At the same time, Village Chief Liu Hongwei began to feel troubled after receiving the specific headcount.
Only a little over three hundred survivors remained in Xiping Village. More than half were the elderly, women, and children. Although they were all skilled laborers, the natural disparity in physical strength was glaringly obvious when it came to fighting zombies. If they couldn’t recruit more able-bodied young men, their burden would inevitably become much heavier.
“Right, I remember someone telling me yesterday that the Lin family in the village all survived. I recall there being three men in that household, right? How about it? Are they willing to join us?”
The man who had gone to notify the Lin family scratched his head and said, “They haven’t stated a position yet. They said they needed to discuss it as a family first. But I think it’s a long shot; after all, even if they don’t join, their chances of survival are quite high.”
Liu Hongwei sighed and said, “Fine, ignore them for now. I’ll try to persuade them during the meeting.”
By now, the village primary school had been properly arranged. Everyone had brought their belongings from home. Forget about beds; they could bring blankets and mattresses, but they had to push desks together to serve as beds.
During the day, they patrolled the entire campus and reinforced all the weak spots. They even wrapped the main gate with layers of metal. Though it looked messy, it was genuinely sturdy—forget zombies, even a car probably couldn’t crash through it.
They tried to avoid direct confrontation with zombies as much as possible. They drove whenever they went out, hitting any attacking zombies directly with the car and then getting out to finish them off. This method tested well, but it was too fuel-consuming. With their current reserves, they wouldn’t last more than a few days; eventually, they would have to face the threat with cold steel.
Regarding the dormitory assignments, Liu Hongwei adopted a method that prioritized family units. Otherwise, men and women were separated, with six people to a large classroom, living together to look out for one another.
No one had any major objections to this, and they quickly moved into their assigned spaces.
The food they brought was pooled together, with the cafeteria cooking large communal meals every day, carefully measuring the portions.
Someone raised an objection, arguing that since they were in the countryside, food and supplies were available in the fields; there was no need to be so cautious.
Liu Hongwei said, “I’m not trying to hoard everyone’s food. I’m not a corrupt official, and besides, what use is it for me to hoard grain now? I’m simply considering the current situation. While there is grain in the fields, it needs people to harvest it, and after harvesting, it needs to be replanted. Who dares to go out now? Li Ming, would you dare go out without a car? If you get bitten by a zombie, you lose your life.”
Others nearby chimed in with various opinions.
“He’s right. We don’t even know if rescue is coming. There’s no news at all. I saw on Weibo that the whole country is paralyzed and the power grid won’t last more than a few days. What do we do then? It’s better to plan our usage now so we don’t panic later.”
“I’ll follow the Chief’s lead. Li Ming, don’t worry, he won’t let you go hungry.”
The man named Li Ming turned red in the face and said loudly, “I didn’t mean to question Brother Hongwei. I was just asking.”
Liu Hongwei pressed his hands down, signaling for everyone to be quiet. He said, “It’s alright. Right now, we are like one big family. If there are any issues, you must actively bring them up. Never bottle up your frustrations in the collective; that isn’t conducive to our integration. Alright, disperse for now. Everyone, go pack your things. We’ll hold a meeting this afternoon to arrange our next steps.”
Once everyone had left, he returned to his room. His daughter was waiting for him anxiously. The events of that day had likely terrified her, as she had been unwilling to speak ever since. He still couldn’t get through to his wife’s phone. His heart ached, and as he hugged his daughter, tears couldn’t help but fall.
The little girl looked at him, suddenly reached out to wipe his tears dry, and said in a soft voice, “Daddy, don’t cry. Don’t be afraid.”
Liu Hongwei was instantly moved. His daughter’s willingness to speak meant her condition was improving. Since he had no way to take his daughter to find his wife, he had to at least protect his daughter well.
When Yun Zhuan finished his shower and came downstairs, Lin Po had already served his portion of breakfast and placed it across the table. Yun Zhuan picked up the bowl and took a sip of porridge while Lin Po peeled a boiled egg for him nearby.
“I actually slept until nearly noon. After we finish the meeting over there this afternoon, we need to get ready to handle our own business.”
Yun Zhuan took the boiled egg Lin Po handed over, stuffed it into his mouth in one go, and nodded repeatedly.
Lin Po checked his phone for a while. The group chat messages had long since exploded, and there were many people trying to add him—likely thinking he was some kind of experienced expert. However, he had already said everything that needed to be said in the group; reaching out to him further was useless. These people were scattered in every corner of Jiang City. Even if he were a superman, it would take an enormous amount of time to rescue them one by one.
However, one message caught his attention.
“Brother Lin Po, I’m Hu Xiaoxing. Can you come save me? I might not make it.”
