The girl moved like a shopping machine, sweeping through her uncle’s house in just a few minutes. She emptied the spice cabinet, along with all the rice, flour, cooking oil, and other staples, into a large travel bag.
Spotting two big bottles of purified water in the corner, she crammed them in as well.
When she turned around, she saw Song Kexin scurrying around the house like a headless fly, her backpack slung over her shoulders.
“What are you doing?” Xie Ning’s temper flared at the sight of her unreliable cousin. “Instead of running around, go get all the sanitary pads from your room.”
“I—I can’t find my charger.”
“Forget the charger!” Xie Ning hissed, lowering her voice. “Communications will be cut off soon. Phones will be nothing more than bricks—worse than a watch.”
“Let’s go.”
“Oh, right! Sis, you mentioned sanitary pads—I’ll go get them!” Song Kexin rushed into her room in a panic, stuffing all the pads from her drawer into her backpack.
“There’s no time. Hurry up and go. Where’s your dad’s car keys?” Xie Ning grabbed Song Kexin’s arm and dragged her out, one hand clutching the heavy travel bag.
“Sis, sis, we haven’t packed so many things yet. Where are we going?” Song Kexin frantically grabbed whatever she could, shoving items into her bag haphazardly.
“No time! Get the car keys and let’s go!”
Song Kexin gasped. “Sis, your hand—why is it so hot? Are… are you running a fever?”
“Don’t worry, I won’t turn into something like A’Bin.”
“Why did A’Bin become like that? He suddenly had a fever, lost consciousness, and tried to bite me.” Remembering what had happened earlier, Song Kexin couldn’t hold back her tears. “I stabbed him in self-defense. I thought he was dead when he fell, but… but he got back up not long after.”
Song Kexin trembled all over. “Why is this happening, sis?”
“Because this damn world is about to change.” Xie Ning patted Song Kexin’s shoulder. “Be strong. Crying won’t solve anything.”
The two sisters ran down the building stairs, Song Kexin’s face flushed bright red from the exertion. “Wh-why didn’t we take the elevator?”
Xie Ning, carrying the large black travel bag, was drenched in sweat, her face burning with fever.
“Sis, you… you’re burning up so badly. Shouldn’t we go to the hospital first?” Song Kexin was genuinely afraid Xie Ning might burn herself to death.
“Don’t worry, I won’t die. I’m tough. Isn’t your dad’s car parked over there? Let’s go!” Xie Ning grabbed Song Kexin’s hand and hurried toward the garden side of the building.
On the way, their commotion attracted several wandering rotting corpses.
Xie Ning didn’t stop, pulling Song Kexin along as they dashed to her uncle’s beat-up sedan. She yanked open the door and tossed the bag into the back seat.
“Hold on tight.” Xie Ning took a deep breath, slammed the accelerator, and the little car spun out of its parking spot with a screech.
Song Kexin stared in disbelief. “Sis, didn’t you just pass Subject Two of the driving test?” Her driving skills seemed pretty good!
In the rearview mirror, Xie Ning saw dozens of rotting corpses staggering out from several buildings around them. Her heart sank.
Their earlier noise and the roar of the engine must have drawn the rotting corpses here.
Song Kexin looked out the window, her expression horrified. “Sis, it looks like there are more and more rotting corpses gathering. What do we do? What do we do?”
“Hold on tight.” Xie Ning stepped on the accelerator and charged forward, directly ramming two snarling rotting corpses blocking the way and sending them flying.
Two dents were left on the hood, making Song Kexin grimace at the sight.