I Transmigrated Into a Spicy Apocalypse Novel and Just Want to Hoard Supplies

Ren Xinrou spent eighteen years surviving in a zombie-ridden world. She was one of the post-apocalypse’s top powerhouses.
But then—
“Huh? Why does this place look exactly like the scenes from that spicy little book I picked up?”

Ren Xinrou transmigrates from the real apocalypse **into an apocalypse-themed smut novel**, becoming a **cannon-fodder woman who doesn’t survive past chapter one**.

The world is full of gorgeous men and women, and “spicy car-rolling scenes” can happen anytime, anywhere—
leaving her constantly suffering and exhausted.

The spicy novel seems **embedded in her mind**, and she has to reread it frequently just to understand the character relationships.

“Too stimulating… great, I won’t be sleeping tonight *again*!”
“Why is this author so thirsty! Can’t they write some actual plot?”
“The male and female lead are seriously… There are zombies everywhere outside—can’t they hold it in?”
“And this villainess—her appetite is *way* too big.”

#Comic #ComicSystem #ComicOverview #manhwa #Comics #Manga #Novel #Anime #JapaneseAnimation #ScienceFiction #System #Mecha
#Time Travel #Interstellar #top10manhwa #Interstellar novel #Anime

Chapter 1: Traveling from One Apocalypse to Another “Dear passengers, I am flight attendant Jonina… Flight 1094 departing from Los Angeles…” Ren Xinrou rubbed her groggy head. The fever from tetanus made the hallucinations feel increasingly real. “Am I not dead yet?” Ren Xinrou murmured weakly. “Honored passengers, I am your captain, Aiden… Watt. We expect to land at Nanshi International Airport in forty minutes. The aircraft will descend from 8,000 meters gradually below the cloud layer…” The captain’s smooth Mandarin came through the plane’s speakers. His full, commanding voice repeated the announcement in English after the Mandarin broadcast. Ren Xinrou squinted, her vision blurred. Dizzy, she looked around; flight attendants in blue uniforms were busy serving passengers. Not only could she hear the plane, she even hallucinated the scenes on the aircraft? Ren Xinrou forced a bitter smile, a heavy ache in her chest as she thought of the family she had lost years ago. She still remembered the first time she flew—when she was fourteen. She flew from her hometown Nanchong to Shanghai, accompanied by her grandparents to collect her father’s ashes. Her father had been a narcotics SWAT officer. While assisting Shanghai police to capture drug traffickers, the traffickers fired a homemade rifle at him dozens of times; he died on a foreign street during the chase. When her mother learned the terrible news, she completely lost her mind, shouting she had to go to Shanghai to find her husband. She ran out and was struck by a speeding car and died. After her father’s ashes were brought back, he was buried in the Nanchong Martyrs’ Cemetery. Misfortune seemed to favor her. On the way home with her grandparents, they were attacked by zombies; her grandfather died in the zombies’ mouths while saving her grandmother. She was saved by fifteen accompanying SWAT officers, all of them her father’s former colleagues, which marked the beginning of her years of survival in the apocalypse. Those uncles who stayed by her side took her to a survival base, trained and molded her, so she wouldn’t have to depend on anyone and could survive the end of the world as a strong person. The uncles always remained steadfast in their mission, serving the country and the people. One by one they died in the zombies’ mouths, becoming bloodthirsty undead, turning into broken heaps of bones. No one mourned them, no civilians brought flowers, no cemetery buried them. She felt their deaths were wasted, giving their lives for a bunch of ungrateful survivors. It really was a waste! By the tenth year of the zombie apocalypse, only two of the original fifteen uncles remained. Unable to bear losing more loved ones, she chose to leave the base, leave the troops, and leave the two uncles who had been promoted to deputy base commanders. She survived alone outside the base, ensuring that as long as she ate, her family wouldn’t starve. No longer forced to risk her life for the country, no longer humiliated by ungrateful survivors, no longer compelled to save those who didn’t want to be saved. Eight years of solitary bravery, carefree. She never imagined that she wouldn’t die in a zombie’s maw or a beast’s bite, but from tetanus. “Hah—so unlucky.” Ren Xinrou mumbled in a daze, softly cursing herself. Chasing a wild boar, she ran into a car graveyard and her thigh was slashed by the rusty bumper of a wrecked car. The wound was severe; she felt unwell and knew she needed to go to a hospital for an anti-tetanus shot. She couldn’t find the medicine, but in the inpatient ward she discovered a novel: After Rebirth, My Brother and I Drive 1V1 Every Day. This book was different from the famous works she’d read as a child—very different. Under the title was the author’s note: All plot chapters exist to better serve the meat-eating scenes. She opened to the first chapter and immediately decided to take the book with her. Because in the book’s first chapter, the expendable female who gets bitten by zombies shares exactly the same name as hers. 　　She was very depressed; she wanted to see what kind of doomsday world could kill “her” in a single chapter. She was already running a fever, beyond help. Since she couldn’t find medicine, she might as well read and wait to die. She was too lazy to go back to the base to ask her uncles for help. She wanted to find her family in heaven, to leave this world that had no warmth and only the stench of rot. Two-thirds of the book was steamy scenes, which nearly killed this 32-year-old “maiden” from heatstroke and cerebral congestion, not tetanus. The heroine Xin Jiajiao was a silly, sweet girl; in her past life she was betrayed by her best friend and boyfriend, causing the death of her stepbrother who had quietly loved her and his teammates. After being reborn on the plane, Xin Jiajiao confessed to the male lead and they quickly rolled in the hay. With memories of the past doomsday, the heroine helped her brother avoid many dangers and schemes. The fake siblings became a real married couple, and together they built a doomsday agricultural base. The male lead had no powerful backers, but he was very capable. He advanced step by step to become the director of one of the official twelve bases; among the country’s seven most formidable families, not a single clan dared touch his base. Because he controlled a huge underground planting base, had plenty of weapons and superpowered fighters, he could have made the base independent, but he chose not to betray the country. The president was grateful for his loyal service and guaranteed that no one would replace him. The country lacked grain; it couldn’t do without the male lead. After each intense steamy chapter between the male and female leads, the author would always say the same thing: a few plot chapters will be added later to prepare for the big meat. At first she didn’t understand what that meant; later, she did. From age fourteen she had powerful uncles supporting her, and no male being had dared come near her to take advantage. In a world where there wasn’t even enough to eat, let alone finding a reliable man to fall in love with, she didn’t even know what being in love was. Until she read this book. So falling in love is this wonderful? Steamy scenes are pleasurable? What does it feel like? I should have gotten married before I died… That was her last question and thought before losing consciousness. “Dear passengers, we regret to inform you that a riot has broken out inside Nanshi Airport. After the plane lands, please board the airport shuttle promptly and leave the airport quickly…” Passengers began to grow restless. Ren Xinrou’s thoughts gradually cleared; how was this sentence exactly the same as the opening of the novel? “Hey, brother! I’m still on the plane, don’t come! Don’t come to the airport! Wait for me at the big flowerbed on the suburban airport road! Trust me! I can run out! Brother!” The girl sitting beside her, ignoring the rule against using phones during flight, secretly turned hers on and made a call. In a soft, cloyingly sweet voice she shouted into the phone, “Brother, I know what’s happening in the airport now. Trust me— you and your teammates just wait at the flowerbed! If you dare come to the airport! I’ll run away from home! I’ll fall in love with someone else!” Ren Xinrou listened to the familiar lines and rubbed her brows hard. “Tetanus hallucinations really come on strong, dragging my dream into some smutty fanfic?” She remembered that after Xin Jiajiao was reborn on the plane, she wouldn’t let her brother come pick her up at the airport, because in her past life after disembarking she was trapped at the airport; her brother came with his team to save her, and his best friend died at the airport. After rebirth, the heroine didn’t want her brother to lose another good buddy. ‘Zzzz…’ The ringing in her ears was unusually loud. Ren Xinrou clapped her hands over them, tilted her head back, and shut her eyes in pain. Memories that weren’t hers surged into her mind. Grandpa? Grandma? Their appearances hadn’t changed. Was she twenty years old? 　　She went to study in the United States and came home for summer vacation? Is this the plane back home? After she boarded, she chatted happily with the female passenger beside her; her name was Xin JiaoJiao. Xin JiaoJiao was representing Nanshi University for a month of study in the U.S… Xin JiaoJiao? The female lead in the book had the same name and was also going to the U.S. to study… “Ren Xinrou, Ren Xinrou? Are you okay?” Xin JiaoJiao gently prodded the pale-faced Ren Xinrou, her voice laced with concern. “Are you feeling unwell?” The touch on her arm felt vividly real, the voice was right by her ear, she could even feel her eardrum vibrate. Ren Xinrou snapped her eyes open. Her soul had actually entered a pornographic book! She had traveled from one apocalypse to another apocalypse! Her soul had possessed a cannon-fodder extra! A family background not much different from hers: parents were soldiers who died on peacekeeping duty abroad a few years ago. The original body was more fortunate—now twenty years old, with both grandfather and grandmother still alive. But the apocalypse had already begun, and the original’s grandparents might not have many days left to live! The contents of the book suddenly flooded into Ren Xinrou’s mind. The development timeline of the disasters and man-made catastrophes, the backgrounds of the seven major families, the locations of the twelve coastal bases. And the story that happens to the female lead Xin JiaoJiao. Even the details of how the male and female leads drove—everything rushed into Ren Xinrou’s head. The national map in the book was not much different from the world she occupied, only the place names differed. Ren Xinrou’s brain couldn’t quickly adapt to the merged memories. Her head was unusually heavy; she felt like vomiting, very nauseous, her stomach began to churn violently. She clamped a hand over her mouth and rushed into the restroom. ——– Chapter 2 This Is a Supernatural Apocalypse After a violent, tearful bout of vomiting, Ren Xinrou used both hands to cup water, splashing it over her burning face again and again. She steadied herself on the sink as drops of water mixed with sweat fell into the basin. Ren Xinrou panted heavily, staring at herself in the mirror. Her facial features were identical to the original’s: a high nose bridge with a slightly upturned tip, large double-lidded eyes, and rosy lips. Her skin tone in her previous life at twenty had been different from the original’s; back then she’d been sun- and rain-battered, her skin a dark wheat tone. The original body, however, was a luminous pale, the same as before she’d experienced an apocalypse at fourteen. Ren Xinrou examined her body closely. Her jet-black straight hair was plaited into a single braid that fell to her collarbone; a few wisps framed her ears. She wore a white off-shoulder T-shirt, blue denim shorts, and white sneakers. The female lead illustration made from my description (so pretty~) was the freshest, most radiant twenty-year-old. Her lower belly was flat and curvaceous, thighs long and neither thick nor thin. The flesh on her body was just right—slender but not frail—no different from her previous life. If not for the skin tone and long hair, she might not be able to tell whether it was her soul or her body that had crossed over. A faint smile curved Ren Xinrou’s lips. “So my long-haired look is this pretty—no wonder all the uncles kept forcing me to shave my head, claiming washing hair is troublesome. They must’ve been afraid I’d attract bad people.” Her gaze shifted to the middle of her collarbones where the neck joined: an S-shaped reddish birthmark, two centimeters long and 1 millimeter thick. It was a birthmark she’d had in her previous life. Yet in the original’s memories, the original didn’t have this mark. It seemed her soul had brought the birthmark along. Ren Xinrou touched the mark, and an image flashed and overlapped with the sink in front of her, startling her. She touched the birthmark once more. 　　A bright, empty room that seemed to have no boundaries, overlapping with the sink, appeared before her again. “This is the space described in the novel? This doesn’t feel like a space ability.” In her previous life’s zombie world there were only natural disasters and the zombie virus—no powers, no godlike things like Yu Space. Water and power still worked, but food was scarce; people couldn’t stockpile what to eat and drink. In her world, a year after the end, humanity had reverted to small-scale farming and hunting. Knock knock knock. A flight attendant politely called from outside the lavatory: “Hello! The plane is about to land; please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts!” Ren Xinrou frowned; the plane was descending. Why hadn’t the people on the plane been affected by the red toxic mist and fainted into zombies? The book explained that the mist only began to spread globally after the plane took off, and it existed only below the cloud layer. The plane had flown above the clouds for twelve hours, just avoiding the time when the mist was spreading. However, the passengers weren’t lucky just because they hadn’t become zombies. When the passengers disembarked, waiting for them was not a manually driven shuttle but an intelligent shuttle. The intelligent shuttle took them straight to the airport bus terminal, which was a gathering place for zombies. In the original book, the female lead Xin Jiao Jiao, having lived a previous life, knew the bus terminal was extremely dangerous. So after the plane landed, her saintly impulses made her want to run with Ren Xinrou—who had been talking to her—to escape the airport. But the original Ren Xinrou saw a few zombies with entrails hanging, walking toward the shuttle, panicked and jumped onto the shuttle; Xin Jiao Jiao cried and shouted not to get on the vehicle, but Ren Xinrou didn’t listen. Passerby Ren Xinrou went with the people on the shuttle to the bus terminal. When the intelligent shuttle reached its destination and opened its doors, zombies crawled into the vehicle and in the end everyone inside was wiped out. Knock knock knock! The flight attendant knocked on the lavatory door again. Ren Xinrou pulled herself back to the present, opened the door and left the lavatory. Before returning to her seat, she looked around; by the plane door there was a fire cabinet holding two large fire extinguishers. The powder from extinguishers can temporarily numb a zombie’s sense of smell. Zombies mainly rely on smell to find humans with fresh blood; their hearing and sight are also sharp. When surrounded by zombies, you can use shrill sounds and bright lights to draw them away. Ren Xinrou already had a plan. She sat back down, smiled at Xin Jiao Jiao, and looked out the window. Xin Jiao Jiao looked at Ren Xinrou, hesitated to speak. If she told people what was happening in the airport, they would surely call her crazy; she had just checked the news and there were no reports yet of people turning into zombies. The fog had only just cleared; everyone was busy coping and there was no time to release news. She knew she was a little foolish and naively kind—her brother often scolded her for being gullible. But to watch a hundred or so people on the plane march to their deaths, she couldn’t bear it. Xin Jiao Jiao bit her lip, not knowing what to do; she wished her brother were here—he would definitely know what to do. Ren Xinrou glanced at the novel’s female lead beside her—cute and soft like a lop-eared rabbit; the book described her as sweet, adorable, and easy to push over. A scene from the book suddenly floated into Ren Xinrou’s mind: Xin Jiao Jiao meeting her stepbrother and driving for the first time—tender yet intense. Ren Xinrou sighed. She had been thirty-two when she died; she had never touched a man’s hand, didn’t know whether it was cold or warm, hard or soft. At the base, many men had long eyed her bald-headed sister jealously, but no one dared touch her. She didn’t like to warn with words, and she didn’t like to talk; she would simply shoot to kill in self-defense. 　　She had a nickname that carried weight at the base: the Sheep Beast. The men mocked her for looking pure and beautiful while actually being a ferocious beast when released. The crew’s voice came over the PA again, “Thank you for flying with us. We are scheduled to arrive at Nan City Airport in ten minutes. Passengers, please fasten your seatbelts…” Ren Xinrou looked out the window again. Since she was here, she might as well accept it and treat it like a game. With her abilities, she could survive any mode of apocalypse. In this life, she had a transcendent space; even without extrasensory powers it wouldn’t stop her from living. The book said the apocalyptic blood mist turned one third of humanity into zombies. The blood mist brought catastrophe, but it also granted gifts, causing a small portion of survivors to develop powers. Besides the five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, earth—there were also space-type powers, speed powers, and enhanced visual and auditory abilities. Metal-type, also called strength-type, gave robust bodily function; as the power leveled up, so would strength. A first-tier metal ability let someone move a small pickup truck with one hand, effortlessly. Metal powers could be applied to blades, making them harder and sharper. Wood-type could accelerate plant growth and restore and heal flesh and internal injuries. Ren Xinrou found it amusing that wood-type could save lives, yet couldn’t cure a cold or disease. Survivors in the book had to face threats from zombies and mutated beasts, and also contend with illnesses. Fortunately, those with powers tended to have better physiques, were less prone to sickness, and lived longer. The book’s ending said that when the protagonists were two hundred years old, they still looked only forty; the heroine Xin Jiaojiāo had borne thirty-two children. After bearing her last daughter at two hundred, Xin Jiaojiāo formally sealed her womb and, with the male lead, hid away in some deserted city to live a shameless life. Ren Xinrou smiled inwardly, thinking, even rabbits can’t give birth as much as her. Xin Jiaojiāo was water-type; upon rebirth she brought her past life’s seventh-tier water power into this life, which is why she and the male lead never lacked water when farming at the base. Water-type can be said to be the most peculiar yet least practical power: peculiar because only women have a chance to get water powers—no male power users have it. In the novel, besides storing water, the water-type could expel the “dirty stuff” from the body, preventing filthy diseases; apart from that, it was useless. Logically, water-type should be able to control all water-bearing organisms—like draining the moisture from a zombie’s body? Perhaps because this book was a sensual novel aiming to showcase women’s special “uses” in the apocalypse and let characters indulge without guilt, the author didn’t give water-type offensive capabilities. In the book, only the female lead had a 1V1 ending; supporting characters and villainous supporting characters who were also water-type were all busy serving three to five husbands. Ren Xinrou pinched her brow; a very titillating scene flashed through her mind—supporting characters driving was practically a battlefield. The book briefly mentioned that space powers are the hardest to level up: initial space is only one meter, and crystals required to upgrade are three times that of other powers. The boundless space she possessed was a realm even space users dying of old age could never reach. Chapter 3 Airport Escape Ren Xinrou closed her eyes and continued to search for information on other abilities. The plane hit a bump and was already sliding forward on the runway after landing. On the dozens of empty runways, she could see a few scattered figures in the distance slowly moving toward the plane. Those were zombies, Ren Xinrou was very sure. A trace of contempt curled at the corner of her mouth as she murmured lightly, “Game, begin.” The cabin door opened. Ren Xinrou didn’t hurry to stand; she slung her small shoulder bag on and let others disembark first. 　　Xin Jiajiao’s forehead was sweating with anxiety; her mind was a jumble, hesitating between saving people and not saving them. Seeing that Ren Xinrou did not move, Xin Jiajiao asked, “Is your phone turned on? Shall we add each other as contacts and leave our numbers?” Ren Xinrou nodded, took out her phone, turned off airplane mode, and had Xin Jiajiao scan to add her. They saved each other’s numbers. “I don’t want to take the shuttle. Do you want to walk with me?” Xin Jiajiao said. “Okay.” Ren Xinrou replied briefly, very different from the cheerful demeanor she had on the plane. Xin Jiajiao didn’t suspect Ren Xinrou had switched cores— they had only known each other for twelve hours and didn’t know each other well enough to notice anything strange. The last passengers had already gone down the stairs and out the door. Xin Jiajiao stood up, desperate to get out. “Let’s go!” Ren Xinrou followed behind her unhurriedly, and the two put some distance between them. Standing on the stairs, Xin Jiajiao shouted to the passengers inside the shuttle, “Don’t take the shuttle! It’s dangerous!” At the same time, several passengers who hadn’t boarded saw zombies with intestines hanging out coming toward them and screamed in terror, “Those people have intestines hanging out! No jaws! Still moving! What is that?!” Inside the shuttle, passengers who had turned on their phones to receive calls or seen the news shouted, “Close the doors! Close the doors! Press the close button!” Xin Jiajiao sobbed as she cried out, “Don’t take the shuttle! The bus stops are full of zombies!” The flight attendants poked their heads out to look down from the plane and saw three zombies with mangled faces and intestines hanging from their stomachs. They screamed in fright, “Ah! Ah! Captain! Captain! Help!” The shuttle doors had already closed, and just like in the book, no passenger paid attention to Xin Jiajiao. The autonomous shuttle sped more than a hundred passengers toward the bus stop swarming with zombies. Xin Jiajiao was frantic but knew she was powerless. She shouted to Ren Xinrou, “Let’s go!” Ren Xinrou stood by the aircraft door’s fire equipment box, glanced indifferently at the terrified flight attendants, took out two fire extinguishers, and rushed down the stairs. Fortunately, in her original life she was born into a military family and, influenced by her soldier grandfather, kept up daily running and exercise; otherwise she really couldn’t have carried the extinguisher for so long. Ren Xinrou placed one of the extinguishers into Xin Jiajiao’s arms. Xin Jiajiao struggled to catch the extinguisher, understanding what Ren Xinrou intended. Xin Jiajiao was frail compared to Ren Xinrou’s 168 cm; she was only 158 cm. With thin arms and legs, it took great effort for one hand to lift the extinguisher. She couldn’t bear to drop it either; she hugged the extinguisher with both hands and followed Ren Xinrou closely, thinking at least she could use it to smash a zombie—one smash was better than none. Ren Xinrou didn’t spray the extinguisher at the zombies. She raised it with both hands and struck the zombies’ heads with the hard bottom of the extinguisher. After humans turn into zombies, their skulls become fragile; after being struck three times in succession, a zombie’s head was reduced to a lump of red-and-white shattered bone mush. The flight attendants could hardly believe their eyes. Covering their mouths to hold back screams and nausea, each of them trembled like a sieve with terror. Such graceful, pretty girls were acting so brutally, without hesitation—smashing three zombies’ heads in a row. They weren’t sure if it was their imagination, but the corner of Ren Xinrou’s mouth had just twitched. What an evil girl! Xin Jiajiao’s big round eyes opened wide like copper bells. She had lived a previous life and had seen many women hack zombies; she herself had shot zombies in the head with a gun. But she had never seen a woman like Ren Xinrou—calm in the face of zombies, smashing a zombie 　　Xin Jiao Jiao was stunned for two seconds, then hurried to keep up with Ren Xinrou and ran toward the exit. Flight attendants and two male captains carried thermoses, fire extinguishers, brooms and mops, and stainless steel trays as they headed downstairs, closely following Ren Xinrou. They had a premonition: if they stuck close to this vicious girl, they might make it out of the airport alive. Ren Xinrou and Xin Jiao Jiao ran toward the passage leading to the first-floor departure hall. In her previous life, Ren Xinrou had gone to the airport to look for food and aviation fuel. She knew well that fire cabinets were installed everywhere in the airport—there was one in every corridor. Unlike the ones on the plane, the corridor fire cabinets held long-handled fire axes. An axe was more useful than a fire extinguisher. Ren Xinrou glanced disdainfully at the extinguisher in her hand; it was smeared with blood and brain matter, dripping onto her white sneakers. “My shoes!” Ren Xinrou frowned. Xin Jiao Jiao panted as she ran, reminding her, “There are still lots of living people hiding in the departure and boarding halls—there must be many zombies gathered in there!” Ren Xinrou didn’t answer; if there were living people inside the airport, the passage itself probably wouldn’t be crawling with zombies. The book recorded that Xin Jiao Jiao had also fled the airport through the passage, but she hadn’t used an axe to fight her way out. The reason was a bit comical: Xin Jiao Jiao was too weak to handle the axe properly, and because she was short, she couldn’t strike the taller zombies effectively. After failing to fell two zombies, the axe got stuck in a zombie’s head and couldn’t be pulled free, so she had to give up using it. What she encountered along the way wasn’t described in detail—the author had said all Plot were for flesh, so the narrative in the book was rather sloppy. Only the erotic parts were written with great detail, so detailed they left one side of Ren Xinrou’s face feverish and nosebleeding. In the corridor, only two zombies ambled slowly toward the airside. Judging by how fresh the flesh looked, they had been bitten to death recently. If a living person is bitten but doesn’t die immediately, they turn into a zombie in eight to ten hours, during which they will run a fever and sweat. If someone is bitten and dies shortly after, corpse transformation happens in about ten minutes. The zombies now moved slowly, only a little faster than a walk. As long as they weren’t swarmed, stayed calm, and kept their eyes open, people could avoid the zombies and escape. But at the start of the apocalypse, not many people could stay calm when faced with the blood-smeared mouths of zombies. The more panicked, the more chaotic; the more chaotic, the faster one died. Ren Xinrou didn’t rush to smash the zombies—bashing them took too much effort; she needed to conserve her strength. Her gaze fixed on the fire cabinet two meters behind the zombies. She would kick the zombies aside and grab the axe. A zombie stood up and opened its blood-stained maw, moving toward Xin Jiao Jiao. Chapter 4 Airport Escape 2 At least in her previous life Xin Jiao Jiao had seen the world; though scared, she wasn’t hysterical. She heaved the extinguisher up, trying to smash the zombie’s head. Unfortunately, the zombie was tall and she was too short—she only hit its chest. Clang! The extinguisher fell. The zombie she struck only staggered back two steps, and another zombie lunged forward. Xin Jiao Jiao whimpered and blurted out, “Big brother, help~” while running toward Ren Xinrou. “…” The six people following behind stared in disbelief, half afraid and half wanting to laugh. “Big brother”—Ren Xinrou had already grabbed the axe and walked toward the zombies at an unhurried pace. She tightened her grip with both hands and swung the axe at a zombie; with one blow, half its head split open. “Whoa~” The six flight crew members all cried out in unison, briefly overwhelmed by the horror of the scene. After the shout, they snapped back to reality and bent over, violently retching. The sound of the extinguisher hitting the ground had been so loud it attracted the attention of several nearby zombies. They roared and came this way. 　　Zombies roar excitedly when they encounter living people, like shouting “Food here.” Therefore, the roar of a zombie finding food creates a chain reaction; nearby zombies will understand and gradually converge, forming a horde. Ren Xinrou looked at the two male captains—Americans who could speak Chinese. “Get the axes and swing hard,” Ren Xinrou said briefly, then turned to hack at the zombies already within arm’s reach. She didn’t like having burdens trailing her, and she couldn’t be bothered to protect anyone. If they wanted to follow, fine; they could leave anytime, or die anytime. She wouldn’t save them and wouldn’t feel regret. The Americans had mandatory military service; the two captains had been soldiers and handled guns. They quickly gathered their wits: to survive they needed to be quiet and swiftly neutralize the “enemy.” The two captains exchanged a nod and formally entered combat mode, grabbing axes from a nearby fire cabinet as they passed. The corridor led to the passenger terminal where luggage was claimed—the departure hall. More and more zombies gathered and walked toward them. Ren Xinrou narrowed her eyes, a cold light flashing, quickly scoped out the surroundings and found a target: the elevator to the garage, and beside the box elevator she spotted an escalator leading to the garage. She chose the escalator to the garage—quiet and fast. Zombies usually congregate outside box elevator doors; the opening and closing make noise. Xin Jiaojiao knew this too and kindly warned, “We can’t take the box elevator.” “Mm.” Ren Xinrou grunted softly and charged at the zombies. She swiftly kicked, knocked down and shoved several zombies; they fell back, giving her enough time to hack at those lunging for her. More and more zombies roared and surged at them—obviously, for now their speed couldn’t match human strides. A flight attendant behind stumbled, her foot grabbed by a zombie, and she fell. A fellow attendant tried to pull her up but was dragged down; both were bitten. The fresh blood excited the zombies; seven or eight quickly pinned them to the ground and started eating. The bitten attendant screamed for help: “Help me! I don’t want to die!” They were looking at Ren Xinrou. The two American captains were much clearer-headed and didn’t foolishly try to help; they shouted at the two stunned, helpless attendants, “Come on! We can’t save them!” Ren Xinrou didn’t look back—she didn’t even make the motion to—she ran straight for the escalator. In this world, no one was familiar to her; no one had the right for her to save, to care about, or to waste effort on. As for the heroine, Ren Xinrou glanced at Xin Jiaojiao who was keeping pace beside her. She would be the base commander’s wife someday; maybe one day she could be useful. Lending a hand so Xin Jiaojiao owed her a favor wasn’t out of the question. The zombies on the lower level weren’t as dense as in the departure hall, but there were still many. Fortunately, cars with open doors were everywhere; usually with such cars, the keys would be nearby. Owners had opened their doors and were dragged away by zombies before they could get in; the keys naturally fell close by. Ren Xinrou didn’t hop into just any car; if time allowed, she’d pick one she liked. She preferred tall vehicles—vans or off-road jeeps—with better driving visibility and enough power to plow through zombies. The two captains didn’t know why Ren Xinrou wasn’t getting into a car; they thought she was looking for her own vehicle. They found a car with keys, quickly got in and started it, and rolled down the window to shout to Ren Xinrou, who was still searching for her car: “Get in! There’s a group of zombies coming this way!”Xin Jiaojiao hesitated for half a second. Seeing dozens of zombies about to surround her and Ren Xinrou, she hurriedly opened the rear door and got in. “Ren Xinrou! Get in!” Ren Xinrou, unusually responsive, shouted, “You go ahead! Xin Jiaojiao! We’ll meet again!” Suddenly remembering something, Ren Xinrou ran around to the back of their vehicle. Xin Jiaojiao was anxious. Zombies were already surrounding their car and she couldn’t stop Ren Xinrou from leaving. The pilot drove slowly, plowing through the horde and leaving the parking lot. “Don’t worry about your friend. She’s tough—she’ll survive,” the Asian flight attendant in the back seat comforted her. The other blonde flight attendant also spoke fluent Chinese, trying to soothe Xin Jiaojiao. Xin Jiaojiao nodded weakly. Right now her priority was to rendezvous with her brother’s group. She still had many things to do, and many enemies to avenge! Zombies scattered along the road from the airport wandered aimlessly. Hearing the engine, they turned and lunged at the car. Survivors who had escaped from inside the airport were running desperately behind their vehicle, clutching wounds and yelling for help, begging them to stop and take them. The American pilot was clearly not foolish; he pressed the accelerator harder. Xin Jiaojiao looked out the window. Endless fields stretched on both sides of the airport road. She felt deeply moved—this lush green scene wouldn’t last much longer. She prayed for Ren Xinrou’s safety: “Until we meet again, Ren Xinrou.” Chapter 5 — Grandpa Ren Xinrou circled back and returned to the airfield. The 20-kilometer airfield—only a few zombies wandered with their heads down on the ramps and runways. Driving a baggage cart, Ren Xinrou headed at speed toward her first stash point. People in the boarding and waiting areas were holding off the zombies, leaving the airfield empty and clear. A summer breeze brushed Ren Xinrou’s face. She tugged the corner of her mouth and murmured to herself, “Let’s experience the joy of being a hamster.” Amid the surrounding silence and physical relaxation, she finally felt her phone vibrating in her shoulder bag. She took it out. The incoming call displayed a name: “Dear Grandpa.” Ren Xinrou hit the brakes and stared at the screen in a daze. “Grandpa… ” Her heart was a jumble of emotions. Guilt, fear, loss, grievance. He wasn’t her grandfather from her previous life, but they looked exactly the same. Both were excellent veterans, both had returned to the village to serve as village chief. Sixty-four was retirement age, but at the village’s strong request he remained cheerfully on as a kindly old chief, advocating for the people. Everyone for miles around knew his name: Smiling Buddha. Even the nickname was the same. The call stopped. The screen showed more than twenty missed calls—mostly from Grandpa, according to the log. Ren Xinrou remembered her own grandfather. In her previous life, her greatest regret was not holding his hand tight enough. Her grandpa had been bitten by zombies and covered in blood. Holding his already dying wife, he cried out, “Rou Rou! Take care of yourself! Don’t be afraid! Live well! You will become the strongest female warrior! Don’t cry! Run!” Before the apocalypse, she had aspired since childhood to join the army, to become an ace like her father—she wanted to be a female war hero. But after the end came, she least wanted to be a soldier. Her biggest wish was to break free from the army, from rigid military rules and “serving the people.” The people after the apocalypse were mostly lazy and selfish—undeserving of rescue or care. The phone rang again. Ren Xinrou wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes and pressed answer. “Grandpa.” “Rou Rou!””My Rou Rou! Thank God! Are you all right? Have you gotten off the plane? Were you bitten? Where are you?” Ren Yiyong’s voice was anxious as he fired off several questions. That familiar voice made Ren Xinrou’s suppressed longing burst out like a flood. “Grandpa!” Ren Xinrou sobbed, calling repeatedly: “Grandpa! Grandpa!” Eighteen years of longing, eighteen years of regret, eighteen years of pain—all of it suddenly released at this moment. “Don’t cry, don’t cry! Rou Rou, be good! Don’t be afraid! Tell Grandpa where you are now! Grandpa will drive to pick you up at once! Grandpa will carry Guan Gong’s great blade to get you!” Ren Yiyong hurriedly tried to comfort her, not forgetting to make a joke to cheer his granddaughter. Ren Xinrou sniffed, holding back, and said, “Don’t come! Grandpa, I’ve already gotten off the plane and I’m on my way back! Don’t run around! If you’re bitten by a zombie you’ll turn into one! How’s Grandma?” Ren Yiyong let out a heavy breath, his voice choked: “She woke up this morning and turned into a man-eating thing. I’ve locked her in the first-floor bathroom.” Ren Xinrou’s heart leapt into her throat; she asked in a panic, “Grandpa, were you bitten?” Ren Yiyong sighed again, “No. A few days ago your grandma suddenly decided to get dentures, so she had both rows of rotten teeth pulled out. When she bit me this morning she couldn’t get any hold.” “……” It should have been a time for mourning, but for some reason what her grandfather said made her want to laugh. Before Ren Xinrou could think of words to comfort him, Ren Yiyong continued, “Don’t be sad, we should be glad! Your grandma is timid—she didn’t have to see old Liu next door eat his daughter-in-law’s intestines. That scene—ugh—it scared me so much I nearly shat myself! If your grandma had seen it, she’d have a heart attack and died of fright. It’s better like this; she woke up and could just go to the underworld and be reborn. Don’t be sad, be good, Grandpa will wait for you to come back!” Ren Xinrou had no reply. The apocalypse was cruel, bloody, and ugly. Danger could come at any moment, from zombies or from other people; the dead were indeed luckier than those struggling to survive. The dead are gone; nothing more can be said. Her grandfather had a broad heart and surely didn’t need her words of comfort. Ren Xinrou changed the subject, “What’s the situation in the village now?” “The village is okay. Our village is made up of single households; every house has a wall. Most of the turned people are locked inside their homes. The living are either hiding in rooms and don’t dare go downstairs, or they’ve already driven away. I checked the village group just now—only a few zombies were walking on the village road.” Ren Yiyong paused, then continued, “There’s a factory area next to our village, with a dense population. I estimate there are quite a few turned people there. Did you drive back by yourself? Do you have any handy weapons?” Ren Xinrou answered, “I drove back and I have a fire axe.” “Be careful when you pass the factory area. Drive slower. If you’re going too fast and hit a zombie and your car fails to start, it’ll be worse.” Ren Xinrou gave a half-smile, “Grandpa, you’re so clever. I’ll be careful. There are a lot of obstacles on the road so I might be late getting back. Don’t worry and keep in touch.” Ren Yiyong instructed, “Okay. If there are no zombies around the little shop at the village entrance, pick up a few packs of cigarettes for me. Remember, stay alert at all times! If something feels wrong, run!” “Okay! Golden shell Yunyan, right?” Ren Xinrou confirmed. “Right. If there’s no Yunyan, any other will do. Grandpa will wait for you to bring the cigarettes back!” Ren Yiyong hung up, walked to the first-floor bathroom door, and shouted to his wife inside, “Rou Rou is safe! Don’t worry! I can see this world isn’t going back to normal! We have to teach her to be brave and save herself!”Ren Yiyong spoke firmly, but inside he was full of worry for his granddaughter: “If she can’t get through coming home, life will be hard for her from now on! Better I go down early to keep you company! I’ll go down with her to keep you company!” “Ah—! Hah—” A sharp scream came from the toilet. Ren Yiyong wiped the tears from his cheek. “She used to scream at me every day when she was alive. Well, now you don’t have to hold back—you can scream at me endlessly. Go on, scream. I’ll go catch a chicken for you to eat.” Ren Yiyong’s hair was already completely white, but his back was straight. Twenty years after leaving the army, he still carried a soldier’s bearing—strong and spirited, immediately recognizable. He tossed a chicken into the toilet, brought out a whetstone from the storeroom and a dust-covered cloth bag. He unwrapped the layers of cloth; two large machetes lay inside. The non-slip hemp wrapping around the handles was worn and damaged; a bright red strip of cloth still tied to the loop at the end of one handle. With a cigarette in his mouth, Ren Yiyong muttered to the knives: “Back then my father carried you to kill the Japanese pirates. Now I let you see daylight again—come with me and my granddaughter to kill zombies. Will you do it?” “Hmm, no answer means you agree! Work well—later I’ll burn three incense sticks for you to eat!” —– Chapter 6: Airport Windfall Ren Xinrou hung up the phone and sat in the car for a long time. She had thought she could treat this world like a single-player game—play alone, wander alone, fight monsters and level up alone. When tired of it, when bored of it, she’d feed a bullet to her own head. Now, suddenly, she had someone to care about, a reason to move forward. She would save her grandfather; she would care for him until the end in this life! She would make up for the regrets of her past life! Ren Xinrou organized her thoughts, confirmed the general direction ahead. Her indifferent eyes held determination as she started the car and drove toward the hangar. There was one thing in the hangar that was extremely important in this mutated apocalypse. Aviation fuel. Two months into the apocalypse, there would be a sulfuric acid rain that would corrode metal on the ground—cars, power stations, signal towers—and the world would plunge into darkness. Sulfuric rain corrodes metal but doesn’t affect skin and rubber much. Oil companies store fuel in metal tanks; once acid rain contacts the oil, it can ignite and explode. The novel mentioned that at petroleum companies nationwide—gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel—airplanes, cars, metal fuel tanks—if acid rain corroded and ignited them, all would explode and be destroyed. Fuel in this book’s world was scarcer than food. Especially aviation fuel. Gasoline could still be scavenged from abandoned cars in underground garages, but aviation fuel wasn’t stored everywhere. Military rescue depended on helicopters. A month into the apocalypse, with cars strewn across the roads, land rescues became slow and difficult—helicopters were far more convenient for evacuation. “The amount of stored fuel and weapons determines a base’s prosperity and safety. Those with large reserves are kings,” Ren Xinrou recalled from the book. She didn’t want to build a base, nor even form a team. She only had an immense, limitless warehouse—might as well stock up. With enough bargaining chips, she and her grandfather would do well at any base. Ren Xinrou parked outside the hangar. After getting out, she scanned front and back—no zombies appeared. She struck the car body with an axe, using the sound of metal hitting metal to draw any zombies inside the warehouse’s attention. Five minutes passed with no sign of zombies and no roars. She glanced back; a dozen or so zombies were moving slowly several kilometers away. She ran into the hangar and stowed every fuel truck labeled “aviation fuel” into her space. 　　Even the empty tanker trucks weren’t spared. Tankers could carry fuel, be used to run over zombies, or even block doors. She found a back door in the warehouse; when she stepped outside, the sight made her jubilant. Eight cylindrical storage tanks six stories high stood behind the hangar. Fuel drums and storage tanks at airports are bolted to the ground; she assumed she’d have to break the steel frames holding the tanks to take them into her space. Unexpectedly, the space’s power made her laugh aloud. She put her hand on a tank and directly brought it into the space along with the steel frame and screws anchoring it to the ground. After the acidic rain, she could use aviation fuel to trade with the base for anything she needed, including weapons and ammunition. Ren Xinrou didn’t dally. She got in the vehicle and opened her phone map to look for aviation fuel companies. There was a petroleum company in the southern city, but no aviation fuel supplier. To the north, in An City, there was the nation’s second-largest aviation fuel group. Looks like she’d need to go out of town today. It was the first day of the apocalypse; survivors would hide where they were. If she went to the company to take tanks now, she would inevitably be seen, maybe even filmed. Being strong didn’t mean being recklessly foolish. If her godlike space were discovered, it would invite envy and trouble. Ren Xinrou immediately ruled out going to the petroleum company or the aviation fuel company. “As long as I get them before the acid rain comes, there’s no rush. First stockpile fresh perishables—that’s the priority.” She drove the large tanker truck and smashed through the heavy iron gate at the hangar exit. The deafening noise triggered the frenzy of zombies in the departure hall. In the terminal—restrooms, duty-free shops, supermarkets—many survivors were hiding. They hoped the sound signaled military rescue, but they died without seeing any help. In the apocalypse, if you don’t learn to save yourself, death will only come closer. “Wow~” Ren Xinrou cried out excitedly, plowing into and smashing the cars blocking her way. The apocalypse had just begun; there weren’t many abandoned cars on the road. With a smooth ride into the city’s second ring, Ren Xinrou already planned a few places to hit. First stop: Sam’s supermarket. Zombies and humans had just woken up; all shop doors were closed, supermarkets included. Ren Xinrou went to a hardware store and a sports equipment shop and grabbed what she needed. Sam’s supermarket was on B1 of the Wangu Shopping Mall; only the underground garage entrance was open. The surrounding shops and entrances were all closed. There was an open-air plaza on the mall’s first floor with several pedestrian entrances; a thigh-thick steel bollard fixed into the ground blocked vehicles from entering the plaza. Ren Xinrou could only park on the road by the plaza. She pulled on a hoodie and black sunglasses to disguise herself as much as possible. Scattered nearby, zombies slowly approached at the sight of the moving vehicle. Ren Xinrou smashed the glass of the McDonald’s on the first floor; the window was tied to the alarm system, which screamed harshly. She quickly jumped inside and used the McDonald’s back door connected to the mall’s first floor to get into the mall. Then she shut the door tight to stop zombies from climbing into McDonald’s and entering the mall. She took a couple of steps, then suddenly stopped. Ren Xinrou turned back into McDonald’s and emptied the freezer of fried chicken, fries, buns, and all kinds of ready-to-cook foods, then went to the storeroom and took all the ingredients, including paper cups and disposable food containers. “Wasting resources is shameful,” she muttered, even taking the ice cream machine. The anti-theft alarm was still blaring, but Ren Xinrou didn’t bother silencing it. She reckoned she could grab everything and leave before the zombies surrounded the whole building. 　　Also, there were zombies surrounding the mall, which would effectively prevent others from coming here to scavenge in the early stages. If someone did enter the mall and found it empty, maybe some meddlesome person would check the surveillance cameras. To avoid trouble, it was better to let the zombies cut off other people’s escape routes. Ren Xinrou went first to the basement level one, the Sam’s supermarket. The entrance to the Sam’s supermarket was closed with a mesh rolling door. Ren Xinrou took out a heavy pair of bolt cutters and cut a hole in the mesh door big enough for her to enter. She didn’t stroll around leisurely with a shopping cart; she ran and collected supplies, taking the entire product shelves into her space. Frozen dumplings, meat pies, tangyuan, dairy section, deli, drinks — even the freezers were all moved into the space. She didn’t have time to test whether the space prevented melting or spoilage; she would store first and throw away any spoiled food later. She needed to race against time now: clothes, shoes and socks, food across four floors were waiting for her to gather. In the supermarket, the vegetables, fruits, and meat that hadn’t sold the previous day were all stored in the cold storage and preservation rooms. She found the cold storage and, as before, took the racks inside into the space as well. After clearing out the supermarket, Ren Xinrou went to the warehouse connected to the supermarket’s back door; she didn’t look into each pile of boxes to see what was inside, she just took them. “I’ll sort it out at home later.” Ren Xinrou glanced at the space; she’d just stored the supermarket and a warehouse, plus several building-sized fuel tanks, but she couldn’t tell how much smaller the space had become. She didn’t observe closely, but guessed the space might be larger than this whole city? Chapter 7 Took Over an Entire Shopping Mall Ziiing~ The phone in her bag vibrated. Ren Xinrou answered the call: “Hello—Grandpa.” Ren Yiyong asked, “Rou Rou, where are you? Why aren’t you home yet?” “I’m in the city, Grandpa. I’ll definitely be home before dark, okay?” Ren Xinrou didn’t explain the reason. There was a few seconds of silence on the other end, then Ren Yiyong replied, “Come back whenever you like, just be careful, don’t show off, and don’t bring a bunch of strange people to the village! The village is small, it can’t house our ancestors!” Ren Xinrou hadn’t expected her thrifty grandpa to be so sensible, reminding her not to rescue irrelevant people. “Okay! Grandpa, I absolutely won’t act tough! I won’t go save anyone! I’ll come back in a few days!” “……” Silence returned on the other end of the line. Ren Xinrou looked at her phone; her grandpa hadn’t hung up. “Hello? Grandpa?” “Rou Rou, taking liberties is an illness, and it needs treating,” Ren Yiyong said lazily. “……” Ren Xinrou scratched her head, unsure how to reply. Ren Yiyong continued, “There’s nothing to do at home right now. Don’t use a small car to hoard things. Find a bigger truck to stock up on food, preferably one with a freezer. Get more meat. If you can’t find that kind of truck, just stock more salted meat.” Ren Xinrou was surprised—her thrifty grandpa had guessed she was going to hoard supplies; on second thought, that made sense. She wasn’t going out to save people, and wandering alone instead of going home surely wasn’t to blow up a bank. Ren Yiyong went on with his instructions: “Stock up on food that keeps. Go to the farmers’ market to hoard food, and get some vegetable seeds too. If there’s a field at home, you won’t run out of vegetables. The north district farmers’ market has a ground floor that sells dry goods; they have all kinds of dried vegetables. Get some and bring them home—this stuff keeps…” Ren Xinrou patiently listened to her grandpa recite the long shopping list and recorded every item without missing a word. 　　”Rou Rou, text grandpa every day to let him know you’re safe. Grandpa has to organize people to seal off the village’s exits. Before you come back, report to me first — don’t post in the group. Remember, don’t tell anyone in the village that you’re stockpiling food. If you do, I’ll pretend I can’t reach you.” Ren Yiyong’s last reminder came before he hung up. Ren Xinrou understood what her grandfather meant. They had a whole truck of food; villagers might morally coerce them into handing things over. If she clearly contacted grandpa but kept not coming home, people would easily guess why. With her grandfather’s backing she didn’t need to rush; she could take her time picking what to hoard. The first floor of the mall was jewelry and cosmetics — the money-making floor for women. Ren Xinrou ran straight up to the second-floor clothing section. She didn’t wear makeup or jewelry; in the apocalypse, a gold bracelet wasn’t worth as much as an apple. It was summer, so men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing and shoes were all spring-summer styles. In this apocalyptic world, after the acid rain the water sources were contaminated — too acidic to drink. Washing clothes with polluted water left them smelling sour and rotten. Ren Xinrou hesitated for only two seconds before putting all the clothes from the apparel section into her space, regardless of size or gender. Change clothes at will, toss them at will. She suddenly remembered that in her last life, when she went to the mall for supplies, she and her teammates had found a gigantic warehouse near the edge of the underground first and second floor parking lots. The warehouse was divided into dozens of small storage units for the shops upstairs to use. Mall stores weren’t big; they couldn’t hold much stock, so there had to be a nearby warehouse to store goods for restocking. She needed to check the underground garage later; the warehouse might have padded coats and shoes. Passing several mother-and-baby shops, she stood at a doorway hesitating for a long time before going in. She couldn’t figure out why she was doing this. She didn’t want to have children, didn’t want her child to grow up in such a bloody, murderous world. The baby shop displayed tiny, adorable baby clothes. Milk powder cans had cute colorful prints. Diaper and wet-wipe packages with soft, chubby little bottoms made her want to put them into her space. Milk powder would be very useful in the late apocalypse. Newborns needed rations and nutrition; later she could trade milk powder and baby food for other things. Thinking that, she stored things even more enthusiastically. She turned back to the children’s clothing store she had missed and packed everything into her space — all sizes, boys’ and girls’ clothes alike. On the second floor there was an arcade with many claw machines. On a whim, Ren Xinrou put all the claw machines into her space, not understanding what use the plush toys would be. They couldn’t kill zombies, they couldn’t fill a stomach, and they couldn’t be worn. “Hmm… when it’s cold you could stitch them together as a quilt?” She thought of the heroine Xin Jiao Jiao and clicked her tongue. “It’s kinda useful. Xin Jiao Jiao has thirty-odd kids — she could give them as gifts.” Ren Xinrou ran up to the third floor: the mall food court. Chinese, Western, snacks, hot pot, buffets, international cuisines — everything was there. Since they were food shops, freezers would surely have stock. An hour had passed since she started putting supermarket freezer items into her space; the frozen dumplings were still frozen. The space must preserve freshness. Ren Xinrou wove through the shops, taking all the food she saw — including seasonings. It turned out hoarding and shopping really did release dopamine. After surviving eighteen years of the apocalypse, she’d never felt as relaxed and happy as today. “Even if this is just a dream or a fantasy before death, it’s fine. A visit like this is satisfying!”Ren Xinrou bit into an apple; the sweet-and-sour juice ran down her throat, nourishing her bland stomach. The corners of her mouth couldn’t help but lift. The fourth floor held a cinema and an escape-room; the popcorn and drinks in the theater weren’t worth the effort of prying open the shutters. Having filled her stomach and rested a while, she slowly went downstairs. Back on the first floor, she looked around, took several deep breaths, and, smelling a fragrant floral scent she couldn’t identify, fell into thought. She remembered the rotten stench she’d endured for eighteen years, remembered her sun-darkened skin. None of the ten-odd uncles around her knew to use sunscreen, and because they raised her, she didn’t know about skincare or makeup either. “Stock up on some perfume, spray it on the bedding when the extreme cold comes, then grab some skincare—sunscreen?” Ren Xinrou gathered all the daily toiletries from the first floor into her space. Scented candles were her favorite thing to collect—able to provide light and fragrance, they were practical. Around the perimeter of the first-floor mall were shops: a rotisserie chicken place, Xing Jiu Ke, Xingrui Coffee, and a large chain pharmacy. Ren Xinrou entered the store through the back door to stock up, ignoring the zombies pressed against the front windows. The zombies stared at her, mouths open, hissing at her as if roaring, “I want to eat you!” The zombies that had originally gathered in front of McDonald’s gradually moved toward the store where she was. She quickly finished collecting things and returned to the mall. She glanced at the back door of McDonald’s not far away. Quite a few zombies had already crawled through the window she had smashed and were lying against McDonald’s glass back door, trying to break through. If more zombies gathered, the glass at the back door would surely be shattered. Chapter 8: Encounter with a Survivor Ren Xinrou’s current target was the shop warehouses in the underground parking lot; she didn’t care whether zombies would break into the mall. Behind Wangu Shopping Mall stood several office buildings belonging to the same development group as the mall. Therefore, the basement parking lots were connected. The office buildings surely housed many residents, which meant there would be no shortage of zombies in the parking lot. Ren Xinrou stood at the stairwell door, noting an evacuation map posted by the door. She memorized the layout of the underground garage, the positions of stairwells, elevator lobbies, and fire exits. On the edge of the map, a blank area was labeled “Storage Area.” She decided to go down to parking level B2 first. Escapees would go to B2 to get their cars; the zombies loitering there would likely follow the vehicles to B1, and those on B1 would follow the escaping cars toward the surface. Thus, she guessed, the zombies on B2 would be the fewest. Ren Xinrou gathered several fire axes from the mall and tucked a few fire extinguishers into her space as well. She began to miss the military machete she used in her past life—one slash could remove a head. A fire axe couldn’t always cut a zombie’s head off in one swing; sometimes it would remove half a skull and require another strike. Ren Xinrou sneered, glancing at the fire axe in her hand. “Food and clothes aren’t enough; I need to find some proper weapons.” She took three bottles of Bayberry lotion from her space and poured them over her body and head. She hoped the scent could temporarily mask her “human scent,” buying her some time to chop down any zombies she met along the way and preventing them from detecting fresh flesh and loudly calling to their companions. “Hoo—hoo—!” Ren Xinrou rubbed her nose and took a deep breath, nearly coughing from the lotion’s overpowering minty fragrance. She gently pushed open the stairwell door, hunched down, used a car for cover, and quietly surveyed the surroundings. There were indeed very few zombies on B2; the nearest one was still over twenty meters away. She bent and threaded between cars, quickly dispatching the nearby zombies. 　　Yagami floral water clearly had some effect, but the effect didn’t last as long as she’d imagined—or rather, she had underestimated the zombies’ sense of smell. Only two or three minutes had passed when a zombie caught the scent of human presence, lifting its snout and sniffing around as if judging, a faint “huh huh” sound coming from its mouth. Ren Xinrou translated its call in her head: “I think I smell meat? Is that meat?” A few zombie cohorts prowled around the sharp-nosed zombie; they tilted their heads and followed behind it, slowly coming toward Ren Xinrou. She quickly assessed the situation in her mind: these six zombies were very close to the ramp leading down to B1. Unless she could deal with them in three seconds, a prolonged howl would certainly attract the zombies near the ramp upstairs. She wasn’t sure how many zombies were on B1. Now she regretted acting on impulse. She should have found the monitoring room first and checked the garage before making a move. There was no time to go back. Ren Xinrou lay on the ground and slowly crawled from behind a car toward the six zombies. The process was perilous, but she managed to skirt around to the car behind the zombies. She got up from the ground, a few beads of sweat on her forehead. She was nervous—not because she doubted she could handle six zombies, but because it might draw a large horde and she’d lose the supplies in the two big warehouses. She was determined to get the stuff in those warehouses! Just as she bent down, ready to spring at the zombies, the curtain of the car window one meter away suddenly opened and a woman slapped the glass, shouting, “Help! Can you please pick up the car key that fell under the car for us? Please, I beg you!” Without half a second’s hesitation, the zombies turned their heads and opened their mouths, starting the hunting calls. Ren Xinrou stayed prone and continued to crawl away from that trouble spot. It was pointless to deal with the zombies now—the ones on B1 had already heard the noise and were moving downstairs. Five meters ahead of her was the ramp entrance to B1; she had to get across it quickly. If she ran fast enough, and with the idiots in the car acting as bait, the zombies wouldn’t follow her. Ren Xinrou hunched and sprinted. The man and woman in the car realized things were wrong and rushed out, but the zombies had already reached the hood; they didn’t have time to pick up the keys and panicked, following after Ren Xinrou. “…” Ren Xinrou frowned, straightened up, turned, and ran back to cut down the six zombies. After killing them she ran straight toward her destination without even glancing at the two idiots. She’d rather face a tide of zombies than meet other survivors. As she passed the ramp entrance, sure enough, the zombies from B1 were scrambling and rushing down. Going downhill was friendly to zombies who didn’t feel pain—faster than taking an escalator. “Ah! So many zombies!” the woman screamed in terror at the scene on the ramp. The man pulling her along cursed loudly, “Shut the hell up! If you hadn’t yelled earlier, the zombies wouldn’t have noticed! If they’d moved a few more meters, I could’ve gotten the key from the car!” Ren Xinrou ran in a straight line, slashing at zombies she met along the way; as long as she ran fast enough, she could shake off the two loudmouths behind her. The warehouses were within reach. There was no time to pry open doors and load things—she had to deal with the trouble behind her first. The woman, out of breath, cried, “A-Yi, I can’t run anymore!” “Run if you don’t want to die!” the man said, then let go of the woman’s hand and ran on his own. “A-Yi! Wait for me!” the woman grabbed his arm, trying to get support again. The man forcefully shook her off. “Don’t grab me! I only wanted to date you, not share death with you!”I wouldn’t be surprised at all if you died! Damn it! You idiot!” Ren Xinrou smiled as she ‘listened’ to the ‘show’ behind her while working. The man’s refusal to let the woman pull was correct—it’s like not grabbing someone who just slipped into the water: a person who just fell is very strong; trying to save them then will pull you in. The woman ran desperately, crying and pleading, “A-Yi! You said you’d protect me! Pull me along, I’m almost out of breath, I’m scared!” “I did say I’d protect you! But the premise is that you’re worth protecting! Since this morning you’ve nearly killed me several times, you damn—after I take you to a safe place don’t follow me around again!” The man called A-Yi mercilessly said words of breakup. “You bastard! I misjudged you! Fine, break up then! I don’t care!” The woman, at that moment, couldn’t help but show a ridiculous pride. “Thanks for not caring! You idiot!” the man shot back. Ren Xinrou listened to the quarrel with relish. She had seen countless scenes of lovers clinging together one moment and splitting the next in her past life—she’d witnessed far crueller and more horrifying breakups than this. When this man got out of the car he still held his girlfriend’s hand—relatively speaking he had some conscience in this apocalypse. Chapter 9 Observing the Space Ren Xinrou did not stop them from arguing in a scene like this; their voices were like flies compared to the zombies’ ‘radio’ calls. The louder they argued, the more zombies followed behind them; they were tasty bait now. The man wasn’t completely stupid—he crashed through the zombies to open an escape path. Ren Xinrou ran while slashing at the zombies coming toward them, her eyes searching for something. A few meters away on the ground was a car key. Ren Xinrou picked it up and pressed the unlock button. ‘Beep beep!’ The paired car was only a few meters away. She handed the key to the man: “Go! Don’t drive too fast—if you hit zombies at high speed the car might stall!” After this seemingly kind reminder, Ren Xinrou continued running and did not intend to get in the car. The man took the key, rushed to the car without hesitation, opened the rear door and shoved the woman in, then got in himself and shut the door, climbed into the front seat and started the car—all in one smooth motion. The car backed out of the spot; the horde was only half a meter from the vehicle, within reach of the bumper. More zombies were lunging at the front; the car moved only slightly faster than the horde behind, slowly heading toward the basement level B1. Clearly the man heeded the advice: if the car stalled and they were surrounded by hundreds of zombies, they’d only be waiting to die. At that moment Ren Xinrou had already slipped into the space, waiting for the horde to leave with the car. She wasn’t sure how long she could hide in the space—if it was only for a minute she would have to accept bad luck and fight her way out. Taking advantage of the time, she carefully examined the space. From where she stood it was more than ten meters to the stored goods. With a thought she stepped forward and was at the goods in one stride. “Being able to reach the destination in one step makes finding things pretty convenient.” Ren Xinrou looked around; the space did have boundaries, but the area was so large that the boundary walls seemed far away. The space wasn’t square; it was more like a circle. “Bigger than an international airport—what is this?” Ren Xinrou noticed a curtain shimmering with faint light on a nearby wall. She stood in front of the curtain and touched it with a finger; her finger passed through the light curtain, and she quickly pulled it back to check if anything was wrong with it. “Step through the curtain and you’re back in the real world?” Ren Xinrou calculated the time: the couple should have already reached B1 by now, and the horde would have followed closely up the stairs. She couldn’t hear the zombies’ sounds. 　　From inside the space she could hear sounds from outside; they were somewhat muffled, and she couldn’t tell which direction they were coming from. She stepped back a few paces and broke through the light curtain. What met her eyes was not the underground garage, but a large expanse of land. The area was much smaller than the storage area on the other side of the light curtain. She touched the S-shaped birthmark on her chest; the circle above the S was nearly twice as big as the one below. “So… the shapes of these two spaces match the birthmark,” Ren Xinrou muttered to herself. “Such a big piece of land, and I’m supposed to fetch water from outside to grow vegetables? What a pain! I’m not going to bother farming! I’ll just stock up on fresh vegetables and fruit these days — enough to eat for the rest of my life.” “Once I get home I’ll see if I can bring Grandpa in to do the planting,” she immediately changed her mind, planning to make her grandfather do the physical labor. In her previous life she had wandered alone for eight years. With no one to talk to, when she encountered a living person she still didn’t like to speak; gradually she got into the habit of talking to herself. That habit of talking to herself was hard to break, and Ren Xinrou kept muttering. She fetched a few bags of seeds from the stockpile area. That was the power of Sam’s supermarket: there was nothing you couldn’t think of, nothing you couldn’t buy. Besides live animals, it seemed they sold almost everything. She had even seen a few small solar batteries that could power electric fans. Ren Xinrou casually scattered the seeds on the soil, dedicating a small patch to each vegetable. She used a watering can to sprinkle some water — seeds need enough moisture to germinate. Before the apocalypse she and her grandparents had lived in the countryside; she knew how to grow vegetables. The original host’s memories also contained basic knowledge of farming and raising chickens. “Once they sprout, I’ll have Grandpa thin the seedlings, if he can come in,” she said. After germination, crowded seedlings fight for nutrients and the vegetables won’t grow big, so thinning is necessary — the most laborious step in planting. Ren Xinrou didn’t linger in the space long. Back in the garage, the area around where she stood was empty except for cars. She tugged at the corner of her mouth — a moving human bait worked best. She ran quickly toward the warehouse area and pried open a warehouse door. The warehouses had entrances at both ends; the long transport corridor’s sides looked like shops, each small unit fitted with a rolling shutter. She quickly pried open every rolling shutter she passed, like locusts swarming through — leaving nothing behind and taking everything into her space. Each clothing warehouse held plenty of autumn and winter garments, which should be enough for her to face the severe cold two years from now. The noise of the shutters drew a few zombies, but they posed no real threat to her. After gathering the goods, she ran via the fire escape down to B1. The “bait” was only responsible for leaving; it wasn’t meant to lure zombies to fill the entire garage for her. The vast garage still had many zombies wandering aimlessly. Some had moved down to B2, others were slowly making their way up to the ground floor; most remained “on standby” where they were. She couldn’t bring herself to give up such easy “fat sheep.” Food, drink, and supplies could be collected along the way, but it was summer now, and it was hard to find winter clothing outside. Apart from a few off-season specialty discount stores, there was no sign of coats or leather boots. She couldn’t afford to waste time searching clothing factories for offloaded coats and shoes — factories had many workers, and thus many zombies. She also didn’t want to spend time prying open every household door to rummage through wardrobes for warm clothes and quilts; it was time-consuming and laborious, and she actually disliked wearing other people’s used clothes. So she had to get the stock that was right within reach! Chapter 10: Crisis Ren Xinrou observed the situation in the parking lot through the glass window on the door. 　　There were too many zombies on B1; she couldn’t keep using the Eight Gods floral water trick and had to come up with another way to lure them away and buy herself time. And the noise of prying open the shutter would definitely attract zombies, no doubt about it. Ren Xinrou turned to look for the security office; usually a mall’s security room is set up on the first floor. She returned to the first-floor shopping mall and had just pushed open the fire door when a zombie hidden by the door lunged at her. Ren Xinrou reacted quickly, putting distance between them so they missed, and dispatched them in seconds. More and more zombies were coming toward her. She guessed blindly that McDonald’s back door had been forced open and the zombies had gotten in. The fire escape doors would soon be breached. If she shut a door and tried to avoid fighting, whether she ran upstairs or downstairs she could end up in a dead end or be caught in a pincer attack. Ren Xinrou locked the fire door behind her, likely cutting off the sounds of the zombies’ calls. If the zombies on B1 heard the noise and broke through their fire door to come up, facing a two-front attack would be even more troublesome. Ren Xinrou ran toward the most advantageous position, moving methodically and chopping carefully at the zombies that came at her one after another. Dodging and hacking, she worked her way to McDonald’s back door. She hurriedly shoved a car in front of it; three-quarters of the entrance was blocked, effectively preventing zombies from rushing into the mall. This jeep had been taken by her on B2, and she had the keys. “Figured you’d be useful for going out to hoard supplies,” Ren Xinrou said regretfully. She climbed onto the roof, swung the axe, hacking at the zombies closing in on the car as if chopping wood. “From now on, whether or not I have the keys, I should gather more cars — useful for blocking doors and roads. If I get the chance, grab some containers and seal off the village or city,” she thought. Her mindset was still stuck in a survival mode without spatial thinking; she hadn’t considered broader strategies. She needed to think about how to better utilize the advantages of space. The more zombie bodies piled up by the car, the higher the later zombies would be able to stand. On top of a 1.8-meter vehicle, the zombies’ hands could already reach Ren Xinrou’s shoes. Fortunately, since the apocalypse had just begun, the number of zombies that had gotten into the mall wasn’t too large and she had already killed most of them. After chopping off the two zombies clinging to the hood, Ren Xinrou nimbly jumped down, running and turning to cut down the remaining ones. She estimated she’d dealt with about a hundred zombies, and her wrists were beginning to ache. Killing zombies wasn’t as easy as chopping a watermelon. She had no supernatural powers, and this body wasn’t as strong as her previous life’s. Achieving this much with just an axe made her one of the better ordinary people. Ren Xinrou looked back once at the jeep she loved, then continued searching for the security office. It was well past lunchtime and she was exhausted from half a day’s exertion. She fought the hunger, thinking that once she finished with this batch she’d find a safe place to eat. The security monitoring room was a four-room-and-a-hall layout. The door stood open and it was empty inside. Ren Xinrou checked the rooms beside the monitoring room and was pleasantly surprised to find a pile of Y-shaped anti-riot tridents, a dozen or so riot shields, some helmets, flashlights, and anti-riot vests. The anti-riot kit (hehe) — for those who were too afraid to hack at zombies, the Y-shaped tridents could be used to push zombies away and assist teammates — very useful. “I’ll take these back for Grandpa, let him help me fight the monsters,” she said. The thought of Grandpa made everything feel so nice; no matter what she found, she couldn’t help but first wonder if it would suit him, if he’d like it, wanting to share it with him. Next, Ren Xinrou carefully checked the dozens of monitors covering the B1 parking lot. 　　