Chapter 158: I can’t see anything!
Following the path, Zhang Xiao Qiang finally caught sight of a cement path hidden in the forest. He followed it, as he knew that the villas were for the guests of the hot spring, while the inner parts should be a center or office with the dormitories for the staff. He was lazy to go search for treasures, he just wanted to hurry clear any remaining zombies and return to Yang Ke’er’s side.
The entire valley was about 2km or so, and Zhang Xiao Qiang did not walk long before he arrived at a building of about 5 stories high. There was also a row of bungalows in the deeper parts of the valley. It was a closed-off valley, and at the end, the two hills converged into one.
There was an open area of about half a soccer field at the end. Among the structures, there were patches of green here and there, and there was a stream from the foot of the hill out of a cave. It flowed down the valley where it split in two, before a bridge connected both sides again further down. A few zombies could be seen wandering around the bridge and among the structures.
Zhang Xiao Qiang gazed at the cave. The spring water there was his target. If the water wasn’t contaminated, then the stream wouldn’t be contaminated. The lake was a different story though. In any case, as long as there was clean water, sufficient food, and a safe environment, humans could stay here. They could continue to live on. As for reviving the flames of civilization? That was a question that he could not afford to consider yet. He firmly maintained a stance that he was no saint, nor the leader of humankind. He was just a minor character struggling to survive. As long as he lived, his own women lived, nothing else mattered.
The skirts of both hills had been flattened, and there was a cave at the bottom of each hill. The sizes were about the same, it was likely that the caves had been expanded through machines and repair. However, only one of them had water flowing out, the other did not. Both caves had stone paths leading to them, and the cave with water had an additional bridge and wooden fences. From afar, Zhang Xiao Qiang could see a few corpses lying beside the caves, and there seemed to be some blockade at the mouths of the caves. He put down his binoculars. There seemed to be some humans inside. However, the blockade seemed almost down, and it wasn’t clear how many were still alive.
Zhang Xiao Qiang pulled out a flashlight and handed it to Three. He then brought the rest around the structures and made their way towards the cave. He wanted to ascertain the situation. They reached for the cave without the stream first. Once they entered, Zhang Xiao Qiang could make out some items, the blockade had been made out of various wooden furniture and stone slabs. Some broken items laid on the ground, and there was a strong decomposing stench from within. Some zombie corpses laid on the ground, a bullet hole in each of their heads. He picked up a shell from beside his feet, noting that the shell was smooth and short. It seemed to be some ammunition from a handgun, but he didn’t recognize which. There were plenty of shells around, and there was even a fully loaded magazine lying on the ground. He threw it to Three, who quickly loaded it into the empty Type 77 handgun, cocking it.
“Be on your guard, there should be some people alive in there. Those who are holding guns, as long as something attacks, open fire!!”
After that, everyone checked their firearms and melee weapons. Everyone looked at him when they were done, and he passed his Beast Horn Spear over to Three, while he pulled out his Jing Wei Sword as well as a handgun in his other hand. They then made their way inside. The inner part of the cave was covered with dark marble, and both sides of the caves had large stone statues. Based on their position, Zhang Xiao Qiang assumed that there weren’t many people in the cave, otherwise, they could have shifted the statues to block the entrance.
After passing another corner, Zhang Xiao Qiang made use of the flashlight to shine in, discovering a space separated by many wooden doors. Seeing this, he almost thought that he was in a KTV lounge. He opened one of the doors, and saw a small spring inside, with two chairs, a mahjong table, and red chairs. They continued past a few such rooms, and soon Zhang Xiao Qiang came to the service counter. Behind, it seemed that someone had rummaged through everything, all sorts of towels, utensils and even some slippers were thrown everywhere. The items on the ground had also been stepped all over. He felt it strange, there hadn’t been a single zombie yet, nor any sign of dead bodies, were all the survivors already trapped?
Further behind, there were a few small storage rooms, where all sorts of items were stocked. Whatever was outside, the stores had. Anything that was missing outside, the stores also had. Zhang Xiao Qiang even saw a few uniforms belonging to different fields, like air stewardesses, nurses, military uniforms, maids, and a wide variety. Some boxes had been opened, where condoms were strewn all around. There was no lack of sex toys. He finally understood that they were not in a spring but a huge den of nightclub activities and vices. He even saw a pile of gambling games.
The rest of the storages were stacked full, and only one had dozens of mineral water stored. Everything else was emptied out, and the huge 20 sq ft was empty. Zhang Xiao Qiang took a careful look until he came across a small alley. There was an empty packet of food inside. His heartbeat quickening, he continued down the alley. Three and the rest followed behind, and their footsteps resounded throughout the cave.
The alley had tall wooden planks on either side, covered in red and white wallpaper. When they exited, they came to a huge area, as though they had exited the night lounge into the wilderness. The ground was uneven here, and there stone walls reflected the light from the torchlights. Only some of the stones were reflective, thus, visibility was low in the cave. Zhang Xiao Qiang continued forward carefully, while the rest got in one line following behind. There was no sound all around.
He turned around to check on the rest behind when suddenly, the area his foot stepped on was a slope. The moment he missed his footing, his entire body fell down.
The M1911 handgun was flung unintentionally, while his entire body rolled down the slope. He felt his body continuing down the slope, while he was surrounded by darkness everywhere. He did not know if there was a gorge below him, nor could he see anything around. There was nothing other than black. His heartbeat accelerated, and in his wariness, he changed the Jing Wei Sword over to his right hand. He turned around and stuck the Jing Wei Sword into the slope behind him. As it dug deeper, his sliding speed began to decrease, and his both feet were flailing.
All of a sudden, he seemed to have stepped on something round. He did not know what it was, but at least he managed to find some footing. He stepped down with his right foot and pulled out a dart to stick into the ground. He was finally secure on the slope.
Before he could catch his breath, the military boots on his feet were suddenly grabbed by something, as the round thing beneath his feet also began to struggle. This time, he was truly scared out of his wits. He could not see anything, and he did not know what he was stepping on. He relied on the dart to reach up and climb until he could not feel whatever was down there.