At the meeting, Liu Hongwei gave a general outline of their plan. With so many people to feed, the initial reserves provided by each household were far from enough. He had his sights set on the town’s grain depot, which held a significant amount of food. However, the journey there would definitely not be as simple as staying in the village; there would undoubtedly be all sorts of dangers.
“For this operation, I suggest that those with abilities take the lead. This is to maximize the preservation of our collective strength. Of course, even though I don’t have an ability, I will be going along as well. What do you all think?”
Some people were originally reluctant to go. After all, they didn’t want to shoulder more risk just because they happened to have an ability. But with the Village Chief putting it that way, no one had the heart to voice an objection.
Lin Po sat in the corner, his gaze drifting across the meeting room. He scanned the crowd; while not everyone looked disgruntled, there were plenty of faces with “unwilling” written all over them.
Lin Po sneered inwardly. That’s how it always was—people wanting to wait for others to clear the path, waiting to be protected. But in reality, there was no such thing as a free ride. It could only be said that the current situation in Xiping Village was still too comfortable; they simply hadn’t grasped the gravity of the reality yet.
After Liu Hongwei finished arranging the matters and dismissed the group, he specifically asked the Lin family to stay behind.
Liu Hongwei said, “You saw it yourselves. Even though everyone is gathered together, their hearts aren’t united. I don’t have an ability yet, and I can barely keep them in line for now. If my ability fails to manifest, they will eventually want to go their own ways. It’s not that I’m clinging to this bit of power, but as you know, in times like these, most people only look out for themselves. It’s too hard to find someone willing to shoulder the responsibility. I heard from others that the announcement on the loudspeaker was your son’s doing, so I know your family consists of people with a sense of duty. How about it? Why not join me and make a stand in this terminal world?”
Lin Po listened from the side, feeling oddly like he was listening to a recruitment speech. If he were a hot-blooded youth, he’d probably be nodding in agreement right now. However, they had already discussed this, so Lin Chuansen stepped forward to decline.
Lin Chuansen said, “I’ve discussed this with my family. We’ve decided to live on our own. But don’t worry—if there’s ever a place where you need help, just let us know. We’ll certainly do what we can.”
Liu Hongwei wanted to persist, but Lin Chuansen continued, “Our family’s situation is a bit unique. Xiao Po’s classmate is from out of town; I’m afraid others might have issues if we all live together constantly. Besides, Xiao Po has been clamoring to return to Jiang City. He’s a headstrong boy, and we can’t stop him.”
Liu Hongwei turned his gaze toward Lin Po. Lin Po smiled at him and said, “Uncle, we are very willing to help the village. However, I have close classmates and teachers I respect back at school. They might be in trouble now, so I must go and help them.”
Liu Hongwei sighed. This was a good kid—and because he was such a good kid, they couldn’t win him over.
Liu Hongwei said, “In that case, I won’t force it. However, we will notify you of every operation. If you’re willing to join, the spoils will be distributed to you fairly.”
Lin Po was naturally very pleased. The matter had been resolved peacefully, and he didn’t have to worry about offending the villagers and being stabbed in the back later. You couldn’t blame Lin Po for being cautious; he had seen too many people ready to kill each other over the slightest benefit. Compared to that kind of backstabbing, he would rather face zombies directly—at least zombies wouldn’t play mind games with him.
With the meeting over, Lin Po and Yun Zhuan went home to start packing for their departure. They unloaded a bit of the goods brought back the previous day for the family to eat, but kept the rest in the car.
When Yun Zhuan and Lin Chuansen saw the supplies, they wanted to ask where they came from, but Lin Po gave them a blunt reply: “Don’t ask. It’s not convenient to tell you the reason right now.”
Lin Chuansen thought of his son’s prophetic dreams and remained silent. Perhaps in the dream, his son knew where there were stockpiles.
As for Yun Zhuan, he understood Lin Po’s approach. Since he arrived, Lin Po had kept countless secrets from him. Since Lin Po wasn’t willing to talk, he simply stopped asking. Not everyone’s secrets can be made public; otherwise, they wouldn’t be called secrets.
As Lin Po packed, he said, “We need to set out quickly. I’m worried Hu Xiaoxing’s situation might not be good. Plus, the further we go, the harder the roads might become. If everyone gets desperate to flee the city, we might get stuck in a massive traffic jam.”
Even if they took backroads to bypass most vehicles, there were only so many entrances into the city. If they got blocked, one could imagine the immense effort it would take to get inside.
He had replied to Hu Xiaoxing’s message, but there had been no response from her end. If Lin Po hadn’t seen that message, he naturally wouldn’t feel guilty. But now that he had seen it—and knowing it was the granddaughter of the elderly couple who had been so kind to him—Lin Po had to try to save her no matter what.
