Ch 10: The Farmer Ger in the Apocalypse

Shen Qing was full of doubt.

He was extremely familiar with this cave. Not only had this tunnel never been here before, but even when he first climbed up and placed his basket earlier, it hadn’t been there… Had he just not noticed it?

Still, even if he wasn’t the only one who knew about this cave as a resting spot, who would go through the trouble of digging out a tunnel here?

Curious, he stepped into the passage. At the end, there was an opening large enough for two people to pass through while slightly crouching.

For Shen Qing, this was practically a gift from the heavens—he was still trapped with a wild boar blocking the exit, unable to leave. But now, another way out had appeared. Though he didn’t know where it led, as long as it took him around the boar and back to the village, he wasn’t going to hesitate. There was no time to dwell on why this tunnel had suddenly appeared.

He quickly slung his basket onto his shoulder and stepped through the passage.

On the other side, he was still in the mountains—but not the ones he was familiar with.

This was a landscape of massive stone formations, piled together like the artificial rock gardens of wealthy households. There was no grass or vegetation, only sheer rock. He seemed to be at the center of this peculiar stone formation, and finding a way out would require navigating a twisting, maze-like path.

What startled him even more was that the ground beneath his feet wasn’t soil—it was smooth and gray, something he had never seen before.

Shen Qing knew the back mountain well. There were places he rarely went, and some he had visited once or twice with Old Man Liu. But this—this enormous, artificial-looking rock formation—should have been impossible to miss, even from afar. Yet he was certain he had never seen it before.

His confusion deepened. More than that, he feared getting lost in an unfamiliar place—or worse, encountering more wild beasts.

His steps hesitated, but from behind, the sound of the boar’s growls and the crashing of trees echoed from the cave.

Shen Qing tightened his grip on his basket and steeled himself. What was there to fear? If he didn’t try, how would he know if there was a way out? For all he knew, once he got past these towering stones, he might recognize the landscape again.

And even if he didn’t, he could always come back. Giving up without trying just wasn’t his style. How could he accept that?

Taking a deep breath, Shen Qing gripped his hatchet tightly and began walking toward the edge of the stone formations. Still, today’s encounter with the boar had taught him a lesson—so every ten steps, he carved a mark into a rock or the ground to leave a trail, while keeping his senses on high alert for any sounds around him.

After about fifty steps and descending a long flight of stone stairs, he could no longer hear the wild boar’s cries behind him. Soon, he emerged from the stone maze.

With the towering rock formations no longer blocking his view, the land ahead suddenly opened up.

Standing at the foot of the artificial mountain, he saw a vast, open space stretching before him. The ground was still that same smooth, gray surface, much harder than regular soil. In the distance, massive structures loomed—soaring into the sky, some shaped like pillars, some rectangular, some round, and others… in forms he couldn’t even describe.

This was not the back mountain.

Shen Qing swallowed hard.

Where… was this place?

Everything about it felt unnatural—this wasn’t his world.

His heartbeat pounded against his ribs, growing faster and faster until his ears and cheeks burned. Logic screamed at him to turn around and head back to the cave—to retreat before he ran into something even more dangerous than the boar.

But for some reason, something inside him resisted that thought.

Instead, he took a deep breath, steadied himself, and moved forward, stepping toward the towering, rectangular structures.

Shen Qing had always been fearless.

Other gers dared not fight the village boys—he dared.

No one dared to venture deep into the mountains—for the sake of survival, he did.

When others would have cowered, he severed ties with his father and left the Shen family to forge his own path.

Again and again, he had done what others wouldn’t dare. Because he was bold enough to fight for his future, no one could bully him anymore. Because he had courage, he could live the life he had now.

And now, faced with an unknown and bizarre world, he wanted to be brave once more—to see what lay ahead.

There’s an old saying: the bold thrive, the timid starve.

Shen Qing had always believed in that.

Besides… there was something unexplainable pulling at him, urging him forward. A strange, gut feeling told him that this might be an opportunity—a chance to change his fate.

The path remained eerily empty.

The scenery around him only became more surreal—strange flowers and plants arranged in odd but precise patterns, their beauty unlike anything he had ever seen. Towering, abandoned buildings stood with their massive doorways left wide open, filled with scattered, unfamiliar objects. Shen Qing lingered at one such entrance but ultimately resisted the urge to go inside and take anything.

Further ahead, there was a strange circle of horses—not real ones, but decorated with luxurious embellishments, standing still in a perfect formation. There were also floating carriages and ships suspended in midair—held up by some unknown force.

They didn’t seem to be made of wood, yet he couldn’t say what material they were.

But there were also unsettling signs—dark red and black stains smeared across walls and ground surfaces, looking eerily like dried blood. Some places even had decaying, unidentifiable remains, emitting a faint stench of blood and rot.

Shen Qing’s nerves tensed. He quickened his pace, walking another mile or two. Then, finally, in the distance, he heard something—human voices.

It wasn’t just a few people talking. It was a large crowd, noisy and bustling, like a market gathering.

