Zzzzt… the electric current made contact with human skin, flickering with a silvery light. The person convulsed in response, limbs flailing as if dancing. Yun Huacen pulled the stun baton away, and Yue Zirui’s body thudded to the ground, the spasms continuing. Yu Lei, standing to the side, stared dumbfounded, clearly unable to grasp what had just happened.
“A-Rui!” Sun Qi was the first to snap back to reality, rushing to Yue Zirui’s side to check on him. But the moment she reached out, she received a shock herself.
“Brother Rui.” Shao Lan quickly followed, her eyes reddening as she looked at Yue Zirui, still convulsing. “Sister Qiqi, what’s wrong with Brother Rui?”
Sun Qi didn’t answer. Instead, she looked up at Yun Huacen.
Yun Huacen had noticed Yue Zirui’s odd behavior all along, and couldn’t help but feel suspicious, especially after learning that the cat was the original owner. Connecting Yue Zirui’s various abnormal actions, Yun Huacen couldn’t help but form a hypothesis. This hypothesis was confirmed when Yue Zirui suddenly attacked him. Yue Zirui was either reborn or, like him, knew what was about to happen. That’s why he had looked confused when Yun Huacen said he would let them go, and why he chose to attack him after gaining his freedom.
“He’s very likely infected with the zombie virus. For now, he can’t leave.”
Fear flashed in the children’s eyes, especially the three boys who had followed them in. Upon hearing Yun Huacen’s words, they instinctively took a few steps back.
Yun Huacen walked over to Yue Zirui, put him back into the cage, then turned to the others. “You can go.”
Shao Lan looked at Yun Huacen with tear-filled eyes. “What about Brother Rui?”
“For everyone’s safety, I can’t let him leave for now.”
“Uncle, can Lanlan stay? Lanlan wants to wait until Brother Rui is better and leave together.”
“No.” Yun Huacen frowned slightly. “I don’t have much food here. I can’t keep you all.”
“Lanlan can work. Lanlan can do any kind of work, and Lanlan doesn’t eat much.” Shao Lan carefully tugged at the hem of Yun Huacen’s shirt. “Uncle, please let Lanlan stay. Please!”
Sun Qi couldn’t help but speak up as well. “Uncle, I can cook. I can make all kinds of dishes. Please let us stay. We promise to be obedient and do whatever you ask.”
“I can work too!” Yu Lei finally snapped out of his daze, clutching the hem of his shirt with both hands. “I was wrong yesterday. I’m sorry!”
“Don’t you understand? I don’t have much food here. If it’s just me, it might last a month. With seven people, it’ll only last a few days. Why should I keep you?”
“I can go out and look for food.” Yu Lei clenched his fists and looked up at Yun Huacen. “Uncle, I can go out and find food. Please keep them here.”
Yun Huacen raised an eyebrow. “The outside is crawling with zombies right now. Where do you plan to find food?”
“There’s a cellar at the orphanage. It has vegetables, rice, and flour. I can go back and get them.”
“Aren’t you afraid you won’t make it back?”
“I’m not afraid. As long as you agree to keep them here, I’ll definitely bring back the food.”
“Let’s go outside first, then talk.” Yun Huacen locked up the lab and led them upstairs. He looked at the three boys who had remained silent. “What about you? Do you want to stay or leave?”
The three exchanged glances. “We want to stay too.”
“You can stay if you want, but you’ll have to go out every day to find food. Only when you bring something back can you come in.”
The boy standing in the middle whispered, “But there are zombies everywhere outside. We’re too scared.”
“Then leave. I don’t keep useless people here.”
“We can clean the rooms, do laundry, and cook…”
“I can do all that myself,” Yun Huacen interrupted them. “What I need right now is food.”
“I can go out and look,” Yu Lei couldn’t help but speak up. “Uncle, please let them stay.”
Yun Huacen glanced at the six of them and said, “I’m going out to search for food later. Who’s willing to come with me?”
“I am.” Yu Lei was the first to step forward.
“Me too,” Shao Lan and Sun Qi also spoke up one after another.
After hesitating, the remaining three boys reluctantly agreed as well.
Yun Huacen nodded in satisfaction, walked over to the refrigerator, and took out the leftover instant noodles from yesterday. He also grabbed six eggs, placing everything on the cutting board. Then he called Sun Qi over and said, “This is your breakfast. You handle it. We leave in an hour.”
Sun Qi glanced at the ingredients and nodded obediently, asking, “Uncle, can we have some water?”
Yun Huacen took six disposable cups, filled them with water, and said, “One cup per person.”
Although they weren’t short of water for now, that didn’t mean they wouldn’t be in the future. They had to get used to it. After all, to survive in this post-apocalyptic world, they had to face reality, otherwise, death was the only outcome.
“Thank you, Uncle.” the children said as they took the cups, sipping the water slowly.
Yun Huacen had Shao Lan help Sun Qi with the cooking and brought the others to sit in the living room, asking them about the situation in the town below. This included the location of the orphanage’s cellar, where the supermarkets were, and which places were grain and oil shops, among other details.
The aroma of food soon wafted out, especially the smell of eggs. The children, who hadn’t eaten in a day, couldn’t help but swallow their saliva.
