Chapter 2
An Tianhe glanced at the man who had called him. It was the captain of this search team, a company commander from the 1st Regiment, 3rd Company of the Airborne Brigade, with the surname Gao.
Captain Gao was of medium height, with dark skin and a lean, wiry build. He always wore an unpleasant, poker face. An Tianhe had always harbored resentment towards him because it was this man who, when the army was suffering heavy casualties and short on manpower, had half-coerced, half-persuaded him into joining the reserve force.
Admittedly, during combat operations, the paratroopers and SWAT officers always took the lead, while they, the able-bodied civilian men, were just backups in the rear. But to be thrust into a bloody, brutal fight with nothing but a riot-control baton for a weapon, without any training, would be hard to accept and adapt for anyone. It always felt like he'd been pressured into service and it was a deeply unpleasant feeling.
At the same time, however, An Tianhe couldn't help but secretly admire Captain Gao. He always led from the front in every battle, and his marksmanship was exceptionally precise. On several occasions, he had stabilized critical situations with his pistol. Not only that, but he had also overcome the difficulties of a team with mixed weapons and varied professional skills. This was especially effective for clearing zombies from city streets, greatly improving the team's coordinated combat power.
This plan was soon brought to the attention of Brigade Commander Chen of the Airborne Brigade, who quickly adopted its use across all units. For this, he even commended Captain Gao. It was the first public commendation for an individual since the brigade's arrival in Qinghe City. When this was mentioned, everyone would give a thumbs-up.
Tossing away the cigarette butt, which had burned down to the filter without him noticing, An Tianhe picked up his steel baton and joined the ranks. Before long, a truck that had just delivered supplies arrived to take them back to the camp at Longtan Town.
Longtan Town was located in the northern suburbs of Qinghe City, about 15 kilometers from the city center. It was one of the closer towns to the urban area. Although it had a total population of over forty thousand, they were scattered, with only about eight thousand living on the town's main street. The soldiers and civilians who had retreated from the city numbered over twenty thousand. Among them, only a little over two thousand were regular airborne troops. The local armed police, fire brigade, SWAT officers, and militia totaled a little over eight hundred. There were also over a thousand temporarily conscripted able-bodied civilians, with the rest being ordinary citizens.
With so many people pouring into Longtan Town, it was immediately packed to the brim. Under the coordination and organization of the town government, the local residents gradually took in the refugees from the city. After all, most were fellow Qinghe natives. If they could lend a hand, they would. The stories of the many who had died were heartbreaking.
Back at the camp, after returning the issued riot batons, the team was dismissed. Water for daily use was in short supply and required queuing for every day, so An Tianhe simply ran to the riverbank in Longtan Town to wash up. Then he hurried to a small restaurant near the town government building to get in line for dinner. The place had been requisitioned as a temporary canteen to supply meals for the twenty thousand soldiers and civilians.
The crowd was as dense as a festival fair, but the difference was that most people wore no smiles. Their eyes were dim and tired, their clothes dirty and disheveled, and from time to time, a sour, foul odor could be smelled.
As a member of the search team, An Tianhe was part of the combat force, so he didn't have to join the long queue to wait. He could go directly to a specific storefront to eat. Although he still had to queue, there were far fewer people. This was perhaps one of the few perks for a search team member.
A bowl of simple vegetable noodles, with a few thin slices of ham sausage floating in the broth, plus a small dish of pickles. This was currently the best meal An Tianhe could eat all day. Compared to the ordinary citizens, who could only receive thin porridge or a small bowl of instant noodles, he was already very satisfied.
He added a small spoonful of chili oil to his bowl and, like the temporary comrades beside him, began to slurp down the noodles in large mouthfuls. The dried noodles, ham sausage, and pickles were part of the supplies they had scavenged while clearing the streets of the development zone that day. According to regulations, they had priority to claim a small portion for themselves, but the rest had to be turned over to the command for distribution.
The entire Longtan Town was now under wartime management. All supplies were centrally distributed and no matter how much money you had, you couldn't buy anything. Of course, when they first arrived in the town, some quick-witted individuals had used cash or valuables to buy a lot of food and supplies. Although most of it was quickly confiscated, a little was always left with the people, as taking it all back would have led to conflicts, making the situation difficult to manage.
He felt like he had only eaten a few mouthfuls before the noodles were gone. An Tianhe scraped the last of the pickles into his bowl, swirled it around a few times to let the flavor spread, and then drank every last drop of the noodle soup. With a reluctant pat on his still hungry stomach, he got up to leave.
It was still early. An Tianhe slowed his pace, wandering aimlessly.
Longtan Town had only one main street, visible from end to end, but it wasn't straight; it curved like the river that flowed around the town. The side facing the water was mostly residential houses. In recent years, as living standards had steadily improved, they had all built several-story small buildings. Many of the ground floors were small storefronts, housing barbershops and snack stalls. The opposite side was mostly five- or six-story commercial buildings, including a couple of small and medium-sized supermarkets, as well as stores selling home appliances, motorcycles and electric bikes, stationery and books, and so on. The commercial offerings were quite complete. In the distance, a gas station was also visible.
The town must have been bustling and busy in the past, unlike the current situation. Except for the designated supply points, almost no other businesses were open. They had only opened a side door for access, having been converted into temporary shelters.
The lodging An Tianhe was assigned to was not on the main street. He had to walk down a small path cutting diagonally through a few farmlands. It was a private farmhouse, and he shared it with other members of the search team.
He had completed his search mission for the day and didn't have to participate in patrol or guard duty, so he was happily free for the time being. Although he was only about sixty percent full, his mental state was clearly much better than that of the refugees he saw on the streets.
