“The pleasure is mine,” Lin Po replied softly. “Yun Zhuan, thank you.”
Yun Zhuan rubbed his nose sheepishly. “I’ll practice my ability diligently. Lin Po, don’t be anxious; according to the internet, not everyone awakens an ability immediately. Your body might just be a bit slower to trigger it.”
Lin Po nodded. “I’m not in a hurry. By the way, let’s plan our next move.”
Lin Po knew roughly when his ability would manifest; it was a natural progression he couldn’t interfere with. However, having a solid start this time allowed him to be much more composed and efficient in his actions.
“Yun Zhuan, I recall our university’s medical school is quite famous, right?”
Yun Zhuan nodded. “Yes. Although we aren’t in the same college, I’ve heard a lot about them. The affiliated hospital next to the school collaborates with the university, and every year the school sends a large number of talents over there.”
Lin Po pulled up a map of the campus on his phone. “To be honest, there are many parts of the campus I’ve never visited. But I remember there’s a lake on the north side that connects directly to the public scenic lake outside. I remember tourists used to row their boats right into the campus.”
Yun Zhuan looked at the spot Lin Po pointed to. Their campus was massive, and the northern section shared an area with the scenic lake. Security was usually tighter there to prevent students from drowning or outsiders from sneaking in.
The medical school was also located in that area. Lin Po didn’t expect to rescue everyone; he didn’t have a vehicle large enough to bring them all back, nor did he have a place to house them.
If he brought a crowd of survivors back to Xiping Village, the sudden population surge would inevitably lead to competition for the village’s food supply. People might not mind at first, but once food became scarce, conflict would be unavoidable.
The best approach was for Lin Po to deliver a portion of food. Although the campus had a high density of both people and zombies, it also had many buildings. As long as the survivors had food and water, they had a better chance of surviving there than if they ran out blindly.
After hearing the plan, Yun Zhuan agreed it was feasible. He had initially feared Lin Po wanted to lead a full rescue mission and was prepared to dissuade him; the risk of trying to control a panicked crowd of non-powered survivors was simply too high for just two people. But delivering food was a much lower risk.
“But where will we find the food? It must be chaos outside. Getting a large quantity of supplies from others will be difficult.”
Lin Po replied, “The event happened at night. Places like supermarkets and wholesale markets shouldn’t have been too crowded. We don’t need to secure a massive amount—just enough to give them temporary aid. We can’t support them forever. In this situation, if people don’t take action themselves and only rely on others, they won’t survive long.”
Lin Po’s words were blunt but true. He wanted to preserve human strength by giving them a hand during the sudden crisis, but how they walked the path thereafter was up to their own abilities.
Yun Zhuan agreed. He was already worried sick about Lin Po going into the fray; he had no desire to see him risk his life for people who wouldn’t help themselves.
Lin Po took out a pen and paper to sketch a route. They didn’t plan to take the provincial road back to the city, as it would likely be blocked. There used to be another road from Xiping Village to Jiang City, but because the terrain was complex, fewer people used it over time. Lin Po had traveled it a few times with his father and still had a general impression of it. He decided to take this route to bypass the main traffic and loop back to the city.
“By the way, Yun Zhuan, do you need to go back to your hometown?”
Lin Po asked, though he already guessed the answer.
As expected, Yun Zhuan shook his head. “No. My grandparents are gone, and I don’t have any ties there. Besides, it’s far; who knows what would happen on the way.”
Yun Zhuan’s hometown wasn’t like Lin Po’s; his was deep in the mountains. Most residents had moved out, and the elderly who remained had passed away over the last few years.
Lin Po said, “Alright. Today, help me look after my parents. I have to go out for a bit.”
Yun Zhuan grew anxious immediately. “Where are you going? No, you can’t go alone. You have to take me with you.”
But what Lin Po needed to do could not be seen by Yun Zhuan—at least not yet. His tone turned serious. “Yun Zhuan, I truly cannot take you with me for what I need to do next. As for the reason, I’ll tell you when I have the chance. I promise you, I will prioritize my safety and won’t get hurt.”
Yun Zhuan wanted to argue further, but Lin Po’s eyes made it clear he wouldn’t change his mind. He dejectedly agreed.
