Chapter 125: Rare Moments of Joy

After dinner, it was past seven, the moon was still the same moon, the night sky still the same night sky, but the human world was no longer the world it had been.

From time to time, a beast-like howl echoed through the silent village—unannounced, like the defiant cry of the dead.

At the entrance of Shuikou Village, the sentry stationed outside the fertilizer shop had changed from Chen Hanzhou to Yu Wen.

After a day of tense travel, everyone gathered inside the Mercedes-Benz VS RV: some sat on the sofa, others sat cross-legged on the carpet, while Zhang Su had a laptop connected to the RV's TV placed before him.

"Fuck, Wu Lue, what the hell is on this shitty laptop of yours? Either men and women, or women and women, or even men turned into women and women turned into men—what the hell is all this? Can't you have something decent?"

Zhang Su fiddled with the mouse; he hadn't shot a sniper in half a month and missed it terribly. Everyone waited for him to pick a movie, but Wu Lue's laptop barely had anything suitable for group viewing…

"There is! There is, Boss Su, check the F drive—it's all that stuff, hehe…"

Wu Lue scratched his head sheepishly.

"F drive… got it—how about this one, Train to Busan?" Zhang Su pointed to the screen where Kong Liu's face had turned into a zombie and turned back to the group.

"Are you serious, Boss Su?"

"No way, no way!"

"Dude, are you crazy, Boss Su?"

"You think the zombies we've met weren't scary enough? Boss Su, you're really my brother!"

It was rare for Zhang Su's suggestion to be met with unanimous opposition—reality was already brutal enough; no one wanted to endure more suffering during their rare moment of rest.

"You idiots, this used to be sci-fi, now it's educational—none of you want to watch? Fine, I'll look again, don't rush, don't rush…" Zhang Su kept browsing folders, then his face lit up. "Hey, here's one—Tom and Jerry, how's that?"

"That's good!"

"Wow, I love it!"

"Tom and Jerry, perfect, perfect, let's watch this!"

The classic comedy cartoon was met with universal approval.

"Alright, let's go!"

Soon, the cartoon began, its iconic characters springing to life on screen, and everyone, like children again, watched with rapt delight, momentarily forgetting all their pain and sorrow in laughter.

At this moment, everyone desperately needed laughter to dilute the pessimism about the future.

As long as you're alive, strive for the good—now that food and water weren't lacking, they naturally began to seek spiritual fulfillment.

Thousands of years ago, primitive humans, naked and starving, chased by beasts every day, still carved drawings on cave walls for amusement—clearly, humans are different from other animals, but luck is not.

Lucky sat beside Zhang Su, grinning at the TV, tail swaying gently—he seemed to understand what was playing on screen.

Zheng Xinyu was laughing heartily as Tom was tricked by Jerry when someone sat down beside her; she turned to see Pei Lan, her arm in a sling.

"Sister Xinyu, can we use the bathroom on this RV?"

Pei Lan leaned close to Zheng Xinyu's ear and whispered.

Zheng Xinyu glanced at the bathroom beside the corridor and sighed. "The fixtures are fine, but there's no water. Don't even mention it—I haven't bathed since the disaster started."

Pei Lan frowned. "I'm worse—I got my period on the third day after the disaster. I hadn't bathed for three or four days then, and now I feel like I've been pickled. Can't we find some water?"

"Where's the water? Did you see the river today? Who'd dare use that? Unless we find a reliable source, don't even think about drinking water—Boss Su will flip out!"

Zheng Xinyu herself had once considered using drinking water to wash, and had quietly mentioned it to Zhang Su—only to be scolded severely, so she warned Pei Lan ahead of time.

"Actually… I don't need much water to bathe. Back at school, I tried it—once I used only thirty liters."

Pei Lan quietly recounted her experience: the school shower room charged by water usage—36 yuan per ton, 3. fen per liter; once she spent just over a yuan.

"I advise you to give up this idea right away," Zhong Xiaoshan chimed in. "Thirty liters is enough for one person to drink for half a month—or for everyone to drink for a day with some left over. If you dare use it to bathe, no one can save you!"

She understood Zhang Su: survival came first. It was an unspoken, ironclad rule in the group—anyone who broke it would face dire consequences.

"I know, I know—I was just complaining. I won't really use drinking water to bathe…"

Pei Lan gave a nervous laugh, unwilling to defy the norms.

"There must be a well in the village—villages like this usually have a communal water supply, a deep well. We just don't know where it is."

Tan Hua also overheard the conversation. As a woman, she hoped, if possible, to maintain personal hygiene—most women, after all, valued cleanliness.

"It's pitch black—who'd dare go look for a well? And we don't even know if the well water's contaminated. Forget that—just watch TV. Laughing will make you forget you smell."

Zheng Xinyu cheerfully encouraged the girls.

Zhang Su was watching TV, but his sharp hearing had caught every word the women exchanged, and he began planning how to address personal hygiene.

In the short term, it might not seem important, but long-term, personal hygiene was vital—history showed that both East and West had suffered epidemics due to poor sanitation, and this could not be ignored.

Even if it didn't cause disease, the group's constant stench would drag down morale and sanity—this was unavoidable.

Tom and Jerry episodes played one after another; everyone was utterly absorbed.

At this moment, free from academic stress, work worries, mortgage burdens, and romantic troubles, they found in those simple cartoons the purest, most primal joy.

This kind of joy, like love, can only be truly felt when you have almost nothing left…

"Hehehe…"

Another restrained burst of laughter rose—Zhang Su's body twitched slightly, stiffened for a moment, then returned to normal; no one noticed his anomaly.

"Man, this is hilarious, hahaha! I'm gonna grab a smoke and take a piss!"

Saying this, Zhang Su stood up, pulled out a cigarette pack, and headed for the door.

"Boss Su, I'm coming too! Give me one, give me one, hehe."

Lu Yu boisterously followed Zhang Su out of the vehicle.

"You're everywhere!"

Zhang Su turned and scolded him, pressed the electric door switch, waited for it to open, handed Lu Yu a cigarette, and gave him a glance.

Lu Yu's heart skipped—he knew what that look meant: something's up!

Still at my in-laws' place, heading back tomorrow, but I'm taking tomorrow off—will be too late getting home, need to tidy up, won't rush to update the manuscript. Just this one day off this month—solid!

(End of Chapter)