"Uncle, what should I call you?"
"My name is Xiang Weiguo, 'Xiang' as in direction, 'Weiguo' as in defending the country. I'm 63 this year. You can call me Mr. Xiang or just Xiang Weiguo, but don't call me uncle."
"Then, may I call you Uncle Xiang? Calling you Mr. Xiang doesn't seem respectful enough to me."
Looking at Gao Yuan's wry smile, Xiang Weiguo also helplessly smiled and said, "Actually, I'm not used to being called uncle or grandpa, but let's forget it, Uncle Xiang it is then."
At this moment, Luo Xingyu coughed even more violently.
Xiang Weiguo watched Luo Xingyu with a look of concern and said, "This child's cough is severe; she can't get cold again. Let's hurry up. Which house do you live in?"
Gao Yuan pointed to the house they were still living in and said, "We live in that one. Which one is your old house?"
The last thing they wanted was to have occupied Xiang Weiguo's old house. Fortunately, Xiang Weiguo glanced ahead, pointed at a house, and said, "That one is my home, though it looks a bit different now… Ah, the roof has collapsed…"
Xiang Weiguo's voice was tinged with disappointment, and Gao Yuan couldn't help but feel a bit bitter looking at the house Xiang Weiguo pointed to.
They hadn't taken the house, but Gao Yuan had stored quite a few things inside Xiang Weiguo's old home.
But in the face of absolute power, any trickery was just asking for trouble.
Gao Yuan said in a low voice, "Uncle Xiang, did you... serve in the military?"
Xiang Weiguo smiled and said, "I have been a soldier all my life."
Gao Yuan, feeling relieved, said, "I thought so. You are really incredible. Honestly, I'm lucky that you have quick reflexes. If you had accidentally hurt a good person, I would have felt terrible. The mere thought of it scares me retrospectively."
Luo Xingyu also said softly, "I'm sorry..."
Xiang Weiguo waved his hand and said, "Let's not talk about the past. How did you two get here?"
Gao Yuan nodded and said, "My... my sister and I found this place by chance while fleeing. Uncle Xiang, where did you come from?"
Xiang Weiguo looked at Gao Yuan and smiled. Gao Yuan always felt that Xiang Weiguo's smile was profound as if he could see through his thoughts.
"Me? I came back from Yang City."
Gao Yuan was startled and said, "Yang City in Lingnan State? That far?"
Xiang Weiguo nodded and said, "Yes, it is quite far. Otherwise, why would it have taken me so long to get here?"
Gao Yuan was more than awestruck. From Yang City in Lingnan to Stonegate in Hebei Province—that was at least two thousand kilometers. If Xiang Weiguo had set out after the aliens invaded, then he must have covered those two thousand kilometers in two months.
Definitely not by foot, that would have been impossible.
"My God, how did you manage to travel?"
Xiang Weiguo said indifferently, "By car, bicycle, motorcycle, whatever I could find. The journey wasn't easy, and I nearly died several times, but I made it back."
The casual way he spoke of his journey underscored Xiang Weiguo's capabilities, but more importantly, those few words revealed the most precious thing Xiang Weiguo possessed.
What was it?
Information!
Gao Yuan had been hiding in these mountains for two months, cut off from all contact with the outside world. He had just met Luo Xingyu yesterday, and she knew even less than him.
Therefore, Xiang Weiguo, who had traveled from the south to the north, crossing half of Shenzhou Country, undoubtedly held the outside information Gao Yuan wanted to know most.
Uncle Xiang was a walking treasure.
"Uncle Xiang, please come in and rest for a while. I need to take care of my sister first, and then we can have a good chat, is that okay?"
Gao Yuan extended the invitation to Xiang Weiguo. It wasn't the time to worry about whether Xiang Weiguo was a bad guy because if he were, Gao Yuan and Luo Xingyu would already be dead.
Xiang Weiguo agreed without hesitation, "Sure, let's rest for a bit first."
Having invited Xiang Weiguo into the house, Gao Yuan helped Luo Xingyu onto the kang (traditional Chinese bed). After she took her medicine, Luo Xingyu curled up in the sleeping bag on the kang. The appearance of a stranger excited Luo Xingyu too much to sleep.
Xiang Weiguo looked around the room and said with a smile, "Not bad. You two are living quite well given the circumstances."
Xiang Weiguo's accent was interesting; he spoke Mandarin with a strong local accent, one specific to the county of Gao Yuan's hometown.
He bent over to pick up the spear shaft Gao Yuan was working on, looked it over, and nodded, "White wax shaft, a pity the drying time has been too short; it's not yet ready for use."
Gao Yuan smiled and said, "There's no helping it, we can't wait for it to dry thoroughly, we can only use it as is for now. Uncle Xiang, can you tell us about the situation outside? Please, take a seat on your kang and talk."
