"Don't cry, didn't you make it out? You're a grown-up now, why are you still such a crybaby?"
I quickly tried to comfort her.
Shen Feng gently soothed his sister a little, then turned to ask me, "Why did you guys come back after leaving just now?"
As expected, they had already seen us before.
"We were figuring out a strategy before we came back to save you. You know yourself—your situation at that time didn't look good," I said, lying without batting an eye.
Shen Feng nodded. "No matter what, we're really grateful. But… where are you two headed?"
"Where are you planning to go?" Suo Tian cut me off and asked back.
Shen Feng froze for a second, then replied, "To the shelter. We just saw it reported on the news, so my sister and I decided to head there. Who would've thought we'd get surrounded by the walkers back there?"
"So you were planning to just drive straight down the main road to a shelter whose exact location you don't even know?" Suo Tian glanced around.
"After what just happened, I know it's not safe," Shen Feng said with a bitter smile.
"But if we don't find the shelter, my sister and I won't survive for long."
"Dad and Mom are already…" Shen Xue choked out, cutting herself off as she burst into sobs again.
I patted her shoulder gently.
"My house is just off that road we passed earlier, down a small side lane. It's fairly hidden and should be safe. You guys can stay there for now. Once things calm down a bit, we can figure out exactly where that shelter is."
"Really? Are you serious?" Shen Feng looked visibly relieved at the idea of a safe place.
"If that's true, then that's amazing. These past two days I've been at my limit. I didn't even dare stop the car, haven't slept a wink."
"Save the talking for later, this place isn't safe," Suo Tian cut in again.
Just as I was about to turn back toward the car, a serious thought hit me.
"The road back is crawling with walkers. Even if we force our way through, we'd just be leading them straight to my house."
"We'll walk back using a different route. Where's the nearest turnoff to your place?"
"There isn't one—but there's a narrow alley on the other side that leads through."
"Alright, you'll lead the way in a bit." Suo Tian turned to Shen Feng.
"What do you have in your car?"
"The trunk's full of food and bottled water, plus some clothes and a few blades."
"Then keep the engine running. Stay close behind us later and try not to make too much noise."
Back in the car, I briefly explained the route to Suo Tian, and then the vehicle quietly rolled onto the road.
The entrance to the alley was on a small street on the other side.
Even before all this, foot traffic there had always been minimal; now the entire street was eerily silent, with only a few walkers dragging their bodies along the road.
The car stopped just before the alley entrance.
The alley was too narrow for the car to enter.
We'd have to walk the rest of the way, though fortunately it wasn't too far.
After getting out of the car and cutting down the few walkers shuffling toward us, Suo Tian took the lead and entered the alley.
Shen Xue was frightened by the way we handled the walkers, so we had her follow right behind Suo Tian.
At the moment, he seemed to be the most reliable among us.
Shen Feng followed after her.
I took up the rear.
The alley was fairly empty.
Aside from the occasional disgusting growl coming from the old houses on either side, we didn't run into a single walker.
Once we exited the alley, we were right by the convenience store that had been cleared out earlier.
A number of rotting corpses now lay strewn messily across the store entrance.
Looks like people nearby were starting to learn how to fight back.
Since this small road leads directly to the main road, we had to walk close to the wall to avoid being noticed by the groups of walkers on the main road.
Fortunately, we made it through without incident.
Once inside the yard, I closed the gate and secured it with some wire, then we quickly went upstairs.
Yangyang was surprised to see that I had brought two strangers back.
However, being sensible, he didn't ask any questions.
He prepared some food for us, then held Rongrong in his arms and sat to the side.
After a quick meal, Shen Xue looked around the house. "Chen Yang, when did you install these windows and that iron door?"
"I installed them as soon as I moved in. It was originally just for peace of mind, but who would've thought that now it would become something that could save our lives," I said with a self-deprecating shrug.
"Oh, by the way, this is my brother, Chen Yang, the Yang in 'sun.' That little girl is Zheng Rongrong, whom Yangyang saved a couple of days ago. Suo Tian moved in on the same day as her."
Shen Feng and Shen Xue nodded at Yangyang as a greeting.
"But Miss Chen, as you saw just now, with so many walkers outside, even though this place has burglar-proof windows and two strong doors, it's not necessarily completely safe," Shen Feng asked, looking worried.
"Just call me Chen Yang. Those ugly creatures aren't very smart. The TV also mentioned that unless they see us, they will only be attracted by sounds. As long as we try not to make any noise to alert them, they won't find us here. For now, this place should still be considered safe."
"But if we stay here, what are we going to eat?"
"We have food from the car we parked at the alley, and we took some from the mall as well. Plus, we have your supplies. That should be enough for us for quite a while. Of course, we'll still need to venture out for more supplies at some point. After all, with so many of us, we need a lot of things to survive. We don't know how much longer the gas and electricity will last, so we need to be fully prepared."
"But there are so many walkers outside. Won't we get spotted if we go out?" Shen Xue frowned and asked.
"Once we bring the supplies from the car back, we'll stay inside for a few days. They should disperse on their own soon. After all, there are no living people left on the road for them to surround."