Lin Chuansen knew Lin Po was going to rescue someone and couldn’t bring himself to stop him. If it weren’t for the need to look after the home, he might have gone himself.
Lin Po spent some time talking in his parents’ room. He said, “In the village, our current situation is equivalent to being loners. It’s inevitable that some people will have their eyes on us. Dad, Mom, we must keep a low profile. Don’t let anyone notice the supplies we’ve stockpiled at home.”
Lin Chuansen lowered his voice and said, “Don’t worry, no one has seen them, and we won’t go around telling anyone. Your mother and I are being very careful.”
Wang Yurong added, “Your father and I haven’t visited any neighbors since we got back, for fear someone might notice something. Son, you don’t need to worry about any of this. I only hope that when you and Xiao Yun go out, you stay safe. Even if you want to save someone, you must put your own lives first.”
Lin Po hugged his mother and said, “Don’t worry, I know. We will protect ourselves.”
His father and mother saw them off at the door. Through the rearview mirror, Lin Po saw them watching from a distance until the car turned the corner, yet they remained standing in the same spot.
Since returning to his hometown, Lin Po had basically never taken the road out of the village. Not many people lived near his house; aside from the zombie that ran over that night and the ones they had defeated, he hadn’t seen any others. It was only as the car drove further out that they realized the situation was even more severe.
Because of the heat, the air was thick with the stench of rotting flesh, which was nauseating. Lin Po rolled up all the windows, both to block out the foul smell and out of fear that something might jump out at them.
The journey from the village back to Jiang City inevitably passed through Luoxia Town. Luoxia Town was the largest town in the vicinity, with a permanent population in the tens of thousands. Now, all the shops in town were tightly shuttered. Aside from zombies wandering the roadside, not a single soul was in sight.
The streets were littered with discarded items. The glass doors of many small supermarkets along the road had been smashed, and the contents were tossed into a mess. Fortunately, the road remained clear.
Lin Po was driving and couldn’t easily look outside, so Yun Zhuan kept a close watch on their surroundings. Eventually, the zombies were startled by the sound of the car and began slowly converging on them.
This wasn’t like the two or three “kittens” from the other night. Yun Zhuan saw over a dozen in plain sight, and rustling sounds coming from the shadows cast a dark shadow over their hearts.
Yun Zhuan said, “Lin Po, I’m afraid you’ll have to show off those racing skills of yours.”
Lin Po smiled, stepped on the gas, and said, “Then sit tight.”
When Lin Po first got his license, he was a very steady driver, certified as an “old driver” by relatives and friends. His current set of skills was entirely forged from escaping for his life in his past existence, and now they finally had a use again.
The car shot forward like an arrow from a bow. Yun Zhuan was shoved back hard by the inertia; if it weren’t for the seatbelt, he probably would have flown out.
“I say, Lin Po, you could control it a little.”
The corners of Lin Po’s mouth twitched upward. “Oops, I got a bit excited and lost control.”
Yun Zhuan shook his head helplessly. “I’m starting to doubt how you got your license. With you driving like this, did the instructor really feel safe letting you take the test?”
Lin Po stuck out his tongue and said with a grin, “I got it through sheer talent, of course.”
Soon, relying on Lin Po’s “wild dog” driving style, they shook off the tails behind them and arrived at a fork in the road. One side was a wide, smooth provincial highway, while the other side looked much worse, with the end obscured by lush, dense trees.
Lin Po slowed down and said, “We’ll take this backroad. There probably won’t be many people. You can take a short rest.”
Yun Zhuan shook his head. “I’m not sleepy. I’ll stay and talk to you so you don’t doze off.”
Lin Po said, “Then keep telling me stories. It’s a rare chance for the two of us to have some quiet time.”
So Yun Zhuan took out the storybook and began reading to him again. Yun Zhuan had a very unique voice; every word that rolled off his lips seemed to carry a special charm. Lin Po’s somewhat restless heart gradually calmed down, and he occasionally discussed the plot’s development with Yun Zhuan.
“By the way, my apartment is on the sixth floor, and Hu Xiaoxing lives on the fifth. I’m not sure if we can get into that residential building. If taking the stairs doesn’t work, Yun Zhuan, do you have any ideas?”
Yun Zhuan thought for a moment and said, “As long as there’s enough metal, I should be able to melt it into a chain. However, it would require the little girl to be brave enough. It’s very risky for us to climb up, since we aren’t professionals.”
Lin Po said, “There’s no other way. If we really can’t get up the building, she’ll have to rely on herself. We can only provide as much help as possible.”
Hu Xiaoxing was an unexpected situation outside of his original plan. It was hard for Lin Po to come up with a foolproof strategy; he could only take it one step at a time.
As the two were talking, Lin Po suddenly felt the car hit something. The entire body of the vehicle jolted. Lin Po’s face went pale instantly. He hadn’t seen anything just now—had he hit a person?