Seven days passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, Yun Huacen had been holed up in the laboratory, taking care of all his daily needs there. Sun Qi was responsible for delivering his three meals a day, leaving them on the small table outside the lab door. He would grab them whenever he remembered, often eating cold food, and sometimes even combining two meals into one.
“The extraction of the required medicinal components is complete. Now, only two are missing,” Yun Huacen said, slumping into a chair. He took a painkiller and swallowed it with water.
The cat typed: “Rest for a day. Go get the medicine tomorrow.”
With irregular meals, his stomach issues had flared up again, leaving Yun Huacen looking pale. “Do you know where to find them?” he asked.
“There’s a large pharmacy in Yunan Town.”
Yunan Town was located to the east of their small town, about ten kilometers away. It was a relatively prosperous town but had fallen into chaos due to its proximity to their own town. It was now a controlled quarantine zone.
Yun Huacen glanced at the clock on the wall. “I’ll rest today and go tomorrow.”
After saving all his work, Yun Huacen got up and left the lab. In the adjacent disinfection room, he removed his protective suit and meticulously completed the disinfection process before heading upstairs.
The children greeted him as he appeared.
“Go on with your games,” Yun Huacen said, turning to Sun Qi. “Qiqi, could you make me some porridge?”
“Would you like rice porridge or millet porridge, Uncle?”
“Millet porridge, please.”
“Alright, I’ll get to it right away.”
Just as Yun Huacen was about to turn away, he remembered that it had been over ten days since their last supply run. Their resources must be running low. “How much food do we have left?”
“We have about forty pounds of rice, forty pounds of millet, and fifty pounds of flour.”
“What about vegetables and eggs?”
“No eggs left. We have three potatoes, two cabbages, and a small piece of cured meat.”
“It looks like we need to go out for supplies,” Yun Huacen paused briefly before adding, “Discuss among yourselves who will come with me tomorrow. Preferably two of you.”
“Uncle, I’ll go with you.” Yu Lei spoke up first.
“No need to decide right away. You can let me know tomorrow morning.”
Without saying more, Yun Huacen headed toward the stairs.
“Meow.” the cat called out.
Yun Huacen stopped and looked back. Seeing the cat staring toward the door, he changed direction, walked to the entrance, and unlocked it with his fingerprint. He let the cat out, saying, “Be careful. Don’t wander off.”
The cat glanced back at him with another meow before nimbly leaping over the wall and disappearing.
Yun Huacen took a hot shower, drank a bowl of millet porridge, and then collapsed into bed, sleeping soundly until the alarm woke him the next day. After a quick wash, he went downstairs and heard noises coming from the kitchen, so he headed over.
Sun Qi was preparing breakfast. Seeing him enter, she greeted him, “Good morning, Uncle.”
“What’s for breakfast?”
“Rice porridge and potato pancakes.”
“You’ve been working hard lately.”
“It’s no trouble,” Sun Qi replied shyly. “I’ve washed the clothes you changed out of and put them in the wardrobe.”
“Thank you.”
Sun Qi shook her head, hesitating for a moment before saying, “Uncle, I…”
“Speak your mind.”
In a soft voice, Sun Qi said, “Uncle, I’ve started my period.”
Yun Huacen was taken aback for a second before understanding what she meant. “Use toilet paper for now. We’ll bring back some sanitary pads for you when we go out this time.”
Sun Qi breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Thank you, Uncle.”
“If you need anything, just tell me directly. Don’t feel embarrassed.”
“Uncle, it’s already October now, and the weather is getting colder day by day. As for us…”
“Winter clothes should indeed be prepared.” Yun Huacen nodded. “How about this: make a list of everything you need, and I’ll do my best to find them.”
Sun Qi pulled a piece of paper from her pocket, unfolded it, and handed it to Yun Huacen with a smile. “Uncle, I’ve already written it all down.”
“So you’ve prepared in advance.” Yun Huacen took the paper and examined it carefully, feeling somewhat surprised. The list covered every aspect of daily life, and all the items were necessities.
Sun Qi watched Yun Huacen anxiously and said, “Uncle, is it too much? Actually, having food is enough. The rest isn’t important.”
Yun Huacen shook his head. “No, these are all necessities. You’ve thought it through very thoroughly. I’ll do my best to find them.”
Sun Qi visibly relaxed and continued making breakfast. Yun Huacen left the kitchen and sat on the sofa to check the surveillance footage. The cat had been out since last night and hadn’t returned yet, which made him a little worried.
“Good morning, Uncle.” The children came downstairs one after another.
“Have you decided? Who’s coming out with me today?”
Yu Lei quickly answered, “Wu Xiaoming and I.”
Yun Huacen looked at the boy standing quietly nearby and said, “After breakfast, come with me to get the masks.”
“Okay.”
After everyone finished breakfast, Yun Huacen went to the laboratory to get the masks and then went upstairs to wait. When going out to search for supplies, it was best to have the cat along; otherwise, he couldn’t guarantee the children’s safety. He waited until the afternoon before the cat finally returned, its body stained with blood.
Yun Huacen hurried downstairs and went into the yard, asking with concern, “Are you injured?”