Shen Xue shuddered, seemingly reminded of the scene from earlier by my words.
"Are you planning to stay here long-term? Rather than looking for a shelter protected by the military? You know, those places are much safer than hiding here," Shen Feng said thoughtfully, seeming to feel that this small building didn't provide the sense of security he needed.
Suo Tian replied in a deep voice, "As mentioned before, we don't know the location of any shelters. Going out aimlessly to search is just asking for death. It's better to temporarily hide in this relatively safe place and wait for the right opportunity."
"Exactly. You must have realized how difficult and terrifying it was to walk on the road these past two days. The chaos came too suddenly. We also need time here to recover our bodies and minds, right?" I added.
"Brother, can we just stay here? It's safe here, and I don't want to go back to the car. The constant anxiety and helplessness will drive me crazy. If the military shelters are really that safe, they'll be established in a certain place for a long time. We can go there with Chen Yang once we know for sure." Shen Xue was determined to stay here.
Shen Feng glanced at her and gave a slight smile with a tug at the corner of his mouth.
"I didn't say we shouldn't stay. This place is a thousand times safer than the car. I just expressed the doubt in my mind. In this situation, Chen Yang, you probably hope that everyone can clear their doubts and unite more, right?"
I nodded in agreement.
The atmosphere fell silent, and everyone was quiet.
Each of us was deep in thought, thinking about what concerned us the most.
I believed, without exception, that all our thoughts were centered on one thing... how to survive.
Everyone has explosive power hidden within their bodies.
When life is calm and safe, we don't need to use that energy, so it stays dormant.
But once a person is pushed to a certain limit, all those abilities erupt, and without realizing it, they change you completely.
The next day, Suo Tian, Shen Feng, and I brought the things from the car back to the house.
After everything was unloaded, we realized the kitchen was nearly packed full.
I found something interesting on Shen Xue's car.
A long dagger.
I wasn't sure if it could still be called a dagger.
The dagger was about half a meter long, slightly shorter than Suo Tian's long blade, but it was clearly very sharp at first glance.
Shen Feng generously gave it to me.
His car was filled with many similar weapons.
I was a bit puzzled as to how he ended up with so many weapons.
Shen Feng explained that he got them from a friend's house, as his friend was a collector of such things.
Once everything was moved in, we officially declared ourselves cut off from the world.
We spent our days hiding inside, watching the situation outside from the balcony.
It seemed that the people in the building across from us had quietly fled.
In the past few days, I hadn't heard any screams or sounds of fighting.
From afar, I could still occasionally hear wailing.
I knew that those were the last unwilling screams of innocent people before they turned into flesh-eating demons.
Every time we heard those sounds, it felt like a heavy blow to the heart of me or anyone in the house.
This life continued for about a week.
Suo Tian and I discussed whether we should go out and gather more water supplies.
We had been eating nothing but biscuits, canned food, and beef jerky for a long time.
It was clear that everyone was getting tired of it.
I started to consider whether we could find a supermarket's freezer section.
There should be plenty of meat there.
Before the gas ran out completely, I wanted to treat everyone to a decent meal.
Plus, Rongrong was so young and still growing, so she really needed the nutrition.
The days of eating biscuits and canned food were going to last a while longer.
Suo Tian didn't object, and after I shared the idea with Shen Feng, he agreed as well.
Over the past week, he had been diligently learning how to take down the walkers.
He probably couldn't wait to test his skills.
When danger strikes, no matter how weak a person may have been, if there are people around them who need protection more than they do, they will subconsciously make themselves stronger.
Right now, I was in that state.
With Rongrong, Shen Xue, and Yangyang beside me, I had unknowingly developed a strong sense of protectiveness.
That feeling pushed me to be brave.
That afternoon, we started planning what we needed to bring back and the key things to pay attention to.
As I had mentioned before, there could be no room for mistakes.
Once bitten, even if it was just a small bite, there would be no way to turn back time.
It would be certain death.
Rongrong and Shen Xue were playing happily, while Yangyang stayed next to Suo Tian, occasionally sneaking glances at me with a face full of hesitation, as if he had something he wanted to say but couldn't.
"Yangyang, do you have any objections?"
He froze, and both Suo Tian and Shen Feng turned to look at him when they heard me.
"I just wanted to..." He hesitated for a moment, then gathered some courage and reluctantly continued, "I want to go with you."
"What?" I nearly jumped off the couch.
"What nonsense are you talking? I can't take you along on a dangerous trip."
"Why? Sis, you said before that I'm a man."
"A man? You're just a kid who can't think straight! Those walkers outside are smarter than you. You have to stay here!"
"I think we can take him along," Suo Tian said.
"Take him along? With that build of his? What's he going to do when we encounter walkers? Will he be able to run away?"
Yangyang lowered his head and didn't speak.
"We're going to have to leave here someday! Though this place is relatively safe for now, how long can we guarantee that safety? Right now, you can keep him safe here, but when we have to leave this house and go out into the wild, he will have to fend for himself. Don't forget, there's also an eight-year-old child in this house."