The main road to the city center had been blocked, but the path next to the zoo was clear, and we walked along the potholed sheep intestine trail for a while, and finally plugged into Jiangbei Avenue. My vision also opened up as I climbed the embankment.

The long Yongjiang River can be said to be the mother river of Nanning, but now it has become our moat. As Zhang Xizheng said, there should have been two bridges on the left and right sides not far from us, but now I see only a few broken piers standing alone on the river, and small islands formed by the ruins of the bridge. Although it can be seen that someone has cleared a river channel from the ruins, the level of the entire river is still significantly higher than before. In winter, the river is not turbulent, and the surface of the river is relatively clean, so I didn't see too many floating building debris.

Wei Hong and I both stopped the car and couldn't help but stop for a few more minutes to feel the sadness of Yongjiang. I don't know if there are any survivors in the city on the other side of the river, and if there are, I believe they are also fighting for survival. After all, this mission was not just to find the way to Jiangbei Avenue, so after a short rest, we set off again.

The Yongjiang River is not a wide river, but there are many bridges connecting its banks in Nanning; I don't know if they were all blown up. Before entering Jiangbei Avenue, we had already found the ruins of two bridges, until the first slightly gentle bend of the Yongjiang River, I was surprised to see a steel arch suspension bridge like a dying man standing majestically above the long river. Even if the basic structure of the bridge is not destroyed, it is impassable, and the destroyed bridge deck is incomplete, not to mention vehicles, even people walking on it are not necessarily safe.

As I expected, this time it was destined to be a silent game, and Wei Hong and I were like strangers along the way, without any nonsense. Sometimes when he suddenly turns, I even think he's going to throw me off and leave alone. For people like me, a Cold War like silence is an absolute torture. So I tried to break the deadlock, but unfortunately it didn't work very well.

"Hey!" At the approach bridge intersection of Yonghe Bridge, I stopped the car and called Wei Hong, "I remembered that there was an outdoor goods store near here." We might just be able to find some gear there. ”

"This is not the main task of coming out this time."

Wei Hong replied very simply, but how could I so easily give up this opportunity to create some hiccups and possibly ease my awkward relationship with him? So I thought about it for a moment and quipped, "If we go any further and we're almost in the city center, do you think there's any chance of getting any supplies in that place?" ”

Wei Hong was still a little reluctant, but I could see that he was just thinking about whether he should continue to strictly follow Zhang Xizheng's instructions, or go with me to complete some branch tasks. Alas, no wonder I can't be a national defense student, I can't do this kind of sense of discipline.

After thinking about it for a minute or two, he compromised: "Okay, but not too long, the sun is going to set." ”

"It's early, don't worry!" I shrugged my shoulders and took the lead, Wei Hong didn't say anything else and followed behind me.

In fact, his worries are not unreasonable, the time of sunset in winter is at least an hour earlier. There's plenty of time to spare, but if we spend it searching for supplies, it means we're probably going to spend the night around here tonight.

After more than twenty minutes, the two of us found what I call an outdoor store. As with other stores, the doors are locked, and when you look through the windows, the goods inside are neatly arranged on the shelves. Think about it, in this period of scarcity, most of the survivors think of food first, then weapons and medicines, and finally some supplies, and their goals are usually limited to supermarkets or pharmacies, and rarely think of this remote outdoor retail store.

After confirming that there was no anomaly inside, I slammed the glass of the window with the butt of my gun, but the glass did not move at all, and there was not even a crack left. I glanced embarrassedly at Wei Hong, who was standing aside, and he just walked to the store's anti-theft folding door and squatted down, took out a small tool kit, and began to seriously study the door lock, and then tinkered with his tools. It's the first time I've seen someone pick a lock, not to mention, it's really emotional. It didn't take long for the anti-theft lock to be pried open by this guy!

I walked into the store unconvinced, and while looking at the goods in the store, I said to Wei Hong, who was still packing up the tools, "No...... I didn't think you still had this technology. ”

"My dad is a locksmith, so he still has to know how to do this bit of janitory."

"Is this a janitor or a doorman?" My casual ridicule made Wei Hong smile easily, and it seemed that the estrangement between us had gradually begun to melt.

Wei Hong and I split up to search for useful supplies in the store, and after rummaging through a few shelves, he complained, "It's basically just clothes, there's nothing to find." ”

This store is not very big, and the space of seventy or eighty square meters is crammed with various outdoor brand products, but unfortunately there is really nothing except some outdoor clothes and pants, but it is not as empty as Wei Hong said. There was a flashlight on the small shelf in front of me, and the battery was still sufficient.

