“Take a look. I found these in the study.”
They were Bai An’an’s university admission letter, some medical textbooks, and a half-finished anatomy notebook.
Fu Shen took the admission letter and glanced over it under the faint light of the emergency lamp.
“Medical University, Clinical Medicine major.”
He handed the admission letter to Shen Hanzhou.
“A medical student.”
Shen Hanzhou took it and studied the admission letter for two seconds before opening the anatomy notebook.
The handwriting was neat and beautiful. Every anatomical structure was clearly labeled. Detailed diagrams of the human skeleton and muscles were drawn beside the notes, even showing the origins and insertions of the muscles.
“These notes are much more serious than anything I wrote back then.”
Shen Hanzhou smiled, closed the notebook, and placed it on the coffee table.
“She said she was a college student, and that part wasn’t a lie,” he said. “But for someone to survive alone for three months in the Apocalypse while maintaining this kind of mental state and hygiene habits is indeed unusual.”
Fu Shen’s gaze once again fell on the tightly closed door of the master bedroom.
“What do you think her background is?” he asked.
“I don’t know. But one thing is certain. She lacks the most basic emotional adaptation to this world.”
Shen Hanzhou paused before continuing.
“Going back to the question from earlier, if someone had survived alone for three months, even if all they could do every day was stand by the window and look at this tiny piece of the world, they should have gradually started adapting to it.”
Shen Hanzhou remembered Bai An’an’s expression when they had left the shopping mall that afternoon and continued.
“But Bai An’an is like a new player who has just entered a game. She hasn’t even figured out where the controls are before being thrown into the highest difficulty level. Compared to the zombies, her fear seems to come more from the unfamiliar environment.”
“Secrets like these will reveal themselves sooner or later.”
Lu Xi pushed his glasses up.
Shen Hanzhou only smiled without saying anything.
“There are signs that only she has lived in this apartment. A college student who doesn’t live in a dormitory, why would she move out and rent a place by herself?”
“Her parents probably died when she was in her second year of high school.”
Lu Xi picked up the notebook and flipped through it. He pulled a death certificate from a hidden compartment.
The living room fell silent for several seconds.
Lu Xi put the paper back inside the notebook and stood up.
“I’ll go check on Paopao.”
“She is already asleep,” Shen Hanzhou said.
“I’ll take a look.”
After saying that, Lu Xi quietly walked to the master bedroom and pushed the door open a crack before peeking inside.
Warm yellow light from the emergency lamp spilled through the gap in the door and illuminated the bed.
Paopao was curled up in Bai An’an’s arms, her little head resting on Bai An’an’s arm as she slept soundly.
Bai An’an was lying on her side with one arm resting over Paopao, as though she were afraid the little girl might roll off the bed.
Both of their breathing was steady. They were clearly fast asleep.
Lu Xi watched them for a while, then gently closed the door and returned to the living room.
“Feeling reassured?” Shen Hanzhou asked with a smile.
“Yeah.”
Lu Xi returned to the study with an expressionless face.
Fu Shen sat back down by the window and took out the map to study the route ahead.
Shen Hanzhou climbed into his sleeping bag and closed his eyes.
“Wake me when it’s my turn later.”
“Okay.”
The living room became quiet again.
The next morning, Bai An’an was woken up by Paopao.
It was not a gentle awakening where she slowly opened her eyes.
Instead, a five-year-old girl had placed the full weight of her body on Bai An’an’s chest, brought her little face right up close, and called out in her childish voice.
“An’an Sister! Wake up! The sun is shining on your bottom!”
Bai An’an suddenly opened her eyes and almost had a heart attack from the enlarged adorable face in front of her.
“Paopao… you’re crushing Sister…”
She spoke weakly.
Paopao quickly climbed off her and sat beside her with a giggle.
“Big Brother said we have to leave early today, so he told me to wake you up!”
Bai An’an rubbed her eyes and sat up, then glanced outside the window.
It had only just begun to get light. Gray-blue morning light filtered through the gaps in the curtains.
Leaving early?
This was way too early.
She yawned, changed her clothes, and walked out of the bedroom.
There were some compressed biscuits on the coffee table, along with several bottles of water.
“Eat first, then go wash up. We’ll be leaving soon.”
Bai An’an slowly shuffled over and picked up a compressed biscuit, taking a bite.