“Fine. You can rest assured, I will protect your parents.”
“I trust you.”
Lin Po’s mission was simple: he needed to move the items from his “space” into the real world. Not even his parents knew about the space, so he couldn’t let Yun Zhuan see it. As for how he would explain the sudden appearance of the supplies later, he would just make something up. Whether they believed it or not didn’t matter as much as having a plausible cover.
After finishing his noodles, Lin Po packed some tarps and drove the family’s small truck out.
Lin Chuansen, hearing a different engine sound from upstairs, came down just in time to see the truck disappearing down the road.
He felt a dizzy spell of anger and slammed the table. “Where is that boy going? Can’t he just stay home?”
Yun Zhuan said quietly, “He said he had something important to do, but he wouldn’t tell me what it was or let me come along.”
Lin Chuansen wanted to grumble more, but he couldn’t blame Yun Zhuan. He knew his son’s stubborn nature all too well. He could only vent his frustrations at the front gate, muttering about how he’d deal with the boy when he returned.
“Xiao Yun, I have to stay with your aunt. You do your own thing—study your ability. If you’re tired, go ahead and sleep in your room. Treat this as your own home.”
Yun Zhuan nodded. “Don’t worry about me, Uncle. I’ll stay downstairs. If anything happens, I’ll let you know.”
“Alright. Keep the doors locked. Don’t let anyone in.”
“I know.”
The timer on the loudspeakers Lin Po set had expired, and the village fell into a sudden silence. No one was walking the streets—only wandering zombies searching for the scent of fresh flesh.
At the home of Liu Hongwei, the village chief, about a dozen people had gathered. They all lived nearby. When the crisis hit the previous night, many had been asleep next to their partners, only for their loved ones to turn into monsters and infect them. In the end, less than half the members of five or six families remained alive.
They had been hiding in their homes, terrified and silent, until the village loudspeakers suddenly crackled to life. A young man’s voice—sounding like one of the Lin family kids—had listed out instructions.
Initially, they didn’t dare believe it. But then they realized that if someone was safe enough to reach the broadcast room, they must have some useful information. They couldn’t hide forever or they would starve; they had to take a chance.
Those who had awakened abilities tried to use them, while those without found whatever tools they could. They wrapped their exposed skin in thick clothing and moved out—those with abilities leading the way, while the others kept watch. Because the loudspeakers had drawn away some of the zombies, they managed to break out without major incident.
As they emerged, they happened to see the village chief, Liu Hongwei, fighting a zombie. The zombie had been tall in life and was even stronger now. Liu Hongwei had no ability and was struggling. He shielded his daughter behind him, nearly getting scratched several times.
Seeing the danger, the villagers rushed in to help. They swung hoes, used ropes to restrain the creature, and blasted it with whatever abilities they had, finally subduing the zombie.
Liu Hongwei panted heavily, clutching his daughter to his chest, his heart racing with lingering fear. His daughter had been a hair’s breadth away from being infected.
“What’s going on? Where did this monster come from? He doesn’t look like he’s from our village.”
“Exactly. He’s incredibly strong; several of us could barely hold him down.”
“Lao Liu, why were you outside at a time like this?”
Once the situation stabilized, the villagers began firing off questions.
Liu Hongwei waved his hand. “Don’t stand out here. Let’s go inside and talk.”
The crowd followed him in. They were currently leaderless and needed someone to look up to. Though Liu Hongwei’s jurisdiction wasn’t large, he was a seasoned man who had helped the village develop; following him seemed the right choice.
Only after locking the door did Liu Hongwei relax. “Thank you all. If it wasn’t for you, my daughter and I might have met a terrible end.”
The others waved it off. “It’s nothing. Just helping a neighbor.”
Liu Hongwei explained, “This man was an old comrade of mine. He started his own company after retiring. I invited him here to see if he could set up a factory to boost our village economy. But in the middle of the night, he suddenly turned into… that. He kept banging on the door in his room. My daughter woke up and, not knowing any better, thought her uncle was trapped, so she opened the door. He immediately tried to bite her. Fortunately, she was quick and hid under the car where he couldn’t reach her, so she managed to survive.”