Xue Ling and Wen Jiuzhe spent a calm winter together.
When spring began, Wen Jiuzhe went to the New Four Base as usual to exchange goods, and there he heard a piece of news.
This vague piece of news, whose truth was unknown, made the entire base boil over. Wen Jiuzhe didn’t even need to deliberately ask around—anyone he ran into was talking about it.
“Have you heard? It seems the Northern Base says they’ve developed a zombie virus vaccine!”
“They say if you get that vaccine, even if a zombie grabs you, you won’t turn into a zombie!”
“Really? That vaccine is only at the Northern Base? We don’t have it here? When will our base be able to get it!”
“Can all of us get this vaccine? How much would it cost to buy? Or do we have to exchange base contribution points for it?”
“I wonder if you can get this vaccine if you go to the Northern Base now. If you really get vaccinated, you wouldn’t have to be afraid of zombies anymore!”
“Don’t spread nonsense. That so-called vaccine hasn’t been successfully developed yet. They say the success rate isn’t confirmed, it’s still in the experimental stage, it’s not on the market. Even if you want it, you can’t get it.”
“I think the vaccine is definitely already out, it’s just that ordinary people like us don’t get a turn. They must have secretly given it to those big officials and rich people already!”
“You can’t say it like that. If it really gets developed, could they not give it to the common people? Our country isn’t a foreign one—there are still people who care whether we live or die.”
True and false messages were mixed together, opinions flying everywhere.
Some people were happy, some were doubtful, some were so excited they wished they could head to the Northern Base immediately.
Wen Jiuzhe had exchanged things at the New Four Base trading point many times and had become a familiar face.
He found someone to ask carefully about the zombie virus vaccine, and only then learned that the news had come from a Northern convoy.
A few days ago, a convoy from the north passed through the New Four Base and rested here, bringing news from some of the northern bases.
The zombie virus vaccine did exist, and it had caused some waves in the north.
But the vaccine’s effects were not as good as rumored. The first batch failed to meet expectations; it only prolonged the process of a person turning into a zombie.
It was said that later another type of vaccine appeared. If injected right after being infected with the zombie virus, there was a very small chance of not undergoing zombification, but it would leave severe aftereffects—the people who were saved would have to lie in bed for the rest of their lives, getting injections and taking medicine.
This was already news from more than three months ago. What the situation was like now was unclear.
The New Four Base and the Northern Base were very far apart. Communications had not been restored, transportation was inconvenient, and information was delayed.
After Wen Jiuzhe returned home, he told Xue Ling what he had learned. Xue Ling was so happy she howled with excitement.
Compared to Wen Jiuzhe’s calm reaction, Xue Ling’s response was more like that of a living person.
“Don’t rush to be happy. The zombie virus vaccine hasn’t really been developed yet. It’s all just rumors going around, and we still don’t know if it’s true.”
Wen Jiuzhe carried a hoe and dug in the vegetable plot. He had exchanged for some vegetable seeds at the New Four Base.
Xue Ling threw down the small hoe she was using to dig weeds and wrote optimistically: “At least there are already some results. The effects aren’t good now, but they’ll keep improving. It’ll definitely get better in the future. Maybe one day they really will develop it.”
Wen Jiuzhe said, “Go write over there. I’ll dig on your side.”
After imagining the vaccine and returning to the present, Xue Ling picked up the small hoe and loosened the soil: “The vegetables we’re planting now should be able to grow, right?”
“If they don’t grow, it’s because the weather is still too cold. It’s a temperature issue,” Wen Jiuzhe said.
It really was still cold, but Xue Ling had been looking forward to it since it snowed. Wen Jiuzhe saw her counting the days every day, so he started digging the vegetable garden early.
He hadn’t really planned on growing anything; it was just to pass the time.
They planted the vegetable seeds, and before the first batch of sprouts even emerged, there was more news from the New Four Base.
It was Xiao Chu who told them.
After New Year’s Day, Wen Jiuzhe and the other would occasionally run into Xiao Chu at the entrance of the New Four Base and exchange greetings. Xiao Chu knew that Xue Ling suffered from a rather special illness, so she didn’t interact much with others.
Working at the base administration, Xiao Chu had access to some inside information.