There are the most zombies near the supermarket entrances and exits; this may be related to the commotion she caused earlier on the first floor. It seems the zombies here, like the ones in her world, have a “wireless transmission skill” that can pass through doors and walls. Ren Xinrou consulted the fire evacuation map and marked several combat points and evacuation spots. The phone in her backpack vibrated. She thought it was her grandfather; when she opened it, it was a message from Xin Jiaojiao: {Xinrou, are you okay? My brother and I are heading to Dongwan City by the sea. In a month Dongwan will set up a survivor base, it’s an official one. Do you want to come with us? My brother and I will leave Nanshi early the day after tomorrow.} Ren Xinrou replied: {I’m fine. I’m going to reunite with my family, so I won’t be coming with you.} The book clearly recorded that a month later, the government urgently established twelve coastal bases. A newly founded base simply couldn’t accommodate all the survivors; expansions and comfort improvements would only come later. Going there now would mean squeezing into a room with a bunch of survivors, possibly sleeping in tents on the road, and maybe not even getting through the base gate. When a base is newly established, the authorities focus on rescuing people and getting them into the base; there isn’t a proper screening system. Rescued survivors might already have been bitten by zombies and could hide the truth to enter the base. Therefore, biting incidents would occur inside the base every day. There would also be people fighting over food and water, beating others to death—inside the base is as dangerous as outside. Ren Xinrou planned to, before the acid rain comes, stockpile fuel and supplies along the way with her grandfather. They could wait until the base’s defenses and order were well-established before moving in. Moreover, persuading her grandfather to leave the familiar home might take some time. Xin Jiaojiao: {My brother’s name is Xin Shanyu. We’re half-siblings. If you come to the Dongwan base, you can register at the office and leave information for my brother; someone will notify us. My brother and I will look out for you!} Ren Xinrou: {Okay, see you later.} Xin Jiaojiao: {Bye~} Before putting the phone down, Ren Xinrou checked the village chat; the number of survivors was pitifully small. Her grandfather’s influence was strong; the four roads leading into the village were blocked with vehicles. Scrolling through the messages, sheRen Xinrou put her phone away and studied the surveillance footage one more time. The zombies were idly wandering in place. Often a zombie would bump into a car door handle and set off the alarm, drawing other zombies closer; when the alarm stopped, they would gradually disperse. Only half a day had passed since the apocalypse began, and survivors were no longer as frantic as they had been that morning. They thought only of driving to look for family or aid. Humanity had officially entered a period of “self-isolation,” everyone sealing themselves in place and waiting for rescue. They waited for official news, hoping the authorities would clear the virus and restore their lives to normal. Only a few farsighted and brave people dared to step out of their comfort zones to stock up on food and drink for the future. Those in “standby mode” only realized they needed to act when they ran out of food. But by that time, supermarket supplies would be scarce, travel increasingly difficult, and the hungry zombies’ sense of smell more acute. What awaited them was an even harsher survival mode. Chapter 11: Fat Sheep on Basement Level -1 Ren Xinrou took the map she’d drawn and went down the escalator to basement level -1. Beside the escalator was a glass wall, through which she could observe the parking lot. At the moment, there were few zombies gathered nearby. After she reached the vehicles, she quickly opened the door and stepped out. The surrounding zombies converged toward her; she did not hurry to kill them but allowed their howls to follow. She found the small van marked on her map. From the surveillance she had seen the window rolled down and a zombie in the driver’s seat clawing to get out, but only its hand protruded from the window. Ren Xinrou guessed the zombie was restrained by its seat belt. The keys had to be inside. Small vans were mostly manual; if the key wasn’t in the ignition, the window wouldn’t roll up. She quickly opened the door and killed the zombie inside. A zombie nearby was about to grab her clothing; she swung her axe in a backhand motion, swiftly unfastened the seatbelt on the vehicle zombie, and pulled it out. Ren Xinrou didn’t care about the bloodstains on the seat. She jumped into the van, closed the door, and pulled the window up. The first rule after getting in: lock the doors to prevent other survivors from opening them and pulling you out. The second rule: quickly check the back seat to make sure it’s safe, avoiding a surprise attack from a zombie. In her previous life she had experienced such a situation once. After getting in a car she casually glanced at the back seat and, thinking it safe, started the engine. A small zombie grabbed her arm and nearly bit her. In the apocalypse there weren’t many child zombies. Once a child was bitten, they basically couldn’t escape and would end up eaten down to the bones. That time had been the first time she had used a dagger to pierce a two- or three-year-old zombie; two lifetimes wouldn’t erase the memory of that adorable face with its terrifying eyes. After confirming it was safe, Ren Xinrou started the vehicle and honked to attract zombies, slowly ramming toward those lunging at the van. If she had been driving a tanker she wouldn’t have worried about bodies jamming the wheels and stalling the vehicle; the thick dual tires would have turned zombies into mince. But the tanker she had access to was over three meters high, and the underground parking had a three-meter limit, so it couldn’t be used. There were enough zombies behind the van that, at a bite each, they could have shared a whole pig. When the van reached the spot marked on her map, she taped a hammer to the horn button so the horn would keep blaring. The van stopped beside the side of a load-bearing wall, the front close to the wall and the rear adjacent to two parked cars. Ren Xinrou took out some Eight God floral water again, pouring all six bottles over herself at once. She glanced at the zombie head lying on the front passenger seat and sighed. 　　A moment later, Ren Xinrou climbed out through the passenger compartment window. She first jumped onto the roof of a nearby sedan. A taller van was parked behind the sedan, perfectly concealing her silhouette. She cautiously moved forward, bending past a row of cars along the wall. Her clothes and pants were smeared with brain matter; the metallic stench mixed with floral cologne into a sickly, strange odor. If zombies could still smell human presence under such a high-end scent, then she was doomed. Ren Xinrou scavenged a dozen or so SUVs and off-roaders along the way, taking the taller models for future use. The truck was three parking sections away from her “fat sheep warehouse,” with two weighing walls separating the parking zones in between. She circled around to the outside of the warehouse door without incident. A few tilting-headed zombies were wandering outside; before they could figure out what she was, their heads were already on the ground. Ren Xinrou glanced at the zombie corpses and immediately abandoned the thought that had just crossed her mind. There were methods she would only resort to in extremis—methods she preferred to avoid—such as hanging zombie entrails all over her body or smearing zombie blood on herself, even in her hair. Those tactics worked in the undead world of her previous life where there were no supernaturals; in this world, after the acid rain zombies’ senses were sharpened, smearing wouldn’t help. Right now she could briefly fool zombies with perfume; there was no need to use such disgusting measures on herself. She quickly pried open the rolling shutter and blocked the door with an SUV. The storage area was shaped like the character “目” with an entrance at both the front and back. She expertly opened every small storage unit’s door without a moment’s hesitation, taking everything into her space. Many zombies had gathered at the blocked entrance, pushing carts and calling for their companions—there’s food here! After securing the goods, Ren Xinrou stood on the roof to draw more zombies. When she saw the security-turned-zombie that had been wandering outside the other warehouse door, she jumped down and sprinted toward the other exit. The rolling shutter prevented her from seeing conditions on both sides; she could only judge the number of zombies behind the door by her years of escape experience. When the shutter opened, as she expected, there were only four howling zombies outside. She quickly took care of them. The number of zombies on the basement level was increasing; she didn’t have time to search for a drivable vehicle, so Ren Xinrou ran back to the mall’s first floor. She left via the outdoor plaza on the first floor. Now, a new location was added to her hoarding list: Auto City. She planned to stockpile many luxury cars that came with keys. “Look for a large road roller—it’s slow, but it’s as useful as a tank.” Standing inside the mall entrance, Ren Xinrou observed the outdoor plaza. There were many zombies, but fortunately most were gathered around McDangdang wandering. As long as she ran straight without lingering too long, getting into a vehicle would be no problem. If the plaza wasn’t blocked by stone bollards or steel pipe barriers, she could use a fuel tanker, smash through the doors and drive off, skipping the nerve-wracking race against time. After surveying the zombies, Ren Xinrou used binoculars to scan the residential complex across the road. She’d found the binoculars in the space’s stationery area; the view wasn’t very clear, but she could make out quite a few living people standing on the apartment balconies, looking around—some were filming the situation below the shopping center with their phones. Before the acid rain, the internet had been functioning; soon after, some young people began filming zombie-killing videos to attract attention. There were also many fools who started live streams while fleeing, only to broadcast themselves being eaten down to the bones. “The space can’t be exposed to people. If necessary, I’ll pretend my power is a space ability,” Ren Xinrou reminded herself. Once she passed through this door, she had to be extremely careful when taking out or storing large items. She studied the zombies pressed against the glass door, and one of them sparked an idea. 　　Ren Xinrou slipped into the space and rummaged through the cosmetics, hoping to find a bottle of black or brown foundation. In her previous life, she had never worn makeup, but she knew quite a few women who did and had picked up some basic knowledge by osmosis: to prevent makeup from coming off, you had to spray setting spray or use setting powder. After digging through everything, she pulled out a bunch of eyebrow powders whose shades suited her needs. When Ren Xinrou flashed out of the space again, her fair skin had turned black-brown; the black of her eyebrows was only a shade away from the black-brown skin, so the two could blend together. For realism, she carefully painted her neck, collarbones, arms, and hands black. She took off her very short shorts and changed into black long jeans and black leather boots. She swapped the smelly white T-shirt for a dirt-hiding black one. If it were night now, probably no one would be able to see her. Ren Xinrou didn’t realize how ridiculous her appearance looked at that moment. Chapter 12 — Confrontation Not far from the shopping center, the car’s fuel gauge alarm went off. She needed to find a gas station first. This afternoon she had to go to the farmers’ market and the auto city; both places were in the suburbs and the tank didn’t have enough fuel to get that far. Ren Xinrou drove onto the city’s Third Ring Road looking for a station. The Third Ring Road in the southern city was still under development. Where she was, there were few modern residential complexes nearby, and thus fewer residents and naturally fewer zombies on the road. Only one or two zombies wandered about, and there wasn’t a single moving vehicle in sight. At the gas station, a few cars were parked at the pumps; there were no zombies or people outside. The convenience store’s glass door was shut tight, shadows moving inside — it was unclear whether they were living people or zombies. Ren Xinrou parked at the front pump. She glanced at the convenience store; the people inside were staring at her too. She scanned the payment code with her phone and entered the amount. Just as she picked up the nozzle to start fueling, the convenience store door opened and a dozen men walked out laughing. Each of them was very strong, with sinewy muscles on their arms; even the shorter ones were well-built. They held pointed iron rods and machetes — machetes were already among the better weapons available. Before the apocalypse, knife control had been strict; military machetes couldn’t have flooded the market. Even those who had channels to buy guns and blades wouldn’t dare wave them around. A bald man whistled at Ren Xinrou; judging by his shameless stride he seemed to be the leader. “Hahahaha, look at this woman, so black! Pretty lady, just back from Africa? You’re like a lump of charcoal — if I touch you, will the powder rub off?” Ren Xinrou didn’t answer, didn’t even look at them. She gripped the pump and refueled the car, facing the road and watching the surroundings. “Oh! The black beauty is so cold~” someone near the bald man shouted. “Hey, where are you headed? Come with us,” the bald man spoke again. He licked his lips and murmured to his buddies, “This chick’s kind of funny-looking, but damn, what a body. Using her would be a blast. Want to try a gang-thing?” As he spoke, his eyes never left Ren Xinrou’s shapely figure. The brothers grew excited, whistling; some licked their lips with eager looks. Ren Xinrou didn’t panic at all — killing was not new to her. In her past life she had killed too many despicable villains to count. At that moment she was calculating when it would be least likely to encounter living people while hoarding fuel. Maybe going out at night to stock up on gasoline and diesel would be better. Hoarding fuel required containers; she needed to find empty oil drums. Any clean container of any material would do for fuel—where could she find barrels? Ren Xinrou’s cold shoulder made the bald man feel humiliated in front of his mates. 　　He shouted, “Beautiful lady! Times aren’t safe! Come with us and the brothers will make sure you stay unharmed. How about it?” Another short man shamelessly leered, “As long as you use your body to serve us every day, I guarantee you’ll still be going strong at a hundred! Ha ha ha~” Obviously, his meaning of “going” was something else. Ren Xinrou brought her thoughts back. The tank was full; she closed the fuel cap and casually asked, “Where are you going?” “To the outskirts, to the South City troops, poke around and pick up some weapons. Want to come? The brothers will take you!” The bald man’s lust in his eyes was blatant. The men’s leering looks didn’t surprise Ren Xinrou much; she didn’t take them to heart. She’d slipped into a little dirty book, where most of the burly men reacted to a woman like a dog that hadn’t drunk for days seeing a tub of water. The bald man’s words reminded her of the opening chapters. On the first day of the apocalypse, the heroine and her brother were helping the South City troops move weapons when they met over a dozen strong men holding military machetes who wanted to go with the troops. After asking, the male lead learned that on the way to the troops these men had found an overturned military truck on the highway. Dozens of military crates were scattered, a dozen boxes of machetes, and more than ten boxes of handgun ammunition. They said they only picked up the knives and didn’t dare take the guns. When the male lead arrived at the wreck, several boxes of handgun ammo were already empty. In fact, two people in that group had space-type abilities and had taken quite a lot of weapons without telling the male lead. Later, they followed the protagonists out of South City. Halfway through, they lusted after the heroine and almost gang-raped her, but the male lead rescued her in time, killing some and scattering the rest. After that, this group met the vicious supporting female and began living shamelessly like dogs serving the villainess. “Beautiful lady! Hungry? The shop has oden and hot buns. Fill your stomach with us and hit the road together~” The bald man snorted and laughed, looking utterly lecherous. He wasn’t worried the woman would see through their intentions; he was sure she couldn’t escape. He gave his brothers a look, and they slowly surrounded Ren Xinrou and her car. Ren Xinrou had only one thought: beat them to the weapons they’d left behind. She walked calmly around the front and approached the driver’s door. Suddenly a man shoved the door, slamming it shut again. Ren Xinrou turned; a murderous look in her eyes made the man flinch. He was stunned for less than half a second before receiving a vicious kick to the crotch. He doubled over, hands clamping his groin. Ren Xinrou quickly opened the door, got in, and locked it. The men rushed at her car. She had already started the engine, stomped the accelerator, and plowed into the two men standing in front, running right over them. Whether they’d end up maimed or in heaven, Ren Xinrou felt not a shred of guilt. “Trash isn’t worth sympathy.” The men were enraged and had no intention of letting her go. Ren Xinrou glanced at the rearview mirror; four cars were accelerating to block her. “Heh—” She sneered, floored the gas, and drove toward the city. The streets were full of zombies—the most manpower-efficient killing machines. Ren Xinrou made several sharp turns so the cars behind couldn’t react; the four vehicles missed the entrances one after another and had to reverse urgently to chase. The distance slowly grew. The zombies lining the sides of the road—originally circling a populated neighborhood—heard the noise and shuffled into the middle of the street. Collisions were inevitable; the front bumper was already mashed out of shape. Ren Xinrou had no intention of slowing. Her heart was dead silent, yet her chest pounded with excitement from the speed. 　　A red banner on a building not far away caught her eye; it read “Welcome to New Digital City!” “Digital City? What’s in Digital City? Phones, computers, speakers…” Ren Xinrou asked herself and answered, “Also walkie-talkies!” “The walkie-talkies Sam’s supermarket brought in, the ones in the security office, their range is only a kilometer. Maybe Digital City has better low-frequency radios?” Actually she preferred using military radios; their range was long and the signal relatively stable. If the military set up a few relays in the city, the communication range could even cross cities. “Another destination to add.” Digital City grew smaller in the rearview mirror, and the four cars chasing her drew closer. There wasn’t a trace of panic on Ren Xinrou’s face. If they hadn’t kept up, she’d worry they’d turned back to the base. “That car and its weapons are mine!” Ren Xinrou said with a roguish smile, suddenly turning into a narrow alley. This was an old neighborhood, with no gated entrance and no walls—just alleys wide enough for a single car. When she’d driven through from the other side of the complex a moment before, she had taken a quick look around. There were many living people in the neighborhood, the roads were narrow, and there were many zombies. Chapter 13: Breaking Free As soon as her car entered the alley, the zombies lingering there lunged at it. She slammed the accelerator, weaving the car through the community’s alleys, brushing past zombies. Once inside the alleys, she drove with one hand and checked the GPS with the other, quickly memorizing every road in the old complex. The bald man’s group kept close behind, refusing to let her go. The smile on Ren Xinrou’s lips widened as her car kept turning through the community, never leaving. The bald man sensed something was wrong. By the time he fully realized what was happening and tried to command his teammates to leave the neighborhood, his car had already crashed into the rear of the vehicle in front. ‘Bang! Bang! Bang!’ The four cars kept rear-ending each other in the alley. Zombies were pinned between the front and rear of the cars; ones with their waists severed sprawled on the hoods, reaching out and roaring. Ren Xinrou braked hard to a stop, quickly unbuckled, climbed out through the sunroof, swung her axe, dealt with the zombies in front of the lead car, and ran off the scene fast. The bald man pounded the steering wheel in fury, hitting the horn, which only further excited the zombies outside. Voices came over the walkie-talkies calling repeatedly, the brothers waiting for his response. “Brother Bald, what do we do now?” The driver in another car, Da Gun, shouted, “Behind Li Yi’s car is a mass of zombies, at least a hundred by estimate. The car can’t get out! That damn decoration artist is deliberately circling to lure the zombies to the car!” The bald man roared in anger, “Damn it! What else can we do now? We have to fight our way out!” Li Yi, driving at the back of the convoy, asked, “Xiao Cheng and Zhu Qi are badly injured; someone has to help them run!” There was silence on the walkie for a while. Seeing the zombies multiply, the bald man had to grit his teeth and order, “Whoever’s willing, go support them! I’ll lead with Bat and Duck; Li Yi, Da Gun, and A Jiu bring up the rear! The rest, watch the sides! Move!” The two injured men were sitting in the back seat of Li Yi’s car, clutching broken legs, their faces ashen—they had already seen their fate. Although they’d worked out together at the gym for years, it wasn’t as if they were brothers willing to die for each other. Before moving, Li Yi turned to them and said, “It’s not that I don’t want to take you with me! The situation outside is uncertain; no one knows if we can break out safely. Bringing you will only make moving harder! I’ll close the doors properly! Maybe we can draw away most of the zombies; you’ll have to find a way to reverse and break out yourselves! Brothers! If fate allows, we’ll meet again!””Before the people waiting for the car could respond, he and his companion in the front passenger seat opened the doors and left. True to their word, they shut the car door for the two of them—a courtesy after all the years they’d known each other. The two injured people exchanged bitter smiles, full of regret; they shouldn’t have risked their lives over an ugly woman. In this world, being a good person is hard, and being a bad person isn’t necessarily easy either. Ren Xinrou had long since vanished; the bald men had no intention of chasing her—none of them were sure they’d be able to keep themselves alive. At that moment Ren Xinrou was driving an electric sedan, headed toward the military base. She scanned along the way for a petrol car—the electric vehicle couldn’t travel through many cities. What annoyed her was that she had just hit a zombie with the car and the bumper had fallen off. “What kind of crappy car did I buy? Saving money for the environment—did the previous owner not care about their life?” Ren Xinrou cursed the car’s original owner. Because of her inadvertent ‘interference,’ she had solved a major problem for Xin Jiaojiao’s future. In the original story, the group of seventeen led by the bald guy failed to assault Xin Jiaojiao and were shot by the male lead; only nine survived. Afterwards, they teamed up with the malicious supporting female to play 1 vs 9, abusing their power and harming many innocent people. Now, only five had run out of the old community alive. Ren Xinrou didn’t know she had done a great deed that changed many people’s fates. From running so hard her makeup had been dampened by sweat and smeared. The benefit of black makeup is that you can just smear it a little, dab it on, pat it—your complexion evens out again—though the color was slightly faded. Ren Xinrou drove while checking herself in the mirror repeatedly, amused, laughing out loud at her own appearance. She couldn’t find the car she wanted along the way, but she wasn’t anxious—gathering weapons was more important than anything. She was growing increasingly dissatisfied with the axe; chopping was too slow and too blunt and would sooner or later get her into trouble. The map navigation wouldn’t mark the military location, but when Ren Xinrou checked the map she found a large blank area near the ring road. She followed the ring road and indeed found a military vehicle overturned by the roadside, with no zombies nearby. The cabin window was broken; inside were two soldiers in camouflage turned into zombies, their faces and necks riddled with bite wounds. Near the ring road there were only villages and towns, with two rows of storefronts by the roadside. Worried about being seen and just in case, Ren Xinrou put on a hat and sunglasses before getting out and quickly gathered dozens of military boxes. She continued along the ring road and passed the base gate. The zombies inside the base had already been cleared; the gate was surrounded by protective barriers, and a row of soldiers stood behind them with rifles, ready to shoot any zombies approaching the base. Ren Xinrou had already driven past the gate when she remembered Xin Jiaojiao was now inside the base. She stopped and called her: “Jiaojiao.” As a tough, straightforward woman the two-syllable name nearly made her bite her tongue. “Xinrou! Are you in trouble? Do you need help?” Sweet and naïve, Xin Jiaojiao was kind and enthusiastic. “No, I just called to tell you something. I ran into a group of men on the road a little while ago. The leader was a big guy nicknamed Baldy. Their destination was the base to ask for help. If you ever see them, be sure to stay away—they’re not good people.” Having someone influential on your side makes things easier; even though she was used to brave, solitary action, two fists couldn’t beat four hands, and sometimes she had to bow to authority. In her previous life she stayed safe at the base not only because of her own strength but largely because the uncles who raised her sheltered her. Being helpful to Xin Jiaojiao had only benefits and no harm. “Okay! I’ll definitely be careful! I’ll tell my brother to be careful too!” Xin Jiaojiao replied. “Are you really not leaving South City with us?””Ren Xinrou refused again: ‘I won’t leave Nanshi for now. My grandfather is waiting at home. The army will withdraw from Nanshi in the next couple of days. What does the government plan to do with the survivors of Nanshi?’ Xin Jiajiao answered: ‘My brother and his team belong to a transport unit; they only search for and deliver weapons and supplies to the coast. There are dedicated units responsible for rescuing survivors. However, the coastal bases are still being rapidly cleared and constructed, so there’s nowhere to place the survivors. At the moment, the living can only seal themselves at home and wait.’ Xin Jiajiao went on chatting: ‘There are many inland provinces and cities, and many survivors. Our country is so large, and the road to the coast is far. Mass relocation of survivors is very difficult — the government simply has a limited number of people they can use. So either you bravely seek help yourself, or you wait; if you insist on waiting for a rescue vehicle, you’ll just have to wait. During that time there will inevitably be people who starve or die of illness, and that’s unavoidable. Our Nanshi is located in the center of the continent; the nearest coastal base is over fourteen hundred kilometers away. If nothing goes wrong on the road, it still takes at least eighteen or nineteen hours to reach the coast. Many small cities lack highways and require crossing cities and counties; there are many unknown dangers on the road. It’s actually very hard for the military to safely transport survivors to the coastal bases. I think, rather than waiting for rescue, it’s better to act yourself. You don’t have to cram into a truck with a bunch of people — if even one of them is infected, the whole vehicle is doomed. After all, during rescues, official personnel don’t have time to strip everyone and check for bite marks. Fever comes one or two hours after being bitten, so it’s easy to miss.’ Chapter 14: Grandpa Goes to Buy Supplies Ren Xinrou made a soft ‘hmm’ to show agreement: ‘A rescue truck isn’t necessarily a train to safety. After bases are established, the earlier you leave home to head for one, the more likely you are to arrive safely — there will be fewer obstacles on the road then.’ Xin Jiajiao eagerly agreed: ‘You’re right! But most people will still choose to be conservative in a crisis. However, once rescue operations begin, the government will set up temporary staging points in cities closer to the bases. Survivors will be taken there for checks and organization first, and only then will the base dispatch special vehicles to pick them up. The government is now combining the police, fire brigades, and other official agencies; all the younger members have been re-assigned back to the military, grouped into teams and units responsible for different areas to carry out rescues. The workload is huge. Survivors are even complaining online, calling the soldiers as slow as snails — it’s infuriating!’ Ren Xinrou heard a gentle male voice on the phone, comforting Xin Jiajiao: ‘Don’t be angry. Ignorant people will have a hard life later. When you’re done talking with your friend, come to the warehouse to find me. Don’t wander around!’ Xin Jiajiao’s tone changed instantly, soft and delighted: ‘Okay! Brother, you go handle your business first!’ Xin Jiajiao continued to say to Ren Xinrou: ‘If you’re going to the base, set off in a month. Or you could leave now and find a place to stay in a city near East Bay. When the base is set up, come find me and I’ll arrange a big house for you!’ Ren Xinrou refused her suggestion again, but this time explained: ‘My grandfather is a village cadre. With his temper, unless there’s a major disaster forcing relocation, he wouldn’t choose to abandon the village survivors and go live at a base with me. Even if he leaves, he’d definitely take the village relatives with him.’ ‘I see!’ Xin Jiajiao exclaimed in sudden understanding and advised: ‘Xinrou, tell your grandfather not to take on too much responsibility. If he can be a hands-off manager, let him. In times like these, people who know how to be grateful are rare.'””Ren Xinrou had lived a previous life; she knew the story of the fisherman and the snake. “I understand what you mean. Don’t worry — as long as I’m here, whatever decisions my grandfather makes will prioritize my interests and my life.” After saying that, Ren Xinrou was shocked inwardly. The emotional memories leftover from the original body held complete trust and respect for her grandfather. And yet she had trusted this lifetime’s grandfather so easily — she had only spoken to this stand-in grandfather a few times. Ren Xinrou smiled slightly; the doubts that had arisen in her heart instantly dissolved. This life she’d picked up for free allowed her to play the “life-and-death game” once more. There was no need to be cautious at every turn; she might as well enjoy herself. Since she was here, she would make the best of it. Even if this stand-in grandfather one day changed his mind and sold her for grain, she would accept it. “I’m going to buy things for my grandfather. Talk later if we have time,” Ren Xinrou said goodbye. Xin Jiajiao responded cheerfully, “Okay! You can call me anytime! Bye-bye!” Ren Xinrou hung up and pondered for a moment. The official arrangements Xin Jiajiao had revealed were far more detailed than what the author had written. The troops they encountered from now on wouldn’t necessarily be there to rescue people; they might be looking for grain or transporting weapons. The villainous families in this book would have multiple private depots spread across many cities, storing countless ammunition and food. Unfortunately the book didn’t record exact addresses, only the city names where two armories were located. Unless it harmed the interests of the protagonists, the author brushed over such details; plot that sets up romance or sex scenes was given more importance. “Since it belongs to the villains, if I take it and make it mine later, does that mean I have no morals?” Ren Xinrou asked and answered herself earnestly. “How could that count as lacking public spirit? This is a righteous act of punishing the wicked!” After driving some distance, the wide ring road was very quiet; there were hardly any zombies. Ren Xinrou got out of the car, leaned against it, and ate a meal — heating two boxes of braised pork self-heating rice. She bit into an apple while waiting for the food to heat, her gaze sweeping the surroundings. She faintly heard someone shouting for help and looked toward the source of the sound. Two people stood at a window of a residential building begging her for help; about ten zombies were gathered below. Ren Xinrou took it for phantom sounds and didn’t move. At present, zombies and animals hadn’t mutated yet; they were easy to kill and moved slowly — a light shove could push them aside. If you were surrounded by a zombie horde and needed others to rescue you at that moment, you might as well die sooner; it would spare you from facing creatures mutated by acid rain and ability-bearing zombies later. Original zombies couldn’t produce abilities, but people who had abilities and then turned into zombies would bring those abilities with them. This world would become increasingly cruel, even more dangerous than the previous life’s world of ability-less zombies. The cries for help reached her ears, but Ren Xinrou felt not the slightest stir. To her, man-made disaster was worse than natural disaster; zombies and mutated beasts were less dangerous than humans. People were the beings to be most cautious of. After filling her stomach she drove to the largest agricultural wholesale market in the southern city. The agricultural wholesale market mainly sold dry goods, vegetables and fruits wholesale; opposite the market’s road was the meat and seafood wholesale market. Each of the two large markets covered over six hundred mu, each roughly the size of more than ten Wangu Shopping Plazas. Ren Xinrou had assumed the market would be out in the suburbs and therefore open and quiet. “…” She watched the zombies wandering back and forth inside the gates and was puzzled. “Where did so many zombies come from?” Only when she saw the sign outside the market advertising “Open 24 hours” did she understand. Because city shops needed to open for business in the morning, wholesalers had to go to the market at dawn. 　　Fresh goods in the wholesale market must be prepared before dawn. The market receives shipments from provinces and cities at night, and local farmers also come to sell. The blood fog occurred around nine in the evening, right when the market was taking deliveries. “The good news is there’s a lot of stock inside—enough vegetables, meat, and fruit to eat for generations, and plenty of small and large trucks; the bad news is… there are a lot of zombies too,” Ren Xinrou murmured. While she watched, several zombies crept up onto the body of her electric bike. Ren Xinrou started the bike and rode away from the market, pulling into a nearby deserted construction site. The site was large; the foundation had just been dug, and she could see everything at a glance. She got off and checked the site’s office and rest shelters, killing a few zombies locked in rooms, but found no living people. Ren Xinrou already had a plan. There were many nearby villages, and now she intended to go into the villages to find bait. Chapter 15: Going to Buy Supplies for Grandpa 2 Ren Xinrou’s vehicle entered Gāngyáo Village; there were no roadblocks at the village entrance. Few people in Gāngyáo Village could do what Grandpa did — remain calm in the face of zombies and have the courage to rally survivors to seal the village. Outside, zombies battered the heavy iron doors of every household and wailed. Inside the walls, zombies thumped at the gates and howled outward. Clearly, there were still quite a few survivors in the village. Ren Xinrou parked her car at the edge of the fields; she had found what she came for: chickens. Even for the living, catching chickens is hard; much less for zombies. Chickens fly when frightened, and a lone zombie has difficulty catching them. Most zombies focused on grabbing the survivors in the houses; only three or five were in the fields chasing chickens. Ren Xinrou got out, charged at the zombies, and with the military machete she had just retrieved, severed heads with each stroke, as easily as chopping a stalk of celery. “Refreshing!” Ren Xinrou flicked the blood off the blade and tossed the knife back into her space. To make retrieval easier so she wouldn’t have to rummage through the space every time she needed something, she had organized a shelf inside: blades, several loaded guns, magazines full of bullets, plus food and water. She took out a two-meter fishing umbrella, removed the pole fastener, propped it sideways on the ground with a slightly thicker branch, and tied a rope to the branch, holding the other end herself. She scattered some pre-prepared corn kernels under the umbrella and squatted quietly to wait. More and more chickens came under the umbrella to eat the corn — roughly ten or so by sight. She yanked the branch hard; the umbrella covered them inside. Ren Xinrou reached into the umbrella; as soon as her hand touched a chicken, she could transfer it into the planting area of her space — a pleasant surprise. If the space could raise chickens, it could raise pigs, cattle, and sheep as well. In extreme cold she could have fresh mutton hotpot every day — the thought made the corners of Ren Xinrou’s mouth lift uncontrollably. She drove back to the deserted construction site, brought out an oil tanker truck, slaughtered the chickens to collect blood and entrails, and hung the chickens and guts on the truck; fresh blood smeared the tanker’s body. The sun at four in the afternoon was scorching; in less than half an hour fresh blood and meat would spoil in the heat. Ren Xinrou quickly jumped onto the tanker and headed to the wholesale meat and seafood market. She had originally planned to lure zombies at the farmers’ market first and gather vegetables. Before she turned in, she noticed a conspicuous sign by the meat market’s gate across the street: [Live poultry enter through the north gate]. She immediately changed her plan and decided to risk it — the tanker rammed through the bar at the north gate to enter the poultry area. The fresh blood on the tanker indeed attracted many zombies. Inside the north market’s poultry area, there was a slaughtering zone and a live poultry selling zone. The slaughtering zone was divided into a small-poultry slaughter area and a cattle/sheep/pig slaughter area. Ren Xinrou headed straight for the cattle/sheep/pig slaughter area and found the whole lane packed with zombies, who roared and snarled around trucks loaded with sheep and cattle. The cattle and sheep on the trucks were panicked and pressed against each other; the trucks had very high bodies and tall railings, so the zombies couldn’t bite or grab them. The heat was intense; leave them be for two more days and even if the zombies didn’t eat the livestock, they would die of thirst or heat. Ren Xinrou’s truck moved very slowly, gradually pushing the zombies ahead of it. The tanker and a truck full of cattle were side by side, less than half a meter apart; in the gap zombies were battering the tanker’s door. Ren Xinrou did not slaughter them — killing them would only let the zombies that pushed in later stand on their corpses; the higher the zombies stood, the higher they could climb. She slipped out through the truck window, climbed onto the cattle truck’s bed, and transferred the cattle one by one into her space. The corners of Ren Xinrou’s mouth nearly split to her eyes; her eyes narrowed into slits. What she saw was not meat but an inexhaustible supply of fresh beef blood. 　　Blood could be put into glass bottles to make “blood bombs” — thrown into a horde of zombies to attract their attention and ease the pressure while escaping. She did the same again, went back into the tanker and slowly moved to another cattle cart. After collecting the chickens in the village earlier, she had glanced at the plot used for growing vegetables in the space: the cabbage had already sprouted two glossy green leaves, about the size of a half-month-old seedling. Cabbage needs two to three months to mature; growth inside the space is accelerated, and at this rate she estimated she could harvest cabbage in three to five days. “I’ll set up a stall at the base to sell vegetables with Grandpa,” Ren Xinrou thought of the future as she herded the cattle and sheep into the space. At that moment, the cattle in the space downed the seedlings in two or three bites. After loading three carts of cattle and four carts of sheep, the tanker pulled up near the truck that carried pigs. Ren Xinrou hesitated about whether to keep pigs. After the acid rain, carnivores and omnivores mutate to several times their size, while herbivores rapidly go extinct. Maybe the acid rain made the soil unable to support plant growth, so herbivores were simply phased out by the earth? In any case, she didn’t like the author’s setting. Why couldn’t cows mutate? If cows became enormous, she could catch a few to use as mounts. Ren Xinrou continued flipping through the little guidebook in her mind. The assault of acid rain prevented plants from absorbing nutrients, causing them to wither quickly; wood exposed to acid rain emitted a sharp, acidic smell. It would stink when used for heating, and prolonged exposure would cause dizziness — not suitable for warming. Hm? Heating? Another item was added to her stockpile list: she needed to stockpile firewood and charcoal, and also get a heater. She glanced at the pigs. Pork is the most commonly eaten meat in daily life, and there were seven or eight trucks full of pigs. “No raising them — I’ll take them all and find somewhere to butcher them. Grandpa loves pork intestines; I’ll preserve them to eat slowly.” Instead of climbing out and bringing pigs into the space one by one, Ren Xinrou reached out and pulled the pigs and the truck together into the space. If she released the pigs, she’d have to catch them individually — too troublesome. When she collected the truck, zombies clinging to the truck’s railings were pulled in as well. Ren Xinrou quickly entered the space, dispatched the zombies, and dumped the bodies outside; one cow had been bitten, but fortunately it wouldn’t die immediately — the meat was still usable. The book had mentioned once that mutated beasts bitten by zombies could be safely eaten once thoroughly cooked; if a mutated beast is bitten but the wound isn’t severe, it won’t die or turn into a zombified beast. Ordinary beasts bitten would die three to five days later. The mutation virus dies immediately when exposed to highly alkaline water — which is why marine life and plants didn’t mutate and go extinct. “Zombies can get into the space; others probably can too, right?” Ren Xinrou looked over the vast planting area — not a single blade of grass — “I need to go to the agricultural market to find grass seeds.” Before leaving the space, she gave fresh water to the cattle and sheep and sprinkled some on the pigs. While sprinkling bottled water, another item was added to her stockpile list: an electric water pump and more water storage. She had to store a lot of water to make showering and cooking convenient. “I thought having an entire supermarket in my hands would be enough, but in fact it’s far from enough,” Ren Xinrou sighed. More and more zombies gathered in front of the tanker, and those crushed under the wheels increased, causing the vehicle to jolt and tilt. It became harder and harder to move forward; the engine was whining and nearing overload. She struggled to load the remaining pig trucks; the zombies dispersed to the empty spots where the pig trucks had been parked, easing the strain on the tanker’s engine. Ren Xinrou stared down the road; the whole way was packed with zombies. She had to come up with a contingency plan — if the tanker couldn’t push through the zombies anymore, she would surely be stuck here. 　　The zombie body pinned under the wheel was too thick; the tanker lurched and wobbled, and the steering wheel was already hard to control. Ren Xinrou stayed calm, edging the tanker little by little so the vehicle hugged the wall. ——- Chapter 16: Going to Buy Supplies for Grandpa 3 The buildings inside the farmers’ market were long rectangular rows. They needed to hold many stalls, so the buildings were wide and long, with six-meter-wide cement roads between them. The buildings were only one story, but as tall as a two-story house. The tanker’s engine was smoking; if it kept overloaded, stalling would be the least of her worries—an explosion of the tank would be deadly. Ren Xinrou looked through a window to survey the inside. The row of stalls sold already-slaughtered chickens, ducks, and meat, each an open stall like in a vegetable market. The row was open along both sides and interconnected, with rolling shutters open; north and south were solid walls. She was at the north wall. Only a few zombies were pressed against the windows inside, snarling at her—easy to deal with. Ren Xinrou smashed the window, jumped from the cab into the row, dispatched the zombies, reached back and recovered the tanker—she wasn’t going to waste the aviation fuel inside. In a world of scarce supplies, thriftiness was necessary. She turned and ran toward the southern window; there were few zombies on the southern road. She broke the window, brought out the tanker, jumped into the cab and started the vehicle—fluid, practiced motions that gave the zombies no chance to get near her. Passing the small poultry area, she opportunistically took the live chicken truck and live duck truck she came across. Ducks need water; the space wasn’t suitable for raising them, and a truckload of ducks wouldn’t survive more than two days—she had to slaughter them quickly. Before leaving the poultry area, she also took two filthy big trucks, parked one across the poultry gate to block it, then drove to the main entrance of the meat market and used a truck to block the gate, preventing the zombie horde from leaving the market. She had enough meat stocked; no need to waste effort on seafood. All the bases backed onto the sea—people who didn’t want to travel far for hunting relied on fishing and shrimping. In the future, marine life would be humanity’s main food source; seafood was the one thing the base markets would never lack. Ren Xinrou checked the time—she’d spent an hour messing around in the live poultry area. “I have to clear out the farmers’ market before dark!” Tomorrow had its own tasks to finish. She had set herself a stockpiling plan for these days and forced herself to follow it; finishing early would let her get back to the village to find her grandfather sooner. She returned to the deserted construction site, switched to a big truck, killed the cow in the pocket space that had been bitten by a zombie, splashed blood in the truck bed, and hung the entrails from the truck’s side rails. She cut the bloody beef into large chunks and put them into the pocket space, then sped the truck into the vegetable and fruit wholesale market. The market covered hundreds of acres; she drove down every road once, luring zombies to follow the truck. The poultry market opposite should have been more tempting, but the zombies stopped here and wouldn’t go further. Ren Xinrou guessed that quite a few survivors were hiding inside the market. With “goodwill,” she used the truck’s loudspeaker to shout: “I’ll draw the zombies out of the market—take the chance and drive away! The open parking lot has no zombies!” Many survivors shouted their thanks, and some timid ones, emboldened, begged shamelessly: “Go drive a big truck to pick us up! You’re such a great person! Thank you!” Ren Xinrou didn’t humor them; she blasted the horn and snapped back: “Leave or don’t—your choice! I’ll only draw the zombies half a mile away. You’ll have time to run to the parking lot; dawdle and I won’t come save you a second time when they turn back!”The truck lazily drove down every road in the market, followed by hundreds of zombies. After the zombies in the market were mostly cleared, Ren Xinrou led them toward the construction site, circled around inside, and dropped pieces of beef along the way to stop the zombies from continuing to follow her truck. She quickly left the construction site and used the truck to block the main gate. The construction site’s fence was made of steel plates, not as sturdy as cement walls; if the zombie horde pushed together, it could actually be knocked down easily. The fence could only temporarily keep the zombies contained, so Ren Xinrou got out of the truck and hurried to the farmers’ market. At that moment, cars were leaving the market one after another. Ren Xinrou tugged at the corner of her mouth—no one was bothering her, so she could safely collect supplies. She went down every shopping street once. There were many kinds of fruit; she didn’t bother checking whether they were fruits she liked—she took them all. “If I don’t like them, I can use them for barter later.” She took all the vegetables as well. Just because her space could quickly produce vegetables didn’t mean food could be wasted. In this weather, vegetables would rot in two or three days; it was better for her to take them. After gathering vegetables, Ren Xinrou went to the dry goods section. Dried vegetables, pickled products, candied fruits—she collected everything. She searched the whole market but couldn’t find vegetable seeds. She only found unhusked rice, unhusked wheat, and corn kernels—not for planting, but likely feed. With so many chickens to raise, finding their fodder was worth celebrating. Ren Xinrou opened the map to check for a seed wholesaler. “Looks like one more place to go—the Agricultural City. Hmm? It’s a bit past the construction site, only three li from here…” (Note: li is a Chinese unit of distance) It was already past six; night would fall soon. Ren Xinrou steeled herself and decided to head to the Agricultural City now. She needed to sow the grass seeds before she could rest. While collecting supplies, she also took the trucks that transported fruits and vegetables—keys included or not, she took them all. “I want containers—the port has the most.” Before leaving, Ren Xinrou picked up a few drivable cars from the open parking lot. Outside the Agricultural City walls stretched boundless fields, including an open nursery, an area even larger than the farmers’ market. The gatehouse door of the Agricultural City was tightly shut; no one was inside. This time Ren Xinrou didn’t barge in. She entered the gatehouse first to check the surveillance. The cameras occasionally showed a few mice scurrying about—no zombies. The Agricultural City was the most relaxed place she’d visited today: vast land, no stench of corpses, only the rich scent of fields and plants. Because there was no fresh meat smell, zombies wouldn’t come here. It was quiet like a hidden paradise—one of the few clean places left in the world. After getting grass seeds from the seed section, Ren Xinrou went into her space to sow them, and found the vegetable beds plundered clean. She gritted her teeth and decided to partition her space into zones. The Agricultural City sold fences and planting boxes of all sizes. The fences needed no installation and came with tripod bases. Ren Xinrou divided the farm in her space into four areas: cattle and sheep, chicken farm, orchard, and vegetable plots. The livestock area was the largest, big enough for several trucks’ worth of cattle and sheep and their offspring to run. It took two hours to finish sowing. She used an electric spreader designed for grass seeds; if she hadn’t been able to teleport by thought, it would have taken her a full day and night. After finishing, Ren Xinrou was starving and exhausted. Chapter 17 Rest All the shops in the Agricultural City came with kitchens. Ren Xinrou could cook homestyle dishes—her grandfather had taught her. Grandpa said learning to cook wasn’t for getting married, but for herself: so when she was alone she could still eat clean, fresh meals without relying on others or always eating out. 　　In the original body’s memories there were also memories of Grandpa teaching how to cook; the Grandpa here said the same things. Ren Xinrou began to lose track of whether she had transmigrated into a book, or whether she had merely returned home from another world — maybe both worlds were her home? Ren Xinrou stopped reminiscing, served the tomato-scrambled eggs from the pan, and then stir-fried a plate of chili pork slices. The gas stove flame crackled fiercely. “I should stock up on gas cylinders for easier cooking. You can cook on a wood stove too, but before the extreme cold comes, cooking with gas is faster.” Ren Xinrou muttered as she cooked, “Big gas cylinders should be stored, and portable camping gas equipment too.” She opened a map and searched for places to buy gas equipment — “camping clubs,” “camping gear stores,” “gas companies” — and marked and recorded each location. “Am I planning to live for thousands of years? Have hundreds of kids?” Ren Xinrou sighed. She photographed the meal and sent it to Grandpa: {Grandpa, my dinner. What did you have for dinner?} Ren Yiyong: {Our minds are linked, aren’t they! I had the same thing! I had egg noodles!} “…” Ren Xinrou mumbled, “They both have eggs, so that makes them the same thing?” Ren Yiyong: {Don’t forget to bring back cigarettes. I went to the village shop this afternoon to raid it and found the shopkeeper wasn’t dead!} {Guess what — 30 yuan a pack cigarettes, and he wanted me to trade one for a native chicken! In the past I could sell one native chicken for over a hundred yuan! I thought, there are lots of chickens at home so I could trade, grabbed ten chickens intending to trade for a pack, but in the end there were only three packs of Jin Ke Yun Yan left! I scolded him with a stinky rant — silly thing, so lazy with stocking goods, no wonder he’s forty and still unmarried!} Ren Xinrou laughed heartily; Grandpa’s words were so funny and appetizing. {Grandpa, can you slaughter a pig?} Ren Yiyong: {I’ve even killed people, slaughtering pigs and cows is nothing~} Ren Xinrou: {In a few days I’ll transport two pigs back for you to slaughter for fun.} Ren Yiyong: {Alright! Stock up on pork and eat it slowly. I’ll go to the Jue family tomorrow and bring back a few refrigerators to freeze meat and dumplings!} Ren Xinrou had no immediate plans to leave the village; she didn’t want to spoil Grandpa’s mood. Keeping Grandpa busy would stop him from being sad about Grandma. After dinner Ren Xinrou went into the space to sprinkle and give water to the pigs, checked the truck for dead pigs or bitten ones, and roughly counted — there were over two hundred pigs. The planting space was comfortably temperate, so the pigs wouldn’t feel stuffy; only the pigs locked in the truck kept howling — they must be hungry. Ren Xinrou threw a few bags of napa cabbage into the trucks with the pigs and ducks, planning to keep them like that for a few days. Pigs will attack lambs and might even eat them, so she didn’t trust leaving the pigs off the truck. The book said the meat of mutated pigs still tasted good, but the mutant pig’s muscles were tougher and required longer stewing over a low flame. After thinking it over, Ren Xinrou remained firm in her original decision: she wouldn’t raise pigs in the space. Over two hundred pigs, plus the meat she’d collected from the supermarket freezer, would feed her and Grandpa for centuries. After leaving the space she went to the market and collected every kind of seed, stuffing them all into the space. Hundreds of boxes of vegetable seeds, flower seeds, planting pots, potting soil, fertilizer — she didn’t plan to build an agricultural enemy state like Xin Jiaojiao. She grabbed potting soil, fertilizer, and pots simply because they were handy — why not, the space was big. Later, when she went to the heroine’s base to live, she could take them out as gifts or invest them in the heroine’s farmland area. Ren Xinrou was delighted to discover that the agricultural town had three UV-lit planting experimental greenhouses, each covering no less than six acres, each one about the size of ten basketball courts.The ultraviolet lamp greenhouse—this was the greenhouse Xin Jiao Jiao had built under the East Bay base. Outside the experimental greenhouse was a sign explaining that an electrified greenhouse of one hectare consumes about 12 kWh of electricity per day. Six mu of ultraviolet lamps only require five kWh per day. A vegetable field the size of ten basketball courts uses less electricity in one day than an air-conditioned room in summer. Ren Xinrou suddenly thought this business was a great deal; Grandpa would definitely like it. The experimental greenhouse had a steel floor, walls of thick wooden boards reinforced with rebar, and ultraviolet lamps hanging from the ceiling. Ren Xinrou found the plug for the ultraviolet lamp and pulled out the cord. She put her hand on the greenhouse wall; like the fuel storage tank, along with the planting pots on the ground, everything was pulled into space. “This way, as long as I plug it in it will work.” Ren Xinrou stored the other two greenhouses into space as well—eighteen mu of land, enough to keep Grandpa busy. “I need to find some large batteries. In extreme cold the days are short, solar can’t store much, and the generator needs diesel. Hmm—better stockpile more diesel.” “There’s too much to do, I’ll never finish, how can there be so much!” Ren Xinrou laughed and complained. If the agricultural city had experimental vegetable sheds, there would certainly be shops wholesaling ultraviolet lamps; she put them all into space. After looting the agricultural city clean, Ren Xinrou’s feet ached and she was too tired to move. She found a clean-backseat big truck in the space, parked it in the middle of town, turned on the air conditioning, lay down comfortably, and fell asleep as soon as she closed her eyes. In her dream, she sat in the courtyard with her parents and grandparents, eating and chatting, happy and harmonious. Suddenly the courtyard wall was pushed down and zombies rushed at them from all directions, biting her family’s necks. She swung a machete, using all her strength to try to save them, but the zombies kept coming in waves, blocking her path and pushing her farther away. Until the zombies like a tide engulfed her parents and grandparents. “No! Don’t leave me alone!” Ren Xinrou cried and opened her eyes; it was already bright. She had used up too much energy yesterday and the surroundings were so quiet that she’d slept until noon. The air conditioning had run all night and the truck’s fuel tank had run dry; sweat had soaked her clothes. She removed the scope from her rifle, climbed onto the truck roof to survey the area, and found no zombies. She quickly took a cold shower in the restroom and reapplied dark camouflage makeup. Before leaving, she opened the map; ten kilometers straight ahead from the agricultural city was the South City Auto Mall—she was going to stockpile cars. —— Chapter 18: A Quiet Day The Auto Mall, like Flower and Tree City, was silent and empty. A few security-uniformed zombies wandered the road in front of the brand 4S dealerships. “In the early days of the apocalypse, the suburbs are the safest,” Ren Xinrou exhaled and began another busy day. She first entered the BMW sales building, smashed the window to jump in, and went to the office to find car keys. She pressed the unlock button for the corresponding car in the showroom, inserted the key into the ignition, and then stored it in space so she could take and drive it later. Next she went to the auto service area and stored all the parts she could; she unexpectedly found three one-ton water storage barrels—these were originally used by the shop to hold water for car washes. She calmly emptied the dirty water from the barrels, rinsed them clean, refilled them with water, and then put them into space. She then strolled over to the Mercedes-Benz showroom across the way and took a dozen Mercedes SUVs and jeeps, and grabbed the water barrels from the Mercedes service shop. Using the same method, she stored every car in the mall that had matched keys and all the water barrels she could find. 　　The big truck that carried cars took four vehicles, and the shipping containers took five. A few small and medium RVs were taken too — during an escape they offer a comfortable place to cook and sleep. Too bad there were no large motorhomes; the apocalypse-style big RVs are safer, you can ram through and crush zombies with them. “1, 2, 3… 42. Only 42 tons of water — how long will daily showers last? Ten minutes per shower, with a water-saving showerhead one ton can do 25 to 30 showers; Grandpa needs two tons a month. 42 tons of water for showers alone only lasts two years. After acid rain each rain can be collected and consumed; after extreme cold it snows and snow can be eaten…” Ren Xinrou counted on her fingers, calculating how many more tons of water she needed to stock for daily use. Next stop: the gas supply company. She treated car washes and repair shops as targets — whenever she passed one she’d stop to collect water buckets and auto parts, and she gathered piles of snow chains. The gas company was peaceful inside, though many zombies wandered on the sidewalk outside. Ren Xinrou parked the truck at the company gate, blocking the entrance, honked to lure zombies inside the building. After waiting a few minutes with no response, she got out. She climbed over the barrier at the entrance and found the area for refilling gas: hundreds of gas cylinders stored in an open warehouse, no one inside. She was happy to walk over to the gas cylinder warehouse — only to find they were all empty. That meant she would have to refill them herself. “…” Ren Xinrou thought maybe she should have gone home first to fetch her grandfather. With him helping, everything would be faster, right? “No need to fill all the hundreds of tanks — filling about thirty should be enough. When it gets cold we’ll cook with a wood stove.” Even so, she gathered all the empty cylinders into her space and went to the filling station to refill them. “Empty tanks can be used to smash zombies — everyone saw them, can’t just leave them… Or just put a little gas in all of them; gas cylinders can be used as bombs.” She muttered to herself, sitting by the filling pipes, refilling cylinder after cylinder. Worried about an attack from behind, she left a vehicle to block the warehouse door. Thanks to spatial storage, she only needed to connect the nozzle, inflate, then remove the valve and repeat. Five minutes per cylinder was too slow; with four filling valves working at once she could fill forty cylinders in an hour. She stayed at the gas company for over five hours before she had filled all the empty tanks. As she left the filling area, she noticed a nearby large warehouse with its rolling door tightly shut. She went to the window and peeked inside. Boxes were piled to the ceiling, labeled [Portable Gas Refill Can] [Camping Travel Gas Canister]. Camping gas canisters — “Everything comes so easily today, everything’s going so smoothly.” Suddenly she remembered her grandfather’s warning: when things go smoothly or you get lucky, don’t say it aloud or heaven will take the good fortune back. She hurriedly changed her tone: “Pah, pah, pah! I didn’t say anything! Today has been awful! What a rotten day!” Ren Xinrou pried open the rolling door and checked the boxes: the canisters inside were not empty. This must be a wholesale point for small canisters. After leaving the gas company she had no plans to go back into the city. She drove toward the mountains, where the sawmill was located. There were villages in the mountains and the roads were rough; zombies often fell into ditches and couldn’t get out. On the way into the mountains she repeatedly saw zombies in drainage ditches, roaring as they tried to crawl up. There are eight sawmills in the southern mountains. With few people and good air, the mountains were better for hiding. Ren Xinrou was mentally prepared to encounter other survivors. 　　She collected wood from two timber mills. Luckily, there were no living people in the yards. Both mills had large stocks of dried timber, but the logs weren’t the kind Ren Xinrou imagined that could be burned straight away; they were whole trunks several meters long, the shortest still over a meter. Ren Xinrou wanted to swear in anger—she’d have to chop the wood every day to make a fire. Just thinking about it made her irritable. “Let Grandpa chop it—he’d probably like this work.” “Woof! Woof! Woof!” Right after she finished gathering the stakes and wood outside the mill, two big mastiffs leapt out from somewhere and charged at her, barking. Ren Xinrou was so frightened she took off running; the dogs were too fast. If she went back for the truck now she definitely wouldn’t make it in time. In her panic she forgot she could first enter her space, get into the vehicle, and bring both herself and the truck out together. Chased by the dogs, she sprinted down the driveway in front of the neighboring timber yard. A group of zombies that had been circling that warehouse roared and started moving toward her. Ren Xinrou didn’t panic. To her, dogs were more troublesome than zombies; she didn’t want to get bitten by a dog, because then she’d have to go to a hospital for vaccines. She figured it was better to take the gamble of a zombie bite—maybe it would give her an ability. She kept running along the mountain road. The two mastiffs spotted the zombies, stopped to bark at them and nearly got knocked over, then with two plaintive yelps resumed chasing Ren Xinrou. Soon it was one person and two dogs running side by side. Then the two dogs surged ahead and ran farther and farther away. “…” Gasping for breath, Ren Xinrou stopped; a lump of air stuck in her throat. Watching the dogs’ backs vanish like the wind, she rolled her eyes disdainfully. Hands on her hips and panting, she strolled back along the same route. The timber yard whose gate the zombies had been propped up against was very large. She had run a long way and still hadn’t left that mill’s outer yard. She’d noticed earlier that outside the factory shed there were many, many already-cut firewood logs—enough for her and Grandpa to burn for a long time. If there were zombies around the firewood, it meant there were still living people inside. With people present, she couldn’t very well take the wood into her space in plain sight. Ren Xinrou looked around; seeing no one, she fetched the truck intending to haul the wood away. She ran the truck over the wandering zombies that had chased her; the dogs had been a real pain, and she couldn’t be bothered to hack them all to pieces. At that moment she saw a small blue pickup leave the mill, its occupants looking panicked yet oddly relieved. “Cities are far more dangerous than here. These people will definitely regret leaving,” she thought. After dealing with the zombies, Ren Xinrou got out and loaded the firewood. Then she visited other timber yards along the way, encountering only a few snarling zombies wandering about; she found no other survivors. After dark she cooked and rested at an empty timber mill. She parked the truck to block the front yard. The mill had a sawmill: if you put a log on the sliding track, the machine would automatically cut the wood. Should she find a place to cut the wood after taking the machine with her, or cut it tonight? The sawmill was very powerful—too much for household electricity. Even ten generators might not be able to run this machine, which was longer than a truck. In the end, her perfectionism won out. All night long the mountain echoed with the ‘ker-ker-ker’ of the saw. The reverberation confused nearby village zombies; they staggered off in random directions, fell into ditches and streams, or climbed up the hills. A safe, quiet, busy day and night passed. Chapter 19 — Name of the Armed Police Unit At some unknown point she had fallen asleep. Ren Xinrou woke with a start in the chair by the sawmill. “Clang! Clang! Clang!” “Arr—ah!” Her groggy mind snapped alert. From the other side of the truck came the howls of zombies; from the sound there were only two or three. 　　She checked the time; it was almost noon again. Xin JiaoJiao had sent her several messages an hour earlier: {Xin Rou, my brother and I are heading to East Bay now. I’ll tell you something: the Armed Police brigade building was surrounded and fell to the zombies last night. The surviving armed police evacuated with us and are waiting for official task assignments.} {I just heard someone from the armed police call their superiors — the building housing the armory is surrounded by thousands of zombies and the armory can’t be moved. The higher-ups instructed that the news be given to the rescue units so that if they have the chance they can take the weapons.} {The armory code is 9487#3939#876 plus fingerprint. The person who managed the armory died outside its door; if you’re lucky that person’s hand might not be completely chewed off. See if you can take a look and stock up on some ammo — the world’s getting less safe, having a gun can deter bad people.} {Don’t tell anyone I slipped this to you. My brother would swat my butt if he knew. Right now the authorities are still tightening control over firearms. Actually the officials can’t really stop civilians from getting guns, but if you go live on a base you still can’t bring a gun.} {I also heard there are several important people in the armed police building — researchers the armed police rescued the day before yesterday. The higher-ups have already sent a special rescue team for them. See if you can get there before them and pick up anything they miss.} {But don’t rush; they should prioritize saving people. The armory is big and they can’t take everything, so you can quietly pick up what they leave behind.} A dozen minutes after those messages, Xin JiaoJiao sent two more: {I just checked — the armory is entered from the back door into the second building, on the first floor and basement one. Besides the military, all city police get their training and duty firearms and ammo from there, so there’s definitely a lot of weapons.} {We’re on the highway now. Take care and you can call me anytime. I want to be your friend.} The message was followed by a blushing emoji. Ren Xinrou replied to Xin JiaoJiao: {We are friends.} Xin JiaoJiao replied quickly: {You said it! Friends don’t sell out friends! Sell out a friend and the whole family dies!} {Mm, friends don’t sell out friends. I’m going to check out the armed police building now; thanks, this info is really useful to me.} Ren Xinrou answered. Xin JiaoJiao: {You’re welcome! Friends look out for each other!} Ren Xinrou opened navigation and found the address for the armed police brigade. If all went well she could arrive in an hour and a half. Since there were still survivors inside the armed police building, the thousands of zombies below certainly hadn’t left. Drawing them away would be a major operation. Ren Xinrou stretched, washed and finished her makeup, braided her annoying-but-loved long hair into two plaits that hung over her shoulders. The skin exposed outside her black clothes was pitch-black; when she grinned her teeth were as white as incandescent bulbs. Ren Xinrou nodded at the mirror in satisfaction and joked to herself, “Yeah, cool enough to have no friends.” She pulled several cases of bottled drinks from the space and emptied them, keeping only the empty bottles. She found several large barrels in the factory and some thin hoses; to her surprise she found two horizontal storage tanks that could hold five tons of water. Behind the workshop she found a hollow bamboo stick the thickness of a finger, sharpened one end to a needle and inserted the other into a hose to make a makeshift blood conduit. She released a pig from the space and shot it in the head so it died quickly. While it was still warm she inserted the conduit into the pig’s carotid artery and let the blood drain into glass bottles. She slaughtered five pigs in succession for blood, put the entrails into barrels and stored them in the space. Seeing the dirty pig carcasses triggered Ren Xinrou’s OCD again. 　　Here is a **simple English translation** as you requested: She simply washed and cleaned the pig’s corpse before storing it in the meat‑storage area of her space. She found more than a dozen chicken cages and put a few ducks in each one. Once everything was prepared, she drove out of the mountains and headed straight for the Armed Police unit. Before leaving, she sent her grandfather a message to say she was safe: {Grandpa, I’m up. I’m going to the Armed Police unit to see if I can find any guns.} Ren Yiyong: {Alright. Bring me a few grenades too—I haven’t thrown one in forty years. Be careful with everything. Don’t push yourself. Safety first!