XG 72 - To live or to be a zombie

“You know the real way to survive the bite,” Do Eunhyuk said calmly, despite his life and death were now at their mercy.

“The bargain is now invalid,” Kang Xunsu pointed out casually in mandarin, as Do Eunhyuk seems to be familiar with mandarin too.

“Not really,” Chen Yibo injected and earned an eye roll from Wong Xue Guo. Knowing that she had misunderstood him trying to be a hero, he explained, “If he survives, he will be helping our side to fight. We can consider this as an investment to earn an extra fighter on our side.”

“Count us in too!” Park Donghae suddenly raised his voice. Kim Sung-Ho had been busy translating everything to Park Donghae, who only understands Korean.

“What my idiot brother is trying to say is we are farmers. Don’t underestimate our strength even when we are in our sixties. We are still stronger than those youngsters that only sit behind the desk,” Park Sungmin said.

Wong Xue Guo who had sat and lounged around for many years could not refute that. At least she had started training.

“What kind of farmer?" Kim Sung-Ho asked curiously. "I remember a teacher saying there are many kinds of farmers…”

“Donghae is good at planting vegetables, while I specialize in fruits. As long as there are seeds, we can help to grow them.”

“Can plants grow in Winter?” Wong Xue Guo asked blankly. A city girl like her does not know much about farm work.

“Yes, yes, yes! Tell her we can grow fruits and vegetables during winter too!” Park Donghae urged Kim Sung-Ho right after he translated her question.

“Harvesting will need time,” Park Sungmin added with enthusiasm that was much calmer than his elder brother.

“Can you plant rice?” Wong Xue Guo’s expectations increased a notch.

“Without a paddy field, the amount of rice we can grow is very little.”

“They can go back and discuss with others that are more knowledgeable with it,” Kang Xunsu said.

With how they spoke, the two brothers suspect that they must have a wide land that would be suitable for growing. They must be a team set out to search for supplies from one of the larger survival bases. While wary with how this new base would treat them, they could not do anything now that they had given their word to help. At least they would have some use in the new base and would be considered twice before removing them.

“I’m good at fighting and I will always join the front line to fight those monsters,” Do Wheein spoke out her own worth. “Please save my father!”

“I will do anything if you help my brother-in-law,” Lee Su-Hwa promised.

“Fine, we will help,” Wong Xue Guo gave in since they were useful for food development, and also because Kang Xunsu did not decline their request. Although they could not make more meat, vegetables and fruit were better than no food at all. “But we need to find a zombie first. Capture it alive and bring it back. Can you do it?”

The question was tossed to Do Wheein, who Chen Yibo translated her words to.

“Zombie?” Do Wheein was startled but quickly understood what the zombie was for. “How many do you need?”

“One with no broken teeth is enough.”

“How long do I have?”

“Hmm…” Wong Xue Guo eyed Do Eunhyuk. “As soon as possible? We are delaying his turning with food for now, but we will run out of instant food anytime soon.”

“I will try to cook some noodles.” Lee Su-Hwa went to the kitchen to search for anything that could help.

“The three of us will go,” Park Donghae motioned his younger brother to be the third person. “Please take care of Eunhyuk.”

Kang Xunsu pulled out a knife and handed it to Do Wheein. “If your father turns before your return, we have to kill him. There is no known method as to whether those zombies could turn back into humans. You can chop off the zombie’s limbs if it’s hard to bring it back, but do it quickly.”

Do Wheein’s face grimaced in disgust, but still took the knife and nodded, thanking him for the advice. The brothers used their own weapons, axes, and they managed to find a thick rope that was hopefully able to suppress the violent zombie.

They hurriedly set out before Do Eunhyuk ran out of time.

L.L. and Ash were out of the loop, so the latter went to Kim Sung-Ho to fill him in when the three-person group left. Once again, Kim Sung-Ho worked hard as a narrator.

“Do they have the capability to capture one?” L.L. asked. Capturing a zombie was much harder than killing one.

Kang Xunsu shrugged. “They had to if they wanted to save someone.”

Do Eunhyuk would have volunteered to do that task himself if he was able to without being a burden. He could only hope for their safety, his eyes trained onto the entrance.

“We do not know if it’s because you had chopped off your hand that slowed down the awakening… or because you have the gene.”

“Gene?”

Wong Xue Guo smiled with mirth as she revealed the last tip. “If you do not have the gene, you will never survive the bite.”

“What?” Do Eunhyuk’s eyes showed his distress and moved as if to chase his daughter to ask her to come back.

“It’s a possibility,” Chen Yibo cut in, silently sighing at Wong Xue Guo’s bad taste in poking the weak. “As long as your daughter is still fighting for you to stay alive, as long as there is a chance for survival, it’s not a waste of time to test it.”

“After all, whatever you try does not matter when there are only two results. To continue living or to be a zombie," Wong Xue Guo added.

Kang Xunsu let out a warning cough, telling her to stop antagonizing the poor man already.

Do Eunhyuk was an unsmiling person, with sternness emitting from him that could make a kid behave well. But to Wong Xue Guo, her father was the same, if not more scary-looking than Do Eunhyuk. She was obedient to Charles Wong not because he was stern, but because he was her father.

“Who are you guys?” Do Eunhyuk asked. For them to know this much, they must have some relation to how and what had caused the disease to appear in the first place.

“We are figuring out who’s the mastermind behind this plague. We are not the enemy,” Chen Yibo quickly spoke up to avoid misunderstanding.

“Don’t forget to eat,” Wong Xue Guo reminded. She does not look as if she cares what he thinks of them.

Lee Su-Hwa found two portable gas stoves mostly used for hot pots. The gas was still working, so she quickly cooked two packets of instant noodles for Do Eunhyuk and one for the frustrated Kang Xunsu.

Who would be happy to watch their loot being given away and then cooked right in front of them? Then they were forced to smell the tasty aroma but unable to eat most of it?

The instant noodle also caught Yuna's attention so Lee Su-Hwa also cooks a packet for her.

“Thank you.” Do Eunhyuk holds onto a disposable fork with his left hand to feed himself. Although his right hand was dominant, that does not mean his left hand was clumsy. More of his black hair was gradually turning white, but fortunately, his flesh had not shrunken so much that would be alarming yet.

Taking in the sight of her brother-in-law able to eat by himself, even if the speed was slow, Lee Su-Hwa could only continue to cook more noodles for him. She would have joined her niece to hunt for a zombie, but… she glanced at Wong Xue Guo, and then at Chen Yibo.

They had already used their food, even if they actually belonged to Ji-Hyun. Second, the correct method to survive the bite was shared by them. It would be a bit too much to ask them to cook for Do Eunhyuk.

She hopes her niece and the two Mr. Park will be fine.