She said, “The base leadership is preparing to send a convoy to the Northern Base to check the situation. There are also some very wealthy people in the base who are planning to move to the Northern Base along with them.”
“If you also want to go to the Northern Base, it’s best to go together with them this time. Xue Ling’s illness—we’re short on medicine and doctors here, it can’t be treated, but the Northern Base has large hospitals. Maybe they can cure her.”
The Northern Base was one of the largest bases. The gate with detection functions that the New Four Base had previously exchanged for had also been transported from the north by another base.
That place had quite a number of research talents, far more resources than these scattered small bases, and naturally much better medical conditions.
But the Northern Base was very far away. Without someone familiar with the route and road conditions leading the way, it was easy to get lost, and if you didn’t follow a large convoy, it was also easy to encounter danger along the way.
Like many people in the New Four Base, Xiao Chu had also wanted to go live at the Northern Base, but in the end gave up.
Such a long journey—hard and dangerous. Life at present was manageable, better not take the risk.
However, she felt that Wen Jiuzhe and Xue Ling could go. The two dared to live alone outside the base and dared to scavenge in the city. They often managed to obtain good things to exchange for supplies at the base. With that kind of capability, they would definitely live even better in the north.
After learning the new information, Xue Ling stayed silent and thought all the way back. As soon as they got home, she proposed, “How about we go to the Northern Base together with them?”
Wen Jiuzhe raised his eyebrows.
The Northern Base was not part of his plan. No matter how good the doctors there were, they couldn’t cure Xue Ling.
As for the vaccine, he didn’t have any particular thoughts.
In his plan, once the weather warmed up a bit and Xue Ling got tired of staying here, he would continue driving her around to the surrounding bases, slowly searching for news of Wen Yi.
“The Northern Base might already have a mature vaccine!” Xue Ling was fixated on this.
Once Wen Jiuzhe got vaccinated, she wouldn’t have to worry all day that if she slipped up and scratched his finger, she’d end up turning him into a zombie.
Even something as simple as his lips touching her cheek made Xue Ling afraid he’d get infected with the zombie virus. Whenever Wen Jiuzhe touched her skin, she would urge him to go wash his hands, telling him not to let the virus enter by accident.
She was really tied up in knots—she didn’t dare hit him hard, and even when angry she had to restrain her movements.
Luckily, she was a zombie and didn’t need to sleep, otherwise she might even dream at night about Wen Jiuzhe getting infected with the zombie virus because of her.
“Even if the vaccine isn’t out yet, if we live nearby, once there really is a vaccine, we can get it.”
Wen Jiuzhe wasn’t convinced by this reason. He got out of the car and pressed water from the well in the yard to wash his face.
“The Northern Base is too far. If you really want to go, we can go in a couple of years.”
Xue Ling followed behind him. The words on her writing board were especially messy: “There’s a convoy leading the way now. We can follow behind and save time.”
With a big flourish, she added another sentence—“An opportunity missed never comes again”—and forcefully shoved it in front of Wen Jiuzhe’s eyes.
Wen Jiuzhe laughed when he saw it. It was like a supermarket promotion—she’d added several exclamation marks and even drawn an explosive frame around it.
“Don’t worry. Even without anyone leading the way, I’ll be able to find the road to the Northern Base in the future.”
Seeing that he was impervious to both oil and salt, Xue Ling blocked him in front, reached out and hugged him, her chin bumping against his chest as she knocked it there several times.
Wen Jiuzhe lowered his head and saw her eyes clearly writing, “Say yes, say yes.”
He wrapped an arm around her and carried her forward, sighing theatrically: “Ah, why are you so concerned about me.”
He knew perfectly well why Xue Ling wanted to go to the Northern Base, which was exactly why he was even more unwilling to agree.
Rather than going all the way to the distant Northern Base to wait for a vaccine that might or might not be successfully developed at some unknown time, he would much rather stay here and find Wen Yi.
But this time, Xue Ling also refused to back down.
When Wen Jiuzhe chopped firewood, she grabbed the axe. When Wen Jiuzhe lit the fire, she poured water on it. When Wen Jiuzhe washed the pot, she knocked on it. When Wen Jiuzhe slept, she howled.
