The Walking Dead: I Sell Arms as a Sixth-Rate Seller in the Apocalypse

夜晚

Blood-red full moon

3 kilometers north of Herschel Green Farm

Audis parked his two-door pickup truck not far from Tommy's gas station.

At that moment, five zombies were frantically pounding on the door of Tommy's gas station.

Seeing this, Audis said to the others in the car, "These resurrected corpses wouldn't be banging on the door for no reason."

Herschel replied, "That's right, that should be the case. Maybe my old friend and Tommy are inside. If it really is them, then take them with us."

Audis nodded and said to Herschel, "Mr. Herschel, what do you suggest we do about those five resurrected corpses outside?"

Upon hearing this, Herschel immediately took two pitchforks from under the truck bed, handed one to Audis, and said, "I've noticed that these corpses are quite sensitive to sound. To prevent more corpses from coming, let's not use guns this time. Just use these to take care of them. Remember to aim them at their heads."

Upon hearing Herschel's words, Audis nodded, took the pitchfork from his hand, and followed Herschel out of the car.

Herschel then turned to Maggie and Beth in the car and said, "You two lock the doors and windows, and don't get out, understand? If something happens to me or Audis, you and Beth continue driving north, get it?"

Maggie: "Don't worry, Dad, I'll take good care of Beth. Just be careful."

Herschel nodded, handed the shotgun to Maggie, and then the two went to the convenience store at the gas station.

At this moment, the five zombies were banging on the convenience store door, unaware of Audis and Herschel approaching from behind.

Herschel gave Audis a wink, and Audis nodded. The two of them slowly walked toward the zombie that was closest to them.

When the two got close enough, they looked at each other, and instantly, they thrust their pitchforks at the back of the zombie's head.

With a soft "plop," the two men pierced the zombie's vulnerable back of the head with pitchforks, and dark red blood mixed with brain matter flowed down the pitchforks.

Herschel and Audis pulled the pitchfork from the back of the zombie's head, but when the old zombie's body fell to the ground, it still alerted the zombies knocking on the door. An old zombie appeared in front of the two of them, accompanied by a young male zombie and a young female zombie.

Upon seeing this, Herschel's eyes widened, and he exclaimed, "Oh my God! Old Tommy! Little Tommy! What happened to you two?"

Seeing this, Audis thrust his fork into the head of the young female zombie. Instantly, dark red blood splattered onto Audis, turning his already obese body into a blood-red butcher wielding a pitchfork.

Seeing that Herschel was unmoved by the two zombies in front of him, Audis took two steps to Herschel's side, shook him, and said, "Mr. Herschel, they are no longer the people you know. They only want to kill you, devour your flesh and blood, and eventually turn you into their companions!"

Hearing Audis' words, Herschel regained his composure, shook his head, and said, "You're right, Audis. They're no longer my friends. To prevent them from harming others, I'll send them to meet their maker right now."

Having finished speaking

Herschel aimed for old Tommy's head, but this time he missed. His fork didn't pierce Tommy's head; instead, it pierced his chest. Now Herschel was in a passive position. Since zombies don't understand what a class is, and Herschel had spent a lot of effort piercing the first two zombies, he was now being pushed forward by his zombie friend. Meanwhile, Audis's herbal tea broke off inside the second zombie's body when he pulled it out. The two were now in a very passive position, one being pushed backward by the zombie, and the other holding a broken herbal tea stick against another zombie.

Just as the two were about to give up, the door of the gas station convenience store opened, and a young woman dressed in a Japanese school uniform and holding a samurai sword appeared. She first came to Audis' side and decapitated the zombie on Audis' side with a slash. Then she came to Herschel, who was about to be tackled, raised the samurai sword, and stabbed it directly into Old Tommy's zombie brain. With a thud, Old Tommy's zombie brain was pierced by the sharp samurai sword.

Herschel and Audis stared in shock at the girl before them. They never dreamed that they would be saved by a female student in a school uniform.

While the two were still lost in their own thoughts, Maggie walked over with Beth, carrying an M870 shotgun. Beth immediately hugged Herschel and said, "Dad, you scared me to death! I almost thought I was going to lose you."

Maggie, standing nearby, said to the girl who had saved her father, "Thank you, miss, thank you for saving my father and my father's employees."

