Chapter 18

Ma Le had a long-overdue peaceful sleep and made a simple breakfast with the remaining ingredients in the fridge. Anderson, the kid, hadn't bought any groceries since his parents turned into zombies, and the vegetables and meats had all gone bad. However, for Ma Le, who could even swallow zombies alive, these things were no big deal.

After breakfast, Ma Le transformed into Anderson's appearance, put on his clothes, and walked out of the door. To his surprise, there were still quite a few people on the streets, making it hard to imagine that just a few blocks away was an infected zone overrun by monsters.

After asking for directions and inquiring, Ma Le finally found a gun shop two blocks away. However, the door was locked, and a "Closed" sign hung on it, clearly indicating it was no longer in business.

Ma Le thought it made sense; in such extraordinary times, owning a large number of weapons would surely attract trouble, and closing the shop seemed to be the only choice.

It must be said that Americans have a poor sense of security. A flat key lock on a glass door means it's completely safe? This level of security couldn't stop Ma Le. He casually used a piece of wire to pick the lock in a few seconds, and to onlookers, it looked as natural as using a key to open his own door.

Pushing the door open, he entered the shop. There was no one inside, and the shelves had been completely cleared. There was a staircase leading upstairs at the back. Ma Le followed the stairs up, and just as his head appeared above the second-floor floor, a shotgun was pointed at him...

Ma Le raised his hands over his head and complained, "Damn, I knew the lock was so casual, turns out Americans don't even need locks to prevent theft!"

"Stay still, come up slowly!" The man holding the gun was a middle-aged man with a beard. Behind him were a man and two women. One of the women looked about the same age as him, while the other man and woman were much younger, the man being around twenty, and the woman a few years younger. They were likely his wife and children.

Ma Le obediently walked up to the second floor slowly. After all, he was there to get weapons, not to rob or fight. Besides, it was better not to cause trouble with a family.

The bearded man nodded at Ma Le, and his son walked over and frisked him, finding the pistol Ma Le had. The middle-aged man pointed the gun at Ma Le and said, "Squat over there!" Ma Le understood and complied, squatting down with his hands on his head.

"Who are you? What are you here for?" the bearded man asked.

"I need weapons!" Ma Le replied in somewhat broken English.

"We don't sell guns anymore. Didn't you see the locked door... Oh, I almost forgot, you picked the lock to get in. Are you here to steal guns?"

Ma Le understood part of what he said and quickly replied, "I'm not a thief. I brought money, and besides, I'm not here to buy guns!"

The bearded man was taken aback and asked, "Not buying guns? Then what are you here for?"

Ma Le pointed to the wall behind the bearded man with his right hand: "That!"

The bearded man turned around and saw a black crossbow with a scope hanging on the wall. He looked at Ma Le, then at the crossbow, and subconsciously glanced at the bedroom door behind him, swallowing hard. He said to his son, "Give him the crossbow!"

Ma Le noticed the bearded man's unusual behavior but didn't pay much attention. He took the crossbow and felt relieved. This family was reasonable, probably just overreacting due to the extraordinary times.

"The crossbow is yours, now leave. The bolts and the pistol will be thrown down to you after you leave. Don't come back; you're not welcome here!" The bearded man waved his gun at the stairs.

"Do you want the money?" Ma Le asked, holding out a stack of dollars. The bearded man frowned, snatched the money, didn't count it, and threw it on the table: "Now can you go?"

Ma Le shrugged and walked toward the stairs with the black crossbow. He had just gone down a few steps when a noise came from the bedroom, sounding like something heavy had fallen. The family heard the noise and suddenly became very tense. The bearded man's wife ran into the bedroom, apparently to tidy something up.

But at the moment the bedroom door opened, a mix of blood and decay hit Ma Le's nose. He was very familiar with this smell, which had surrounded him for four days. It was the smell of zombies!

There was a zombie in that room! Without a word, Ma Le jumped back over the staircase railing and rushed into the bedroom!

"Don't go in! Bastard!" The bearded man roared, raising his shotgun and chasing after him. His son also picked up the pistol he had taken from Ma Le and rushed into the bedroom.

The bedroom was small, filled with a heavy stench. The bearded man's wife seemed to be startled by Ma Le's sudden entry, dropping what she was holding and hiding in the corner. The "thing" on the floor was a child tied to a chair! No, it wasn't quite a child anymore. The child was covered in rot, half of its face swollen, and its mouth mechanically opening and closing, clearly craving the fresh humans in the room.

This child, who looked to be only eight or nine, had turned into a zombie!

"You actually kept a zombie!" Ma Le shouted at the family. The wife and daughter lowered their heads, while the bearded man and his son still pointed their guns at Ma Le. The bearded man roared, "This is none of your business! Leave here, get out! This is none of your business!"