After fiddling with the flashlight, I proudly turned it on to the impatient Wei Hong and said to him, "Look! It's still a bit of a commodity. ”

"It doesn't take long for this flashlight to run out." Wei Hong waved his hand at me weakly.

"Hey! That's better than nothing, right? ”

"Yes......" Wei Hong lowered his head and rummaged for supplies, not even looking at me. Just as I was about to protest about this, he suddenly turned around and showed me a couple of small rectangular boxes, and laughed, "Your flashlight is not as good as this waterproof match!" ”

"I ...... I ...... "My eyes were frantically scouring for supplies around me, and thankfully, there was a large portable stove at my feet. I hurriedly picked up the stove and shouted, "I found this too!" ”

"How are you ......going to take such a big furnace away?"

"It's portable, okay! Just strap it into the back seat of the car! ”

"In that case, I'll take a sleeping bag with me, okay." Wei Hong said as he picked up a black package.

It's not a game, but seeing Wei Hong's self-righteous look, I don't get angry. At this moment I saw the camping shovel in the innermost layer of the store, which was probably the most useful thing for us in the store, and I flew away, almost at the same time as Wei Hong, who had also found the treasure, holding the handle of the shovel. Both of us lost our center of gravity for a moment, couldn't control our bodies and crashed into each other, and then sat down on the ground in both directions. Looking at each other's stupid looks, and thinking about the nonsensical comparison just now, the two of us couldn't help laughing.

In fact, we all know that this is both a mockery of one's own childishness and an apology for the ignorance of the previous dispute. After regaining control of my expression, I stood up first and pulled up Wei Hong, who was still sitting on the ground, as if shaking hands. After scouring the store for other supplies, the two of us walked out of the store satisfied.

It took a lot of effort for us to pack all the new equipment we found in the car; Knives, flashlights, matches, as big as my portable stove, and I found a nice knife and a whetstone in the display case. Our mood has also changed from the initial boredom to the satisfaction of returning home with a full load.

After getting on the motorcycle, I looked at my watch; There was still an hour before the five o'clock alert time, enough for us to go a little further and find a secluded and safe house to spend the night. I was about to start my motorcycle, when suddenly there was a rush of panicked footsteps from the alley next to the store, and a small man with unkempt hair came out of the corner and happened to meet us. Wei Hong and I took out our weapons at the same time, and the frightened kid raised his hand in a panic, his erratic eyes kept glancing behind him, and at the same time, there were more footsteps and some vulgar swear words in the alley.

"Please, help me." As soon as the little man spoke, I realized that she was a little girl, with short unkempt hair and a boy's outfit, and at first glance she really looked like a naughty boy.

"Who are you?" I pointed my gun at the little girl and pointed my chin in the direction of the alley and asked, "Who are they?" ”

"Take me out first, okay?" The little girl pleaded with a sad face, "Please." ”

"Let's take her away first." Before I could say yes, Wei Hong put down the crossbow and carried the girl onto his motorcycle, and said to me, "I don't think those people are a good thing. ”

Think about it, what kind of person would chase this defenseless little girl for no reason? But the heart of guarding against others is indispensable; It's just that since Wei Hongdu has already picked up people in the car, I can't fight anymore, the sound in the alley is getting closer and closer, and we immediately start the motorcycle and leave the neighborhood where the store is located.

As soon as we left the neighborhood where the store was located, we immediately returned to Jiangbei Avenue in the same way. Before I knew it, everyone felt a sense of pressure, and I couldn't help but increase the throttle. Buildings sped past us on either side, and the wind swept across my cheeks like blades.

The streets we walked through were so quiet that the roar of motorbikes made us seem like the biggest threat here. My subconscious mind told me that this dead silence was an ominous omen, and I suddenly felt an eerie chill in the back of my head. Sure enough, the passing air began to be mixed with the choking smell of incomplete combustion of low-quality gasoline; The sound of motorcycles gradually echoed in the empty block, but it was not the noise of our motorcycles.

"Marauders!" I yelled, "They're around here!" ”

The girl shouted to me through the noise, "It's the bikers!" They're arresting me! ”

Hell, it looks like we're in big trouble. I didn't complain in front of the girl, but when I turned my head, I saw four speeding motorcycles, rushing towards us aggressively. They were so fast that as soon as they entered the main road leading to the bridge, they sandwiched us from both sides.

