Apocalypse: the Most Ruthless Person

“From your perspective, it’s natural to resent the villagers for not taking your grandfather with them when they fled, but seeking revenge isn’t reasonable. They didn’t save him, but they didn’t harm him on purpose either.”

Pang Dakun took a painful drag from his cigarette and said, “So, Uncle, you’re blaming me, blaming me for not getting back in time, and that’s why my grandfather died…”

“Why do you have to think someone must take responsibility for this…” Zhang Su felt that Pang Dakun’s mindset was a bit twisted, fitting the ‘greenhorn’ trait to a tee.

“This is a catastrophe for humanity, affecting the whole city, every country, and the entire world. I don’t know who to blame for this, but if you really need to blame something, blame the virus…”

Zhang Su spread his hands; no one knew exactly how the virus had broken out.

“Uncle, you make a lot of sense… not everything has someone to blame.” Pang Dakun suddenly realized, looking up at the figure in the darkness, and said: “Uncle, can you take me with you?”

Zhang Su didn’t expect recruiting Pang Dakun to go so smoothly, but he couldn’t let it be too easy.

“Ahem!”

Zhang Su cleared his throat and asked, “Why do you want to come with us? Aren’t you doing fine living in Shuwa Village?”

Pang Dakun shook his head: “It’s too boring; I don’t know why but all the animals are as if they’re dead, the chickens don’t crow, the dogs don’t bark, and all the younger guys have left, I’m so lonely.”

Zhang Su could feel Pang Dakun’s loneliness. In a dead village, the only ones moving were zombies, and that was a terrible feeling.

“Aren’t you afraid we’re bad people?”

“You’re definitely not bad people!” Pang Dakun replied excitedly, “Bad people wouldn’t watch Tom and Jerry; bad people watch shows about murder and arson!”

Zhang Su secretly found it amusing; judging good and bad by this standard was something else. Then he pretended to be serious and said, “I feel like you’re very unruly and disobedient. The world outside is full of man-eating zombies; what if you don’t listen and bring disaster to the group?”

“This…” Pang Dakun jumped up in urgency, then squatted down and said: “Uncle, I’ll change, I won’t steal anymore, I won’t climb roofs to peek at women changing, okay?”

“What the heck, you actually do such immoral things?” Zhang Su felt a toothache, not knowing what other troubles this brat hadn’t confessed.

“I… I won’t do it anymore.” Pang Dakun looked around, knowing these things were shameful.

Zhang Su said: “Alright, those were past mistakes, just don’t do it again. Have you ever killed a zombie?”

“I’ve never killed one; I think they’re just people. Master always said you must not kill people; killing people gets you executed!” Pang Dakun shook his head vigorously.

Zhang Su said sternly: “What your master taught you wasn’t wrong, but that was in a peaceful, civilized society, not now. The whole world is in chaos now…”

“What? The whole, whole world is, is like Shuwa Village and Qin City?”

Pang Dakun plopped down on the ground.

“I just said the catastrophe is global; were you not listening…” Zhang Su was helpless; no wonder this guy couldn’t read well, he didn’t even listen properly, likely daydreaming during lessons.

“Xiaopang, I won’t nag you; if you want to join us, you must kill zombies, and at times you may have to kill people. Not afraid to tell you, all of us have taken lives, outside, not only do zombies eat people, but people eat people too!”

As if stunned by Zhang Su’s words, Pang Dakun’s expression became blank.

Zhang Su waited for Pang Dakun to digest for a while, then asked: “So, do you still want to come with us?”

“Yes!” Pang Dakun came back to his senses, nodded resolutely, then kowtowed to Zhang Su, saying: “Uncle, I’ll follow you, from now on you’re my big brother, big brother!”

Just as Pang Dakun was about to kowtow further, Zhang Su stopped him.

“Where did you learn all this nonsense, uncle here, big brother there, what a mess!”

Pang Dakun righteously said: “When I take in a younger guy, I make them bow like this, once you’ve sworn to your big brother, you can’t betray them, or you face ‘three cuts and six holes’!”

“Alright, alright, ‘three cuts and six holes,’ just consider me your big brother in your heart, but keep calling me uncle!”

“Okay, Uncle!”

Pang Dakun was all smiles seeing Zhang Su agreed to take him along, wiped away the snot from his excitement, and said: “Uncle, can I go watch TV? I really want to watch Tom and Jerry.”

“We’re about to sleep, yet you’re still thinking about Tom and Jerry.”

Zhang Su smiled wryly; this teenager who missed his childhood, sadly had no chance to make up for it.

“Oh…” Pang Dakun scratched his head, feeling a bit bummed.

Suddenly, Zhang Su thought of something and asked, “Xiaopang, since you’ve been back in Shuwa Village these days, what have you been eating and drinking? Didn’t those villagers who crossed the river take everything?”

“Food, there’s plenty in the village, corn, sweet potatoes, potatoes, cabbages, sauerkraut. They took what they could, but they left in a hurry, so they couldn’t take it all. Every house has stores, I just went house to house, hehe!”

Pang Dakun particularly proud when talking about this.

“What about water? The wells in the village are fine?” Zhang Su asked about his main concern.

Pang Dakun replied without hesitation: “No problem. But there’s no electricity, only a few old wells can still be drawn from.”

“You’re sure drinking the well water is safe?”

Zhang Su asked again cautiously.

“No problem.” Pang Dakun patted his chest confidently and said, “I drink it every day, though it’s freezing cold, and sometimes makes me run to the bathroom!”

“Where are the wells; is it convenient to get there from here?”