“Sister Chen, my parents are looking for cheaper suppliers. They mentioned that grain prices might go up a bit soon. Do you want to buy some things on your way out?”
Although his parents had moved most of the warehouse stock, the items on the shelves were still there.
Hearing this, Sister Chen chose to believe him. After all, rice and flour wouldn’t go bad; there was no harm in having extra. When she clocked out, she called her husband to pick her up. They hauled away a bag of rice, a bag of flour, and a significant amount of the discounted produce.
With that, Lin Po had essentially cleared the supermarket’s inventory. He grabbed a few daily necessities for himself—toothpaste, toothbrushes, toilet paper—and finally lowered the rolling shutter in front of the glass doors. However, he didn’t lock the inner glass doors.
If people came looking for supplies in the future, getting inside would be much easier than having to pry open a heavy steel door.
When Lin Po returned home, his parents were already back. Wang Yurong had prepared dinner and was waiting for him.
“You should have started without me,” Lin Po said. “The food is getting cold.”
“I just finished,” Wang Yurong replied. “Are you tired? Is your cold better?”
Lin Po nodded. “I’m fine. Sister Chen and I sold off all the produce today, and a lot of the shelf stock too. I did the math; the loss isn’t that bad.”
Wang Yurong paused. “It doesn’t matter. I was anxious yesterday, but since we’ve already taken this step, I’m going to trust you.”
Lin Chuansen added, “Everything at the old house is organized. Before I left today, I bought a lot of local rice. It’s enough to last our family for several years.”
Old rice didn’t taste great, but in the coming times, having anything to eat would be a blessing. In his past life, Lin Po had eaten bitter tree bark; old rice was a luxury by comparison.
As they sat down, Lin Po decided to bring up Yun Zhuan. “Dad, Mom… I want to bring a classmate back to the old house with us.”
Lin Chuansen froze, then asked sharply, “Did you tell this classmate about your dream?”
Lin Po shook his head. “No. I just told him I was inviting him to our hometown to visit.”
“Are you trying to save his life?” Lin Chuansen asked hesitantly.
“Yes,” Lin Po said. “He’s a very good friend. In the dream… he was the one who saved me.”
Lin Po wasn’t ready to come out to his parents yet. They already had enough on their plates; there was no need to add more stress. He told the lie smoothly, though he felt a bitter weight in his heart. Since his rebirth, he had told so many lies that they were starting to feel like a heavy burden.
Being the observant one, Wang Yurong asked, “If he comes with us, what about his parents?”
“He’s alone now,” Lin Po explained. “He doesn’t seem to have any other relatives.”
This sparked a wave of pity in Wang Yurong for this “Classmate Yun” who had supposedly saved her son and had no one else to turn to.
“If that’s the case, let him come,” she agreed. “In the countryside, people are used to stocking up on grain anyway. It won’t be hard to explain.”
After dinner, the family sat in the living room with the TV on, but none of them were actually watching.
Lin Po had said the Jinhua Overpass would collapse tonight. Lin Chuansen knew the bridge well; it wasn’t far from where they lived. However, since the city had rerouted traffic, the overpass wasn’t used much anymore. It was inspected regularly, and there had never been any word of it being a “dangerous bridge” slated for demolition.
“Let’s go take a look,” Lin Chuansen said suddenly.
Sometimes, you need to witness something with your own eyes to truly feel the impact of the truth.
Lin Po agreed. Since his rebirth, his choices had already deviated from his previous life. If there was a “butterfly effect,” he wanted to be there to help if needed.
They couldn’t just stand conspicuously next to the bridge. If something happened, the authorities would investigate. If the surveillance cameras showed a family loitering suspiciously near the collapse site, it would raise questions.
Lin Po searched his phone and found a well-rated BBQ joint nearby. Going out for a late-night snack wouldn’t look out of the ordinary.
“Eating junk food again,” Wang Yurong muttered, though she didn’t resist.
“Just this once for the flavor,” Lin Po said softly. “Besides, it might be a long time before we can eat like this again.”