} Ren Xinrou smiled and replied: {Okay!} She didn’t take the wood‑cutting machine. It used too much power, and after the world’s blackout, even when the base restored electricity, it was only enough for residents to turn on a light for three hours each night. Nowhere could support such a machine. The firewood she cut last night was enough for them to use for decades. If needed, they could cut more with a machete or an electric chainsaw. Following the navigation route, she headed toward the Armed Police building. The situation there was worse than she expected. Inside and outside the walls, and all over the road, zombies surrounded the building in layers. Ren Xinrou guessed that there were quite a few survivors upstairs, and someone must have been injured. Blood carried farther than normal human scent, driving the zombies even crazier. A woman on her period outside would, without a doubt, attract zombies’ “attention.” “Good thing my period just ended.” Ren Xinrou observed the building with her binoculars. She was estimating the chances of pushing her truck through the zombies to block the main gate of the Armed Police unit. This zombie horde was even thicker than the one in the poultry section of the wholesale market. “If I can push through and block the gate, how am I supposed to deal with the zombies inside the walls? I only have a few crates of weapons and ammo—not nearly enough to wipe them out…” After thinking it through, driving in to block the gate and then fighting wouldn’t work. Ren Xinrou repeatedly and carefully observed the Armed Police unit from afar. There were five office buildings inside the walls. Most of the zombies were gathered around the frontmost building. The back gate was locked. Inside the walls was a small open‑air parking lot with a few patrol cars—and no zombies. The side roads outside the wall were packed with zombies, and residential buildings lined both sides. She couldn’t observe whether zombies were crowding the front door of the armory. From what she could see so far, only the road between the armory building and the fifth building was empty. “If only I had a drone… I’ll definitely go to the electronics mall tonight.” But it was across half the city, and she didn’t feel like making another long trip. What was inside mattered less—getting in wasn’t hard for her, and getting out wasn’t hard either. What annoyed her was the possibility of fighting her way in only to find she couldn’t open the armory door. Thinking of that possibility, she clicked her tongue. “I’d be so mad I’d spit blood.” —— Chapter 20: Caught There were residential buildings all around; many eyes were probably watching the Armed Police unit. Ren Xinrou put on a hat, parked her truck across the back gate, climbed onto the roof, then climbed over the gate into the courtyard. She quickly ran past the fifth building, placed a container to block the road between it and the armory, then ran to the other entrance and blocked it with another container. So far, everything was going smoothly. At that moment, in a residential building across the side road, a five‑year‑old child stood on the balcony shouting: “Dad! Dad! Someone climbed into the Armed Police unit! That person took out a huge building block from their pocket!” The man rushed onto the balcony. slapped his son’s scalp, scooped him up and carried him inside, hastily shut the balcony door and scolded, “What are you yelling for! Do you think the zombies across the way can’t hear you? Go to your room and play with your toys!” The little boy pouted and ran back to his room. The weapons building’s first floor had no windows. Ren Xinrou pulled a ladder out of her space, climbed in through a second-floor window into an office, carefully opened the door, slipped into the office opposite, and checked the situation at the front door. Fortunately, there were no zombies inside the building. Unfortunately, zombies on the road in front of the building were slowly closing in. Ren Xinrou hurried downstairs and used a car to block the first-floor entrance. The first-floor corridor was silent, a stark contrast to the noisy howls outside. She stood in front of a two-meter-wide iron door — this must be the armory’s main gate. Outside the gate lay a corpse, chewed beyond recognition, with barely any flesh left on it. A blood-smeared work badge hung from its neck. Ren Xinrou grabbed the corpse’s right hand from a pile of sour-smelling, bloody gore. The arm was reduced to a single bone, but a few fingers remained intact. Maybe because there was so little flesh on the fingers, the zombies didn’t like to nibble them. Ren Xinrou cut off the palm, wiped the fingerprints clean with a tissue. Outside, more and more zombies were converging around the patrol car blocking the door, roaring and howling. They were using their “wireless communications” to call more of their kind over: there’s meat here! Ren Xinrou didn’t care. After entering the numeric code, the lock prompted: [Please provide fingerprint] She first used her thumbprint. The lock emitted a shrill alarm: [Fingerprint incorrect, please re-enter password] She entered the code again and used her index finger; it still indicated an incorrect entry. This time Ren Xinrou used the corpse’s left index finger — still wrong. Ren Xinrou knew the lock had a protection mechanism; too many wrong attempts might permanently prevent the door from opening. Generally smart locks allow five wrong attempts. She felt a bit desperate — fine, if she couldn’t get the weapons here, she’d do without them. She entered the code once more and pressed her little finger to the lock. Click — the door opened. “…” Ren Xinrou dropped the palm and cursed, “Normal people set up fingerprint locks with their thumbs and index fingers!” She dragged the corpse to the doorway to prevent the armory door from automatically locking. Clack-clack-clack… the sound of a helicopter, getting closer and closer. Ren Xinrou remembered Xin Jiao jiao saying superiors would send people to rescue researchers. She didn’t waste a second and ran quickly into the armory. The first-floor storage room had a reception desk and anti-theft glass doors and windows. She fired her gun to smash the anti-theft lock and took the first-floor weapons and ammunition. The basement armory was as big as a soccer field, stacked with ammunition crates and weapons boxes. Ren Xinrou didn’t waste time admiring what was inside; she put everything into her space and ran back up. Just as she returned to the first-floor weapons storage, she bumped into a burly man at the doorway — wearing a short-sleeved camouflage T-shirt, black leather boots, holding a gun pointed at her. “A live person! Don’t shoot!” Ren Xinrou raised her hands and cried out. Chen Jie exhaled and lowered his gun. “Damn! So dark! African?” Ren Xinrou answered solemnly, “The sun’s been a bit strong lately.” At that moment, two more people came in. Seeing Ren Xinrou, they raised their brows in surprise and, in unison, said, “African?” Chen Jie answered for Ren Xinrou, “She said it was the sun.” “Can the sun tan someone like that?” Mo Haiqi and Mo Haiyan scrutinized the woman before them. Ren Xinrou curled her lip and said nothing. 　　She came from a military family and had lived on the base for ten years; with one glance she could tell if someone was an ordinary soldier or from a special unit. The three men were all muscular, their palms callused, two of them bearing old gunshot scars on their arms; their haircuts were identical buzz cuts, and their faces showed faint scars from being punched. These men were not ordinary soldiers even before the apocalypse. Ren Xinrou tried to slip past them to leave, but Chen Jie stopped her. “Hey, are you a paramilitary staff member?” “No.” Ren Xinrou stood still and turned to answer. Chen Jie asked, “What are you here for?” Ren Xinrou answered truthfully, “To find weapons.” Mo Haiqi was more suspicious; he squinted and asked, “When did you get here? Alone?” Ren Xinrou nodded, calm. “I came in through the back gate. I have a truck.” “There are two containers behind this building—did you unload them by yourself?” Mo Haiqi probed. “They were here when I came in. I just arrived a few minutes earlier than you. When I got here the armory was open and there wasn’t a single bullet inside. Can I go now?” Ren Xinrou replied smoothly, not sounding like she was lying. Mo Haiqi looked around; it was indeed empty. Chen Jie had already run up from the B1 floor and, as always, started with a curse, “Shit! Not a single bullet! Didn’t they say the weapons couldn’t be evacuated in time? How are we supposed to kill that horde outside to save people? With knives? Or by spitting at them!” Ren Xinrou’s mind turned over in a thousand ways. So their plan had been to use the armory’s ammunition to wipe out the zombies outside. She guessed that killing the thousands of zombies outside was partly to save people and partly to clear them out—every zombie fewer made the city that much safer. She hated that even in the apocalypse, soldiers stubbornly stuck to their mission to serve the people; but she respected and admired them. She couldn’t possibly hand over ammunition now—she didn’t want to expose her extraordinary space. Ren Xinrou lowered her head, scuffing her feet on the ground, and sighed softly. Since she couldn’t produce ammunition, she might as well help them in another way; if she had taken the ammo, that was her fault to begin with. “What’s wrong?” a clear voice with an edge of authority called from the doorway. Ren Xinrou looked up toward the source of the voice. The man who walked in made her eyes go slack for a moment. He was much taller than the other soldiers—she guessed around 190 cm. He wore dark green camouflage; the camo T-shirt clung to his body, outlining the lines of firm muscles. A pistol with a gold trim hung at his right hip, a machete at his left. His short hair was neat and tough; under ink-black, sword-like brows, deep black eyes shimmered with a righteous, focused expression. A high, straight nose, lips pressed tight—his whole presence gave off an ascetic, severe charm. This man was excessively handsome! That was Ren Xinrou’s first thought.——- Chapter 21: A Man Too Handsome Ren Xinrou looked at the several soldiers who had come in with the man. She sighed deeply; indeed it was a little erotic book, and the soldiers in it were all quite good-looking. In her previous life, she had seen many soldiers with handsome features, but never one who could make the world seem so bright. At that moment, she felt the light in the room was glaring. How did she get that bronze skin tone from the sun? She suddenly became curious what Xin JiaoJiao’s brother looked like; the book described him as a devastatingly handsome man, so many women obsessed with him they could fill a train car. Ren Xinrou looked again at the 190 cm man—was Xin JiaoJiao’s man more handsome than this one? Wait a moment and have Xin Jiaojiao take a photo to take a look. Mo Haiqi was reporting the situation, “There’s nothing in the armory. If I had known, we should have gone down from the roof of Office Building No.1. We could have rushed down to rescue people and evacuated from the roof—there might still have been a chance.” “Captain, should we have the helicopter come back?” Mo Haiqi asked again. Wen Mufeng frowned slightly and was silent for a moment. “The helicopter has to go to the neighboring Chong City unit to refuel. Another order from above is for us to eliminate the zombies outside. Most of the nearby residential buildings house members and families of the military, police, medical, nursing, and research units. In the afternoon, rescue teams will come here to prioritize transporting them out.” Chen Jie said, “Boss, the ammunition we have can’t take out this many zombies.” Seven or eight soldiers standing at the doorway waited for Wen Mufeng’s orders. Wen Mufeng lit a cigarette and held it in his mouth. One hand held a lighter, tapping the cigarette pack held in the other hand. “Knock, knock, knock.” Long legs crossed, body leaning against the doorframe, eyes that should have been gentle peach-blossom eyes now edged with a sharp murderous intent. Ren Xinrou glanced at the box in his hand — the same cigarettes her grandfather smoked: golden-cased Yunyān; the other soldiers were holding the same brand. At a time when supplies were plentiful, there was no reason they couldn’t find the cigarettes they liked. Do soldiers all like this brand of cigarettes? The armory was silent. Not as clear as the voice when he first entered, Wen Mufeng ordered in a deep, firm tone, “Secure the area, make an opening, put them through the door one by one and kill them. There’s a parking lot at the back door. Zeng Han, take eight men to the back, get a few cars and park them in front of the building’s main entrance, try to form a large circle. There’s a truck outside — see if it can be driven.” “The truck is mine; the keys are yours.” Ren Xinrou proactively handed over the keys. Wen Mufeng’s gaze moved from his comrades to Ren Xinrou. His eyebrows twitched slightly. “Who is this person? African?” “Pfft!” Chen Jie spoke for him again. “We’re people from Huaguo, sunburned like this.” “……” Wen Mufeng scrutinized the pure black girl in front of him. Her face was dark brown, her hair jet black; on closer inspection her features were indeed those of a Chinese person. Her figure was curvy in all the right places, the proportions any man would like. A high, straight nose and very large eyes; her lips, a moist peachy pink, were slightly pouted; her eyebrows blended with her complexion so seamlessly that you wouldn’t notice them unless you looked closely. Each feature looked fine on its own, but put together they grew increasingly strange the more you looked. Black clothes, black pants, black leather boots — invisible when going out at night. “……” Wen Mufeng’s mouth twitched — this was the first time his expression control nearly failed. He pressed his lips together and swallowed the laugh in his throat. Wen Mufeng cleared his throat and asked, “Are you a staff member here?” Ren Xinrou glanced at Chen Jie, as if to say, “You answer.” Chen Jie seemed to get the cue and answered for her: “She came here looking for weapons, arrived a few minutes before us, found nothing and was about to leave when she ran into us.” Wen Mufeng gave a light “hm,” “After we deal with the zombies, you can evacuate with us.” Ren Xinrou didn’t reply; this wasn’t the time to waste on explaining whether she would leave or not. Mohaiqi suggested, “Captain, there are two shipping containers behind this building blocking the left and right entrances. We can make use of them.” “Chen Jie, you and Liu Xiaofeng have strength abilities. Try to see if you can push one of the containers — just need to make a half-meter wide gap so the zombies can squeeze through the door.” “Okay. As long as the container is empty, we can push it no problem.” Chen Jie tapped his chest and left with Liu Xiaofeng. Ren Xinrou let out a sigh of relief, grateful that the containers she acquired at the auto mall were empty. Ren Xinrou bowed her head and leaned against the wall, thinking about how she should help them in a while. Killing zombies with bare hands — for a dozen superpowered soldiers to cut down thousands of zombies is no big deal. It’s just that the more they cut down, the more corpses lie on the ground; with no place to step, it’s easy to lose footing and fall. Falling means there’s a chance of being bitten by a zombie. A zombie head severed cleanly could still clench its jaws. Ren Xinrou found Wen Mufeng and suggested, “Put a few low tables around the open area. Once there are lots of corpses, you can stand on the tables to kill them so you don’t fall and get bitten.” Wen Mufeng nodded and led people upstairs to look for tables. Both roads in front of and behind the armory building were blocked, leaving only one opening—just enough for zombies to come through one by one. The protagonist designed the obstacle layout (I drew it myself, don’t hate me), and Ren Xinrou didn’t help with the slaughter. She ran up to the third floor, stood at the window on the side of the building, and from time to time tossed a few blood vials into the zombie horde. The blood vials burst over the zombies’ heads or at their feet, staining them with fresh blood; the nearby zombies would stop to tear at the bloodied ones. The openings in the two downstairs paths weren’t large, but to prevent zombie corpses from blocking the doors, Wen Mufeng’s people could only wait until zombies stepped inside before cutting them down. Zombies came through the door one after another; if they couldn’t deal with the ones that had entered in time, the number of zombies inside the area would keep growing. Ren Xinrou’s method of throwing blood bottles can effectively lure zombies into the traps, giving the soldiers time to catch their breath. In the afternoon, when temperatures exceed 40 degrees, the fresh scent of blood on the zombies only lasts a few minutes before it changes and is quickly overwhelmed by the stench of the dead. Therefore, bottles need to be thrown every few minutes, five at a time, with the throw points spaced about three to five meters apart. She would occasionally toss a live duck downstairs, hoping they would lead the zombies away from the entrance; the ducks were quickly eaten by the zombies until only feathers remained. Wen Mufeng noticed some strange zombies, their faces gnawed bloody and smeared, oozing the zombies’ peculiar black-red blood. Some had their feet chewed down to the bone, duck feathers stuck to their mouths, and the blood on their bodies was a bright red. He had no time to ponder the reason; clearing the zombies was urgent. The lingering smell of blood and the zombies’ calls—those originally piled in front of Building 1—were jostling and pressing closer to the armory building. A dozen or so soldiers split into two groups, fighting fiercely in front of and behind the building; they stood on the tables, chopping and slashing without pause. The zombies were becoming fewer, but the piles of corpses grew larger and larger; after entering the traps the zombies couldn’t stand and had to crawl. The zombies coming from Building One no longer moved in swarms. Ren Xinrou stopped using blood vials and hurriedly went up and down the floors searching for the surveillance room. The surveillance room was on the fifth floor. She wanted to destroy the footage, but needed an admin account. In a panic she cut the power to the monitoring equipment and put the storage disk and screen into her spatial pocket. Then she quickly went downstairs. From the second floor she saw that there were very few zombies left below. She jumped out through a side window on the second floor and left the armed police base. After the downstairs zombies were cleared out, Wen Mufeng led his team into Building No. 1, rescuing the researchers and the Armed Police officers who were protecting them. A helicopter was already standing by nearby. The Armed Police officers learned that the armory had been emptied, so they went to the monitoring room to check the surveillance; the monitoring room had already been destroyed, leaving the officers full of questions. “Hundreds of Armed Police were transferred out just this morning, and the armory was full then! Hundreds of crates of guns and ammunition—there’s no way a few people could have carried that off. What kind of organization could have done this so cleanly?” Mo Haiqi analyzed, “To be able to quietly take all the weapons behind the zombie tide without anyone noticing, the organization must have a fair number of spatial ability users.” The team members talked about the matter all at once. Wen Mufeng frowned and said nothing. “Boss!” Chen Jie ran down the stairs in a hurry. “That African girl is gone! Our people were guarding the front and back doors killing zombies the whole time, nobody saw her leave!” “Mm, got it.” Wen Mufeng walked around to the side of the armory building; the ground was littered with shards of glass bottles stained with blood. When he had set the traps earlier, he clearly remembered there were no glass bottles here. Wen Mufeng’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. That black girl had spatial abilities; she had helped them out a lot. “Why run away when we weren’t paying attention?” Wen Mufeng did not suspect Ren Xinrou had taken part in stealing the weapons, because when they arrived the armory was already empty. If she had been involved in smuggling the weapons, he thought, she would have had no reason to linger here and attract suspicion. Wen Mufeng believed her own words more: she had come looking for weapons, but found nothing. “Captain! The helicopter will be here in five minutes. We need to get to the roof!” Deputy Captain Zeng Han urged. Wen Mufeng wore a serious expression and ordered, “Roll call! First go to Chong City to resupply ammo and rest, await orders from higher-ups!” “Yes!” the team members answered in unison. Chapter 22: The Tobacco Crisis After all that fuss, their stomachs were already growling from hunger. Ren Xinrou postponed the plan to go to the digital mall until tomorrow; for now, she had to go stock up supplies for her grandfather. After leaving the armed police unit, she went to every shop that sold cigarettes—tobacco and alcohol direct-sale stores, gas stations, grocery stores—and emptied their stocks. She gathered the other brands of cigarettes as well; cigarettes, like brain crystal cores, were base currency. Golden Shell Cloud Cigarettes were hot sellers, and every shop had only a small remaining stock. She hustled until dark, visiting dozens of stores, and only managed to get a little over twenty cartons of Golden Shell Cloud Cigarettes. Ren Xinrou decided to investigate the tobacco company at night. She stopped in the middle of the road two hundred meters from the tobacco company; the electric barrier at the tobacco company’s entrance that usually blocked vehicles was completely open. At night, zombies are attracted to buildings brightly lit by lights. Perhaps due to the inertia of memories from before death, or for other reasons, after dark the zombies’ cries become quieter and their activity level drops significantly. Some zombies shuffle along listlessly with their heads hanging, while others stand in place, their bodies swaying as if asleep. Ren Xinrou threw a blood vial onto the sidewalks on both sides, aiming for the zombies’ heads. The nearby zombies slowly approached the blood-smeared ones, their mobility noticeably less agile than during the day. The zombies in front of the tobacco company didn’t react at all until the sounds of one zombie after another reached their ears, then they began to move, coming toward her. The scent of fresh blood faded, and the zombies quickly calmed down again. The zombie that had left the tobacco company shuffled back to its original position and stood there swaying. “Survivors? Doesn’t seem like it…” Ren Xinrou felt a strange sensation in her heart. She parked the car on the road outside the tobacco company and observed the situation inside. Past the gate was an open-air parking lot where several container-style semi-trucks were parked, their cargo doors open, the compartments stuffed with crates. Two or three crates were scattered behind the vehicle, and beside them lay a rotting skeleton. She guessed that the unloaders had been stunned by a poisonous fog while unloading; when they woke up in the morning it was already too late to run, and they were eaten clean where they stood. Dozens of zombies stood in the parking lot, not clustered together but spaced apart, heads hanging and facing the warehouse door. Ren Xinrou drove a lap around the outside of the tobacco company’s wall. There is a ten-story office building inside the tobacco company, two double-story warehouses about the size of two soccer fields, the two warehouses side by side. Tobacco company map (don’t blame my poor drawing skills) — there is a two-meter-wide road between the two warehouses, both warehouse gates face the company’s front gate, the company’s back gate is closed, and if she just blocks the front gate to trap them, she can kill the zombies and then collect the goods. On second thought, with the zombies defending stubbornly, there must be survivors inside; she can’t recklessly take the things. “I have to lure the people out first, then collect the goods.” Ren Xinrou formed a plan in her mind. She drove her truck crosswise to block the entrance; the inside of the warehouse was pitch dark, and she did not rashly rush in. The streetlights by the roadside were bright, and the situation in the loading-and-unloading area could be seen in full. She stood inside the loading area having finished clearing the zombies, tossed a blood bottle toward the entrances of the two warehouses to try to lure out any zombies inside. After seeing no more zombies come out the doors, she held a flashlight in her left hand and gripped the machete with her right, then went to check in front of the office building. The glass doors at the base of the office building were locked; she shone her flashlight inside. A dozen or so zombies in the hall were coming toward her, pressed against the glass door baring their teeth and snarling. “Is anyone upstairs? The zombies downstairs have been cleared out, you can come home!” Ren Xinrou called up to the upper floor several times, but no one answered. She turned and entered the storage room through the side door. Her flashlight swept the room; neatly stacked boxes piled up like small hills, the brand names of cigarettes printed on the boxes. Ren Xinrou didn’t hurry to put it back into the space. “Is anyone there?” she asked. She felt that something was off, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was. A whooshing wind came from above—the exhaust fan in the ceiling. “Is anyone here? The zombies have all been cleared! You can leave now!” The ceiling fan blades kept stirring with a ‘whoosh whoosh whoosh,’ as if answering her: this place was empty. Ren Xinrou stood by the door, searching for the light switch. “Click!” Ren Xinrou was startled, lifting her flashlight and shining it toward the source of the sound. About ten meters away from her, a bamboo broom that had been leaning against the wall lay toppled on the ground. As the flashlight swept across the floor, she noticed something unusual. Thin shards of glass lay sparsely scattered on the floor, like pieces of a light bulb. She raised the flashlight and shone it at the ceiling; the rows of fluorescent tubes up there were all smashed. If survivors worry that light will attract zombies, they can just turn off the switch — there’s no need to break every single bulb. The zombies came back here just now not because there were survivors! There’s a supernatural zombie here! Ren Xinrou instantly switched off the flashlight; the warm yellow glow of the streetlight outside the door faintly spilled into the warehouse. Her eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness. Zombies do not evolve powers; when a human with powers is bitten and becomes a zombie, they become a powered zombie. Ren Xinrou’s back pressed against the wall; it was impossible for her not to feel at least a little nervous. She had no experience killing powered zombies, only knew they had some intelligence but not much. Some powered zombies would hide, but they hid only to launch attacks and hunt; they would never flee out of fear of death. The higher the brain crystal core level, the stronger its ability to attract ordinary zombies to follow. Ren Xinrou only hoped there was just one powered zombie here, preferably wood- or water-type; those two powers were the least offensive. The only thing she could be sure of was that the current psychotic zombies were at most Level One. Beasts only developed brain crystal cores after the acid rain; now, psychotic zombies had no materials to upgrade with, so there was no way to enhance their abilities for the time being. Brain crystal cores exist only in the brains of mutated beasts and psychics. Ordinary zombies have only a red vesicle in their brains, controlling the most primitive desire: eating. The book records that the red vesicle contains only a minuscule amount of power, useless to an esper. However, when a mutated beast eats enough zombie brains, its abilities will also upgrade. “I shouldn’t have sighed that everything was going so smoothly yesterday!” Ren Xinrou exhaled slowly, inhaled, trying to calm herself; she could clearly hear the sound of her own breathing. Ren Xinrou took several ducks out of the space and tossed them around. “Quack quack quack, quack quack!” The ducks flapped their wings, wiggled their tails a few steps then stopped, stretching their necks and turning their eyes warily; in the unfamiliar surroundings they didn’t know which way to go. With a muffled ‘quack~’, the duck that had been standing a few meters away vanished in an instant. Ren Xinrou held the flashlight against her chest without turning it on, her right hand gripping the machete in a stance ready to swing and hack at any moment. She slid along the wall into a darker corner. The darker the spot she stood in, the clearer she could see the places where light fell. Zombies couldn’t run fast; even psychic zombies couldn’t be so quick that she couldn’t catch even an afterimage—except for speed zombies. Ren Xinrou’s eyes hidden in the darkness flickered with a rigor and murderous intent she had never shown until now. She hissed softly, “Why can’t I run into ghosts! Of all things, I run into a pesky speed-type zombie!” I can’t outrun it, I can’t find it — I can’t hide in space forever, can I! Chapter 23: Tobacco Crisis 2 Ren Xinrou snorted and laughed, shouting loudly, “Kid! I’m definitely going to kill you!” “Tsck… tsck, tsck,” the sound of chewing came from deep within the warehouse. Ren Xinrou quietly crept closer to the source of the sound. She had considered throwing a pig out as bait, but that idea was dismissed in half a second; it wasn’t worth losing a big fat pig over a first-tier mutant zombie. At this moment she couldn’t help but scold herself for being so stingy; she didn’t want to wake herself up with curses. In her past life she could eat and dress well every day, entirely because she wasn’t generous enough to others. This tradition, she intended to continue in this life—she would choose “money” over her life. There was clearly no sign of anyone, but Ren Xinrou’s whole body suddenly went gooseflesh and she jerked on her flashlight. “Howl~!” The direct beam lit up a face inches away: a zombie wearing the tobacco company’s deep-blue uniform, its eyes gray-white, blood smeared at the mouth sticking to duck feathers. He opened his mouth wide and let out a howl, then disappeared. Ren Xinrou swung her blade at him; she missed. She turned off the flashlight again. All the hairs on her body were breathing wildly, and her heartbeat was pounding so hard it felt like it might burst out of her chest. She felt relieved, because the suddenly switched-on light had startled the zombie; next time a direct beam might not be enough to intimidate it. The zombie must be watching her from somewhere. Zombies move very fast; by the time she noticed, it would already be when one was close to her. Bullets are fast and lethal, but only if they hit in one shot; for close combat the best weapon is a knife. This time Ren Xinrou switched to a pointed long bayonet, more suited for close quarters. Waving the long point she taunted, “Come catch me!” elongating her voice as she moved slowly, “tsk tsk tsk~ Fresh meat here~~” If she couldn’t even handle a Grade-1 mutated zombie, it would mean she wasn’t fit to survive in this world — better to die early and be reborn sooner! Ren Xinrou whistled provocatively at the zombies, “Come on, kid~ come eat me~” In her previous life, zombies bit her clothes countless times. Each time, before their teeth reached her flesh, she could swiftly and accurately stab through the zombie’s head. Relying on her keen vigilance and the combat experience accumulated in the troops, she wandered alone for eight years, and every time she was in danger she managed to get out safely. This time was no exception! “Come on~ hurry up and come die!” Ren Xinrou taunted again and again, her back pressed against the wall. “Ow!” The sound came from the side, as if right beside her ear. In a flash of lightning and sparks, Ren Xinrou stabbed back with her hand. ‘Crack!’ The sound of the blade piercing the skull made her taut heart relax a little. “Quack quack quack!” The few surviving ducks stretched their necks and called to her. “I might should keep a few dogs in the space; dogs are more alert than people and are good at standing guard.” Ren Xinrou remembered the two goofy big wolfhounds she’d met in the mountains. “Wolfhounds would be good.” She grabbed the ducks and put them back in the coop, then took out a rechargeable camping lantern from the space’s Sam’s Supermarket to light a small area. The rechargeable camping lantern had an uncanny zombie-killing effect; she hadn’t completely let her guard down — what if there was still another one? If in the same place at the same time she ran into two speed-ability zombies, then she must definitely be a disaster-summoning constitution. The book recorded that six months later, official statistics on people with abilities showed that humans had only a one in ten thousand chance of possessing an ability, and speed abilities accounted for only one twentieth of ability holders, The metal-type, that is the strength type, had the highest proportion, making up half of ability holders. From most to least common, the proportions are: metal, water, earth, wood, space, audiovisual enhancement, and speed; the rarest ability is fire. She stored two floors’ worth of tobacco into the space in the warehouse; she deliberately spent some time sorting out the gold-shell Yunyān and purple-shell Yunyān and placed them separately. Grandfather once said that the purple-shell Yunyan smokes are also good, but at 60 a pack they’re too expensive to justify; the 30-a-pack gold-shell Yunyan offers better value. Before going to the next-door warehouse to collect the cigarettes, she extracted the brain crystal core from the speed zombie. It was small and golden, the size of a corn kernel, like a diamond. The container trucks parked in the loading yard couldn’t be left behind either; all were taken into the space. Today’s task was temporarily concluded. Encountering an ability-infected zombie tonight made her truly realize that this world is far more dangerous than the one she lived in before. This world is unfriendly to humans without abilities. It’s a pity not to have an ability, but space filled all those regrets. Ren Xinrou took out a camper and slept tonight in the tobacco warehouse. She made the bed and cooked the meal, then reported to her grandfather that she was safe: {Grandpa, I’m having dinner, tonight it’s egg fried rice, what did you eat?} Ren Yiyong saw his granddaughter’s message and finally felt his worries ease. Every minute he regretted that his “driving a duck onto a shelf” and “pulling up seedlings to help them grow” methods of education might have killed his granddaughter. {Rou Rou, come home. You don’t have to wait until the truck is full to come back — it’s too dangerous out there! The authorities just announced that zombies can have special abilities too!} {I just analyzed it. If you encounter strength-type zombies that throw logs or spray water, and you have a gun, you’ll definitely have a chance to win; the real fear is running into speed-type zombies — by the time you react, you’ll be bitten! You won’t even get to say goodbye to your family; you’d really die with regrets!} Ren Xinrou: {Grandpa, I just ran into a speed zombie. It was pretty vicious, but it isn’t flawless. When an ability zombie rushes over, it will roar first — if you react quickly enough, you can take them out before they bite.} “……” Ren Yiyong thought his farsighted eyes had misread the message and reread his granddaughter’s words repeatedly. An old heart thudded wildly; with trembling hands he dialed his granddaughter’s number: “Rou Rou, come home, come home! The whole city is full of food. When the stuff at home runs out, grandpa will take you out to find more!” Ren Xinrou smiled and asked, “Grandpa, are you home alone?” Ren Yiyong made a sound of agreement, then corrected himself, “Not exactly alone—your grandma’s in the downstairs bathroom. I fed her a whole chicken this afternoon; I don’t know if she’s overstuffed or worn out from chewing. I haven’t heard her make a sound in a long time.” “……” Ren Xinrou didn’t know what to say to comfort him. “Grandpa, I have space……” Before she could say the space was large, Ren Yiyong asked urgently, “Who else knows about this?” Ren Xinrou’s smile deepened; she hadn’t guessed wrong—this life’s grandfather was also very good. “No one knows. Grandpa is the first person to find out.” “Don’t tell anyone that you have a space!” Ren Yiyong said anxiously. Chapter 24 Space Ren Yiyong spoke sternly, his voice low and breathy: “Didn’t you check the village group? This afternoon I called in the group for people with strength abilities to take turns patrolling the village at night. Old Qiao’s son who lives at the end of the village was foolishly shouting in the group that he has spatial power! What an idiot—why would he blurt that out! Being able to put food and drink in and take it out anytime like that only invites envy and hatred! I just heard from Qiao’s neighbor that a few young girls and guys brought alcohol and went to his place to hang out! The laughter coming from the house could pierce the sky! Old Qiao’s son usually sneaks around and steals; few people in the village want to be close to him! Now everyone’s treating him like a treasure! I think that kid’s bound to get into trouble sooner or later!” “I’ve said so much—do you understand what Grandpa means or not?” Ren Yiyong asked. Ren Xinrou answered, “I understand. Don’t stick your neck out—Grandpa can relax. I won’t tell anyone. I’ll only tell you. My space is very big…” Ren Yiyong interrupted his granddaughter again: “Shh shh shh! I didn’t hear anything, I know nothing! If you’ve got something good, hide it yourself—don’t tell me! Lest I blurt it out in a moment of excitement!” Ren Xinrou said, “All right, all right, we’ll talk about this when I get home.” Ren Yiyong hissed softly, “As if I’d say anything! Don’t say a word at home either. Our village has someone with exceptional ears—don’t go around talking! Got it? After you come back, if there’s anything important, text me first to ask if you can talk about it!” Ren Xinrou replied, “I understand, Grandpa.” “Finish eating and go to bed early. If you come back, tell me when you’re at the village entrance.” “Okay, Grandfather.” After hanging up, Ren Xinrou checked the village group messages. Current tally: six Gold-types, two Earth-types, one Space-type, and one audio-visual ability. The area around the village is an industrial zone, and there are many nonlocal tenants in the village; survivors from outside the area make up half of the village’s survivors, and Grandpa even added the surviving outsiders to the group chat. Among the powered individuals identified today, the nonlocal tenants yielded only one gold-type. The outsiders are all young people, and young people are inherently more likely to evolve powers, so surely some of them concealed their abilities. Ren Xinrou didn’t pay much attention to the matter; hiding one’s powers and playing down one’s skills is human nature, and those with powers can’t avoid being morally coerced into being pushed forward as the standouts. Ren Xinrou sent Grandpa a message: {Grandpa, my space is not just one meter, it’s very big, you can grow vegetables and raise chickens in it.} Ren Yiyong replied: {You little brat! Didn’t I tell you not to tell me! You’re forcing me to hold in my temper! I didn’t see anything! Recall that message!} Ren Xinrou obediently recalled the message. Ren Yiyong: {If one day your space is exposed, remember, it’s only one meter big! Got it or not! Got it or not!} Ren Xinrou: {Got it, got it!} Ren Yiyong then warned: {Delete the chat history — if a hacker gets it, we’ll be in trouble!} “……” Ren Xinrou laughed through her tears, {Okay, I’ve cleared the history.} Ren Yiyong: {When you come back, go to the chicken farm at the foot of the hill in the neighboring village and steal the chickens from the coops! I saw reliable news in the county merchants’ group: the two people guarding the factory turned into zombies, and the factory owner posted in the group asking someone to take care of the chickens, but no one dared to respond!} {Sneak over at night when no one’s around, don’t let anyone see you! And don’t forget to take the chicken feed!} {I’ll go ask around in a bit to find out which supermarket is unguarded; you also go take a look around.} After reading Grandpa’s message, Ren Xinrou laughed heartily, {Okay, let me know what you find out; I’ll take everything home.} She waited a while, and Ren Yiyong sent another message: {At the junction of the North City Fourth Ring Road and the neighboring city, there’s an online supermarket distribution center covering two hundred mu. I hear the cold-storage warehouse is huge—rice, oil, salt, all kinds of food are available!} {The manager there led all the living employees out two days ago; now he’s regretting it to death. He’s gathering people in the group chat trying to retake the distribution center and seize it, but he can’t assemble anyone for now. If your space can hold it, go take a look.} After opening the map to check the location, Ren Xinrou replied to Grandpa: {Okay, I’ll go see it tomorrow. Is there anything Grandpa particularly wants to eat?} Ren Yiyong: {Hamburgers and fried chicken, and get some beer.} Ren Xinrou noted the places to visit and planned to find time to raid the refrigerators at McDonald’s and KFC. She saw the hospital’s cross symbol on the map, and a thought suddenly flashed through her mind. In this life her grandfather’s blood sugar is very high, though not yet at the stage requiring insulin; for now he only needs oral hypoglycemic drugs. But what if it gets severe later? Oral hypoglycemic drugs are common prescription medicines that can be bought at ordinary pharmacies; insulin can only be obtained from hospitals. In the apocalypse, with no sources for drug ingredients and pharmaceutical companies having stopped operating, medicines are almost irreplaceable things. People who eat grains will inevitably get sick; she had been so busy these past two days that she forgot, and she would die from lack of medicine. “Tomorrow’s agenda: first go to the electronics market to get a walkie-talkie and a drone, then go to the distribution center; after collecting the items from the distribution center, never hoard from supermarkets again; then go to the hospital for medicine, stock up on hamburgers and fried chicken, and, if there’s time, stop by the pet shop…” Ren Xinrou lay in bed thinking about tomorrow’s schedule. There would undoubtedly be an unimaginably large number of zombies at the hospital; she had to finish the simple tasks first, then spend time dealing with the difficult parts of the plan. “Leave stocking up fuel for last… go to the plastics factory first to find empty drums, there are a lot of zombies in the plant, and a lot of living people too, better to go at night…” She flipped through the little dirty book in her head, hoping to find a few useful hoarding spots, and came across lurid scenes of the vicious supporting female and the bald guys brewing and fermenting. She read straight through six chapters and still hadn’t gotten to their ‘story.’ That night, Ren Xinrou had a dream: in the dream she put all the city’s gasoline and diesel into her space. Before she could celebrate, she was chased and hunted by a group of superpowered zombies. On the way they ran into the army; that outrageously handsome man was with them, and together they once again finished off the zombies. When the battle was over, a dozen or so soldiers, to repay her help, planned to offer themselves to her. They suddenly transformed into mutated zombies and chased her, shouting that they wanted to father hundreds of zombie pups with her. “I refuse to be a zombie sow!” Ren Xinrou cried, opening her eyes with a start, drenched in cold sweat. After reading a little apocalypse erotic book before bed, the aftereffects left the scenes too stimulating and terrifying. “The vicious supporting character has such a strong body structure — how can she ‘fit’ so many people?” Ren Xinrou painted on the African makeup again. At first, she developed this look so her features wouldn’t be recognized when she was ‘stealing’ things. Now she had a different view of the African makeup: this look could ‘kill’ most men’s improper desires. In the world of this book, men and women throw all restraint to the wind when it comes to sex, and she doesn’t want too many men thinking about her. “Need to get more eyebrow powder; this stuff gets used up so fast when you put it on.” The electronics mall was deserted; the pick-up trip went very smoothly, and the convenience store on the first floor was looted as well. After two hours of driving we arrived at the junction between the two cities, the province’s largest Ground Cat supermarket distribution center. The area was quiet, and there weren’t many wandering zombies. Ren Xinrou had lost interest in stockpiling food; she was enthused by the dozen or so box trucks parked in the loading area. Now that she’s here, of course she can’t just take a few trucks. Although she said she wouldn’t hoard supermarket goods anymore, the gigantic bazaar supermarket before her—big enough to feed several generations—was too tempting; she couldn’t just turn on her heel and leave. ——- Chapter 25: Zombie Tide Two big trucks blocked the gate, leaving an exit two people wide. She smeared fresh blood on the drone, tied a plastic blood bottle underneath, punctured two holes in the bottle bottom, and the blood dripped down steadily. Ren Xinrou sat inside one of the trucks, staring at the livestream screen, piloting the drone through every corner of the distribution center to lure the zombies to follow. Most of the zombies wore the distribution center’s work uniforms, numbering in the hundreds. The weather was hot, and the freshness of the blood didn’t last long. The drone had to ferry blood back and forth several times before it could draw all the zombies gathered together out the door and try to lead them as far away as possible. She drove a truck to block the reserved exit, and the drone hovered over the zombies’ heads, circling until its battery died and it landed. Ren Xinrou jumped down from the truck, rode an electric bicycle into the warehouse, and gathered supplies as she rode. When her hand touched the shelves, entire sections six or seven meters high and several meters long condensed into space. The supermarket warehouse complex had nineteen storage units: a snack warehouse, grain warehouse, seasoning warehouse, daily necessities warehouse, home appliance warehouse, alcohol warehouse, instant food warehouse, cold chain warehouse, and imported food warehouse. The cold storage area is further divided into the seafood warehouse, the fresh meat warehouse, the frozen foods warehouse, and other cold-chain foods (ice cream, popsicles, dairy products). Before leaving, Ren Xinrou went to the monitoring room and threw three hand grenades; with three explosions, the machines in the monitoring room were twisted and deformed and could no longer be powered on. She also took the blast-resistant equipment from the security office while she was at it. After getting into the car she leaned against the seatback and glanced at the space. Endless frozen foods made her uneasy. “Frozen buns, steamed buns, and dumplings aren’t as tasty as freshly made ones… I’ll have Grandpa set up a stall to sell them later.” Shelves of fast food stretching as far as the eye could see, boxes upon boxes of instant noodles and self-heating meals; Countless rice and flour, ice cream and popsicles, frozen seafood, frozen meat, bread, milk, imported foods, bottled water… Ren Xinrou said wryly, “I’ve stocked up enough rations for my great-great-grandchildren.” “Find someone to fall in love with first, then think about grandchildren. If there are grandkids…” Ren Xinrou’s thoughts drifted inexplicably, “Having only grain isn’t enough. This much ammunition in terms of space is only enough for me. If I can live for three hundred years, my son wouldn’t get a share, let alone any grandchildren.” Having taken so many things, the only thing that made her happy was those several hundred household water storage buckets, ranging from 10 liters to 28 liters. There were also several hundred iron oil storage drums for household use, sized from 20L to 60L. When she was in the Auto City she had collected quite a few of these oil drums. She needed to hoard a lot of fuel; repeatedly changing drums to stockpile was inconvenient. She hoped even more to find oil drums over 1 ton, preferably large barrels with a 5-ton capacity. ‘Zzz zzz zzz’—the phone in her shoulder bag vibrated a few times. It was a message from Xin JiaoJiao: {Ren Xinrou, the reconnaissance team just reported a horde of over ten thousand zombies on the Nanhe Expressway, and their destination is very likely Nanshi.} Ren Xinrou: {Why do you think they’re heading to Nanshi?} Xin JiaoJiao: {The rescue teams have been prioritizing saving high-ranking officials and research personnel these past few days. Since Nanshi is the provincial capital, the most authoritative people are here. Helicopter evacuations have been frequent, and the zombies have gradually clumped into a sizable horde.} {The reconnaissance team predicts the horde will leave the highway via the East-side Highway 1. At their current pace, they’ll exit the highway in about four hours. Is that area close to your home?} Ren Xinrou: {My home is in the southern suburbs, some distance from the highway entrance to the east.} Xin Jiaojiao: {If nothing unexpected happens, the zombie surge will prioritize flooding into the city. If you’re out scavenging for supplies, be extremely careful — there are powered zombies in this wave.} Ren Xinrou: {Do you know what kinds of powers they have?} Xin Jiaojiao: {So far we can confirm metal-type and earth-type. The metal-type zombies have muscles that show a faint metallic sheen; the earth-type have sand and dirt on their heads. Earth-type zombies can fling chunks of earth from their hands — not very large, but very hard; if you’re close you risk getting your skull crushed.} {You must be careful. Ability zombies have an inexplicable attraction to ordinary zombies; they will organize into groups to attack people. You don’t need to worry about wood-type and water-type ones — they’ll only spit water or swing wooden sticks. If you encounter a speed-type, then you’re on your own.} Ren Xinrou: {I am a person with much good fortune.} Xin Jiajiao: {…}{Have you encountered a speed zombie?} Ren Xinrou: {He encountered me.} Xin Jiaojiiao: {Dead?} Ren Xinrou: {Mm.} Xin Jiaojiiao: {Supernatural zombies have brain crystal cores in their heads. If you encounter them again, remember to dig them out — they can be used to upgrade abilities.} Ren Xinrou: {Okay.} Xin Jiaojiao: {Be careful with everything!} Ren Xinrou: {You too.} Over ten thousand zombies, scattered across the streets of the first-tier city, were like pouring a cup of water into a pool—no ripples. But if those zombies surrounded only a single neighborhood, only one building, the situation would be different. Ren Xinrou called her grandfather to inform him: “Grandpa, put a few more vehicles at the entrances and exits to block them, just in case.” Ren Yiyong was in the village committee office and immediately instructed those around him to handle it. “Rourou, when do you plan to come back?” Ren Yiyong asked. The authorities would certainly use every channel available to broadcast the arrival of the zombie tide; no survivor would dare drive out of Nanshi, and naturally no one would go to the gas stations—it’s a prime opportunity to hoard fuel. Today I’ll stock up on medicine, tomorrow and the day after I’ll stock up on oil, then go home to rest for a few days. Ren Xinrou immediately dismissed the plan; the pig and duck in the space hadn’t been slaughtered yet and couldn’t be kept in the space’s truck forever. Ren Xinrou answered, “Grandpa, I’ll try to be home within seven days.” 　　—– Chapter 26 Hospital Ren Xinrou calmly followed the original plan: first she ransacked KFC and McDonald’s, then used their kitchens to make burgers and fried chicken. If there happened to be a pharmacy nearby, she would also stop by to stock up on medicine. At midday rest she found a gas station with relatively few zombies around to take a break. The gas station’s two attendants had turned into zombies; there were fuel cards around their necks, and the station’s internal fuel card allowed unlimited refueling. Ren Xinrou sat beside the fuel tanks, holding a burger in one hand and a fuel nozzle in the other, and first filled all the small fuel drums in the space. The fuel nozzles sprayed at high speed; operating six tanks at once, it took less than three hours to fill over two hundred 50L drums. As long as you set the desired amount on the machine and rest the nozzle on the drum, the spraying stops when it’s full, so there’s no need to worry about not being able to turn the nozzle off in time. The large water storage tank in the space was intended for stockpiling water. If she ran out of fuel she could at worst drive less, but no water was absolutely unacceptable. “I’m really envious of women with water powers; they can keep themselves spotless every day.” “Actually I don’t need to stockpile much water. If I don’t shower for a month, I won’t have to reapply makeup every day.” Ren Xinrou sat in the car, touching up her makeup in the rearview mirror, murmuring to herself. Next stop, pick up prescription medicine at the hospital. On her way to the hospital, Ren Xinrou saw two helicopters roaring overhead. “It can’t be such a coincidence; their destination is the People’s Hospital too,” Ren Xinrou said offhandedly. A few minutes later, two helicopters were hovering low over the roofs of Inpatient Building No. 1 and Inpatient Building No. 2 respectively. Wen Mufeng led his team jumping out of the helicopter; they fought their way from the 18th floor of Inpatient Building No. 1 down to the 10th floor. Inpatient Building No. 2 was handled by another special operations team. The People’s Hospital has four inpatient buildings — a connected quartet of towers that intercommunicate. Between Inpatient Buildings 1 and 2 is a six-story outpatient building; to the right of the outpatient building’s front entrance is the emergency building. Hospital map (my drawing skills are limited, please forgive me): Nanshi People’s Hospital ranks in the top ten among tertiary hospitals in the province, and there are a great many hospitalized patients. The inpatient wards are saturated every day; beds are often insufficient, and placing beds in the corridors is commonplace. After the virus outbreak, many people who had just been bitten, unclear about their condition, rushed to the hospital seeking treatment. Thousands of patients and medical staff in the hospital were infected, and along with the people rushing to the hospital for treatment, they all turned into zombies. Inside and outside the hospital, dense hordes of zombies were roaring and shoving. The outpatient building’s first and second floors house the province’s largest Western medicine pharmacy; this is Ren Xinrou’s destination. Fortunately, the outpatient building was deserted, because it doesn’t operate at night and the outpatient doors had been kept locked. Inside the inpatient ward, the junction connecting the two inpatient buildings was also secured by a mesh rolling shutter, blocking the ward’s zombies from surging into the outpatient building. Unfortunately, to get into the outpatient building, she would have to fly over countless zombies outside the gate. Ren Xinrou’s truck was parked about 200 meters from the hospital. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to get closer—it was that her truck simply couldn’t squeeze through. The zombie ring around the hospital had a diameter of nearly 200 meters. Ren Xinrou controlled a drone to observe the situation outside the outpatient building. The fountain outside the outpatient building was blood-red, with human fat and flesh floating on the surface. The water was filled with soaked zombies, their heads thrown back as they roared toward the inpatient buildings on either side of the outpatient building. The main doors downstairs of Inpatient Building 1 and Building 2 were wide open, and the zombies were slowly squeezing in. “Rat-a-tat-tat!” The sound of rifle fire came through the monitoring headset. “Is there a rescue team here?” Several cool, handsome figures flashed through Ren Xinrou’s mind. “It can’t be that lucky, is it them?” Ren Xinrou pulled the control stick; the drone climbed and flew outside the tenth-floor window of Building 2’s inpatient ward, where a dozen or so soldiers were desperately firing at the zombies. Endless zombies poured out of the stairwell and lunged at them. “Not those soldiers.” Ren Xinrou’s eyes showed hesitation; she didn’t want to meddle. But she also didn’t want to stand by and watch these soldiers sacrifice themselves to save so-called authorities for nothing. Perhaps the military spirit in her soul hadn’t faded; she decided to help a little. “Anyway, it’s convenient—I’m going to try to get in anyway.” Ren Xinrou muttered to herself. She recalled the drone, then used it again to carry the blood bottles, hovering at the stairwell of the first building to temporarily draw the zombies’ attention and keep them from crowding up the stairs. To buy the soldiers upstairs some time to catch their breath and regroup. Ren Xinrou saw on the monitor that the zombies outside Building 1 were also moving into the building. She piloted the drone to hover outside the tenth-floor window of Building 1 and saw another team of soldiers— a group of familiar faces. Ren Xinrou curled her lips and lightly bumped the half-open window with a drone. High-rise windows can’t be fully opened because it’s easy for accidents to happen. Wen Mufeng’s brows were tightly furrowed, every inch of his muscles tense, every nerve focused on killing zombies. The sound of the drone’s propellers came in through the window behind him. Ren Xinrou was speaking through the surveillance headset: “Break the window! Take down the blood vial and throw it down!” Wen Mufeng heard the sound and looked out the window, catching sight of the blood vials hanging beneath the drone; he smashed the window. “Chen Jie! Go throw the blood vials!” Ren Xinrou shouted again: “Contact the team in the next building, break the windows and wait for me.” After Chen Jie took down the blood vials, the drone returned to Ren Xinrou’s hand, quickly reattached two vials, and flew toward Building 2. The drone’s carrying capacity was only this much; she felt helpless. The zombies struck by the blood vials were treated like fresh meat, torn and gnawed at by their kin. Drones went back and forth a dozen times delivering blood vials. There were still quite a few zombies downstairs, but the blood intercepted many that tried to go upstairs, easing the pressure on the soldiers above. Ren Xinrou gave orders to both sides, “The drone will hover at the first-floor corridor entrance. You take this chance to fight your way down and block the second-floor exits to prevent zombies from coming upstairs again.” There were several shops on the first floor of the inpatient building: a fruit shop, a supermarket, and a spacious lobby. There were no inpatient wards and no survivors needing rescue. Wen Mufeng ordered the team members to all go downward. On the first floor of Building 1 there was a long corridor that connected to the inpatient ward of Building 3. Luckily the corridor was long, and the zombies in Building 3 were distracted by the survivors on their floors, so they did not enter Building 1 via the corridor. Wen Mufeng led team members to move a dozen or so beds and block the second-floor staircase, trapping the zombies on the first floor so they couldn’t come up. After finishing the setup, Wen Mufeng stood on the second floor and shouted out the window, “Please go help the next building.” Ren Xinrou didn’t answer; she piloted the drone to the staircase of Building 2 and performed the same operation. After Building 2’s problem was resolved, the drone left without looking back. Wen Mufeng and the captain of the other team ordered their members to rescue today’s target and send them to the roof to wait for the helicopter to pick them up. Mo Haiqi glanced at the drone flying away. “Captain, aren’t we going to ask who this woman who helped is?” Wen Mufeng’s eyes flashed, and he replied calmly and indifferently, “She doesn’t want to leave her name, there’s no need for us to be curious.” Mo Haiqi, used to looking three steps ahead, said worriedly, “It’s only been a few days since the apocalypse. This woman can handle zombies so skillfully; she must have a lot of field experience. What if one day she uses the same method to use zombies against the living? She would be a hidden danger.” “Haichi, you’re thinking too far ahead. The world has changed — how many people now are willing to reach out and help us? That she is willing to help us unconditionally shows her nature isn’t bad. Even if such a person turns bad, how bad could they get?” Wen Mufeng didn’t tell Mo Haichi that this woman had already helped them for the second time; he recognized her voice from the start. Chen Jie had been trailing behind them ‘eavesdropping.’ He agreed, “The boss is right. In the current situation, not becoming a burden is already being a good person! She went to great lengths to save us — she’s truly a good person! How bad could a good person be if they turn bad?” Wen Mufeng said, “No more talk, get to work!” Moving the target person to the roof did not go smoothly; the biggest problem did not come from the zombies, but from other survivors blocking the way. —— Chapter 27 Hospital 2 Ren Xinrou recalled the low-battery drone, swapped in another, hung a plastic blood bottle beneath it, and poked a few holes in the bottom. The blood vial dripped and dripped, flying out toward the outpatient building. Drones hovered over the fountain flowerbed while Ren Xinrou drove the truck around to the hospital’s back entrance. The fierce battles in Buildings 1 and 2 had pushed the horde gathered behind the inpatient ward forward, so the back road was almost clear of zombies. Ren Xinrou sped the truck into the crowd of zombies at the door, smashing through and charging into the underground garage entrance at the back. The zombies on the hospital map would inevitably follow the truck into the garage. Ren Xinrou quickly turned the wheel, positioning the truck crosswise at the entrance to block the flow of zombies. Just as Ren Xinrou had guessed, there were fewer zombies in the underground parking garage than on the surface. Ren Xinrou used the space, collecting cars along the way, running and killing zombies as she went, arranging vehicles as she moved. She placed cars to form two walls, blocking zombies on both sides; this safe path extended all the way to the elevator outside Basement 1 of Building 1. This route was meant for retreat after collecting the medicine. The elevator is for staff only and has been stuck on the seventh floor the whole time. There is a sign by the elevator stating it goes directly to the 1st floor, the 7th-floor staff teaching and research office, and the 10th-floor operating room; it does not stop at other floors. The elevator requires a doctor’s ID card to activate. Ren Xinrou’s gaze swept over the wailing zombies on both sides and she spotted a zombie wearing a doctor’s ID badge. Ren Xinrou’s plan was to go down the fire stairs from the seventh floor, enter the neighboring outpatient building on the fifth floor to collect the medicine, and then return the same way to leave the hospital. The staff elevator on the 7th floor opened directly into the employee lounge, with sofas, a big-screen TV, and a dozen or so cubicles enclosed by glass walls. This floor is where all the hospital staff rest, entertain, exercise, and study. Now, the hall was packed with survivors. The survivors included patients and medical staff, who had surrounded the special forces members in the middle, preventing them from taking the mission target away. They worried that once the soldiers left, they would be abandoned here, afraid there would be no rescue teams coming to save them. The elevator that had been stopped on the seventh floor suddenly dinged and descended to B1. The survivors standing by the elevator doors screamed in terror, “Zombies are coming upstairs!” The crowd surged; everyone pressed themselves hard against the soldiers, seeking protection. Chen Jie, being jostled so badly he felt sick, couldn’t help cursing: “Fuck! I haven’t had my guts eaten out by zombies! It’s you lot who are crushing my intestines! Move over! Can’t you run behind us? Pressing up against me like this—does that make you safer?” A middle-aged man in hospital garb, with “9th Floor Proctology” printed on his chest, shouted loudly and forcefully, “You want us to run behind you? You’re trying to make a break for it! Don’t think you can abandon us!” Deputy Captain Zeng Han, positioned closer to the crowd’s edge, held his gun aimed at the elevator entrance, ready to fire at any moment. But his body was being jostled, the gun wobbling; Zeng Han’s temperament had always been steady, but being shoved like that finally got on his nerves: “Damn it! If you don’t want to get bitten first, get out of the way! Move! Do you hear me? Get over there!” The survivors blocked their way because they were afraid of dying, and that same fear made them open up an instantary gap for him. Wen Mufeng took the opportunity to squeeze up beside him; the two of them held pistols aimed at the elevator doors. The digital display next to the elevator doors ticked through the numbers: 3… 4… 5… 6…… “Ding!” The elevator doors slid open slowly. Ren Xinrou stood in the middle of the elevator, holding a machete. When the doors had opened just a crack, she thought today would be another of her “lucky” days, having to face a horde of zombies. Seeing two handsome big men standing outside with guns aimed at her, she breathed a sigh of relief and, afraid they might misfire, quickly shouted, “I’m human!” Ren Xinrou wondered why those soldiers still hadn’t withdrawn. She glanced at the large crowd standing behind them; they were staring at her in terror. A dozen or so soldiers stood on the sofas in the middle of the hall, and the people around them seemed as if they wanted to fuse themselves into the soldiers’ bodies. She immediately guessed why they hadn’t evacuated. “Hey! Aren’t you that African girl?” Chen Jie craned his neck and shouted from the crowd. Wen Mufeng and Zeng Han had already holstered their guns. Ren Xinrou responded indifferently, “Mm, what a coincidence.” Speaking, she stepped out of the elevator and glanced around to locate the fire stairs. Wen Mufeng took a second, more careful look at the girl in front of him. Her entire face was still pitch black; the arms and neck exposed outside the black T-shirt were also jet black, and she still had an inexplicable comical air. But this time he didn’t feel the urge to laugh. This girl was not ordinary! She went alone, twice running into places surrounded by zombie swarms, and each time she looked completely calm and composed. His unit had been rated the most valiant special forces team for five consecutive years; every member was outstanding, yet he couldn’t find anyone who could be like her… entering the zombie-infested area as if returning home. “What are you looking for?” Wen Mufeng asked. Ren Xinrou answered casually, “Looking for someone.” Chen Jie pushed through the crowd with enormous effort and stood in front of Ren Xinrou. “Which African girl are you looking for? All the living people in this building are here.” Ren Xinrou casually replied, “His name is Liu Dehua.” He was a superstar in her world; she didn’t know if there was anyone like him in this world. Chen Jie eagerly called out to help her: “Is there anyone named Liu Dehua! Liu Dehua!” Ren Xinrou waited half a minute without hearing a response and continued the act, “Maybe he’s already left. I’ll go first.” Saying that, she turned toward the fire escape. “Don’t leave!” the middle-aged patient shouted to stop her. “I’m asking you! You came up from B1! Were there no zombies on B1?” Ren Xinrou stopped and looked at the speaker. She knew this kind of person all too well, and she was very familiar with this atmosphere. In her previous life, when she and the uncles went out on rescue missions, they were trapped by survivors countless times. Those survivors would morally blackmail them, hurl all kinds of insults, and feign sympathy. She had clashed with survivors innumerable times. She could tell at a glance what type of person was in front of her. “There are zombies, but not many. You can stick together and leave.” Since they hadn’t crossed her bottom line, she didn’t mind wasting a little breath. A young girl rushed up to her and pleaded, “If you could come down to B1, you must be able to leave the hospital too, right? Please take us with you!” Her words were met with agreement from most of the people. Ren Xinrou glanced at the young girl who had spoken up and said coldly, “There are soldiers here with guns protecting you—what use would there be in me taking you away?” Having said that, she continued on her way. A young girl suddenly rushed forward, spreading her arms to block her way; seven or eight survivors followed her in blocking Ren Xinrou. “They didn’t come to protect us! They came to find expert doctors! Once they find them, they want to withdraw; they don’t care whether we live or die! They don’t deserve to be soldiers!” the young girl shouted, pouring out her feelings and revealing her anger without restraint. “Yes! They don’t care whether we live or die!” “They only care about people with background and connections! A bunch of bootlickers!” “People with background are human—what, are ordinary civilians like us supposed to just die here?” …… More and more people echoed the young woman. The anger in people’s hearts was inflamed, and for a time it could not be quelled. Chapter 28 Hospital 3 The thirteen members of the special forces, though their eyes burned with anger, did not respond; they let the survivors hurl insults. They had explained countless times, to no avail. The rescue subjects guarded by soldiers, helpless and angry, once again explained loudly, “What connections do we have! The authorities rescued us first because many of the wounded and virus-infected people need our help! They need us to research the virus!” Chen Jie took the words and shouted, “We explained it so clearly! The authorities aren’t abandoning you! The land rescue team is already on the way; you only have to hold on for at most another 24 hours, and you can all get out of here!” Chen Jie, angry and aggrieved, shouted louder and louder: “The rescue teams each have their own duties! They have tasks to complete! The land rescue team has enough ammunition to kill the zombies downstairs—what good does blocking us do? We don’t have trucks! We don’t have enough ammo! How are just a few of us supposed to get you all out of here!” Chen Jie’s words received not the slightest understanding or sympathy. “You have planes! Can’t you just have the planes make a few more flights!” After the young woman shouted, someone immediately chimed in, “Exactly! Have the planes take us away!” “They clearly could take us away! Why should we have to wait 24 hours!” “If you don’t take us away today, then you’re nothing but sycophantic bootlickers!” “We don’t want to waste words with you! If you’re leaving, take us with you! Otherwise, nobody leaves!” “Yes! Nobody leaves!” Chen Jie’s eyes were red with anger; he wanted to shout back but was grabbed in time by his teammate, forcing himself to swallow his rage. Wen Mufeng’s face was expressionless but his gaze was icy as he quietly listened to their jeering and insults. He wanted nothing more than to kill those few ringleaders who had stirred things up. But he was a soldier; he had to live up to the oath he took when enlisting—”Serve the People,”—to live up to the badge on his shoulder, to live up to the honors he had once received. He could not kill innocents at will. At that moment, Ren Xinrou’s cool, indifferent voice reached his ears. She said to the young woman and the several people blocking her way, “Please step aside, I have business to attend to.” The middle-aged proctology patient who had been making the most fuss was the first to speak before the young woman did: “You know them! You’re in cahoots! If you want to leave, fine — take us with you!” The moment his voice came out, the noisy babble instantly stopped, everyone waiting for Ren Xinrou to answer. Ren Xinrou turned around, her gaze icy as she looked at the middle-aged man. “The authorities will send people to rescue you useless trash — you should be grateful and secretly laugh, not making a scene. Who gave you the right to act up?” The middle-aged man glared angrily and shouted, “Who are you calling useless trash!” Ren Xinrou leaned lazily against the wall, idly playing with the cleaver in her hand, her voice cold and hollow. “Don’t doubt it — I’m talking about you lot in the hospital gowns. And as for the raucous medical staff egging you on, they’re the same sort of thing — ungrateful white wolves who don’t know what’s good for them.” Ren Xinrou’s words struck straight to the heart; the soldiers’ eyes gleamed, and they felt immensely pleased. Wen Mufeng’s eyes brightened, a faint smile lifting the corner of his mouth. The middle-aged man jabbed a finger at Ren Xinrou and shouted, “Say that again!” “Saying it again is too tiring, but I’m in a good mood today and want to give a lesson to the soldiers here, so I’ll waste a few more words, You bunch of patients: first, you can’t swing a blade to cut zombies; second, you can’t scavenge supplies for the base; third, you can’t help soldiers wash clothes or cook; fourth…” Ren Xinrou’s face was cold and indifferent. After a pause she continued, “Fourth, I haven’t decided yet—anyway, you are of no use in this world right now. You can only eat free food in the base, take free medicine, and squander the supplies the soldiers worked hard to find; The authorities are really generous, actually sending people and vehicles to rescue a bunch of trash like you. Wasting bullets would be bad enough—who knows how many fine young men might have to die for you lot;” You ungrateful bunch of useless people — if you don’t even know how to be thankful, fine, but you try to stop these upright, brave soldiers from completing their mission. You’re not just useless; you’re a pack of ungrateful scumbags. The middle-aged man and those in patient gowns in the crowd all flushed red in the face, not sure whether from anger or shame. Ren Xinrou continued, “If the researchers can get into the lab sooner, they’ll be able to find a way to save humanity faster. After all, you’ve paid taxes; the authorities will certainly come to rescue you within 24 hours. Hurry and hide in the wards and snicker to yourselves — let these soldiers take people away first.” Ren Xinrou seemed to be offering earnest, compassionate advice, but in fact she was giving the survivors an opportunity to be morally blackmailed. The soldiers’ anger was ignited, and the survivors were completely disheartened; her purpose was to make them think of their own lives first when saving others in the future. The middle-aged man once again took the lead in jeering, “They’re soldiers, so they must serve us! It’s only right for them to die for us!” “The food they eat is paid for by our taxes! We’ve always been the ones supporting these common soldiers!” “Exactly! It’s only right that they save us!” “They deserve to die for us!” This time far fewer people vocally agreed; it seemed there were still some consciences in the crowd. Ren Xinrou lifted her eyelids to look at those jeering, her gaze icy and merciless. “Do you know how many lives a righteous soldier can save? What can you useless pieces of trash contribute to this world? Let them die for you worthless things? Truly… unworthy to live, you dogs~” The encircled soldiers had tears welling in their eyes; they felt both chilled and warmed at the same time. To serve the people, to sacrifice for the country — that was their mission. In this moment they wavered; they were unwilling to give their lives for this group of people. The middle-aged man cursed, “Cut the damn nonsense! If you don’t take us today, none of you are going anywhere!” Ren Xinrou ignored them and walked toward Wen Mufeng, glancing at the gold-glinting pistol at his waist. “Is that a Desert Eagle?” The original owner had heard many stories about the military from her grandfather; she knew that soldiers here preferred the Type 92 pistol, and few used the Desert Eagle. A gold-plated Desert Eagle was heavy and conspicuous — something ordinary soldiers wouldn’t choose, and gold-plated Desert Eagles were rare. She wanted a gun like this in her previous life — powerful and cool. “Yes.” Wen Mufeng answered. Standing 168 cm to Wen Mufeng’s 190 cm, Ren Xinrou could only tilt her head up to look at him. “I like this gun. If you give it to me, I can immediately take your people and your mission away. How about it?” A flash of surprise crossed Wen Mufeng’s eyes. He looked down at the pitch-dark girl before him; her eyes were bright and moist, and her peach-red lips curved into an innocently harmless smile. He sensed the indifference hidden within her smile. This time they were very close; he could clearly see her long, dark eyelashes blinking, and her expression was exactly like a child waiting for him to give candy. He immediately cast off that foolish thought; the girl before him was by no means a harmless little rabbit. “Fine, keep it then.” Ren Xinrou turned away briskly. “Take it.” Wen Mufeng drew the Desert Eagle from its holster and handed it to Ren Xinrou. Wen Mufeng’s action caused his teammates to show expressions of incredulous shock. Ren Xinrou took the gun and examined it; the barrel was engraved with the letters “mufengwen*NO1.” She didn’t ponder it deeply, merely assuming it to be a gun brand name. Ren Xinrou disengaged the safety on the pistol, raised the gun, aimed it at the middle-aged man, then at the other people blocking the way. “Make way, or you die.” Chapter 29 Killing The middle-aged man laughed heartily, pressing his forehead against the muzzle without fear of death, shouting, “If you’ve got the nerve, pull the trigger! Who are you trying to scare here!” ‘Bang!’ The middle-aged man widened his eyes, fell to the ground with his mouth open, and did not move again. “Ah!” “Someone’s been killed!” Panicked, the crowd hurriedly ran backward as far away from Ren Xinrou as possible. Each person’s gaze flashed with fear and unease. The special forces members didn’t know what look to give her—satisfaction, shock. Wen Mufeng’s deep eyes were calm as water, but waves rippled within; this outcome was beyond his expectations. He guessed the girl might use the gun to intimidate the crowd, pretending she intended to kill; He guessed she might shoot at the ceiling, or hit someone’s arm as a warning. He never once thought she would actually kill someone. What shocked him even more was that the girl’s expression was unnervingly calm — this was clearly not the first time she had fired a gun to take a life. Her grip on the gun and her stance were the kind you only see in well-trained soldiers. Who is she? Is she a soldier? If she were a soldier, she definitely wouldn’t be from an ordinary unit! Ren Xinrou rubbed her wrist; the Desert Eagle had heavy recoil, and since this body was firing a gun for the first time, some bruising was inevitable. She raised the gun again, pointing the muzzle at the others, her tone colder and laced with a hint of laziness. “The Desert Eagle isn’t suited for killing zombies, but it’s perfect for killing people. Who’s the next one who wants to die?” Ren Xinrou aimed the muzzle at the young woman who had just tried to block her. The young girl’s legs went weak and she nearly couldn’t stand, waving her hands frantically: “No, no, don’t kill me! I—I won’t stop you, go, go!” She was so frightened she tried to squeeze into the crowd, but the people were packed tightly together and no one was willing to let her cut in. Ren Xinrou aimed the gun at another man. “You just said it’s right for soldiers to die for you, didn’t you?” The man stammered, too panicked to form a complete sentence. “I, I… so many people, so many people saw you kill! They, they’re eyewitnesses! You, you can’t just, just kill people!” ‘bang!’ With the crack of a gun, the man fell to the ground, a bleeding hole in his forehead gushing blood. This time, no one dared shout or scream; the soldiers who had been surrounded were shoved to the very front. Ren Xinrou’s eyes slowly scanned the crowd, her expression solemn. “I never kill people on a whim. Only bad people kill recklessly. I am a good person.” “……” The entire seventh floor fell silent; just as they had been eager to stop the soldiers from leaving earlier, now they hoped they would hurry away. Ren Xinrou saw everyone quiet down. She looked at Wen Mufeng and asked, “I heard on your radio just now that you’re going to send the mission to Chong City?” “Yes. Do you want to come with us?” Wen Mufeng asked—he was going to take the girl back to the unit. Wen Mufeng glanced at Mo Haiqi, only a few steps away; the two exchanged a look. He now agreed with Mo Haiqi’s earlier baseless worries. If this girl turns bad, she’ll definitely become a big problem! “I’m going to Chong City to find someone. Can I hitch a ride on your plane?” Ren Xinrou blinked twice unconsciously, her tone still cold. Her blinking made her look harmless, adorably cute. This gesture was actually a bodily habit of this body, not Ren Xinrou’s intention, and she herself did not notice anything odd about the movement. Wen Mufeng was momentarily dazzled — how could someone kill people and then go on acting cute? Because killing is normal? Because they’re used to it? At that moment, Chen Jie mumbled foolishly, “Who would dare stop you from jumping on the plane! I was so scared I held my pee back!” Ren Xinrou raised an eyebrow and stepped back two paces, signaling Wen Mufeng to lead the way. When Wen Mufeng passed in front of Ren Xinrou, he lowered his eyes and glanced at her sideways; he was determined to find out who she was. Ren Xinrou suddenly looked up and gave Wen Mufeng a knowing smile; her dark skin made her snow-white teeth gleam. “……” The corner of Wen Mufeng’s mouth twitched as he turned his head and kept walking. Ren Xinrou followed the special forces rushing from the fire escape toward the rooftop, the pilot’s voice urging them crackling constantly through the radio. Building 2’s team had already withdrawn long ago. As to how they managed to evacuate smoothly, no one knew; seeing the anger welling in their eyes, they must have gone through considerable hardship. Chen Jie followed closely behind Ren Xinrou and earnestly asked, “African girl, what’s your name? My name is Chen Jie!” The others climbed the stairs quietly, ears perked up waiting for Ren Xinrou’s answer. They had been with the special forces for years and had long noticed that Ren Xinrou had the practiced combat posture of a soldier. They were very curious where she came from and which army she belonged to. The name on the staff card she used to enter the Sky Ladder sprang into Ren Xinrou’s mind: Liu Fei. “Liu Fei, you can call me Xiao Fei.” She was about to hitch a ride on his plane, so Ren Xinrou, to seem friendly, came up with a nickname on the spot. Besides, once they reached Chong City they would never see each other again, so she didn’t care what they called her. “Xiao Fei? Are you of Chinese-African mixed race?” Chen Jie mumbled. Ren Xinrou had already heard the roar of the helicopter blades; she gave a light “mm” and replied perfunctorily, “Mm, you’re really smart.” Chen Jie asked again, “Is your father African?” Ren Xinrou continued to be curt, “Yes.” Chen Jie asked again, “What do your parents do for a living?” Ren Xinrou answered, “My father is the tribe chief, and my mother is a sacrifice.” “……” The others were speechless. If you’re going to make up a story, at least make it somewhat plausible—does she take them all for fools? After boarding the plane, Ren Xinrou sat back in her seat with her arms crossed and eyes closed. The message she wanted to send was clear: “Don’t talk to me.” Ren Xinrou suddenly fell into memories. Chen Jie was a big-hearted simpleton, a big, loyal, lovable guy who reminded her of her previous life, of Sixth Uncle who was bitten by a zombie while saving an old man. Before Sixth Uncle passed away, she asked him if it was worth it. Sixth Uncle said that it was his duty as a soldier; whether it was worth it or not wasn’t for him to judge when saving someone. When Sixth Uncle mutated, she cried until she nearly couldn’t breathe. And the rescued old man merely stood to one side, frightened that he had almost lost sight of his children and spouse, without a trace of guilt; not even a hypocritical “sorry” escaped him. Ren Xinrou pressed her aching chest, opened her eyes slightly, and scanned the thirteen special forces soldiers. She closed her eyes again before her tear glands could produce any tears. Wen Mufeng kept his gaze on Ren Xinrou, catching the fleeting sorrow in her eyes. He knew this expression well; two years ago, two of his comrades were killed, and he had seen this look in the mirror countless times. Who did she lose? Half an hour later, the plane landed at the Chong City unit’s drill ground; it was about the same size as the unit’s drill ground, and she remembered the days her uncles trained her. She pulled her thoughts back and asked Zeng Han, who was standing beside her, “Which direction is the main gate of the base?” Zeng Hanchao and Wen Mufeng looked over and saw him talking with the captain of another squad. Zeng Han replied, “Ask our captain later.” Ren Xinrou looked around and realized the special forces members who had shared the same plane were circling her at a not-too-near, not-too-far distance. Ren Xinrou asked calmly, “You wouldn’t be planning to throw me in prison, would you?” Zeng Han suddenly felt the hairs on his arms stand up; he had just sensed a murderous intent. He shook his head, thinking he was overreacting — no matter how bold someone was, they wouldn’t dare act inside the unit. Chen Jie was puzzled, only sensing that the atmosphere had turned odd. He nudged the unit’s brain, Mo Haiqi, with his elbow. “What’s up? Can’t we go back and rest? Is there a new order from above?” Mo Haiqi responded in a low voice, “Wait a bit longer.” “Wait for what?” Chen Jie asked. Mo Haiqi rolled his eyes at him and ignored him. Wen Mufeng finished talking with his comrade, walked over to Ren Xinrou, and bluntly asked, “Which unit are you from?” Chapter 30 Joining “I don’t belong to any unit; I’m not a soldier.” Ren Xinrou said calmly, showing no sign of lying. Wen Mufeng’s eyes were as deep as the black sea, as if they could see through everything. He stared into Ren Xinrou’s eyes and was silent for a few seconds. “You have spatial powers?” “Yes.” Ren Xinrou was too lazy to hide it, and there was no need to. Everyone on Wen Mufeng’s team was elite. That he could be the captain leading them meant he must be a man of both courage and strategy. It wasn’t surprising that he guessed she had space powers. Wen Mufeng asked, “Do you want to join our team?” Ren Xinrou refused curtly: “No.” “Can you tell us why?” Wen Mufeng asked. Ren Xinrou looked at the others, at their clear, righteous eyes and sturdy postures. She couldn’t help but recall the fifteen uncles from her past life who had raised, trained, and protected her. “Why?” Ren Xinrou paused, then slowly spoke her heart, “I don’t want to watch the comrades I care for turn into bloodthirsty zombies in order to save a group of the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled;” “I don’t want to rescue a bunch of mice-hearted people who put on airs and think they’re superior;” “I don’t want to save a bunch of thankless wastes who morally blackmail me;” “I don’t want to be like my parents, sacrificing for the country and the people’s stability, leaving their children trapped in endless pain and longing;” “As far as I’m concerned, it’s already the end of the world — ‘serving the people’ is a bullshit mission;” Ren Xinrou forced a bitter smile. “I don’t want to point a gun at my former teammates either. Even if they’ve become mindless zombies, I won’t join any faction, and I certainly won’t join the military.” The soldiers around them had tears in their eyes; each person’s face was filled with sadness for the future. Wen Mufeng said nothing. The scene the girl described, even imagined, plunged him into endless pain and helplessness. Ren Xinrou asked, “Which direction is the gate of the base?” Wen Mufeng pointed in a direction. “The road outside the training ground, go straight. You—do not kill innocent people casually again.” Wen Mufeng warned Ren Xinrou kindly: “Now, there is no police station, no court, no prison. The authorities will surely issue a new regulation soon specifically concerning punishment for murderers; I guess those who kill without reason will either be executed outright or driven out of the base, never to return—equivalent to exile in ancient times.” “I have never killed anyone who was innocent.” Ren Xinrou said without expression. She once again scanned Wen Mufeng and his group. “I hope that the next time I see you, your ranks will still be the original thirteen.” Her words stunned everyone. Ren Xinrou finished speaking and walked away without looking back. “Captain, shouldn’t we try to persuade her again? She’s bold, cold-hearted, and kills with such efficiency — there’s no way a normal person could do that! I have a feeling that if this woman keeps wandering alone with no restraints, if she turns bad she’d become a major problem for the state,” Mo Haiqi said. Wen Mufeng shook his head. “You can’t persuade her. She’s as resolute as a steel plate. From what I can see, there’s no way she’ll change her mind. If we meet again later, I’ll try once more.” Deputy Captain Zeng Han watched Ren Xinrou’s graceful back, patted Mo Haiqi on the shoulder, and comforted him: “From what she said, she should be a soldier’s orphan. Qi laoma, don’t worry yourself over nothing! Even if she becomes a merciless she-devil who kills without blinking, we’re not the ones she should be worried about or afraid of! Let’s go, let’s go, have dinner — we still have a mission tonight!” Ren Xinrou left the unit smoothly; entering the unit requires various checks, registrations, and quarantine, but leaving the unit is free. She didn’t give up the large pharmacy at Nanshi Hospital; it’s just that in the suburbs of Chong City there are things she really wanted: plastic water-storage bucket factories — more than one. Chong City has several manufacturers producing plastic buckets. The outskirts of Chong City are a gathering place for steel mills and plastic factories; whether she can stockpile enough gasoline for her grandson depends on whether she can get enough containers today. For now the authorities are putting rescuing people first; hoarding rescue supplies will be done after the base is established. Since the authorities will send rescue teams to clear the zombies from the hospital, once she returns to Nan City she can go to the hospital for medicine at any time and no longer needs to worry about the zombie problem. I just asked the gate guard; the urban area of Chong City has been completely sealed off, and all entrances and exits into Chong City have been closed. The outskirts factory areas with no survivors were not managed by the authorities; factories that had been cleared of zombies were already empty, and all survivors had been relocated to the city. There are no zombies on the streets and no one wandering outside; occasionally an enforcement vehicle patrols, and they periodically deliver food to the survivor camps. Chong City now serves as a transfer station for survivors; survivors from across the province are first moved here and, after the coastal bases are completed, will be sent to the coastal bases in batches. Ren Xinrou drove toward the suburban industrial area. At the city exit intersection, a container truck blocked her way. Two guard soldiers stood on the container truck. “Hello! Whatdoyouwant?” (Hello, what do you want?) Seeing Ren Xinrou climb out of the car, the soldier didn’t look closely at her features and blurted out the English. There were many foreigners among the survivors; Black people were very strong and had the highest survival rate, so seeing an African didn’t strike them as odd. “I’m not African.” Ren Xinrou climbed onto the container truck roof. “……” The soldier widened his eyes in surprise, then after studying her features said, “Girl, you’re tanned enough.” “Mm, the sun’s been strong lately. Goodbye.” Ren Xinrou answered as she jumped off the container truck and walked away without looking back. A soldier tried to stop her, “Hey! Hey! Come back! It’s not safe outside the line! The suburbs’ zombies haven’t been cleared!” Ren Xinrou didn’t look back, she only raised her hand and waved as she ran. Another soldier sighed and tried to reason with his comrade, “Don’t shout, she’s most likely going to her death. In a world like this, the living suffer; there are plenty of people who want to die. Save your strength.” Ren Xinrou ran to a hidden spot and pulled out a truck; she suddenly no longer liked jeeps or SUVs — only a truck could make her feel safe. On the way to the plastics factory area, she saw two candle factories. Inside the fence, twenty or thirty zombies tirelessly chased a few chickens in circles. Ren Xinrou jumped over the wall, dealt with the zombies and entered the plant; the warehouse held not only ordinary red and white candles but also wrist-thick glass cup scented candles. Having encountered speed zombies before, now when she gathered supplies her eyes, ears, mouth, and nose were all alert to the slightest disturbance, and the idea of keeping a dog grew stronger and stronger. Keeping a few sheepdogs would be nice; they could help herd the sheep and act as her scouts. The grass in the cattle and sheep area has already grown to waist-high, and the corn and vegetables in the chicken yard are nearly ripe. Some chickens fly over the fence to steal food and eat as they please; she’s too lazy to bother. Yesterday she brought several large basins of earthworms from the fishing tackle shop, put them in a few bathtubs mixed with vegetables and soil, and placed them in the planting area. Earthworms reproduce quickly. She plans to throw worms to the chickens once a day to boost their nutrition and speed up egg production. Ren Xinrou finished collecting the candles from the two factories, boarded the vehicle in a good mood, and glanced at several trucks for transporting pigs and ducks in the planting area. “I would be very tired killing you all by myself…” 　　—— Chapter 31 Chong City The pigs and ducks hadn’t had time to be dealt with; they ate, drank, and relieved themselves every day, and the fence edges were stained with manure and urine dripping from the cages, each drop falling into the black soil. Every pig was smeared with feces, and this scene drove Ren Xinrou, who had mild OCD, completely crazy. Looking at the truck carrying ducks, their feathers were covered in excrement; when they flapped their wings, the shit flew. She wanted to set the ducks free. She sent a message to her grandfather: {Grandpa, do you like to eat duck meat?} Ren Yiyong: {I don’t like eating duck meat; I like the bamboo shoots in the dried-bamboo-shoot-and-duck casserole.} “……” Ren Xinrou recalled collecting several hundred bags of dried bamboo shoots from the farmers’ market — if there were no ducks, wouldn’t the dried shoots go to waste? Ren Xinrou: {Grandpa, are you fast at slaughtering ducks?} Ren Yiyong: {How many ducks are there?} Ren Xinrou: {Fill two three-tiered rail cars, maybe five or six thousand ducks.} Ren Yiyong: {…} Only after a long time did Ren Yiyong send another message: {There’s a chicken farm next door with a chicken-killing machine that does neck cutting, defeathering, blood collection, evisceration, and washing all in one; you just have to throw the chickens and ducks in.} {Remember to save some duck blood to make duck-blood vermicelli soup.} Ren Xinrou: {Okay, grandpa, where is there an integrated automatic pig-killing machine?} Ren Yiyong: {How many pigs do you have?} Ren Xinrou (estimated): {A few hundred, I guess.} Ren Yiyong: {What are you doing with so many pigs and ducks? Are you planning to set up a stall to sell them?} “I also got a lot of cattle, sheep, and chickens.” Ren Xinrou muttered as she typed back: {I came across them on the way and couldn’t leave them; might as well take them. When you’re bored later you can set up a stall.} Ren Yiyong: {There is a Nanrun Meat Factory on Wushan Road in the East District. The plant has slaughter pens, and there are several large factories nearby. There are a lot of zombies; the bloody smell when they slaughter pigs will attract even more trouble. How about you take the pigs home? I’m free now — I can slaughter a few every day and finish them in two months.} Ren Xinrou: {Okay.} She agreed first, to avoid making her grandfather worry that she would risk herself; on the way back she would bring a few home so her grandfather could kill them for fun. Ren Xinrou glanced at the time: 6:30. There was still an hour before total darkness. She decided to eat first, then go “visit” the plastic barrel factory after dark. A large factory with employee dormitories would certainly have many zombies; at night zombies are less mobile, which would work to her advantage—only she couldn’t see well in the dark. Ren Xinrou found an open area to park the RV, enjoyed a relaxing shower, and put the fighting aside for now. She gathered many semi-prepared ingredients from the mall’s food court; tonight she would have abalone, chicken wing and vermicelli casserole. She had just picked up her chopsticks to eat when Xin Jiaojiao’s firsthand update arrived: {Xin Rou, the zombie horde on the highway is now surrounding Nanshi People’s Hospital. The land rescue team just departed from Chongshi and will go there tonight to eliminate them. Tomorrow the rescue team will go through the city streets, searching for survivors to transport to Chongshi. Are you still planning to stay in Nanshi?} Ren Xinrou: {Mm, when will the rescue team go to the suburbs to save people?} Xin Jiaojiao: {Rural villages are sparsely populated, and there are relatively fewer zombies than in the city. The official strategy for now is to prioritize rescuing survivors in severely affected areas, then move to the outskirts.} {My brother says that most survivors living in the countryside are unwilling to go to the aid stations; they choose to seal off their villages and live self-sufficiently.} {Only, they don’t think it through: if all the living people in the city leave, the zombies will surely leave the city to look for places with people. Walls made of cars and shipping containers can keep out zombies, but they can’t stop mutated beasts.} Xin Jiajiao realized she had let something slip, and sent an additional message: {I heard my brother say that humans can mutate; perhaps it’s not far off for animals to mutate either.} Ren Xinrou: {What your brother said isn’t without reason.} Xin Jiajiao: {My brother also said that heaven wouldn’t give people water-based powers for no reason — polluted water is bound to happen sooner or later. The official experts monitor water sources every day and haven’t found problems so far. Xinrou, if you have buckets at home, collect more water, just in case.} Ren Xinrou: {Okay, thanks for the reminder.} Xin Jiaojiao: {We’re friends! No need to thank me!} Ren Xinrou stared at the message, looked dazed for a long time, then replied: {Next time we meet, I’ll treat you to a big meal.} Friend is already a very unfamiliar word. In her past life, apart from the fifteen uncles who had always been by her side, she also had teammates and friends—either dead or missing. She had also met some people she thought could become confidantes, who nearly got her killed. “Friend” is a heavy role; for both sides, it carries weight. Xin JiaoJiao is the heroine of the book; she won’t die, and her personality is endearing and likable, so they’ll be friends. Fill her stomach, then Ren Xinrou transferred to a truck. Bath towels soaked with fresh blood hung from the truck’s cargo area. She no longer even dared feed pig intestines to the zombies. Grandpa had just messaged her, telling her to stock up on more salt and baking soda to really clean the pig intestines—he likes eating braised pig intestines. Ren Xinrou kicked open the gate of the first target factory. The floor was littered with zombie bodies, piled up haphazardly; a few luckily still-living zombies, dragging broken hands and feet, stumbled step by step toward the truck. A rescue team had once come here to save people. Ren Xinrou drove into the warehouse compound gate, rushed into the brightly lit warehouse, and emptied every plastic drum she saw—each was a water storage barrel weighing more than a ton. The blood in the car was no longer fresh; she changed to fresh towels and burst through the second factory door. The hundreds of zombies piled at the doorway all stared at her in unison and opened their mouths to howl. Pale face, blood-red mouth and teeth — even though Ren Xinrou was strong inside, she was so startled that the hairs on her arms stood on end. “Mom! You scared me!” Ren Xinrou quickly shifted into reverse, drawing the zombies to follow the truck away. “peng! Creak~” One of the rear tires on the truck blew out. Truck tires are the least likely to blow; even when they do, they usually deflate instantly like an explosion. “Crap!” Ren Xinrou was sure she’d run into another mutated zombie; only a metal-type zombie could smash a tire so forcefully. “Peng!” Another tire blew out — this time the one in the middle of the carriage. Ren Xinrou quickly shifted gears and hit the gas, speeding up; she wasn’t about to abandon the factory. The shredded tire hung on the rim, patting and scraping the ground as it rolled; before long the tire tore away completely, leaving only the rim rubbing on the road. “Sizzle~” sparks shot out from the friction point. Ren Xinrou kept a constant eye on the rearview mirror. The powered zombie’s steps were faster than ordinary zombies; she sometimes slowed down, sometimes sped up, and finally identified which one was the powered zombie. “What a lucky person I am — I actually ran into two at once.” “Plop! Plop!” The iron carriage was struck by stones thrown by the earth-type zombies. Although the truck tilted to one side, Ren Xinrou did not stop to change trucks; she continued to slowly drive around the entire factory area. When she saw a locked factory gate, she rammed it open and let the zombies inside out. Worried that sleepy zombies would be too lazy to follow the vehicle, Ren Xinrou took out a plastic blood bottle and hung it outside the window, dripping blood until it was gone and then replacing it with a fresh one to keep the zombies constantly eager. She planned to find all the supernaturally powered zombies in the factory area and eliminate them all at once. “Roar!” “Argh!” The powered zombies walked the most briskly and loudly, their cries the loudest. “Metal, wood, water, fire, earth — missing only fire to complete the set.” Ren Xinrou’s mouth curved upward; there wasn’t a trace of worry or fear on her face. Spatial powers and auditory-visual powers can’t be seen with the naked eye; they can only be judged by the cries, speed, and level of consciousness. “Didn’t find any speed zombies? Looks like I’m not that lucky.” Ren Xinrou entered a wide, long driveway; the truck stopped two hundred meters from the zombie horde. Chapter 32 Almost Dead There was a rear window connecting the truck cab to the cargo area; the window was sealed. She used a rescue hammer to break the glass and was just about to climb out. “Ah-ow!!” Two ragged arms lunged through the car window, and a face, chewed to pieces, was shoved right in front of her. The zombie bared its teeth and clawed, snapping toward Ren Xinrou, its jaws just inches from her nose. Ren Xinrou leaned back nimbly; at the same time she used her knee to push the zombie’s head aside. Without a half-second’s hesitation, at the same time, the knife in her hand swung toward the zombie’s head. Hearing the skull tumble from the seat, Ren Xinrou let out a sharp breath: “Phew~ that was close.” If she had blanked out for even 0.1 seconds, she would have been dead just now. Ren Xinrou angrily hacked at the skull a few more times; a pale yellow brain-crystal core fell out—the speed-ability zombie. After encountering a speed zombie last time, before bed she closed her eyes and skimmed through the little erotic books in her mind, digging out the few plot sections among the driving scenes and cramming apocalyptic knowledge. The colors corresponding to Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth are gold, green, blue, red, and black. The colors of audio-visual and spatial types are pink and purple, while the speed type is pale yellow. “I take back what I said earlier; I really am a fortunate person.” Ren Xinrou put away the brain crystal core and quickly jumped into the truck bed. The psychic zombies leading the horde were now less than a hundred meters from the truck. The psychic zombies at the front had their mouths open, roaring with high spirits; they and the zombie masses behind them had created a gap. Ren Xinrou remained unhurried, drew out her automatic rifle, steadied her breathing, and aligned her eye with the scope. Streetlights in the factory district were spaced fifty to sixty meters apart and dim; unlike city lamps that stood every twenty to thirty meters and lit up the whole road, these left the road mostly in shadow. When the foremost psychic zombie was still twenty meters from the truck, Ren Xinrou pulled the trigger. Da da da da! Da da da da! Even though the streetlight wasn’t bright enough, she could clearly see through the scope the shadows of blood spraying from the zombie’s head. After the psychic zombie fell, the zombie horde immediately lost momentum; their movement noticeably slowed. They didn’t stop walking, but kept moving forward out of inertia. Ren Xinrou didn’t want to waste bullets. She returned to the cab and drove forward a hundred meters, tying two ducks and a dripping bottle to each of the lampposts on either side of the road. The flapping of the ducks wasn’t enough for the zombies to grab them, but their fresh scent was sufficient to make the zombies pause. Ren Xinrou drove the truck off the road, circled behind the horde, and ran through every plastic factory as quickly as possible. During that time she accidentally ran into a steel mill and discovered it was a factory that made metal drums—perfect for storing oil. Exhausted, she dragged the drum back the way she came, returned to the few steel mills she had previously overlooked, and collected all the drums in the factories. She also happened to acquire more than twenty trucks, all huge vehicles used to transport drums. Realizing that in this apocalypse trucks are disposable, she knew she would need to keep collecting them from now on. It was already past midnight and Ren Xinrou was exhausted; she couldn’t sleep near the factory area because there was always the danger of being surrounded by a horde of zombies. Too tired to look for a suitable place to rest, she drove a truck back to the city’s blockade line—the same exit she had used to leave the city that afternoon. The truck was parked by the roadside, the cab only five or six meters from the guard’s carriage. A guard standing on top of the box truck shouted loudly, “Survivors can’t enter here! Go one thousand meters to the right, enter through the main gate!” Ren Xinrou was too tired to muster any energy. She picked up the loudspeaker that came with the truck, and a deafening voice blasted out from the speaker above the windshield. “I’ll leave first thing tomorrow morning!” Ren Xinrou switched off the interior and exterior lights, turned on the air conditioning, climbed onto the back seat, pulled a blanket over herself, and fell asleep almost instantly. With soldiers on duty, she didn’t have to worry about zombies approaching the truck; they would certainly deal with any threats near the rescue station immediately. She was certain that tonight would be one hundred percent safe. The soldier at the gate had never encountered this situation before; it felt wrong to drive them away, but it also felt wrong not to. The two of them reported the situation to their superiors, and a command was immediately issued: “Hold the line! Anyone who hasn’t passed health screening is not allowed into the city! If a truck forces its way through, shoot to kill!” Ren Xinrou had no idea that that night, the two guards’ eyes never once left her truck; they spent the whole night on edge, afraid she might take advantage of a moment and drive the truck through the defenses. In the morning, during the guard shift change, the night guard felt lightheaded and woozy, and for the first time found that guarding the gate was more exhausting than going on a mission. Ren Xinrou slept until ten in the morning; when she woke she shouted through a megaphone, “Thanks for your hard work, goodbye.” That afternoon, when the soldiers who had stood watch the previous night came on duty and heard about the incident, they finally understood why Ren Xinrou had said she would leave the next morning. Heard of freeloading meals, cars, beds, air conditioning—this was the first time anyone had freeloaded guards. Chong City was a temporary transfer station; the land rescue teams inevitably needed gasoline and diesel. After filling up, Ren Xinrou got on the highway back to Nanshi. She had no intention of stockpiling fuel in Chong City; not wanting to be a great saint did not mean she intended to be a shameless villain. Today, the rescue teams are speeding survivors from South City to Chong City. From time to time she can see military vehicles roaring past in the opposite lane, the cabins filled with standing survivors. Ren Xinrou guessed that in at most two days, all survivors in South City’s urban area would be relocated. The army can’t possibly exterminate all the zombies in an entire city; ammunition isn’t renewable right now, and moving living people is the authorities’ top priority. Ren Xinrou wasn’t worried about encountering many zombies; if there were no living people left in the city, she could freely shoplift to her heart’s content. She was just worried that if everyone in the city left, the zombies would move elsewhere to look for food, and her village wouldn’t remain safe for long. Ren Xinrou headed straight for Nanshi People’s Hospital. Half a kilometer from the hospital, the ground was strewn with zombie corpses, the sea of bodies extending to the entrance of the hospital outpatient building. The truck drove slowly toward the hospital, crushing corpses as it went. The sound of bones being crushed did not stop for a single second, and two long tracks of tire marks were left behind the vehicle. Blood, flesh, brain matter, and fragmented bones mixed together, smearing all over the wheels. The windows of the cab were tightly shut, but they couldn’t keep the putrid stench from rushing into the compartment and straight up into her nostrils. Ren Xinrou showed no expression, concentrating on finding the route where the bodies were relatively “thin.” She finally moved the car outside the outpatient building. Just as she got out and steadied herself, a hand covered in teeth marks grabbed her boot. Ren Xinrou pulled her foot back and stomped fiercely on the zombie’s head—three consecutive stomps—and the zombie’s skull was smashed into mush. Ren Xinrou didn’t even frown. She pried open the mesh rolling shutter of the outpatient building and headed straight for the pharmacy. Two zombies dragged broken legs, staggering as they walked, sniffing her scent as they entered the outpatient lobby. Ren Xinrou was too lazy to run back and deal with them; she was now in a hurry to get her medicine and go home. She had originally planned to go to the slaughterhouse to kill pigs first, then stock up on oil, and finally go to the chicken farm to kill ducks before going home. Plans can’t keep up with changes. Now there are rescue teams both inside and outside the city; who knows when a squad might burst out and see her taking large items in and out of space. She decided to go home first. She needed to talk with Grandpa — whether he wanted to leave or stay — and then what she planned to do afterward. —— Chapter 33 Going Home Since the hospital was empty and there were few zombies left, and now that she was here, she couldn’t just take the medicine from the pharmacy. Ren Xinrou cleared out the Chinese medicine room, the emergency pharmacy, the blood bank, and all the disinfected medical instruments. After that, Ren Xinrou took the elevator through the four inpatient buildings, and she didn’t leave out any drugs, IV injections, or tools in the nurse stations on every floor, including the anesthetics stored in the operating rooms. Smart beds, wheelchairs—any tool she thought her grandfather might need as he got older. Passing the dentistry department, she also gathered the tools, supplies, and chairs for orthodontics and dental work. “Grandpa will need dentures sooner or later; when the time comes, finding a dentist at the base shouldn’t be hard, right?” Ren Xinrou left the dental clinic, passed by the Starbucks on the first floor, and pocketed the coffees in the store, not forgetting the attractive coffee cups. “Since I’m here anyway, I might as well take the convenience store’s stuff too; wasting food is shameful,” Ren Xinrou muttered as she gathered things. Besides the morgue, she turned the whole hospital upside down and even took the new quilts from the hospital warehouse. She also took the three ambulances parked outside the emergency room—the lights and sirens on top of the ambulances are great for attracting zombies. Before leaving the hospital, she took out a box truck and loaded it with supplies—rice, flour, preserved vegetables, cured meat, water, tissues, and so on—filling the cargo area. Just before arriving home, Ren Xinrou called Ren Yiyong. “Grandpa, I’m already at the entrance to Liusan Village. Should the truck with the supplies be driven back into the village or left where it is?” “Don’t drive it back into the village. Hide it. Find a small car and come back; fill it with some food and everyday items to divert attention. Are you heading straight home or going to the Liusan Village poultry farm first?” Ren Yiyong asked. “Go to the poultry farm first. Bring the chickens back first; wait a bit on killing the ducks. The authorities have already sent a rescue team to Nanshi—did Grandpa know?” “This morning an old comrade told me about it. His home is in Jingling City; the rescue team will soon go there to save people; He wanted to come live in our village and find some land to be self-sufficient, but his family didn’t want that. His younger son was supposed to leave the service in December and come home to get married, but now he has to stay in the special forces and keep working. His older son…” Ren Yiyong didn’t continue: “I’ll tell you the rest when you get home. When you go to the poultry farm remember to go to the gatehouse first and cut the surveillance footage; I’ve heard there are many more zombies in the poultry farm now. Be careful — you don’t necessarily need to take those chickens.” “All right, Grandpa, I’ll definitely be home before four.” Ren Xinrou drove the truck down to a low hill, with no one around. She retracted the vehicle into storage, took out a larger SUV, and stuffed semolina, dried vegetables, snacks into the front passenger seat, the back seat, and the trunk, and also put in a cage of live ducks. She took six blast-resistant suits from the mall security office and strapped them to the roof. The suits included shields, telescoping tridents, stab-proof vests, high-powered flashlights, and walkie-talkies. Three military machetes were placed on the passenger-side floor. After thinking it over, she decided it was better to bring fewer weapons back. It wasn’t strange to pick up two or three machetes along the way, but finding a dozen or twenty would be far too suspicious. In the apocalypse, there are many bad people, many evildoers, many fools, and many schemers; one must be cautious. The chicken farm was on the low hill behind Liu San Village, and at the foot of the hill there was a two-lane road leading to the farm. The farm gate stood open, and a chaotic chorus of shouts and clucks drifted out from the coops. Ren Xinrou’s car stopped outside the gate. She walked in, first went to the guard’s booth and unplugged the surveillance feed, and the first storage room in the front yard was the egg warehouse. She didn’t hurry to collect the eggs; she wanted to make sure there were no living people here first. Entering the chicken farm area, there were four chicken coops, each about the size of two basketball courts. Outside the coops was a large grass field, where chickens were let out during the day. All the chickens were kept inside large greenhouses, the brick fences reaching only waist-high, with fishing nets hanging from the ceiling to prevent the birds from flying over the barrier. Many zombies stood outside the fence. She guessed that because the zombies couldn’t find people in the nearby villages, they had wandered here. Ren Xinrou didn’t kill the zombies. She jumped into a coop and collected the chickens into her space, leaving a dozen or so chickens in each coop, then opened all the coop doors to let the zombies enter and grab the chickens. Creating the illusion that all the chickens had run away. Ren Xinrou left the chicken coop, collected over a hundred boxes of eggs from the egg warehouse, and found a large cold storage behind the warehouse—boxes upon boxes of packaged chicken meat, chicken offal, chicken necks, and chicken carcasses. She had no interest in meat now. The power would be cut in two months; these foods would be left for the nearby villagers. If no one took them then, she’d come back for them. She took all the eggs; in this weather they wouldn’t last many days before going bad. “From now on, eggs will be a luxury even harder to come by than vegetables. Grandfather can use them for charity and favors.” Ren Xinrou wandered around the chicken farm once and then left. Before returning to the village, she first removed the black eyebrow powder from her face, smudged some mud and blood onto her clothes, and smeared some blood on her face and hair so she looked as if she’d just escaped from a great pursuit. The car drove onto the village road. Ren Xinrou called her grandfather, “Grandpa, I’m entering the village from the north entrance.” Ren Yiyong happily cheered repeatedly, “Good, good, good! Grandpa will come pick you up right away!” The village checkpoint was two vans parked bumper to bumper, stopped between two houses. Everyone in the village knew Ren Xinrou. Li Shi, a villager standing guard on the van, saw her and greeted her cheerfully, “Xiaorou is back! If you hadn’t come back, your grandpa would have been worried sick!” “Uncle Li!” Ren Xinrou shouted. “Move the vans a bit and let my car through!” “Okay, I’ll move the car right away!” Li Shi said with a simple smile, jumping out of the van despite the worried looks from others. In the original person’s memories, he was very familiar with Li Shi; Li Shi was a Party member in the village and a cousin of Grandfather. Li Shi called Grandfather “little uncle.” After the original person’s father died, Li Shi often brought his son and daughter to their house to help her with her homework and keep Grandma company. His daughter was only three years older than her; she had just married earlier this year, marrying one of her university classmates. After the car pulled in, Ren Xinrou got out and, approaching a woman she didn’t recognize, said, “Find a secluded spot and check me for any wounds.” The woman looked momentarily startled and glanced at Li Shi; she was from another place and wouldn’t dare offend anyone from the village. Li Shi waved at the woman and said, “No need to examine! I trust her! She’s the secretary’s granddaughter—if she had been bitten she definitely wouldn’t come back to the village!” A few male colleagues stood behind the woman; they were the squad posted at the north entrance. They exchanged looks and none of them dared to speak up in opposition. In Huicun the two largest clans by population were the Li family and the Ren family. Most of the villagers surnamed Li didn’t get along with those named Ren — perhaps because the Ren family produced so many successful people that other villagers often compared and mocked them. The two families bickered and made a racket for decades; it rarely escalated to actual fights, yet the feud never died down. However, no matter how much they caused trouble, no one dared to mess with Ren Yiyong. Ren Yiyong had served in the army for twenty years and was honorably discharged due to injuries; by the time he left the service his rank was already major general. He didn’t take a cushy job in the city’s senior administrative team, but chose to return to the village to lead its people to prosperity. Moreover, his son was a martyr awarded the First-Class Purple Medal, so leaders from ten miles around, even nationwide, had to show him respect; he was the guardian Buddha of Huicun. Anyone in the village who displeased him was doomed. From these past few days of interaction, outsiders all knew Ren Yiyong’s deterrent power in the village; no one dared offend the secretary’s treasured granddaughter. —- Chapter 34 Going Home 2 Ren Xinrou had no smile on her face; her expression was relatively gentle. She said to the few outsiders, “Don’t worry.” Ren Yiyong rode an electric scooter and was coming from afar. He hadn’t arrived yet, but his loud voice came first: “Rourou!” A familiar face, a familiar figure, getting closer and closer. Ren Xinrou’s nose tingled, tears sprang to her eyes. She hadn’t felt the urge to sob like this for many years. “Grandpa!” she choked out. Ren Yiyong pretended to be calm as he stopped the car, putting on an exaggerated stern face as he scolded, “Hmph! You’re this big and still sniffling, aren’t you ashamed!” He spoke firmly, his hands honest — he opened his arms and gave his granddaughter a big hug to comfort her. “Don’t cry, don’t cry, you’re safe and back!” “Hmm!” Ren Xinrou sniffed, forcing herself to calm down and wiping the tears at the corners of her eyes. “Grandpa, have someone unload the stuff from the roof — there are shields and footrests.” Ren Xinrou opened the front passenger door and took out a travel bag containing walkie-talkies and machetes. “Grandpa, I picked up a few military machetes and some walkie-talkies.” Li Shi and the guards from out of town showed looks of delight. Ren Yiyong was sharp; he immediately understood why his granddaughter had brought weapons back—if only the two of them had arms, it would invite jealousy. He turned and instructed Li Shi: “Take the things on the roof down and send them together with this bag to the village committee. Have the office people watch them—there’s a meeting at four-thirty, and they’ll be distributed then!” “All right, little brother-in-law! I’ll send them over now!” Li Shi happily directed the outsiders to move the items; even six shields weren’t something one person could carry alone. The woman from out of town craned her neck to try to see what else was in the car; Ren Xinrou paid it no mind—it’s human nature. Those who didn’t show curiosity were the ones she had to be wary of. Years of experience had taught her one thing: people who aren’t curious about what supplies others bring are either people without earthly desires who plan to become monks and renounce life, or they are gentle-faced but wicked-hearted, ready to stab you in the back at any moment. There was another kind of person, the kind she was: someone with more resources than one lifetime could consume, someone so capable that they weren’t interested in what others had. The news of Ren Xinrou’s return had already been posted in the group. More and more villagers ran over, some concerned, some showing looks of relief, some with hands clasped thanking heaven—everyone glad she was safe and sound. Exactly how many were sincere, the grandfather and granddaughter both knew in their hearts. The women crowded around the cart trying to see what was inside; Ren Yiyong did not stop their curiosity. Having his granddaughter load a cart of supplies was meant to be seen. An old woman, unable to hide her curiosity, asked directly, “Xiaorou, what did you bring back? I heard ducks quacking in the cart.” Ren Xinrou searched her memory; by seniority she should address her as “shenpo.” “I caught a cage of ducks.” The old woman asked again, “Besides ducks, what else is there?” Others pricked up their ears to listen. Ren Xinrou answered, “There are also some preserved vegetables.” The old man asked, “Just preserved vegetables? Nothing else?” Ren Xinrou answered, “There is also rice and flour.” “That’s it?” the old man asked, glancing into the car and turning his head. Ren Xinrou: “There are also potato chips.” “……” Ren Xinrou’s answer, squeezed out like toothpaste, left the villagers both anxious and itching with curiosity. The old man, a little displeased, raised his voice and shouted, “That’s it? There’s nothing else?” Ren Xinrou pretended to think, thought for a moment and said, “I can’t remember.” The old man smiled with his lips but not his eyes, sneering, “Still on guard against us? Afraid I’ll steal your stuff? I’m your aunt-in-law—I watched you grow up!” Ren Yiyong smoked and listened quietly; he had no intention of stepping in to spare his granddaughter. She had to learn to handle these small matters herself. Ren Xinrou said nothing further. She hated people who clung to their age and barged in with false familiarity; her sixth uncle had been ruined by such elders, and she had no desire to indulge people like that. She glanced coldly over at the women whose eyes floated with longing; the women seemed to be waiting for her to “open the granary and dispense grain.” Ren Xinrou said, “Uncles and aunts, please make way, I’m going home.” She looked toward Ren Yiyong, “Grandpa, I’m going home first!” Ren Yiyong nodded, “Mm, there’s a meeting at the village committee at 4:30.” “All right.” Ren Xinrou got into the car and started it. The people gathered in front of the car instinctively stepped aside; it wasn’t yet a moment of desperation, and everyone’s reason still held. Ren Yiyong stared as the car grew farther away. The last time he had seen his granddaughter was half a year ago, when she returned home for the New Year. This time back, although she still wasn’t talkative, she no longer behaved as she used to—respectful to elders, caring for the young, and polite. “In the current climate, ruthlessness and indifference are advanced survival skills~worthy of praise.” Ren Yiyong muttered a few lines in a voice he could hear. Being too kind and too friendly only encourages people to push their luck. Let the old cadre do things like serving the people and respecting the elderly and loving the young. Ren Yiyong flicked his cigarette butt away and called out with a smile, “Everyone go home! Tell the head of your household and the young men to be at the village committee meeting room on time! My RouRou brought back some shields and weapons, we’ll divide them up!” At the mention of weapons being handed out, the women quickly scattered and ran home, while the men present, whether they were household heads or not, all ran to the village committee to join the commotion. He shamelessly crept up to Ren Yiyong’s ear and asked in a low voice, “Brother-in-law, could you give me a machete? I can chop zombies!” Li Shi’s wife died years ago; his daughter-in-law had turned his eldest son into a zombie. Now at home there were only his five-year-old grandson and his newly married daughter and son-in-law. He had to get a good weapon to protect them. “Don’t worry, I guarantee not many people will try to grab the machetes. I reckon the shields and the pitchforks will be the ones people fight over.” Just as Ren Yiyong had guessed. In the afternoon meeting, when he shouted, “Those who carry machetes must go out of the village every day to cut down the zombies approaching the village!” Those who had originally been shouting to take up machetes all fell silent. Only Li Shi, Fang Yongfa, and Ren Haiyang kept their hands raised, willing to go out of the village to patrol the surroundings. Ren Xinrou sneered inwardly; the three people who feared death the least happened to be those who were usually the most upright in the village. Ren Haiyang is Grandpa’s own nephew. He is forty this year, worked in the military and then at the township government. He speaks little, is a practical tough guy, and treats Grandpa and Grandma like his own parents. Ren Xinrou looked at Fang Yongfa. He is the village chief’s son, twenty-seven years old and already a department manager at a listed company, and he often pays out of pocket to buy fruit for the village’s senior canteen. The original body often went to him for help with homework; he answered every question, was handsome, and had a gentle temperament. Thick-browed, phoenix-eyed, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, his white shirt sleeves rolled to his elbows, black suit pants and black leather shoes below, he stood quietly behind his grandfather. Ren Xinrou sighed—just as in the little romance books, the man was indeed very handsome. According to his grandfather, he was from the Gold faction; his parents had turned into zombies, and at home only his wife and a son under two years old remained. Living with a woman and child in the apocalypse is very difficult; how long the Red City Heart can hold is anyone’s guess. Ren Xinrou felt puzzled — why did she unconsciously want to look at him a few more times? Her feelings felt strange. Ren Yiyong handed them the machetes and gave each of them a set of stab-proof vests. The machete that Ren Xinrou had been using was taken by an outsider. Ren Xinrou quietly observed this outsider. He looked under thirty, physically robust, someone who seemed capable of carrying heavy loads. Ren Xinrou glanced at the hand he used to hold the knife; the nail grooves of his little finger had gray grime, and there was a bit of dust on the nails. This person has earth-based powers. Grandfather said that outsiders only reported a single metal-type ability to him. Ren Xinrou noticed that this outsider had just subtly exchanged glances with several other outsiders. It turned out that this person was actually the outsider leader; from her experience, he was by no means harmless. —– Chapter 35 Meeting Zhang Lu didn’t realize his ability had already been discovered; he gave a look to his fellow townsman Dai Xiaosong. Dai Xiaosong has already been reported to Ren Yiyong by the Jin faction. The out-of-town tenants formed two eight-man teams; he and Zhang Lu are the captains of the two teams, From the first day of the apocalypse, they patrolled with the villagers’ patrol team to kill the zombies on the village paths, to patrol the village and guard the entrances and exits; all sixteen members are robust young men. Dai Xiaosong received Zhang Lu’s hint and spoke humbly: “Secretary, going outside the village to clear zombies with only four people carrying machetes won’t do. I was thinking, maybe two or three people with protective gear could join the team — leaving the village together would be safer.” Ren Yiyong lowered his eyes to conceal the glint in them, tapped the ash that had fallen on his chest, and after a few seconds of silence said, “Hmm, what you say makes a lot of sense.” Dai Xiaosong immediately volunteered: “It’s too dangerous outside. I can send a few strong young men from our team. The villagers all have families, but the rest of us are bachelors with no ties, so we’re the best suited to go out and work.” Ren Xinrou narrowed her eyes. The village survivors—some had fled, some had died—only about 130 remained. Fifty-four of them were outsiders, all young. If the weapons and bomb-proof gear ended up in their hands, and zombies broke into the village, the locals would be at a serious disadvantage. Ren Yiyong nodded, looking as if he was about to agree. Dai Xiaosong gave Zhang Lu a look that said victory was assured. However, Ren Yiyong directly changed the subject: “Put this matter aside for now. The reason I called you here today is to tell you that the land rescue team will be shuttling to and from Nanshi over the next two days to transport people to the Chongshi rescue base.” The silent conference room suddenly erupted; everyone was asking those next to them whether they should leave. Some faces showed joy, some were conflicted, and others remained very calm. Ren Xinrou noticed that several outsiders weren’t whispering among themselves; they were simply standing with their heads down, saying nothing. It seems they already know about this and may have already discussed whether to stay or leave. Whether they leave or stay, they all need enough weapons to ensure their own safety. The conference room buzzed for a few minutes before Ren Yiyong slapped his hands together hard to quiet them: “Quiet! Quiet! I haven’t finished speaking yet! Why the rush? Save your debate for when you get home!” The chatter quickly died down. Ren Yiyong lit a cigarette and said lazily, “Those who are leaving should hurry and go in the next two days. Drive to the highway entrance and wait for the rescue teams to rendezvous, or head into the city and get on a military vehicle if you come across one — follow the convoy if you can; With many people and much luggage, it’s best to drive and follow the convoy. The highway should be clear now; you can also go straight to Chong City without following the vehicles.” The crowd began to stir again. Ren Yiyong barked, “Those who want to discuss this can go home for now!” Everyone immediately shut their mouths. Ren Yiyong glanced sideways at the villagers who had been talking too much and continued, “Listen carefully to what I’m about to say! If you want to stay, don’t come to me panicking when something happens later! If you’re leaving, do it soon! The troops will arrive in Nanshi in the next day or two. After that, if you still want to leave, you’ll have to make your own way to Chong City! Right now, the army is exactly at a time when it lacks people! It’s impossible to send a vehicle to Nanshi just for a hundred or eighty people! Besides, Nanshi isn’t far from Chongshi! You can easily go there yourselves! From now on, if you expect the army to rescue you, waiting two or three months would be the least! By then whether you starve or die of worry, don’t come to me crying! Ren Yiyong paused, then shouted, “Did anyone not hear clearly what I just said? If you didn’t understand, ask quickly!” Li Feijiu’s elbow nudged his cousin Li Long at his side, signaling him to ask. Li Long shrugged, looking bewildered, not understanding what Li Jiu wanted him to say. Li Feijiu shot his cousin a look, then asked Ren Yiyong respectfully, “Uncle, will you stay or leave?” Ren Yiyong gave him a cold look. Some of the Li family’s daughters-in-law were related to his father’s generation, and among the Li’s hundreds of people, they either called him “uncle” or “brother.” He knew it well—they were trying to use that kinship to make life more convenient. Apart from Li Shi’s immediate family, the rest of the Li family were either two-faced or scheming and ungrateful. On ordinary days, he would help them with small matters when he could; he couldn’t be bothered to argue with them. For life-and-death matters like today, he wouldn’t be the sucker. Ren Xinrou saw her grandfather fall silent, worried he would take the responsibility on himself out of too much sentiment. When Grandpa and she made eye contact, she quickly shook her head to warn him. Ren Yiyong saw the warning in his granddaughter’s eyes and gave her a reassuring look. “There’s one more thing I need to make clear to you! Whether you stay or leave has nothing to do with me! If I stay and you stay, and later you have no food! Get attacked by zombies! Or people die! Don’t blame me for it! I am not insisting you must stay in the village! If I leave and you leave! What happens to you eking out a living in the relief center is your own business! I won’t beg you for food if I’m hungry, I won’t ask you to take me in if I have nowhere to sleep! Don’t come to me crying! Do you understand what I mean?” Li Feijiu hastily said, “Uncle, you’re the secretary! You’re also our elder! Whether you stay or leave, we’ll follow your decision! Life and death are fate; we will never blame you!” “Yeah! Uncle, give us a clear answer and we’ll do it!” Li Long now understood his eldest brother’s intention and hurriedly chimed in. “Second brother, you decide! My son, grandson and I will all listen to you! If anything happens to them in the future, I won’t blame you!” The speaker was Old Li, the eldest surviving generation of the Li family. Ren Yiyong ranks second in the household. The younger members of the Ren family all call him Second Uncle, Uncle, or Second Grandfather; those of the same generation as him in the Li family call him Second Brother. The other family representatives of the Li household followed suit, overtly and covertly morally pressuring Ren Yiyong, forcing him to take responsibility. The other family representatives with different surnames looked at one another, not following the Li family’s lead. They turned to the representatives of the Ren family, wanting to see what they would say. Only a few dozen survivors with the surname Ren remained in the village: about twenty middle-aged and elderly people and children under ten; there were only four young able-bodied men left. Aside from Ren Yiyong, Ren Haiyang was the most authoritative voice in the Ren family. He spoke on behalf of several households, deliberately raising his voice: “Second Uncle! My cousins and I will go back and discuss this before deciding! Whether we leave or stay, we will take responsibility ourselves!” Life is your own! The path is what you choose! We won’t follow your suggestions! Whether you stay or go, you don’t need to tell us when you leave!” Everyone present understood who those words were directed at. Chapter 36 Meeting 2 Li Feijiu’s face flushed with humiliation and anger, his neck bulging as he shouted, “Ren Haiyang, what do you mean by that! Uncle is an elder; what’s wrong with us listening to him! What’s wrong with us following Uncle! We made it very clear just now — no matter how things turn out in the future, we won’t blame Uncle!” After leaving the army, Ren Haiyang kept up with exercise; at forty he was still burly and loud-voiced. “If you won’t blame my second uncle, then why do you ask his opinion? Can’t you think for yourselves? Saying nicely that you won’t blame him no matter what! If something really happens, won’t you go after him? If my second uncle hadn’t decisively locked down the village and gone with a knife to rescue people, how many of you would be alive now! I’ll make it clearer! Those now shouting that they only listen to my second uncle are people who repay kindness with ingratitude! Go back and think about it yourselves! Stay if you want, leave if you want! My second uncle is in his sixties and already relying on his granddaughter to support him; do the Li family expect him to raise your elderly and children for you?” Li Long stepped forward two paces, pointed at Ren Haiyang and shouted, “Ren Haiyang! You ugly bastard! When did we ever say we wanted Second Uncle to raise our kids and support us in his old age? Stop spouting that damn nonsense!” “You didn’t say it out loud, but you know what you think!” Ren Haiyang refused to back down and continued to scold. The other Ren family representatives could not stand their relative being insulted and rushed forward, shouting back: “Haven’t we seen enough over the years? Your Li family spends every day trying to scrape from my Second Uncle’s bowl, only looking to leech off him! The moment anything goes wrong you blame my Second Uncle for not helping, never admitting your own uselessness!” “These past days you’ve been nagging my Second Uncle to pull strings to get people to rescue you. Now the rescue team is in the city, and you’re asking whether my Second Uncle will go or not—have you been weaned? Don’t call him brother-in-law, call him ‘Mom’!” …… Ren Xinrou raised an eyebrow as she listened to the two families argue, secretly pleased — if it came to blows it would be even more entertaining. Several representatives of the Ren family were both cultured and martial; they insulted without using curse words, every line piercing to the heart, leaving the Li family representatives’ faces shifting between red and black. Li Feijiu once again nudged his younger cousin’s back, signaling him to ask Ren Yiyong for an apology. However, Li Long seemed to have had some switch flipped; he shouted and hurled a string of curses: “A bunch of mangy whelps! Yeah, yeah, our Li family can’t do what you can! Your Ren family is the most capable!” Your Ren family are all failures! So what if many of you joined the army or became officers — didn’t they all get shot one by one? Serves them right to die! The zombies have eaten your Ren family down to the old, weak, sick, and disabled! We’re waiting to see your Ren family die out! After cursing, Li Long didn’t yet realize he had offended every person named Ren, especially Ren Yiyong. Old Li and Li Feijiu went pale; they racked their brains for something to say to apologize and beg Ren Yiyong for forgiveness. Li Long’s abuse had only stopped for two seconds when Li Shi, coming from who-knows-where, rushed over and landed a flying kick to his stomach. Li Long toppled backward, taking Li Feijiu down with him to the ground. Li Shi straddled Li Long’s stomach, his fists and palms raining down like raindrops, crackling onto Li Long’s face, and he also struck Li Feijiu who had fallen nearby. “Damn it! You two idiots! Who died and deserved it! I think it’s you who deserve to die! You bunch of scumbags! Damn rotten bastards!” Li Shi delivered goods at the plastic factory on the edge of the village and had worked there for over twenty years. In his forties he was stronger than young men; his palms were like shovels, battering the arm Li Long used to shield his face. “Good thing I’m not your father! If I were, I’d ram my head straight into a zombie’s mouth and become one, then bite you idiots to death!” Ren Xinrou watched with relish; if she didn’t have to hide that she had a space, she would have grabbed a pack of chicken feet and started gnawing. Li Shi was indeed Grandpa’s loyal fan, cursing as he hit, showing no mercy. Ren Yiyong’s mouth tilted up, with two dimples on his cheeks when he smiled; his brows and eyes curved in a benevolent look as he drank tea and smoked. No one dared step forward to break up the fight; the Li family could only stand by and watch, afraid to move. Old Li, the Li patriarch, didn’t even dare look at Ren Yiyong; it was his own son doing the insulting. The other family representatives just watched without speaking, and outsiders certainly wouldn’t interfere in village affairs. Li Feijiu, having been beaten because of the trouble, swallowed his anger. He held his swollen face and wore an earnest expression: “Brother-in-law, you know Li Long has always had no filter. When he loses an argument he starts swearing; his insults aren’t sincere—please don’t be angry!” Old Li hurriedly took the words and spoke kindly: “Second brother, a great man doesn’t hold a grudge against a small man, don’t argue with this brat. The soldiers of the Ren family sacrificed for the country, they’re all fine fellows! Our village hasn’t been bullied all these years because of your support! Don’t abandon us!” Old Li never forgot that clinging to Ren Yiyong’s thigh right now was the most important thing, even more important than his son. Many of Ren Yiyong’s comrades held high positions, and many comrades’ sons were serving as officers in the military. As long as they clung to Ren Yiyong, whether they stayed in the village or went to the relief station, there would definitely be a way out. What the Li family didn’t know was that Ren Yiyong had never once had the idea of using his connections to save them. Hundreds of millions of people outside need urgent rescue; he can save himself and there’s no need to waste the nation’s resources. Ren Yiyong laughed like Maitreya Buddha, “I’ve made myself very clear — I won’t concern myself with anyone. Whether you stay or go, I won’t ask. I remember whoever says my son, my brother, my nephew, my father, my uncles deserve to die.” Ren Yiyong kept smiling as he spoke, which made him more terrifying. Angry people frown and scowl; only cruel people smile. Ren Yiyong stubbed out his cigarette, stood up, and said to everyone: “Go back and decide clearly whether to stay or leave. The rescue team will leave Nanshi tomorrow night. If you’re afraid, wait until tomorrow afternoon — the rescue team will surely go into the countryside.” Ren Yiyong gestured to Ren Haiyang to pull Li Shi aside. “Shitou, don’t worry about your cousins’ affairs. Go stand guard at the north gate and don’t go out to clear zombies for now. We’ll deal with it tomorrow.” “All right, brother-in-law, I’ll head to the north gate first.” Li Shi tucked away his fist, grabbed the machete, and strode out of the meeting room. Li Long lay on the ground with a bruised, swollen face and couldn’t get up. Ren Yiyong walked to the door, pointed at the items on the table and said, “These six sets of blast-proof gear were brought back by my granddaughter. Haiyang, the Ren family will keep three sets, and the remaining three sets—the foot forks and shields—will be distributed separately. Whoever wants one can have one, but you’re limited to one type. If more people want them than there are pieces, we’ll draw lots and leave it to luck.” “All right, Second Uncle.” Ren Haiyang set about writing the lot slips; he didn’t need to ask—everyone would want something that could save their life. Ren Xinrou obediently and gently followed her grandfather away. The Ren family’s standalone house was a hundred meters from the village committee, and the grandfather and granddaughter said nothing the whole way. Back home, after locking the yard gate, Ren Yiyong said not a word, went to the kitchen to fetch a kitchen knife and a plastic basin, and sat in the yard to slaughter a duck. In the yard there was a movable wood-fired stove; a big iron pot hissed and steamed, a whole pot of hot water. Only then did Ren Xinrou remember she had forgotten to stock firewood for the cooking stove used to heat the house. Chapter 37: Consultation Ren Xinrou brought a small stool from inside and sat opposite Ren Yiyong to watch him pluck the duck’s feathers. “Grandpa” Ren Yiyong made a shushing sound. Ren Xinrou understood and took an electronic writing pad from the space, writing on it: {Does Grandpa want to stay in the village?} Ren Yiyong nodded. Ren Xinrou asked: {Does he want to stay in the village permanently?} If Grandpa wants to stay here forever, she’ll find a way to encircle the entire South City and build an impregnable fortress. Ren Yiyong shook his head. Ren Xinrou asked: {Worried the shelter won’t provide good food and lodging?} Ren Yiyong nodded and then shook his head again, meaning that was one of the reasons. Ren Xinrou gave a wry smile and wrote down {I have an RV in my space.