After being tormented by her for several days, Wen Jiuzhe finally rubbed his face and agreed.
Because Xue Ling threatened him—if he didn’t go when the time came, she would drive off by herself, leaving him to chase the car from behind.
Wen Jiuzhe: “……”
In his whole life, aside from compromising with the Wen family when he was little, the only one he had ever compromised with was Xue Ling.
Especially after three years of the apocalypse, his actions had become increasingly unrestrained; there was basically no one who could threaten him anymore.
“Alright, alright… we’ll go.” Only after Wen Jiuzhe said it did Xue Ling, who had been hanging onto his neck on his back pretending to be a back-hugging spirit, let go and stop dangling from him.
Having gotten her wish, Xue Ling happily went to prepare the luggage for a long journey.
This trip to the Northern Base wasn’t only because of the vaccine. She also wanted to take this opportunity to make Wen Jiuzhe give up continuing to search for Taisui.
Something that had never really had any hope to begin with—better not dwell on it.
Staying here for the winter had been Xue Ling’s decision back then, and now leaving was also Xue Ling’s decision.
A house that had once been empty had changed after a few months, filled with the atmosphere of life.
While packing things up, Xue Ling felt a bit reluctant to leave. She looked at the pile of firewood stacked outside the kitchen—every piece had been chopped by her and Wen Jiuzhe together on the mountain.
The clothes hanging in the wardrobe were all things she had selected and brought back bit by bit.
The table added to the living room and the chairs that were very comfortable to sit on were also chosen by her and carried back by Wen Jiuzhe.
The muddy little path leading to the vegetable plot—because their feet were always covered in mud every time they walked over—had been paved with pebbles they carried back from the riverside, and now it was much cleaner.
And there was also the vegetable garden. The vegetables they planted had really grown; tender seedlings had just emerged.
“If you can’t bear to leave, then don’t go,” Wen Jiuzhe said.
To show her resolve, Xue Ling raised her hand and pulled out more than half of the seedlings, handing them to Wen Jiuzhe.
Telling him to wash them and stir-fry a plate at noon—at least that way they’d have eaten vegetables they’d grown with their own hands, so it wouldn’t be a complete waste.
Since they were preparing to leave, Wen Jiuzhe still went to confirm the convoy’s departure date with the base.
The day before departure, Xue Ling put away some things that couldn’t be taken with them into cabinets and locked them up, then arranged to cover furniture that easily gathered dust with dustproof film.
Wen Jiuzhe felt it was unnecessary—they were very likely never coming back here—but he didn’t say it and dampen the mood, instead going over to help pull the dustproof film.
When the wild grass by the roadside turned green, Xue Ling and Wen Jiuzhe got into the car once more, heading for the Northern Base, setting off.
The New Four Base’s convoy was very long, because it also included several local tycoons with substantial assets, preparing to relocate their entire families.
In addition, there were two vehicles of ordinary people. They were setting out together with the base convoy, hoping to go to the Northern Base to look for relatives or seek medical treatment.
In times like these, everyone had their own hardships and unavoidable circumstances, but everyone was also doing their best to survive.
Wen Jiuzhe drove his car behind the convoy, not integrating into it, keeping a certain distance between them.
From the moment they set out, the convoy’s pace wasn’t very fast. After all, it wasn’t an experienced scavenger team, so Wen Jiuzhe followed along with ease.
Xue Ling was even more relaxed. This still wasn’t as fast as when they had driven on their own last winter.
She could even lean against the window, let the spring breeze blow on her face, look at the new leaves growing on the distant treetops, and the swallows returning in the sky.
Although they hadn’t yet reached the Northern Base, and there was still no sign of the zombie virus vaccine, Xue Ling had already started thinking ahead and asked Wen Jiuzhe, “If you get that vaccine and aren’t afraid of being grabbed by zombies anymore, what do you plan to do?”
Wen Jiuzhe said, “I’m planning to let you grab me to your heart’s content, venting all the pent-up anger you’ve held in all winter.”
Xue Ling: “……”
“I’m serious!” Xue Ling banged on the writing board with a thud-thud sound.
Because she often used it to knock things, the plastic casing of the writing board had already cracked.
“Then… go browse a supermarket with you,” Wen Jiuzhe said.