The girl in front of them was very polite. She bowed to the group and said, "No, no, no, I should be thanking you. If you hadn't helped me kill those three zombies, I might have really been trapped here."

Hearing the girl say this, Maggie became interested in the girl with the Asian face in front of her, so she extended her right hand to the girl and said, "Hello, my name is Maggie Green, this is my sister Beth Glenn, the fat man is my father’s farm employee, Audis, and this white-haired old man is my and Beth’s father, Herschel Green, the owner of the farm in the south."

Upon hearing Maggie introduce the group, the girl with the Asian features sheathed her katana, extended her right hand, and grasped Maggie's right hand, saying, "My name is Nohara Mieko. I study in Macon City next door. My father, Nohara Gaji, runs a kendo dojo in Macon City, while my mother, Park Miri, runs a Korean BBQ restaurant in Atlanta City. I've come here to find my mother."

After hearing the self-introduction of the woman named Mieko, Beth, who was hiding behind her, asked Mieko, "Are you Chinese? Are you an adult?"

Hearing Beth's words, Mieko smiled and said, "No, I'm not Chinese. My mother is a Korean-American, and my father is a Japanese-American. As for my age, I'm 19 years old this year."

Upon hearing Mieko's words, Maggie's expression changed, and she said, "Are you going to Atlanta to find your mother?"

Mieko: "Yes, I'm going to a barbecue restaurant in North Atlanta to see my mother."

Herschel said, "Miss Mieko, do you know what's going on? Why are there these man-eating monsters everywhere on the streets? And how did a young girl like you get from Macon to Atlanta?"

Mihoko said, "I'm not entirely sure either. I only know that when I was studying in Macon, many people at school got sick, including my classmates and teachers. Then some of the sick people collapsed on the ground, convulsing, and eventually died without moving. At that time, police cars and ambulances came and even cordoned off the scene. But then something incredible happened. Those classmates and teachers who had died stood up, their eyes turned gray, and they raised their hands and lunged at the medical staff next to them. Then I saw the medical staff's necks being bitten off by these resurrected classmates and teachers."

Audis: "Miss Mieko, how did you escape from school back then?"

Mieko: "At the time, I gathered with other classmates who were fine. Since my family runs a kendo dojo, my father, Nohara Gaji, often trained me in kendo. So, in the chaos, I grabbed a stick and led my classmates out of the school. But just when I was feeling relieved to have escaped the school with my classmates, what happened on the street pulled me back into hell."

Herschel, upon hearing this, said, "You mean, you also saw those horrific scenes from the school on the street?"

Mieko nodded and said, "Yes, what I saw on the street was even more terrifying than what I saw at school. There were crowds of people running around in panic, and people were being pushed down and eaten by the corpses on the ground. Some of the people who had been eaten beyond recognition even got up and continued to pounce on the others who hadn't been pushed down."

Hearing this, everyone frowned, but Beth asked, "How is your father? How is your family's kendo dojo?"

Mieko said, "At that time, I returned to my family's kendo dojo without any major incidents, but something happened that I will never forget."

Maggie: "Is it related to your father, Nohara Juji?"

Mieko nodded and said, "Yes, when I got back, I found a bunch of corpses lying haphazardly in the dojo, and my father, Nohara Gaji, was sitting in a corner of the dojo, supporting his bitten left arm. When I saw that my father had been bitten, I immediately took out various disinfectant tablets and bandages from the infirmary and bandaged his bitten left arm."

Herschel: "If that's the case, then why did you leave your father's martial arts school and come here to look for your mother? Judging from what happened over there, it must have been dangerous for you to come out alone, right?"

Mieko: "Yes, if that were all, I would not have left my father and the kendo dojo. But after I finished bandaging my father's bite wound, he took me to a secret room in my family's dojo. In the secret room, besides my father, there was a black samurai sword enshrined on the altar."

Maggie: "The black katana? Is that the katana you used to kill those other two zombies?"

Mieko: "Yes, Maggie has this one."

Herschel: "But what does this have to do with your leaving the martial arts school and your father?"

Mieko: "After my father called me into the secret room, he picked up the samurai sword directly. He said that this samurai sword was passed down from his ancestors and was called the First Generation Kitetsu. It was a cursed sword. It was said that killing people would increase the power of the sword. Moreover, after killing a certain number of people, the cursed sword First Generation Kitetsu could even make a slashing motion when it was slashed at the air."