} Ren Yiyong’s eyes curved with a smile, and he gave her a thumbs-up. Ren Xinrou looked toward the room; she could still hear faint shouting. “Grandpa, Grandma… what are you going to do?” Ren Xinrou asked. Ren Yiyong visibly paused, was silent for a moment, then said, “Wait—I’ll go feed her a whole chicken, let her eat her fill before sending her off. After dinner, you and I will go to the backyard and dig a hole to bury your grandmother there.” Even though Grandpa didn’t look up and she couldn’t see his expression, she could feel his grief. “Grandpa, let me see Grandma off.” “No, I’ll do it myself.” Ren Yiyong exhaled with a choke and said slowly, “Other than not cooking well and having a loud voice, your grandmother didn’t have any major faults. In the more than forty years we’ve been married we never had a big fight; the occasional little quarrels were always resolved by the next day; She gave me your father, such a good son, and chose your mother as such a good daughter‑in‑law, which brought you, a sensible granddaughter. Your grandmother and I got our fill in this life; Your grandmother becoming a zombie—compared to her witnessing a world like this, I’m grateful she could turn without pain. Your grandmother was timid and kind; this world doesn’t deserve such a good woman… Listening to grandfather’s rambling, Ren Xinrou felt a tightness in her chest. Whether it was Grandpa from a past life or Grandpa in this life, both loved Grandma very much. People of their generation never put love into words, but their actions and behavior always revealed it. If Grandpa knew the real granddaughter was already dead, he would surely be very sad; he might not want to see her again. Ren Xinrou suddenly felt as if she had stolen something from someone, guilty and upset. Ren Yiyong stopped talking about his daughter-in-law’s past, sighed, and looked up at his granddaughter: “Xiaorou, no matter what you’ve become, you’re still my granddaughter. Grandpa has only one task now.” Ren Xinrou for a moment thought Grandpa had seen through the truth. “What task?” Ren Yiyong chuckled, “Find you a husband who can handle things! Have a bunch of kids to keep me company! Then I’ll have no regrets in this life!” “……” Ren Xinrou’s cheeks flushed slightly. “Grandpa, I’m only twenty. It’s too early to be looking for a husband!” Ren Yiyong bent his head and continued plucking ducks, lecturing, “How is it too early! Your grandmother had your father at twenty! My mother had my eldest brother at eighteen! I had kids at twenty! When I find you a reliable man, won’t you need time to date and get to know him? Time will just slip by a year or two!” Twenty years old, not young anymore, not young anymore. I’ll have Grandpa ask around, find someone reliable, a soldier with powers to be your grandson-in-law, someone who might live longer. Ren Xinrou smiled lightly and asked, “Who might live longer?” “Of course someone like him would live longer! Once the official rescue kicks in, the most at risk won’t be ordinary people but soldiers. Those soldiers with powers should have tougher survival odds!” Ren Yiyong said with a helpless sigh. Ren Xinrou did not object to Grandpa’s hasty matchmaking. In her previous life she never even fell in love before dying; she only learned about male–female romance from a little dirty book. She isn’t opposed to being single; on the contrary, she’s actually quite curious about marriage. When she was a teenager she fantasized about marrying and having children. The grandfather and grandson chatted intermittently about inconsequential things. In the house a bit of a distance from their home, Old Li frowned and asked, “Is he planning to get rid of his wife today? That must mean he’s preparing to leave!” But Li Feijiu didn’t think so. “Uncle, I don’t think he’ll leave. Living in the village you can be self-sufficient; you don’t need to go elsewhere to find food. As long as we fence in the area around the village, we’ll survive. I think he said that on purpose, said it for us to hear.” Old Li spat out the betel nut in his mouth and licked his dark red front tooth. “That old fox—it’s not impossible! But I still think he’ll leave. His granddaughter isn’t young anymore; he knows a lot of high officials. Xiao Rou is pretty and has a good character; her father was a first-class meritorious martyr. If she joins the military she’ll be an important officer—she won’t be without prospects. There are only a few young men left in the village; no way would he waste his precious granddaughter on them!” “Uncle, should we go with them? He made himself very clear today—he won’t care if we live or die. Why don’t we just stay in the village? Live our own lives!” Li Feijiu’s words drew considerable opposition. The dissenters argued that whether Ren Yiyong cared for them or not, at the rescue center the state would support them and the troops would stand guard at the gate, so they wouldn’t have to live in constant fear. Old Li was also more inclined to go to the rescue center. The Li family had more people alive than the Ren family, but they were also more timid and couldn’t shoulder responsibility. If real danger came, no one would care whether they lived or died. Although Ren Yiyong said he wouldn’t care, when it really comes to life and death, he doesn’t believe Ren Yiyong would just watch the villagers die with his eyes open… Old Li was silent for a long time, so long that his son Li Long, who had originally been collapsed in the corner from exhaustion, gradually regained strength and started cursing, “That damned Li Shi, that dog! I’ll make sure to kill him someday!” ‘Clang!’ Old Li grabbed the cup on the table and threw it at Li Long’s feet, furious. “Shut your mouth! It was your mouth that caused the trouble today! What Ren Yiyong said today was only a warning! Don’t I know him? He couldn’t be so heartless as to let people die and do nothing!” That’s just great! You say his son deserved to die, so he really won’t care about you anymore! Li Shi has been Ren Zehai’s sidekick since childhood — they’re like blood brothers. You say his death is deserved — do you think Li Shi wouldn’t beat you up for that? If he didn’t kill you, consider yourself lucky! Li Long protested angrily, “Why would I need him to care whether I live or die? Would we be unable to survive without Ren Yiyong?” “We can survive without him! But with him around, we can live much better! You idiot!” Old Li immediately gave his son some advice: “Go apologize to Li Shi! Li Shi is your cousin; as long as he forgives you and is willing to take you with him, and Ren Yiyong still has influence over Li Shi, you’ll be able to live well!” “Make me go apologize to him! I’d rather die than go! If you want to go butter him up, go do it yourselves! Sooner or later I’m going to throw that dog Li Shi to the zombies! I’ll throw his precious grandson to feed the zombies too! Fuck him!” Li Long clapped his swollen face and, walking out of the courtyard, kept shouting, “And his daughter and son-in-law! A bunch of dogs! Throw them all to the zombies!” Old Man Li slammed the table repeatedly in fury, all that anger with nowhere to vent, gnashing his teeth as he cursed, “This idiot! Always been an idiot since childhood! No matter how you try to teach him, it won’t work! How did I end up giving birth to such an idiot!” “Uncle, don’t be angry. You can’t entirely blame Da Long for this! Those Ren family people insulted us so harshly, reducing the Lis to nothing; in their eyes we’re like weeds in the mud. At the time I could barely hold myself back from cursing, let alone Da Long.” Li Feijiu handed over a cup of tea to comfort him. Old Man Li blew on his tea, his face full of defiance. “Hmph! The Ren family has a red carpet ancestor-made stairway for descendants to climb; if our surname was Li and we had a staircase, we might climb even higher than them!” “Uncle, what do we do now?” Li Feijiu asked; he didn’t want to get stuck on the nonsense about ‘a hero’s past bravery.’ Old Li thought for a moment and said, “Wait! See if he leaves tomorrow. You all go back and pack up first. If it’s certain he’s leaving, we’ll leave a step before him, so he doesn’t think we’re forcing him out!” “Alright, then we’ll go home first.” Li Feijiu led the others away. Old Li glanced at his younger daughter-in-law sweeping the courtyard outside the door, a calculating look in his eyes. The younger son is dead; fortunately they didn’t have children. The eldest son is forty and still unmarried—why let outsiders benefit from our gains? Chapter 38 Negotiation 2 Night had deepened. Ren Yiyong cleaned the blood from his wife’s body, changed her into clean clothes, and carried her to the backyard. The backyard lights were bright, and Ren Haiyang, Li Shi, and Fang Yongfa were helping dig the pit. Ren Xinrou brought a bag of quicklime and spread it evenly inside the coffin; this coffin was more like a large wooden box, made from planks Ren Yiyong had found time to craft by hand over the past few days. Ren Yiyong put his wife into the coffin and once again carefully arranged her posthumous appearance. Thick, callused hands, full of creases, gently, carefully stroked his wife’s heavily wrinkled face. Ren Yiyong’s eyes were wet with tears; choking, he joked, “Wife, you go down to be with our son and daughter-in-law first. If you get bored, take them to look for my father—maybe he’s worked his way up to some big position underground! I know I’m handsome, dashing, and charismatic, but don’t worry, I’ll remain virtuous! I’ll definitely protect my belt!” I reckon I’ve got another twenty or thirty years left, maybe, and if I’m lucky I could live past a hundred. Sorry to put you out—be patient and wait for me, okay~ You must wait for me! Otherwise, in the next life some other girl will charm me away first, and don’t come crying to me!” Ren Xinrou’s tears fell into the coffin as she gazed at her grandmother, who looked as peaceful as if asleep. “Grandma, don’t worry. I will definitely protect Grandpa. I won’t give that old woman a chance to pull at his belt.” Standing on the other side of the coffin, Ren Yiyong reached out and tapped his granddaughter on the top of her head. “Your grandpa’s got a lot of charm. You’d better make sure young women don’t get near me!” Ren Xinrou rubbed the spot where she’d been tapped and grumbled, “Grandpa, you’re too confident.” Though she said it aloud, in her heart she agreed with his concern. Grandpa is 64 this year; his hair is completely white, his complexion fair, neither fat nor thin, with a slight belly — the normal well-cared-for, prosperous look of someone who’s lived comfortably. His bearing and demeanor immediately mark him as an old man who’s seen the big scenes. Even at his age, his features are still handsome; one can imagine that when he was young he must have been one of the most handsome young men in the military. As a cadre who ate well, slept well, and exercised daily, his back is straight; he looks at most a little over fifty. Ren Xinrou was already starting to worry. Before the end of the world there was no shortage of women volunteering their pillows; after the end of the world, there would definitely be many spinsters eager to find a capable, battle-hardened uncle to support them. And this old man is both witty and handsome; once Grandpa enters the base he might be fought over. Ren Xinrou sized up Ren Yiyong and asked, “Grandpa, has your skin always been this pale? Is it hard for you to get tanned?” “Last year, the boss of a cosmetics company gave your grandmother a case of anti-spray. Your grandmother refused to use it because she thought it smelled too nice. You’re in the U.S., and shipping this stuff is expensive, so I had to use it. That boss was really straightforward—he gave a whole big box of a hundred bottles!” Ren Yiyong said as he put the lid on the coffin, explaining while hammering nails. Ren Xinrou said, “You can share him out to the villagers.” Ren Yiyong gave his granddaughter a glare. “Are you stupid? Telling everyone I took bribes? If I’d taken a case of gold, I’d accept the label of corrupt official, but to be called a greedy official behind my back over a few bottles of sunscreen spray—that would be a grave injustice!” Ren Xinrou thought it over and felt her grandfather made sense. Which official in this world hasn’t accepted gifts? It’s just a matter of degree. Sometimes bureaucrats help people out and others give cigarettes or food as thanks. If an official stubbornly refuses everything, people will think he lacks social savvy. An insensitive official won’t last long. Grandpa was a good party secretary who protected the village; no one could deny that. Grandma’s coffin was placed into a deep pit, and Ren Hai, Li Shi, and Fang Yongfa helped fill it with soil. “Is Li Feijiu guarding the east gate now?” Ren Yiyong asked. Ren Haiyang stopped what he was doing and answered, “I’ve had someone quietly keep watch. If he leaves his post I’ll get a call. I also had some kids keep an eye around Second Uncle’s place; if they see anyone loitering they’ll tell me.” Ren Yiyong lit a cigarette and nodded approvingly. “Mm. Right now we only know Li Feijiu has an ear deformity. There might be more people like him in the village, especially those from out of town. We can’t trust a single one of them.” “I’ll have people pay special attention to those folks.” Ren Haiyang finished speaking and went back to shoveling dirt onto the coffin. After covering it with soil and offering incense, Ren Yiyong took them back inside to sit in the air conditioning and drink tea. Ren Xinrou sat on a small stool by the sofa scrolling videos, quietly listening to her grandfather. “How do you plan to handle this, Haiyang?” Ren Yiyong asked. Ren Haiyang took a deep breath, his tone a little helpless. “Twenty-four elderly and children, eleven youths of whom six are women, and in the elders’ group three uncles can barely protect themselves. The four of us men have to protect thirty old, weak, and female people; Whether we stay or leave, there will be problems. If we stay in the village we can be self-sufficient—elders and women can plant vegetables and raise chickens, we can secure and guard the village perimeter, and they’ll be safe. But if the city people all leave, more and more zombies will head for the suburbs. Regular zombies aren’t the issue; the fear is mutated zombies, which are hard to deal with; If we go live at the relief station, how many years’ worth of food will they give? Will it be enough to fill us? Where there are crowds, disputes are inevitable — a bunch of old people, children, and women. Even if the few of us could feed them, we couldn’t protect them at every moment! Ren Haiyang held his head and sighed, his eyes full of conflict and bewilderment. Ren Yiyong leaned back against the sofa chair, finished half a cigarette, then said: “Your analysis is very thorough. The state will certainly continue to take care of the elderly and children; the food won’t be great, but it won’t starve them to death. On state land, if you want to live comfortably and well, you can only rely on your own ability and contributions — I don’t need to say more about that, you all know it in your hearts.” Seeing the three nod, Ren Yiyong continued: “Chong City is just a temporary relief station. Our province’s survivors will be transported there first. The authorities are already cleaning up and organizing the coastal cities, aiming to seal off and fortify a whole coastal safe zone within a month.” The news made the three men present light up. Ren Yiyong continued: “This information hasn’t been officially released. To prevent large numbers of people from going to the coast too early, right now those working on the coast are so busy they barely have time to sleep or eat. The authorities don’t have the energy or time, and they certainly don’t have places to arrange for survivors to head to the bases early. The government really can’t spare the resources; each province has one or two temporary sites to take people in. The relief stations don’t enforce order; they just feed you, and you have to find your own place to lie down. A small city has to accommodate survivors from dozens of cities and counties across the province, so you can imagine how chaotic, filthy, and crowded it is; where there are people there are disputes, and where there are living people there are dirty things. In these times, people aren’t even afraid of being caught for murder, let alone doing other filthy deeds.” Ren Yiyong had already explained everything thoroughly; Ren Haiyang’s previously muddled gaze had become clear, and he knew exactly what arrangements to make next. The other two nodded without speaking; everything was understood without words. Chapter 39: Stay or Leave Ren Haiyang and Fang Yongfa said their goodbyes and went home. When Fang Yongfa passed by Ren Xinrou, he ruffled her hair. “Listen to Grandpa.” After saying that, he left. Fang Yongfa’s touch was like flicking a switch; memories the original suppressed deep inside suddenly flooded her mind. The painful sense of grievance left Ren Xinrou stunned for a long while before she came to. Fang Yongfa was the first person the original had a crush on when her feelings first awakened—an unrequited crush from middle school through the college entrance exams, from age 14 to 18. After the college entrance exam, the original self was agonizing over how to confess, but Fang Yongfa suddenly got married, marrying his colleague; it was said they fell in love at first sight, and the villagers praised them as a perfect golden boy and jade girl. After the wedding, Fang Yongfa took his wife to visit grandfather. His wife was very gentle, like an intellectual older sister. Although the original self was cold to her, she remained polite and friendly toward the original self. The original self knew there was no hope left and was heartbroken; not only did she block Fang Yongfa on WeChat, she impulsively decided to study abroad in the United States. “……” Ren Xinrou seemed to hear a “crack” in her mind, as if a string had snapped. Did Fang Yongfa know the original body had a crush on him? He and the original body were childhood sweethearts. Before they married they chatted about homework on WeChat every few days, so he must have known he was blocked. Would his wife, who seems clever, notice that the original body liked her husband? Ren Xinrou buried her fingers in her hair, full of frustration — they would be seeing each other often from now on, and the original body had left her with a major embarrassment. Li Shi was left behind by Ren Yiyong. Ren Yiyong handed Li Shi a short dagger. “For your daughter’s protection. Be careful with Li Long. If they don’t leave the village tomorrow, tell Little Stone not to go out to play anymore. Tell your daughter and son-in-law to watch him and not let him get close to the Li family again. One grandson’s bloodline from your side is enough for the Li family.” Li Shi understood the implication in Ren Yiyong’s words and tried to reassure him, “Brother-in-law, Li Long probably wouldn’t dare kill someone.” Ren Yiyong shouted, “Are you an idiot? You think everyone is honest! What kind of times are these? In the past people avoided crime because they feared prison! Try calling 110 now and see if the police show up to catch them!” Go home and tell your daughter and son-in-law about this! See if they’re as foolish as you are! If they are as foolish as you, I think the Li family shouldn’t keep their bloodline—your whole family should hurry up and hang yourselves! That way there won’t even be a whole corpse later! Li Shi’s eyes showed timidity; he flinched and hurriedly soothed, “Brother-in-law, brother-in-law don’t be angry, watch your blood pressure, I’ll go back now and remind them to be careful, don’t be mad, I’m going right back!” Li Shi promised as he ran outside. “Come back!” Ren Yiyong waved and called. Li Shi ran back to his side. Ren Yiyong whispered in his ear: “Don’t tell anyone about your daughter! And don’t let Little Stone notice anything! Children can’t keep their mouths shut!” “Hey! I won’t say a word! I’m off! Little uncle, go to bed early!” Li Shi ran off. Ren Xinrou followed him outside, double-locked the main gate of the yard, checked around the courtyard, and only then went back inside. “Grandpa, is your old friend coming?” Ren Xinrou asked softly. Ren Yiyong pointed to his phone, indicating his granddaughter should use it to chat: {“They’re leaving the day after tomorrow or the day after that; he discussed it with the family and decided to stay in our village for a few days. After the authorities officially announce the coastal base, they’ll join the convoy from Chongshi to head to the coast.”} Ren Xinrou: {“Will we go to the coast with them then?”} Ren Yiyong shook his head: {“We won’t go where everyone crowds together. When the official news first comes out, that place will definitely be packed — the line could stretch across a whole province!”} {The coastal bases are the last safe harbors for the living; they must be strictly managed. You can’t just open the gate and let people in. You have to check for wounds on the body, record their information, register them, scan their faces, file their data, and assign beds and housing.} {“Even people with abilities will be strictly checked. Those wishing to enter the base waiting at the gate for ten days or half a month is nothing; by then, eating and defecating will all be issues!”} {Queuing outside the base isn’t necessarily safe either. If a powerful psychic zombie shows up, people sitting in their cars are just waiting to die, and getting out is death too. It’s better to wait until the initial rush subsides before we set out.} Ren Xinrou’s eyes shone; she truly admired her grandfather from the bottom of her heart. He planned three steps ahead and could see the core of any matter. Since her grandfather had already made arrangements, she would support them. No matter what dangers they encountered on the escape, she was confident she could protect her grandfather. Ren Xinrou walked to her grandfather’s side, placing her hand on his arm, wanting to pull him into the space, but she couldn’t get in. Ren Xinrou, puzzled, tried once more to release her space awareness. “Why can’t I get in? The chicken and the pig could go in.” “I’m not a pig or a chicken! Of course I can’t go in!” Ren Yiyong tapped his granddaughter’s head, stood up and went upstairs. “Go to bed early; there’s a lot to do tomorrow.” Ren Xinrou puckered her lips and made an “oh” sound. If Grandpa can’t enter the space, then no one will help her plant vegetables. Fortunately she doesn’t have to water or fertilize; the plants grow and yield by themselves, otherwise she definitely wouldn’t go into farming. Harvesting can be gathered into the bamboo basket by thought, but sowing can’t be done with one click; the seeds must be scattered by hand. She needs an intelligent seeder: set the area, put in the seeds, and it will sow automatically. The last time she went to the flower-and-tree market she only found a few hand-pushed seeders. Pushing the seeder, Ren Xinrou entered the space; after feeding the pigs and ducks, she planted the apple saplings, orange saplings, peach saplings and other fruit tree seedlings she had brought back from the market into the soil. After eating a few lychees, she buried the seeds in the soil, then sprinkled a handful of watermelon seeds, strawberry seeds, cherry seeds, orange seeds, grape seeds… She planted some of every fruit that was in the storage room. She planted several durian trees too. She didn’t like eating durian, but Grandfather loved it. The napa cabbage planted two days ago looked like it would be ready to harvest in three to five days; she couldn’t wait to taste vegetables grown in the space. Before leaving the space, she glanced at the herd of cattle and sheep and noticed in the waist-high grass a few cows and sheep in the middle of “doing it.” The original body’s long-dormant feelings for the other party surged into her mind once more without any warning. “I knew that slipping into a erotic book would mean seeing all kinds of ‘colors,’ but turning cows and sheep into men and women! That’s a bit too much!” Ren Xinrou covered her face with a pillow and muttered softly. The illusion was a scene the original had once fantasized about: the ‘colors’ were rather intense, the ‘car’ swayed with heated abandon, and it barreled straight into Ren Xinrou’s mind; she had no way to suppress it. The original had only harbored a one-sided crush, had never held hands, never been hugged, and Fang Yongfa had never given her the slightest ambiguous signal—are feelings like that so hard to forget? “This is doomed—meeting will be even more awkward from now on.” That was Ren Xinrou’s final thought before falling asleep. Fang Yongfa’s handsome face kept appearing in her mind; her dreams were filled with his every word and action, erupting like a volcano and endlessly replaying the past. Ren Xinrou watched recordings all night about Fang Yongfa and the original woman’s life from childhood to adulthood. The next day, Ren Xinrou painfully opened her eyes with a throbbing head. She pounded the bed and cursed, “Fine if you like him, but you expect me to be forced to like him too? Thanks a lot! I like women in uniform, not men in suits! Don’t ever give me that kind of dream again!” If Fang Yongfa had no wife or children, she’d be willing to let the original woman have her fantasy. But alas, that plant already had an owner, and she wasn’t interested in flowers and plants that belonged to someone else. Chapter 40 Stay or Leave 2 After yelling, the emotions that had been clogged in her brain all night suddenly dispersed, and her mind gradually cleared. Ren Xinrou glanced at the time; it was already half past ten in the morning. There was not a single new message in the village group. The apocalypse had already begun for several days; large groups inevitably split into smaller ones—since ancient times, those with different ways do not work together. Ren Xinrou was no longer wearing a black suit; today she put on a white T‑shirt, white jeans, and black leather boots, with the ancestral great machete her grandfather had given her slung across her back. The tattered red cloth tied to the machete’s handle filled her with pride; this blade was truly a founding hero’s weapon. The great machete was heavier than a modern military machete, its weight barely within her acceptable range. She planned to take a walk outside the village today to practice with the blade—the more she used it, the more she would get used to its weight. “Grandpa! Grandpa!” Ren Xinrou called as she walked down the stairs. A chair blocked the way at the bottom of the stairs; on it was a note left by Grandpa: {Breakfast is warming on the stove. After you eat, go for a walk on your own. I’m going to town with your Uncle Haiyang to look for a big bus. I left my phone at home. If there’s an emergency, call your uncle.} “You could have just left me a message on the phone.” Ren Xinrou casually crumpled the note and tossed it into the trash, then went to the kitchen to eat. It wasn’t until Grandpa mentioned the bus that she realized she hadn’t stockpiled any buses. Blocking the road with buses was very useful, especially double-decker tour buses: if you filled in the underside, they became a nearly impassable sheet-metal wall that could transport people and supplies. Before stocking up on oil, she needed to make a trip to the bus company and the long-distance bus station to hoard buses. “Too bad Nanshi is a landlocked city with no port. If only there were a helicopter—I could go to the port to hoard containers; the port also stores a lot of imported and exported food and daily necessities…” Ren Xinrou ate while thinking about how to get a helicopter. She opened the map and searched for nearby helicopter training schools. “There really is one!” Ren Xinrou exclaimed in surprise. The Aviation Training Academy isn’t in Nanshi; it’s in Jingling City, which borders to the west of Nanshi. Grandpa’s old comrade-in-arms lives in Jingling City. The rescue team is going there tomorrow to provide aid; they’ll come to Huicun to rendezvous with Grandpa. “I’ll look for the helicopter after the rescue team leaves Jingling City. First I’ll stockpile the buses.” Ren Xinrou recalled the large aviation fuel tank she had taken from Nanshi Airport and wondered whether the authorities had noticed the big crater on the ground. If discovered, the authorities would inevitably guess someone had an enormous space; a six-story-high oil tank couldn’t be hauled away by any vehicle. Ren Xinrou didn’t have the slightest worry. After the acid rain comes, all circuits will be cut; even if the authorities have time now to check the surveillance, later they won’t find anything. After eating, she went out of the village to practice the broadsword. At the village entrance she happened to run into Fang Yongfa. He got out of his car and told the gatekeeper to move it—he was taking his wife and child out. She’d spent the whole night dreaming of the “Fang Yongfa photo album” last night; meeting him as soon as she stepped out made Ren Xinrou feel guilty, embarrassed, and annoyed. Her fantasies and obsessions clearly had nothing to do with her! Fang Yongfa and his wife are good-looking; they have a son who is not yet two years old and looks like a delicate porcelain doll. “Aunt~ Auntie~~” Little Fafa pressed against the rear window, his big eyes fixed on Ren Xinrou, his little mouth calling out continuously. Children are burdens in the apocalypse, even more useless than the elderly. Ren Xinrou did not like to interact with children, because they always had a kind of magic that made her uncontrollably want to protect them — that involuntary kindness would get her killed. As long as you don’t get close, don’t touch, you can avoid trouble. “Auntie~ Auntie auntie~” Little Fafa reached out toward Ren Xinrou, spreading his arms in a pose asking for a hug. “This is dangerous, you know.” Jiang Yan picked up her son and put him on her lap, smiling faintly at Ren Xinrou. “He comes to your house often and has seen your photos.” Ren Xinrou gave a cold, indifferent “oh” and walked toward the outskirts of the village. Last night Grandpa had already made the future direction very clear. Logically, with Fang Yongfa’s mind, he would never have chosen to go to the temporary shelter so early. She had just noticed that the back seat and the passenger seat were packed with luggage. Why leave? Could it be because of her? His wife didn’t want him to have any opportunity to be with her? Ren Xinrou’s mind was playing out a melodrama of emotional entanglement; even knowing she was overthinking, she couldn’t help but write, direct, and fantasize the plot herself. “People shouldn’t be idle; when you’re idle you start overthinking.” Ren Xinrou muttered to herself as she walked along the village road leading to the ring road. On both sides of the village road were farmlands; many chickens were pecking at vegetable leaves in the fields, with zombies staggering as they chased them. Under the blue sky and white clouds, fields of green leaves and red flowers made a picturesque scene; add in zombies chasing chickens and it looked bizarre and terrifying. A few zombies came toward her, mouths open in wails, bits of flesh caught between their teeth. Ren Xinrou drew the broadsword from her back, both hands on the hilt; one swing and a skull came off, clean as chopping a scallion. RenXinrou examined the broadsword again and praised, “A family heirloom weapon really is different—just a bit heavy, needs more practice.” The way Ren Xinrou raised and fell the blade was reflected in Fang Yongfa’s eyes; a pleased smile hung on his face. “You’re so close since childhood, she still hasn’t let you go, it seems,” Jiang Yan said with a smile. “What, jealous?” Fang Yongfa said sternly, stopped the car, and turned to look at his wife in the back seat. “I already explained my thing with her to you two years ago.” Jiang Yan gave her husband a reassuring smile. “I’m not jealous. I know you treat him like a sister, like a child, like a student — just not like a lover. I understand you. If you had any romantic feelings for her at all, you wouldn’t have married me.” Jiang Yan looked again at Ren Xinrou not far away; she envied the way she handled zombies with such skill. Her gaze shifted to her husband’s face as she explained, “I’m just worried she hasn’t let go of her feelings for you and might do something stubborn.” “Don’t worry about that. If she truly hated you and wanted to harm you, two years ago she wouldn’t have done no more than block me. If she cried to Second Grandpa, our whole family would have been ruined. She chose to go abroad and stay away from us because she was afraid of hurting us.” Fang Yongfa rubbed his son’s constantly babbling little head, then comforted his wife: “She lost her parents when she was about ten, so it’s normal for her to become attached to me. Children don’t understand what love is, and they can’t tell the difference between familial affection and romantic love. Don’t take it to heart.” “I know she means a lot to you; I won’t upset her.” Warmth filled Jiang Yan’s eyes. “Before today, I’ve only met her once. I don’t know her well, but if you say she’s a good girl, then she is. I trust you.” Fang Yongfa pinched his wife’s hand, brought it to his mouth and kissed it, saying, “Thank you. With the world the way it is, the three of us must support and trust one another so we can overcome any difficulty.” “Mm, drive. Tell her why we’re leaving so she won’t worry,” Jiang Yan said. Fang Yongfa started the car and stopped in front of Ren Xinrou. “Xiaorou.” He was driving a high-seated jeep; opening the window allowed him to look Ren Xinrou in the eye. “Brother Yongfa.” Ren Xinrou greeted him calmly. She was a novice when it came to romantic relationships between men and women, but she was very good at reading expressions and discerning intentions; the husband and wife knew the original person’s thoughts. Maybe she should have greeted him more warmly and naturally, and acted more relaxed? So they would believe she had completely let go? Although that’s what she thought in her heart, she couldn’t pretend to be warm. Chapter 41: Stay or Leave 3 Ren Xinrou’s coldness didn’t bother Fang Yongfa; he just treated her like a child throwing a tantrum. “Your sister-in-law and I are going out for a walk. We’ll be back before dark. Don’t tell anyone.” Ren Xinrou immediately understood why he did that, and said casually, “Oh, so you’re not being stupid after all.” Fang Yongfa gave a wry laugh. “If I were stupid, how could I have been your cram school teacher for so many years?” “Mm.” Ren Xinrou gave a soft affirmative, her eyes looking elsewhere as she stayed alert to the surroundings. “Aunt~ Auntie~” Xiao Fafa, like an energetic cuckoo, pressed against the rear window glass, his whole face squished to it, tapping the glass and repeatedly calling out, “Auntie auntie auntie~” Ren Xinrou’s heart wasn’t made of cold iron; after a two-second hesitation, she tapped the rear window. Jiang Yan rolled down the window, a gentle smile at the corners of her mouth: “Xiao Fafa likes you very much.” Ren Xinrou said offhandedly again, “Can’t blame him, I really am a little good-looking.” “……” Jiang Yan didn’t know how to continue. Ren Xinrou put her hand into her crossbody bag, quickly grabbed two sugar-free lollipops from the children’s section of the compartment, and handed them to Xiao Fafa. “Auntie, auntie~ hee hee~” Little Fafa laughed holding a lollipop, drool trickling from the corner of his mouth. Ren Xinrou turned and walked away, and as she passed Fang Yongfa she tossed over, “It’s fine to act stupid, just don’t drag your wife and kids into it.” Fang Yongfa’s smile deepened. He closed the car window, started the engine, and sighed with a smile, “Still so childish.” Jiang Yan smiled and said, “A girl who’s tough in words but soft at heart.” “Auntie~ Auntie gave me the candy! Mom, open~” Little Fafa looked anxious, desperate to eat the candy. Jiang Yan gently coaxed her son: “Okay, Mommy will open it for you. Be a little quiet, alright? Eat up and then go to sleep, okay?” Little Fafa cried out in a babyish voice: “Okay~” The jeep wasn’t going fast, gradually moving farther away. Ren Xinrou hacked down all the zombies that were closer to the village, and with nothing else to do she simply followed the ring road, slashing as she went. A van suddenly pulled up beside her. Li Shi rolled down the window and called out, “Xiaorou! What are you wandering around the road for? It’s too dangerous! I’ll give you a ride back!” “No need, my grandfather asked me to come out for a walk.” Ren Xinrou saw people in the back seat of the car — Li Feifei and her newlywed husband Zhang Jun. Li Feifei rolled her window down and smiled as she greeted her, “Xiaorou, you went home and didn’t even send me a message to say so.” “I’ve just never had the time,” Ren Xinrou answered. The relatives and friends in this world were merely familiar-looking; they weren’t close. She didn’t want to bother getting to know them. As long as the person appeared to be a good one in her memory, she was willing to exchange a few words. Li Feifei said with concern, “You need to be careful when you’re out on your own.” “Mm.” Ren Xinrou nodded. A five-year-old boy sat between the couple — Li Shi’s grandson Xiaoshitou. He leaned on the car window and shouted, “Auntie!” “Mm, good boy.” Ren Xinrou replied, reached into her shoulder bag, grabbed a handful of candy and gave it to him. A thought popped into her head: she should visit a mother-and-baby store sometime and stock up on snacks to bribe kids into being quiet. “Uncle, where are you going?” Ren Xinrou asked. Li Shi answered, “Just wandering around, we’ll go back later. Don’t tell anyone.” “Oh.” After Li Shi left, Ren Xinrou continued wandering along the ring road, occasionally drifting into roadside shops, just looking around, grabbing a snack to eat, and no longer collecting supplies. It seemed like she was aimlessly strolling, but in fact she was marking the roads that needed to be sealed. Once the people who should leave had left and those who should come had arrived, they sealed off every major and minor junction where the city met the ring road and the roads leading close to the village, blocking the zombies from approaching the village. While Ren Xinrou was planning how to protect the village, Old Li’s house was packed with villagers surnamed Li and others connected to the Li family. They had all come to ask Old Li whether they should follow the rescue team or stay in the village. Old Li’s face was sullen as he smoked in silence. He was finally experiencing what Ren Yiyong had felt — an invisible moral coercion. From now on, when something goes wrong, the first to be blamed will be the ones who gave directions; when life goes well, they’ll just think they chose the route wisely. Li Feijiu rushed into the courtyard, “Uncle! Li Shi and Fang Yongfa left for Huancheng Road via the south exit. I checked their house — they took all the food, and the wardrobe is largely empty too.” “Has Ren Haiyang not come back yet?” Old Li asked. Li Feijiu’s expression turned slightly fierce: “No! I just ran into his son and felt him out a bit. That kid said that after Ren Haiyang returned from the Party Secretary’s house last night, he quietly told them to pack up and even carefully listed the things they must take!” Why did Ren Haiyang have to whisper? It was obvious he was guarding against him, not wanting him to overhear! Old Man Li asked again: “Did you ask around those outsiders?” Li Feijiu answered: “I asked. Quite a few of the outsiders left in the morning, and some with children are waiting for the rescue team to come this afternoon before leaving. That guy named Zhang Lu didn’t give me a definite answer; he said he needed to think it over.” Old Li’s several paternal nephews hurried to respond: “Uncle, maybe we should leave! Fang Yongfa and Li Shi and Secretary He left most recently; they left, which shows the Secretary thinks it’s safer to go to Chong City!” “Uncle, give us a definite answer—should we leave or not?” “Yes, Uncle, we’ll follow you!” The others in the room urged Old Li to make a decision, each speaking in turn. Li Feijiu still believed it wasn’t a good time to leave with the rescue team. He advised, “Uncle, why don’t we stay in the village? Fewer people, more food, more comfortable to live, and we won’t have to run around.” “Old Nine makes a good point. Uncle, why don’t we just stay?” The person who had earlier urged Old Li to leave changed his mind. “He’s probably sleeping more comfortably at his own place.” “Yeah, it’s comfortable at home. Uncle, what do you think—should we go or not?” The villagers spoke one after another, babbling on and on, and Old Li’s anger could no longer be contained and exploded. He slammed the table and shouted, “I know it’s good to eat and comfortable to live in the village! Have any of you thought that with so few people left, how can we guard four entrances? With the few sticks and rusty machetes in our hands? Tell me, how do we defend the whole village? If one entrance is broken through by the zombies, everyone will be finished!” When Old Li shouted, the villagers who had been trying to support Li Feijiu wavered again. “Th-then, uncle, give us a straight answer—are we leaving or staying?” “……” Old Li felt his head throb; he didn’t want to bother deciding whether others should leave or stay. He changed the subject and asked Li Feijiu, “What about Li Long? Haven’t seen him since last night!” Li Feijiu’s gaze swept over the crowd; there was no sign of Li Long. “Has anyone seen Li Long?” Everyone shook their heads. Old Li looked at his eldest daughter-in-law standing silently in the corner. “A Zhen! Go get things ready! Take the food and bring the rice cooker!” “Okay!” A Zhen hurried upstairs in a fluster. She was desperate to leave this place; it wasn’t that she couldn’t see father-in-law’s disgusting thoughts. This isn’t the old society where you could give the widow left by the eldest son to the younger son to have children. Whenever A Zhen thought of Li Long’s cigarette-stained teeth, she felt sick. Old Li said to Li Feijiu, “Finish tidying up and then go look for Li Long. He must be in the village; he doesn’t have the nerve to leave.” Li Feijiu still believed that leaving the village now was a mistake. But he did not want to bear the consequences of showing the way. His parents, wife, and youngest son were all dead, and his eldest son was stuck out of town and could not return. All the Lǐ family left; if he stayed in the village alone his days would hardly be easy. It was always better to team up with relatives to get by than, someday, end up having to band together with strangers to flee. Chapter 42: Stay or Leave 4 Lǐ Feijiu rode his bike around the village looking for Lǐ Long; he released his supernatural ability to seek out Lǐ Long’s voice. The village was close to the factory area, and freight trucks often passed along the road south of the village, so the outermost houses on the south side all had shops on the ground floor, their front doors uniformly facing the road. There were small stir-fry eateries, braised-snack shops, noodle houses, a repair shop, and the village’s only grain-oil-liquor store was located here. Early this morning the grain-and-oil shop owner led his brothers to move stock, loading food and drink into his little pickup truck, then headed to town to join the rescue team. Bottled drinks and snacks that don’t fill the stomach weren’t taken, and daily necessities and miscellaneous items were all left behind. Li Feijiu guessed Li Long was most likely hiding in the shop, eating and drinking. “Li Long!” Li Feijiu stood at the entrance of the grain and oil shop and called out once; he heard no sound from inside. Instead, from a shop a hundred meters away from the grain store, strange noises reached his ears. His special ability could only pick up sounds within a hundred meters; beyond that, whispered conversations were completely inaudible to him. Li Feijiu cautiously approached the small stir-fry shop from which the strange noises were coming. “Li Long? Is that you?” He stood outside the window and looked in. Li Long suddenly stood up. The wounds on his face had worsened overnight, looking even darker and more swollen, making him appear gruesome and terrifying. He and Li Feijiu stared at each other across the window. Li Feijiu was so frightened that he stumbled back repeatedly, clutching his chest and still shaken, shouting angrily, “What the hell are you doing! Scaring people can kill them! What are you doing here!” Li Long opened the window, put a finger to his lips and whispered, “Has my dad decided to go to the shelter?” Li Feijiu frowned, nodded, and urged, “Hurry back and pack your things. Gather at the south gate in one hour.” “Mm, got it. You go back first, I’ll finish this right away.” Li Long crouched down and continued what he hadn’t finished. “What are you doing?” Li Feijiu leaned over the window, stretching his neck to peer inside. Li Long didn’t hide it from Li Feijiu and explained what he was doing, “This shop happens to be on the southeast corner; the guards on the east and south can’t see the area in front of this shop; I loosened the wall next to the shop door so the zombies can push through easily. Now I’m going to loosen the wall next to the back door so the zombies can get into the village easily.” Li Long then pointed to a sack behind him. “I tied up a few chickens and broke their necks so they don’t make much noise; they should stay ‘alive’ for a few days. Later I’ll poke a few holes in their bodies with a needle and place them near the main gate to attract the zombies. Li Shi only checks whether the door is closed, he won’t check whether the wall will fall.” Li Feijiu felt a chill. He looked around in a panic, then cupped his ear to listen and, after confirming there were no sounds of people moving within a hundred meters, whispered, “There’s no use letting the zombies into the village. Li Shi’s whole family has already left! My uncle and the others are getting ready to leave too!” Li Long suddenly threw down his tools and cursed, “Left? Damn it! Why didn’t you say so earlier? I’ve been working since last night! My hands are raw!” Li Feijiu explained, “I only found out not long ago myself! Ren Haiyang and my uncle are going to fetch the bus; they should be back soon to bring people! Hurry and pack your things! Your dad said we should follow the rescue vehicle and leave a bit earlier, so your uncle won’t suspect we’re clinging to him. For now, let’s be sensible: when we get to the relief station we’ll wait at the door for him, and then find an excuse to tag along with him in daily life!” Li Long jumped out the window, brushed the dust from his hands, and said, “Let’s go! We’ll go to the grain and oil shop to get some food and drink! I’ll wait until we get to the relief station and then find a chance to slowly get rid of Li Shiquan’s whole family!” Li Feijiu glanced at the sack on the ground. “Aren’t we taking the chickens?” “Can the rescue station give us a place to raise chickens? They don’t even have anywhere to freeze dead chickens for us to eat slowly! Let’s go!” Li Long ran toward the grain-and-oil shop a hundred meters away without looking back. Li Feijiu shut the windows tightly and then followed to the grain-and-oil shop. The chickens in the sack had their feet bound and their wings clipped; they twisted and struggled to stand. Ordinary people couldn’t hear them move, but the zombies could hear and smell them. At the same time, the remaining outsiders who hadn’t left gathered together to discuss. Dai Xiaosong is an openly known esper; many people look to him for guidance. “Those with children should head to the relief center. If later you can’t stay in the village and decide to move to the relief center, there won’t be any army to clear the way for you.” Dai Xiaosong analyzed, “Those who have a wife but no children can stay and take a gamble with their fate.” Someone in the crowd craned their neck and asked, “Brother Song, you don’t plan to leave?” Dai Xiaosong, as always, answered politely, “I don’t have a wife. It makes no difference where I go. You have plenty of fellow villagers and some of my colleagues here. But I’ll be blunt: if you have a wife and kids and insist on staying, don’t expect others to risk their lives to protect your women and children. We’re not soldiers; we don’t have that obligation. Am I not right?” Dai Xiaosong’s words were put nicely, leaving everyone without any discomfort. Dai Xiaosong looked at Zhang Lu, who had been silent in the crowd; Zhang Lu was the true leader. Zhang Lu nodded to him slightly, and Dai Xiaosong continued, “Those who stay will definitely have to work. The men will be responsible for guarding the village and finding food. Single women who want to stay will have to cook and wash for the single men. When we escape, we’ll certainly take you with us.” A few single young women in the crowd knew what was what: washing and cooking were to be expected, and probably more. Those without the courage to protect themselves but who wanted to cling to a man to get by would sooner or later have to take off their pants. “Think it over yourselves. If you’re leaving, don’t dawdle—the army’s vehicles are already coming down the ring road. Those who stay will gather tonight to discuss what comes next,” Dai Xiaosong said, then left, followed by three single male villagers. Zhang Lu and a few fellow villagers exchanged a few casual words, grabbed their wives and left; his wife’s two younger brothers, Wu Dayu and Wu Dafu, left with them. News that the army was about to reach the town had already spread across the neighboring ten li; more and more people and vehicles were gathering on the ring road. The zombies no longer needed to search the countryside for food; quite a few were already walking along the routes used by the military vehicles, swaying and shuffling toward the outskirts. The military acted decisively, giving no one time to hesitate or think it over. Leave if you leave, stay if you stay — they wouldn’t waste time persuading anyone. There was only one chance. The army’s hardline stance caused many who had originally wanted to stay in the village to suddenly change their minds and leave. Ren Haiyang only prepared to return to the village after receiving news that all the Li family had left. The north entrance of Huicun is close to the factory district, where there are many zombies; the bus stops at this gate, so the village is more secure. Ren Xinrou sat on the stone block outside the north gate blockade waiting for her grandfather to return. Guarding the gate was Ren Haiyang’s son, Ren Dong, who is seventeen this year, his features developing toward a handsome, delicate-faced look. Also guarding the gate was Grandpa’s youngest nephew, Ren Youcai, twenty-six this year, a firefighter who had just transferred from the military. Ren Xinrou glanced at Ren Youcai a few more times and couldn’t help thinking that few middle-aged men in naughty novels are ugly. By sight, Ren Youcai was at least 183 cm tall, with crisp, handsome features and evenly built muscles, without an ounce of flab. Aside from the skin being a bit darker, there was nothing else to nitpick. When the apocalypse began, Ren Youcai should have responded to the official call to return to the troops, but the Ren family’s thirty elders and children needed protection. Grandfather suggested he stay behind to guard them first; he could go to the base and rejoin the troops later. Grandfather’s several nephews were very obedient. Chapter 43: Stay or Leave 5 Ren Dong kept watching both sides of the road; his head kept turning left and right, very busy, afraid he might miss a zombie and that the cousin who kept staring down and poking at the mud would be bitten. Ren Dong rubbed his sore neck and finally couldn’t help but plead, “Sis, why don’t you come sit on the roof and wait? It’s too dangerous for you to sit there.” Ren Xinrou was poking at a clump of mud-like stuff with a stick, looked up with a blank expression and asked Ren Dong, “Who is in danger?” “Of course you’re the one in danger!” Ren Dong nervously glanced around left and right, already unable to control his neck, unable to resist checking the road conditions. Ren Xinrou said casually, “Oh, I thought you were talking about zombies.” “……” Ren Dong stood with his mouth half open, not knowing how to respond. Ren Youcai couldn’t help but smile coldly; he chuckled and patted his nephew Ren Dong on the shoulder to comfort him: “Don’t worry yourself for nothing. Your sister knows what she’s doing. Stop turning your neck — it’s making mine ache. I’ll keep an eye on the situation on both sides of the road.” Ren Dong felt a little reassured and finally stopped twisting his neck. After a short while, his eyes couldn’t help but start moving busily. Ren Youcai pressed his forehead and laughed with a sigh as he looked toward his niece across the road. When his niece suddenly decided to study abroad, he had not yet been discharged and had no time to see her off. This year at New Year, his niece returned home to visit; he was on duty at the fire station again, and by his count they had not seen each other for nearly two years. At this meeting, his niece had changed a lot; she was no longer the innocent, quiet, romantic young girl. Became indifferent, became unfamiliar. Ren Youcai caught sight of a jeep driving up in the distance. He snorted coldly, “It’s all this guy’s fault!” “Uncle, what are you saying? Who harmed what?” Ren Dong asked, puzzled. Ren Youcai squinted, answering a different question, “From now on we’ll find your sister a husband so handsome he’ll outrage both gods and men.” “How handsome does one have to be to make both humans and gods furious?” Ren Dong asked. Ren Youcai answered without thinking, “Someone more handsome than me!” Ren Dong tilted his head, thought for a moment, and said, “It’s pretty hard to find a handsome guy like Yongfa-ge.” “Are you saying I’m not as good-looking as Fang Yongfa?” Ren Youcai’s eyes flashed with a dangerous anger. Ren Dong didn’t realize he’d misspoken, and answered his uncle’s question earnestly: “You’re only a year apart, your generation is still above his, Yongfa’s kid is almost two, and you’re still single—isn’t that the obvious answer?” Ren Youcai slapped his nephew’s head. “How could I be the same as Fang Yongfa? I’m the village heartthrob! Do you even know what being the village heartthrob means? Do I need to get married and have kids so early? He’s so ugly it’s hard to find a wife; if he miraculously meets someone who’s pretty and doesn’t mind his looks, of course he’d be eager to marry her and have kids while he’s young! If he postponed marriage even one day, his wife would run off! What do you know!” “……” Just as the car stopped, Fang Yongfa rolled down the window and happened to hear every single word without missing a beat. Jiang Yan, who was sitting in the back seat, laughed out loud. Little Fafa didn’t know what had happened and followed with a giggle. Ren Youcai wasn’t competing with Fang Yongfa over looks for the first time; they were only a year apart, grew up bickering together, and after roughhousing they were good brothers. “You’re the village heartthrob? I think you’ve put out so many fires your face has been trained into a firewall!” Fang Yongfa shouted up at Ren Youcai. “Have the village heartthrob open the gate — my wife, whom I finally managed to marry, and the kid we had while young need to get in!” There wasn’t a hint of mortified embarrassment on Ren Youcai’s face at being called out. “Call me uncle, and I’ll let you in.” Fang Yongfa shouted without a moment’s hesitation, “Uncle.” Ren Youcai curled his lip and moved the car. Although calling someone “dàshū” instead of “shū” felt worlds apart, it was still the respectful form of address due an elder. At that moment, a long-distance bus leisurely turned onto the road in front of the north gate. Ren Dong shouted happily, “My dad and Second Uncle are back!” The world outside the village was dangerous; even if they had received word early that their family was safe, only when they saw them appear before their eyes could the stone lodged in their chests truly fall away. Fang Yongfa drove the car into the village, parked by the village road, and got out to wait for Ren Yiyong together. Ren Xinrou stood up, saw several zombies following behind the bus, drew her big knife and walked toward them calmly. Ren Yiyong got out of the car, glanced at his granddaughter killing zombies behind the vehicle, smiled with relief, and then saw Fang Yongfa. “Where’s Li Shi?” Fang Yongfa replied, “They’re on their way back.” Ren Yiyong asked Ren Youcai again, “Besides our Ren family, how many people are still here?” Ren Youcai replied, “Most of them have left. Only ten outsiders remain, seven men and three women. Zhang Lu and Dai Xiaosong are both here; the Li family has all gone. Qiao Han and Qiao Gui, father and son, are here, and the two brothers who hang around with Qiao Gui, Zhu Ji and Zhu Fei, are here too.” “Qiao Han and Qiao Gui actually didn’t leave? Those two are even more afraid of death than the old Li and his son,” Ren Haiyang said, puzzled. Ren Yiyong was silent for a moment, then instructed Ren Youcai, “Go find Zhang Lu and the others and tell them the south gate and east gate will be their posts tonight. At eight tomorrow morning go to the village committee to arrange the shifts. Remind him that if he wants to live in peace, he shouldn’t talk too much with those who are leaving — he will understand what I mean.” Ren Youcai asked, “Okay, how should we arrange Qiao Han and the others?” Ren Yiyong said, “No need, they’ll definitely come looking for me.” After Ren Youcai left, Ren Yiyong turned and instructed Ren Haiyang, “Haiyang, have the bus block this intersection without leaving a gap. Move those cars that were originally blocking the road to in front of your house. Notify everyone in the Ren family to move — move next door to your place. Gather together so if something happens, we won’t have to run around pulling people together. Let outsiders decide whether to move or not.” “Okay, Second Uncle.” Ren Haiyang moved the bus to shift the cars. Ren Yiyong said to Fang Yongfa, “Tell Li Shi that you two should find a clean courtyard next to my house to stay in. Park your vehicle inside the main gate blocking the entrance. If the Ren family and the elderly are trapped, it will make it easier for us to go rescue them.” “All right, Second Grandfather.” Fang Yongfa took his wife and children to look for a house. Ren Yiyong instructed Ren Dong again, “Stay inside the bus and keep watch; there are more zombies with abilities in the city.” “Got it!” Ren Dong obediently boarded the bus. Ren Xinrou stood beside her grandfather twisting a twig, quietly serving as background. Ren Yiyong finished giving instructions and took his granddaughter home. As soon as they entered the house, Ren Xinrou asked, “Grandpa, are your old friends on their way?” “Yes, they just called and are already off the highway. I’ve given them the coordinates; they’ll enter through the west gate.” Ren Yiyong put the broadsword on the coffee table, lit a cigarette, and collapsed on the sofa, his face weary. “How many people will they bring?” Ren Xinrou took a piece of fried chicken out of the space and put it on the coffee table. Smelling the fried chicken, Ren Yiyong’s spirits recovered more than half; he ate as he gave instructions about his old comrades: “Your great-grandfather originally planned to bring only his eldest son and daughter-in-law and his granddaughter. His granddaughter is sixteen and can cut down zombies; his daughter-in-law is quietly formidable too, she doesn’t need someone to protect her. His eldest son is a leader in the city, sensible, he wouldn’t do anything to make things difficult. “His younger son Zeng Han is deputy captain of a special forces unit, flying around every day to rescue people. He hasn’t contacted the family for several days; I don’t know whether he’s dead or alive. I told him to wait ten days or half a month before asking. The officials are swamped right now; not disturbing them is helping. His younger son—you saw him when you were little; he’s honest and has a good personality.” Ren Xinrou sat on a small stool, hands supporting her head. The name Zeng Han sounded very familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere? Ren Yiyong paused briefly and continued: “Zeng Han had a fiancée, I heard she was introduced by a distant relative of Old Zeng; she was very pretty, a social media influencer. Zeng’s grandfather always opposed their relationship, not because he looked down on her profession; the girl was an illegitimate child — she was born while her mother was being kept by a wealthy businessman. Although the background was somewhat mismatched, Old Zeng didn’t say much; he thought as long as she was a good person; seeing his son satisfied with the girl, Old Zeng asked his eldest son to investigate more deeply. After all, Zeng Han was a soldier and planning to enter politics; he couldn’t marry a woman with a criminal record; as it turned out, the mother and daughter had many shady dealings. After the wealthy businessman died unexpectedly, their source of money was cut off. The mother quickly took up with a well-off widower, and the girl had plastic surgery and became a livestreaming influencer selling products; Over three years she booked hotel rooms more than seven hundred times! She had a dozen different men, all second-generation wealthy or officials, like regular clients! If in three years she’d only been with two or three men, Old Zeng wouldn’t be so worried! These days, young people changing two or three boyfriends in three years isn’t uncommon! What’s infuriating is that Old Zeng told his youngest son what he’d found out, and I don’t know what tricks this woman used, but she completely wrapped Zeng Han around her finger! In this era, young people don’t even need their parents’ permission to get engaged — buy a ring and give notice, and it’s considered an engagement! Zeng Han was busy with assignments; it was common not to receive a call for months. Old Zeng couldn’t find his son and could only hold his breath and wait for him to be discharged from the service before giving him a wake-up call. He never expected the apocalypse to come first, and he didn’t know when he’d see his son! Ren Yiyong suddenly changed his tone and said sternly, “From now on you must not go around taking rings and getting engaged without permission! At the very least bring any man home for me to see. If he’s a scumbag and you still want to marry him, I will die without peace! Your father, your mother, and your grandmother will haunt you every night!” Chapter 44 The Qiao Family Father and Son “Don’t worry, Grandpa. As long as it doesn’t pass your scrutiny, let alone marriage, I won’t even agree to a relationship. I promise!” Ren Xinrou held up three fingers and swore. She trusted Grandpa’s judgment, and she also trusted her own ability to spot a jerk. Ren Yiyong nodded in satisfaction and kept gnawing on his fried chicken. “This afternoon, Zeng Han’s fiancée suddenly called Old Zeng, asking if they wanted to go to the rescue station together. Old Zeng didn’t want to bother with them, and he certainly didn’t want to bring them into the base, so he flat-out refused her suggestion. Guess what happened next?” Ren Xinrou answered without thinking, “She came straight to the door.” Ren Yiyong held up a chicken drumstick and gave his granddaughter a thumbs-up. “She didn’t come alone—her mom, her uncle, her cousin, even the neighbors next door came along! Old Zeng was so furious his blood pressure shot up and he nearly burst a vessel!” He called me to say he wouldn’t come to our village. I tried to persuade him to come! Why not come? To make a bunch of annoying people uncomfortable, and sacrifice himself in the process? Isn’t that foolish! There are so many empty houses in the village, and every household has food. Let that bunch come to eat and live here if they want; if they come here seeking comfort, they’ll have to pay the price. Those who should work will have to work — they won’t get away with it! Ren Xinrou nodded in agreement with her grandfather. “I feel like these people are going to be trouble.” “If Zeng’s grandfather and his family of four don’t know when to be sensible, quietly tell me and I’ll handle it. If anyone else causes you trouble, you don’t have to coddle them!” Ren Yiyong told his granddaughter plainly not to wrong herself on his account, and instructed: “After you eat, go to Old Liu’s diagonally across, turn on the lights in the yard and the rooms, and don’t bother with the body in the yard.” Ren Xinrou asked, “Grandpa Zeng arranged it at Liu Bo’s place?” Ren Yiyong shook his head, “It’s for that group of tagalongs to live in. If I put them too far away they’ll squawk and make more trouble; better to place them nearby so Old Zeng can keep an eye on them. “Your grandfather and his family will stay temporarily on our third floor. I’ve already tidied up. If they make you uncomfortable, Grandpa will send them off to another place immediately!” A warm feeling flowed through Ren Xinrou’s heart, and she smiled: “The comrades grandpa is willing to help must have good character. Grandpa, I’m going out for a while—if it’s quick I’ll be back in three to five days; if it takes longer, I’ll definitely be back in ten days to half a month.” “What are they going to do?” Ren Yiyong asked. Ren Xinrou wiped her mouth, finished the last sip of cola in the bottle, stood up, and instructed, “I’m going to find several buses to block the exits from the city into the ring road — just block the stretch of road near our village; then slaughter the pigs and ducks, stockpile some gasoline and diesel, and look for other useful things. Is there anything Grandpa needs to stockpile?” Ren Yiyong calmed down and thought for a moment. “Today Uncle Haiyang and I found some protective gear for security, but we didn’t come across any handy long knives.” Ren Xinerou asked, “How many knives do you need?” “Five or six.” Ren Xinerou took ten machetes out of the space and set them on the coffee table, handed Grandpa a pistol with a holster and two magazines. “Grandpa, strap the pistol to your body. In this world, living people are more dangerous than the zombies.” Ren Yiyong tucked the gun into his waistband and hid the machetes in the living room’s liquor cabinet. “Alright. When are you leaving?” “I’ll go to Liu Bo’s place to turn on the lights and then leave.” Ren Yiyong was worried but did not stop his granddaughter’s decision. “Mm, go ahead. Over the next couple of days there will probably be quite a few people in and out of town agonizing over whether to go with the rescue teams. If you block the road it’ll make it hard for them to leave town; blocking the road can wait a few days.” Ren Xinrou understood and nodded. “Okay, Grandpa. Please put your own life first. If anything happens in the village, call me and I’ll get back quickly.” Ren Xinrou walked out of the house and happened to meet Qiao Han and his father Qiao Gui, who had come looking for Ren Yiyong, and the two brothers Zhu Ji and Zhu Fei. Ren Xinrou ignored them and brushed past; Qiao Gui called after her, “Xiaorou! Haven’t seen you in half a year — even more beautiful! That American is so big, really spoils you!” The lewdness in his words was obvious. Ren Xinrou frowned and searched her memory for information about this father and son. Qiao Han’s wife couldn’t stand being beaten by Qiao Han for years; ten years ago she hanged herself. Like father, like son — Qiao Gui was also a petty thief and a ne’er-do-well. Qiao Gui had been detained many times for gambling and theft. He was somewhat sly, dared not commit major crimes but often did small wrongs, one of the village’s blights. Every time Qiao Gui ran into the original body on the village road, he would lewdly shout some dirty jokes on purpose for her to hear; the original body had warned him countless times, but Qiao Gui refused to change. The harmless, tingling dirty remarks were kept hidden in the original body’s heart; she never told anyone. Qiao Gui kept staring at her body; the fleeting wickedness in his lecherous gaze was caught by Ren Xinrou’s sharp eyes. Ren Xinrou tugged at the corner of her mouth, sinister and teasing; she ignored him and strode straight toward Liu Bo’s residence. Qiao Gui licked his dry lower lip, eyes fixed on Ren Xinrou’s long legs, his gaze slowly moving upward. The two brothers Zhu Ji and Zhu Fei were likewise staring at Ren Xinrou’s shapely, well-proportioned figure from behind. Qiao Han slapped his son’s head, lowering his voice to scold: “Where are your eyes! You must never touch that girl, not even if it kills you! If you dare touch her we’re all done for!” “I’m only looking, I’m not stupid!” Qiao Gui, of course, understood this—no matter who he could touch, he must never touch the Ren family’s cherished daughter; the Ren family had very hard fists. The three withdrew their lecherous gazes and followed Qiao Han into the courtyard. As soon as Qiao Han entered the house, he got straight to the point: “Secretary! When are you all leaving for Chong City? We’re planning to go with your car.” Ren Yiyong sat on the sofa smoking and watching the news, motioning for them to sit. He had expected the Qiao family father and son to come, and he knew why they weren’t leaving: they wanted to stick close to the Ren family and enter the relief station with him. People from the same village feel a connection, and because he was doing well, they would surely have a meal to eat. Ren Yiyong stared at his phone and drawled, “I’m not going to Chong City for now. I’m waiting for a few friends. If you want to stay, you have to join the guard team; you’ll have to take part in gatekeeping and patrols. If you won’t accept those arrangements, then leave sooner rather than later. Tomorrow morning we’ll drive to the national highway — you’ll definitely meet many people heading to Chong City. If you’re willing to join the guard team to protect the village’s women, children and elderly, go to the village committee meeting tomorrow morning and accept the duty roster.” Qiao Han was a jerk but sensible. “Secretary, I’ll talk it over with these guys and we’ll think about it.” “Hmm. When you go out, help me close the courtyard gate.” “All right!” Qiao Han, with beady eyes and a hunched back, bobbed and scraped like a sycophantic lackey. After leaving the Ren residence, Qiao Gui asked anxiously, “Dad, are we leaving or not?” Qiao Han’s eyes darted wildly; he ground his teeth and said, “Not leaving! Those fools in the Li family were tricked, don’t go telling them about this! The party secretary doesn’t like the Lis — we should keep our distance from them from now on!” Qiao Gui felt a bit disdainful. “Dad, aren’t you overestimating the Party Secretary’s abilities? These days soldiers die every day; they collapse like cabbages in the street and nobody cares, not even given a funeral! “The secretary’s son used to be a big hero; that was a merit in the old days. The world’s changed now — who still pays face to the secretary? Now the streets are full of parents of heroes!” Qiao Han gave his son a sidelong look and poked his forehead as he scolded him: ‘You don’t know anything! The Secretary and his father both fought in the war and earned medals; their comrades must still be alive! Many of those comrades have descendants working in official positions—surely some have become high-ranking officials! Dead soldiers aren’t worth anything, so do you think the living leaders are worth nothing? You fool! Don’t just look at the surface of things; learn to look deeper! Why are the Li family people doing everything they can to cling to the Secretary? Isn’t it because they value his connections!’ Look at how pretty his granddaughter is! The secretary will send his granddaughter out in an arranged marriage, and the secretary will certainly be able to get a junior leader position for himself. When that happens, what about those of us who follow him—do you think he won’t take care of us? Qiao Gui and the two Zhu brothers suddenly understood. “Tch tch, why didn’t I think of that? Dad, you really are a genius!” Qiao Han continued to instruct the three juniors: “Tomorrow is duty roster day. Do whatever you’re assigned to do, don’t say much, follow whatever the secretary arranges! If you’re scared of dying, there are ways to play it safe! There are cars blocking the entrances and exits; if there are zombies, report it immediately— the patrol team will certainly go and kill them. You don’t need to spill a drop of blood to complete the mission! Plus the secretary can take you along with him. Tell me, will you take the job of guarding the village or not?” The three of them spoke in unison: “Let’s do it!” 　　