Chapter 24: The Night

The woman living in 402 was the one who had knocked on the door last night. Seeing the black-and-white photograph on the wall, Lin Wanmei realized she was a single mother.

Her daughter was still running a fever, lying in her arms in a delirium, her cute little face flushed with an unnatural, burning red.

The woman swayed gently, singing a nursery rhyme to soothe the child to sleep. Her eyes were vacant, tears sliding silently down her face, one after another; she looked utterly helpless and desperate.

Seeing the cold medicine on the table that had already been taken, Lin Wanmei sighed. It was as expected—it had no effect.

Without hesitation, she returned to her own body at home.

Lin Wanmei opened her eyes on her bed, sat up, and checked herself; she felt no discomfort. She swung her legs out of bed, quietly opened the door, and took ten packs of fever reducers, along with two boxes each of children’s cold medicine and anti-inflammatories.

Exiting through the window, she turned invisible and flew up to the rooftop.

Making her way around to 402 via the hallway, Lin Wanmei landed and tapped gently on the door. She placed the medicine on the shoe cabinet nearby, stepped back a few paces, and did not leave immediately.

There was silence in the room for a long time. Just as Lin Wanmei began to wonder if the woman wouldn't come out due to caution, a wary voice came from behind the door: "Who is it?"

Lin Wanmei remained silent.

After another few minutes, the woman, perhaps unable to hold back any longer, opened the door. She only opened it a crack, and Lin Wanmei saw the security chain still in place.

It was good to be cautious! Though she hoped the woman wouldn't open the door so easily next time. After all, not everyone who came knocking arrived with good intentions.

Seeing no one there, the woman was clearly nervous. Just as she was about to close the door, her gaze swept over the boxes on the floor. She froze, realized what they were, and hurriedly crouched down to pull them inside.

By the light of a flashlight, the woman saw the labels on the packages, and tears began to stream down her face. Clutching the medicine to her chest, she sobbed, "Thank you... thank you..."

Her facade of strength finally crumbled now that the medicine to save her daughter’s life was right before her eyes. However, thinking of her child, she quickly pulled herself together, wiped her tears, and closed the door again, her footsteps retreating in a hurry.

Satisfied, Lin Wanmei left with peace of mind. At the very least, this two-year-old girl would no longer be in danger from her fever.

She had intended to return home to use the Sheep Talisman to venture out again, but just as she flew to the sixth floor, she heard a startled cry.

"My God! There are so many zombies outside!"

This was immediately followed by an old voice: "Stop howling! Are you afraid they won't come to eat us?"

"It's too terrifying! How can there be so many?"

"Forget it. We're trapped in the building anyway; there's nowhere to run. Go to sleep. Whether we live or die, it’s in the hands of fate now..."

Lin Wanmei accelerated toward the rooftop.

Reaching the edge, she saw a dense, swarming mass of zombies under the streetlights. They were not drawn by light; they were simply following the direction where the humming of a helicopter had vanished. The density was overwhelming—the horde in their residential complex was a mere trifle in comparison. There were dozens of times more here than the thousands she had seen at the hospital.

The overlapping roars were so loud that even standing on the eighth-floor rooftop, she could hear them clearly, as if they were ringing right in her ears.

She had wanted to return to use the Sheep Talisman because the out-of-body state ensured her absolute safety, preventing any accidents. But by the same token, she could do nothing but watch. It was no different from standing here and looking.

She stopped fussing and simply watched this horrific scene, her heart sinking to the bottom.

Fortunately, only a few hundred zombies had wandered near their complex, and since some of the original ones had been drawn away by the commotion, the number hadn't increased much. It wasn't until several hours later, when the massive horde moved out of the area, that Lin Wanmei breathed a sigh of relief and returned home.

The city had no peace that night. Zombies were breaking into homes everywhere, and the shrill screams never ceased.

The next day, many local online groups were discussing the event. Instead of bringing rescue, the helicopter had impulsively caused such a massive disturbance, leading the horde around like a reaper harvesting souls. People’s resentment grew, and extreme, heated rhetoric flooded the internet. But no one could do anything; people were on the verge of a breakdown, and unless the zombies were wiped out immediately, the situation was uncontrollable.

Lin Wanmei didn't pay much attention, but the one thing she had feared last night did not happen. Water, electricity, and gas remained unaffected. People could still live at home for the time being, though the internet signal had weakened significantly—sending pictures and videos was very slow, and games were stuttering.

However, this incident reminded her of something.

She went out again, accompanied by Sheng Anyu. They both carried backpacks, heading straight for an electronics store with a clear goal in mind.

After the army of zombies had pressed through, the streets were in even greater disarray. Many shops had been smashed, and much of the merchandise was destroyed. The electronics store was the same; half the glass door had fallen away, leaving glass shards covering the floor.

The two flew inside, looked at the dazzling array of electronic products, and opened the cabinets to stuff their bags. They primarily took phones and tablets with large storage capacities, as well as high-capacity power banks.

Beyond that, they took twenty game consoles, ten instant cameras, all the film in the store, and dozens of pairs of headphones and chargers.

Among these, the items Lin Wanmei treasured most were the walkie-talkies and radios. Without workers to maintain the infrastructure, the signal would eventually disappear, and at that point, they would have to rely on radios to receive information.

Before leaving, they saw some drones and took all ten of them from the store.

Walking out with their backpacks stuffed to the brim, Lin Wanmei laughed, "Second Brother, if the apocalypse ever ends, we’re going to be looking at a lot of years in prison for this theft."

"That's a dark joke," Sheng Anyu remarked.

If the apocalypse finally ended, they’d have to go to jail? Couldn't they just have a happy, family reunion instead?

"Why... why did you bring back so many phones?"

When they returned home, the other three members of the household expressed their confusion. Weren't phones in the apocalypse just useless hunks of metal? They weren't even as hard as a brick!

Lin Wanmei grinned, "I’m just worried we won't have anywhere to buy them later. What a great invention! Once we find a safe place, we’ll rely on these to pass the time!"

The moment she thought they were about to lose internet access last night, she realized that having only three smartphones in the house was far too little; they couldn't store anything. She was a heavy internet user; without a phone, she felt like she couldn't even function properly. Though they wouldn't have much time for leisure in the apocalypse, human civilization had to be recorded and continued!

She called Sheng Anyu over to help download everyone’s favorite movies, manga, TV shows, variety shows, crosstalk performances, traditional arts, cartoons, and songs—including nursery rhymes—onto every phone. Even things she didn't personally like, if they were popular or well-reviewed, she took them all.

For the rest of their lives, they couldn't just keep watching the same content over and over.

The two also downloaded many single-player games and maps, ensuring that every phone had a backup.