Zombie Apocalypse: Creation

Within seconds, more yellow gunk started flowing out again, landing directly onto the bucket as the doctor kept shoving the hose up and down.

"Just a few more minutes, and this should be done."

The doctor murmured as the cows seemed to understand that humans were helping her. It no longer attempted to stand up or close its mouth.

After standing there for ten minutes, the whole debacle finally ended with only a little bit of yellow gunk coming out.

"Whew, should be done now."

As soon as the doctor removed the water hose, the cow immediately started trying to get back up from the ground.

With the three-way pipe removed, the young woman and Xiaoyun slowly pushed the cow back up before noticing how much smaller the cow's stomach looked.

It had almost shrunk twice in size, with the bloat space now completely gone.

"Make sure your cow only eats the recommended food. Do not feed it anything else, okay?"

The young woman quickly nodded her head, but the doctor was strangely looking at the kid, whose face looked a little nervous.

"This cost twenty-five NRC. I'll come back in winter to collect it."

"Thank you!"

After patting the cow's stomach to ensure it was no longer bloated, the doctor started packing up the bag.

"Doctor, can you help check up on my dog?" A middle-aged woman who had grabbed the bucket earlier asked.

"I'm only a livestock vet. Not a pet vet."

"That's fine. It's better than nothing."

Seeing the middle-aged woman pleading on the verge of tears, the doctor let out a small sigh before signaling her to show the way.

At the same time, the crowd of people finally started dispersing as the cows looked to have fully recovered.

"Thank you for your help, mister." The young woman bowed down in gratitude alongside the kid.

"No worries. Just my duty."

"Mister! Are you a soldier?" The kid curiously asked as the three of them led the cow back into a small cow pen in the house's small yard.

"Yeah."

"Can you show me a gun? Please! I always wanted to see one of those pew pew!"

"Zhanzhan!"

As the young woman rushed over to knock on the kid's head, it quickly ran around to the other side behind Xiaoyun.

"It's fine. No need to be mad over that, Miss... Sorry to disappoint you, Zhanzhan, I didn't bring my gun here."

The kid looked a little disappointed as Xiaoyun gently patted the kid's head before the young woman yanked the kid back.

"Sorry for the trouble." The young woman apologized again, her face blushing a little out of embarrassment.

"No worries."

As the three of them stood in the yard in awkward silence, Xiaoyun was the first to break it with a comment.

"Ahem, since everything is done here, I'll get going now."

Just as Xiaoyun turned around and got ready to head towards the exit, a young woman's voice from behind made him stop.

"Wait, let me serve you a cup of tea first. You don't have water with you, right?"

Looking down at his waist, Xiaoyun turned back around before handing her the empty water bottle from earlier.

"Thank you for reminding me."

"No problem."

As the three of them headed inside the house, Xiaoyun's eye was filled with curiosity.

It was a typical small rural house, with only a wooden table and a few chairs in the living room and a door at the back.

Compared to a shack, it was slightly better, with a staircase leading to another floor.

"Please make yourself comfortable. I'll be right back."

With the young woman heading through the door, Xiaoyun couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia as he took a seat on one of the wooden chairs.

It was the same type of house Uncle Li had brought him to live in during the summer when he was a little kid.

The same bare concrete walls, with outdated calendars and a bunch of old posters attached to the wall to hide the empty spaces.

There were no ceiling lights, electricity, or entertainment to speak of. Everything was bare-bones.

"Mister! Mister! You lived in the city, right?" The kid curiously asked, his face filled with excitement.

"You could say that... How long have you guys been living here?" Xiaoyun curiously asked back.

"Umm... I think five months ago since we first moved here." The kid answered.

"Five months ago... Isn't that during the Qingyuan crisis?" Xiaoyun quietly murmured the last part to himself.

"Sorry for the wait."

As the young woman returned with a cup of tea and a filled-up water bottle, Xiaoyun gratefully accepted them.

"Thanks."