Hu Xiaoxing. This name sounded familiar. Lin Po thought carefully; it seemed to be the child from the floor below his apartment. She was quite cute, and her grandparents had been very kind to Lin Po, often sending him food and drinks. The little girl also knew Lin Po. She was usually very introverted and shy; for her to muster the courage to send a private message for help meant she was truly in trouble.
And the truth was exactly as Lin Po suspected. Hu Xiaoxing had been pushed into her room by her mother for protection. Her mother had then been bitten and infected by her mutated father. Now, two mindless zombies wandered outside her door. She didn’t dare go out, nor could she. But there was very little food in the room; her mother, fearing for her teeth, never let her keep snacks in her bedroom. Her backpack only contained two apples, along with some chips and dried noodles she had secretly bought at school.
She didn’t dare eat everything, but her stomach hurt from hunger, so she could only eat a little bit at a time. The only water in the room was in a kettle; if she rationed it, she could probably last about five days. But what after that? Hu Xiaoxing didn’t know.
She lay by the window looking down. Some people had already come out to move about, their hands waving as various strange things appeared. There was earth, metal, and even vines. But she looked at her own right hand, and there was nothing but a ball of blue, shimmering light.
She even tried tying her bedsheets together, but her family lived on the fifth floor; the sheets in her room were nowhere near long enough for that distance.
Was she just waiting to die? Hu Xiaoxing stared blankly at her right hand. The blue light flickered slightly, looking a bit like a star, but it couldn’t bring her hope.
Finally, she looked at her phone. Brother Lin Po had sent messages before. Perhaps he didn’t remember her anymore, but he was her last lifeline. No matter what, she decided to send that message. If she ended up dying anyway, there was nothing to be done; she had already tried her best to live.
Lin Po’s finger tapped lightly on the phone. He said, “When the time comes, I might have to make a trip back to the apartment.”
Yun Zhuan asked, “What happened?”
Lin Po showed him the phone. Yun Zhuan scanned the message and asked, “Is it someone you know?”
Lin Po nodded and said, “Yeah, she lives right below me. Her grandparents were very good to me. Since she’s spoken up, she must be facing a very difficult situation. If possible, I want to save her.”
Yun Zhuan said, “There’s no ‘if possible.’ If you want to do it, then do it. Don’t live your life burdened by regret and guilt. It’s just that our plans might get disrupted.”
Lin Po said, “Yeah, but it’s fine. My house isn’t in the city center; it’s very close to the university. The original plan will proceed as scheduled.”
He had originally planned to return immediately after delivering the supplies, but given the little girl’s situation, they would have to travel a bit further.
This path would certainly be full of risks. He had originally intended to leave the car halfway, but now it seemed he would have to drive into the city.
Soon, it was time for the meeting. Lin Po drove his family to the village primary school, where they received a warm welcome from the Village Chief.
Lin Po was momentarily stunned, but he quickly understood. His family represented the exact labor force the Chief was desperately lacking. Unfortunately, they probably couldn’t fulfill the Chief’s wishes.
“You’re finally here! We’ve been waiting for a long time.”
Liu Hongwei made these pleasantries sound exceptionally sincere; in all likelihood, that was exactly how he felt.
Lin Chuansen, of course, accepted the courtesy and said, “Sigh, my wife hadn’t woken up, and by the time she did, my son had disappeared somewhere. That’s why we haven’t been able to join everyone until now.”
Liu Hongwei’s eyes lit up. He already knew about the adverse reactions some people had when awakening abilities. By the sound of it, Ms. Wang definitely had an ability.
Lin Chuansen knew what he was thinking and continued, “In our family, only my wife has an ability, though it’s a not-very-useful water-type one. Also, my son’s classmate has the ability to control metal.”
Liu Hongwei had seen both of these abilities, though right now he felt the most useful ones were fire and wood. One could burn the zombies so they couldn’t even get close, while the other—though less direct for killing—could use vines to restrict a zombie’s movement, leaving them for a teammate to finish off. Some of the more agile users could even use vines to snap a zombie’s neck.
However, Liu Hongwei certainly wouldn’t voice any disdain. Moreover, he felt that as long as someone had an ability, it was good. Even if they couldn’t fight zombies, an increase in physical fitness was better than nothing. He didn’t have an ability yet himself, so he was in no position to look down on others.
“Alright, I have a general idea. Let’s head to the meeting first. I’ll share my thoughts, and as for other matters, how about we chat together later?”
Lin Chuansen naturally agreed.
Once Liu Hongwei had left, Lin Po leaned toward his father and said, “I feel this Village Chief is alright. Dad, what do you think?”
Lin Chuansen said, “He’s a man who gets things done.”
This was high praise. To be able to take action and possess leadership skills—Lin Po actually found himself looking forward to the development of this Xiping Village survival base.