Suo Tian always surprises me.
When he pulled out two packs of compressed biscuits from his pocket, I didn't even bother asking how he thought to carry them.
He's always been a bit of an oddball when it comes to eating.
He'd take a few bites, stare off into space, and then suddenly get up and start doing something else.
I'd often wonder if he even needs to eat at all.
I'd think to myself, he's like a superhero who can survive without food.
Now, looking at the compressed biscuits in my hand, I raised an eyebrow.
It seems like he's been storing them in his pockets, snacking on them occasionally.
I guess that's a healthy way to eat - small, frequent meals.
As we ate, I told him about the message I found in the diary, and how it seemed like water might be safe to drink.
He just nodded calmly, without much reaction.
That was unusual for him, and it made me curious.
After eating a few more bites, I walked over to him and asked, "Hey, don't you have any thoughts on this?"
Suo Tian's mind started to wander again, and he stared off into space, holding his biscuit.
Despite his distant expression, he was still aware of his surroundings and responded coherently, "This safety isn't 100% guaranteed. We can't take unnecessary risks."
"But the villagers have been drinking this water for months."
"That's why they're constantly falling ill."
"But most of them seem fine, don't they?"
Suo Tian finally turned to look at me, his expression neutral.
He replied slowly, "Why don't you go try drinking it and see?"
I knew he was just responding to my non-stop questions without any malice, but I still felt a bit annoyed.
However, I thought about it and realized that even if we suspected the water was safe, we couldn't guarantee that everyone who drank it would be okay.
Although most people, like Zhang Hongsheng and others, seemed fine after drinking it, who could guarantee that I wouldn't be the unlucky one?
I definitely wasn't going to drink it.
After eating, Suo Tian searched the courtyard and found a thin blanket wrapped in a plastic bag.
He also found two lighters and stuffed them into his pockets.
Then, he took a stainless steel bowl from the kitchen and put it in the plastic bag with the blanket.
I followed him around, feeling a bit aimless.
It's an old habit of mine - whenever I have someone to rely on, I tend to get a bit careless.
With everything ready, Suo Tian gestured and headed towards the gate.
I quickly stopped him, pointing to the adjacent yard and asking, "Aren't we going over the wall?"
Suo Tian didn't turn around, replying, "With you, it'll be faster to make a run for it from the outside."
I felt a surge of frustration.
What was wrong with Suo Tian today?
Had he taken some kind of medication?
I hadn't noticed he was so articulate before.
I didn't argue further.
Suo Tian opened the gate, peeked outside, and quickly assessed the situation.
He then withdrew, turned to me, and said, "Once we go out, stick close to me."
I nodded and pointed to the items in his hand, asking, "Let me carry this, and you can provide cover. I'll be relatively safer."
Suo Tian looked at the items and didn't hand them over.
"Just stick close to me, and keep an eye on your surroundings, especially behind and to the sides."
"Got it," I replied.
Since he wasn't willing to hand over the items, I wouldn't push the issue.
My combat skills were nowhere near his level, and carrying extra items would only make me more vulnerable.
"Let's go!" Suo Tian flung open the gate and rushed out.
I followed closely behind him, keeping a close eye on our surroundings.
The alley was narrow, and there were about a dozen walkers wandering around.
Although it wasn't a huge number, the alley was too narrow to navigate easily, unlike before.
Fortunately, Suo Tian was leading the way, and he didn't intend to take a detour.
Instead, he drew his long blade and swiftly beheaded the walkers blocking our path.
His movements were swift and decisive, without any hesitation.
The walkers had been shambling towards us, mouths agape, but with one swing of Suotian's blade, they'd be left with nothing but a gaping mouth.
I followed behind him, mesmerized by the efficiency of his movements.
With Suo Tian leading the way, our journey was much smoother, and we didn't encounter any major setbacks.
After a series of twists and turns, I got disoriented, but eventually, we managed to leave the village behind.
As we walked on the dirt road flanked by fields, I realized that this was the same road Zhang Hongsheng and the old man had taken to the grave pit.
Suo Tian seemed to notice my gaze and, after surveying our surroundings, pointed to the distant woods, saying, "If we head through that forest, we should be able to loop back to the previous road."
I nodded, gazing at the woods.
When I had followed Zhang Hongsheng and the others, I never would have imagined that I'd end up back on this road, fleeing for my life.
The village had been overrun with walkers, and the area was no longer empty and desolate.
The fields on either side of the path were dotted with straggling walkers, shambling towards us with an unnatural gait.
They seemed to be drawn to us, slowly moving in our direction.
It was puzzling how they could detect us from such a distance, given their seemingly useless brains.
Since they were still far away and moving slowly, Suo Tian and I didn't pay much attention to them.
We occasionally glanced back to check if any larger groups of walkers were following us from the village.
Individual walkers weren't a concern, nor were small clusters - it was the large hordes that were formidable and difficult to handle.
This time, we were walking openly on the road, without the need to hide.
Soon, we arrived at the small woods where the grave pit was located.
I craned my neck to peer inside and saw several walkers clustered around something, feeding eagerly.
The ground was stained red, and it was clear that someone had been bled dry there recently.
Due to the walkers surrounding the area and the fact that the body was likely already mangled beyond recognition, I couldn't make out who the victim was, even with a good look.
As I watched, I suddenly remembered something and turned to ask Suo Tian, "When the walkers attacked last night and you guys retreated, what happened to the villagers?"
Suo Tian continued to scan our surroundings and replied briefly, "They're probably all dead."
I was taken aback and asked, "All dead? What about Zhang Hongsheng and Zhang Jiale?"
"Zhang Jiale was bitten, and Zhang Hongsheng was taken back to the group by that Xu Shu woman," Suotian said.
I glanced at Suo Tian suspiciously and asked, "Were the others all bitten?"
Suo Tian looked at me and took a moment to respond, "For some people, being alive wouldn't have made a difference."
As soon as Suo Tian said that, I understood what he meant.
His earlier statement "they're probably all dead" actually meant "they were already dead to us".
It made sense - if the goal was just to retrieve the child, Suo Tian wouldn't have needed to bring so many well-equipped people.
He could have handled the villagers, who were only armed with kitchen knives, on his own.
When he agreed to help Zhang Hongsheng yesterday, Suo Tian never intended for those people to survive.
Perhaps those people were meant to die yesterday morning, but my intervention and Shen Xue's arrival delayed Suo Tian's actions.
I pointed to the corpse in the woods, surrounded by walkers, and asked, "If the villagers are all dead, who is that?"
Suo Tian glanced over and replied, "Two people escaped yesterday. Maybe it's one of them."
As he said that, my hand, still pointing to the woods, hesitated slightly.
I felt a complex mix of emotions.
Knowing how foolish and absurd the villagers were, using an innocent child as a sacrifice, I had wished for their downfall.
But that was just a thought - a feeling similar to a parent's frustration with their child, hoping they would shape up.
Now, knowing that Suo Tian had taken direct action to eliminate so many people, I felt a heavy weight in my chest.
Maybe I wasn't suited to survive in this apocalyptic world.
My thoughts were sometimes extreme, sometimes sentimental, sometimes brave, and sometimes cowardly.
As we walked past the woods, I took a deep breath and asked Suo Tian, "What were you before this?"
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