He walked a bit further and saw a few local residents sitting outside smoking. An Tianhe glanced at them and was about to leave when he heard the raspy voice of an old smoker behind him, "Did y'all see that? Liu Huanghuang personally escorted those people through the back door of that restaurant across the street. They must be big shots!"
"That guy is everywhere!" a young voice said in dissatisfaction.
The old smoker gave a cold laugh. "You don't know him? He's probably sucking up to some leader again. I bet they're the ones who escaped from the city!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the others chimed in agreement. "That good-for-nothing never did any proper work. He just loves to kiss the leaders' asses. Ever since he became the director of the town finance office, he's been even more stuck-up. You just see him wandering around all day, trying to build connections..."
"Wait, did anyone else see a really pretty young girl in that group? Who is she?" the young voice suddenly asked.
"Hahahaha. All you think about is eyeing the girls. Missing women? Want me to introduce you to someone with experience?" one of the voices immediately turned lewd.
The young man was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, his voice rising in a panic, "Screw you and your bullshit! What do you know? I'm just appreciating beauty, got it?"
As they joked and bickered, the raspy voice spoke again, "Don't say that, I noticed her too. That young lady is truly stunning. In terms of looks and bearing alone, very few actresses or TV hosts can compare to her. You can tell at a glance she's from a wealthy city family, probably pampered since childhood. A swan like that, you'd better forget about it. The tall man walking beside her earlier seemed quite close to her. They're probably a couple..."
An Tianhe smiled to himself and walked away, uninterested in listening to their idle chatter. These men were clearly a bunch of old perverts. With the way things were now, they still had the leisure to gossip. Perhaps it was because they hadn't experienced the disaster in the city center.
As he continued walking, however, the conversation he'd just overheard brought a clear, beautiful figure to the forefront of his memory.
A black short-sleeved shirt paired with a dark blue, knee-length denim skirt. It was such a simple outfit, yet on that day last summer, when she appeared a few steps away from him, An Tianhe's gaze locked onto her and refused to budge.
In those fleeting seconds of their chance encounter, he subconsciously tried to make out the details of her face, but it felt as if a faint haze was always obscuring his view, allowing him only a general impression. Her long, willow-leaf eyebrows, her skin as fair as snow, which solidified her cool and strikingly beautiful temperament. Her upper eyelids were slightly lowered, her long lashes hiding her eyes. Her gaze was cast downward, as if she was unwilling to make any eye contact with a stranger.
With every step she took closer, An Tianhe felt as if an invisible wall was inching toward him, pushing him away, forcing him to stop step aside rather than continue ahead.
In the moment they passed each other, An Tianhe finally saw her classically beautiful oval face, her gentle jawline, and her long, swan-like neck. Although her beautiful black hair was tied in a ponytail, his first impression was that she had stepped right out of an ancient painting, a perfect and natural fusion of classical and modern feminine beauty.
Suddenly, for no reason at all, an inexplicable chill ran through him, so sharp it made every pore on his body shiver, as if he were standing before the open door of a freezer in the height of summer. But it was only a fleeting sensation, gone in an instant, like a passing dream.
The weather in early summer could warm up quickly, easily making one feel hot and tired, but at that moment, all the cells in his body seemed to awaken, invigorating him and compelling An Tianhe to turn and watch the ethereal beauty drift away like a cloud, leaving him standing there, muttering to himself, "Now that's what you call a goddess!"
The more he thought about it afterward, the more he felt that the encounter was arranged by fate. To be honest, he had seen plenty of beautiful women before. At most, his heart would beat faster, his face would flush, and he'd feel a little nervous and reserved, but it never stopped him from rating their appearance, figure, and style one by one to arrive at a comprehensive score.
An Tianhe himself credited this aesthetic skill to his literary accumulation and life experience. Novels, movies, and anime went without saying. In real life, whether it was the sweet and enchanting beauty from high school, or his own university lecturer, the "teacher from next door", they had all played a role in shaping and guiding his aesthetic appreciation of the opposite sex.
As his old classmates liked to say, This guy's a closeted, lecherous pervert. He could count the number of relationships he'd had on one hand, yet he could talk for hours about dating theory. His practical skills in wooing women, however, were mediocre at best. Yet he was also incredibly picky. Women that everyone else considered beautiful always had some flaw or another in his eyes.
But when he met this stunning "goddess," she completely shattered his standards. He immediately threw in the towel and surrendered without a fight. Objectively speaking, her looks were indeed flawless, and her temperament was otherworldly and refined. She was a bit on the skinny side, appearing light and slender, but words like "sexy" or "alluring" didn't really apply.
But for An Tianhe, it was only now that he finally understood with profound clarity: When you meet someone you truly love, right down to your very soul, all the rules and conditions you've set for yourself can be broken! They cease to matter! As long as it's her, it can only be her.
However, his current anxiety stemmed from not knowing when he would see her again. After all, it was all too common for a chance encounter in life to lead to nothing more than a lifetime of longing. His friend had also tried to reason with him, "You don't even know her! There's not even a prospect of anything. What's the point of pining over someone you'll never meet again?"
But An Tianhe couldn't forget her. The feeling she gave him was just too special. The more he couldn't see her, the more he found himself reminiscing, and the more he reminisced, the more he missed her.
Where was she now? Was she safe? She had to be okay!! Even if he never saw her again, she just had to be alive and well!!
For a moment, An Tianhe felt a wave of sadness, his spirits dampened. He turned and headed back toward his lodgings.