"Kid, stop it!" A tastelessly dressed hedgehog approached me and threatened, "Don't force us to do it!" ”

"Just kidding, what can you do with me?" I held on to the handle of the motorcycle with one hand and pulled out my rifle with the other; As soon as the guy saw the muzzle of the black hole pointed at him, his face turned blue, and he hurriedly leaned out to keep his distance from me.

"He's got a gun!" As soon as the hedgehog head shouted, all the bikers immediately dispersed, but still maintained the formation that surrounded us.

"Parking! No time to and waste with you! Another biker boss on Wei Hong's side shouted.

I remembered a few military and tactical gestures that Xie Tao said when I was in Tianyang, and I had an idea to signal Wei Hong to pay attention to my gestures, and at the same time, the five fingers of my right hand were together, and the palm of my hand was upright and the fingertips were pointing upward. Wei Hong looked ahead; At this point, we are going to walk up the approach bridge of Yonghe Bridge. He looked at me with suspicion, as if he could not be sure whether what he understood was consistent with what I was saying; But from the look on his face I can assure you that he absolutely knows what I'm saying.

I raised my eyebrows and smiled at him, which seemed to give him a bottom line, so we both nodded to each other in confirmation, and almost at the same time slammed the brakes, leaned sideways, and threw the front of the car back with all the strength of the car, with the screams of girls and the surprised gaze of the biker to readjust the body and turn away from them.

I didn't expect Wei Hong and I to be able to complete such a tacit and difficult action in an instant, and both of us couldn't help shouting happily to cheer for the excitement just now. Looking back at the bikers who were scrambling to turn around and try to catch up with us again, I really wanted to count these fools out loud again. We triumphantly turned off the approach bridge and headed for Jiangbei Avenue. At this moment, a pickup truck suddenly popped out of the road and stopped in front of us.

Wei Hong's eyes were quick and he immediately braked and stopped the car, but I was only slow to react for less than a second, and then immediately lost my center of gravity, and even the person and the car slipped and fell to the ground. Affected by inertia, I rolled on the ground several times, but fortunately, I held my head in time, at least the damage to my head had been minimized, and the green belt on the side of the road also barely made a buffer for me. My bike wasn't so lucky, it smashed directly into the tail of the pickup truck that was lying across the road.

The impact made my whole body numb and weak, and my vision blurred, and all the sounds around me were muffled like thick glass, and warm blood flowed down my forehead and into my stinging eyes, and my vision was instantly stained red. I tried to move, but the burning pain in my limbs immediately made me gasp for air, and my oppressed chest suddenly trembled, my throat twitched, and I spit out a mouthful of bloody phlegm.

Lying on my side, my head spun around, and a person walked into my crooked sight with heavy steps. He stopped in front of me and threw my foot like a garbage kick, spreading me flat on the ground upside down. The crimson light burned my eyes, and I could only dimly see a figure, who didn't seem to be tall, but who trampled me under my feet like a demon that could easily destroy my world. The eyelids that weighed like a thousand pounds pressed my vision into a slit little by little, and finally turned into pitch black.

My dim consciousness gradually recovered, and it seemed as if a long time had passed. I was dragged by the feet like an animal into a damp room, picked me up in a rough way, and then handcuffed my hands behind my back with cold chains. The dim light and tiredness made it impossible for me to concentrate on my surroundings, but I could hear a familiar voice cursing and shouting over and over again, and it was only after a few punches that it groaned and stopped struggling.

The room was quiet for I don't know how long, and finally someone suddenly opened the door and walked in, ending the suffocating dead silence. He grabbed me by the hair and shook my head, looking at me nonchalantly, which gave me a chance to see his face. His unusual dark-brown skin looked disgusting, his ugly little eyes stared at his prey coldly and ferociously like some kind of monster hiding in the sewers, his jaw protruding slightly forward rubbed against his jagged teeth, and a disgusting toothpick in his mouth. As if I was going to be his next meal, he nodded smugly to me and pulled my blurred gaze.

"How's it going, how did you think about it?" The man seemed to be talking to someone who was locked up in the same room as me, "Tell me where that little bastard is hiding, and I'll give you a chance to live, you know, this is a chance for you to see in the face of our acquaintance in the past, think about it." ”

"Don't dream, you have the ability to find it yourself." It turned out that my "cellmate" was Wei Hong, but I didn't expect him to be caught too, but that girl seemed to have escaped.