The cat shook its head.
“Then wait a moment. I’ll go put on protective gear and wash you.”
The cat raised its paw and pointed toward the faucet in the yard.
“You mean I should turn on the faucet and you’ll wash yourself?”
The cat nodded.
“That works too.” Yun Huacen walked to the sink and turned on the faucet.
The cat waited for him to move away before stepping into the sink, rinsing off the bloodstains. Once clean, it stood nearby to dry in the sun, watching the water flow noisily. Only after the sink was thoroughly rinsed did it signal Yun Huacen to turn off the faucet.
Yun Huacen looked at its wet fur. “How long will it take for you to dry like this?”
The cat walked toward the garage and leaped onto the car roof in a few quick movements.
“Good idea!”
Yun Huacen turned and went into the living room, calling Yu Lei and Wu Xiaoming out. The three of them got into the car one after another. Twenty minutes later, they arrived at Yunan Town. Yun Huacen slowed down and said, “Each of you look on one side and see if there’s a pharmacy anywhere.”
The two responded, carefully scanning the shops along the roadside.
“A pharmacy!” Yu Lei exclaimed excitedly. “Uncle, there’s a pharmacy over here!”
Yun Huacen turned to look and indeed saw a pharmacy. It appeared to be quite large. He pulled over to the side of the road and turned to Yu Lei and Wu Xiaoming. “Both of you, put on your masks properly. No matter what happens, do not take them off. Understood?”
“Understood.” The two nodded emphatically.
“Don’t be nervous. With me here, nothing will happen to you.”
Yun Huacen was the first to step out of the car, followed closely by the two children. The cat leaped down from the roof. Yun Huacen scanned their surroundings, the street was teeming with countless zombies, with severed limbs and broken bodies scattered everywhere. The sheer visual impact was enough to instill fear, even though he knew the zombies wouldn’t dare approach with the cat present. He patted the children reassuringly, touched the gun holstered at his waist, and strode toward the pharmacy.
Not far away, in one of the buildings, someone was observing them through binoculars. From the moment they entered the street, they had caught his attention. Despite the hordes of zombies roaming the area, none seemed to notice them, it was utterly baffling!
“Captain, are they even human? Why aren’t the zombies attacking them?”
The man with the binoculars was Li Hailing, a soldier from the Dongshan Provincial Armed Police Force. He had been assigned by his superiors to carry out rescue operations and served as the captain of the rescue team.
“They’re driving a car and clearly have consciousness. Of course they’re human.”
“Then why aren’t the zombies attacking them?”
“I don’t know. But we need to find out.”
“What do you mean, Captain?”
“Head to the pharmacy and find them.” Li Hailing put away his binoculars and walked toward the door.
“Captain, we’re running low on ammunition. Going out now would be suicide.”
“Zombies have heightened hearing. Gunshots would only attract more of them. We’ll do the opposite, draw them away.”
“The opposite?”
Li Hailing picked up a drone and found a roll of tape, securing a mobile phone to it. “Head to the rooftop. If we encounter zombies, use knives, not guns.”
“Yes, sir.” The team holstered their firearms and drew their combat knives.
After dispatching five zombies, they made it safely to the rooftop. Li Hailing took out the remote control and launched the drone. When it reached about three meters above the ground, the phone attached to it suddenly rang, a piercing sound that quickly caught the zombies’ attention. They grew agitated and began moving toward the drone.
Li Hailing ordered, “Xiao Jin, you stay behind and control the drone. The rest of you, come with me.”
Jin Siwen took the remote control and replied, “Mission assured!”
The commotion from the phone also caught Yun Huacen’s attention. Watching the drone fly away, he frowned and said, “We just got here…”
Seeing his expression, Yu Lei couldn’t help but ask, “Uncle, is something wrong?”
“That person is probably targeting us,” Yun Huacen quickly concluded. “Hurry, grab what we need and get out of here!”
If it were just zombies, they could handle them, even kill them if necessary. But if it was a person, things would get complicated. Although the zombie outbreak had occurred, the nation hadn’t collapsed, and the law still existed. Crossing certain lines could lead to consequences later, so it was best to avoid other survivors whenever possible.
Though Yu Lei didn’t fully understand, he quickened his pace. Earlier, Yun Huacen had already told them which medications to look for.
“Found it!” Yu Lei held up a box of medicine, excitedly looking at Yun Huacen.
Yun Huacen hurried over, carefully examined the ingredients, and said, “That’s it. Take as much as you can, and leave immediately!”
After placing the necessary medicines into the box, Yun Huacen also took all the sanitary pads from the shelves before leading the others out of the pharmacy. Just as they finished loading the supplies into the car, they spotted several people running out of a nearby mall. Judging by their uniforms, they appeared to be armed police officers.
Yun Huacen frowned slightly, hesitated for only a moment, then made up his mind. “Get in the car.” he said.
The three of them quickly got into the vehicle. Yun Huacen stepped on the accelerator, and the car shot forward, ignoring the gestures from Li Hailing in the rearview mirror, who was signaling for them to stop.
“Captain, what should we do? They’re leaving.”
“Get in the car. Let’s chase them!”