Ma Le looked at the struggling child zombie and ignored the bearded man's shouts. He thought this child must be their son... He began to understand the family's pain and even found their love great. But even so, a zombie is still a zombie. This child could never return to being human. The moment it turned into a zombie, it was already dead!

Ma Le couldn't express his thoughts in English, but he felt it didn't matter. The family had surely considered this for a long time and made their choice. They understood these things better than anyone.

The black crossbow had a quiver with three bolts for quick reloading. Ma Le said nothing, slowly drew the bow, set the string, and loaded a bolt. He then raised the crossbow and aimed it at the child zombie's head.

"Damn, what are you doing, put it down! I'm going to shoot! Do you hear me, I really will shoot, put down the weapon!..." The bearded man saw Ma Le's intention and started to scream hysterically. The shotgun's barrel began to tremble, and his finger on the trigger turned white with tension. His son was also sweating, his hands holding the pistol shaking...

Ma Le couldn't understand the heavily accented English, but he could guess it was a threat and a curse. He didn't care, aimed at the child's forehead, and pulled the trigger. The bowstring snapped, and the bolt whistled out! At the same time, the bearded man pulled the trigger, and the gun barrel spat out a burst of fire at Ma Le!

The deafening gunshot echoed, and the child zombie stopped struggling, a bolt through its forehead. Ma Le only had a minor injury on his shoulder, blood slowly seeping through his coat.

The bearded man had instinctively aimed away, and only a small piece of shrapnel hit Ma Le, which was nothing to his superhuman constitution.

The bearded man was unsteady, leaning the shotgun against the ground and leaning against the wall, covering his eyes, clearly trying to hide his tears. His wife was scared stiff, sobbing on the floor. The son comforted his father, and the daughter comforted her mother, leaving Ma Le standing alone, sighing, and slowly walking out of the bedroom and down the stairs.

As he reached the gun shop's door, Ma Le heard someone calling him. He turned around to see the bearded man's daughter.

"Sir, wait!" The girl ran down the stairs, looking at Ma Le's injured shoulder with concern, "Is your injury serious?"

"It's nothing, just a scratch!" Ma Le waved his hand. The girl sighed in relief and handed him a pistol and a quiver of bolts, saying, "This is your gun and bolts. I'm sorry, we know it was wrong, but my father couldn't bring himself to do it, and you got hurt... On the other hand, I also want to thank you for resolving my father's dilemma!"

Ma Le found it hard to follow the long conversation but understood it was an apology and a thank you. He took the items and said, "It's okay," and was about to leave.

"Wait, sir!" The girl called out again, "I have one more favor to ask, can you help me?"

Ma Le was taken aback. Although there was no miracle badge prompt, he guessed he had triggered a side quest. He turned to the girl and said, "Go on, but speak slowly, my English isn't very good..."

Ma Le now had Anderson's appearance, and being Chinese, the girl didn't suspect anything, thinking he was a tourist or someone from Chinatown. She slowly said, "Actually, that child wasn't my real brother. He was my uncle's child. My uncle and aunt brought the child to New York to visit us and were staying at our house. About two weeks ago, they were out shopping when the infection broke out. They were attacked by zombies, and my uncle and aunt were killed on the spot. The injured child managed to run back, but... a few hours later, the child also..."

The girl covered her face and started crying. Ma Le, who couldn't stand to see girls cry, held her trembling shoulders and awkwardly comforted her, "Don't... don't cry, death is irreversible..."

The girl calmed down, wiped her tears, and said, "I'm sorry, I lost my composure... Sir, I see you came to buy weapons. Are you planning to go to the infected zone? If so, I hope you can keep an eye out for my uncle and aunt. They have likely turned into... those things... If you see them, please let them rest in peace..." She handed Ma Le a photo, a family portrait of her uncle's family. The photo was new, taken in Central Park, probably just ten days ago. The boy in the photo was holding an ice cream, smiling happily, with his parents standing behind him, a happy family radiating warmth and happiness.

Ma Le took the photo, looked at it, and put it in his pocket. "I'll keep an eye out for them. But from what you said, it seems many people are going to the infected zone?"

The girl nodded, "Yes, the infected zone is now a dead city, and the property inside is unclaimed. Many people are armed and looting. Didn't you know?"

"I... am looking for someone... but there are military checkpoints. How can I get into the infected zone smoothly?" Ma Le lied, trying to find a way to enter the infected zone without going through Black Watch.

The girl didn't suspect anything and replied, "I heard there are hidden passages, but I don't know the specifics. You can try asking around in Chinatown."

Ma Le felt reassured. If there was a way, it was good. He smiled at the girl and said, "Thank you, I'll keep an eye out for them. By the way, I'm Anderson Li, what's your name?"

"Lauren, Lauren Smith!" the girl replied.

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