They left around 10:00 PM. In the city, the nightlife was just beginning. The BBQ shop was packed with people drinking beer and chatting—the rare, relaxed moments of a busy life.
Lin Po picked a table near the edge. He handed the menu to his parents. “Order whatever you like.”
The Lin family hadn’t always been well-off and rarely ate out. Even after they started making money, Wang Yurong remained frugal by instinct. But tonight, she didn’t say anything discouraging. She ordered meat skewers, chicken feet, and grilled vegetables—mostly things her husband and son liked.
“That’s enough,” she said, handing the menu back. They had already eaten dinner; this was just a cover.
Lin Po added an order of grilled eggplant. “I remember Mom loves this.”
Wang Yurong’s eyes flickered. She didn’t say anything, but she was clearly touched.
While they waited, Lin Chuansen scouted the area. Once the waiter was gone, he leaned in and whispered, “I checked. Because of the surrounding demolition, the Jinhua Overpass area is pretty isolated. At this hour, there’s almost no one on that road.”
Lin Po looked up. Under the dim yellow streetlights, the words “Jinhua Overpass” reflected a faint light, sitting quietly in the dark.
“Don’t worry. In the dream, there were no casualties. That road is almost always empty of cars and pedestrians at this hour.”
They sat, occasionally glancing toward the bridge, until Wang Yurong hissed, “Stop looking. People are going to think something is wrong with you two.”
Nearly midnight, the crowd in the shop had thinned, though some slow drinkers remained.
Lin Po suddenly whispered, “It’s time.”
Lin Chuansen and Wang Yurong immediately straightened their backs, going on high alert.
Minutes later, a massive roar erupted from the distance. The ground beneath them shuddered. The customers in the shop jumped up in a panic, thinking it was an earthquake, and scrambled outside. The Lin family followed the crowd.
At the roadside, someone with sharp eyes shouted, “It’s not an earthquake! The overpass collapsed!”
The crowd broke into a frenzy of hushed whispers and shouts.
“How could a bridge just fall like that?”
“Tofu-dreg project! They don’t care about human lives!”
“Call the police! Were there people on the bridge?”
A few brave souls ran toward the site to see if anyone needed help. The Lin family followed. As Lin Po had predicted, the road was empty of cars, and there were no pedestrians on the bridge.
Police, firefighters, and ambulances arrived quickly. After a search, they confirmed there were no casualties. Lin Po let out a sigh of relief; his presence hadn’t caused a change that cost lives.
As crowds from nearby apartments gathered to film with their phones, Lin Po decided it was time to go. He grabbed his parents’ hands to lead them back to the car, only to find their palms ice-cold and their bodies stiff.
Wang Yurong let out a long, shaky breath. Before the collapse, she had only half-believed her son. Part of it was because the story was absurd, and part was because she didn’t want to face the grim, violent struggle for survival that he described.
She had told herself that even if her son wasted all their money, it was better than fighting zombies. They were just ordinary people. How could they protect themselves in a world like that? Would they even live long enough to eat all the grain they had stored?
Lin Chuansen was clearly thinking the same thing. Until this moment, they had both held onto the hope of a “way back.” But now, that path was gone. If his son’s dream wasn’t real, how could he have known the bridge would fall?
Lin Po understood their fear. He stepped forward and pulled both of his parents into a hug. His father’s once-broad shoulders were now slightly hunched, and his mother’s once-graceful figure had been weathered by years of hard work.
“Dad, Mom, trust me. We will find a way through this.”
Their mindset was shifting. Before, they were following Lin Po’s instructions out of love; now, they were truly beginning to think about survival.
When they got home, the house was silent. They washed up and went to their respective rooms. Wang Yurong huddled close to Lin Chuansen, seeking the warmth of her husband to calm her racing heart.
Suddenly, Lin Chuansen spoke into the darkness.
“Tomorrow, I’m going to buy some heavy-duty rope.”
Wang Yurong was about to ask why, but then a phrase her son had said flashed through her mind: “Zombie transformation is random.”