"No problem... Mister, are you looking for something in the village?" The young woman suddenly asked as Xiaoyun took a sip of the tea.

"How do you know?" Xiaoyun curiously asked, putting the teacup on the table.

"No soldiers come here... I didn't mean to say it rudely." The young woman apologized, realizing how offputting it sounded.

"No worries... I'm actually sent here on a task. I'm here to find a person named Chen Xiaoyue."

"Chen Xiaoyue...? I don't recall anyone in the village name that." The young woman answered after a short thought.

"That's fine. I'll probably just report back after looking for a bit."

Just as Xiaoyun lifted the teacup to finish the last few drops, the boy on the side asked a question that shocked everyone in the room.

"Mister, do you have a wife? What do you think of my sister——"

"Pff——Ahem, ahem."

"Zhanzhan! What's gotten in your mind? Sorry for the lack of manner."

"Ouch!"

As the young woman repeatedly knocked on the kid's head, Xiaoyun quickly recovered from choking on the tea.

"It's fine. I-I'm already married."

The moment Xiaoyun answered the kid's question, he could feel the boy looking disappointed.

More importantly, he could notice the young woman looking a little disappointed as well, which immediately sent off several alarms in his mind.

"Ahem, I need to get going now. Thank you for the tea."

"Wait, mister. I don't even know your name yet, " The young woman asked just as Xiaoyun got up from the seat.

"My name is... Songming Chen."

---

Just as Xiaoyun stepped outside onto the street, the village was back to the feeling of a ghost town.

Not a single person was on the street, other than a few birds hanging on the slanted roofs and the sight of chickens in coops.

But as he walked near the end of the road, he finally encountered an old man sitting on a rocking chair.

Looking at their face, Xiaoyun could feel a ferocious person behind all the scars on their faces, almost as if they were in some sort of gang before.

"Hey! Who's there?"

The old man asked with his crackling voice, his eyes remaining closed despite barely any footstep from Xiaoyun.

"Just looking for someone," Xiaoyun answered.

"You are new here?" The old man asked.

"Yeah... Sorry to ask this, but are you blind?"

"What do you think?"

The old man questioned, his face looking towards Xiaoyun with a frown while his eyes continued to remain closed.

"You're right. What was I thinking? Sorry for intruding on your peace."

Just as Xiaoyun was about to turn around to head towards the exit, the crackling voice appeared again.

"Who are you looking for?"

"Chen Xiaoyue," Xiaoyun answered, turning back around to wait for the old man's answer out of respect.

After an entire minute of silence, the old man finally responded.

"I don't recall anyone in the village with that name. You sure you got the right name?"

"That's fine. I'll just head back——"

"You're a soldier, aren't you?"

The old man's guess surprised Xiaoyun a little, as he was a hundred percent sure the old man's eye was still closed.

"What makes you think that?" Xiaoyun curiously asked.

"Who else would come here as new and be looking for someone?" the old man asked rhetorically.

"I guess you're right... Well, it was nice talking to you, mister."

Just as Xiaoyun was about to leave, the crackling voice surprised him once again.

"You're Mr.Governor, aren't you?"

"Hm? I'm just a soldier." Xiaoyun calmly answered, his face in complete shock at the correct prediction from the old man.

"I heard Governor Xiaoyun talk before. You sound almost the same, except you're holding your tone slightly."

After a short silence, Xiaoyun finally gave up hiding his identity.

"You really know more than you can see, old man," Xiaoyun murmured as he pushed open the front gates.

"Ho ho, I have just lived long enough to know a certain thing or two... What's Mr.Governor coming to this village for?"

Xiaoyun thought for a second, then decided to response back truthfully as he walked all the way next to the old man.

"I'm just here to examine how people are living like... Seem pretty good to me so far."

The old man fell into silence this time, his face seemingly to be in some sort of deep thought before he suddenly got up from his seat.

"Mr.Governor, can I show you something?" The old man asked.

"Go for it."