After leaning the spear shaft against the wall and sitting down on the kang, Xiang Weiguo thought for a moment, then said, "The situation outside... is not good. Zombies are everywhere. The original cities and towns, any place with a dense population, have all been occupied by zombies."
Both Gao Yuan and Luo Xingyu appeared somewhat disheartened, but Xiang Weiguo said in a low voice, "However, there are also many large refuges, protected by the military, with many people inside."
Gao Yuan was stunned for a moment, but Luo Xingyu asked with a trembling voice, "Large refuges? Where are they?"
"There are many of them; each major city has them nearby, some even have several. I saw many refuges on my way, and they seemed to be in fair condition."
Luo Xingyu pressed anxiously, "Really? That's wonderful! Uncle Xiang, why don't you go to those refuges?"
Xiang Weiguo was silent for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I don't want to go. I just wanted to come back here. I'm old, and the country won't need an old man like me. Now, I just want to bury my partner's ashes in the ancestral grave, then dig a hole for myself, and when the day comes that I can't move anymore, I'll just lie down in it and that will be that."
There's that saying again, in these last days, if you know what's what, you don't ask others about their family.
But Luo Xingyu still couldn't help asking, "But you're not that old, why would you... I'm sorry."
Xiang Weiguo shook his head and said in a low voice, "I have no children, it's just me now."
After a brief silence, Gao Yuan asked in a low voice, "What have those zombies turned into now? Have you noticed anything?"
"They're very formidable. They're usually motionless, some standing, some lying down, looking as if they're dead. But once they detect prey, these zombies will suddenly spring into action, moving extremely fast with great strength."
"Extremely fast?"
Looking at Gao Yuan, Xiang Weiguo said, "With your speed, if a zombie spots you within five hundred meters, you'd be done for. From my observations, a zombie that used to be an old man, even older-looking than me, can sprint a short distance with a start-up speed that would cover a hundred meters in under eleven seconds. A younger, stronger zombie can do it in under ten seconds."
What does sprinting a hundred meters in under ten seconds represent?
That speed could win a championship at a major world sports event.
The edge of human capability that only a very few individuals could ever reach is now standard for an ordinary zombie.
A chill settled over Gao Yuan, the chill of despair.
Xiang Weiguo exhaled and said in a sigh, "It's not all bad news. Zombies may sprint quickly over short distances, but over longer stretches, they can't outrun the living. According to my observations, this happens because zombies can unleash all their potential. In this aspect, normal humans can't even come close."
"Potential?"
"Yes, normally, even when running as hard as they can, humans won't truly unleash all their potential because doing so can have serious consequences; it can do serious damage to the body. Out of self-protection, the body won't allow you to exercise all your potential. But zombies are different."
After saying this, Xiang Weiguo pulled a canteen over from behind him, different from the one Gao Yuan used; Xiang Weiguo had a Type 07 military canteen.
Seeing Xiang Weiguo's action, Gao Yuan realized his own impoliteness. He hurriedly said, "Ah, I got too caught up in our conversation. You drink some hot water, I still have some here to refill yours; you must be hungry, I have..."
Without much hesitation, Gao Yuan quickly took out a military ration and a box of compressed biscuits, placing them in front of Xiang Weiguo and offered warmly, "Have some food first before we continue talking."
Xiang Weiguo did not reach for the biscuits or the ration can, showing interest as he looked at Gao Yuan and said, "Ah, you young man, you're quite well-supplied, aren't you? You have all these things."
Gao Yuan smiled and said, "Please start eating; I have more if it's not enough."
Xiang Weiguo shook his head and responded, "You shouldn't eat these like this. These are emergency foods, convenient to carry and store, not to waste on a regular basis. I see you have quite a bit of meat out there; are you willing to share some with me?"
Gao Yuan laughed and said, "Look at what you're saying. That's wild boar meat, hunted just yesterday. Cooking meat takes time, so I thought I'd offer you something ready-made first. Come noon, I'll invite you to have stewed meat with cabbage."
Xiang Weiguo pushed the ration can and biscuits back, ultimately not eating them.
"You're a sincere young man, and I like sincere young people. What's your name?"
"I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Gao Yuan, and she's my cousin Xiaoyu, my uncle's daughter. We escaped together."
Xiang Weiguo gave Gao Yuan another look and sized up Luo Xingyu before suddenly breaking into a smile.
Laughing and shaking his head, Xiang Weiguo said to Gao Yuan, "You're not being honest, kid! You're still on your guard against me."
Gao Yuan was a little surprised inside; he thought that his lie would not be seen through, wondering how Xiang Weiguo figured it out.
"What do you mean by that... uh, what do you mean?"
With a smile, Xiang Weiguo said, "I shouldn't really comment on your relationship, but I can tell at a glance that you two haven't known each other very long."