Chapter 198: Chapter 198: A Leap of Progress
Jiang Linhai sighed. "Then I guess we’ll just have to build the wall."
"We don’t have any bricks, just wood!" Jiang Chengwu said with a frown.
The limited amount of steel they had wasn’t enough either.
"We don’t have to enclose a huge area," Jiang Si said. "Our current supply of materials should be enough for a smaller perimeter."
Everyone nodded. "Alright, we’ll start getting ready today."
As they were preparing for the coming zombie attack, a message came in from Zhang Aihua on the pager.
His anxious voice came over the line. "Miss Jiang, what was going on with that woman? Does she have some kind of strange illness?"
Jiao Chunzi’s bruised hand had reached right through the crack in the rocks and seized him by the throat. The near-fatal encounter still left him shaken with lingering fear.
Jiang Si felt she had to warn them.
"She’s a sentient zombie. More zombies might start appearing soon. You need to be careful."
Jiang Si’s words made Zhang Aihua’s heart stop for several seconds.
’Zombies are real!’
’What were they going to do?!’
In his panic, Zhang Aihua quickly asked Jiang Si, "Are you guys leaving?"
"We’re not leaving for the time being."
After forcing himself to calm down, Zhang Aihua realized that if Jiang Si’s group wasn’t leaving, they must have a way to protect themselves. For instance, on the day the bird-people appeared, Jiang Si had somehow produced a helicopter.
If danger arose, Jiang Si and her group could definitely be the first to escape in the helicopter.
’But *they* didn’t have a helicopter!’
’If they left, they were afraid they’d run straight into zombies.’
Zhang Aihua took a deep breath and asked Jiang Si, "Miss Jiang, do you have a plan to deal with the zombies?"
"We’re planning to build a wall," Jiang Si replied.
Zhang Aihua’s expression turned bitter. "Isn’t there any other way?"
"For now, this is our only plan."
’Besides, she couldn’t be sure if Jiao Chunzi could actually control all the other zombies.’
’After all, Bo Xi’s powers had grown slowly over time.’
’Even though the Vultures had learned to fly, they wouldn’t be able to carry away Zhang Aihua’s entire group if a massive horde of zombies attacked.’
’So, in the end, the choice was theirs to make.’
’Jiang Si felt she had done all she could for them.’
After hanging up the pager, Zhang Aihua’s brow furrowed deeply. Facing everyone’s questions, he could only tell them the truth. "The zombies are real, and they could be here very soon. It’s up to all of you to decide if we should leave."
Song Yufang, unable to accept it, took a step back. "How can this be?!"
The others also looked incredulous. They glanced at the deep scratch on Zhang Aihua’s neck. "But you’re fine!"
Brother Qiu recalled the gaping hole in the woman’s neck and muttered, "I guess they have to bite you on the neck..."
A chill ran down everyone’s spine.
Suddenly, Zhang Yiwen shouted, "Dad, I’m not leaving! I’m staying right here! If I die, I die! I’m sick of running!"
Everyone else suddenly looked up. "Yeah, if we die, we die! We’ve all had enough!"
The few who had wanted to leave fell silent when they saw that the majority was staying.
’Where would they even go?’
’There was no shelter from the cold, no food... They might run into other strange creatures and die even faster than they would at the hands of zombies.’
After a long discussion, the group decided to just give up and stay put. They weren’t leaving!
Even though they had chosen to give up, they still wanted to make their end a little less painful, to at least buy themselves enough time to take their own lives.
So, they also decided to build a simple fence around the cave.
The building materials Jiang Si’s group brought out from the seed vault were just enough to enclose an area the size of two soccer fields.
Everyone was working at a frantic pace, which meant Qin Shen had less time to check on Bobby.
He would just drop off the food and leave in a hurry each time.
On the third day, Bobby suddenly grabbed Qin Shen’s hand and uttered a single word. "Go."
Meaning, he wanted to go outside too.
It was just a single word, but it was a monumental leap forward.
It proved that Bobby was gradually regaining his human consciousness.
Qin Shen studied him for a moment before replying, "You can go out, but you can’t run off, and you can’t take off your clothes. Understand?"
Bobby nodded excitedly and repeated, "Go, go, go!"
He meant he wanted to go out right away.
Qin Shen checked the bracelet on Bobby’s wrist and made sure he wasn’t carrying any sharp objects. Only then did he take out his pager to inform Jiang Si. "Bobby wants to come out. Tell everyone to be on their guard."
’Just because he’s not aggressive toward me anymore doesn’t mean he won’t be aggressive toward others.’
’And since he can use Invisibility, they had to be especially careful.’
’Jiang Si was pleasantly surprised. Bobby was improving so quickly.’
She immediately informed everyone that Bobby was about to leave his room, and that if he came out of the ship’s cabin, they shouldn’t frighten him.
Everyone had been worried about Bobby, but they were afraid of disturbing him, so they had only been watching his progress on video with Jiang Si.
After hearing the news, everyone was filled with a bit of anticipation.
’Their little group was truly becoming more and more capable.’
When Bobby left his room for the first time, he looked at everything with a mixture of panic and curiosity.
Especially when he saw Jiang Si in the main hall of the Icebreaker. Like a frightened little animal, he WHOOSHED behind Qin Shen. His body instantly vanished, leaving only his clothes, pants, hat, bracelet, and shoes hovering in mid-air.
Qin Shen encouraged him in a gentle voice, "It’s okay, Bobby. Don’t be afraid."
After a long moment, Bobby finally dared to peek his head out from behind Qin Shen. Once he confirmed that Jiang Si meant no harm, he ventured a step forward.
Jiang Si knew he liked cake, so she had gotten a strawberry cake from the refrigerator and placed it in front of him. "Bobby, this is a strawberry cake."
Bobby instantly reappeared, his eyes lighting up. He looked like he desperately wanted to eat but was still too scared to get closer.
’He was a bit like a chameleon, constantly changing to adapt to his environment. His cautiousness was actually quite cute.’
Jiang Si’s gaze fell on the burns that covered half his face, and a hint of pity showed in her eyes.
’He must have been such a beautiful child.’
’He was still handsome, but seeing his face made her heart ache for whatever he had been through.’
Bobby looked to Qin Shen, who said, "Go on, sit down and eat."
With permission granted, Bobby sat down, a little more bravely now. He picked up the spoon Jiang Si had set out for him and began to eat the cake with painstaking care.
As his mood shifted, he kept turning invisible and then reappearing.
Jiang Si looked at Qin Shen and smiled. "He’s recovering well."
Qin Shen nodded. "I expect he’ll be able to adapt to the outside world in a few more days. But it’ll probably be a long time before he can control his ability with any proficiency."
’When Jiang Si had decided to take Bobby in, she hadn’t been thinking about what he could do for them.’
’Besides, he was still just a sick child.’
Jiang Si nodded. "One step at a time. There’s no rush."
After finishing the strawberry cake, Bobby’s gaze drifted to the sky outside the cabin. He saw the Vultures spreading their wings, still learning to fly, and tugged on Qin Shen’s sleeve again. "Go, go, go, go!"
Jiang Si asked, "Can he go outside right now?"
Qin Shen thought for a moment. "It’s fine. I can keep an eye on him."
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