The county government office building is not very large, with a "凹" shaped layout consisting of one main building and two auxiliary buildings. In the middle, there is a spacious courtyard, but the main building is only about three stories high. Compared to those extravagant county government buildings that are even more beautiful than the White House, this place might be considered quite modest.
Jack and his group were currently in the reception hall of the government building, but it was already deserted, with remnants of the past scattered everywhere. The floor was littered with overturned tables, chairs, vases, and trash cans, while piles of waste paper covered the ground. Occasionally, dark patches of dried blood could be seen, indicating that a tragedy had also occurred here. Half-buried in the sand was a white wooden sign, revealing the three black characters "Zhengnan County."
"Haha, I've been here before, Zhengnan County Government!" Suddenly, Boss Hu jumped up in excitement, waving the Type 81 rifle he had just acquired and shouting loudly. As for his shotgun, he had discarded it yesterday after running out of bullets, leaving Jack responsible for carrying the remaining Type 81 rifle.
"Oh~ I didn't realize you, Chef Hu, had been to such a high-end place!" Cao Mei, standing nearby with a gun, teased him.
"Tch~ What do you women know? Back in the day, I was quite a famous chef, alright? Even the county magistrate here had heard of my name in this remote countryside. When his son turned ten, they held a grand banquet at home, and I was specifically invited to be the chef. Hehe, the office director personally came to pick me up in an Audi! The county magistrate even met me in his office on the third floor!" Boss Hu puffed out his chest, looking quite proud.
"Wow? I didn't expect you to have some skills!" Cao Mei said with a half-smile, then suddenly pointed a finger, as white as jade, at Boss Hu's back, laughing, "You're back again, and look, the county magistrate personally came out to greet you!"
"Where?" Boss Hu was taken aback and instinctively turned around, only to see a ghoul with an eye almost hanging out of its socket had crept up behind him, its decaying claw almost reaching his shoulder. Boss Hu let out a high-pitched scream, sounding like a young wife whose flower-patterned pants had been torn by a rogue. He dropped his gun and ran to the corner of the hall, peeing his pants in fear. When he turned back, he saw Cao Mei holding her gun, without hesitation, shooting the ghoul in the head.
"Chef Hu, when you meet an acquaintance, shouldn't you greet them warmly? Didn't you see how enthusiastic they were?" Cao Mei mocked as she put her gun away, then bent down to pick up the gun Boss Hu had dropped, saying to Bai Ru, who was drinking water nearby, "Bai Ru, what did Lin say to us yesterday? If a person can't even hold their gun steady…"
"Then they don't deserve to use a gun at all!" Bai Ru glanced expressionlessly at Boss Hu, who was cowering in the corner, her eyes filled with disdain.
"Haha, I think so too! But I'm curious, how come Lin is so different from this guy?" Cao Mei tossed the gun to Boss Hu from a distance, as if throwing away trash. He caught the gun and squatted there, his face alternating between red and green, looking quite comical.
After clearing out about ten mindless ghouls, the group rested in the county government building for over an hour. The girl who had suffered from heatstroke gradually recovered and was able to walk with the help of a few people.
Jack stood up from a chair and looked at the sky, noting that it was still early. He brushed the dust off his clothes, intending to set off again, but seeing that all the women looked exhausted, he could only shake his head in silence and decide to rest until after lunch before continuing. Otherwise, forcing them to set off would be tantamount to murder!
Jack walked into the courtyard with his backpack. It was still a world of Marcus sand, and a black Toyota Camry was quietly parked under a dead sycamore tree, but most of the car was buried under the Marcus sand. When Jack approached, he saw that this car not only had the highest configuration but also had a white military license plate hanging at the back. A row of various passes was visible under the windshield, indicating that when the incident occurred here, the situation must have been very urgent, so much so that the leaders or the driver didn't even have time to drive away this unobstructed military vehicle.
Jack adjusted his white baseball cap to prevent the scorching sun from burning his nose, then extended a gloved finger to select a central spot on the car window. He began to tap it rhythmically, and soon the speed increased, faster and faster, until he was almost tapping at the corner of the window. To his surprise, the seemingly hard glass cracked with a "ka" sound, forming several fissures. Finally, with just a gentle push, the entire window shattered with a loud crash.
This method of breaking glass with a single finger was something Jack learned from a firefighter while abroad. The purpose was to allow people to break car windows with their bare hands when they didn't have suitable tools. However, this was the first time he had used this skill after learning it. In the past, he would either use his fist or his gun to open a door, but today he was in the mood to try a gentler approach!
Jack reached out to open the door of the Camry. With a press of the switch on the door, the trunk immediately popped open. However, a faint, fishy odor wafted out from inside. Jack drew the dagger from his waist, frowning as he approached, but to his surprise, nothing jumped out of the opened trunk—only a completely desiccated corpse curled up inside. Judging by the incomplete but well-dressed appearance of the body, it was highly likely that this was a person of leadership status!
Many people probably know what is usually stored in a car's trunk, especially in a military vehicle like this one. After Jack bent down and pulled the dry corpse out of the car, several boxes of high-end cigarettes and expensive liquor were revealed. However, Jack was clearly more interested in a black briefcase in the corner.
Jack leaned over to grab the Armani briefcase, and upon picking it up, he found it quite heavy. When he casually unzipped it, he discovered two of the latest iPads inside, along with a gold pen, designer sunglasses, and an Apple phone—all present. When he opened one of the wallets, he found over a dozen Thomas bills, as well as a dazzling array of VIP cards for fitness clubs and golf clubs. Interestingly, a card from the Thomas County Town Hall worker seemed rather unremarkable. Jack disdainfully shook his head and tossed all those exquisite cards onto the corpse as if they were trash.
Several bottles of liquor in the car had already been opened, presumably because the corpse trapped inside was so thirsty that it resorted to drinking alcohol instead of water. Jack casually tore open a cardboard box, and several beautifully packaged cigarettes spilled out. The white cigarette boxes were clearly of high value. When Jack picked one up, the words "Yuxi Manor" stood out prominently. He had seen the price of these cigarettes at the airport—360 yuan per pack, and a carton would cost 3,600 yuan. Even after the price cap on tobacco, they still cost 100 yuan per pack, making them truly top-tier luxury cigarettes!
Jack had no qualms about indulging in these spiritual sustenance cigarettes. Although smoking too much would leave a pungent odor on him, increasing the chances of being discovered by the living dead, he also had his own pressures. For him, desires could only be indulged in moderation, so he had to find ways to relieve stress. After all, if a man lives in this world without smoking, drinking, or playing with women, what is the point of living? Even the living dead love to eat human flesh, right?
Jack unceremoniously opened a pack of overpriced cigarettes, took out a beautiful one, and lit it up. After taking a puff, he found the taste quite good. No wonder so many people flocked to such expensive cigarettes. However, as the saying goes, those who smoke don't buy, and those who buy don't smoke. Even if the price of these cigarettes doubled, there would still be many willing to pay, as the symbolic meaning of such cigarettes had long surpassed their actual value!
Jack finished the cigarette worth sixty dollars in just a few puffs. He looked at the butt in his hand, puzzled, feeling that it wasn't as satisfying as the "Big Chicken Cigarettes" that cost less than three dollars a pack. For an old smoker like him, only Shandong cigarettes could do the trick; finishing one was even more exhilarating than taking drugs!