Chapter 84: Do You Have A Smoke?
When Yuan Yi was forced to a corner, she could explode out with a shocking bravery. She possessed a calm that surpassed normal people, and in fact, she enjoyed the killing. This was something that Zhang Xiao Qiang could not understand. She was obviously a lamb that was afraid of slaughter but had suddenly turned into a lioness.
As for Su Qian, although she had lowered her head, her trembling body had given her away. Zhang Xiao Qiang knew exactly what she was thinking. When a weakling saw people of similar status suddenly leaping through the gates to become a dragon, they would be envious. However, he didn’t understand why Su Qian would have such a hateful gaze towards Yuan Yi. He could not understand what made it such that this weak woman would actually have such a hair-raising look.
Yang Ke’er was the least of Zhang Xiao Qiang’s worries. She was a little ditzy true, but that was also her strongest point. She didn’t worry about anything and just wanted to be happy. It was rare in this apocalypse, and Zhang Xiao Qiang had not seen the smile that Yang Ke’er had on anyone else. Indeed, her smile that came from the heart was one of the few pleasures in this dark world, at least to him.
Of course, there was himself. He had almost forgotten how it was like to be so desperate at the start of the apocalypse. He had risked himself for the sake of a few cabbages. Yet after killing a D2, he had become arrogant, and from time to time, he would remind himself to work hard. However, he didn’t decline Yuan Yi’s service, it was a poor excuse for him to enjoy it anyway.
When Yuan Yi had used her bare hands to take down the D-Type, Zhang Xiao Qiang had been shaken. He suddenly found that he was nothing without his weapons. He might be able to take down one or 2 normal zombies, but against a D-Type, he lacked the courage. At that time, he realized he had been overtaken by this soft lamb.
Her bare handed combat might seem dangerous and risky, but she had actually calculated that the D-Type could not complete its steps. He was jealous as well, especially when she had dared to stand opposite him. At that time, he had a sudden urge to destroy her.
In the end, Yuan Yi had been the one to step down. Zhang Xiao Qiang also felt at a loss, there was no pride in holding it against a woman. That was why he helped her to bathe, treating it as a sort of make up to her. He had even given her his gun, other than accepting her, he wanted to rid himself of the reliance on external weapons to face the outside dangers.
“Do you…….”
Yuan Yi was not used to initiating a conversation and did not know how to continue after she opened her mouth.
“What?” Zhang Xiao Qiang didn’t catch it.
“Do you have a smoke? Can, can, can I….” As she was stammering, Zhang Xiao Qiang threw her a packet of Pandas before she even finished.
“Keep it!” Zhang Xia Qiang eyed the road as he spoke.
Yuan Yi stuck the cigarette in her mouth, before taking out a lighter. She sucked in a breath, then hacked and coughed for a while. However, she didn’t put the cigarette down and continued to take another puff. She slowly blew out a smoke ring, as though she was reminiscing about something.
Zhang Xiao Qiang had not yet settled his thoughts and was becoming more sullen. He turned to her and asked: “Have you learned martial arts before?”
Yuan Yi nodded: “In the past, I did learn a few moves from some random old man on the streets in Chinatown. He didn’t tell me his name, although everyone there called him Old Man Liu.”
When she had first arrived in England, she wasn’t accustomed to life there and liked to walk around in Chinatown. She wanted to see the familiar sights and hear the familiar language. Slowly, her homesickness began to ease, and she made more friends and began to go out more. It was until she saw the aging old man that was carrying stuff and had difficulty opening the door. Yuan Yi had stepped up to offer assistance.
As they made small conversation, the old man found out that Yuan Yi was from Shanghai, and immediately became emotional. He was surnamed Liu and was also from Shanghai in the past. During a special period*, his family had immigrated to England. He missed home often, and had always wanted to go back, however, he had lost contact with his close ones there, and since he was alone now, it was not convenient to go out at all. He could only reminisce about his hometown.
Yuan Yi and Old Man Liu began to contact each other frequently, and Yuan Yi felt sorry for the lonely old man. Whenever she was free, she would head over to keep him company. One day, Old Man Liu happened to be practicing some moves at home, and when he saw Yuan Yi come over, he asked if she was willing to learn. Since she saw the hope in his eyes, she couldn’t bear to turn him down.
In actual fact, Old Man Liu didn’t know much, it was all that his family had passed down. Some were fundamental techniques and break-falls. However, some of the moves were pretty dangerous, and if used correctly, it could cause substantial damage. After imparting the moves to her, he had warned her time and time again not to use them casually.
When she returned, she didn’t practice as much. There was no one to practice with, and thus she let herself get rusty. Even after the apocalypse set it, she had not thought that her moves would come in handy, until she was forced by the D-Type earlier. The bar had been useless, and when she flared up, she had subconsciously executed her techniques.
Zhang Xiao Qiang became silent again, thinking about how to get Yuan Yi to teach him those moves. He realized that melee weapons were more effective than firearms in this apocalypse. The sounds of gunfire would attract other zombies, and the recoil did not aid in aiming. Unless it was the case of a veteran that dealt with guns often, it would be almost a miracle to see a common person handling a gun with accuracy.
However, melee weapons were different, there were no loud sounds that would attract other zombies. There was no expenditure of ammunition, and the most important thing was the courage to face the zombies. Only with courage would one be able to brave through other situations. Only with courage would one be able to navigate through this new world without making silly mistakes that might cost a life. Zhang Xiao Qiang had never handled a gun before, and since the start where he had to fight for a few cabbages, he had almost always relied on his melee weapons. Looking back, he realized that he who had been using melee weapons was stronger than the criminals who relied on those firearms.
Melee weapons could be broken and destroyed. That was where self-defence skills were important. There were differences in bare-handed combat and melee weapons, what was critical was not the ability to handle weapons, but the judgment and collected thinking required when facing against an opponent. This was because the entire body was the weapon. One couldn’t just rashly charge into a situation that might result in more folly than results.
Only by calmly assessing the opponent’s weak points would one be able to grasp at life with more certainty. Chinese kungfu was largely based on the calmness of the mind precisely because of this. However, it was not practiced as and when one liked. It required experience and patience. At the very least, it was not like killing, where one could master the movement of killing a zombie as long as one had done enough of it.
Yet, his machismo would not allow him to open his mouth to ask. How could a man plead with a woman?! He couldn’t even order her to teach him, ah! Seeking favors from others sure don’t feel good!
He scratched his head in frustration and looked out the window. Their current location was near the town that he had rescued Three the other day. He thought back to the huge horde the other day and was feeling a little relieved when suddenly he came to a thought. He hadn’t yet found a location to store all the goodies in his truck yet! Previously, the garage where they had come up with the burning rubber tires plan, there was a small courtyard behind it, wasn’t there?
“Guzhi” The 2 vehicles came to a stop at the car repair garage, and Zhang Xiao Qiang leaped out the vehicle. Previously, they were up to their necks in the rescue mission, and no one had observed the place carefully. Zhang Xiao Qiang had caught a glimpse only when he was clearing the zombies. Even He Wen Bin and the rest did not notice.
TN:
It sounds like an event in Shanghai but I couldn’t find the actual name for it. Has anyone ideas?
