[BL] NEET life in the Apocalypse

Chapter 73—Life goes on

by Bocchan13

It took Song Yu a few days to muster up the courage to tell Lan Zhou. Every night he lay awake in bed, trying to find the right words to explain to him that:

All of the points all led to the fact that Song Yu was kinda scummy. His reasons were sound in his head, but putting them into perspective; it just made it seem like Lan Zhou was an enemy. Song Yu fumbled with his conscience but ultimately went to bed each night exhausted.

Lan Zhou noticed this too. Song Yu averted his eyes too much and always seems to be dazed. But Lan Zhou was patient. He felt that Song Yu was collecting his thoughts in order to tell him about his past. Day after day of this behavior was also noticed by the rest of the group. Lu Jingxiu set Lan Zhou aside with a questioning look.

“Did anything happen between you guys? He’s so absentminded.” Lan Zhou could only shrug his shoulder,

“Beats me. I think he’s just tired.”

Lu Jingxiu rolled his eyes and slapped his shoulder, “Don’t tire him too out in the bedroom!”

Lan Zhou laughed but nodded his head. Article #162 did say that a vigorous sex life was good, but it should also be taken in small doses.

…

Song Yu and Wang Cheng decided to see Rose a few days after they came back. Instead of riding the car, they wanted to do a long bike ride to the location. It served as a way to show the route as well as monitor the surrounding forest for unsuspecting zombies.

Song Yu draped a UV protector jacket and wore a baseball hat, strapping two daggers to his thighs and his bow and arrow on his back. Wang Cheng sported a poncho and a backpack containing things Rose might like. Song Yu glanced at the tablet and popcorn packet, and stayed silent.

They rode their bikes past the strawberry field, the bamboo area and into the lower valley. The lake Song Yu purified trickled in a small stream to the lake where Rose was rooted at. Once they saw the familiar landmarks, they slowed down.

The hot afternoon sun beat down on them, so they took a break and tried to find Rose. Song Yu vaguely saw the track marks left by their car and the trodden grass close to the lakeshore.

Wang Cheng ecstatically bounced around, his smiling face alight with excitement and happiness. Song Yu smiled and followed Wang Cheng.

The closer they got to the place, the closer Wang Cheng’s happy mood seem to dissipate. In a quick flash, Wang Cheng was now running.

“What’s wrong?”

“Rose…rose…”

Wang Cheng pointed to a semi-shady and sunny spot before turning back to Song Yu.

“Rose…isn’t there.”

“What?” Song Yu looked at the spot and saw that dirt had been tossed, creating a hole 6 inches deep.

“Rose! Rose!” Wang Cheng yelled, but before he could yell again; Song Yu clamped his hand over Wang Cheng’s mouth.

“Are you crazy? You want to bring zombies within a mile radius to come?”

Wang Cheng had forgotten about that, but nodded his head. Song Yu let go and stooped to see the dirt.

“It’s not recent, the tossed dirt is dried. Rose probably uprooted himself the moment we left. You said that it likes to hide in your space. Check it again. If he’s not there, he might be at the villa. Don’t worry, we will find Rose.”

Wang Cheng nodded and quickly disappeared. Not a few seconds later before he came back out and shook his head.

“No, not there. What do I do? It must be so angry with me for leaving and doesn’t want me anymore.” Wang Cheng could feel his chest tighten, thinking of how he might never see Rose again.

They returned back to the villa hastily, Wang Cheng going to places where Rose might be. The rest of the group heard that Rose had disappeared and also helped in aiding their search. Song Yu watched as Wang Cheng mindlessly worried, trying his best to figure out where Rose was.

This image also echoed into what it might have looked like when Lan Zhou woke up in the hotel room that morning. Like a mirror into Lan Zhou’s soul, he could see how much Lan Zhou tried to find him. The photo at the hairdresser’s was proof of his search.

The next few days, everyone was working hard working in the fields. Song Yu took out the large threshing machine and took to dealing with the grain while everyone worked on separate fields. Wang Cheng had stopped looking for Rose, but the little frown lines creased his brow more than it ever had.

After another day of back-breaking work, everyone wanted to take a day off to relax. Song Yu wanted to set a team to go out to for the 2 week long expedition, taking care of the zombies at the border. Since it was still harvesting season, he couldn’t go, instead having everyone familiarize themselves with Derpy and Squinty who would act as both guide and guard.

Unsurprisingly, Wang Cheng volunteered to go. He wanted to see if Rose was still out there.

In order to prepare them for the trip, Song Yu spent long hours into the night talking about the various areas. Showing his maps and zombie pits, he also gave them tips and tricks to handling situations when almost encountering outsiders. Just in case, Wu Ding took out his radio and changed the frequency to an offline channel. Hooking it up to a system in Song Yu’s home, they would be able to hear each other from far away.

It was concluded that Wang Cheng, Yu Ci and Wu Ding would go. If they were quick about it, they would finish their route in a week and a half.

The day of their departure arrived. Song Yu knew that Derpy and Squinty would keep them safe, but he was still worried. All three of them were cloaked in rubber infused body suits, masks and hats. They were the epitome of apocalyptic fashion.

They all carried weapons, but their backpacks and foods were stored with Wang Cheng. Early in the morning, they set out in the car and drove off. Song Yu and Lan Zhou watched them from the door, like parents seeing their kids off to college. Lan Zhou kissed Song Yu’s cheek and rubbed his waist.

“They’re going to be okay. Not to mention 2 weeks, if they left for 2 months I wouldn’t be surprised.” Song Yu pushed Lan Zhou and smacked his butt.

“Don’t jinx it!”

Laughing, Lan Zhou took the lead to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. The days were getting colder, so Song Yu wore a sweater over his cotton shirt and headed to the barn to tend to the animals before going for breakfast.

When he was done, he took a short trip to the lake to see if it needed purification. Song Yu could tell that there were some impurities, but it wouldn’t harm anything as of yet. Just to make sure, Song Yu would do it tonight while everyone was sleeping.

Bocchan13