Sun Qi and Shao Lan came out carrying plates of food and said, “Uncle, the food is ready.”
Yun Huacen turned to look and couldn’t help but feel surprised. “Are these egg pancakes?”
“I saw there was flour in the kitchen, so I made some egg pancakes. I only used two eggs, this way, it’s nutritious, filling, and saves eggs,” Sun Qi explained, looking at Yun Huacen with a slightly uneasy expression. “Uncle, I’m sorry for using the flour without asking you first.”
“Just this once. Don’t let it happen again.”
Sun Qi nodded hurriedly. “Next time, I’ll definitely ask you before using anything.”
Yun Huacen turned to the others and said, “Go ahead and eat. You have thirty minutes.”
The children’s eyes instantly lit up as they quickly took their seats at the table and began devouring the food.
Halfway through the meal, Yu Lei stopped and turned to Yun Huacen. “Uncle, can I save the rest of my food for Brother Rui? It was my fault he didn’t get to eat yesterday.”
“No. If you don’t eat it, leave it for someone else. You’ll need energy when we go out later.”
Yu Lei turned away, disappointed.
“If we manage to find food, he’ll have something to eat tonight.”
Yu Lei’s eyes brightened, and he immediately said, “Thank you, Uncle.”
While they were eating, Yun Huacen checked the surveillance footage, carefully scanning the yard but finding no trace of the cat. After the meal, he asked Sun Qi and Shao Lan to stay at home and took the four boys with him as they headed out. They drove down the mountain, heading straight for the orphanage at the foot of the hill. Although Yun Huacen didn’t have a driver’s license, he knew how to drive, taught by his father during a rare stretch of time when they weren’t at the hospital, a precious moment of father-son bonding.
Along the way, they encountered three zombies, drawn by the sound of the car engine. They chased after the vehicle but couldn’t keep up with its speed and were quickly left behind. Yun Huacen chose the orphanage because it was the closest to the villa, located at the westernmost edge of the town. It would take half an hour on foot to reach the town center, and the place was rarely visited. Additionally, the food storage cellar was behind the orphanage, and there weren’t many zombies in the vicinity, making it relatively less dangerous.
Yun Huacen parked the car about fifty meters from the orphanage and turned to look at the children. Fear was unmistakable in their eyes, including Yu Lei’s.
“Yu Lei, you’ll come with me. The rest of you stay in the car,” Yun Huacen said, turning to the other three. “Unless it’s us, don’t open the door for anyone. Understood?”
The three boys exchanged glances before nodding firmly.
Yun Huacen helped Yu Lei put on a gas mask, gripped his homemade spear tightly, and got out of the car. As they moved forward, he reminded Yu Lei, “Zombies have highly developed hearing and sense of smell. But every advantage has its downside. We’ve sprayed ourselves with a special perfume that can temporarily mask our scent, so now we need to use their heightened hearing to our advantage.”
Yu Lei swallowed nervously and asked, “How do we do that?”
Yun Huacen pulled out a mini speaker and asked, “Can you climb trees?”
Yu Lei nodded. “Yes.”
Without another word, Yun Huacen and Yu Lei cautiously approached the orphanage, making their way to a nearby dirt slope. Pointing to a locust tree outside the courtyard wall, Yun Huacen whispered, “Can you climb that?”
“Yes, I used to climb it often when I was at the orphanage.”
Yun Huacen took out a roll of transparent tape from his pocket and said, “Climb up and secure this speaker to the tree, preferably on the branch that extends into the courtyard. Make sure it’s tightly fastened.”
Yu Lei took the speaker and tape, took a deep breath, and said, “Don’t worry, Uncle. I’ll do it right!”
“Try not to make any noise to avoid alerting the zombies inside. I’ll keep watch for you under the tree.”
“Okay.”
The two carefully surveyed the area, confirming there were no zombies nearby, before descending the slope and slowly moving toward the courtyard wall. Once they reached the tree, Yun Huacen signaled for Yu Lei to climb. Yu Lei nodded, tucked the speaker and tape into his pocket, and began climbing cautiously. Yun Huacen stood beneath the tree, gripping his homemade spear tightly as he nervously scanned the surroundings.
Following Yun Huacen’s instructions, Yu Lei quickly climbed up and got a clear view of the zombies inside the courtyard. They moved stiffly back and forth, growling low in their throats. Yu Lei swallowed nervously, forcing himself to look away as he sat on the branch and began securing the speaker. But his hands were sweaty from tension, and he lost his grip, the speaker slipped from his hand and fell into the orphanage.
Yu Lei stared blankly at Yun Huacen, the growls of the zombies growing louder in his ears.
“Hurry, get down!” Yun Huacen urgently called out.
Yu Lei snapped back to reality and hastily slid down the tree, then was pulled by Yun Huacen as they ran toward the distance. Fortunately, their reaction was quick enough, and the zombies were all still in the courtyard, allowing them to luckily make it back to the car.
“Uncle, I’m sorry, I was useless!” Yu Lei hung his head in self-blame.
Yun Huacen didn’t comfort him. Instead, he took out his phone, tried to turn on the speaker, and after a crackling sound, the music played smoothly. “That speaker cost 5,800. When you have money in the future, remember to pay me back.”
Yu Lei was stunned for a moment, then replied, “Okay.”