The next part of my life was the most stressful ti I ever had. A ti that changed fundantally as a person.
It all began with the five of us walking alongside the highway, traveling down with nothing in hand.
We had no water, no food. Nothing. The only thing we had was each other as we struggled down the road.
The highway section I originally planned to follow was completely blocked off by a car wreck, forcing us to take a detour down a dirt path.
How long did this walk last?
I don't know off the top of my head. It felt like a week had passed. But the sun and the moon told it has only been two days.
Everyone had completely lost track of ti. It was all just endless trees everywhere, endless uphill and downhill on the dirt road.
It was the complete opposite of what my map had told , even through the detour's own road signs, it didn't add up.
Zero villages, zero gas stations, zero human activity other than the potholes and abandoned cars.
But at this point, it was far too late to turn back.
We just had to endure the hot, humid day as we continued traveling down in the hopes that we would reach so sort of human civilization.
Our minds and legs were starting to get numb. Our stomachs were constantly growling with hunger.
Everyone's lips were dry like cracked clay, dying from thirst as we struggled to cheer each other to continue.
I was even thinking of drinking my own piss if it wasn't for the fact that we didn't have any containers to put it in.
My Mom and my younger sister were even starting to faint from the heat, forcing us to stop to take a break in the shade.
I scouted ahead in the hopes of a water source, but what I saw finally gave hope. It was a small village with a large sign that said "Liangshuiquan."
We had sohow managed to travel out of the entire mountain range from Pingdingshan and into Nanyang city's zone.
I quickly ran back to bring the news to everyone, only to see my younger sister almost completely passed out.
With no hesitation, I put her on my back as we resud heading towards the town I had seen down the road.
---
When we finally arrived at the village entrance, we were imdiately alerted by the dead silence.
Not a single sound. No human noises. No zombies. Nothing.
It was almost as if the entire village had been abandoned—no traces of human activity anywhere in the village.
I quickly handed my younger sister over to Dad, equipping my rifle before looking through one of the stone house's windows.
No one was inside—only a bunch of dusty old furniture and a photo of an old couple on a small desk.
I instantly smashed through the window with the rifle's butt, breaking through the window before hopping inside.
After clearing the entire house, I opened the front door to let Dad put my younger sister on the couch.
Mom quickly ran over to the kitchen in the hopes that the water was still running, which surprisingly worked.
With a small sip, my sister was instantly brought to life as she coughed several tis before sitting back up.
Everyone took a sip before I headed back outside, taking two tal sticks lying in the front yard before going inside again.
I told Dad to stay behind and watch over everyone, handing him one of the tal sticks before I went alone to explore the rest of the village.
The exploration itself took over half an hour, but it was all worth it as I found several dried foods hanging at one of the entrances to a house.
I even found a large water tower and a solar panel installed right before the outbreak, seemingly to be powering so sort of underground water pump.
When I arrived at the village leader's house, I finally realized what had happened to everyone in the village.
A bus ticket receipt, with the destination being so governnt air raid shelter in the south, right between Nanyang and Xiangyang.
I picked it up and shoved it into my pocket, heading back to my family before telling them what had happened.
We ultimately made the decision to stay in this abandoned village at least until we were fully rested.
---
After staying at the village for a week, we were all starting to get a little comfortable. Too comfortable to leave.
We had almost unlimited food from the fish pond, unlimited water from the water tower, and spare clothes from the abandoned houses.
Days of luxury, as I told myself.
It was just the feeling of freedom, not having to work so job for soone else. Or maybe it's just not needing to stand underneath the hot sun.
I could go for walks with Jieqiong all day long. Spend ti together with her rather than looking at the sa scenery every day.
It was almost as if we were back in the old hotown, except there was no eting to attend or any need to worry about resources being rationed.
Everything was going smoothly.
Nothing could possibly go wrong from here... Until Mom revealed sothing that shocked both and my sister.
---
"Mom, you can't be serious. Dad, you... Really?"
My younger sister couldn't finish her sentence. She just couldn't believe what Mom had just said out loud.
"Hey, it's an accident, okay? We just got in the mood, and it just happened."
My Dad tried to make himself look a little better, but it only made the situation more awkward as Mom remained silent.
"Mom, are you sure it's not just so late period or sothing? Aren't you nopausal at this point?" I questioned.
"When did I ever say that?" Mom asked, looking back at right in the eyes with a hint of anger.
"My bad... I just thought since you two are already in your 40s, your——"
"Ahem. That's enough."
As Dad interrupted from finishing, the room fell into silence. Everyone could feel that the atmosphere was a little tense.
"So what are we going to do now? Is Mom going to keep the baby or what?" I asked in a grumpy voice.
Dad looked over to Mom, whose face was still flustered like a fully ripened apple as she nodded her head.
"We are going to head south to Changsha. One of my co-workers in the construction told there's a big settlent down that has everything."
"What is the place called?" My sister curiously asked.
"I don't know. All I know is it's located near Changsha. They told an entire army group was stationed there before the outbreak."
"Dad, you know how far Changsha is from here? It's almost three hundred miles. How the hell are we getting that far?"
I finally couldn't hold in my frustration. At that very mont, my mind was filled with the desire to stay at the village.
"You think I don't know that? We're going to motorbike there. I already found a few functioning ones at the outskirts of the village."
"Motorbike? Neither of us knows how to ride a motorbike. And there's no way it has enough gas for that entire trip." I argued.
"We'll just fuel up along the way. You know what, if you don't really want to go, I can go alone with her."
As Dad snapped and stood up from the couch, it instantly cald back down as I realized how rude I sounded.
"Fine. I'll tell Jieqiong to pack up... Still can't believe you two."
I rolled my eyes as I walked out of the house. My mind was still a little grumpy over the fact that we needed to leave.
But at the sa ti, it was a wake-up call. There was no way for to live in the village with Jieqiong forever.
Especially if we wanted to move our relationship forward, with no protection available, it would just an celibacy for life between the two of us.
Or we risk having her go through labor with no dical care. A certain death sentence that I would rather never have her face.
"Zhaoxun, what was your family talking about?" Jieqiong's voice suddenly appeared next to .
"The two of us together—Ahem, I an Mom is pregnant. We need to pack up and go south to find a settlent."
"Wait, what? Really? How?"
Hearing Jieqiong's surprise tone, my grumpy mood dissipated a little as I looked over to her face.
"My Dad was a dumbass and just couldn't control himself. Just zero self-control over his lower body."
"Oh... I'll go pack up now, then."
Just as she was about to walk off into the house next door, I suddenly grabbed her hand and held her in place.
"What's wrong?" Jieqiong curiously asked.
"Jieqiong, do you want to stay here? The two of us could stay if you want."
My offer made her freeze for a second before she stared straight into my eyes. It almost felt like I was being interrogated.
"Zhaoxun, what are you saying? You can't leave your Dad and Mom all alone like this. They are your family."
"I... You're right. Ignore what I just asked."
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