Shen Qing’s spirits lifted. Just as he was about to speed up and head toward the voices, a thunderous roar exploded behind him.

It was a sound he had never heard before—so loud and powerful that it made him stop in his tracks, frozen.

Turning sharply, he saw three figures riding a strange, metallic horse.

Two men and one woman, all dressed in peculiar clothing, completely unlike anything he had seen before.

It was the first time he had encountered anyone since arriving in this place. Just as he was observing them closely, the man in the front suddenly convulsed, his body seizing violently, before tumbling off the strange iron horse.

The machine lost balance and overturned, crashing onto the ground and skidding far ahead.

The other two riders—panicked and frightened—scrambled up from the ground, abandoning their fallen companion as they bolted forward, running for their lives.

“It changed! It changed! Xiao Wang has been infected!” the woman screamed in terror.

The man who had fallen from the iron horse twitched on the ground for a few moments. In just a few breaths’ time, his body twisted grotesquely, and he staggered to his feet, letting out a roar even more terrifying than a wild boar before lunging after his fleeing companions.

Shen Qing instantly sensed danger. He gripped his hatchet tightly, took a few steps back, and pressed himself against the wall. He had no idea what was happening, nor where to run, or even if he should.

The person called Xiao Wang was frighteningly fast. The two people in front of him were about to be caught, but then they spotted Shen Qing standing there with his hatchet. Their eyes lit up with desperate hope, and they shouted, “Save us!”

They had already reached him in the blink of an eye. Now that they were out of the way, Shen Qing could see the thing chasing them clearly.

In just that short moment, the man’s exposed skin, including his entire face, had turned a sickly blue-purple. His mouth and nose were rapidly decaying, oozing yellowish-white pus. His eyes were bloodshot, his nails had blackened and grown sharp.

That wasn’t a living person anymore! Even the zombies from the village elders’ ghost stories weren’t this horrifying!

Yet just a moment ago, he had been a normal person, riding that iron horse…

No matter how bold or strong Shen Qing was, he was terrified. He didn’t even dare to face a wild boar head-on—how could he possibly deal with a ghostly monster? His small hatchet was completely useless! Without hesitation, he spun around and started running.

Shen Qing had done farm work his whole life, frequently carrying over a hundred pounds of firewood through the mountains. His stamina was excellent, and with his long legs, he quickly outpaced the other two.

The man and woman had initially assumed Shen Qing was a seasoned fighter against zombies when they saw his weapon, but when they realized he had no intention of stopping the creature, their panic only deepened.

The zombie was closing in fast. The man, desperate, reached out and shoved Shen Qing. “You have a knife—kill it already!”

“I can’t! I’d lose!” Shen Qing shot back, running for his life. What a joke! This man had no red mark on his forehead, was taller and stronger than Shen Qing himself—clearly a grown man. If even he was too scared to fight this thing, why did he expect Shen Qing, a ger, to do it?

And what could his barely two-foot-long hatchet possibly do against that thing?

Why should he throw his life away for two complete strangers? Shen Qing wasn’t an idiot!

Seeing that Shen Qing refused to fight the zombie, the man clenched his jaw and suddenly turned, kicking Shen Qing hard in the knee. Shen Qing hadn’t expected him to pull something like that and was caught off guard. He tumbled to the ground.

“Feng Gong!” The woman gasped, staring at the man in shock.

“What are you waiting for? If we don’t sacrifice him, we’ll die instead!” The man grabbed the stunned woman and dragged her forward.

The woman hesitated, casting a glance back at Shen Qing, but in the end, she didn’t stop running.

People were truly vile!

Pain flared in his knee, and the fall had also jostled his injured arm, sending another sharp sting through his body. At that moment, realization struck him like a hammer.

That was why there were so many bloodstains on the ground and walls. That was why there were those mysterious, rotting remains.

People in this world could turn into these creatures—these “zombies”—and they ate humans.

Shen Qing was furious.

Twice in a single day, he had faced life-threatening danger. He regretted his recklessness, his carelessness, but there was no time for regret. The monster was almost upon him.

He had fought so hard to break free from the Shen family, to carve out a better future for himself and his mother. If he died here, how would his mother survive?

He couldn’t die here! His mother was still waiting for him at home!

Cursing the bastard who had kicked him down, Shen Qing’s overwhelming desire to live gave him strength. With his uninjured hand, he gripped his hatchet tightly.

He forced himself to think—this creature had been a normal man just moments ago. It wasn’t much taller or stronger than him. Back in the village, he could have beaten two of these men barehanded.

Now, he even had a weapon.

Why should he lose?

Fine! Don’t think about its face. Don’t think about its face. Just pretend it’s a wild boar!

Shen Qing chanted to himself under his breath. Just as he was about to go all out against the creature barreling toward him, something strange happened.

The zombie ran right past him.

It even tripped over his leg.

For a moment, time seemed to freeze.

The zombie hesitated briefly, but then, as if Shen Qing didn’t even exist, it completely ignored him and continued chasing after the fleeing man and woman.

Shen Qing quickly pulled his leg back, heart pounding.

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