"What a kind, do you know how valuable she is?"

"Worth the money? She is not a commodity, let alone a livestock, what is worthless! ”

"That little bitch is the cousin of the boss of the Jiangshang people, Liao Shuzhen!" The man yelled excitedly, "You're ruining Lao Tzu's good deeds!" ”

Wei Hong didn't speak, and after being silent for a while, the man said: "Why don't you tell me where she went, let's blackmail the people of Jiangshang together, and share the benefits equally, how about it?" ”

Wei Hong still didn't answer, the man's patience reached the limit, and he scolded impatiently: "Damn, do you really think that Lao Tzu won't kill you?" Even if you can't get it cheap, I'm going to make you look good! ”

At this moment, a short, sturdy arm appeared in my field of vision, holding the saber captured from me and holding it in mid-air. I struggled to move my head, only to find a short and stocky man with his back to me, standing in front of Wei Hong, who was also tied to an iron chain and leaning on a rotten chair, brandishing a saber and threatening: "I'll chop off a finger of you now, and let you know how powerful Lao Tzu is!" ”

Seeing that the saber hanging in mid-air was about to fall, I didn't care about the pain in all parts of my body, and suddenly got up and roared and crashed into him! The little man was stunned, turned around and saw me pounce on me like a corpse in horror, and with a trembling hand, he dropped the dagger in front of him, screaming and falling to the ground.

However, the other end of the chain in my hand was tied to a sewer pipe, and as soon as I took the first step, the chain straightened and pulled me backwards. At the moment of losing my center of gravity, I kicked my flying leg, but unfortunately I missed the target, and just kicked the saber that fell to the ground into the corner. The man's men rushed forward and dragged me back into place, followed by a violent beating. The relentless punches doubled the damage to my old wounds, and I was powerless to resist the sharp pain that came and went. In fact, the numbness in my limbs barely made me feel pain, and my heart twisted and ached as if someone had been pulling me up.

After a few rounds of punching and kicking, both bikers also withdrew breathlessly. And their boss stepped forward and gave me two more punches, and said with a smile: "I didn't expect you to be a crazy boy who bites people indiscriminately." That's right, it scared Lao Tzu. Why don't you persuade your friends to consider my proposal? ”

"Fuck you......" I cursed through gritted teeth.

"I guessed you'd say that, too." The man wasn't surprised by my answer, he shook his head, snapped his fingers at his men, and continued, "Actually, Wei Hong and I are old friends. You have a similar personality to him, and I think you'll enjoy the next game. ”

The man's perverted tone reminds me of Qin Rong in Tianyang, and if you want me to say, his personality and Qin Rong's personality are not much different. As soon as he finished speaking, two of his subordinates circled the iron chains that were holding me and Wei Hong around a water pipe and connected them together. Immediately afterward, two other men led a hooded guy into the room, and chained the chain around the man's neck to the water pipe. One of them clamped a long stick that caught a mad dog against the hooded man's neck, keeping him near the water pipe and unable to get forward.

The man asked his men to put a key on the ground that was not much to be near the door, and he walked up to the hooded fellow, pulled it off sharply, leaned back, and stepped back to me; I don't know if it's because of proficiency or because he's as timid as a mouse.

When I looked closely, it turned out that the hooded man was a mutant, like a bloodthirsty wild dog baring its dirty teeth and opening and closing wildly, and became even more restless when he saw the humans in the room, eager to tear us all to shreds.

"It's our old rule, we never kill a captive, how about it, it's very merciful, isn't it?" The man pointed to the key on the ground and smiled at me, "We'll leave here later, the key to unlock your chains is there, and whoever of you has the ability to get it can go." It's just that the chain with the zombie is the same length as the chain with you, and I guess it'll take one of you for the Last Supper first. But don't worry, this room is big enough that I've had you both chained together, do you know what that means? ”

"If one person runs fast, the other person will be brought closer to the monster."

"Don't worry, if you run to the end, the whole chain will be long enough for you to get the key, but the other person doesn't know what will happen." The man touched my head with his dirty hand and prepared to leave the room with his men, "Have fun." ”

The biker who was in charge of controlling the mutants let go of the stick clamp and flew out of the room. The dilapidated wooden door slammed shut, leaving only two scarred humans and an apostle of hell in the room. Three pairs of eyes looked at each other, each thinking about their next move, life and death were in the same thought......