Hard.
It stuck in her throat.
But at least it would fill her stomach.
She chewed while looking around the living room.
Fu Shen was sitting by the window studying the map in his hands. Shen Hanzhou was sitting on the sofa drinking water. He looked energetic, nothing like someone who had kept watch during the second half of the night.
Lu Xi walked out of the study with the anatomy notebook in his hand and handed it to her expressionlessly.
“Your things. Keep them safe.”
Bai An’an took it and froze for a moment.
This was the original owner’s notebook. It had been tucked away in the desk drawer.
When had this guy gone through her things?
And he had done it so openly, without even trying to hide it?
“You went through my things?”
“Yes.”
Lu Xi admitted it without hesitation. He could not even be bothered to make up an excuse.
“I needed to confirm your identity.”
The corner of Bai An’an’s mouth twitched.
She wanted to say something in protest, but then she met Lu Xi’s eyes through his glasses.
There was no hostility in his gaze, nor was there any guilt.
It simply seemed to say, I did what I thought I needed to do. Do you have a problem with that?
The words at the tip of her tongue were swallowed back down.
Forget it.
There was no point trying to reason with someone like this.
She stuffed the notebook back into her backpack and took another bite of her compressed biscuit.
Then she heard Paopao running out of the bedroom. Her little feet thudded against the floor as she ran to Lu Xi and tilted her face upward.
“Big Brother, I’m dressed!”
Lu Xi crouched down and adjusted the hood of her sweatshirt. Then he rolled up her sleeves twice, revealing her small, fair wrists.
His movements were extremely practiced. It was obvious he had done this countless times before.
Watching the scene, Bai An’an felt her heart soften again.
Fu Shen stood up and spoke concisely.
“We leave in ten minutes.”
Bai An’an immediately put down her compressed biscuit and rushed into the bathroom.
She quickly washed her face and brushed her teeth, then tied her hair into a ponytail in front of the mirror.
Afterward, she looked at the reflection staring back at her.
She looked more energetic than yesterday, but her face was still slightly puffy from lack of sleep.
“Bai An’an,” she whispered to herself in the mirror, “starting today, you’re officially a survivor in the Apocalypse. Don’t be timid, don’t hold everyone back, don’t cause trouble, and stay alive no matter what.”
The girl in the mirror nodded solemnly.
Then Paopao’s voice from outside the door interrupted her.
“An’an Sister! Are you done yet?”
“Coming, coming!”
Ten minutes later, the five of them stood at the entrance of the apartment building.
The morning wind carried a chill along with that familiar rotten smell. Bai An’an shivered.
Fu Shen stood at the front, carrying the bulging tactical backpack. The military knife at his waist gleamed coldly in the morning light.
Shen Hanzhou followed half a step behind him, carrying a travel bag that did not look particularly large.
Lu Xi carried Paopao in his arms. Paopao had her arms wrapped around her brother’s neck, her chin resting on his shoulder. Her little face was flushed from the cold morning wind.
Bai An’an carried her backpack and stood in the middle of the group, taking a deep breath.
“Let’s go.”
Fu Shen spoke.
The group began moving.
Bai An’an thought they would head toward the entrance of the residential compound, but Fu Shen instead led them deeper inside.
They went around the dried-up fountain, passed through the wildly overgrown landscaping, and finally stopped at a corner along the back wall of the compound.
There was a van parked there.
It was covered in dust, with numerous scratches along the body. The windshield was cracked but not shattered, and all four tires appeared to be in decent condition.
A faded logo from a delivery company was stuck to the vehicle. It had originally been bright yellow, but now only a dull gray layer remained.
Fu Shen took a key from his pocket and opened the driver’s door.
“Where did you get the vehicle?” Bai An’an asked in surprise.
“We found it last night,” Shen Hanzhou said. “There were several abandoned vehicles in the compound. This was the only one that could still run, and it still had more than half a tank of fuel.”
Bai An’an remembered that Fu Shen had indeed gone downstairs once last night.
She had thought he was checking the safety of the residential compound.
It turned out he had gone to steal a car.
“This is called reasonable appropriation.”
Shen Hanzhou seemed to have seen through what she was thinking and added with a smile, “There is no such concept as stealing during the Apocalypse. It’s simply first come, first served.”
Bai An’an thought to herself, Fine, whatever you say.