Xu Yiwen was in no mood to worry about anything else at this time. Even though we were temporarily safe, he couldn't relax at all.
"He Mo," he asked urgently, "how long have you been here? Have you seen the medical team? Has the rescue squad passed through? Kiki and I stayed holed up in a room the whole time, so we know almost nothing about what's going on outside."
Shaking my head, I let out a sigh.
"Medical team? Don't even think about it. Since the very first day, no one's been able to control the situation. It's only gotten worse, spiraling out of control. No one has stepped in to fix anything."
"Then... do you know what exactly happened? Why people suddenly started eating each other? And how the hell can dead people still walk?" Xu Yiwen asked, almost in disbelief. "If I hadn't watched foreign movies before, I would've thought this was a haunting!"
I nodded grimly. "They briefly mentioned it on the news. They called the dead 'walking corpses.' According to what little they said, a virus emerged at the turn of spring and summer. It overrides the human immune system completely. If you're infected—you die. And when you die—you stand up again... just like those things outside."
I glanced at the window. "The only thing we can do is never get bitten. A single bite, and you're done."
Xu Yiwen took a deep breath and let it out fiercely.
"Ridiculous… It's crazy that those survival movies actually turned into real survival manuals."
"Save it," I waved my hand. "In the movies, the protagonists all run around with shotguns and machetes. Realistically, look at us—we're down to two broken kitchen knives and a spatula."
At that, my dad chuckled for the first time in ages. He reached out, ruffled my hair, and said warmly, "My daughter, still talking back even now."
My mom shot him and me a look.
"Good thing our girl isn't some delicate flower," she said. "If she acted like one of those pampered ladies, how would we have survived this long? Enough joking around—let's talk countermeasures seriously!"
But in truth, there weren't many options open to us.
Given our temporary "combat strength," even stepping outside for food was risky.
We spent all afternoon discussing, tossing out plans one after another. In the end, we decided the safest move was to stay put for now.
It started raining the next day—heavy, endless rain.
Fortunately, we'd scavenged enough supplies to last for a bit. We just needed to wait for the rain to stop before venturing back out to the supermarket for the rest of the goods. Until then, we had no choice but to play it by ear.
We cleared out the two rooms next to ours.
One room became home for Qiqi and me.
Chen Ming and Xu Yiwen shared the other.
During the day, everyone huddled together in silence.
No one spoke unless necessary.
Maybe everyone was afraid the sound would draw walking corpses.
But to me, it felt like we were all drowning—trapped in an endless, crushing confusion.
That night, I couldn't sleep at all.
I lay there staring into the darkness, lost in spiraling thoughts.
Two months ago, all I wanted was to find a living soul and leave behind that haunted kitchen.
Now that I'd left… I didn't know what to do next.
What tomorrow would bring.
What I even wanted anymore.
The world outside the window was pitch-black.
The moonlight spilled over a dead, silent land.
No life stirred. Only cold, lonely emptiness.
The building we were in drifted like a fallen leaf lost at sea, with no shore in sight.
After barricading ourselves in from the walking corpses, we realized something terrifying:
The greatest enemy wasn't the monsters outside.
It was the despair they left inside our hearts.
After more than two months of trying to stay strong, my grandmother's frail body finally gave out.
The psychological and physical pressure crushed her.
Grandma fell ill, and it hit my mother like a hammer.
She stayed by Grandma's bedside day and night, face streaked with silent tears.
She was so good every day, chatting with Grandma, trying to cheer her up…
But Grandma barely opened her eyes anymore.
We boiled what little hot water we could with alcohol lamps to keep her hydrated.
And deep down, we all knew:
We were waiting for Grandma's death.
Meanwhile, the food supplies were running dangerously low.
There was no time for despair.
I had to pull myself together.
I began discussing a new supply run with Chen Ming.
Dad volunteered too, but before I could say anything, Chen Ming shook his head firmly, staring at Dad's graying hair.
He didn't want Dad to slow us down.
I didn't either, though I could never say it aloud.
Grandma was already on the verge of death.
We had to protect the others no matter what.
None of them could afford to die!
Xu Yiwen volunteered to join us.
Qiqi stayed home to help look after everyone.
Humans can adapt to anything.
Even fear.
This time, although I was scared, I didn't tremble.
I couldn't tremble.
I had parents.
A grandmother.
A younger brother.
They needed me.
If I died, Chen Ming would leave.
Xu Yiwen would leave.
Xu Qiqi would leave.
And no one would be left to protect my family.
The entire building was dead silent.
Outside, only the rain whispered.
No raincoats, no umbrellas.
Dragging anything along would just slow us down.
We simply threw ourselves into the rain.
The cold rain chilled my burning mind.
The world grew silent, save for the falling rain.
The three of us dashed toward the main gate.
Passing the medical building, Xu Yiwen let out a startled yell—
Three walking corpses suddenly lunged at us from the shadows!
He stumbled and nearly fell.
Chen Ming immediately gave me a quick look, signaling to split up and flank them.
Gripping my kitchen knife tightly, I veered left.
One of the walking corpses noticed me and howled, charging.
It wore a bloodstained white coat—
Once, a symbol of healing.
Now, more terrifying than a ghost.
I lashed out with a stab.
The blade hit true.
The corpse crumpled silently to the ground.
Squatting down, I sliced off a piece of the filthy coat and gently covered her face.
Rest in peace.
Chen Ming cast a glance at the fallen body, then at me.
He hesitated for a second before muttering, "Let's go."
Outside, the streets were almost empty.
The number of walking corpses had dropped significantly.
Following our old route, we reached the supermarket without much trouble.
Last time, we had only blocked the door with some cardboard boxes.
Now... they were gone.
Xu Yiwen grew nervous.
He pointed at the supermarket and whispered, "Walking corpses?"
I shook my head.
Lowered my voice.
"Walking corpses don't clean up boxes. Humans do."
Chen Ming's expression didn't change.
He peered inside through the glass, then pulled a card from his pocket.
A hotel room keycard.
He wedged it into the door crack, jiggled it up and down expertly—
Click.
The door unlocked.
He nodded at me, then pushed the door open and slipped inside.
Xu Yiwen followed quickly, shutting the door behind us.
I cleared my throat and called into the empty supermarket:
"Is anyone there?"
No response.
"We're not infected," I said loudly but calmly. "If you can hear us, please come out."
There was a moment of heavy silence.
Then, the sound of soft footsteps.
Four figures emerged from behind the shelves.
Two men, two women.
They were all strikingly good-looking, the kind of people who would stand out even in a normal crowd.
No wonder people say beauty gathers in groups.
Even while escaping for their lives, they looked like they'd walked out of a magazine.
They were tense, gripping crude weapons—a wooden stick, an iron fork.
The blond-haired boy in front barked,
"Who are you? What do you want?"
I raised both hands peacefully.
"Relax. There are four of you and only three of us. If anyone should be nervous, it's us."
I pointed toward the shelves. "We're just here for food, same as you."
The taller man frowned and said coldly,
"Find your own place. This one's ours now."
A heavy silence fell.
They must have just arrived.
To them, we were invaders trying to steal their hard-earned supplies.
But the next nearest supermarket was over a hundred meters away—
Too far.
Too risky.
I was still racking my brain on how to negotiate when—
Chen Ming suddenly snorted coldly.
"And what if we don't leave?"