” Zhao Qiang said bluntly.

Whatever the case, these people bore no malice. As fellow survivors, not only had they rescued him from the clutches of the zombie horde, they had not restricted his freedom and had even provided him with delicious food.

After Zhao Qiang’s explanation, he learned that his injuries had nearly healed, and that it was not the work of some miraculous medicine; rather, he himself possessed an unimaginable capacity for recovery. At first he had not believed it, but after the doctor changed his bandages yesterday, he finally realized that none of this had been a dream.

Zhao Qiang did not give him much time to process it. After the dressing change, he simply dragged the still-stunned man along and took him around to see the prison’s facilities.

After a full circuit, he finally let down his guard. The prison was run in an orderly fashion, with armed soldiers stationed everywhere. The soldiers were spirited and vigorous, living and working alongside ordinary people without any barrier between them. Unlike the airport, where despair was written on every face, the people here wore fatigue and worry, yet their eyes shone with hope.

Everyone who saw Zhao Qiang and him nodded in greeting, their smiles sincere. The children were innocent and lively, darting and running between the adults’ legs, seemingly unaware that this had once been a grim and terrifying prison for inmates. When they saw Zhao Qiang, many of the children would even cheer and run over, fighting to be held. Zhao Qiang always laughed and welcomed them all, never refusing anyone. The places in his tactical vest that should have held bullets and the like were stuffed full of all sorts of little snacks children loved, and every child received a great pile of tasty treats.

What kind of place was this? In such a post-apocalyptic world, it seemed like a paradise beyond the dust of the mortal world. The airport where he had been was simply incomparable to it. Leaving aside everything else, just in terms of food, there was no way it could compare. The people here seemed not to have to worry at all about where their next meal would come from.

His feelings were both glad and troubled. He was glad because everyone here seemed friendly, and their quality of life was beyond his own by an amount he could not even begin to measure. He did not need to worry that these people would pose any threat to those at the airport. But he was troubled because the situation at the airport was already far from optimistic. If he wanted to ask these people for help, what reason could he possibly offer? Zhao Qiang’s side lacked nothing; why would they help him and take on more burden?

Just as he was wrestling with his thoughts, unsure how to broach the subject, the two of them had already arrived at the training grounds.

This had originally been only a small yard for prisoners to take exercise during recreation, but now it had become the training ground for the prison’s soldiers. The fighters were split into two groups, locked in a fierce and spirited sparring drill; from the look of them, every one of them was a rare talent, one in a hundred.

A training round had just ended. Seeing the two of them approach, the soldiers ran over in a rush, entirely unconcerned with the mud covering their bodies and the sweat streaming down their faces.

“Everyone, assemble!”

At the command, the soldiers instantly lined up in neat formation, standing there like spears thrust into the ground, waiting for the next order.

“[NAME], take a look at our soldiers. What do you think?” Zhao Qiang looked at him with a faint, unreadable smile.

He himself was a soldier, and he knew very well what these men were. Compared with them, he was worlds apart. He had once been a model soldier in his company and had gone to the military region for a martial competition. Along the way, he had also visited the training of special forces. The aura radiating from these dozen or so soldiers was exactly the same as that of battle-hardened elite troops who had survived a hundred wars.

He nodded, not understanding what Zhao Qiang meant, and was about to speak when Zhao Qiang went on, “Yesterday you mentioned the airport and rescuing people. What exactly is going on?”