—— Chapter 45: Survivors of Huicun At the same time, in the house where the outsiders were staying. Zhang Lu received Ren Yiyong’s notice from Ren Youcai. After a brief moment of displeasure, he quickly realized the advantages. “The village is big. If only the ten of us are left to guard the four gates, we won’t be able to hold them. This way is fine—people can take turns on watch so it won’t be so exhausting, and we’ll have time to go out and search for supplies.” Dai Xiaosong handed Zhang Lu a cigarette and lit it for him. “I think they never really intended to leave — it’s all an act to show the Li family people! Lu ge, with that secretary here a single day, you can’t be the boss. His nephews are all capable men. In the future when people come into the village and form a team, everything will have to go through him first!” Zhang Lu’s eyes narrowed slightly, full of crafty calculation, his tone scornful. “Just an old man. If he doesn’t know when to back off, kill him — it’s too easy to kill someone these days! Let him be in charge for a while first. Those younger ones of his are indeed capable; we must show proper respect to that old man! Only then can we gain the trust of the Ren family folks. More helpers, more strength. If you want to control a survival base, you need people who are both capable and loyal! When the time comes, we’ll secretly shove the old man to the zombies and make it look like an accidental death. Then we can turn things around and take control of the whole village. Tch, it’s very simple!” “Brother Lu sure is clever!” Dai Xiaosong flattered. “That granddaughter of his is so fresh-faced, quiet and obedient — clearly an easy little thing to take down. Once the old man dies, I can take my time with her!” There wasn’t a trace of modesty or honesty left on Dai Xiaosong’s face, only hidden lechery. Zhang Lu’s wife Wu Qianqian sat silently beside them, recalling the first time she met Ren Xinrou. On the day Ren Xinrou returned to the village, she happened to be covering for her husband at the gate. At first glance she did look like a quiet, polite young girl, but at that moment she truly felt an invisible pressure, and a voice in her head warned her, don’t mess with the secretary’s granddaughter! Wu Qianqian opened her mouth, intending to warn her husband to bring Xiaosong, but seeing the group of men smoking and speaking harshly, the words at her lips were swallowed back. Then she thought, how much trouble could a college girl really cause? Even if she had some ability, she couldn’t beat these men who had gone around town in their hometown cutting people up. Ren Xinrou, who was thought to be simple and easy to push around, walked out the south gate and headed on foot to Ring City Road, slashing through zombies all the way into the city. In the past two days, military vehicles have been traveling back and forth on the ring road to access the highway, drawing zombies in from the city and driving them back out; the zombies turning from the ring road into the village lanes have noticeably increased. Ren Xinrou sent a message to her grandfather: [Grandpa, the south gate is close to the factory area and the ring road; post more guards and promptly clear the zombies from the village lanes.] Ren Yiyong: [Okay, your great-grandfather and the others have arrived. Aside from their family of four, the others who came with them each have their own hidden agendas — you don’t need to pay any attention to them from now on.] Ren Xinrou: [Okay.] Ren Xinrou sent Ren Dong a message: [Tonight, pay attention to the people who come to the village. Note the names of anyone who makes Grandpa unhappy and tell me.] Ren Dong received Ren Xinrou’s message and let out a silly chuckle. He was sitting in the bus at the north gate, on night watch with Ren Youcai. “Uncle, my sister sent me a message asking me to be an informant and snitch. I sent her tons of messages before and she ignored me, and now she finally needs me.” Ren Youcai curled his lip and looked at his nephew as if he were looking at a 17-year-old big fool. “Who does she want you to watch?” Ren Dong’s excitement was obvious, “The people brought by Second Grandfather’s comrades!” “Your Second Grandfather just sent me a message. There might be a few hotheads among them, so he warned me to be especially careful of the pretty one. I just looked her up online — she’s an internet celebrity who makes short skits and sells women’s clothing.” Ren Yucai spoke as he opened a video site to show his nephew the face, “Be careful with your belt, stay away from that woman.” “I never fasten my belt,” Ren Dong said casually, eyes fixed on the influencer’s photo on his phone. Ren Youcai grabbed his nephew by the ear and shouted, “Then mind your fly! That woman is engaged to that younger son of Elder Zeng—we were specifically warned by your second uncle to be careful of her. What does that tell you? It tells you this woman is definitely restless! Her fiancé is a soldier who could die at any time. I reckon she wants to trade up: before the man is even dead she’s already looking to flirt with others. I can’t stand women like that! If you see her, you stay well away from her!” Ren Dong grumbled, “Even though I’m tall and handsome, I’m only 17. No matter how much they’d like to, they can’t be hitting on a minor like me, right? Young uncle, you really should be careful—the only one of marriageable age in the Ren family still single is you.” No matter how Ren Youcai heard his nephew’s words, they sounded to him like a sarcastic jab that he was an unwanted leftover bachelor. Ren Youcai pinched Ren Dong’s cheek, twisted it, and said, “You’re so delicate-skinned, handsome and stupid—no matter how I look at you you seem like a tender blade of grass that’s easy to push over. Old Niu just loves to eat this kind of tender grass!” “But I don’t like eating old cows~ I like eating tender beef!” Ren Dong rubbed his slightly sore face and joked cheerfully. Ren Youcai stopped paying attention to his nephew and continued scrolling through Wen Anni’s profile. Her homepage showed 330,000 followers; she counted as a major internet celebrity. Her profile listed her as single. Usually when a female influencer who is already engaged still lists herself as single, it’s a hundred percent so she can conveniently swap cars whenever she wants. Ren Dong was also scrolling through Wen Anni’s video page and snorted, “This is what you call pretty? With makeup she’s not even one-tenth as good-looking as my sister, and who knows what she looks like without it!” Ren Youcai studied Wen Anni’s features closely. “Looked at for a long time she really is a bit ugly, not the kind that grows on you. Since when did you get so obsessed with Xiaorou? Didn’t you used to always complain she was a bookish mute?” “I can’t really explain it. This time when my sister came back I suddenly became hooked. Before, An’an was quiet and didn’t like people, now she’s cold and aloof but talks to me — and she’s deadly cool when she’s cutting down zombies! What, you don’t want me to be into her?” Ren Dong shot back. “Be as obsessed as you want, really obsessed — you go ahead!” Ren Youcai cast his nephew a disdainful sideways glance. Actually, he also liked his niece’s current look: she always wore an indifferent expression, but somehow the more he looked, the cuter she seemed. Chapter 46 Latest News Many zombies had already gathered outside the bus, battering the vehicle. The tourist coach’s first level was used for luggage, and the passenger cabin was on the second level, with the windows set very high. Sitting by the window, you couldn’t see the zombies’ terrifying heads; the zombies could only touch the lower edge of the window if they raised their hands high. “Get to work!” Ren Youcai handed his nephew a long iron rod, one end of which had been sharpened to a point. Ren Dong took the spear, opened the window, and the uncle and nephew, practiced and confident, thrust with all their strength to pierce the zombies’ heads; one after another the zombies fell. At the very start of the apocalypse, after Ren Dong pierced a zombie’s head for the first time, he went two days without eating and would occasionally vomit sour liquid. After that, he built a filter wall in his mind, constantly reminding himself that zombies are not people, zombies are just bugs that look like people. Meanwhile, Ren Xinrou first went to the chicken farm in neighboring Liu San Village; today she had to deal with the live ducks in the space. Slaughtering, blood collection, defeathering, gutting, and washing were all done fully automatically; she only had to be responsible for throwing the live ducks onto the conveyor belt. On a silent night, any sound is magnified many times; the continuous roar of the machines at work drew the attention of countless zombies at the foot of the low hill. They strolled slowly up the mountain. Ren Xinrou placed a container truck outside the main gate; a shopping rack laid on its side was jammed underneath the truck to stop the crawling zombie Fan Congming from getting in. The chicken-slaughtering barn’s gate was blocked with a van to prevent mutated zombies from crawling over the first barrier of the main gate and entering. After dealing with several thousand ducks, they obtained more than half a ton of duck blood. Ren Xinrou tossed ducks into the machine with one hand and filled glass and plastic bottles with duck blood with the other. To collect bottles she poured out a lot of beer and soft drinks. “Next time I pass the brewery I’ll stock up on bottles — blood bottles are really useful,” Ren Xinrou murmured to herself. Night was past its midpoint, after two in the morning. Jiajiao sent several messages in a row: [Xinrou, Chong City is already full, they can’t take anyone more. Tomorrow morning the authorities will post a notice online. Land rescue operations in Chuan Province are suspended, waiting for the military to clear space for another aid station.] [Actually the authorities won’t bother sending people to clear new aid stations anymore. Once the coastal bases open, survivors will go straight to the coastal bases.] My brother said the authorities are now severely understaffed; every province is the same. From now on, the officials will change the rescue approach: soldiers will no longer enter buildings, homes, or residential compounds to carry out rescues. After rescue convoys enter the city, they will look for open, secure parking points and send out trucks specifically to attract and lure zombies away into the streets. Survivors will need to leave their residences on their own and link up with the military. Households with children under 14, elderly people over 60, or disabled members can send their coordinates to the authorities; rescue teams will go upstairs to rescue them. If any deception is found, the military may, at its discretion, abandon the rescue. [This time the authorities gritted their teeth and changed the rescue policy, not only because of manpower shortages, but also because in the past few days’ rescue operations thousands of soldiers were sacrificed. My brother said most of those deaths could have been completely avoided.] Some survivors insist on clinging to soldiers to feel safe, and when zombies approach they panic and shove the soldiers, using them as shields. Accidents in which soldiers are pushed into the jaws of zombies happen often. [It’s infuriating to even think about! It’s truly not worth sacrificing people for these cowardly individuals! The soldiers’ corpses can only be left at the scene, either picked clean by zombies or turned into new zombies!] After reading the message, Ren Xinrou replied: [It’s right for the authorities to change the rescue method. Adults who don’t even dare to step out their front door aren’t worth wasting manpower and resources to save; such people can’t provide the value the base needs to develop.] Xin Jiaojiao: [Did my string of messages wake you up?] Ren Xinrou: [Busy, not asleep yet.] Xin Jiaojiao: [What are you doing in the middle of the night?] The message was followed by a blushing lecherous little emoji. Ren Xinrou: [Killing ducks.] Curious Xin Jiaojiao online: [How do you kill ducks in the middle of the night?] Ren Xinrou: [I’m actually free.] Xin Jiajiao: […] Ren Xinrou successfully killed the conversation; she herself didn’t realize that. [Why aren’t you asleep yet?] Xin Jiajiao: [Brother is in an emergency meeting and hasn’t come back; I can’t sleep.] Ren Xinrou: [Oh.] She tossed the last few ducks onto the conveyor belt, stood by the window to watch the area outside the processing bay, and threw a live chicken out the window to test for any power-wielding zombies hiding in the dark. After staring for a while, the chicken hunched its body and closed its eyes to sleep. Ren Xinrou breathed a sigh of relief — it seemed she and “Duofu” hadn’t connected tonight. Xin Jiaojiao replied half an hour later: [My brother’s back, I’m going to bed now, Xiaorou, good night!] Ren Xinrou understood instantly: the “sleep” Xin Jiaojiao mentioned definitely wasn’t normal sleep. A long chapter of a novel, seven or eight thousand words in length, suddenly flashed through Ren Xinrou’s mind. Most of it was fragmented, incoherent passages—strings upon strings of soft, whispering words peppered with “……” and “!” marks. “What perverted words, what perverted scenes!” Ren Xinrou read, her face flushing and her heart racing, the tip of her nose growing warm. The whole book lived in Ren Xinrou’s mind, with the parts about “sleeping” making up two-thirds of it. Every night, the “wheel” always rolled over her nerves back and forth whenever she drifted off. When Ren Xinrou sighed, the corner of her mouth curled into a wicked smile. As she turned the pages, a trace of embarrassment surfaced, and a sudden guilty feeling arose, as if she were peeking at a friend “doing something.” Ren Xinrou hurriedly shook her head, trying to fling away the wheels turning in her brain, “Suddenly I don’t find it that good-looking anymore! Flip through the villain’s wheels and wash your brain!” As she flipped, she came across a passage that made her eyes light up. In her previous life, the villainous woman Liang Shanhú who had ruined Xin Jiao Jiao was this time not taken in by Xin Jiao Jiao and her brother; on the run and fighting to survive, she became a “bus.” After the acid rain, highways across the country were severely congested, and countless people were trapped on the expressways. Villainess Liang Shanhú was trapped at a highway rest stop for two months, bullied by men and looked down on by women. By a twist of fate, she obtained a jade pendant—an oddly unattractive piece. However, she regarded the pendant as a milestone in her life and wore it around her neck. One year into the apocalypse, her blood accidentally dripped onto the pendant and activated the jade space. The space is seven meters long and wide, three meters high, and can only hold three large trucks. You should know that a third-tier spatial power only gives a space of five meters by five meters, and upgrading such a power consumes several times the brain crystal cores other powers require, so it’s very hard to upgrade. The antagonist Liang Shanhuhu, who possesses water powers and the jade space, has undoubtedly become the object of many people’s admiration. A swarm of male lovers and concubines follow her, committing all sorts of bad deeds together, singing loudly night after night, and countless times putting Xin Jiao Jiao in danger. “I want to get this piece of jade and give it to Grandpa to play with.” Ren Xinrou said with a smile as she shut the little erotic book off in her mind. She added another target item to her stockpile list. Ren Xinrou put the last cleaned duck into the storage space, bottled the final drop of blood, then relaxed and kept yawning. The clearing by the chicken-slaying shed was too small to park the RV, so tonight she could only sleep in the sedan. She slept until ten the next morning, awakened by her phone vibrating repeatedly. Chapter 47: The Food Factory Area Ren Yiyong set up a WeChat group; everyone in the group were people who stayed in the village. After the morning meeting, Fang Yongfa posted the guard and patrol duty roster in the group and repeatedly posted several important notices. Ren Xinrou squinted through her sleepy eyes as she flipped through the messages. Besides the group messages, there was also a little report Ren Dong sent her: [Sister, Second Grandfather’s comrade, Old Master Zeng’s younger son’s fiancée’s maternal uncle surnamed Wen is not a good person!] Ren Xinrou forced her eyes wider and had to read twice before she understood. “Did this kid ever go to school? Something that could be explained in a few words, and he goes on like that!” She then looked at Ren Dong’s next message: [The people surnamed Wen wanted Second Grandfather to hand over the pistol so those on patrol could take turns wearing it. Second Grandfather refused. The Wens hinted that Grandfather was selfish and only cared about his own life!] [Second Grandfather just smiled and said nothing! However, that outsider called Dai Xiaosong spoke up with a few fair words. He said that Grandfather was the most senior, so it was right for him to be the one to carry the gun.] [The father-and-son pair named Wen immediately changed faces and began flattering Second Grandfather. Second Grandfather smiled and said, “If you live on my turf you must follow my rules; if you can’t, you’d better head to Chong City early.” Hahaha, the father and son went red and then pale in turns — it was really funny!] There was no more information after that. Ren Xinrou got out of the car to stretch her muscles, washed up, and unhurriedly cooked herself a bowl of instant noodles with an egg for breakfast. After eating and removing her heavy makeup, it was already noon. Ren Xinrou closed the gate of the processing warehouse behind the truck and walked toward the main gate when her phone buzzed a few more times. Qiao Dong: [Sis! I just saw Second Grandpa’s comrade, Great-Grandpa Zeng’s youngest son’s fiancée’s mom wink at Second Grandpa! Second Grandpa smiled at her too! What should we do!] Ren Xinrou replied: [Your second uncle is laughing at her, calling her an idiot.] Qiao Dong: […][That mother and daughter are so pretentious! It’s the apocalypse and they’re still putting on makeup, for the zombies to admire? They’ve got something seriously wrong with their heads!] Ren Xinrou had already boarded the truck at the main gate. The horde of zombies that had been stopped outside last night was gone now, not a single shadow remained. She guessed that her scent had been masked by the blood-rot stench spreading from inside the warehouse, and the zombies had gone down the mountain to find new prey. Ren Xinrou replied to Ren Dong’s message: “I do wear makeup now, but I’m not out of my mind.” Ren Dong replied quickly: “You’re already so beautiful without makeup, with makeup you’ll definitely look like the jade maiden beneath the Bodhisattva!” Jade maiden? Wanton woman? The term ‘jade maiden’ sounds more like a derogatory label. Ren Xinrou sent Ren Dong a selfie: “I am indeed very beautiful, but I don’t want to be a jade maiden.” After sending the message, Ren Xinrou put her phone back into her crossbody bag and left Liu Sancun. There were quite a few zombies surrounding the outskirts of Liu Sancun; it seemed many survivors hadn’t gone to Chong City. When Ren Dong received Ren Xinrou’s selfie, he was eating at home. “Pff!” the bits of rice in his mouth sprayed into the plate of vegetables in front of him. Ren Youcai frowned and cursed, “You brat! What are you doing? Your spit is all over the vegetables — how are we supposed to eat?” The others at the table grimaced in disgust, flicking off the bits of rice stuck to the dishes — even if they were family, it was hard to swallow food laced with that kind of saliva. Ren Dong shoved Ren Xinrou’s selfie in front of Ren Youcai, laughing so hard he could barely speak, “Sis, she just, just sent it to me! She, she says she’s very pretty!” A pitch-black face up close; the rice in Ren Youcai’s mouth sprayed onto the phone screen. “Ugh—” Ren Dong jumped up in disgust, grabbed a tissue and furiously wiped the phone, “Uncle, you’re so gross! Ew—I’m going to vomit!” “……” The person at the same table had lost their appetite and no longer reached for food. Ren Xinrou’s truck drove leisurely toward the bus company; along the way, she absorbed any truck she encountered into her space, regardless of size or whether it could be driven. The bus company depot was built at the terminus or starting point of the bus routes, located in the suburbs. The closer they got to the outskirts, the more zombies they encountered; it was common to see zombies in military uniforms roaring as they moved forward. After encountering soldiers-turned-zombies many times, Ren Xinrou’s gaze grew colder, and through clenched teeth she spat out two words: “Idiot!” The gate at the bus company’s entrance was tightly closed. The parking lot was open-air, and standing at the gate she could take in the entire scene—there were no zombies inside. On the road outside, only a few zombies roamed aimlessly. Ren Xinrou had collected more than twenty city buses, plus two articulated long buses; the process had gone very smoothly. “Today went really smoothly!” Ren Xinrou commented casually. About a hundred meters from the bus company there was a gas station. Inside the gas station’s convenience store three zombies were locked up; when they saw Ren Xinrou standing outside, they pounded on the glass door and howled. Ren Xinrou had already surveyed the surroundings. There were walls on both sides of the gas station and the apartment buildings were quite far away. As long as she concealed it a little, pulling out large barrels from space to stockpile fuel wouldn’t be noticed. All eight pumps dispensed at once. Before long, the station’s diesel and gasoline had been loaded into more than a dozen large barrels with a one-ton capacity. She didn’t touch the food in the gas station convenience store; she only wanted cigarettes, pleasantly surprised by the gas station’s well-stocked cigarette cabinet. “Today went so smoothly!” Ren Xinrou exclaimed again, then her smile suddenly froze. “Pah pah pah! Smooth my foot! Not smooth at all!” Ren Xinrou realized she’d misspoken, and switched to a big red city bus; a fresh bus with a large red bow tied to its front was heading to the next stop, the long-distance coach terminal. The last time she had proclaimed how smooth things were, the next day at the armed police unit she had to deal with thousands of zombies, that same night she encountered fast zombies and nearly got bitten, and Ren Xinrou started muttering: “Good fortune is at the head, great luck! Great luck! May misfortune stay away!” The long-distance bus terminal was cold and deserted, deathly silent. Long-distance bus station (for reference) “Not a single zombie? That’s a bit strange~” Ren Xinrou stood in the long-distance bus parking lot and shouted around: “Dinner’s here! Time to eat!” She was a person whose soul had transmigrated, so it wasn’t her fault she was superstitious—things going too smoothly easily backfire. The survivors at the terminal had already been taken away by the rescue team; with no flesh to eat, the zombies had long since scattered in all directions to find new prey. Ren Xinrou thought this over and felt maybe she was just overthinking. If no living people linger, there are no zombies; it was inevitable that the places she visited today would be successful for hoarding, which likely had nothing to do with anything supernatural. There were still several hours before dark, and she hurried on without stopping to the Nanrun meat factory in the eastern district of the southern market to slaughter pigs. Today the pigs had to be killed: the dung on the truck that held them had already covered the entire vehicle; she couldn’t stand it any longer and wanted to get rid of the pigs. As usual, Ren Xinrou blocked the factory gate with the truck. In the parking lot below the empty factory building, aside from the sound of the wind, she heard nothing. Ren Xinrou wanted to break the weird streak; she drove around hoping to run into a horde of zombies to dispel the “too-smooth” feeling. Nanrun Meat Factory wasn’t the only plant here; there were food processing factories all around. Wandering about, she only encountered a few zombies with broken legs and some missing their lower halves, weakly crawling around. She didn’t see a single zombie with all four limbs intact, nor did she hear any strange noises coming from the factory area. A world with zombies and mutated beasts is called an apocalypse, but this scene fits the two characters “doomsday” even better. Bodies litter the streets, crushed by cars into pools of bone-and-flesh mush, the gore bearing the tread marks of tires that extend to the end of the road. The scorching sun beats down on corpses seeping with mortuary fluids. These would be flies’ favorite food, yet not a single fly flutters about—the blood mist of the first day destroyed many species. There was no one, no living creature at all. Only the rustling of the wind through the roadside trees. Ren Xinrou got out of the car, stood in the middle of the road and turned in place, looking around, feeling this silence as if she were the only person left in the world. “Clack-clack, clack-clack…” The helicopter flew very high, but you could still hear the sound of its rotor blades turning. The sound came from far to near, then from near to far, flying off toward the west. Ren Xinrou looked up at the sky, and a face appeared in her mind — a face that was excessively beautiful. “How many of the 13 are left now?” Ren Xinrou curled her lips; the smile was part derision, part self-mocking bitterness. Chapter 48 Food Factory Area 2 Ren Xinrou returned to Nanrun Meat Factory. The automation for slaughtering pigs works the same way as for ducks: you just place the pig on the conveyor belt, it will be stunned by electric shock, then its throat is cut to drain the blood, the skin is washed with hot water to remove the hair, and finally the belly is opened to remove the internal organs. The factory has a machine specifically for cleaning internal organs, but it still requires some manual operation. Ren Xinrou cleaned the internal organs of more than a hundred pigs; the remaining bloody organs, still fresh, were packed into buckets and stored in the space to be used later as bait for zombies. After killing all the pigs, she collected over a ton of blood, and Ren Xinrou didn’t bother making blood vials anymore. Last night she had filled half a ton of duck blood into bottles; her waist ached, her back hurt and her hands cramped. After nearly a month she no longer wanted to do any more bottling work. The space’s two thousand bottles of blood would last her for a very long time. Unconsciously she was busy until midnight. Perhaps because of the hot weather, the blood decayed quickly, and not a single zombie was drawn into this factory area. Ren Xinrou put all the pork, sausages, and cured meats from the meat factory’s cold storage into her space. She found that several of the surrounding food factories were all related to meat processing. Beef jerky, satay beef slices, braised beef, beef sausages, canned beef… Braised chicken feet, braised chicken legs, braised duck legs, roasted duck necks, whole braised chickens, soy-braised duck, braised eggs… Pork sausages, luncheon meat, pork jerky, braised pig trotters, pork cracklings and other ready-to-eat meat products — three or four thousand boxes in total. She didn’t count carefully; the quantity was probably more than she had estimated. It was hard to stop once she started emptying the surrounding food factories; she even took canned lard. Lard can be used for cooking, and in winter it can be rubbed on hands to prevent chapping. The woman had a soft spot for stockpiling; even if the things in the space could never be eaten in several lifetimes, she couldn’t remain indifferent when faced with box after box of supplies. Late at night, she chose a factory area that didn’t smell much and was relatively clean, and set out the RV. After showering, Ren Xinrou really couldn’t muster the energy to cook, so she made a deluxe instant noodle bowl, placing a fist-sized piece of braised beef and a braised egg into it. While waiting for the noodles, she munched on a pig’s trotter and scrolled through her phone messages. She doesn’t check her phone while working; she believes that if something were urgent they’d definitely call. Ren Yiyong: [Have you stocked up on basic medicines? Right now several hospitals in the city center of South City are safe. If you have time, go make a run, and try not to head to the outskirts—the zombies are gathering outside the city.] Ren Youcai: [My friend says the main gate of the Public Security Bureau’s Ordnance Section is open; the weapons are kept behind blast-proof glass that a hammer can’t break, and the security door can’t be pried open. The address is East District Sanhai Avenue, one kilometer from the highway exit. I can’t leave right now. If you have time, go take a look and grab a 191 assault rifle for me, and pick up some ammo too. Put your own safety first!] Ren Dong: [Sis, that woman called Wen Anni is asking me about our people’s abilities. I only told her that Yongfa ge has powers. She shouldn’t go after a married man, right? Should I warn Yongfa ge?] Ren Xinrou replied to each of the three of them in turn: [Grandpa, I have common medications and prescription meds too. Tomorrow I’ll go check these hospitals.] Little uncle, the wall your friend couldn’t break—are you sure I can get it open? Xiaobai, you don’t need to warn Brother Yongfa. If he’s caught in the act, I’ll make him go to his death with peace of mind. If Fang Yongfa was that easily seduced, it would prove the original person was blind; she was willing to help the original person cut him up to satisfy her grudge. Ren Yiyong replied: [If there are medicines, don’t take risks; medicine can’t be used as food.] Ren Youcai: “Second Uncle told me to tell you this. He was fully confident, saying you had a way to open the equipment storeroom. If you can’t open it, forget it—don’t take unnecessary risks.” Ren Dong: […] [Sister, was your previously quiet, reserved demeanor an act?] Ren Xinrou replied to Grandpa: [After going to the base, Grandpa can do the medicinal herb business when he’s idle.] Ren Xinrou replied to Ren Youcai: [I really can’t open it, but I can blow the wall up with a bomb.] Ren Xinrou replied to Ren Dong: [Watch the news more; most female killers are women who never make a sound in everyday life.] Ren Yiyong: [Alright, alright, the medicinal herb business can be toyed with.] Ren Youcai: […] [Where did you get a bomb?] Ren Dong: [Sister, if I were two-timing, would you kill me?] Ren Xinrou replied to Ren Youcai: “Picked up.” Ren Xinrou replied to Ren Dong: “I won’t kill you; I’ll force you to kill yourself.” Ren Xinrou and the uncle-nephew chatted nonsense for a while before she put down her phone and ate her noodles. After eating, refreshed, she drove the RV away from the factory area; it only takes twenty minutes to drive to the Public Security Headquarters from here—quick and decisive. Ren Xinrou repainted her entire face and arms black, and put on black clothes and trousers. The Nanshi Public Security Headquarters covered a large area, like a factory complex; the ground was littered with bodies yet not a single intact zombie was in sight. The streetlights downstairs were bright, and many office lights were on in the building. If she didn’t look at the corpses on the ground, she would have thought there were police on night duty inside. “Where did all the zombies go?” Ren Xinrou asked, full of puzzlement, and got out of the car to walk in. Killed quite a few crawling zombies, found the armory, which looked like a bank counter inside, with blast-proof glass barriers and several windows for taking guns and ammunition. At the far edge of the glass wall there was a steel security door, thick enough to be identified with the naked eye. Ren Xinrou stepped back a few paces, used a close-range, high-powered shotgun to aim at the smart lock of the security door, fired several rounds in succession, and the lock finally blew off. Chapter 49: Slaughter The Public Security Bureau’s stockpile of guns and ammunition was smaller than the armed police detachment’s armory, but it was still a considerable haul. The warehouse held many 191 assault rifles and ammunition. The Public Security Bureau oversees the city’s SWAT teams, and rifles are the standard issue for special police. After collecting the weapons, Ren Xinrou stood outside the Public Security Bureau’s main gate, watching both sides of the street. Minutes passed, and not a single roaming zombie appeared. “The zombies are moving too fast…” Afterwards, Ren Xinrou entered the urban area and, without any obstruction, took over the outpatient pharmacies and inpatient pharmacies of five hospitals. The more she thought about it, the more anxious she became, and she immediately decided to go and block the ring road entrance near the village. The ring road in front of the village was not the only road to Chong City; if survivors in the city found this road blocked, they could just leave South City by other routes. Right now, Huicun’s safety is the most important. Ren Xinrou transferred into the largest truck and entered the ring road, detouring to a spot close to the village. The truck’s headlights lit up the road; the ground was everywhere mangled with blood and flesh churned by tires. The zombies saw the lights and heard the engine; instinctively they turned and walked toward the truck. Ren Xinrou kept the car speed under 40 km/h. When they were three hundred meters from Liu Sancun, she placed two long-distance coaches sideways across the road. After turning from Huancheng Road into the south gate of Huicun, at a point five hundred meters from the intersection, she likewise used two long-distance coaches placed sideways to block the way. There are three entrances from the urban area onto the Huancheng Road Huicun section. She used four or five city buses in a crisscross blockade to stop zombies from entering Huancheng Road. (Sketch of the interception section — I drew it myself, don’t be picky.) Between Huancheng Road and the fields there is a ditch waist-deep, which very likely intercepts zombies from entering the fields and then stepping onto the village road. There were too many zombies at the intersection. When the coaches dropped and ran over a mass of zombies, the buses became unstable and almost flipped over several times. Ren Xinrou had to repeatedly lure the zombies toward the town and then turn back to release the bus. After several trips, she noticed the zombies liked to turn into the lanes of Huicun; those that turned into the lanes of Liusancun were heading from the fields toward Huicun. Although their heads were bowed as if aimlessly wandering, Ren Xinrou could be sure their destination was Huicun. Ren Xinrou called her grandfather: “Grandpa! Is everything okay in the village? Are there a lot of zombies gathered at the south village entrance?” “I’ll ask!” Ren Yiyong immediately called the guard at the south village entrance over the radio. “Any movement on the south side?” Dai Xiaosong replied: “Not much of a problem. Occasionally a zombie bangs on the vehicles, bangs a few times and then moves east.” “Moved east?” Ren Yiyong then called the guard on the east side. “Any situation at the east intersection? Are there many zombies?” The intersections on the east and south sides were managed by outsiders and Old Man Zeng’s people; tonight the ones guarding the east gate were the Wen father and son. Wen Datong replied after a few seconds, “No situation. Along the whole road to the east there are only two or three zombies. I think they turned south.” Dai Xiaosong and Wen Datong’s replies were both heard by Ren Xinrou, who grew anxious: “Grandfather! Tell the night patrol to drive to the southeast corner and take a look! They must drive there and check!” Ren Yiyong also sensed something wrong and immediately called the patrol: “Haiyang! You take the patrol team and drive to the southeast corner to check the situation! There are two shops at the southeast corner; it’s a blind spot the gate guards can’t see!” Ren Haiyang replied, “Received! We’ll head over right away!” Ren Yiyong admonished solemnly, “Remember, no matter what happens, do not take matters into your own hands—report back to me first!” Ren Haiyang replied, “Got it, got it!” Ren Yiyong told his granddaughter, “I asked your Uncle Haiyang to check—why did he suddenly call to ask about this? Are you nearby?” Ren Xinrou answered, “I’m currently blocking the road on Huancheng Road. I went to a few hospitals tonight and found that zombies in the urban area are almost extinct, which is abnormal. The zombies on Huancheng Road are like a marching crowd, dispersing toward the townships and villages. I plan to circle our village in advance.” Ren Yiyong said, “It’s understandable. Most rural people don’t want to go to the overcrowded shelters. This morning, quite a few city people took the lead and organized survivors who hadn’t left to go live in nearby rural areas; Our village and Liu San Village are close to the city, so they’re not their first choice. Villages like Liu Er and Liu Yi, which are nearer the mountains, have been almost entirely occupied by city people! Some city folks are domineering and have bad tempers, and they’ve found some guns and ammunition. As soon as they enter a village they try to take charge, barking orders. A few old cadres in the officials’ group publicly resigned on the spot, saying let them do whatever they want—no office, no worries. They’re discussing whether to come live in our village.” “Grandpa, how many village roads connect our village with the three neighboring villages? I’ll first block the city exit, then go immediately to block the connecting village road entrances!” Ren Xinfou felt sealing the village in three layers would be the safest. Ren Yiyong lowered his voice to stop her, “No! I’ll order someone else to handle this. Your space can’t be exposed!” Ren Xinrou agreed, “All right, Grandpa, I’ll go block the road first — there are more and more zombies entering the ring road.” “Go, but put your safety first!” Ren Yiyong admonished. Ren Xinrou continued with what she was doing, and after the entrances to all the major and minor roads were blocked, she set about killing the encircled zombies. ‘Zzzzzz~’ The phone vibrated continuously for several seconds. Ren Xinrou chopped to death the nearest few zombies and quickly climbed into the truck to answer the phone. There was no name attached to the incoming number, but she recognized it at a glance as Fang Yongfa’s number. “Hello?” “Xiaorou! Xiaorou! I—I’m Jiang Yan! They’re… they’re surrounded by zombies, trapped in the car! I heard Yongfa say you— you went out to find weapons. Can you come back and save them? There are mutated zombies! They’ll break through the car door! What should we do!” Jiang Yan stammered, her voice trembling, panic making it hard for her to know where to start. “Speak slowly. Where are they?” Ren Xinrou asked. Jiang Yan forced herself to speak calmly and fluently: “In the village! Southeast corner! Southeast corner! Just now Ren Haiyang called for reinforcements on the radio—zombies broke through the wall at the southeast corner and got into the village, there are hundreds of them! The zombies surrounded the patrol team’s vehicle, and Yongfa drove over to help as soon as he heard the news! I didn’t bring my phone either, I don’t know what to do!” Ren Xinrou said calmly, advising: “Got it. Close and lock your doors and windows. Unless someone from the Ren family knocks, don’t open the door for anyone who comes to your house!” In the end times, zombies go straight for humans and only know how to eat people; only the living will exploit gaps to hurt others. Jiang Yan stared blankly at the darkened phone; Ren Xinrou’s tone was cold, yet inexplicably soothed her. The sky was already paling; the zombies that had dozed off during the night were gradually waking. Ren Xinrou stomped the accelerator and drove into the village’s south lane. The zombies on the lane were roaring — the sound of having found food — calling more of their kind to come eat. They crashed through zombies to the village’s southeast corner. The rolling gate was intact, but a hole the height of one person and two people wide had collapsed in the wall beside the gate. Zombies from the east and south roads were streaming in without end. Ren Xinrou spun the steering wheel at high speed, positioning the truck sideways to block the wall breach; the outer side of the truck’s body was soon swarmed with zombies. “Bang!” The sound of the truck’s body being struck—only the metal-type zombies had that kind of strength. Ren Xinrou sat in the passenger seat and looked down out the window. From what she observed, there were three aberrant-power zombies; the number of aberrant-power zombies sneaking into the village could only be the same or greater, never fewer. She only hoped she wouldn’t run into a speed zombie later; that thing still gave her the shivers. Ren Xinrou climbed onto the car roof and entered the building through a second-floor shop window. Her grandfather didn’t tell her right away after learning the situation, probably worried that if she knew and came back they’d both end up in danger. She didn’t call her grandfather; the situation was critical now, and the few seconds it would take him to answer the phone might be enough for him to be killed. Ren Xinrou entered a room on the second floor, holding a cleaver in her right hand and cautiously turning the doorknob with her left. There were no zombies in the corridor. She quickly ran into the opposite room and shoved a heavy solid-wood sofa against the door; the sofa was something she had stockpiled when she passed a furniture store, and she had also stockpiled quite a few beds and cabinets. She stood by the window and looked down; from this room she could see the conditions on the roads to the east and south of the village. Fifty meters to the east, the zombies had surrounded three sedans, slamming on the windows with all their might, roaring and snarling; the glass wouldn’t hold for long. Ren Xinrou took out a rifle and rested it on the windowsill. Fortunately, the speed zombies can’t fly and have nothing to climb on; they can’t get into the house through the windows. Chapter 50: Slaughter 2 At the same time, in the sedan nearest the front, Ren Haiyang slammed the gas, trying to break through the horde of zombies, but the wheels were jammed by corpses and wouldn’t budge an inch. The engine overheated, and smoke began to seep faintly from the seams of the hood. Ren Haiyang pulled the handbrake and said to Ren Youcai in the front passenger seat, “I’ll go out through the sunroof as bait. The speed zombie will definitely bite me first. I’ll kill it, and the rest you can finish off!” “No! Big brother! It’s not time to sacrifice yourself yet!” Ren Youcai grabbed Ren Haiyang’s hand to stop him from pressing the sunroof button. Ren Haiyang couldn’t shake him off no matter what and shouted at Ren Youcai, “We can’t keep hiding in the car just because we’re afraid of the speed zombies! If we wait any longer the windows will all be shattered! Everyone will die here! Now is the time for me to fight my way out!” Ren Youcai roared, “Not yet! It’s not the time! Second Uncle will surely think of a way! Someone guarding the gate nearby will definitely drive here to save us!” Tears welled in Ren Youcai’s eyes; he had seen with his own eyes his parents gnawing on his younger sister, and he didn’t want to see his relatives die in front of him again. Ren Haiyang cursed, “Rely on someone named Wen and outsiders to save us? Do you think that’s possible? We haven’t heard any reply over the walkie-talkie — either they’ve hidden, or they’ve long since left the village! Let go of me! Let me out!” Ren Haiyang finally managed to free a hand, made a fist and swung at Ren Youcai’s handsome face. Ren Youcai bore his cousin’s punch, quickly grabbed the hand that hit him, held it tightly against his chest, and refused to let go. ‘Katsch~’ The rear window was cracked by the pressure of a zombie. Ren Haiyang was furious and anxious, shouting, “Ren Youcai! Let go of me!” “No! I won’t let go! If we’re going to die, we’ll die together! This fucked-up world can go to hell together!” Ren Youcai shouted childishly. “You! You fucking—idiot! I’ll beat you to death! All those years in the army were wasted on you!” Ren Haiyang twisted his body, unable to pull his hand free, so he used his head to ram Ren Youcai. “Come on! Kill me! That way I won’t get bitten to death by a zombie!” Ren Youcai yelled even louder, and the zombies outside the car grew more excited. The crack in the rear window spread wider and wider like a spider’s web. “Beep beep!” Ren Dong was driving the tour bus that was supposed to block the north gate to come to the rescue. The zombies near the front of the bus were all swept under its chassis. The village road was only wide enough for one bus; three SUV cars were parked in the middle of the road, so the bus couldn’t crush the zombies from the side. Ren Dong could only keep honking the horn and flashing the lights to attract the zombies and make them follow the bus as it moved. However, the fresh meat within arm’s reach was far more attractive to the zombies than the sounds and lights. Only a handful of zombies shifted a few steps toward the coach, then turned again to surround the SUV. Ren Dong was so anxious he was crying; Old Man Zeng in the passenger seat threw a live chicken out the window and tried to comfort him, “Don’t worry, don’t worry — worrying won’t help now. If you can lure one and crush it, that lessens the threat!” “It’s completely useless! The car windows will break sooner or later; once they do, the zombies will crawl in! If the brute zombies get to the front of the car, we’re done in seconds!” The thought of his family’s lives ending right before his eyes while he was powerless made Ren Dong furious, resentful, and grief-stricken. “Climbing in isn’t a bad idea — the body can block the window, and a corpse works better than a glass pane!” Old Master Zeng tried to comfort him, but his own anxiety was no less than Ren Dong’s. He called Ren Yiyong on the walkie-talkie: “Old Ren! What’s the plan now?” After about ten seconds Ren Yiyong replied: “Take the Ren family elders and children away, and bring Fang Yongfa’s wife and kids too! After dawn call my granddaughter and tell her to survive! Old Zeng! I’m leaving my whole family to you!” Old Master Zeng gritted his teeth and refused to agree for a long time. Until Ren Yiyong urged again: “Old Zeng! While the zombies are all distracted by us! Go pick them up! Move!” Old Master Zeng choked back his tears and said, “Okay!” Ren Dong couldn’t bear to leave like this; clutching his head he roared, “There must be another way! I’ll call my sister! If she’s managed to survive out there so long, she must know how to save them!” Saying that, he pulled out his phone. Old Man Zeng interrupted, “Your second uncle didn’t tell her because he hoped she would…” Before the words “safety” could be spoken, the rifle fire echoed in everyone’s ears. The sound of the shooting was like warm rays of sun penetrating everyone’s cold hearts. “Da da da da da~” “Rat-a-tat-tat-tat~” Ren Xinrou tossed blood vials and live chickens down the stairs, trying to attract the zombies downstairs before she fired, because she worried that shooting from this angle toward the distance would make the bullets pass through the zombies and hit the people in the vehicles. Ren Xinrou dialed her grandfather, put it on speaker and shouted, “Grandfather! Tell Ren Dong to drive the bus back to the north gate! Find out the lockdown status of the other three gates, and notify the people in the other two vehicles not to be heroes and throw their lives away!” “It’s the sound of rifles!” Ren Youcai exclaimed. “Who in our village has rifles? We’d only fire if we were about to die! Damn it!” At that moment, Ren Yiyong’s voice came through the radio, “Hold the windows. If necessary, open the windows to kill the zombies, use the bodies to block the windows! No one is to get off the vehicle!” The rifle fire continued for a long time, zombies falling one after another. Some were killed outright, some had broken legs and could only crawl, and zombies with severed limbs could only wriggle on the ground. It was impossible to tell whether the ones that fell were mutated zombies or ordinary ones; the only thing certain was that the speed zombies liked to lurk and would definitely not be so easy to hit. The rifle’s kills sounded like blades slicing through the sky; the dawn pierced the earth, and it was daylight. “bangbangbang!” The door behind Ren Xinrou was being pounded so hard the walls were trembling—the zombies were coming up the stairs. Chapter 51: Slaughter 3 Ren Xinrou only glanced back once, didn’t bother to check, and continued throwing ten glass blood vials downstairs in succession; she wanted to deal with the zombies below as quickly as possible. Unless there was a hulking zombie standing outside her door, she couldn’t have pushed the door and the solid wood sofa open together. The moment that thought flashed through her mind, Ren Xinrou had an ominous premonition. “Bang!!! Thump~!!” The door was shattered by a force, followed immediately by the sound of the wooden sofa scraping the floor. The zombies no longer fixated on the people in the car; they all lunged toward the building where Ren Xinrou was, scrambling up to the second floor and bursting into the room she was in. Ren Xinrou braced the gun and spun around to spray; besides one leading Strength zombie, there were also two Earth-type zombies throwing clods of dirt at her. The earthen clods from a first-tier Earth type weren’t large enough to kill, but getting hit by them still stung like hell. Zombies kept pouring into the room without end. Ren Xinrou’s body ached where it had been hit by clods of earth; she, who rarely swore, couldn’t help cursing, “Damn! Good thing it’s not a sprint zombie!” “Bah! Bah bah! I didn’t say anything!” Ren Xinrou immediately bristled with alertness. Suddenly, the two zombies entering side by side at the doorway were pushed apart as if by a gust of wind. Without hesitation, Ren Xinrou swept her gun toward the “wind” and quickly slipped into the space. “Chhh chhh chhh!” A series of muffled, throat-choked sounds entered the space. Ren Xinrou could hear sounds from outside the space, but she couldn’t see what was happening outside; she could only estimate the situation beyond by sixth sense. She guessed the bullet might have struck the speed zombie’s throat. She stood inside the space, turned in place to change angles and listen; the zombie’s sounds lingered in her ears, and she couldn’t pinpoint its direction, unable to tell which side of the zombie she would be on once she stepped out of the space. “We can’t delay any longer! We must finish this quickly!” Ren Xinrou’s expression darkened. Once a speed zombie hides, she will fall into the passive danger of being attacked from the dark. Switch the rifle in your hands for a machete. Guns require aimed shots; a half-second pause can be a fatal moment. By contrast, a machete has a wider attack range and it’s easier to cut through a zombie’s skull. Ren Xinrou held a riot shield in her left hand and gripped the machete tightly in her right, took two deep breaths, and left the space. Her left-hand shield blocked one side of the zombie as her body spun in a sweeping slash. She didn’t have time to check whether she had hit the mutated zombie. The zombies around her, head after head, fell to the ground; the ‘clucking’ sounds came to an abrupt stop. The room was filled with countless zombies, and more kept pouring in from outside the door, surging toward Ren Xinrou. She could hide in the space, but she knew she could only hide for a short time. The next time she flashed out of the space, she’d have to reassess the zombies’ positions, and the situation would only be worse than it is now. Unless she faced them now and dealt with them. Ren Xinrou slowly stepped back, pressing her back against the corner of the wall to first ensure the safety behind her. The shield held back the approaching zombies while her right hand kept chopping and slashing. The original body’s constitution was pretty good, but its strength and stamina weren’t even half of what her body in her previous life had. The right shoulder was slightly bruised from the recoil of rifle fire, and after intense defensive fighting the right hand’s strength gradually could not keep up with her mind. Ren Xinrou frowned; the zombies outside the door were pouring into the house like water from a turned-on tap. Just as she wanted to slip into the space to rest, she heard frantic calls coming from downstairs. “Rourou! Answer! Grandpa’s here!” It was her grandfather’s voice. Ren Xinrou’s nose tingled. In the past, whenever she was in danger, one of her fifteen uncles would always arrive in time to save her. Later, one uncle after another sacrificed himself; with every step she took she had to calculate the path ahead. She dared not — and could not — let herself fall into any danger again. Because no one would come to save her anymore. The two uncles who had luckily survived had to hold their posts, serve the base and the people; they could no longer protect her at every moment. “Xiao Rou!” Ren Youcai called out immediately. The zombie near the door turned and snarled toward the outside. Ren Xinrou’s pressure visibly lessened. “Grandpa! I’m okay!” Ren Xinrou shouted. Before long, the zombies in the room were cut down one by one, and the ones in the corridor were all killed clean. Ren Yiyong rushed into the room, grabbing his granddaughter’s arm to check for wounds, his expression anxious. “Were you bitten or scratched?” “No, did Grandpa get bitten? Did any of you get bitten?” Ren Xinrou’s gaze swept over the people behind her grandfather: three of the Ren family’s uncles and Fang Yongfa. “It’s fine, it’s fine, everyone’s fine!” Ren Haiyang answered with a smile. Ren Xinrou looked around at this group of relatives. The anxiety and concern in their eyes were real, and in this moment, the warmth in her heart was real too. They came into her possession through her “seizure”; their affections did not belong to her but to the original host. But so what? She saved them; she has the right to enjoy the care they’re giving her now. Ren Xinrou said nothing more, found the mutant zombie’s skull, smashed the cranium to extract the brain crystal core, and handed it to Ren Yiyong: “Grandpa, mutant zombies have this in their brains. I suspect this thing might be used to upgrade abilities.” Ren Yiyong passed the brain crystal core to Ren Youcai. “Eat it and see.” “……” Ren Youcai examined the brain crystal in his palm; it seemed to him that brain tissue was still clinging to it. He swallowed and felt acid rise in his stomach, half-believing, half-doubting as he asked, “Eat it? Won’t I get infected with the zombie virus?” Ren Xinrou guided him, “Uncle, hold it tight and try thinking about absorbing it.” The book recorded that humans can absorb a brain crystal with their hands, while mutated beasts need to swallow it to digest and absorb it. Ren Youcai clenched the crystal core, feeling warmth in his palm. After a dozen seconds, he opened his hand and the brain crystal core had turned to dust. Ren Xinrou took out the few crystal cores she had gotten a few days ago from her shoulder bag and handed them to Ren Youcai. “Uncle, take them all.” Ren Xinrou turned to Ren Yiyong and said, “Grandpa, you and the others go home first, see how everyone else is doing, rest a while, and organize people to comb the village—there might be zombies left behind. I’ll take a walk downstairs and then come back.” Ren Yiyong agreed, “Okay, be careful.” When Ren Xinrou passed by Fang Yongfa she stopped and said, “You scared your wife half to death. If you ever abandon them again to play hero, I’ll sell your wife and child! Your wife’s looks… could fetch a good price!” Before Fang Yongfa could open his mouth to reply, Ren Xinrou, a playful smile on her lips, went downstairs on her own. Fang Yongfa watched her figure, shook his head with a light laugh, “Childish brat.” Ren Youcai came over and patted his shoulder, teasing, “Come on, Hero Fang!” Fang Yongfa gave him a sidelong look, and the two of them went downstairs arm in arm. Chapter 52 Human-made Ren Yiyong, accompanied by his other two nephews Ren Haiyang and Ren Jianjun, walked behind Ren Youcai. “Jianjun, Haiyang, you two drive to the north gate to pick up Xiaodong and Old Zeng. Old Zeng’s son is currently protecting the Ren family’s elders and children; bring him to my house.” “Second Uncle, don’t we need to guard four of the gates?” Ren Haiyang asked. Ren Yiyong pinched his weary brow, shook his head and said, “If the zombies can jump over car roofs into the village, the guards won’t be able to report the situation alive. We’ll hold a meeting first.” “Okay, Second Uncle.” Ren Haiyang replied. At this moment, Qiao Gui and the Zhu brothers cowered in the car downstairs, trembling; they didn’t dare follow the Ren family upstairs to rescue people. The terrifying scene of being besieged by zombies was vivid in their minds; they were debating whether to stay in the village or go to the relief station. Qiao Guiqiang feigned calm and turned his mind quickly. He covered his mouth and whispered an analysis: “In such a dangerous situation just now, they managed to turn things around and come out unscathed. With such formidable strength, of course we’ll keep following them! Today we suffered alongside them; if we run into danger later, they certainly won’t abandon us!” Zhu Jichao glanced out the car to see if the Ren family had gotten out, then said guiltily, “Gui-ge, we didn’t go with them to rescue the secretary’s granddaughter, so that doesn’t really count as having suffered together, does it?” Qiao Gui, with a shameless look, objected, “How is that not sharing hardship? We almost served as a sacrifice for the secretary just now!” Younger brother Zhu Fei agreed with Qiao Gui, “Brother Gui is right! The three of us were patrolling up north just fine, and out of nowhere Ren Jianjun dragged us here to die! He didn’t warn us — he nearly got us killed! If we didn’t go rescue the secretary’s granddaughter, how could they have the face to say we were wrong!” Zhu Ji scratched his nose awkwardly, turned his face away and said nothing more; he couldn’t out-talk the two of them. Ren Yiyong and Fang Yongxia went downstairs, got back into the car and left this village road. Ren Haiyang knocked on Qiao Gui’s car window to notify them, “Go gather at my second uncle’s house!” After saying that, he and Ren Jianjun got into the car behind. Qiao Gui was at a loss — did this mean they wanted him to drive off by himself? He rolled down the window and timidly stuck out half his head, shouting, “Ren Jianjun! You’re the driver! If you leave, who will drive? What if there’s still a horde of zombies in the village!” No one answered him; Ren Haiyang’s car had already driven off down the road. “Brother Gui, wha-what should we do?” Zhu Fei asked. Qiao Gui thought for a moment, patted Zhu Ji on the shoulder and ordered, “You drive — hurry up and catch up with the secretary’s car!” Zhu Ji rolled his eyes secretly, cursing Qiao Gui from head to toe in his heart. Reluctant and a bit cowardly, he still obediently climbed into the driver’s seat. A pile of corpses ahead suddenly stirred, and a zombie crawled out, roaring as it climbed toward their car. “Ah! Drive! Drive! Go! Go! Move! Move!” Qiao Gui screamed, her voice sharp like a soprano. Zhu Ji hurriedly slammed the car into reverse; the vehicle shot backwards, speeding away from that troubled road. On the other side, Ren Xinrou stood in the store where the incident happened, examining the knocked-over brick wall. The fallen wall was right next to the rolling shutter; the shutter was only slightly deformed and had not been forced open. She didn’t think the wall would be easier to push through than the shutter. Ren Xinrou walked over to another collapsed section of wall; beside it was a glass window, which had only spiderweb cracks and hadn’t shattered, yet the brick-and-cement wall had been pushed down first. “This was done by someone.” Ren Xinrou said with certainty. In her past life she had seen countless cases of people harming others; leading zombies to kill someone was a way to wash her hands completely. To lure zombies, you need bait. Ren Xinrou scanned the ground and found, among the corpses, a sack soaked with blood. She dragged out the sack to inspect it; the bag was intact, and inside were a few chickens, bitten to pieces through the sack. Ren Xinrou passed through the hole in the wall and stood on the street. The zombies had broken into the neighboring building of this one, and a camera was pointed in this direction. The public security bureau issued a safety regulation: rental houses in rural areas must have one or more surveillance cameras installed on the outside wall of the first floor. Some landlords install cameras in the corridor on every floor as well. Places where outsiders gather are the most likely to have thefts, fights, and other crimes. To facilitate investigations, Grandpa, being the secretary, knew the account names and passwords for every exterior camera and the cameras on the village roads. Before leaving, Ren Xinrou chopped up the still-crawling zombie. Standing outside his own gate, he could hear Ren Dong shouting and cursing: “My second uncle kindly took you in to live in the village, arranged a place for you to stay, and this is how you repay him! When danger came you wouldn’t lift a finger, and now you try to harm people! A bunch of dogs!” “We didn’t harm anyone! Which eye of yours saw us harming people! I was worried the zombies would rush this way, so I went next door to rescue that mother and child out of goodwill! Is it wrong to save people?!” the other side retorted loudly, speaking with genuine feeling. “Don’t talk nonsense! The first time you saw sister-in-law, your eyes were practically glowing! Why did you knock on the door? Your intentions are obvious to everyone! A bunch of dogs! Get out of our village!” Ren Dongyue grew more agitated the more he shouted, wanting to rush forward and shove Wen Shiwei, but Ren Youcai dragged him aside and signaled for him not to lose his temper. “It’s noisy.” Ren Xinrou’s voice was neither loud nor soft, but everyone could hear her, and they all looked toward her. Ren Xinrou walked into the living room; the outsiders crowded near the doorway stepped back to make way for her. The corner of Ren Xinrou’s eye swept over Zhang Lu and his group. Tonight, these people actually didn’t take the chance to run away? Were they stupid or overly shrewd? Seventeen-year-old Ren Dong was hotheaded; the anger and grievance in his eyes were unmistakable. He walked toward Ren Xinrou, pointed at Wen Shizai standing opposite, and said, “Sister! That dog, while Yongfa was in danger, ran to his house and smashed the door!” Ren Xinrou’s big eyes blinked as she looked at the person he was pointing to and the few people beside him. “They’re who? I’ve never seen them before.” Ren Xinrou’s tone was gentle, neither warm nor cold. When Wen Shizai saw Ren Xinrou, his pupils flickered; he couldn’t help sizing her up, his gaze lingering slightly on her chest and lower abdomen. He had been doing social media for years and was somewhat well-off. He had seen many beauties roaming live streaming rooms and had slept with quite a few hosts; the woman in front of him was absolutely a rare gem. Ren Xinrou noticed the lecherous gleam that flashed in his eyes and paid it no mind. In her previous life, gazes like that lingered on her every day; she was long since unfazed. As long as they didn’t lay hands on her, if it was only trivial and harmless, she wouldn’t waste energy fussing over it. Ren Dong introduced people to Ren Xinrou one by one, “Those two are the Wens, father and son — Wen Datong and Wen Shizai! The two women standing behind are also Wens! The pair beside them are father and daughter, Zhang Ji and Zhang Ling. This pack of dogs followed Great-Grandpa Zeng to our village to freeload!” Chapter 53 The Wen Family “How can you say that! We’re not freeloading! Haven’t we been guarding the gate these past two days? Haven’t we put in the effort? Are you blind!” Wen Shizai retorted loudly. Zhang Ji and his daughter Zhang Ling stood pressed against the wall, doing their best to lower their presence, with no intention of chiming in to explain. Ren Xinrou’s gaze passed over Wen Shizai and landed on the mother and daughter behind him. “What are these two women’s names?” Ren Dong looked down on the mother and daughter and introduced, “The older one is called Wen Xiaoqiao, the other is Wen Anni; she is the fiancée of Great-Grandpa Zeng’s youngest son!” Wen Anni didn’t care about Ren Dong’s attitude. She gracefully waved at Ren Xinrou and politely greeted, “Hello, little sister. You can call me Sister Anni from now on.” Wen Xiaoqiao smiled and stepped forward two paces. Her posture and face did not look like those of a 46-year-old woman, but like an intellectual woman in her thirties. She gently complimented Ren Xinrou: “You must be Ren Dage’s granddaughter. You’re really beautiful! Auntie has never seen such a pretty young girl!” She understood the common traits of women; there wasn’t a woman who didn’t like being told she was beautiful, especially an inexperienced college student like this one. “You call my grandfather ‘brother’? You want me to call you ‘aunt’? That’s wrong, isn’t it?” Ren Xinrou replied with a smile. She didn’t need to force it; her naturally pure face made it hard for people to suspect she was actually putting barbs in her words. Wen Xiaoqiao’s mouth twitched slightly; she gave a wry, soft laugh and replied, “In this era it doesn’t matter about generations or not, all titles fall under polite forms of address! Right?” “Grandma Wen has a point.” Ren Xinrou looked at Wen Anni. “You’re Han Shu’s fiancée. I call you ‘mom’ and call the grandmother ‘nǎinai’, but you want me to call you ‘sister’? That’s not appropriate.” “Poof!” Ren Dong snorted, speaking bluntly and mockingly, “An older sister getting engaged to an uncle’s generation? That’s chaotic enough!” The awkwardness on Wen Annie’s face lasted only half a second before she switched to an earnest expression and laughed heartily, “From now on I’ll even make your Han-shu call me sister! Hahaha!” Ren Xinrou didn’t speak again. She walked over to Jiang Yan’s side, patted the little head in her arms, and asked, “Did you open the door?” Jiang Yan’s eyes were still filled with traces of fear and grievance. She shook her head and said, “The lock was kicked open. Luckily, after I finished the call with you I used the wardrobe to block the door, and with Yongfa and the others coming back in time, he couldn’t break in. Yongfa and Ren Youcai fought him, and he ran to your place to play the victim!” His voice was loud; everyone in the house heard it. Wen shouted in earnest, “You didn’t answer when I knocked! I thought zombies had gotten in! I was trying to help you and your son, and in my panic I kicked the door! Use some sense and reason! The village was attacked by zombies—no matter how lecherous I am, I wouldn’t be thinking about that kind of thing right now!” The tight string in Jiang Yan’s chest suddenly snapped. Her eyes were wet with tears as she choked out a retort, “The courtyard gate was closed! The first-floor hall door was closed! How can you be so sure a zombie ran into my room? That’s ridiculous! Do you take others for fools?” Fang Yongfa was boiling with anger, but it didn’t show on his face. He put his arm around his wife’s shoulders and soothed her gently, “Be good, don’t cry, don’t waste words on him.” At that moment he finally understood why Ren Xinrou had warned him that she might sell his wife and children later. He wasn’t with his wife and children; they could face even crueller dangers at any time. Being sold might be the mildest of crises. Ren Yiyong and Old Master Zeng sat side by side on the sofa, both tacitly keeping silent and not intervening—let the younger generation settle their own grievances. Wen really wanted to explain more, but was held back by his father, Wen Datong. Wen Datong shook his head at his son and warned him not to speak again; the more he argued, the more he would make a laughingstock of himself. Wen Datong, wearing a simple smile, said to Fang Yongfa, “My son truly meant well. In this world it’s dangerous for young women to be out with a child; your wife sneaking off to hide in a room, my son thought she was going through something bad. You misunderstood him.” What he meant by “going through something bad” was implicit. Ren Donggang was about to open his mouth to retort when his calf was kicked by Ren Xinrou, who was standing behind him. A puzzled look spread across Ren Dong’s face; he asked Ren Xinrou with his eyes: Why won’t you let me scold him? I want to damn him! Ren Xinrou gave him an eye-roll, as if to say: Don’t be silly! Fang Yongfa squeezed his wife’s shoulder and gave her a reassuring look. “Since it was a misunderstanding, we won’t bring this up again in the future;” he put away his anger, replied to Wen Datong, then turned to Ren Yiyong and asked, “Second Grandpa, are we going to continue living in the village?” Ren Yiyong answered, “Yes, stay in the village for now. Gate duty and patrol shifts remain the same. Before returning to your respective posts, Haiyang will lead Dai Xiaosong’s team to do a carpet-style check of every corner of the village to see if any zombies were missed.” Ren Yiyong assigned another task to Fang Yongfa, “You take Ren Dong and Zeng Yi to inspect the houses on the outskirts of the village and check whether any exterior walls are loose.” Ren Yiyong instructed Qiao Gui, “Qiao Gui, you lead! Take Zhu Ji, Zhu Fei, Wen Datong, Wen Shizai and Zhang Ji to load the zombie corpses in the southeast corner onto the truck and dump them in the rice fields to the west. Our living area is some distance from the southeast corner, but the weather Wen Shizai really resented this arrangement and cried out, “Why do we have to carry the corpse! We need to go inspect the village…” “Shut up! Do what you’re told! What are you whining about!” Wen Datong hurriedly scolded his son. “Uncle Ren is right. The corpse fluids haven’t dried yet. Getting rid of the body quickly is for our own good!” Wen Datong signaled his son with his eyes. A look of unwillingness flashed across Wen Shizai’s face, then his tone immediately softened and he changed his mind, “Alright, we’ll follow Uncle Ren’s arrangement!” Ren Yiyong’s face broke into his trademark Maitreya smile, and he laughed heartily, “There was a scare last night but no harm done, no casualties—what good news! Old Zeng and I are too old to fuss about this; thank you young people for handling it! Go do the work! The two of us old folks need to rest!” Ren Xinrou’s mouth curved slightly; outsiders couldn’t understand why grandpa had chosen Qiao Gui to lead the team, but those who knew Qiao Gui would have seen grandpa’s cunning. Putting on a brave front with borrowed authority was Qiao Gui’s specialty: aside from himself being able to slack off, no one could loaf or shirk under his watch. Qiao Gui had been a shameless rogue since childhood—cowardly and lazy—but very clever. He knew clearly that the one person he must not offend now was Ren Yiyong. As soon as Qiao Gui heard he was to lead the team, he guessed the reason. To cling to a powerful patron and keep his job, he would certainly take good care of Wen Shizai. The men with duties left the Ren residence, and the women stayed sitting in the Ren family’s living room. Wen Xiaoqiao and Wen Anni sat with perfect tacit understanding, moving chairs to sit on either side of Ren Xinrou. Wen Xiaoqiao spoke gently and asked, “I heard from your grandfather that you studied in the United States? Was it on a government scholarship? You must have been an excellent student.” Ren Xinrou lowered her head and gave a soft “mm,” looking shy. In fact, she was thinking about when to stock up on oil, when to find a helicopter, what else needed stocking, sighing that there were so many things, never-ending busywork. Wen Anni casually looped her arm through Ren Xinrou’s and, with affectionate concern, said, “Yesterday your grandfather said you were bored at home so you ran out to play. It’s so dangerous outside, you mustn’t go out again! If you’re bored in the future, come find me. How about Zhang Ling and I keep you company playing cards? Do you know how to play mahjong?” Chapter 54 Surveillance Ren Xinrou cocked her head and stared at Wen Anni for a moment, then glanced at the hand clasped in her crook of an arm, a trace of playfulness flickering at the corner of her mouth. Ren Xinrou turned her gaze to Ren Yiyong: “Grandpa, is the guest room on the second floor still empty?” Ren Yiyong couldn’t figure out his granddaughter’s intention for a moment; should he nod or shake his head? Torn for two seconds, he dully, gently nodded. Wen Anni thought Ren Xinrou was asking for her sake, and the curve at the corner of her mouth lifted even higher. She was very happy to live beside the two elders; with them around she would certainly be safe. However, in the next second, Ren Xinrou looked at Jiang Yan. “Sister-in-law, do you and your family of three want to move in with us? Eat and live together. But because there are many people at home, you’ll have to help Elder Sister Zeng with the cooking.” Jiang Yan froze for an instant, then, her mind racing, she nodded repeatedly, jumped up and headed out: “Okay, I’ll go next door now and pack!” “Girl, don’t rush back. Wait until your husband finishes his business and returns, then you can go back with him to pack up, so you won’t run into any more do-gooders.” Old Master Zeng deliberately emphasized the last three words. Old Master Zeng didn’t even want to spare the Wen mother and daughter a glance; he hated this match with the Wen family. If he hadn’t lost track of his youngest son now, he would have loved to force him to break up right in front of the mother and daughter. Wen Xiaoqiao and her mother exchanged a look; both had varying degrees of unwillingness and guilt in their eyes. Hui Juan, the old master’s daughter-in-law at the Zengs, having caught the message in the old man’s eyes, stood up and took Wen Xiaoqiao by the arm to lead her out: “Sister Qiao, I’ll go to your place and fetch a bowl of dark soy sauce to braise the meat. You and Annie should hurry back and start cooking—your brother and your nephew will be starving once they’re done!” Wen Xiaoqiao didn’t want to leave; she wanted to talk with Ren Xinrou a little longer. She was very confident in her own judgment; she couldn’t be wrong. As long as she handled this little girl, she could win over Ren Yiyong, that handsome old man. But the Zeng couple were clearly trying to get them to leave. Now that she needed to curry favor with Ren Yiyong, she couldn’t shamelessly stay here. There’s plenty of time. Wen Xiaoqiao quietly made up her mind: she would definitely win over Ren Yiyong. She had seen many capable men and was certain Ren Yiyong was far more than an ordinary party secretary. As long as she stuck with him, her whole family would be able to live well. Wen Xiaoqiao called her daughter and Zhang Ling and left the Ren residence together. Ren Xinrou asked, “Grandpa, did those outsiders explain why they didn’t come to rescue you?” The smile on Ren Yiyong’s face faded. He snorted and said, “After the zombies entered the village, they stayed in Uncle Haiyang’s house. They said the situation was too urgent and feared total annihilation, so they decided to stay there to protect the Ren family’s elders and children.” “That reason is hard to argue with,” Ren Xinrou said. Ren Yiyong’s tone turned cold. “These people are clever! They calculated that if we somehow escaped danger, by protecting the Ren family’s elders and children they could avoid being accused of abandoning us; if we all died, they could at any time push the Ren family’s elders and children out to draw the zombies away and then use the chance to flee the village!” Ren Xinrou asked indifferently, “Want to kill them all? Anyway, there’s no use keeping them.” “……” Ren Yiyong and Old Master Zeng, Jiang Yan and Old Master Zeng’s granddaughter Zeng Meimei, all stood agape in shock. Ren Yiyong suddenly realized he might have made a mistake. To help his granddaughter adapt to this world quickly and be able to face any danger bravely, he had chosen to leave her alone outside; he hadn’t expected her to go so far wrong so quickly. He had to straighten her out before she went beyond hope of redemption. Ren Yiyong softened his voice and chose his words carefully as he taught his granddaughter: “Rou Rou, even though there are no longer prisons, going to kill people who haven’t yet committed a crime lacks a certain bit of morality, don’t you think?” “Grandpa, what if because I didn’t kill them, they kill me in the future?” “……” Ren Yiyong was stumped by the question. The old Master Zeng beside him scrutinized the little girl in front of him, the more he looked the more pleased he became. “Xiao Rou, are you dating anyone?” Ren Xinrou answered honestly: “No.” Old Master Zeng rubbed his hands together, looking a little embarrassed and a little excited. “My younger son is very handsome! He has abilities, deputy captain of the special forces! He’s a generation older than you, but he doesn’t look old! When he’s older he’ll take care of you~” Before he could finish, Ren Yiyong shoved him hard and scolded, “Get over there! Have you forgotten your son already has a fiancée? Do you want my granddaughter to be a third party, to pick up the pieces? No way!” Old Master Zeng remembered Wen Anni’s face, and the disgust in his eyes was undeniable. “Mark my words, that woman will run off with someone else sooner or later! You’ve seen my son — he’s absolutely worthy of your granddaughter! Apart from being a bit old, there’s nothing wrong with him!” Old Master Zeng rubbed his arm where he’d been pushed and spoke ingratiatingly in a low voice, “Old Ren, when they’re done, could you give my son a chance to court your granddaughter?” “No! No!” Ren Yiyong cut him off without mercy, waving his hand to refuse. “What kind of international joke is this—there’s a twelve-year gap! Too old! If Zeng Han were three or five years younger, I’d definitely agree! No way, no way! You find someone else to take the spot!” Old Master Zeng pouted, pretended to be displeased, and got up to go upstairs, childishly tossing out one line: “Hmph! If they like each other, nothing you say will matter!” Ren Yiyong couldn’t help laughing hoarsely. “Like each other my foot! Go back to your room and keep dreaming!” There wasn’t a trace of the bashful shyness one would expect from someone at a matchmaking meeting on Ren Xinrou’s face. She didn’t take the two elders’ words to heart. She said, “Grandpa, find the surveillance account and password for Building 18 on the south side and give them to me.” “What’s