Before, Fu Erdie had been able to air out the place every day, letting the hot breeze bring in fresh air. Now, she didn’t dare open the windows at all.
Some insects would make their way in through the gas pipes and the range hood duct. She had to kill bugs and clean every day, spraying air freshener to mask the stench.
The only stroke of luck was that twenty days had passed, and her small apartment still had water, electricity, and gas.
She hadn’t touched any of the water she’d stored, she was still using clean water straight from the tap.
On June 26th, at three in the morning, a sharp notification sound rang out, followed by a chorus of alerts from every device in the room.
Fu Erdie sat up immediately and saw a major announcement pop up on her phone’s lock screen.
After emergency repairs, the network had been temporarily restored.
Official websites, news portals, mobile carriers, all channels pushed the same message at once: an announcement of the apocalypse, the locations of safe havens people could flee to, and radio frequencies they could tune into.
Fu Erdie barely had time to take a screenshot before all her devices started ringing with incoming calls.
She had four phones in total: one Android, one iPhone, one e-reader with calling capabilities, and a basic flip phone that could only make calls.
To be prepared for any situation, she had kept all her electronic devices fully charged. The moment a signal returned, every device was ready.
The flip phone was what she used when she needed to work in solitude.
Back then, she would leave only her computer and drawing tablet, log out of all social media, turn off her smartphone, and only stay reachable through the flip phone.
Only her closest family members knew that number.
Now, with multiple phones ringing at once, Fu Erdie instantly picked up the flip phone and rushed into the bedroom, closing the door to block out the noise from the others.
“Hello.” Her voice was urgent, barely above a whisper.
A sob came from the other end, followed by a familiar voice thick with tears. “My daughter… oh, my daughter, you’re alive!”
“Mom!”
Fu Erdie’s eyes welled up instantly.
On the other end of the line, her father’s anxious voice came through: “How are you doing? Are you safe?”
“I’m safe.”
Fu Erdie quickly explained her situation: “I still have water, electricity, and gas. I’ve got enough food stocked up, too.”
Her father was about to continue with more questions, but her mother cut him off.
Even though she was still crying, her thinking was razor-sharp.
“Let’s keep this short. Since the internet is back, download the maps now. You have a printer at home, print them out. Not just the national map, but also detailed maps of the route from City C to City H. Your dad’s already started downloading his. You do it too.”
Fu Erdie immediately agreed, moving quickly but staying organized.
On her other phone, her grandmother was calling. She put it on speaker and answered both calls at once.
Her grandmother was safe for the moment. She had already left with Fu Erdie’s aunt and younger cousin, heading toward the countryside.
Her uncle, the aunt’s husband, had turned into a zombie on the very first day of the apocalypse. The family had managed to lock him out on the balcony, narrowly avoiding being scratched.
Fu Erdie had never liked that uncle, who always had a habit of lying. She didn’t feel the least bit sad about what happened, only relief that her grandmother and aunt were safe.
The only problem was that her grandmother was over eighty. She had a host of chronic conditions and used to go to the community clinic every week for regular injections.
Now, fleeing for their lives, even if she had brought along all her bottles and pills, there was no way to get her injections. Add the constant fear and stress, and her condition had worsened significantly.
“Grandma, don’t worry. I’m doing fine at home. I have plenty of food.”
Fu Erdie deliberately made things sound better than they were: “You always used to scold me for eating junk food, but I secretly stocked up on several boxes of instant noodles. And I bought a bunch of pork jerky and chicken breast during a sale last time. I’m eating really well! My home is safe, I can even watch TV.”
Her grandmother laughed at that.
The joy and comfort of their conversation were brief. Her grandmother was on the road, and all their power came from the car charger. They had to save what little battery they had.
Her parents were still on the line.
They had long been stationed in an emerging industrial zone in City H.
That area used to be remote farmland, but now it was sprawling factory complexes. Even so, it remained sparsely populated. The survivors there didn’t need to flee, if they banded together to fight off the zombies, they could carve out a small, relatively stable space for themselves.
And City H was a major grain-producing region, with abundant sunlight and widespread use of solar energy.
The small standalone house they were renting had solar panels and solar lights, with a bit of modification, they could even charge devices.
The only issue was that a water pipe had burst. They had shut off the main valve for the villa complex and now had to go outside to fetch water.
Still, compared to others, her parents’ situation was already very good.
“Your dad has been biking to the gas station to bring back gasoline whenever he can. Once we’ve saved up enough, we’ll come back to get you!” her mother said.
Fu Erdie’s nose tingled with emotion.
Sure enough, even if the whole world abandoned her, her parents never would.
No one wanted to die.
Everyone wanted to live a few more days.
But to have her parents travel over a thousand kilometers through the apocalypse to come get her, she couldn’t let that happen.
“Mom, don’t come for me.”
Fu Erdie’s voice was strained but steady. “Unless I gain abilities like in those apocalypse novels, I’m not going to drag you down.”
“How could you be dragging us down?” Cao Bingqing immediately cut in. “Your father and I are in our fifties and sixties. No matter how you look at it, we don’t have the energy you young people do! If you came, things would be much easier for us!”
Fu Erdie could hear clearly, this was just her mother trying to convince her.
“If you don’t have the energy, then you definitely shouldn’t drive over a thousand kilometers to come get me.”
“If we don’t come for you, what will you do? You don’t have any relatives nearby, your friends can’t help you. If we don’t come, you…” Cao Bingqing’s voice cracked as she started crying again.
Fu Chenghong took the phone from her, his tone uncharacteristically harsh: “Don’t think about that nonsense. Stay alive. We are coming to get you.”
Fu Erdie’s hands paused over the files she was downloading. Her voice was firm. “If you come for me, I’ll jump from the sixteenth floor right now.”
The two on the phone didn’t sound like father and daughter, they sounded like enemies.
Fu Erdie often felt she had inherited all of her parents’ worst traits: her mother’s pessimism about reality, her father’s stubbornness once he’d made up his mind.
Her mother was pessimistic, yet resilient, with life experience and wisdom. When it came to making decisions, she was more decisive than her father.
Her father was stubborn, but he would grit his teeth and persevere toward a goal.
She had inherited her parents’ pessimism and stubbornness, but not their courage or persistence.
She was a complete failure.
No one would want her, and she wouldn’t burden anyone else.
Even if that “anyone else” meant her own family.
The standoff on both sides lasted a long time. Finally, her mother, suppressing her sorrow, broke the silence: “Alright then. Stay safe at home. But ration your food, hold on as long as you can. We’ve downloaded the maps, and you have them too. You stayed with us at that little villa for a summer once; when the time comes, you’ll be able to find your way.”
“No matter what, don’t give up hope.”