After sitting down with mutual support, the elderly couple pulled out the hotel business card from their pocket and began telling their story.
The woman was named He Lifen, and the man was named Sun Mantian. Before the apocalypse, Sun Mantian studied under a grand master chef of national banquets and possessed exceptional culinary skills. Originally, he ran a large restaurant in City S, leading over a dozen apprentices, including his son Sun Hong, who learned the craft under him.
When the zombie outbreak struck, relying on the food stored in the restaurant, the family of three and six apprentices fled to live in a small base in City S. The son awakened a wood-type superpower, becoming one of the top powerhouses in the base, allowing the family of three to stay well-fed and provided for.
Food was scarce in the base, gradually shrinking from two potatoes a day down to just one per person. Someone returned from outside the base with news of having spotted mutant rice in Yun County, City S. After the apocalypse, animals and plants alike had undergone mutations; due to soil and water pollution, ordinary fauna and flora could not survive at all. Some animals turned into zombies, while others evolved on their own to adapt to the changes. Some plants became violent and bloodthirsty, whereas others acquired the ability to nurture vegetation growth.
It was said that a superpowered individual in the capital possessed a mutant sweet potato plant—a plant capable of making polluted soil within a certain radius grow edible sweet potatoes while also shortening their growth cycle. It went without saying that a beneficial mutant plant was something every base coveted.
Before the apocalypse, Yun County was a primary rice production hub. Upon hearing that mutant rice had been discovered, the base lost no time in organizing a team to set out. Because Sun Hong had a high-level wood-type superpower, he was also assigned to the expeditionary force.
A week later, the superpowered individuals returned. They hadn’t found any mutant rice; instead, they had encountered a formidable mutant plant—a mutant banyan tree approaching Level 5. Of those who had embarked on the trip, some died, some were injured, and others went missing. Their son was among those listed as missing.
The Sun couple could not bring themselves to believe it, yet they had no choice but to face reality. The base began rescinding food rations, forcing everything to be exchanged using crystal cores. Because their son was a high-level superpowered user, the couple’s lodging had been free, allowing them to save up quite a few crystal cores over the months.
After their son went missing, their living quarters were repossessed, and food and drink both required money. Being advanced in years, the elderly couple naturally became targets. In particular, several people who held grudges against their son deliberately caused trouble in secret, making the couple spend far more crystal cores than others just to obtain basic food and water. Had it not been for the possibility that their son might still have a few close friends around, people might have resorted to outright robbery. Yet after their son went missing, the friends who used to visit regularly for meals never showed up again. The apprentices who had come along back then were barely getting by themselves and rarely stayed in contact.
Carrying their crystal cores along with some water and food, Sun Mantian brought his wife along to join a crowd heading to Base B to live; neither of them believed their son was dead. But staying here meant disaster sooner or later; only by staying alive could they find their child. They quietly informed two of the apprentices to tell their son—should he return—that they had gone to Base B, and then they set out with the crowd.
Along the way, they were constantly scrutinized by malicious glances. An elderly couple stood out starkly compared to the skin-and-bones refugees, even though they had deliberately dressed themselves to look as wretched as possible.
To lighten their load, they dared not carry much water or food. In the dark of the night, they didn’t dare fall asleep at all, forcing themselves to sit upright with exhausted minds. By the light of the moon, Sun Mantian caught sight of something shimmering near his foot. Reaching out, his fingers touched a slightly cool card, which he quietly slipped into his pocket.
As soon as day broke, the group resumed their journey. Sun Mantian hadn’t slept all night, holding on purely by willpower. He Lifen looked as though her spirit had been entirely drained due to her son’s disappearance, and the two gradually drifted to the rear of the procession.
At that moment, a few emaciated individuals slowly edged closer to them. “Hand over everything edible and valuable, or we’ll throw you to the zombies.”
He Lifen held her husband’s hand in panic and anxiety. Sun Mantian feigned composure and said, “Take our things and go, but please don’t harm us, alright?”
One of the menacing refugees growled savagely, “Don’t try any tricks! Hand over the stuff; we couldn’t care less whether you live or die!”
Sun Mantian knew that if he handed over everything, nothing but death would await them. Cautiously taking down a bag from his back, he opened it to show them. Inside were compressed biscuits, a few packets of instant noodles, some potatoes, and two bottles of water.
The eyes of the men opposite lit up instantly. Sun Mantian slammed the bag hard onto the ground, using the split second while they were stunned to grab his wife’s hand and sprint toward City B without looking back.
They didn’t run very fast, but a group of people who had been starving for days were already at the end of their rope and couldn’t catch up to two elderly people in their fifties.
The couple didn’t dare stop for a single moment, jogging along the road. Sun Mantian knew that if they had run forward to catch up with the main group earlier, they would have been robbed sooner or later anyway; though exhausted, neither he nor his wife possessed the skin-and-bones look of the others.
As the two ran along, two zombies suddenly appeared, grunting and snorting as they gave chase. He Lifen genuinely couldn’t run any further, refusing to remain a burden to her husband. She stopped and gave Sun Mantian a push, urging him to run fast while she held off the two zombies.
Sun Mantian turned back and held his wife tightly. “If you don’t live, I won’t either! How could I call myself a man if I let myself survive by stepping over your corpse?! How would I ever face our son if I meet him in the future?!”
The two embraced tightly. He Lifen wept uncontrollably—partly out of fear of death, and partly moved by her husband’s unwavering devotion. Watching the sweat on his forehead stream down his face, He Lifen squeezed her eyes shut, awaiting the arrival of death.
The rancid odor grew closer and closer, as did the howling of the zombies. Holding his trembling wife, Sun Mantian watched in shock as the two zombies slowly ambled right past them.
They didn’t attack them! Sun Mantian’s eyes widened in astonishment, and he patted his wife’s shoulder. Suddenly remembering something, he pulled out the card he had picked up yesterday from his pocket.
[The business card can repel zombie attacks within three days, with a safety zone within a one-meter radius. Universe Hotel welcomes your visit.] Reading the text on the back, neither of them could believe it, yet they had undeniably experienced it firsthand.
Sun Mantian held his wife tightly, striving to keep the two of them pressed as close as possible while heading toward the Universe Hotel. Having just run a long distance, they were exhausted and parched.
With most of their food and water discarded, the bag containing the crystal cores held only the remains of yesterday’s water—just a tiny splash left at the bottom of the bottle. Sun Mantian handed it to his wife, telling her to finish it. He had drunk plenty yesterday and wasn’t thirsty yet; finishing it quickly would lighten their load, and things would be better once they arrived.
He Lifen’s pale, peeling lips quivered. How could she not know that her husband was thirsty too? With just a single mouthful of water, if she didn’t drink, her husband wouldn’t either. With only the two of them left to rely on each other, He Lifen was determined to hold on and stay by her husband’s side no matter what.