Perhaps it was the depth of his sorrow that prompted Zhou Yong to rub his face with his clasped hands.
After taking a deep breath, he continued, "Safety meant not needing to scheme or fight for a chance to survive. But in reality, even under such conditions, the events we dread are still unavoidable."
By this point, Chu Jin, who had remained silent, could somewhat anticipate what Zhou Yong was about to say.
Even though he had an idea, Chu Jin did not interrupt Zhou Yong's narrative.
Sometimes, when people talk to themselves, they aren't trying to explain anything to others.
It's just that some things have been bottled up for too long, and encountering a living person finally provides someone to confide in.
Whether this confidant is willing to listen is their concern.
As for the speaker, they will continue their monologue unaffected.
Zhou Yong didn't expect any response from Chu Jin; he just continued on his own, "My friend, our friendship was so strong that I would never betray him, I was even willing to sacrifice myself to protect him, to keep him safe..."
Zhou Yong couldn't finish the rest of his words and fell into a long silence.
The carriage became instantly quiet, save for Zhou Yong's heavy breathing.
Chu Jin, being a zombie, had no breathing sounds.
"To ensure his own survival, to enjoy all the surviving supplies for himself alone, he tricked me into a place overrun with zombies, intending to feed me to them. He feared I would resist, so he drugged my food and knocked me unconscious."
For Zhou Yong, that memory was a dark chapter in his past.
"I woke up in pain. When I came to, I was tied to a chair by my friend. He was holding a knife, cutting my flesh, and beside him were several zombies he had somehow bound. The flesh he cut from me, he used to feed those zombies!"
"I was tied up for less than a week, and my body was mangled..."
Zhou Yong continued, and Chu Jin found that it was indeed as he had guessed.
Chu Jin remained silent, his gaze fixed on the smoking building, listening to Zhou Yong's voice: "I thought I was as good as dead, but perhaps it was fate that I survived. Instead, my friend, while feeding me to the zombies, was bitten on the neck by a zombie that had broken free. The other zombies, smelling the blood, also broke their restraints and surrounded my friend."
"I watched with my own eyes as a living person was torn apart, piece by piece, by zombies. In full consciousness, he died from the pain, his eyes wide open in death, leaving only a skeleton. While the zombies were busy feeding on my friend, I managed to escape by chance, hiding on the fifth floor of the building I set ablaze, to recuperate and evade those grotesque, terrifying zombies."
"To be honest," Zhou Yong looked at Chu Jin, speaking frankly, "I was afraid of you. When you ran out of the building without sunglasses, I saw your eyes and knew they were like those of the zombies. But yours were even more chilling."
"However, you were contradictory. Although you had a pair of zombie eyes, there was not a trace of a zombie about you."
Zhou Yong looked at Chu Jin, who remained with his back to him, and swallowed, choosing his words carefully, "It's not that I'm afraid of death, but if you were going to eat me, you could have given me a quick death, not subjected me to agonizing torment."
He had witnessed firsthand his friend being devoured alive by zombies, and before death, enduring immense physical agony.
At that moment, goosebumps erupted all over him, and he felt a chill run through his entire body.
Chu Jin's lips curved into a slight smile. He turned around to face Zhou Yong. "Extend your neck, and I'll give you a quick death!"