wrong?” Ren Yiyong stood up and walked toward the study. “The zombies phasing through walls into the village were lured in deliberately. The surveillance footage might have captured who did it.” Ren Yiyong went to the study and turned on the computer. The grandfather and granddaughter checked the surveillance, going back to the first day of the apocalypse. “Grandpa, can you recognize the person carrying the sack?” Ren Xinrou could recognize villagers’ faces, but from just a silhouette she couldn’t tell who it was, especially from a nighttime surveillance video. “It’s Li Long.” Ren Yiyong’s eyes flashed with anger. He clicked 4x fast-forward playback, and eight hours later Li Feijiu appeared on the monitor; after a while he left together with Li Long. “Grandpa, the wall must have been loosened, otherwise it wouldn’t have been knocked open so easily.” Ren Xinrou reported the findings to Ren Yiyong. Ren Yiyong snorted coldly: “Aside from Li Shi’s family, if anyone else from the Li family crosses you in the future, you don’t have to show mercy!” Chapter 55 Leaving Again Ren Xinrou agreed: “Okay, I won’t go easy on them. Grandfather, do you want me to go and block the road that connects to the neighboring village?” Ren Yiyong thought for a moment and said, “No need. If hordes of zombies pour into our village from the neighboring one, chances are they’re already wiped out. If they run into big trouble, I’ll definitely get word—then I’ll decide whether to block the road or leave the village. Zombies approaching the village isn’t a bad thing; it’s an opportunity to train. Sooner or later we’ll have to leave the village, and the hardships ahead will only be harsher than last night. Only more practice will make us stronger.” Ren Xinrou admired her grandfather’s foresight. She took a black bag out of space and put it on the desk. “Grandpa, there are three rifles inside, a few spare magazines and bullets—divide them among the uncles; there’s a pistol in there, give it to Yongfa. If you have time, teach him how to use it. If he wants to kill someone named Wen, don’t stop him. It isn’t good to have that kind of scum living among us.” Ren Yiyong frowned slightly, turned to look at his granddaughter for a long moment, and said worriedly, “Xiaorou, if a person loses the most basic sense of compassion, how are they different from a zombie? When facing enemies we should be decisive in killing, but he isn’t an enemy—he’s just a rotten person.” The world has collapsed, and the rule of law has crumbled with it. But as long as the state continues striving to save the people and works to unite them, a new order, new legal system, and new society will soon be established; with laws, institutions, and restraints, society can be harmonious and progress. Xiaorou, of course Grandpa also hopes there will be one fewer rotten person in the world. Not killing someone surnamed Wen is not because Grandpa is merciful, but because we need to maintain reason and humanity. People like Wen Shizai will be everywhere in the future—can we really kill them all? Yongfa’s wife is pretty, and she will have plenty of chances to encounter such rotten people in the future. If she can understand that merely hiding does no good, and learns to strike back and defend herself, the couple can grow up quickly. From another perspective, the existence of scoundrels like Wen Shizai isn’t entirely a bad thing. If, when Wen Shizai kicked the door, Yongfa’s wife had killed him on the spot, Grandpa would have applauded. I’ve said so much—can you grasp the deeper meaning in my words? “I understand. From now on, I’ll try to only kill people who provoke me or you.” “……” His granddaughter’s words were not wrong, yet somehow were wrong. Ren Yiyong was stunned for a long time, and in the end only sighed and said, “As long as you understand.” Ren Yiyong suddenly didn’t know how to instruct his granddaughter. In a world like this, kindness was reserved for one’s own; she was not at fault. If one day his granddaughter became a female assassin, a she-devil, there was nothing wrong with soaring, as long as she didn’t kill good people—then his upbringing would have been a success. Finding a capable grandson-in-law to look after his granddaughter became Ren Yiyong’s most urgent wish. Ren Yiyong opened the bag, fiddled with the rifle, aimed and lowered it, aimed and lowered it; a fierce excitement flickered in his eyes as he sighed, “Grandpa hasn’t touched a rifle in so many years.” “Grandpa can go play by the south gate; there should be quite a few zombies gathered there. Grandpa, if there’s nothing else I’ll head back into the city and, while we haven’t gone to the base yet, stock up on some supplies,” Ren Xinrou said, taking a few packets of Yunyan from the space and placing them into the bookcase. Ren Yiyong grumbled, “Just got home and leaving again! Go then, go then! Be careful about everything! No need to take everything, like some hamster stuffing its cheeks! How many years will I have to run my stall at the base before it’s all sold?” “You can ask your old comrades to help you set up a stall together — open a co-op specifically for swapping brain crystal cores.” Ren Yiyong flicked his granddaughter’s forehead with his finger and laughed: “You want grandpa to change careers and become a domineering CEO?” Ren Xinrou, rarely showing a playful smile, raised an eyebrow and teased: “Grandpa, that old lady from the Wen family looks pretty good, huh? Your eyes are acting weird~ You better hold your belt tight, or she’ll come into your dreams and slap you!” Ren Yiyong scolded with laughter: “What beauties haven’t I seen? Back when I was an officer in the army and attended all kinds of banquets, plenty of models and stars leaned on me! Grandpa never touched any of them! Risking trouble for a moment of pleasure isn’t worth it, not worth it!” Ren Xinrou smiled and stopped dwelling on the topic. She took a box of rifle bullets from the space, stuffed it under the desk, and instructed, “This box of ammo will keep you busy for many days. I’m off.” Ren Yiyong stared at his granddaughter’s departing figure and called out, “Remember to call if you encounter danger!” Ren Xinrou shouted back, “Don’t worry! I’m not you!” “You brat! Still holding a grudge!” Ren Yiyong chuckled as he continued fiddling with the rifle. Ren Xinrou returned to the living room and saw Jiang Yan holding the sleeping little Fafa, dazed and lost in thought. Sixteen-year-old Zeng Meimei stood tall and graceful, fair-skinned with clear eyes, like a little white chrysanthemum unstained by dust. She smiled shyly and took the initiative to greet Ren Xinrou, “Sister Xiaorou.” Having been influenced by Ren Dong calling her sister and others calling her sister, Ren Xinrou inexplicably grew fond of the feeling of being an older sister, a thrill of raised seniority flowing through her—she was finally no longer the youngest in the family. Ren Xinrou hesitated for a moment, walked over to Zeng Meimei, and patted her head. “Mm, good girl.” In her past life, thirteen uncles all responded to her like this. She loved being patted on the head by her uncles and praised for being good. She figured this little girl would probably like it too. Zeng Meimei’s fair cheeks flushed pink, and she let out a shy, light laugh. Ren Xinrou took two military daggers out of her satchel and handed one to Zeng Meimei. “A meeting gift. Carry it on you every day when you go out.” Zeng Meimei took the dagger with both hands and jumped up and down excitedly. “Thank you, Sister Xiaorou.” “Mm, good.” Ren Xinrou walked over to Jiang Yan and handed her the other dagger. “Sister-in-law, you can tie the dagger to your ankle.” Jiang Yan took the dagger, her voice choking slightly. “Thank you! If it weren’t for you, Yongfa might have been gnawed down to the bones!” Tears welled in Jiang Yan’s eyes as she looked at Ren Xinrou, full of gratitude mixed with a trace of frightened grievance. “Sister-in-law, Brother Yongfa can’t be by your side every moment. You have to learn to kill zombies, and you must learn to kill people too. Only by being able to protect your little Fafa can you be safe.” Ren Xinrou didn’t say more. She shifted the topic and requested, “I’ll be away for a while. If my grandfather runs into any danger again, please call me and let me know.” Tears streamed down Jiang Yan’s face as she nodded repeatedly, “Okay! Be careful on your journey!” “Hmm.” Ren Xinrou gave a cool, brief hm and left the Ren residence. Jiang Yan watched Ren Xinrou’s capable figure vanish beyond the gate. She wiped away her tears and looked at her son’s adorable sleeping face; her gaze gradually grew resolute. On the road outside the south gate, many zombies were wandering. Ren Xinrou chose to leave through the west exit, leaving the south gate zombies for those who needed training. She changed her plan. Instead of first stocking up on oil in the city, she drove onto the highway and headed for the neighboring Jingling City Aviation Training Academy. This school specialized in training helicopter piloting skills. Guessing blind, there must be helicopters on campus. Walking on land was too dangerous; there were currently no mutant birds, and flying in the air was safer. Ren Haiyang and his group returned to the Ren residence after completing the inspection task. Ren Dong burst in shouting, “Sis! We’re back! Let’s go to the south gate to kill some zombies together! You in?” Zeng Meimei was seriously watching videos on her phone and was startled by the sudden call; her gaze shifted to the handsome Ren Dong. “Xiao Rou’s gone.” Ren Dong stared at Zeng Meimei in a daze and asked, “Gone? Where did she go?” Zeng Meimei attends a private girls’ high school; her father was strict with her, and aside from male relatives, she had never directly conversed with boys her own age. A sudden, inexplicable sense of panic made Zeng Meimei stammer in her reply: “N-no, I don’t know. She—she just said she wanted to go out for a few days.” “Oh, so you’re a stutterer, huh? No wonder I’ve never heard you speak. It’s fine, don’t feel inferior. You can speak up from now on; our family doesn’t discriminate against stutterers.” Ren Dong slumped on the sofa, delivering his consolation with a righteous air. “……” Zeng Meimei wanted to curse him out, but facing the handsome and attractive Ren Dong, she inexplicably felt very nervous. She could only curse inwardly: Who’s the stutterer! You are the stutterer! Your whole family are stutterers! Ren Dong propped his leg up on the coffee table and wiggled his foot. Ren Haiyang saw it and barked, “Sit like a proper person! What do you think you’re doing?” Startled by his father’s shout, Ren Dong immediately sat up straight, afraid that any hesitation would get him smacked. Ren Youcai sat nearby, legs crossed, smoking a cigarette, using his eyes to mock his nephew. With a sharp glare from Ren Haiyang, Ren Youcai instantly uncrossed his legs. Ren Haiyang served as an instructor in the military for ten years and loved disciplining them about rules. At that moment, Ren Yiyong appeared outside the study door. “Talented! Haiyang! Jianjun! Youfa! Come to my study!” Ren Haiyang didn’t hesitate for half a second and hurried into the study. “Tsk, it has to be Second Granduncle—when Second Granduncle calls, even my dad would have to wait to fart,” Ren Dong teased softly. When Ren Youcai walked past Ren Dong, he rapped him on the head. “If your second uncle was calling you, would you waste time farting around? Don’t stand there—drive over and see if Qiao Gui and the others have finished cleaning up the bodies!” “Oh~” Ren Dong puckered his lips, rubbed his still‑aching head, and went outside. Zeng Meimei covered her mouth and snickered as she watched his back. “Silly~” “Ahem!” Zeng Yi cleared his throat loudly, reminding his daughter, “Watch where you’re looking!” Zeng Meimei quickly withdrew her gaze and continued scrolling through her phone. The moment Ren Youcai entered the study, he spotted the rifle on the desk and excitedly rushed over to pick it up, waving it around. “Second Uncle! Did Xiaorou pick this up?” Ren Yiyong nodded and said to his three nephews, “Each of you three gets a rifle and two magazines. Go find a sturdy shoulder bag and carry extra bullets with you. Shooting can easily hurt our own people, so don’t use the guns unless absolutely necessary. Xiaorou has blocked the main roads from the city into our village, but I didn’t have her block the routes to the three neighboring villages. Having a few zombies show up now and then isn’t a bad thing—you can even bring the ladies along to practice!” Jianjun, you and Yongfa must take your wives to go cut down zombies more often. At first you can have Haiyang and the others catch two or three zombies, lock them in a room to practice, and once you’re familiar with them bring them out on the road to fight; Any girl who is sixteen or older, if she’s willing, take her to train with you! If the girls can protect themselves, things will be easier for the rest of you later on!” Ren Jianjun replied, “All right, Second Uncle!” Fang Yongfa said seriously, “Understood, Second Granduncle!” Ren Yiyong pushed the pistol and magazine on the table toward Fang Yongfa: “Yongfa, Rou Rou specifically left this for you. From now on you and Youcai will be on the same shift—let him teach you how to shoot. Rou Rou has already agreed with your wife that the three of you will live in the guest room on the second floor of my house. Go take your wife home now to pack and move over.” “Okay, we’ll go back and pack now.” Fang Yongfa put away the pistol magazine and bullets and left the study. He didn’t waste any pleasantries; he knew this arrangement was best for his wife and children. Ren Yiyong continued to brief his three nephews on precautions: “If outsiders ask about the gun, don’t go out of your way to hide it — just say Rou Rou picked it up on the road; be careful with the mother and daughter surnamed Wen and the girl surnamed Zhang! Mind your waistbands! Don’t let your hormones get the better of you and stick to someone!” “Second uncle, you underestimate us. Are the three of us really such tasteless people? Those three women look to us like a lump of cow dung,” Ren Youcai responded calmly. He stroked his beloved Type 191 assault rifle with complete focus, looking at the gun like a man possessed. Ren Yiyong gave him a disdainful sideways glance and continued, “The current plan is: in a month we’ll follow the rescue team to the coastal base, going by land. The dangers along the way are unknown — the road won’t be packed only with zombies; there will be people fleeing too. It definitely won’t be a smooth journey! By then, we absolutely cannot let the rescue team protect us entirely. We must stay vigilant at all times and be prepared to protect ourselves and the old and young! These days, organize yourselves to train on your own! If there are no zombies near our village, go to the neighboring village to practice on zombies! Strive for everyone to be able to protect themselves!” “Yes! Second Uncle!” the three of them answered in unison. Ren Yiyong instructed his eldest nephew: “Haiyang, have Li Shi and his son-in-law guard the north gate, tell him to train his son-in-law more — the kid only looks weak and gentle! He’s not as fragile as he thinks! He really acts like he has three heads and six arms; with a daughter, grandson, and son-in-law, how could he possibly protect them all by himself?” Ren Haiyang replied, “Okay, I’ll go talk to him now. If Li Shi is too reluctant to let Zhang Jun take risks, I’ll quietly take Zhang Jun out to train.” “Mm, go eat and rest; tonight we’ll go clear the zombies on the south and east routes.” Ren Yiyong waved his hand, signaling his nephews to leave, looking very tired. “All right, Second Uncle!” In the evening, the Wen father and son returned home reeking of blood and filth. As soon as Wen stepped into the house, he angrily kicked off his shoes. “What the hell! You piece of trash! Doing nothing but bossing us around! A coward riding on others’ power! Clearly a good-for-nothing bum! Damn it!” “Enough! Go rest already!” Wen Xiaoqiao handed his nephew a bottle of water and chastised him without mercy. “Look at what you’ve done! In a life-or-death situation like yesterday, you still wanted to do that kind of thing! What rotten nonsense do you have in your head?” Wen Shi awkwardly drank water, not daring to retort a single word. Wen Shi was not even afraid of his parents; what he feared was this seemingly gentle young aunt, Wen Xiaoqiao. The fact that he could make a fortune right after college and drive a luxury car was entirely thanks to the powerful connections Wen Xiaoqiao had handled. —- Chapter 56 Wen Xiaoqiao Wen Xiaoqiao ignored that the Zhang father and daughter were present and, with a fierce look, scolded her nephew, “Are you stupid! Once we get to the official base, you won’t get to sleep with any woman! What’s the rush! At a time like this shouldn’t you save us first! Always worrying about that pair of carrot legs of yours! Can’t go a day without burying them in a hole, or you’d die of discomfort, huh!” The gentle demeanor Wen Xiaoqiao showed in public was nowhere to be seen; now she resembled a man-eating wolf, her face grim and her tone low and cruel. “Idiot! After being in the business world so many years, and you still don’t know where your eyes are! No wonder you get by but never get ahead, only able to drive a hundred-thousand-something car! Can’t even afford a Lamborghini!” Wen Xiaoqiao relentlessly berated her useless nephew, blaming him for ruining her plans. “You useless damn thing! On your first day here I told you not to touch the women in the village! When you’re in front of that old man from the Ren family, act humble and small; if he tells you to go east, don’t go west! That old man is obviously a man who’s seen the world! He’s definitely more useful than Old Man Zeng! Idiot! How did I end up with a nephew as stupid as you!” Wen kept his head low, letting his young aunt insult him. Wen Anni quietly comforted, “Mom, stop scolding, big brother knows he was wrong.” Wen Xiaoqiao gave her a warning look, and Wen Anni immediately shut her mouth. Interrupted by his daughter, Wen Xiaoqiao’s temper cooled a little. He said, “Can’t you see? Old Man Zeng could never agree to his son marrying Annie! Annie can still claim the title of Zeng Han’s fiancée only because Zeng Han, out of guilt, insists on marrying her. Old Man Zeng just can’t find his son — he only lacks the means to separate them for now!” “Once Old Man Zeng and his eldest son see Zeng Han, they’ll pester him every day, try to make him split with Annie. Do you think he can still insist on marrying her? Just wait and see — they’ll break up sooner or later!” Wen Annie was unconcerned, eyes full of disdain: “If it weren’t for seeing that Zeng Han’s older brother is an official — that’s why after leaving the service he could get a post in a government unit — I wouldn’t even fancy him! I’ve met some of his teammates; a few of them have backgrounds far stronger than his! It’s a pity I didn’t get more chances to meet them, otherwise I would have replaced Zeng Han long ago!” “Before I handle that old man named Ren, you better show a bit more respect in front of Old Man Zeng! The world is so chaotic — if he and his eldest son both die, Zeng Han will still marry you! He can’t get away!” A trace of malice flashed in Wen Xiaoqiao’s slightly narrowed eyes. Wen Shi was inwardly doubtful: “Little aunt, are you sure you can handle that old man Ren? His wife just died — I heard he was terrified of his wife; they were affectionate for decades.” Wen Xiaoqiao snorted derisively. “Affectionate? A man who didn’t dare cheat for decades only lets himself go after his wife dies! He’s a clever old man; you can’t rush in to seduce him. First you get close and be his friend; once the old man falls for me, I can do whatever I want with him!” “His granddaughter is really quite pretty.” Wen Shizai unconsciously complimented, an image of Ren Xinrou’s full, alluring figure flashing through his mind. “Shut up! Don’t have designs on his granddaughter! Hear me?” Wen Xiaoqiao pushed her nephew’s forehead hard, warning him: “Don’t ruin my good plans! Fang Yongfa and he aren’t relatives; he can ignore any harm done to Fang Yongfa’s wife. If his granddaughter gets hurt, you might as well die!” Wen Shizai snorted and muttered, “Just talk—why’s Little Aunt in such a hurry?” “If you hadn’t gone kicking Fang Yongfa’s wife’s door, maybe after I deal with Old Man Ren you might still have a chance to court his granddaughter. Now? Don’t even think about it! Always ruining my plans day after day! Idiot!” Wen Xiaoqiao continued to berate her. “Mom, don’t be angry.” Wen Anni looped her arm through her mother’s and acted coy, “Mom, what do you think of that Ren Youcai?” Wen Xiaoqiao gave her daughter a sidelong glance and retorted, “Yesterday you said Fang Yongfa’s domineering CEO style suited your taste — already changed your mind so quickly?” Wen Anni glared at her mischievous older brother and puffed indignantly, “Big brother scared Fang Yongfa’s wife; she’s bound to dislike our whole family now. How could that possibly give me an opening!” Wen Xiaoqiao lectured her daughter, “In this world, don’t get involved with a married man unless he’s a high-ranking leader. Otherwise, steer clear!” “Ren Youcai is a decent person, but I must warn you, he’ll definitely be harder to handle than Zeng Han! Don’t be fooled by his witty talk and careless demeanor — a man like that actually has a hundred tricks you can’t see coming!” Chasing him, you must not rush things. You’re currently holding Zeng Han’s fiancée title, so you mustn’t let him see your intentions. Start as friends, show some vulnerability and act a little devoted—men who’ve served in the military are most susceptible to that… Wen Xiaoqiao imparted her pouch of tips for pursuing men to her daughter. Wen Anni’s friend Zhang Ling sat in the corner, as inconspicuous as air; she bowed her head and listened quietly. She liked Ren Youcai too—what should she do? Meanwhile, Ren Xinrou was driving a big truck on the highway, occasionally passing a few zombies wandering aimlessly. Five more kilometers and she could get off the highway; she noticed a long-distance coach stopped on the roadside in the distance. Ren Xinrou wasn’t driving fast; as the truck passed the coach, she glanced at it several times. The bus doors were open; the inside of the vehicle was empty, with no zombies walking around. On the right side of the coach stood six zombies, facing the baggage compartment door, shouting, licking, and clawing. There are living people in the luggage compartment. Ren Xinrou didn’t want to save anyone. A few hundred meters after the truck left, the six zombies attracted by it returned to the original spot, continuing to roar and paw at the bus’s luggage compartment. A sentence her grandfather had said suddenly flashed through Ren Xinrou’s mind: If we lose our compassion, how are we any different from the zombies? She stepped on the brake and took a coin out of the holder for cups inside the car. “If I flip it three times and get heads twice, I’ll reluctantly help.” Killing six zombies was as easy for her as waving a hand. Since Grandpa hoped she remain kind, it was fine to show a little charity now and then — consider it accruing merit for her descendants. The first toss of the coin came up heads. The second flip was tails. On the third toss, the coin flew onto the front passenger-side floor. Ren Xinrou craned her neck to look and saw the coin standing upright, wedged between the floor mat and the door. “……” Save it or not? Ren Xinrou took another coin from the cup holder, flipped it casually, and it was heads. “Keep your word.” Ren Xinrou shifted into reverse, drove back to the tour bus, got out to take care of the zombies, patted the luggage compartment and shouted, “You’re safe now! Open up, get out quickly!” To make sure the people inside heard her, she called several times, but the luggage compartment remained silent. Ren Xinrou stepped onto the bus; seats and floor were bloodied, and many severed limbs lay scattered about. She had grown accustomed to this rotten, bloody scene. She pressed the luggage compartment door switch and got off to check. “Hm? No one?” There weren’t many things in the luggage compartment; you could see at a glance whether anyone was there. The compartment was divided into two levels. The upper level held a few suitcases; the lower level held several pet cages about half a meter in length, width, and height, emitting a rotting stench. Outside, a cat was locked in a cage, already rotting and oozing corpse fluid. Ren Xinrou straightened up and cautiously scanned both sides of the road; once she was sure there was no danger, she bent down and pushed open the cat cage. “Woof~ mm~” a weak dog sound came from one of the pink cages. Ren Xinrou lifted the pink cage. Inside lay a beige puppy, half-closed eyes, lying thin and barely alive, looking like a native mongrel. There was an automatic water and feeding device in the cage, but the water bottle was empty. After being shut in the car for so many days with no water to drink, the puppy would surely be dehydrated. “If you can survive, follow me afterward — food, lodging, and care for life included.” Ren Xinrou filled the water bottle, placed the cage in the space’s planting area, slipped her fingers into the cage to stroke the little mutt’s head, and encouraged, “Hang in there, little dog.” Ren Xinrou left the space and headed toward the truck. From the luggage compartment behind her came another bark — much more spirited than the little mutt’s. Ren Xinrou turned around and, behind the two pet cages, found the puppy that had been yelping. The little dog wagged its tail, walked unsteadily, its face wrinkled like a little old lady — it was a miniature Pug. Unlike the local mutt, the little Pug’s food bottle was already empty, though there was still quite a bit of water left. They say Pugs eat a lot and get hungry easily. The little fellow staggered as it walked, looking as if it were starved. Ren Xinrou picked up the palm-sized puppy and said disdainfully, “So small — how could you possibly help me with anything?” A full-grown pug reaches at most 28 cm, with short legs, a big appetite, very vocal, and even snores when it sleeps. Ren Xinrou felt she shouldn’t have kept this thing. “Woof~” The little pug lay in Ren Xinrou’s palm, tilting its head and licking her hand. “Don’t lick! That’s filthy!” Ren Xinrou said with a laughing look of disgust. “I feel like you’re more fragile than a little mutt. Oh well, not worth a bite of food — after I keep you in the space, help me herd the cattle.” Ren Xinrou pinched the loose skin on the back of the little pug’s neck, tossed it back into the cage, entered the space, and placed the cage beside the small mutt’s kennel. She poured some food from the little mutt’s food bottle for the little pug. “Looks like I need to make a trip to the veterinary clinic and the pet shop first.” The tour bus was far too filthy and foul-smelling; she originally didn’t want it, but then thought it could be used to block roads and smash zombies, so before leaving she also stored the big bus in the space. The rescue stations were saturated and could not take any more people, so the rescue had to be temporarily halted; only a small portion of Jingling City’s survivors were evacuated. Many residential compounds, communities, and high-rises were surrounded by zombies. The zombies were focused on the residents inside the buildings; there were comparatively few wandering on the streets, and scarcely any near the shops. Ren Xinrou hit the accelerator and sped straight for the pet clinic and the pet supply store. Inside the clinic and the stores, the animals had been eaten and gnawed until only fur remained, and the pets whose cages the zombies hadn’t opened had starved or died of thirst inside them. Ren Xinrou didn’t waste time picking through pet food. Whether it was cat food or dog food, whether it was for puppies, adults, or seniors—she took all of it. “If you dare to be picky and refuse to eat, then you deserve to starve,” Ren Xinrou muttered to herself. Pet treats, cages, toys, grooming supplies, clothing, medicines—she stored all of them away. Some pet medicines could even be used on humans, such as anesthetics and antibiotics. In a past life, medicines were scarce, and countless lives were saved by pet medicine. She continued to run all over Jingling City, not only sweeping the pet shops but also going to the city’s largest home goods mall, collecting a lot of wood-burning stoves and attractive sofas and seats. Along the way were pharmacies, KFC, McDonald’s, cosmetics stores, hotpot restaurants, and supermarkets. She would visit any shop in the area that didn’t have zombies, shopping around and taking things for free. When the acid rain began and the world lost power, food in freezers would rot; rather than let them spoil, she put them into her space to use at her grandfather’s stall. Ren Xinrou spent the whole night sorting and categorizing, stocking up on supplies that could be used for five generations; the space was only one-third occupied. After a day of rest, the little puppy’s spirit recovered a bit; it could lie down and wag its tail, and its bark was no longer as weak as at first. Ren Xinrou changed the cages for the two dogs to large ones two meters long and wide, and replaced their bowls with slightly bigger automatic water and food dispensers; she was worried she might be too busy and forget to feed them. Ren Xinrou gently scratched the foreheads of the two dogs. “Whether you can grow up healthy is up to you.” “Woof woof!” The little pug had completely regained its energy, standing up and pawing at the cage, its little rump wriggling with force and rocking its small body vigorously. Ren Xinrou was amused by the little pug’s adorable appearance. “Wait until the little mutts are sprightly and lively, then I’ll give you nice names.” “Woof woof~” The little pug grinned and stuck out its tiny tongue in response. Ren Xinrou yawned; by the look of the time dawn was almost here. Today’s task was to find a helicopter — sleeping in and missing it would be a problem, so she might as well stay awake. She brewed two cups of Americano and downed them, the drowsiness quickly vanishing. Then she put on striking black makeup and set the GPS for Jingling City Aviation Training Institute. “Later I’ll search for cosmetic companies — brow powder gets used up so fast, I need to go pick up a few tons!” Before the power outage she had to keep a low profile when collecting supplies. If someone snapped a photo of her real face and put it online, it would be a huge hassle. On the way to the training academy, Ren Xinrou always stopped to shop whenever she saw a cosmetics store, walking and lingering; a trip that should have taken an hour took two. The Aviation Institute is in the western suburb development zone of Jingling City; more than thirty years ago this was the only airport in Sichuan Province. Because the airport was too small to meet the needs of social development, it was rebuilt in the area south of the city that connects to Jingling City. The area around the institute used to be farmland; now residential complexes, office buildings, shopping malls, and restaurants have been built nearby. Entering the district where the academy is located, there were no zombies from group activities to be seen; the zombies on the streets were scattered, all moving in the same direction. Ren Xinrou murmured, “I hope you aren’t heading to the aviation academy for the market…” A few minutes later, the truck stopped outside the academy gate; she suspected she might have transmigrated with a supernatural ability book, the ability called “Wishes Not Fulfilled” — the more she dreaded something from happening, the more it would happen. Inside the academy gate was a wide avenue, about three to four hundred meters long, stretching straight to the Administration and Education Building. Outside the Administration and Education Building, dense hordes of zombies faced the teaching building, roaring and howling, shoving and crowding. Ren Xinrou didn’t want to join the commotion. She had mercifully rescued two dogs yesterday; aside from being cute, they were useless, and she would have to spend effort, energy, and supplies to care for them for the rest of their lives. If what you’re saving is a person, even the charm is useless; saving someone is always a loss no matter how you look at it. Ren Xinrou put away the binoculars, drove through the school gate, and turned left onto another road. Undoubtedly, as long as it’s a school, all roads must lead everywhere, able to reach the airstrip she wanted to get to. At the same time, thirteen men in military uniforms stood by the window of the conference room on the second floor of the Political Education Building, watching a red semi-truck turn and disappear. —– Chapter 57: Meeting Brings No Good Chen Jie withdrew his gaze and cursed, “Damn, what are they doing bringing a truck to the school? Are they hauling planes? Boss, what do we do? There are three or five mutant zombies downstairs — sooner or later they’ll break through the gate!” Wen Mufeng touched the stubble on his chin without speaking, his eyes fixed on the school gate three hundred meters away, as if lost in thought. Chen Jie was about to speak when Mo Haiqi patted his shoulder in reassurance: “Don’t worry, the captain will come up with a plan.” Chen Jie was furious. “We’ve been stuck here for a day and a night. The command can’t spare a few boxes of ammunition to send us? I feel like they want us to fend for ourselves and die out.” Chen Jie kicked the meeting room chair hard to vent his emotions: “We do the most dangerous work, eat the worst food, and can’t get enough ammunition—do they think we’re gods?” Wen Mufeng sighed lightly and said, “On the first day the virus spread, every special operations team suffered losses to varying degrees. We’re the only team in the southern sector with full personnel. Our team has thirteen people, nine of whom have abilities. Other special operations teams have a 5-to-1 ratio of non-powered to powered members, but two-thirds of our team have abilities. Before this mission, the command ordered me to give them four of our powered members, and they would assign ten ordinary soldiers to us. I didn’t consult you and directly refused the command’s arrangement. We’ve been through life-and-death situations together for years and have perfect coordination. If a new teammate turned out to be useless, any one of us could die at any time. Because my brother-in-law’s family has some influence, the command leaders can’t do much to me for now.” Chen Jie understood the twists and turns and snapped angrily, “So! They’re deliberately trying to intimidate you—if you don’t obey they’ll find ways to mess with you? Boss, quick, call your brother-in-law, get rid of those bastards in the command center!” The team members all looked toward their captain, excitement written on every face; they all wanted to see the command center take a hit—those years the command center had caused no end of trouble. Wen Mufeng said, “I’ve already called. My brother-in-law will go negotiate, but right now every department is busy, the leaders are swamped every day, and if I don’t cooperate with reallocations it’s my fault;” I can guess the outcome of the negotiation: either they force me to agree to hand over four superpowered teammates and the ammunition resupply will arrive quickly; or we find a way to complete this mission safely ourselves and shut them up. Mo Haiqi asked, “Captain, what are you thinking?” “Our team can’t break up, but in the current situation, getting out intact is almost impossible, moreover we have to take these people with us.” Wen Mufeng looked toward the twenty or so survivors standing against the wall — rescuing them is this mission. “Captain, this rescue mission doesn’t look like one that needs air support. Is it possible that Headquarters deliberately assigned this task to us?” Mo Haiqi asked. Wen Mufeng had also suspected the purpose of being assigned this mission, but after pondering he considered it reasonable for headquarters to have sent them. He explained to the team: “These teachers and students can fly helicopters. The base has aircraft, but pilots are scarce; they are indeed very valuable. As for whether it’s deliberate…” Wen Mufeng thought for a moment and said, “Right now, it’s not the time to fight over the family’s rights at the base. They wouldn’t dare deliberately send us to our deaths.” Vice-captain Zeng Han replied, “Those people at the command center will make trouble sooner or later. The Du family and the Gu family had political conflicts even before the end of the world. Times have changed; once bases are established, bases and those in power will sooner or later fight over supplies and people. Everyone should be aware of that! In short, sticking with the captain might not make you live to a ripe old age, but it will definitely keep your family from starving!” “You understand politics well, but you’re pretty blind about other things.” Wen Mufeng hinted; his teammates all knew what he was referring to. Zeng Han said sullenly, “I just don’t get it! You’ve only seen Annie once, right? Why do you all say she’s no good! Just because she’s a small online celebrity? You can’t judge people with colored glasses on—women who are online celebrities don’t necessarily have messy connections, okay! And if she really is no good, brother, then don’t do it!” Wen Mufeng didn’t try to explain or persuade. Some things and some people must be understood personally; others’ words only add resentment—seeing with your own eyes is more effective. Chen Jie was straightforward and not afraid to offend, bluntly saying, “You can tell a person’s character best by how they act during hotpot! From the moment your fiancée sat down, her eyes weren’t steady!” It’s understandable that she admires our handsome faces and perfect bodies — after all, our team is a star team! But after a meal, she kept prying into our family backgrounds! Don’t tell me you think she’s screening friends for you? It’s obvious she’s “looking for a better match while still riding the donkey”! I’ve seen too many women like that! The moment she meets someone more capable than you, she’ll dump you, and before she dumps you she’ll make up an excuse saying it’s your fault! She’s the type who puts on a righteous show while acting all high and mighty! Chen Jie’s words drew nods of agreement from his teammates. “Nonsense! She’s just curious about soldiers, curious about my friend — what’s wrong with that? Who doesn’t have a curious mind? With you lot it becomes her selecting studs?” Zeng Han shouted. Chen Jie shoved Zeng Han and spat, “Ugh — you’re the stud! When that peacock rides you and dumps you, don’t come crying to us!” Zeng Han shoved back and cursed, “Nonsense! She and I are together forever!” Chen Jie shoved Zeng Han twice more and yelled, “The boss is right — you’re blind!” “You’re the blind one! Your whole family is blind!” 　　…… The two shoved and argued, playing at fighting without using real gunpowder; the teammates were happy to stand by and watch, laughing at the spectacle. Mo Haiqi kept an eye on the situation downstairs and reported immediately when he noticed something off: “Captain! That truck just came toward us!” Everyone gathered at the window to stare at the truck. The truck slowly approached the administration building, mercilessly crushing the zombies. Outside the main entrance on the first floor of the administration building was an open area about five or six meters square, with landscaping on both sides and a few low steps in the middle connecting to the main road. The truck drove to the base of the steps without stopping, revved the engine, and charged up the stairs. The truck’s front was forced to stop about a meter from the building, and the gap was packed with zombies, pressed tightly together; they could only snarl at the truck’s front. The truck could no longer move forward; the truck body was seven meters long, and the rear wheels could only hang suspended on the steps. Fortunately, the gate wasn’t broken. Ren Xinrou climbed from the rear window of the cab onto the cargo area, then up onto the cab. “Hey! African girl! It’s the African girl!” Chen Jie shouted. “African girl! What a coincidence!” Ren Xinrou stood on the truck’s hood looking up at the people on the second floor, feeling uneasy—what a fated entanglement! Every time she encountered these people it cost her dearly; she hoped they weren’t trapped and prayed she wouldn’t have to shed a drop of blood today! Ren Xinrou took a few steps back, sprinted, grabbed the windowsill of the second floor, and nimbly leaped into the meeting room. Wen Mufeng watched her every move; he was certain this woman had received military training. “Girl! How did you get here? Did you hear the rumor that we were in trouble?” “In trouble?” Ren Xinrou’s heart skipped a beat. Of course, what she didn’t want always seemed to come her way. Today, she was determined not to shed a single drop of blood for these people! Chapter 58: Kill a Person with One Word Ren Xinrou glanced at the group of plainclothes people by the wall. “Who are they?” “Reporting, miss — the teachers and students of this school!” Chen Jie answered enthusiastically, then quickly begged, “Sister Feifei, we’ll get on your truck. You take us out of this damn place, okay?” Ren Xinrou nodded. “All right, but you have to wait until I finish what I’m doing.” As long as it didn’t require her to bleed or exert herself, just helping them load out was fine — she’d take the job. The students and teachers looked at Ren Xinrou as if she were the savior. Chen Jie asked, “What did you come to do?” “Looking for the helicopter keys.” Ren Xinrou looked at the survivors and asked, “Who can tell me where the helicopter keys are kept?” A middle-aged teacher pushed up his glasses and said, “On the third floor in the coaches’ office, there’s a large tin box hanging on the wall. The helicopter keys are locked inside it, but the teacher who was in charge of the tin box’s key has turned into a zombie—he’s downstairs.” Ren Xinrou nodded in thanks and walked straight toward the conference room door. Chen Jie blocked her way. “You can’t go out! There are ability zombies outside the door!” Ren Xinrou asked, “It won’t be a speed ability, will it?” After saying it, she spat inwardly—old habits die hard. Chen Jie shook his head and explained, “We can’t be sure there are speed zombies, only that there are two zombies throwing stones, and quite a few regular ones; the strength zombies are downstairs. We used a dozen or so desks to block the main door— they can’t push them aside to get up here for now.” “Uh.” Ren Xinrou replied indifferently, skirted past Chen Jie, and walked toward the conference room door. “After I leave, you lock the door immediately.” Ren Xinrou kindly reminded. “……” The conference room fell deathly silent; everyone thought this woman had gone mad. Only Wen Mufeng believed she would go upstairs alive and come back alive. Chen Jie blocked her path again: “You ran out alone just to get the key? What do you need the helicopter key for?” “To fly the helicopter,” Ren Xinrou answered. Chen Jie awkwardly scratched his head; he felt like he’d just asked a stupid question. “How about—how about you take us with you first, we get the supplies and rush back to help you get the key? It’s dangerous out there.” “Wait a moment, close the door quickly.” Ren Xinrou skirted around Chen Jie and was stopped again. This time the ones blocking her were two young guys, students from the Aviation College. “Miss, are the truck keys in the vehicle?” the tall, thin young man asked. Ren Xinrou immediately understood what this man was thinking. The corner of her mouth lifted slightly. “They’re on me. How about it?” “You give the keys to the soldier; we’ll wait for you to come down and then leave together.” “No.” Ren Xinrou tried to slip past them but was blocked again. Ren Xinrou drew a handgun from the holster at her waist. Wen Mufeng’s eyes flickered — that was his Desert Eagle. “The truck is mine. No one has the right to ask me to leave the keys. Move aside, and you won’t have to die,” Ren Xinrou said coldly, a curl still at the corner of her mouth. Wen Mufeng and the others had witnessed Ren Xinrou kill someone; they believed she really would fire the gun. Zeng Han stepped forward and shouted at the two young men blocking the way, “Don’t be stupid, both of you—get out of the way!” The atmosphere at the scene instantly grew tense. One of the guys immediately backed down; he tugged at the tall, thin youth and urged, “Let her pass.” The tall thin guy was unwillingly pulled away a few steps, then stood back in front of Ren Xinrou. “What if you die out there? What’ll we do? Hand over the keys!” “What you lot do is none of my business,” Ren Xinrou said with the same smile, asking again, “Will you or won’t you?” “No way!” The tall thin guy threw his head back, full of arrogant swagger. “Who are you trying to scare? If you don’t hand over the truck keys, you can’t go anywhere!” “Zeng Han! Pull him back!” Wen Mufeng stood between Ren Xinrou and the tall thin guy, speaking gently, “We’ll take him away; there’s no need to kill anyone.” Ren Xinrou slid her finger off the trigger and withdrew it, keeping it outside the trigger guard. “Is he your relative?” Wen Mufeng answered, “No.” Zeng Han and Chen Jie turned dark-faced and quickly pulled the tall, skinny young man to one side. Both felt a chill down their spines; they had just seen Ren Xinrou’s finger move — if she had delayed another half-second, the trigger would have been pulled. The tall, thin young man shrugged off Zeng Han’s hand, completely unaware of how close he had just come to danger, and shouted, “Why are you holding me back! If she dies, we’ll still be trapped here! We’ll die here! Your political power struggles—do you not care about sacrificing ordinary people’s lives?!” After cursing Zeng Han, he turned and incited the teachers and students: “How many people can the ugly freak’s gun kill? Besides, with so many soldiers here, would she dare to shoot? She’s just trying to scare us! Grab her keys! If we all get her keys, we’ll be saved! We can go home and reunite with our families!” When a person’s life is at stake, it’s hard to stay calm. Many were stirred up by him; more than ten people surged forward together and rushed at Ren Xinrou. Zeng Han took the lead, and his teammates spread their arms to block the crowd. Thirteen soldiers formed a wall like bronze and iron—no one could push them aside. In the urgency, a tall skinny young man swung a fist at Zeng Han. With him leading, others also started fighting the soldiers. Scratching, swinging fists, kicking. The special forces team remained silent and did not fight back; they only tried to reason with them gently. Ren Xinrou smiled; this time, her smile was even colder. She raised her gun and took aim at the crowd, this time not giving Wen Mufeng any chance to stop her. “Bang!” The tall, skinny young man’s thigh was shot. “Ah!” He clutched his leg, his face pale, and collapsed to the ground in pain. The gunshots and the smell of blood made the zombies outside the conference room even more excited, pounding on the door more violently. The restless crowd recoiled in fear, pressing against the walls, not daring to make a sound. Wen Mufeng was about to speak and reason, but Ren Xinrou shot him a cold glance and preempted him: “If you dare say a single word, I’ll kill someone. Do you want to try saying something to see what I’ll do?” “……” Wen Mufeng immediately pressed his lips together, feeling helpless, as if there was nothing he could do with her. Ren Xinrou raised the gun again, aimed at the person who had been the fiercest in attacking the soldier, and coldly offered a sarcastic compliment: “Attacking your lifesaver—well done, everyone!” Several of the attackers immediately raised both hands and begged for mercy: “No! I—I didn’t mean to! I—” “Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!” Ren Xinrou was too lazy to listen to their excuses and shot four of them in the shoulders in rapid succession. Crying, shouting, and pleas for mercy filled the air without pause. Those who hadn’t been shot were filled with panic; they wished they could pass through walls to hide. “So noisy.” No sooner had Ren Xinrou finished speaking than the conference room fell silent. Ren Xinrou squinted, staring at the lanky guy lying on the floor. “Your leg’s injured, you probably can’t hop onto my truck~ You’d slow your teammates down~ Wha~t’s~ to~ be~ do~ne~?” Ren Xinrou playfully stretched out the last syllables. The lanky guy’s eyes, ears, mouth and nose were all trembling; beads of sweat the size of peas rolled down his forehead. He couldn’t tell if it was from pain or fear. He finally understood why those soldiers had dragged him away and stopped him from continuing to block the road. This woman’s gun is not for show! Chapter 59: The Large Machete Seeing the tall thin young man go silent and behave, Ren Xinrou holstered the Desert Eagle, drew the large machete from her back, and walked toward the conference room door, casually tossing out, “I’m opening the door.” “We’ll cover you while you get out,” Wen Mufeng said. Ren Xinrou gave him a cold glance and did not refuse. Chen Jie opened the door, and the zombies outside surged in. Zeng Han and several teammates swept the corridor with gunfire. The gunfire stopped. Ren Xinrou rushed out, swinging a big machete, cutting one after another—fierce and decisive. “Wow, the girl chops zombies even cooler than our boss! So cool I’m about to nosebleed! That machete is awesome! I want a big machete like that too!” Chen Jie’s eyes lit up as he exclaimed with delight. Zeng Hanyu’s tone was full of envy as he explained, “Do you see that piece of red cloth with a bullet hole on the handle? This is the big saber owned by members of the broadsword corps formed during the anti-Japanese resistance! The broadsword that killed the Japanese! I’m sure this one in her hand is definitely not a market-made replica! My dad said that only the strongest warriors could carry those big broadswords into battle. Back then, only five hundred warriors qualified to carry such blades; after the war, only twenty-some survived! But those five hundred soldiers killed more than twenty thousand of the old Japanese! Even those with guns didn’t kill as many as they did! After the liberation, the big broadswords had to be turned over to the state, unless…” “Unless what?” Chen Jie exclaimed. Zeng Han replied, “Only if the grandfather, father, and grandson are all soldiers, and all three generations hold at least the rank of major, can a large broadsword be kept as a family heirloom. As far as I know, only two people have kept such broadswords so far: one is the old man of the Gu family, and the other is the Ren family. The Ren family has two large broadswords, one more than the Gu family!” “So, Feifei might come from one of those two families? She’s a major? A female major from which unit?” Chen Jie’s eyes lit up. “That’s amazing! I must latch onto her!” Thirteen special ops team members squeezed into the doorway, staring dumbfounded as Ren Xinrou fought her way to the stairwell turn. “Close the door, don’t lock it, I’ll be right back!” Ren Xinrou shouted. Wen Mufeng directed the team members to clear the corpses at the door and shut it. “Boss, are we really not going to help?” Chen Jie asked. Mo Haiqi looked at Chen Jie as if he were an idiot. “Look at her like that—does she seem like someone who needs help? The ones who need help right now are us!” Chen Jie touched his nose and gave a goofy chuckle. Wen Mufeng pointed at the injured survivors and ordered, “Haichi, Zitao! Go help them stop the bleeding and bandage them!” “You, how could you let her shoot! She was going to gun us down! And you helped her! You should have executed her!” The tall, thin young man clutched his wound and roared. Zeng Han, who had just been punched by him and couldn’t fight back, was still fuming and snapped, “Who insisted on getting in the way? We couldn’t stop them even if we wanted to! How dare you blame others? If you didn’t get a bullet to the head, you’d better be sneaking a laugh!” Wen Mufeng motioned for Zeng Han to shut up. “Once you put them on the plane it’s none of our business. Pack up; you go call the helicopter and confirm the boarding location and time.” The tall, thin young man howled, “You have no discipline! You break all the rules! We’ll definitely report this to higher-ups! We’ll report you until you can’t stay in the military!” “If I hadn’t already enlisted and had a duty to fulfill, do you think we’d be happy to risk our lives for ungrateful bastards? Our lives don’t count! Idiot, go ahead and report us! I’d be glad to be a free-lunch survivor!” Chen Jie yelled angrily. Mo Haiqi patted Chen Jie’s shoulder and comforted him, “Why waste words on people like that? Save your energy — we might have to hack at zombies in a bit.” “Everyone, count how much ammunition you have left! Report the numbers in five minutes!” Wen Mufeng ordered. At that moment, the conference room door handle suddenly began to turn. Wen Mufeng raised his gun and took aim. Zombies don’t know how to unlock doors, but it’s possible they could stumble through by accident. Ren Xinrou opened the door and saw Wen Mufeng’s gun pointed at her. She said calmly, “You have to kill me with one shot. If there’s so much as a breath left, I’ll turn and kill you.” Wen Mufeng lowered the gun and, looking slightly embarrassed, explained, “I thought it was a zombie.” “Oh.” Ren Xinrou closed the door and walked straight to the window, looking down, “Where are you being taken?” Wen Mufeng replied, “Academy airport. The special forces helicopter will arrive in twenty minutes.” “Hmm.” Ren Xinrou made a light sound of agreement, arms folded across her chest, leaning sideways against the window as she counted how many superpowered zombies were downstairs. The academy’s teachers and students pressed their backs to the wall, staring at Ren Xinrou with wary eyes. Wen Mufeng gazed at Ren Xinrou’s profile; looking closely, the dark-skinned girl before him wasn’t at all ugly, just a bit darker. Ren Xinrou suddenly turned her face, and her eyes met his gaze. Caught peeking, Wen Mufeng felt awkward and flustered; he couldn’t decide whether to turn away or not, so he forced a calm expression and gave her a slight smile. Ren Xinrou stared blankly at this man who was almost excessively handsome, then grew curious. “What’s your name?” “Wen Mufeng.” “Wen Mufeng… Wen Mufeng…” Ren Xinrou murmured softly. She remembered this name appearing in the book. Wen Mufeng was a character with pitifully little screen time, not even worthy of being called a supporting role, but he was somewhat special. The male lead often mentioned the name Wen Mufeng; the two of them fought together countless times before and after the apocalypse. Wen Mufeng had the backing of the Gu family; his elder sister was married into the Gu family. Three years after the apocalypse, the Gu family was nearly wiped off the political stage by a plot from the main villain’s family. By chance, Wen Mufeng avenged his teammates and brother-in-law, slaughtering three generations of the villainous family’s descendants, which allowed the Gu family to regain its standing on the political stage. The ending of Wen Mufeng was brushed off by the author with just one line, and it came from the male lead: “I don’t know where that guy Wen Mufeng wandered off to; I still owe him a hotpot.” Ren Xinrou quickly flipped through the fragments in her mind that recorded Wen Mufeng, summarizing his storyline. Four months into the apocalypse, his teammates and his brother-in-law were shot dead by a group of private soldiers; of the thirteen people on the team including him, only three survived. A year later, his elder sister missed her husband so much that she fell into depression and committed suicide, jumping from a building while holding her infant son in swaddling clothes. Wen Mufeng lost his last relative and, bent only on revenge, chose to leave the army and wander alone; what he did while wandering is not recorded in the book. Most of the content about Wen Mufeng comes from things the male and female leads mentioned in conversations “afterwards.” Wen Mufeng is the male and female leads’ “dessert after the meal.” Ren Xinrou turned her face and looked at Wen Mufeng again; this excessively handsome man actually had some guts. Wen Mufeng met her eyes, and Ren Xinrou inexplicably cast him a look of appreciation, which left him a little at a loss; his heart pounded fiercely a few times. Wen Mufeng fixed his gaze on Ren Xinrou’s expression—there was only indifference in her eyes. Could he have seen it wrong? At that moment, Zeng Han reported, “Captain, the ammunition count is complete!” Wen Mufeng, upright and righteous, shouted, “Call the roll!” “27 shots!” “12 shots!” “20 shots!” “6 shots!” “14 rounds!” “8 rounds!” 　　…… When the counting ended, the most anyone had was 27 rounds of ammo, and the least was 0 rounds. “Captain, the hundreds of zombies downstairs will definitely follow the car…” Zeng Han began, then trailed off. Wen Mufeng looked distraught; together they didn’t even have two hundred bullets, so they could only fight at close quarters. Ren Xinrou’s gaze shifted from Wen Mufeng to Zeng Han. “I heard Wen Mufeng just call you Zeng Han? Do you have an older brother named Zeng Yi?” “Yes, how do you know?” Zeng Han asked puzzled. “A few days ago I saw an internet celebrity called Annie bragging online that her eldest brother is named Zeng Yi and her second brother is Zeng Han, both high-ranking officers in the military.” Ren Xinrou didn’t think it through; she just blurted out the smooth-sounding story. Grandfather gets rid of people he doesn’t like, by any means necessary. “……” Zeng Han had no reason to doubt that Ren Xinrou was lying. There was no grudge between Ren Xinrou and him, and they didn’t even know each other; she had no reason to deceive him. His emotional intelligence might be low, but that didn’t mean he was stupid. He was clearly Annie’s fiancé, yet was called her second brother—what did that mean? Sima Zhao’s ambitions are obvious to everyone. Zeng Han’s face darkened. Chapter 60: Send the Buddha All the Way to the West “Clack clack clack.” The sound of the helicopter thundered across the campus. The radio on Wen Mufeng’s chest crackled with the helicopter pilot’s report, “Captain Wen, the helicopter has landed at the designated location and is waiting for you to board.” Wen Mufeng replied, “Received!” The helicopter pilot called again: “Captain Wen, the CH-47 has been reassigned to another mission. Right now we only have two Z-20 helicopters, with a total capacity of 30 armed personnel.” Chen Jie from the Z-20 snapped back in anger, “What the hell! One CH-47 could have taken everyone. Why are we being given two small helicopters! There are 23 survivors alone! Including the pilot and co-pilot, we can only take five people up? What about the other eight! Are they supposed to sprout wings and fly back themselves?!” A thin flash of anger also crossed Wen Mufeng’s face; if he still couldn’t see that someone was deliberately targeting them, then he would be a fool. “The Z-20 has a high load capacity; adding a couple more people won’t be a problem,” Wen Mufeng quickly suppressed his bad mood and turned to the teachers and students, asking, “Who’s willing to pilot the school’s helicopters to take us or your classmates away? We only need two pilots to fly one six-person aircraft.” No one answered. Chen Jie was instantly furious and shouted at the survivors, “Damn it! The higher-ups sent us to rescue you because you can fly planes! Now that we conscript you, each of you plays dead! Want free government rations? Dream on! Boss! Don’t bother about whether they live or die! There’s no use bringing these people back!” Teachers and students were emotionally charged. One teacher loudly retorted, “We haven’t eaten for days—where would we find the strength to fly a plane!” “They put strength into pushing and hitting us just now! Do we suddenly have no strength to pull levers, press buttons, or turn the wheel?” Chen Jie snapped. “So damn hypocritical! Cowards!” Every time Ren Xinrou heard Chen Jie speak, she thought of Sixth Uncle from her previous life—their temperaments were so similar: rough men who are tough-mouthed but soft-hearted. They could curse all they wanted, but they couldn’t bring themselves to abandon survivors. “Let’s go. I can fly a plane. Arrange four or five soldiers to come with me.” The implication was she didn’t want to carry the survivors. Ren Xinrou braced her hands on the windowsill ready to jump, then turned to Wen Mufeng and said, “Captain Wen, you go down with me first.” Wen Mufeng followed Ren Xinrou, jumping onto the truck’s hood one after the other, then jumped into the truck bed after her. Ren Xinrou asked, “Does anyone on your team have spatial abilities?” Wen Mufeng answered, “Yes.” Ren Xinrou took a box of blood vials out of space. “I’ll head in the opposite direction of the airport and scout the zombies. After my vehicle accelerates, you guys throw the blood vials at the zombies’ heads. Remember, throw them spread out — that can hold back most of the zombies’ advance.” Between giving Wen Mufeng ammunition and blood, she chose blood. She had an inexhaustible supply of blood; ammunition was one less with each shot. They promised not to spill blood today, and yet they so quickly contradicted themselves — it makes me furious just thinking about it; whenever we run into these “poor people” nothing good ever happens. Ren Xinrou’s expression grew even colder; she climbed back into the driver’s seat by herself and waited for the others to get in. Wen Mufeng had the words of thanks stuck in his throat, which at last turned into a bitter laugh. The car’s front bumper was one meter from the building. Jumping from the second floor to the hood — a one-meter gap isn’t far, but even so many people were timid, hesitating and afraid to jump. The zombies snarled in the cramped space; psychologically, a one-meter distance felt like an insurmountable chasm. Ren Xinrou started the car and shouted out the window, “I’ll only wait one minute!” Her voice was clear and pleasant, but her tone was chillingly cold. Everyone had seen her decisive manner; no one dared challenge her limits again. One, two, three… one after another they gritted their teeth, closed their eyes, and leaped from the car as if fighting for their lives. Ren Xinrou never looked down on people who were afraid; she only despised those who, terrified for their own lives, tried to drag innocent people to die with them. Chen Jie climbed in through the rear window, sat in the passenger seat, raised his hands forward, and said, “Feifei girl, come at me~” Ren Xinrou’s mouth curled slightly, she put the car into reverse and slowly backed up. The more you are in a dangerous situation, the more you need patience to listen, to look, to observe. The truck easily mashed zombies into a pulp, but if there were too many zombies behind the wheels, you couldn’t expect the truck to crush them all quickly. Once the truck’s wheels get jammed by bones, the consequences are unpredictable. The truck slowly inched backward, sometimes reversing, sometimes pausing. The survivors in the carriage dared to be angry but not speak; they could only whisper and complain to one another. The special forces members were all on high alert; they knew very well that the truck’s repeated stops meant the situation was worse than they had imagined. The passengers couldn’t grasp the predicament at that moment; only the driver could feel the pressure the zombies were putting on the truck. Wen Mufeng climbed into the back seat through the rear window and asked softly, “Do you want me to drive?” “Are you implying that I can’t do it?” Ren Xinrou retorted. Wen Mufeng saw Ren Xinrou’s usual indifferent expression in the rearview mirror and wasn’t sure whether she was angry. He felt a sudden, inexplicable flutter of panic and hurried to explain, “No! I just thought that if you keep pressing the clutch, your foot will get tired! I don’t want your foot to get tired!” Actually that wasn’t the main reason he was covering the shift; he felt bad that a group of men did nothing while making a girl work hard. Wen Mufeng’s tongue almost tied itself in knots; it was the first time he’d experienced the feeling of being so flustered he couldn’t think straight. Why did he say that? Chapter 61: Escorting the Buddha as Far as the West 2 Ren Xinrou focused on driving, as if she hadn’t heard what he’d just said. The atmosphere in the cab instantly turned awkward. Chen Jie’s eyes widened. He turned to Wen Mufeng and quietly asked, “Boss, are you okay?” Out of his mind? Over the years, all kinds of female soldiers had wanted to marry into their unit; their boss was one of the most coveted men among the women. Yet no matter how beautiful the female soldiers who approached him were, the boss always acted as if he didn’t see them, responding with cold indifference each time. So it turned out—he actually liked a woman of that type? Chen Jie considered the possibility and his expression flickered wildly, shocked and bewildered. He admired the African woman’s fierceness and capability, but her pitch-black, indistinct features… were really off-putting. Wen Mufeng cleared his throat, trying to hide his embarrassment. “I’m fine.” After saying that, he climbed back into the cabin. The truck finally broke through the ring of zombies. Ren Xinrou accelerated and turned, keeping just a hair faster than the zombies and honking now and then to guide them and keep them from falling behind. “Why don’t you drive faster and get us out of here! Are you taking a bunch of zombies with us to board the plane?!” “She’s doing this on purpose!” “She’s trying to drag us to our deaths! Ugliness! Filth!” The survivors panicked; they couldn’t understand Ren Xinrou’s maneuver and shouted angrily, many of them egged on to curse at her. Wen Mufeng’s face turned terrifyingly dark. In a cold voice he ordered his team, “If anyone says another word, throw them out of the vehicle!” “Yes!” At that moment the soldiers’ loud, stern voices no longer inspired respect; everyone felt only fear and chill. Following the plan, Ren Xinrou led the zombies to drive in the opposite direction from the grounded airport. Before accelerating to leave the zombies behind, Ren Xinrou told Chen Jie, “Call your team leader and toss out the blood vials.” The special-ops men began throwing blood vials onto the zombies’ heads, effectively slowing the zombie herd’s pace relative to the vehicle. Only then did the teachers and students on the truck finally realize what was happening. The person who had started cursing Ren Xinrou earlier had merely curled his lips, with not a hint of shame on his face. The two helicopters that had come to pick them up had been parked at the airport for a long time, kept in start-ready mode, and had already attracted dozens of zombies encircling them. Wen Mufeng led the special-ops team to disembark first, using machetes to deal with the zombies and directing the survivors to board the helicopters. The survivors, panicked and stumbling, finally boarded the aircraft. The zombie herd that had been shaken off by the truck had already appeared on the road outside the airfield, howling and rushing toward them. Wen Mufeng, Chen Jie, Qi Bing, Mo Haiqi and his brother Mo Haiyan boarded the academy’s civilian helicopter with Ren Xinrou. After taking her seat in the cockpit, Ren Xinrou glanced at the other dozen or so four- and six-seat helicopters parked in the airport and cursed herself for being stupid. She had come here once before and searched the nearby warehouses but hadn’t found the keys, so she hadn’t stored the helicopters in space; she had thought she could find the keys first and then come back for them later. After all, helicopters aren’t like trucks or buses—blocking the road doesn’t stop them. Without finding the keys she simply hadn’t been motivated to collect them. And now there were other people around, so she couldn’t collect them anyway. One consolation: there were four 35-ton aviation fuel tankers parked in the warehouse, and she took those. She went to the third floor to look for keys. In the cabinet were only two keys for six-seat helicopters and one key for a four-seater. She guessed that the teachers and students had grabbed the keys during their escape but had no time to start the aircraft. Starting a helicopter takes five to ten minutes; the rotors must reach a certain speed before it can take off. The military’s two helicopters had already left. 　　A thousand zombies were running toward the helicopter where Ren Xinrou sat. The engines had been on for less than two minutes when the zombies had already surrounded the aircraft. “Crack! Crack!” Small stones struck the helicopter windows. “Bam!” Another loud bang—this time the helicopter door was being battered by a super-strong zombie. The fuselage of the six-seater helicopter was only two meters high; those inside could see the grotesque halves of the zombies’ faces. “How much longer until takeoff?” Wen Mufeng asked through the headset from the co-pilot seat. Ren Xinrou glanced at the display and replied calmly, “Five minutes.” “Click!” The four warriors in the back simultaneously chambered their rounds, ready to meet any superpowered zombie that broke through the windows. The helicopter’s fuselage material had strong compressive strength, and the windows were aircraft acrylic glass. Aircraft glass’s resistance to compression, bending, and impact is higher than ordinary acrylic. An ordinary person’s fist couldn’t move it an inch. The palm strike of a superpowered zombie could flatten a skull, and after being struck repeatedly the window began to spiderweb with tiny cracks. Ren Xinrou saw the ice-like cracks forming on the glass; her expression turned cold and she said through gritted teeth, “This is my helicopter!” Wen Mufeng tried to reassure her: “Broken glass can be repaired—Jingmen command has aircraft technicians.” Ren Xinrou asked, “Aren’t you going to Chong City?” Wen Mufeng apologized: “Sorry, I forgot to tell you—we’re flying to Jingmen.” “This helicopter can only fly 610 kilometers,” Ren Xinrou reminded him. Wen Mufeng met Ren Xinrou’s cold, dark eyes without flinching and answered earnestly, “It’s only 587 kilometers from here to the Jingmen command.” Ren Xinrou’s eyes flickered; she stared blankly into Wen Mufeng’s deep gaze and said nothing. Wen Mufeng likewise held her bright eyes calmly, lips pressed together, silent. They seemed to be quietly testing each other. The four men in the back grew inexplicably tense; they exchanged glances and all worried about the same thing. They communicated silently with their eyes. Chen Jie raised an eyebrow: ‘Is the African girl going to throw us out?’ Mo Haiqi shook his head: ‘No.’ Qi Bing nodded: ‘I think it’s possible.’ Mo Haiyan shrugged: ‘What to do! Chen Jie, go talk some sense into her!’ Chen Jie recoiled: ‘I don’t dare! You go!’ “Crack! Crack!” A shard of glass fell from the webbed window onto the floor of the backseat, interrupting their conversation. Ren Xinrou glanced at the tachometer—still not ready for takeoff. She turned to the people in the back and said, “I won’t die with you.” Her tone was flat, revealing nothing. “……” The four looked at each other, not fully understanding the deeper meaning of Ren Xinrou’s words—maybe she didn’t mean anything in particular? A flash of urgency flickered across Wen Mufeng’s composed face; he turned to his team and ordered, “Watch the rear window! Not a single zombie gets in!” He understood what the dark-skinned girl meant. She could sacrifice everyone’s lives for her own. “Thud!” No sooner had Wen Mufeng finished speaking than a super-strong zombie’s hand smashed through the glass and reached for Chen Jie sitting by the window. The seats weren’t flush with the window; the zombie only grazed Chen Jie’s sleeve, and he dodged. For now the glass had been breached by a single hole, but in the next second… “Thud! Thud!” The hole in the glass grew larger and larger. Shards around the opening scraped the zombie’s arm; dark red flesh and skin clung to them. Unfeeling, the zombie kept grinding at the hole, and then another hand reached in. “Bang!”Chen Jie stuck the muzzle out of the opening and aimed for the zombie’s brow, firing a shot. The power zombie toppled, and immediately another zombie’s upper body crashed through the shattered glass, wrecking the right rear window. “Bang! Bang!” Two more zombies were killed in quick succession. Before the zombies hit the ground, Mo Haiqi and Chen Jie quickly grabbed their bodies and hung them on the windowsill to temporarily block the attacking zombies behind. A hairline crack appeared in the co-pilot’s window. Wen Mufeng pressed his muzzle against the glass, ready to shoot at any moment. Suddenly the body jolted. Ren Xinrou pulled the collective, and the helicopter slowly rose from the ground. At the same time the glass on the other side of the rear seat was breached; zombies scrambled to the window, clawing at the people in the back. “Beep! Beep! Beep!” The console screen sounded a red alert. “Overloaded! Throw the bodies out!” Ren Xinrou shouted. Chen Jie’s group acted fast; before she finished speaking, the zombies had already been killed and shoved out. But more zombies immediately filled the gap, hanging on the sill and crawling inside. Chapter 62 Deliver Buddha to the West 3 The helicopter’s skids thudded as they touched down. Just as everyone’s nerves tightened, the helicopter suddenly surged upward. One zombie whose upper body had been hanging on the sill suddenly kicked hard with its feet and lunged into the cabin. Chen Jie reacted instantly, stamping down on its head, plunging his dagger into its skull and tossing it out of the helicopter. As the helicopter climbed higher, the wind rushing into the cabin grew stronger; crumbs of glass that hadn’t fallen yet trembled, ready to be whipped inside at any moment. At a kilometer up, the wind could drive glass into flesh. Ren Xinrou shouted, “Fasten your seatbelts! Put on goggles, I’m going to open the door!” The people in the back pressed against their seats, buckled up and clutched the armrests. Ren Xinrou was furious now. Earlier at the airport she had been cheerfully thinking this one plane would last her a long time—no need to return to the academy and outwit a thousand zombies. Instead, she wanted to curse her ancestors. After delivering this bunch of Buddhas, she still had to fly this wreck 587 kilometers back to the academy to retrieve a plane! Wen Mufeng glanced at Ren Xinrou’s profile from time to time; he could feel her anger. He hadn’t deliberately failed to tell her about flying to another base—he didn’t expect the Black girl to volunteer to take them, and he hadn’t had time to remember to tell her. Any explanation stuck in his throat; she probably wouldn’t care to hear it. Through the headset Wen Mufeng said, “Ms. Liu, you can drop us off somewhere outside the base. You don’t need to risk running out of fuel to take us into the base.” Ren Xinrou turned her head and stared at him in puzzlement for a few seconds before remembering that when they met at the hospital she had lied and said her name was Liu Fei. She looked into Wen Mufeng’s clear, shimmering eyes, which flickered. Her tone was teasing with a chill: “First, don’t call me Ms. Liu—call me Big Beauty! Second, if I drop you somewhere else, who will fix my plane? Do I get the zombies to fix it for me? Also, handsome, I’ve flown you more than five hundred kilometers—where am I supposed to refuel to get home? My plane runs on aviation fuel, not the gasoline or diesel from a gas station.” Wen Mufeng realized his earlier politeness had been ridiculous and cleared his throat a few times. “Sorry, I forgot about that.” He found that when facing the Black girl he always forgot to think things through. Ren Xinrou’s voice was cold and faint: “How come you didn’t forget to bring your head out with you?” “…… ” Wen Mufeng could only laugh and cry. 　　