No one present believed Mieko's words.

Seeing that no one believed her, Mihoko then said to them, "Actually, I didn't believe it either, but my father said that he would give this sword to me. He also said that if this sword can kill enough people in the chaotic world outside, it will awaken and recognize its master. At that time, it can slash at the air and make a cutting motion. My father also said that after this sword is handed to me, I will be the master of this sword. He told me to take this sword to Atlanta to find my mother, and then escape this country and go back to Japan or Korea."

Audis: "So, you left the dojo and came this way?"

Mieko: "No, just as I was deciding whether to accept it, my father collapsed on the ground and fainted. I took the knife from his hand and put it back on the altar. I went to my father's side. Touching his burning head, I got up and went outside to get a towel to cool him down. I was gone for less than five minutes. When I came back, I was standing on the wall of the secret room, lost in thought. I went to my father's side and told him to go back and rest. But just when I thought my father would hear me and go back to rest, he turned around. At this moment, my father's eyes were white and lifeless. He raised his hands and walked towards me. His appearance was the same as those people I had met on the street at school before."

Audis: "So, your father is also sick? He was fine before, how did he suddenly become like this?"

Maggie replied, "Oddess, it's a bite. Look at Old Tommy and Little Tommy on the ground, they both have bite marks. Old Tommy has one on his arm, and Little Tommy has one on his neck."

Audis: "So, being bitten by these resurrected corpses will lead to infection, followed by death and becoming one of them?"

At this moment, Mieko nodded and said, "Yes, that's why my father turned into that kind of monster. If he hadn't been bitten, he and I would still be hiding in the kendo dojo right now."

After hearing Mieko's words, everyone thought for a moment, and Herschel spoke first: "Miss Mieko, if you don't mind, you can come with us to downtown Atlanta."

Mieko: "Is this really okay? Are you going to Atlanta too?"

Audis: "Yes, Miss Mieko, we heard that the Atlanta city government has set up a military-guarded shelter in the North District of Atlanta. Mr. Herschel's farm was recently overrun by those resurrected corpses. Only Mr. Herschel's family and I escaped. Everyone else, including my wife Patricia, was infected and turned into one of them after being eaten by those resurrected monsters on the farm."

Upon hearing Audis's words, Mieko said, "I am very sorry, Mr. Audis, Mr. Herschel, Miss Maggie, and Sister Beth, please accept my condolences."

Upon hearing Mieko call her "little sister," Beth said to Mieko, "Since you're calling me 'little sister,' can I call you 'Mieko-neechan' from now on? I'd like to have another family member, another older sister."

Mihoko smiled and said, "Sure, as long as Mr. Herschel and your blood-related sister, Miss Maggie, don't say anything, then I have no problem with it."

Hearing Mieko's words, Herschel smiled and said, "How could that be, Miss Mieko? Although Beth is only 17 years old, if you would like to be Beth's older sister, our family would be very honored to welcome you."

Maggie laughed and said, "Yes, Beth is 17, you are 19, and I am 22. From now on, Beth can call you Sister Mieko, and you can call me Sister Maggie. I will call you Sister Mieko. How about we become best friends and sisters?"

Mieko blushed slightly, then asked the group, "Can I really join you?"

Herschel spoke first: "Of course! We are honored to have you join us. Welcome, Mieko!"

Mieko: "Alright then, I, Mieko Nohara, will join the Grimm family!"

Maggie and Beth hugged Mieko and said, "Welcome to join Mieko's family (older sister)."

Forty-five minutes later

The group ransacked the convenience store, finding nothing of value, including the keys to a Ford pickup truck at the checkout counter. As Herschel unlocked the car, the lights of a Ford F150 four-door pickup truck parked in the open space behind the gas station flashed.

It took the group fifteen minutes to separate the items from the convenience store and load them onto Tommy's brand-new Ford F150 four-door pickup truck, which he had just bought before his death, and the two-door pickup truck that had come from Herschel's farm. Then, the group filled up the four-door and two-door pickup trucks with fuel, and even filled two large gasoline drums with gasoline and put them in the bed of the two-door pickup truck.

And so, once everyone was ready, Audis drove his two-door pickup truck with Herschel in the back, leading the way, while Maggie, carrying Beth and Mieko Nohara, followed in a four-door Ford F150 pickup truck, heading north towards Atlanta.