Following the same method, he repeated the process several times until the vast majority of the zombies had collapsed and the residential complex fell quiet.
The sun dipped, and the sky gradually darkened.
Zhang Wan had regained consciousness, though she still looked listless and weak.
Inside the apartment, there were now two more people: Sun Ya and another gaunt, haggard old man.
Everyone sat gathered around the stove to warm themselves. A pot rested atop it, bubbling with pickled cabbage.
With added lard and slices of sausage, the stew looked rich and glossy, its savory aroma filling the room.
"Xiao Li, let me introduce you." Sun Ya patted the old man beside him. "This is Wei De. You can call him Elder Wei. He's an old acquaintance and former colleague of mine. Old Wei, this is the Xiao Li I was telling you about."
Wei De looked up at Su Jin and forced a faint smile. Su Jin hurried to shake his hand.
Sun Ya let out a sigh. "Old Wei... you know all about your wife's heart condition. Her passing this time at least spares her from suffering even worse agony. You have to look on the bright side and keep living—if not for yourself, then for the young people. We might be a pair of old bones, but we can still be of some use.
"Besides, Xiao Li saved both of our lives."
Wei De nodded and gently dabbed at the corners of his eyes.
The stew in the pot continued to bubble, and Zhang Wan went to fetch bowls and chopsticks.
Su Jin looked toward Sun Ya. "Sir, does this mean you've agreed to help me?"
Sun Ya nodded. "You have both courage and brains. Even though you don't seem quite right in the head, you aren't a bad sort... And I don't really have any other choice besides helping you.
"There's just one thing I don't get. Why didn't you wipe out all the zombies down there and leave one or two behind instead? Just how many bullets do you have for that handgun?"
"I've got plenty of handgun ammo. Your shotgun is for saving your life, so it's better to conserve shells. As for why I left two zombies, I plan to use the remaining ones for target practice."
"Hmm... You also have bows and arrows in the apartment, and no shortage of bullets. It seems you truly prepared far beyond the ordinary."
Sun Ya fell into thought for a moment before turning serious. "You killed quite a few zombies today, but don't let your guard down under any circumstances. There's something about this..."
"Ice formed on their bodies, freezing their ears, noses, and eyes, yet they could still react quickly. Their movement speed was roughly equivalent to an ordinary person's walking pace," Su Jin said after a moment's reflection. "In other words, once temperatures begin to warm up, their mobility might surge dramatically."
"A sharp observation. Looks like I don't need to worry about you too much," Sun Ya added. "But the issue isn't as simple as surface freezing. Under outdoor temperatures like these, combined with exposure to the rain, a full day and night is enough to freeze all the interstitial fluid inside a living organism.
"Essentially, those zombies should have already become blocks of frozen meat. By all common sense, they ought to have lost all ability to move.
"Yet they can move... That is something modern science cannot explain." Sun Ya paused. "Tomorrow, I want you to drag back two zombies so I can dissect and study them... There's a risk of infection. Do you dare?"
"How certain are you?" Su Jin hesitated.
Although he had the nerve for something like this and had prepared plenty of protective gear, dissecting zombies still felt overwhelmingly risky.
With all kinds of bodily fluids seeping or splashing out, there was no guaranteeing what the consequences might be.
Sun Ya hesitated for a few moments, then admitted, "I'm not certain at all. This situation exceeds our current framework of knowledge. I know medicine, but I'm still a step behind true specialists. All I can say is that it will increase our understanding of the danger as much as possible.
"I know the risk is immense, and you can choose not to do it. But compared to what the future might cost us, I believe the risk is worth taking."
"I understand. Tomorrow, I'll haul two corpses back. I'll do the cutting, and you observe." Su Jin nodded, then added, "Elder Sun, I also have a cage of mice that need you for experiments. Why don't we start both tomorrow?"
"Mm." Sun Ya gave a nod. "Gathering ice carries a risk of splashing. I still have half a bottle of rainwater I collected earlier in my apartment. That'll work perfectly."
"Your rainwater might already be useless. I still need to get you some ice," Su Jin said frankly after a brief hesitation.
"What do you mean?" Sun Ya's gaze sharpened instantly. "How do you know the rainwater is useless?"
"I can see the source of the infection. That stuff dissipates after sitting for about five days."
Sun Ya drew in a sharp breath. The others in the room all turned to stare at Su Jin at once, and even the utterly dejected Wei De couldn't help lifting his head.
"You have an ability like that? How do you do it? What form does the infectious substance actually take?"
Su Jin gave a wry smile. "Maybe it's a gift. Doesn't Qingdai have the ability to foresee the future too? But this ability of mine isn't of much use... The infectious matter looks like a grey mist. Without water, it converts into a vapor state and scatters easily. Unfortunately, I can only see its initial state. Once it infects an organism, I can't detect any trace of its presence."
"Then this is good news! So you've got a bit of an ability yourself, kid—no wonder you believed Qingdai!" Sun Ya's face lit up with joy. "It dissipates in five days, and now the rain has stopped. Does that mean the source of the contamination will vanish before long?"
"No." Wei De spoke up at that moment, exhaustion heavy in his voice. "We don't know whether there will be a second downpour. And the source of infection has already shifted from the rain to living organisms. Do you see any sign that those walking corpses are about to die?"
At those words, everyone's spirits sank once more.
Su Jin offered a helpless smile. "Everyone, let's not cling to illusions. For now, we can only rely on ourselves. Prepare for battle... Let's eat first."
That night, the wind outside gradually died down.
Quiet settled over the apartment, the hissing of the burning coal briquettes clearly audible.
The faint firelight leaking from the crevices of the stove added a touch of warm amber to the darkness.
Fu Hu, Sun Ya, and the others each found a spot, wrapped themselves tightly in quilts, and drifted off to sleep.
Su Jin curled up in a corner, unable to sleep, gazing at the firelight peeking through the stove as thoughts churned in his mind.
Having killed so many zombies in a single day, his fear had mostly evaporated. Instead, deep inside, he felt an indescribable euphoria born of vengeance.
Still... dissecting them? Can I really handle it?
Elder Sun needs to run his experiments, and the nature of this infection isn't fully understood yet. Should I wait until he finishes his tests before recruiting more people, or start right away?
As he was pondering this, a small dark shadow darted past the stove in a crouch, pouncing lightly to lie down beside Su Jin.
"Qingdai?" Su Jin looked down.
"Brother, can I sleep next to you?" Fu Qingdai was bundled in a quilt, only her small face showing.
Su Jin reached out and patted the top of her head a couple of times.
Feeling his palm come away greasy, he hurriedly wiped his hand off on her quilt.
"What's wrong?"
"My mom still isn't doing very well today. What should I do?" Leaning beside Su Jin, Fu Qingdai murmured softly, a slight sob in her voice.
Su Jin looked upward and let out a long sigh.
She was still so young, after all. Cooperating with him to kill zombies and holding out until now before showing weakness was already remarkable.
"It'll be fine. Your mom just needs time to recover. Things will only get safer from here on out, and sooner or later, we'll be able to live normal lives like before."
Fu Qingdai wept quietly without a word.
Seeing this, Su Jin reached out to drape an arm around Fu Qingdai, letting out a chuckle.
"Pfft... with all this grease in your hair, we could stir-fry a dish. With you around, at least we won't have to worry about starving to death."
"Brother—!" Fu Qingdai's face instantly flushed red. With a soft whimper, she flung the quilt up, curled her head into a ball, and plunged straight into Su Jin's embrace.
Chapter 30