He was a battalion commander, brave and battle-hardened, wearer of countless medals, two-term Special Forces King — and yet he had no idea how to handle a girl whose height reached only to his chest. The four team members in the backseat chatted with their eyes again. Chen Jie: “Doesn’t it feel like the boss has gone stupid?” Mo Haiqi: “It’s just hypoxia from the high altitude.” Qi Bing: “The captain wouldn’t fall for this short black girl, would he?” Mo Haiyan opened his eyes wide: “How is that possible?!” Chen Jie stroked his chin, gave the three a look and raised an eyebrow confidently: “The boss could really like a woman of this type.” Mo Haiqi, Qi Bing, and Mo Haiyan all glared at Chen Jie: “You’re the one with altitude hypoxia!” Chen Jie sneered, raised his chin, and wore an expression that said, just wait and see. “Impossible!” The three of them showed the same expression, looking down on Chen Jie’s guess. Two hours later, the helicopter reached the airspace above Jingmen Command; the fuel gauge was already blinking low. Wen Mufeng contacted the base air traffic control by radio. “Calling Jingmen Control, this is Captain Wen Mufeng of the Qilang Special Operations Team. I’m returning to base with some team members on a civilian helicopter requesting landing instructions. Please respond!” After calling three times in a row, the control finally replied: “Captain Wen, currently there are no empty aprons at the airport. Please descend to outside the base! Please confirm receipt!” Ren Xinrou raised her hand to signal Wen Mufeng to be quiet. She activated the comm: “I’ll give you one minute to arrange personnel to light the guide lamps to direct my helicopter to land! Give me an answer within ten seconds, or I’ll park this helicopter on top of you! Do not try to play deaf!” She had seen enough political fights in her previous life — the more vicious the schemers, the more they valued their lives; they’d play dirty but not risk dying. … Wen Mufeng and the four team members in the backseat felt mixed emotions. They worried she might spark a dispute, but they also felt a certain satisfaction at her threat. Hearing the airport’s response, everyone scented both overt and covert schemes. They didn’t expect anyone would want them dead out there; more likely, the base wanted Wen Mufeng to soften his stance. Wen Mufeng’s unit had many esoteric-ability members, and the resentment went beyond simple jealousy. Whichever base leadership they followed, his combat unit represented the Gu family’s influence. People were already impatient to seize manpower and power early. Wen Mufeng looked coldly down at the ground several hundred meters below. He took out the team’s radio and urgently called the deputy captain who had already landed, Zeng Han: “Zeng Han! In one minute! Get the signal lights and direct our aircraft to land!” “Copy! Copy! We can have the landing ready in a minute!” Zeng Han and the other team members had been waiting at the airport after disembarking. From years of cooperation, he could tell by Wen Mufeng’s tone something was wrong and quickly ordered men to grab the guide lights and find a spot to signal. “What are you doing! Give us back the signaling wands! You’re not the air-traffic personnel! Plane landings must be directed by us!” the airport staff shouted. Zeng Han didn’t bother arguing. He shoved past the blockers and quickly secured a patch of ground. He ignited a smoke flare and waved it; the white smoke would let the pilots clearly see the landing position. Airport security and the air-traffic team charged toward them. Wen Mufeng’s men raised their guns and surrounded the perimeter of the chosen area. They ignored the intimidation from the security team; anyone who came within two meters of them received warning shots aimed at their feet in tacit coordination. Chapter 63: Provocation Three minutes later, Ren Xinrou piloted the helicopter and landed smoothly on the cleared patch. A few minutes later and the helicopter’s fuel would have been completely gone — the outcome would have been predictable. 　　She didn’t want to be buried with this bunch of poor devils. The helicopter had just landed when Wen Mufeng jumped out with four team members to negotiate with the security command team. Voices rose into a bitter quarrel while the helicopter’s rotor blades kept coasting; the clack of the rotors masked their words. Only when the blades stopped did Ren Xinrou drink her fill, unfasten her seatbelt, jump out, and casually open the fuel tank valve. Her features were dark and unreadable, giving no hint of her mood. She shut the door with force, and the way she walked carried a hint of ruthlessness. Wen Mufeng’s team had landed without orders, force-landing at a military airfield, and Huang Guojun, head of the Jingmen command, was furious when he found out. He believed Wen Mufeng’s actions undermined his authority and stormed to the airfield to arrest them. Qin Hai, the deputy head of the Jingmen command, was the brother-in-law of the eldest son of the Gu family — the Gu family had his back. When Minister Huang ran out of his office, Qin Hai immediately received word. He hurriedly took a contingent and followed Huang to the airfield. Wen Mufeng was the little brother-in-law of the Gu family’s eldest grandson; they were on the same side, and he had to protect Wen Mufeng’s team. When Qin Hai and Huang Guojun arrived at the airfield they found both parties pointing guns at each other, trigger ready—an explosive standoff. Huang Guojun bellowed, “Drop your weapons! Wen Mufeng! What kind of captain are you? Trying to start a civil war? Wanting to be discharged early, is that it?” Ren Xinrou spoke evenly to Huang, “Leader, right? Shut your mouth for now and fix my problem. You can go about your internal divisive dirty business afterwards.” “…” Wen Mufeng really wanted to grab the troublemaking dark-skinned girl by the collar and kick her back to Jingling City. If she hadn’t pointed a gun at the airfield staff right after stepping off the helicopter and threatened them to fix her aircraft and fill the tank, they wouldn’t have pointed guns at her—and his men wouldn’t have aimed theirs back. His men had only seen her three times, yet now they acted like her subordinates. Wen Mufeng had already forgotten that when he saw someone point a gun at Ren Xinrou, he was actually the fastest to raise his own. Ren Xinrou glanced at Wen Mufeng, who looked helpless, and lightly lifted her chin as if to say: what are you looking at? She’d raised her gun because the other side’s arrogance pushed her already bad mood to the breaking point—not because she wanted to make trouble. Huang Guojun roared, “Who do you think you are, pointing a gun at my people? Do you think I won’t have you shot on the spot?” Ren Xinrou gave him a cold look and snorted dismissively, “Your rank doesn’t entitle you to know who I am! Your rank doesn’t entitle you to shoot me! Do your people the favor of fixing my plane window and filling the tank! After that, whatever you and Captain Wen want to do—bite, gnaw, or lick each other—has nothing to do with me!” “…” Bite what? Wen Mufeng shivered. Huang Guojun ordered the guards, “Arrest her!” Qin Hai raised his hand and shouted, “Stop!” For a moment the guards didn’t know whom to obey and stayed still, waiting for Huang to give another order. Annoyed by Qin Hai’s interruption, Huang sneered, “Deputy Director, outsiders might be fooled into thinking you’re the commanding officer! I’m the deputy!” Qin Hai gave a short laugh and didn’t take the bait. He explained, “Minister Huang, I heard that if it weren’t for this—” Qin Hai looked at Ren Xinrou’s dark features, paused for two seconds, then continued, “—this little girl’s help, more than twenty pilots and Mu Feng’s team would have died in Jingling City! She volunteered to fly the plane to bring our soldiers back safely. Are we supposed to be ungrateful and arrest and execute her?””This behavior makes us look ungrateful!” Before Huang Guojun could speak, Qin Hai quickly and politely persuaded, “She just said she only needs us to fix the plane window and fill up the tank, then she’ll leave! After all the trouble she went through, such small requests aren’t excessive, right, Minister Huang?” After speaking, Qin Hai hurried forward a few steps, stood between the two sides, waved his hands up and down and ordered, “Everyone put your guns down! Don’t ever point your muzzles at our own people! Hear me?” “Yes!” Wen Mufeng’s special forces men were the first to respond and lowered their weapons. Only after the others lowered their guns did Ren Xinrou put the Desert Eagle back in its holster. Qin Hai had noticed the Desert Eagle in her hand earlier — this gold-trimmed Desert Eagle wasn’t a common model. The United Nations holds an International Joint Counterterrorism Competition every four years. The contest has team and individual events; there are eighteen individual tests, and only soldiers who place first in more than ten of them can obtain this pistol. So far, only three people in the world have ever possessed this gun. It is not just a personal honor but a representation of national pride. Qin Hai looked at Wen Mufeng and saw his gaze fixed on the dark-skinned girl. Qin Hai seemed to understand something, let out an enlightened chuckle, and imagined a melodrama; he instructed the guards, “Take them and get the girl’s plane repaired and fully refueled as soon as possible.” “No need to repair!” Ren Xinrou patted Chen Jie on the shoulder and instructed him, “You watch them. Help my plane get fully refueled. Don’t let their hands touch my plane. Remember, they must not touch any part — only refuel!” Her meaning was clear: she didn’t trust others. Chen Jie felt inexplicably proud to be trusted by the African girl. He slung his rifle on his shoulder with one hand, strode out with an unrelenting gait, pointed at the airport staff and ordered, “Let’s go, fill the tank!” Qin Hai immediately intervened with a flurry of chatter, leaving Huang Guojun frustrated and at a loss. The opportune moment had passed; it was no longer appropriate for him to order a punishment of this arrogant dark-skinned woman. However, Huang Guojun wasn’t willing to let Wen Mufeng off easily. “Captain Wen! Why didn’t you follow orders and park the plane outside the base?” “I was flying the plane. You should be asking me.” Ren Xinrou stepped forward a few paces, placing herself in front of Wen Mufeng, and stared coldly at Huang Guojun. She had a bellyful of anger to vent and was certain Huang Guojun was an ideal scapegoat; someone like him, if not dealt with early, would only get worse. She intended to rid the army of this pest! Most importantly, anyone who wanted her dead should go die quickly! Wen Mufeng mistakenly thought Ren Xinrou was protecting him. At that moment, a warmth flowed through his chest. He and his elder sister had depended on each other for years; after their parents died, apart from his sister, no other woman had ever protected him. He grabbed Ren Xinrou’s arm and gently pulled her behind him. He didn’t notice the puzzled expression on her face. “Minister Huang, the helicopter’s fuel tank is nearly empty; there isn’t time to search for a suitable landing spot outside the base!” Wen Mufeng declared with righteous loftiness. “So you can disobey orders, can you!” Huang Guojun shouted forcefully, “Disregarding discipline! I now order you to temporarily stop leading the team…” Qin Hai was about to stop Huang Guojun from continuing when Ren Xinrou cut him off first, “Shut up! Be quiet! Put your affairs aside! Solve my problem first!” Chapter 64: If You Dare Harm Me, Then Go Die Ren Xinrou stepped in front of Wen Mufeng again. Her back was only two fists’ distance from Wen Mufeng’s chest; he could smell the faint fragrance wafting from her. 　　He thought it was body scent or perfume, but it was actually the smell of eyebrow powder. Huang Guojun’s face flushed, and he angrily cursed, “You little brat! This isn’t the first time you’ve cut me off! Shameless! Don’t you want to live anymore? Come here and act wild — who do you think you are!” Ren Xinrou said calmly, “I only interrupted you. You should be secretly pleased.” Only Wen Mufeng and his special forces members understood the other meaning behind her words: “You should count yourself lucky I didn’t smash your head.” “You ordered the control tower to stop my plane from landing. Can I assume you’re trying to murder me?” Ren Xinrou pressed on, relentless: “You don’t need to answer — the facts have already proven it! You wanted the five soldiers on my plane to die, and I don’t care about that! But if you want to kill me along with them, you owe me an explanation!” “Don’t give me that nonsense about not knowing my plane was low on fuel. Zeng Han definitely reported the situation to you! I was flying a six-seater, the best six-seater on the market. With a full tank it can fly up to 630 kilometers. Unless you’re an idiot and can’t do the math, you know I’d run out of fuel getting here!” Ren Xinrou smoothly asked and answered her own questions, cutting off what Huang Guojun was about to shout. “You’re talking crap! What bullshit!” Huang Guojun snapped, trying to interrupt her. Ren Xinrou remained composed, without a trace of fear. She finished everything she wanted to say: “The end of the world has only just begun and you’re already scheming for imperial power? Anyone in the military who doesn’t follow you — off with their heads? How brave of you~” Wen Mufeng’s heart trembled slightly; he sensed something off. What exactly did she intend to do? Huang Guojun had ordered Wen Mufeng’s plane to hold outside the base — something he could have easily passed off as a misunderstanding with a feigned show of ignorance. Now Ren Xinrou had ripped that façade open, bloodied and bare, displayed in front of everyone. A stone stirring a thousand waves — even soldiers who simply followed orders saw the conspiracy. The looks directed at Huang Guojun grew heavy; some straightforward soldiers’ eyes showed contempt and disgust. “You! What kind of thing are you! I should explain the purpose of my order to you! If I execute you now no one would dare say I’m wrong!” Huang Guojun shouted, pointing at Ren Xinrou’s nose. “So you mean to say that if you tried to murder Wen Mufeng no one would dare say you were wrong?” Ren Xinrou noticeably quickened her pace of speech. “Why would I murder him! I only told him to find a place to stop outside the base! The airport was crowded, there was nowhere to park your plane!” Huang Guojun shouted. It was afternoon now; special forces returning from missions were gradually coming back to the base, and more soldiers stopped to watch. Hearing Huang Guojun’s words, those present looked around — clearly a third of the parking area was empty. Even if every helicopter away from base returned, there would surely be room for one civilian plane. Ren Xinrou signaled the special forces members to make way and showed Huang Guojun the layout of the airport. Pointing at the airfield, she asked Huang Guojun, “This is ‘crowded’? Do you have cataracts?” Huang Guojun had already noticed the unfriendly looks aimed at him. He was furious and panicked; he hadn’t yet completely lost his reason. Now, torn apart mercilessly by Ren Xinrou, there wasn’t much reason left: “I said the airport was crowded, so it’s crowded! You little bastard, say another word and I’ll shoot you! Get the hell out of the base!” “I bet you won’t dare touch me.” Ren Xinrou lifted her chin, her gaze full of disdain. “Do you want to pull your gun and try?” Wen Mufeng felt his brow throb. Was she provoking Huang Guojun to draw his gun? Was she looking for an excuse for self-defense to kill him? 　　If she was seeking revenge on Huang Guojun simply because he wouldn’t let her stop the plane, that excuse was too far-fetched. Wen Mufeng stared at the back of Ren Xinrou’s head, feeling very puzzled. Why would she want to kill Huang Guojun? Did they have a grudge? It was the first time in his life Huang Guojun had been so blatantly provoked by an ordinary person. Ren Xinrou’s arrogant, cold tone thoroughly enraged him. His hand had just gone to the handle of the gun at his waist and was about to draw it when Qin Hai immediately suppressed his movement. “Minister, cool it, cool it~” Ren Xinrou’s eyes flickered and she suddenly demanded aloud, “How did you become the commander of this base? Did you get the position through connections? Did you sleep with someone? Or did you earn this spot by feeding and entertaining someone? Who is your master? I bet you’re a dog.” Ren Xinrou’s mouth curled into a smile as she asked, “Little Huang, what right do you have to want Wen Mufeng dead? Because your master favors you?” Several humiliating questions in a row sent the anger Huang Guojun had barely suppressed straight to his temples. “Who told him to be disobedient! How dare he defy my orders—him and his team will all die! Whoever disobeys I’ll push to feed the zombies!” “……” At this moment, everyone could hear nothing but the wind and the distant whir of airplane propellers. The angrier Huang Guojun got, the less he realized what consequences his words would bring—he didn’t even remember what he had shouted. He hauled to draw his pistol, but Qin Hai gripped his hand tightly. “Qin Hai! Let go of me! Do you want me to shoot you too?” “Minister Huang, you’re not seriously planning to kill this innocent girl, are you?” Qin Hai smiled. Now that things had reached this point, he decided to strike while the iron was hot and unseat Huang Guojun. Huang Guojun still hadn’t realized his fate had completely changed. He glared at Ren Xinrou and cursed, “People like her—if you don’t kill them, what are you saving them for? Let go of me! Guards! Execute this ugly bitch!” No one answered him. The soldiers around looked at him with anger; leaders who said disobeying meant death were not ones they wanted to follow. Huang Guojun and Qin Hai started wrestling; their strength was evenly matched. When leaders fought, none of the soldiers would step forward to separate them. Ren Xinrou’s lips held an amused smile. Her hand rested on the gun at her waist; her eyes were full of expectation—she wanted Huang Guojun to pull his gun. Wen Mufeng watched her every move, ready to stop her from firing at any moment. Even if Huang Guojun drew first and was shot dead in self-defense, everyone around would be a witness; she could not walk away unscathed. Because she was a civilian—civilians were not allowed to carry firearms, much less kill an officer with one. Qin Hai was punched in the face by Huang Guojun, blood spurting from his nose. Qin Hai cursed and quickly drew his own pistol, pointing it at him. “Huang Guojun, if you go mad again, I’ll shoot you!” “Try and shoot me!” Huang Guojun drew his gun. Bang! Qin Hai pulled the trigger; the bullet struck Huang Guojun’s right hand that held the gun, and the weapon fell to the ground. Huang Guojun stared in disbelief, clutching the wound and shouting curses, “Qin Hai! You dare shoot at me! You’re finished!” “Huang Guojun! You’re the one who’s about to be finished!” Qin Hai ordered the nearby noncommissioned officers, “Handcuff Minister Huang and take him to the infirmary! Don’t release him or let him contact anyone without my order!” “Yes!” Several NCOs picked up Huang Guojun’s gun and escorted him out of the airport. “Fuck you! Qin Hai! You dare bypass the chain of command and deal with me! If you’ve got the guts, shoot me dead! Wait until I’m released, I’ll make you pay!” Huang Guojun kept shouting insults. 　　Qin Hai wiped the blood from his nose, sniffed his sore nose and cursed: “Damn! What an idiot!” “All squad leaders present, come with me! Make a video call to the higher-ups to report this matter. Strike while the iron is hot—get rid of this idiot. If he’s not dealt with, your lives won’t be easy!” Qin Hai glanced at Ren Xinrou, said nothing, and led the way. Ren Xinrou clicked her tongue, boredom spreading across her face. She turned and walked toward her aircraft. Wen Mufeng called after her, “Wait! Did you know Huang Guojun before this? Is your name really Liu Fei?” Chapter 65 The Ren Family Ren Xinrou stopped and looked back at him. “I didn’t know him before today. I won’t let anyone who tries to kill me go unpunished, no matter who they are or what their status is.” She stepped forward a few paces, then turned back to say, “Wen Mufeng, you’d better have him removed. If that worm remains in the unit and I encounter him again, I will send him straight to hell. Anyone who dares stop me can go to hell with him.” In both past and present lives, her father was a soldier, her grandfather was a soldier, several uncles had been soldiers, and the fifteen uncles who loved her in her previous life were soldiers. Their respected unit should not be defiled by such selfish, filthy people. This filthy worm even tried to kill her—he deserved to die. This time, Ren Xinrou did not look back again and walked straight to her aircraft. Wen Mufeng and the others present felt a chill run down their spines. Even those soldiers meeting Ren Xinrou for the first time today could sense her seriousness and determination. By the time Ren Xinrou’s helicopter departed, Wen Mufeng was already in the conference room reporting Huang Guojun’s vile nature to his superiors. The other special forces members stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows in the corridor outside the conference room, watching Ren Xinrou’s helicopter fly away from the base. Zeng Han sighed, “Honestly, I kind of hope she had killed Huang Guojun. When he was commander at the Fuhai headquarters he gave wrong orders multiple times, causing soldiers on missions to be killed or injured. When he was appointed head of the Jingmen command this time, I had a bad feeling. Working under him, you never know when disaster will strike us.” Chen Jie asked, puzzled, “He made so many mistakes—how is he still in the command structure?” The team members all pricked up their ears and looked at Zeng Han; they wanted to know too. Zeng Han glanced around cautiously and answered quietly, “His own sister is the daughter-in-law of the third elder of the Du family in Jing City.” “Oh—” everyone exclaimed in sudden understanding. The Du family in Jing City is one of the country’s seven great families. The old patriarch was a founding hero and was appointed vice premier over a decade ago; he has been reappointed ever since and, now at seventy-five, still clings to the position. Rumor has it he has long wanted the Du family to seize the top seat and had already secured the support of three major families to push his eldest son toward the presidency. Unfortunately, the zombies came. In chaotic times heroes rise and families fall; new families will rise while others decline. The villains were relatively lucky—most of the Du family’s main leaders survived. At present the Du family still holds a high position in Jing City, its power on par with the Qin and Gu families. “I feel like Huang Guojun pulled so many tricks during this mission not just to scare us or warn us,” Mo Haiqi sniffed out danger and conspiracy. “He actually wanted to eliminate us and make an example of us.” Zeng Han agreed with Mo Haiqi: “That’s probably it. The captain is the younger brother of the Gu family’s eldest grandson’s wife, so he’s treated as bound to the Gu family. If Huang Guojun can’t split us, he’ll remove us so the Gu family loses some strength.” Chen Jie asked, “Do you think Huang Guojun will be dismissed today?” Zeng Han and Mo Haiqi exchanged a glance and both shook their heads. 　　Mo Haiqi said, “What he said today, within a day every soldier in Jingmen will know. He has already lost the trust a commander should have from his troops; his superiors cannot let him serve in any command post. But the Du family will certainly protect him — after all, he didn’t cause anyone any real harm, he just spoke badly.” Zeng Han asked, “Where do you think they’ll transfer him? What department?” Mo Haiqi thought for a moment and guessed, “He’s no longer suitable for frontline work. The Du family will probably have him manage logistics.” “As expected, you’re the default strategist of your team!” Qin Hai left the meeting room, heard Mo Haiqi’s guess, and couldn’t help praising him. “You analyzed the Du family’s decision so quickly. No wonder people are jealous of you all — each of you is elite: brains where brains are needed, strength where strength is needed, medical skills where medical skills are needed. Except for flying planes, there’s really no flaw to find.” “We used to have a teammate who could fly planes, but he was grievously injured and retired during a mission last year,” Wen Mufeng said regretfully. Qin Hai suggested, “You could recruit that girl from today into your team. You need people now; as long as someone has skills and no criminal record, they can join the forces.” Wen Mufeng said, “I asked her; she doesn’t want to.” “Why doesn’t she want to?” Qin Hai wondered. “She said she doesn’t want to serve the people.” “…” Qin Hai was speechless at that reason. “That girl…” Qin Hai hesitated, then said, “You’d better keep an eye on her. I think she looks like someone who’ll stir up trouble.” Wen Mufeng felt a bit stifled. “I don’t even know her real name, so I have no way to handle her.” Qin Hai was astonished: “She’s not your girlfriend? You don’t even know your girlfriend’s name? What kind of relationship is that?” Girlfriend? A jolt like electricity shot through Wen Mufeng’s heart. He hurried to explain, “She’s not my girlfriend. I’ve only met her three times.” “Then how did she get your gun? Isn’t that supposed to be a token of love?” Qin Hai became more curious. One of the teammates couldn’t hold back laughter and let out a “pfft!” Then one after another, they all snickered. Wen Mufeng cast the teammates a few cold looks and truthfully explained the Desert Eagle incident to Qin Hai, and recounted the three encounters with Ren Xinrou. “That girl is ruthless!” Qin Hai exclaimed. “If you guys are sure the broadsword she has is the real thing, then it’s easy to trace her identity. Today there are only three families whose members could still possess broadswords: the Gu family and the Xia family; and another family that no longer has descendants in the armed forces. But the broadsword wasn’t required to be turned in, and that family retained two broadswords!” Qin Hai seemed to have thought of something and stopped halfway through his sentence. Zeng Han picked up the thread: “The Ren family!” “The Ren family? What’s their background? Why didn’t they have to turn in their broadswords even though none of them are in the forces anymore?” Chen Jie asked. Qin Hai lit a cigarette, leaned against the floor-to-ceiling window, eyes full of regret, and recounted the Ren family’s story: “If your generation hasn’t heard of the Ren family, you’ve certainly heard of the famous father-and-son duo Ren Yiyong and Ren Zehai. The broadsword belonged to Ren Yiyong’s father. If the old man’s father and uncles were still alive, the Du family and their people would be nothing!” Qin Hai continued, “Ren Laoye’s father and his uncles were heroes of the War of Resistance; their lowest military rank was major general! Unfortunately, after driving back the enemy, they died one after another — some left no descendants. The wounds from the war were too severe; they couldn’t live long!” “Ren Yiyong — you’ve all heard that name, right?” Qin Hai asked. Everyone nodded. 　　Qin Hai continued: “Ren Yiyong is Old Master Ren’s second son, the smartest and fiercest warrior among them. He won countless military honors and became a major general in his thirties. His comrades and men around him were all loyal. Back then, if he had been willing to let his sons and nephews marry into other families to consolidate his position, the Ren family could easily have risen to the top of the mountain! But Ren Yiyong valued family ties—he wouldn’t let his kin marry people they didn’t like. Later, several families banded together to suppress him for a few years. During those years, comrades and squad members who served under him were sent one by one to remote outposts or godforsaken small units. Enraged, Ren Yiyong, for the sake of his brothers and his nephews, sacrificed assets to save the commander. At this point Qin Hai suddenly laughed. “Ren Yiyong was ruthless toward his enemies. He had already decided to leave the army, but he was determined to take a few people down with him! On the last big mission he carried out, he suffered a slight injury. Using that wound, he hauled the entire command up before a military tribunal! The whole thing blew up—thinking about it now is still exhilarating, hahaha! Although Ren Yiyong had no powerful backers, every department had his former comrades and friends; he was smooth with everyone. Many prominent families had acquaintances of his—there was always goodwill at meetings. As long as they weren’t openly hostile with Ren Yiyong, they’d lend him a hand! He had many disciples, many brothers—pupils everywhere! He single-handedly toppled several high-ranking officers at headquarters! Coincidentally, those officers were backed by the few great families suppressing Ren Yiyong. That turmoil was significant, and many leaders from other departments were swept away as well. It was then that the Shen and Tang families were utterly ruined and withdrew from the military sphere, which directly caused the Du and Xu families to lose their greatest support!” “Didn’t the Du and Xu families immediately retaliate against Ren Yiyong?” Wen Mufeng asked. Qin Hai said: “They didn’t dare. Back then both families suffered heavy losses; their power was scattered and couldn’t be regrouped. Other families took advantage of the weakness to break up many of the Du family’s power bases across various cities. They were too busy looking after themselves! By the time they got reorganized and wanted revenge, Ren Yiyong’s brothers had already amassed considerable power. The Xia family—it’s the Xia family that rose to prominence at that time! The Xia patriarch and the late Old Master Ren were brothers in arms; they had been members of the broadsword battalion. His son had risked life and death alongside Ren Yiyong. If anything happened to Ren Yiyong, the Xia family would have charged in with the whole clan! You had no chance to see the scene the day Ren Yiyong left the army—nobody has ever surpassed it. Soldiers packed the gate for as far as the eye could see. He served for over twenty years, saved many people, helped a lot of folks, and won many hearts. It’s a pity that he cared too deeply about feelings and suffered a great loss. If he had known how to leverage the people around him, it wouldn’t have come to sacrificing the Ren family’s entire future.””Qin Hai lit another cigarette and spoke of Ren Yiyong’s son Ren Zehai: ‘Ren Zehai was Ren Yiyong’s only son. He and his wife were sent to Syria on a peacekeeping mission; his wife was a military doctor. Thirteen years ago a riot broke out in Syria. Ren Zehai led a team to rescue over thirty thousand Chinese nationals and got them safely onto ships home. His wife was inexplicably shot while trying to save a fleeing Chinese child, and Ren Zehai was also hit by stray bullets. He didn’t make it on the way back; both of them died. That large-scale rescue operation was carried out by troops sent from the Du and Xu families. The organization of the rescue was fine and it was completed well, but there were some improper arrangements — for example, there were too few medical personnel, so injured soldiers couldn’t be treated in time. Those were things only insiders knew. Ren Yiyong learned the investigation details from some friend. The Du family patriarch Du Zhicheng had always held the top seat. After the rescue’s credit was given out, he thought victory was in his hands — but instead he was inexplicably pushed up to the post of vice premier. Once selected, he couldn’t resign, because if he resigned he’d have to retire early! Once he sat as vice premier he would lose the chance to run for president — that’s the rule. He sat in that vice premier position for over a decade, with no chance of being demoted. Guess why?’ Qin Hai asked with a smile. —- Chapter 66 The Ren Family 2 ‘Did Ren Yiyong do it?’ Wen Mufeng asked, puzzled—what power could a discharged soldier have? Qin Hai shook his head: ‘After retiring he served as village secretary; he didn’t have the authority to do something like that. After his son and daughter-in-law died, Ren Yiyong didn’t seek anyone out — as if he accepted the outcome. But there were plenty in the military and political circles who wanted to avenge him. Besides Ren Yiyong’s old comrades, there were also Ren Zehai’s battle buddies. This was a conspiracy they carried out together. They couldn’t topple the Du family, but they could make a move against them. The Du family could ruin a great clan, but they had no way to touch Ren Yiyong. A few years after Ren Zehai’s incident, several of Ren Yiyong’s nephews applied to retire and transfer out of the military. Whether it was Ren Yiyong’s idea or their own decision I don’t know; in any case, the Ren family didn’t want to stay in the army long.’ ‘Maybe they saw the writing on the wall,’ Wen Mufeng said, a trace of decline flashing in his eyes as he thought of his own father. He too had been a casualty of military-political struggles. It’s hard for people from the bottom to rise; once you do, you must take a side quickly. If you don’t, you can only wait to fall. The survival rules are the same in business and politics. Chen Jie asked: ‘So the African girl could very well be from the Ren family?’ Qin Hai replied: ‘It’s possible. Ren Zehai and his wife left behind an only daughter, raised by Ren Yiyong. If her knife came from the Ren family, you can pretty much conclude she is Ren Zehai’s daughter. The Ren family has three generations of military merit. After Ren Zehai’s sacrifice, the state granted a special allowance: his rank of senior colonel could be inherited with a two-rank reduction. That means his daughter, after completing six months of recruit training, would be a lieutenant colonel.’ ‘Wow — the African girl really has a big background! Starting with two big stars!’ Chen Jie clapped and shouted. ‘No wonder she told Huang Guojun that he had no right to execute her. Huang Guojun is only a major, and his rank isn’t as weighty as the Ren family’s!’ Zeng Han touched his chin skeptically: ‘I’ve seen Ren Bo’s granddaughter before. She was very pale and very pretty. This girl doesn’t look like Ren Bo’s granddaughter at all. I don’t think she’s from the Ren family.’ ‘Girls change so much as they grow; every day they look different. It’s normal that you wouldn’t recognize her if she’d been sun-darkened,’ Chen Jie insisted. ‘The African girl must be the Ren family’s daughter!’ Zeng Han thought for a moment and said, ‘It’s not impossible. When I saw her she was only ten years old.'””……” Chen Jie shoved Zeng Han hard, sneering, “No wonder you didn’t recognize him! If your father turned into a ten-year-old standing in front of you, you still might not be able to tell it’s him!” Zeng Han rubbed his arm. “You dare push me! I think you’re just itching for trouble!” Zeng Han tried to push back, but Chen Jie dodged, and the two of them immediately started tussling in the corridor. The others on the team cheered and egged them on to fight. Wen Mufeng lowered his eyes and stared at his palm; there were black smudges on it—the marks left after he had grabbed the black-haired girl’s arm a moment ago. She wasn’t sun-darkened; it had been deliberately painted black. Why would she do that? Is she really the Ren family’s only daughter? If so, she never served; why does her mobility match that of a special forces operative? At the same time, Huang Guojun was flown by another special operations team to Ningcheng Base. After boarding, he immediately called his in-law Du Zhicheng to report the day’s events, detailing the unexpected variable of Ren Xinrou. Seventy-five-year-old Du Zhicheng’s voice was still robust. “What does that arrogant girl look like?” Huang Guojun recounted angrily, “She’s completely dark, like an African’s skin tone, and she was carrying a big machete on her back.” “A big machete? What kind of machete?” Du Zhicheng sounded a bit anxious. “Like the machetes used by the saber squads sixty years ago—very long handles, with a tattered red cloth tied to it!” Thinking of Ren Xinrou made Huang Guojun furious. In all his years in office, he’d never met anyone who dared challenge him in front of so many people, and the challenger was a mere girl. Du Zhicheng wanted to confirm again. “Are you sure she said you didn’t have the rank to execute her?” Huang Guojun replied, “She did say that! Could she be some bigwig’s kept woman?” “A mere girl… arrogant and domineering, with a big machete…” Du Zhicheng murmured with narrowed eyes, then suddenly opened them. “I know who she is now. Your rank really is lower than hers.” Huang Guojun was shocked. “How could my rank be lower than hers! From her voice she sounded at most like a twenty-year-old girl! What military merits could she possibly have!” “What if she’s the granddaughter of Ren Yiyong, the daughter of Ren Zehai? She’d enter the forces as a lieutenant colonel. Now the Xia and Gu families are tied together; with those two supporting her, she could quickly rise to colonel!” Du Zhicheng snorted disdainfully. “Your major rank has been reduced to captain today as well; in this life you won’t catch up to her!” Du Zhicheng gave Huang Guojun no face and spoke bluntly. “The higher-ups have already decided at the conference: Ningcheng Base will be handed over to the Gu family. I’m arranging for you to go to Ningcheng as the head of the logistics warehouse—do you know why?” Huang Guojun thought for a moment and suddenly realized, half of his resentment easing. He put on a conciliatory smile. “I understand what you mean, father-in-law! Don’t worry! I’ll make sure the warehouse is filled to the brim!” This warehouse is not that warehouse. “If you run into that girl again, be polite and try not to provoke her. She’s Ren Yiyong’s precious one. Don’t underestimate Ren Yiyong just because he has no power now; back then I underestimated him when he was a village secretary and ended up stumbling for over a decade!” Mentioning Ren Yiyong, Du Zhicheng’s tone involuntarily carried anger. “Go to Ningcheng Base and cooperate with the Gu family first! If you lose this position too, it means the military life isn’t for you!” Du Zhicheng’s warning and threat were full of meaning; Huang Guojun instantly grew terrified. If he lost his job in the forces, he didn’t know how his family would survive in the end times. He respectfully said repeatedly, “Yes, yes, don’t worry, father-in-law, I understand!”Du Zhicheng hung up the phone, his face dark with a terrifying gloom. He leaned back in his executive chair, staring at an old 20-inch photograph on the wall. A group photo of the founding president and all the surviving founding generals. His father was in it too—the only one from the Du family. The Ren family had three brothers in that photo. Although they were all dead now, no one would forget the Ren family’s contributions. Ren Yiyong, who obviously couldn’t beat them and was forced to leave the unit, had become a revered legend. By contrast, people whispered about the Du family and his descendants, saying they only had their current status thanks to the late old man’s achievements. Clang! Du Zhicheng grabbed the ashtray from the desk and smashed the glass frame. The photograph drifted down to the floor. “Hmph! Good—let the world change! Let the apocalypse come! The Du family will surely dominate the nation!” Du Zhicheng roared. His wrinkled face trembled; his eyes were filled with fierce intensity and exhilaration. “Ren Yiyong! You’d better hide as far away as possible! Live meekly! Don’t provoke me!” Chapter 67 Ningcheng At that moment, Ren Xinrou didn’t return the way she came; she kept flying her rickety plane eastward. She was headed to Ning City port, the country’s second-largest port, to collect containers and open blind boxes. The whole trip was 900 kilometers. She landed on the roof of a building to refuel halfway, ate and rested for two hours, then continued flying. By the time the plane reached the roof of a building near Ning City port, it was past midnight. Ren Xinrou got out, checked the roof for safety hazards, and found only a single entrance and exit. She parked a small boxy pickup at the door to block it. Today she was more exhausted than ever—her body overloaded and her mind at its limit. Piloting a helicopter requires tremendous psychological resilience, especially when flying a decrepit aircraft. Ren Xinrou filled the tank and put the plane into storage. The plane was a wreck; when it wasn’t flying she didn’t want it to face any turbulence. Before sleeping, she went over what else she needed to stockpile. Now with a plane she could go anywhere to hoard supplies. In the book, the villainous Du family had several secret weapons and food storage facilities. Two of the weapon caches were discovered two years later by Wen Mufeng and reported to the Gu family. The Gu family smashed the dens and handed the weapons over to the state. The weapon stash locations were only labeled by city name; finding the exact spots would take time, but that wouldn’t be hard for her. She just wasn’t sure when those two arsenals would start being used. Even if she found their locations now, there might be no weapons left. “If I scout and come up empty, wasting time—that stealing-weapons plan can wait…” Ren Xinrou slept until noon the next day; if it hadn’t been for the thunder waking her, she could have slept even longer. For days the sky hadn’t produced a single cloud; today it was finally covered by black clouds without a seam of blue. The thunder crashed like explosions in her ears; the wind was so strong it seemed intent on ripping her hair from her scalp. Ren Xinrou stood on the rooftop and peered toward the city. She murmured, “I’m not a bad person, okay? Don’t strike me dead with a lightning bolt…” Crack!!! Sizzle!!! Lightning struck again and again, slamming into the ground. Each flash seemed to try to cleave the gloomy sky. Ren Xinrou hurried under the eaves and shrank down. “That scared me to death!” In the urban area, a few plumes of black smoke rose slowly—perhaps a gas pipeline leak or something else. Some places struck by lightning had exploded. The wind fanned the embers, making the fires rage. Sparks set surrounding blocks alight. She had never seen lightning strike the ground repeatedly like this; the novel hadn’t mentioned any natural disasters before the acid rain. 　　The thunderstorm disaster in the novel occurred after the drought, and extreme cold followed after the thunderstorm. “The book didn’t mention this disaster—did the thunderstorm come early? Or has the order of all natural disasters changed?” Ren Xinrou was puzzled and worried. With this weather, piloting a helicopter was as good as a death sentence. Ren Xinrou carefully stepped to the edge of the roof and took out binoculars. Soldiers in the city were conducting carpet-style sweeps to clear zombies. After the soldiers cleared a sector, a team immediately went to move and transport the corpses. The building she was in was near the coastal ring road; using the coastal ring road as a boundary, groups of construction workers were building walls. Villages, towns, and mountain areas outside the ring line were not enclosed within the base. The officials had temporarily not considered farming; they were prioritizing saving people now. They didn’t know about acid rain. Even if they did, with manpower scarce they couldn’t protect much farmland. “Perhaps I could tell Grandfather that acid rain is coming to do him a favor?” “How would I explain why I know the acid rain is coming?” Ren Xinrou shook her head and abandoned the idea. “Before the end of the world, Ning City’s urban and rural permanent population was over nine million. Roughly estimated, if every house in Ning City were occupied by one family, at most about ten to eleven million people could live there; Now the Ning City base needs to provide housing for forty million survivors. Even if office buildings and hotels are all used, it’s impossible for one household to get one unit; Moreover, since the towns and villages aren’t enclosed in the base, available housing is even less. Multiple strangers crammed together is inevitable.” Ren Xinrou murmured, “With the power out, elevators don’t work. Going out for supplies, fetching water at distribution points, then climbing back up ten, twenty floors—how many people can keep that up… and usable housing is greatly reduced.” The book said that once the base matured, a housing tier system would be implemented, using points as rent; in expensive neighborhoods one person could have a room. In cheap areas, people would either live above the twentieth floor or have to share with others. In the apocalypse, even getting along well with acquaintances is rare—let alone strangers. Living together long-term, conflicts are inevitable. Most people have lost family and might have to live with three to five strangers from all over the country, or even cram with more strangers into one suite. Every day you’d have to guard against others stealing your supplies. There would be quarrels, fights, and one might even face betrayal or murder. Ren Xinrou knew best that once the base was established, murders and fights leading to death would happen daily. New base laws would decree that if murder evidence was conclusive and the case serious, the killer would be executed immediately. Those who killed in self-defense would generally be driven out of the base; the official bases would no longer aid the perpetrator—commonly called ‘exile.’ “I’m not afraid of exile, so I could kill freely.” “Ksss!!!” A lightning strike hit the rooftop where Ren Xinrou stood, about ten meters away from her. She was so startled she bolted back under the eaves and, pointing at the sky, cursed, “Scare me again and I’ll blow up this world—wanna try?” The wind grew stronger, the thunder more frequent, and lightning no longer struck the rooftop where she stood. Fire points in the city that had just been put out were being ignited again by lightning. Ren Xinrou hid under the eaves checking her phone. The signal was intermittent; messages she sent always showed failed. Video sites could refresh occasionally; the same thunderstorms were happening all over the country. Coastal cities are where bases are located. Currently, most state forces are concentrated on the coast, and when the city caught fire people quickly went to extinguish it. 　　Inside the city of Lu, the fires were left to burn; some people would rather be burned alive at home than leave and face the zombies. “Szzzt!” The sound of a text message. It was Grandpa’s reply: [Xiaorou, we’re all fine. There was no fire in the village. A few buildings in the city center caught fire—probably caused by explosions of electronic devices. Don’t go out for now; Grandpa’s afraid you’ll be struck by lightning.] Ren Xinrou couldn’t help but smile; Grandpa always knew how to make her laugh. Ren Xinrou: [Grandpa, I’m in Ningcheng right now…] She told Ren Yiyong about taking the Buddha to the west and about meeting Huang Guojun. She briefly explained why she suddenly knew how to fly a helicopter, saying that while studying in the U.S., a rich girl classmate had insisted she learn. Ren Yiyong didn’t brood over his granddaughter keeping her piloting lessons a secret. He said: [I haven’t met Wen Mufeng, but I’ve heard of his deeds. Brave and wise—he’s a good soldier and has the bearing I had when I was young.] [His background is somewhat like yours. His father died at the border; his mother was an army nurse who was blown up by those Burmese rogue troops, leaving the siblings to fend for themselves. They were raised by the Gu family.] [Huang Guojun is not a good man. He’s a knife in the Du family’s hand. Whoever the Du family dislikes, he will try to scheme against or suppress. From what I know of the Du family, Huang Guojun is still useful to them and won’t leave the military.] Ren Yiyong didn’t tell his granddaughter about the past between the Ren and Du families; he didn’t want old grudges to make her upset. Ren Yiyong: [Du Zhicheng probably has an idea who you are. Only my granddaughter has the right to dare to taunt Huang Guojun’s girl.] [Rourou, after we move to the base, do you want to join the military?] Ren Xinrou didn’t consider it for a second: [I don’t want to join the military.] The original plan was to return from studying abroad and join the military to inherit her father’s rank—a secure job that required little effort and guaranteed food and shelter, so descendants could live in comfort. But she didn’t want that. Chapter 68 Collecting Containers Ren Yiyong: [Grandpa doesn’t want you to join either. Before the end of the world you could have, but now there’s no point! It’s too exhausting, too harsh, too humiliating!] [Some of your uncles will return to the military to get on the roster. I plan to have them follow Zeng Han into the Gu family’s troops. Once they’re back in the military, the Ren family’s elders and young ones will be secure.] Ren Xinrou: [Is Ningcheng a Gu family base?] Ren Yiyong: [Yes. The Gu family currently manages two bases, Ningcheng and Nanhai.] [Ningcheng has the best location: one side of the city faces the East Sea, the other faces the strait shipping lane. Across the strait is the Dongwan base.] [Dongwan is managed by two small families and has no animosity with the Gu family. If anything happens to Ningcheng, Dongwan won’t stand by idly. Moving to the Ningcheng base is most suitable.] Ren Xinrou: [Grandpa, I want to find a safe place outside the Ningcheng base where the Ren family’s elders and children can move in early. I have a plane; I can make a few trips to bring people over. After the base is established, we can move in at any time. What do you think?] Ren Yiyong: [That’s a good plan. I’ll talk to your uncles about it now. In the meantime, you can look for a suitable spot.] Ren Xinrou: [Okay.] Afterward, she sent Xin Jiao Jiao a message: [Don’t go out. Lightning is striking randomly.] She truly cared about Xin Jiao Jiao, but also wanted to pry for information—she hoped to learn anything useful Xin Jiao Jiao knew about the storm. Ren Xinrou steeled herself and walked back to the fence, using binoculars to observe Ningcheng Harbor. In the shipping area, containers were piled like mountains. She found no sign of zombies; they had probably migrated earlier to the populated parts of the city. 　　Opposite Ningcheng Port was Dongwan Port; the Ningwan Strait was 22 kilometers wide, with two cross-sea bridges linking the two cities — a ten-odd-minute drive. In the future, she and Xin Jiaojiao could visit each other often to keep in touch; when she had children, it would be convenient to bring gifts. “Clang, clang!!” A few loud thunderclaps pressed the dark clouds even lower, and pea-sized raindrops came pouring down one after another. The rain fell like a waterfall. Phone signal was blocked by the rain, showing red no-signal. After that downpour, there was no more thunder or lightning. Ren Xinrou watched the rain and recalled what was written in the book. When Xin Jiaojiao recalled her past life in the book, she never mentioned weather like today’s — could it be because it didn’t cause any great disaster? Ren Xinrou didn’t wait for the rain to stop before heading to the port; she was actually glad the rain was so heavy. The port was just outside the base wall, separated only by a coastal highway. Many containers had disappeared overnight; someone would surely investigate. If she rashly went looking for the surveillance footage, it would be time-consuming and risky, and might expose her. The eyebrow powder on her face was waterproof, but not waterfall-proof. This kind of heavy rain could perfectly hide her figure; with a bit of dressing up, the cameras wouldn’t be able to tell she was a woman. The book recorded that Ningcheng Port would later be used for docking planes and ships; if she took some of the containers, she would actually be helping the Gu family save a lot of manpower. Ren Xinrou didn’t paint her face black; she put on a fake short-hair wig, wore a bulletproof vest under her clothes to conceal her chest. She wore a black hooded coat, loose black sweatpants to hide her slim legs, and a pair of black leather boots. Without lightning, she couldn’t fly a helicopter to the port either, because the broken aircraft had no windows — the thought irritated her. The building Ren Xinrou was in should have been a hotel; the roads downstairs had already been cleaned, and there were no zombies or corpses in sight. She guessed the inside of the building had also been cleared, which saved her the trouble of hacking through zombies. When Ren Xinrou stood in front of the elevator on the 46th floor, she was dumbfounded — the elevator needed a key card to operate. “Where the hell am I supposed to find a room card! There isn’t a single zombie here!” she gritted her teeth and cursed. “Damn it!” She went down the fire stairs, wandering each floor; she wanted to find a room card or staff pass to ride the elevator down. Logically, with the zombies cleared, she should be able to find abandoned room cards in the bedrooms, but every door was locked. She went down and reached the outside of the 23rd-floor restaurant; the glass doors were shattered. She held back a burst of frustration and went in to look for staff cards. She didn’t find a card, but she did find a lot of food ingredients. She didn’t take a single thing — unusually kind-hearted, she planned to leave them for survivors. Ren Xinrou was too lazy to keep searching for a room card and ran down the stairs in one go. Outside the hotel she saw a shared e-bike. Her phone had no signal; she kept trying to scan the QR code on the bike but it wouldn’t work. “Damn! Why do I have to ride an e-bike!” “Oh — I remember, because there are cameras nearby! A car is too big and conspicuous; I can’t take a car out! I’d be caught before I even got to the containers!” Ren Xinrou answered herself, spitting rainwater as she angrily scanned the QR code again and again. ‘Beep~’ Finally it worked. “Damn! I need to hoard e-bikes!” She had forgotten that there were e-bikes in her space — more than one. There were no zombies on the coastal ring road; both sides of the road had already been sealed off by authorities to prevent zombies from sneaking into the city wall construction site. The torrential rain halted construction; there wasn’t a single worker at the wall site. The concrete that had just been poured last night was washed away by the rain, leaving only the steel rebar frame. 　　By sight the city wall was about five meters high and two meters thick, built with a reinforced concrete frame — the fastest and strongest way to build a wall. This high wall could withstand almost any attack, tanks and heavy artillery aside. Ren Xinrou wore swimming goggles to keep the rain from washing into her eyes; in the waterfall-like downpour visibility was at most two meters, and objects two meters away were so blurred you couldn’t tell what they were. If a zombie were two meters away it definitely wouldn’t detect her. Guided by the navigation announcements in her headphones, Ren Xinrou reached the port gates without incident. She first went into the security room to check the monitors; the screens only showed the “waterfall” washing across the lenses. Chapter 69: Outskirts of Ning City Ren Xinrou, reassured, went to collect containers. She tried to stack the containers to reduce the footprint, needing to free up one-third of the space to store weapons. She didn’t need to gather all hundreds of thousands of containers in the port — just some of the reliable ones. Containers came in different types and material thicknesses; Ren Xinrou’s targets were refrigerated containers and tank containers. Refrigerated containers needed to keep cold, so their interiors were thicker, like giant freezers. Refrigerated containers came in various sizes: small ones were six meters long, just over two meters high and wide. Large ones were 12 meters long, two and a half meters high, and just over two meters wide. A wall made of refrigerated containers would surely hold back psychic zombies. Moreover, refrigerated containers had independent batteries, so in hot weather without power they could be used as air-conditioned rooms. Ren Xinrou didn’t have time to count exactly how many refrigerated containers she’d collected; glancing into the space roughly, there were at least eight hundred if not a thousand. “So many… there must be a lot of good food inside.” Refrigerated containers were typically used to transport fresh meat, seafood, and temperature-sensitive medicines. Also chocolate, butter, cheese, ice cream and other things that melt — a refrigerated container’s battery could run for days to weeks. “Ice cream…” Remembering the extreme cold ahead and the nearly 16 months of brutal heat before it, Ren Xinrou suddenly changed her mind: she decided to collect all the refrigerated containers docked at the port. Tank containers held fuels — imported and exported gasoline and diesel, and a small portion held cooking oil. She also collected many tank containers, planning to sort through them later to see what type of fuel was inside and clear out anything unnecessary to free space. She also grabbed a few container cranes. Only one-third of the usable area in her space remained. One-third was enough to hold an entire port, but she didn’t gather any more containers because she needed room to stockpile weapons and other items. Looking at the mountains of containers piled into the space, Ren Xinrou complained to herself, “I’m too greedy! This isn’t right!” Despite berating herself, she couldn’t bear to throw away containers she might need; better to see what’s inside before discarding them. Ren Xinrou rode her electric scooter slowly along the coastal road; only a short section of the sea-side wall had been built. The authorities prioritized building walls toward the suburbs — after all, zombies weren’t going to crawl into the city from the strait or the East China Sea. Around the Ning City base, Ren Xinrou stopped about a li (half a kilometer) from the base wall and parked her camper by the roadside. The dark sky brightened a little, but the rain still poured, showing no sign of letting up. Ren Xinrou changed clothes, sat on the couch and checked her phone messages; the signal bar was still red. Perhaps while riding she had inadvertently passed near a telecom tower, because earlier her phone received a reply from Xin Jiao Jiao: [I just woke up. The thunder has stopped. Big brother says the rain will stop after midnight, and it might not rain for a very long time after that.]Ren Xinrou could tell that Xin Jiao jiao was warning her: drought was coming, and the acid rain a month from now would bring not refreshing moisture but a catastrophic disaster. Ren Xinrou suddenly recalled a passage from that erotic novel. About a month into the apocalypse, the male lead had to go on a mission and was expected to be gone ten days to half a month; the mission was dangerous so he couldn’t bring Xin Jiao jiao along. That day, the male lead viciously tormented the little bunny heroine, from night until morning. Xin Jiao jiao didn’t fall asleep—she was knocked out—so she didn’t hear the thunder at all. The book records that Xin Jiao jiao slept through until the afternoon before waking, and the male lead, because of the weather, hadn’t left. Ren Xinrou skimmed that passage in her mind; the intensity could move heaven and terrify ghosts. Probably five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten times? Do male psychics all possess beast-like strength and endurance? The author was very skilled at describing details—sitting, standing, every posture. Each state was written both beautifully and scorching hot, making you want to keep reading even as your nose bleeds. The heroine in the book was miserable; the male lead verbally soothed her gently, but absolutely didn’t stop. Ren Xinrou pinched her burning nose. “Damn… I’m not reading this anymore! Never again!” She replied to Xin Jiao jiao: [Okay.] She put down her phone and hurried to splash her face with cold water. By four in the afternoon the sky had gone completely black. Ren Xinrou put on a raincoat, got out of the car, and set twenty five-ton water storage barrels around the RV. With the rain now pouring like a waterfall, filling them was no trouble. At the readers’ request she posted a comparison picture of a five-ton barrel being filled from a tap—the original estimate was five hours, but now it took one hour to fill a barrel. Although the sky was pitch black, Ren Xinrou didn’t turn on lights; dim light might attract zombies, hinder her from collecting water, and contaminate her source. Busy until midnight, by the time the rain stopped the five-ton and three-ton barrels in the space were all full; she left the two-ton and one-ton barrels for storing oil. Of the five hundred oil tank containers recovered from the port, only a bit over three hundred held diesel and gasoline; the rest were cooking oil. Ren Xinrou thought it over and decided to keep the containers with cooking oil for now—she could always discard them later if they found an armory. Looking at the three hundred plus cooking oil containers, she sighed: “Women’s genes are really strange—clearly useless stuff, but you just can’t bring yourself to throw it away until the last moment.” The unprecedented torrential rain left a chill that hadn’t dissipated even as dawn crossed the horizon. The sun arrived as scheduled and the temperature suddenly shot from 15 degrees to 40 degrees. Ren Xinrou woke early from the heat and revived herself with two cups of coffee. She was very envious of people with powers—their energy and endurance exceeded ordinary people; they could stay up late better. After dawn, Grandpa sent a message: [Xiaorou, try to find a gated neighborhood.] Ren Xinrou: [Okay, Grandpa. Should I just fly back to the village to pick people up then?] Ren Yiyong: [No, I’ve already sent your Uncle Hai out to look for a suitable place.] Ren Xinrou: [It’ll take at least six flights to pick up the Ren family and Grandpa Zeng’s family. One round trip takes nine hours; nonstop flying would take three days. It’s best to find a building with a rooftop big enough for a plane to land.] Ren Yiyong: [I just discussed this with your uncle; he thinks the same. There aren’t many zombies left in the city; finding a landing spot won’t be hard.] Ren Xinrou: [How thick is the zombie ring on the ring road defense line?] Ren Yiyong: [I can’t see the end of it. Your uncle and the others will have to skirt around from the towns and villages behind to reach the city.]Ren Xinfou suddenly remembered a place: “There used to be a large observation deck on the summit of Jidao Mountain in Liu Yi Village where planes could land. Ask your uncle to take the road to Jidao Mountain. If we seal off both sides of the highway at the foot of the mountain and bring our family up to the summit to wait, then for these few days we only need to hold the mountain-top entrances.” Ren Yiyong: “That’s a good idea. I’ll call your uncle!” Ren Xinfou drove off to look for a suitable temporary place to stay. Although it would only be temporary, many factors had to be considered. Once the base began taking people in, there would definitely be long lines outside. The book described the scene when a base officially started admitting survivors. ‘More than half a month passed, and the long line outside the base continued to enter at a very slow pace…’ ‘Acid rain corroded through fuel tanks, explosions occurred frequently, and survivors chose to get out of their vehicles and crowd in front of the base gate…’ How many vehicles outside the base had been exposed to acid rain wasn’t detailed; the book only described the situation in front of the Dongwan base. Ningcheng Base was right next to Dongwan Base, so the situation here was probably not much more optimistic. Among the survivors heading to the base, some would not want to waste time waiting in their cars; they would choose to find places to stay just outside the base. When there are many people, fights over territory and supplies are inevitable; and when there are many people, zombies will also come in droves. When the base was admitting people, officials would assign personnel to watch around the convoys to try to ensure zombies had no chance to attack them. With chaos inside and outside, they certainly wouldn’t waste manpower rescuing survivors living in the outskirts. So she needed to find an absolutely safe place. Ren Xinfou drove around several times in the suburban towns. There were quite a few new residential complexes with walls; there weren’t many zombies, and they all looked fairly secure for now. She passed several yacht companies and fishing gear factories, and took the opportunity to pick up a few small yachts with keys, some ice-breaking sea-fishing equipment, and various fishing tools. After wandering outside so long, she hadn’t seen a single living person. She guessed that the survivors in Ningcheng’s outskirts had already moved into the city. Young people helped build walls while the elderly and children could do trivial tasks. “Seaview Complex—can you see the sea?” Ren Xinfou stood outside the complex gate. The complex’s name was stamped in gold on a one-person-high stone outside the gate. Between Seaview Complex and the base wall lay a shipyard. Seaview Complex was built on a low hill; its foundation rose two to three meters higher than the surrounding communities. Standing on the residential building, you could indeed see, a kilometer away, the blue Ningwan Strait. Ren Xinfou stood on the roof of the tallest residential building in Seaview Complex and used binoculars to scan the surroundings. There were many corpses in the neighboring shipyard and a few zombies wandering aimlessly in circles. The shipyard had an open-air parking area about the size of four or five basketball courts—suitable for parking helicopters. On the road opposite the shipyard gate there was a long sloping driveway; going up the slope led to Seaview Complex’s main entrance. The houses in the complex were mid-to-high rise: the shortest garden-style townhouse was only ten stories, and the high-rises reached twenty-six floors. The complex was small, with fifteen buildings in total—ten garden-style buildings and also a kindergarten, a standard amenity. The wall was high; zombies could only enter the complex through the four main gates on the east, south, west, and north. Chapter 70 Seaview Complex “The foundation of the complex wall is two meters higher than the neighboring community, and with the iron railings it measures about four meters high. If we seal off the four gates, this place is comparable to a small fortress.” A reference diagram of the wall outside Seaview Complex shows the foundation rising significantly. Ren Xinfou walked back and forth along the roads outside the complex’s east, south, west, and north gates, carefully observing the surrounding environment. 　　Both sides of the road in front of the gate were sealed off, forming a first line of defense. Even if the compound fell, people could still get into the base by going through the shipyard and climbing the wall; if not for the extreme drought and extreme cold that would follow, this place would actually be very suitable for long-term residence. After the water was contaminated by acid rain, the base set up multiple water stations; each person could claim 500 milliliters of water per day. Even during the extreme drought, each person still only got 500 milliliters a day. That amount isn’t enough for the human body’s daily needs, but it’s not fatal — you won’t die of thirst. A dehydrated body feels awful, but the authorities had no choice. Too many strong young people chose to freeload at the base, leaving the field soldiers who risked their lives to scavenge for supplies with far more work and far greater danger. The authorities had to resort to this, silently forcing survivors with the message: not enough water? Go find it yourself! As a result, many people gritted their teeth and stepped outside the base to be self-sufficient, while some scoundrels chose to steal others’ water to survive. Ren Xinrou’s space had no replicable water source; she couldn’t support twenty-some members of the Ren family. “The Ren family — old and young — must move into the base. Once a few uncles join the formal units, they’ll be safer and better protected inside the base.” The book didn’t say when the extreme cold would end, which made her feel insecure. “Still not enough firewood. After I get the people here, I’ll make another trip to the mountains. Stocking up on oil can’t be delayed. Six weeks until the next acid rain… ” Ren Xinrou muttered as she planned defenses around the compound. “At each end of the four roads around the compound, placing one or two containers will stop the zombies from entering the area.” She didn’t rush to put out containers. There were traffic cameras on the roads; she was certain the base’s internal and external monitors would have people on watch to guard against dangers approaching the base. She needed to close the roads in a relatively normal way. The shipbuilding in the shipyard was like an indoor stadium; she could use the plant for cover. After clearing out the zombies inside the shipyard, she would use the bulldozer to pile zombie bodies at the four entrances of Wanghu Compound. She hadn’t killed the zombies around the compound or the ones inside the buildings. While she went back to fetch people, some survivors might eye this place and try to claim it as their own. She didn’t want her hard work to end up being someone else’s dowry. So, inside the blockade there had to be wandering zombies, and the compound entrances had to be piled with bodies oozing blood. Such a scene would definitely dissuade anyone from trying to seize the place and declare themselves king. “This place is mine,” Ren Xinrou smiled and praised herself. “I’m so smart… ” A helicopter sped across the low sky above her head. Ren Xinrou looked up. Images of Wen Mufeng and his team suddenly flashed through her mind. She curled her mouth and went back to work. “Don’t let me run into that bunch of paupers again~” Ningcheng Base, East District administrative building, monitoring room. Monitor operator: “Team leader! At Bay Wall Area 4, a suspicious person was seen using a bulldozer to push corpses.” The monitoring team leader came to the operator’s side, eyes fixed on the screen. “Zoom in on the person.” After some operations, the monitor operator said, “A diving mask covers half his face, can’t make him out. Should we send someone to check?” The team leader hesitated for a moment. “Maybe he lives nearby and is clearing corpses to make his home more comfortable. It’s not a threat to the base — don’t waste manpower.” Ren Xinrou looked up at the closest Sky Eye camera. After driving the bulldozer for so long, it was impossible she hadn’t caught the base’s attention. “Whatever’s best — saves effort explaining.”All four gates of the Wanghai housing complex had slopes. The blood seeping from the bodies piled at the entrances slowly gathered into a streak that ran down the incline; red, white, yellow, and green corpse fluid flowed all the way onto the road. This was exactly the effect Ren Xinrou wanted—she didn’t believe anyone would fight over such a disgusting, nauseating place. “Once I fetch Grandpa, we’ll roll the bodies to the amusement park a mile away and burn them. Then we’ll use the hydrants’ powerful water pressure to wash the ground clean—then it’ll be a nice, tidy place again!” Ren Xinrou sat in the empty, clean shipyard to rest and eat, planning what to do next. In the afternoon she patrolled around the Wanghai complex; wherever there are residential blocks there’s bound to be a fresh-food supermarket. In the supermarket she only took things that would go bad once the power cut out—ice cream, popsicles, frozen dumplings and buns—and at the cigarette counter she only took Yunyan. “Leave the food for Grandpa to come pick up. Free stuff gets the brain to secrete dopamine…” Ren Xinrou muttered to herself as she left the store. “Ah—!” A young female zombie stumbled toward her, clothes in tatters hanging in strips from her body. The zombie’s bra strap had slipped down onto her arm; she wore denim hotpants and came at Ren Xinrou with a wide, blood-red mouth, excited. Her face, neck, belly, chest, arms, and thighs were riddled with bite holes. She had been bitten but not eaten; whatever she went through before dying must have been terrible. Ren Xinrou guessed the zombie’s last moments: bitten by a group of zombies, she still had the strength to flee and hide where they couldn’t reach her, then bled to death in despair and finally reanimated. The zombie had probably turned not long ago—she still looked relatively plump and clean, about the same age as Ren Xinrou, which made Ren Xinrou suddenly recall her former life. She had countless times narrowly escaped death in zombies’ jaws. If even once she had failed, she would be like this zombie now, ragged clothes flapping, wandering every street and neighborhood, her body on display for anyone to see. Who knew when she would find rest? Perhaps before resting she would be pointed at and mocked by countless men, laughed at for sport. Every time she saw a female zombie around her own age, she felt a fleeting relief that she was not her. Ren Xinrou didn’t immediately chop the zombie down. Instead, she took her along to survey the neighborhoods around Wanghai. Eight years of wandering alone had taught her how to amuse herself and how to dispel loneliness. She often met solitary zombies in empty cities; she would tail them and talk to them. She told them about her longing, about her helplessness, about her regrets. She told them how much she wanted to go to the heavens and reunite with her family. —– ——–