We rushed home.
Usually, at this time, Mei Jing and Shen Xue would come out to check on things, but today it was only Yangyang who came to open the door.
Seeing how disheveled we looked, he finally showed some concern.
"Sis, what happened? Was it dangerous at the hospital?"
I waved my hand at him to say it was nothing.
Shu Guang washed his hands and immediately ran to Rongrong's room to give her an IV drip.
The rest of us slumped onto the sofa.
Suo Tian sat with his head down, deep in thought.
If it weren't for him occasionally glancing toward Rongrong's room, I would've thought he had fallen asleep.
Shen Feng leaned against the back of the sofa, looking utterly exhausted.
Suddenly, Rongrong's crying came from inside the room.
All three of us perked up instantly, and I quickly stood up and walked in.
The moment I saw Rongrong lying on the bed, my nose stung with heartache.
She was crying softly, eyes shut, her little face flushed red, with tears constantly sliding from the corners of her eyes.
It was hard to tell whether she was asleep or awake.
Shen Xue was holding down her tiny arm for Shu Guang, who quickly inserted the needle.
After taping the IV securely, Shu Guang let out a sigh of relief, stood up, gave me a nod, and then returned to the living room.
Mei Jing and Shen Xue sat close around Rongrong, gently stroking her little face, their expressions full of heartache and tenderness.
The scene warmed my heart, and I couldn't help but feel a bit moved.
Not long ago, all of us lived in different parts of society, working in separate fields.
Zheng Rongrong was just another child, someone we wouldn't have even looked at twice if we passed her on the street.
But the cruel world before us had somehow brought us together, and given us a shared purpose in life — to survive.
"Mom… Dad…" Rongrong murmured hoarsely, choking on her words, as she unconsciously called out those two names.
My nose stung again, and tears nearly spilled from my eyes.
Poor child…
She had never mentioned her parents before, and I had often wondered why.
Maybe she had lived in an orphanage all along, or perhaps she was one of those left-behind children who rarely got to see their mom and dad.
Now it seemed that she did think about them — she just never said it out loud.
"She looks for her parents almost every night, or sometimes her grandparents. She just silently sheds tears, never making a sound. She's very well-behaved. If I soothe her a little, she holds it in and goes to sleep quietly," Yangyang said from the side.
I nodded.
No wonder she insisted on only sleeping with Yangyang.
No matter how much Shen Xue and Mei Jing tried to coax her, she refused to sleep with them.
Looks like she just didn't want her little 'secret' to be discovered.
In this cruel world, it's not just us adults who are being treated harshly.
The next morning, Rongrong's persistent high fever finally went down — a relief for all of us.
She also regained consciousness.
Though she was still very weak, lying in bed, there was already a bit of color returning to her little eyes.
Shen Feng cooked some porridge for her, and Suo Tian fed her.
I forced Yangyang, Mei Jing, and the others to go get some sleep.
Only after Rongrong's fever broke did the three of them finally agree to rest.
At noon, when Shu Guang came up to give Rongrong another IV, Jun Di, Yin Shangtang, and Wang Jun also came up together to check on her.
Rongrong lay in bed and, seeing Jun Di and the others, her eyes curved into a cheerful smile.
Wang Jun asked a few concerned questions, confirmed her condition, and then returned to the third floor.
Since Rongrong hadn't fully recovered yet, Shu Guang had no choice but to temporarily stay over, sleeping in an empty room on the third floor.
After lunch, I headed up to the rooftop to water the vegetables, only to find it was already drizzling outside.
Instead of going back in, I simply stood there on the rooftop in the rain.
Looking far into the distance…
I could only vaguely make out a few crooked figures wandering aimlessly along the road.
When were they bitten, I wondered?
Was it the night the chaos first broke out? A week ago? Two weeks ago? And how did it happen?
Leaning against the wall, arms crossed over my chest, my hair already soaked through by the rain.
My thoughts drifted back… to the day before the outbreak began.
I had never really taken the time to recall what happened before that day — wave after wave of fear and panic left me no room to reflect on the past…
Friday afternoons had one class less than usual.
I got off work earlier, went to the supermarket to buy groceries, and then came home.
Yangyang had a stomachache and skipped evening study.
After dinner, we didn't watch TV.
I gave him some medicine and then started grading homework…
What exactly happened that day?
What triggered such a world-changing catastrophe the very next day?
From around the corner of an old, worn-down building in the distance, a small horde of a few dozen walkers slowly shuffled into view.
Watching their twisted, staggering forms, a wave of deep sorrow suddenly welled up in my chest.
At some point… could it be that one of us might also end up among them?
"Isn't it cold?" Shu Guang's voice came from the door nearby.
I jumped a little, then straightened up and walked over, wiping the water from my face and grinning at him.
"It is cold—just thought I'd take a free, natural shower."
Shuguang didn't smile. He stared intently at my face, not saying a word for quite a while.
His gaze made me a little uncomfortable, so I touched my face and asked, "Is there something on my face?"
"Nothing," he shook his head. "Chen Yang, you're really beautiful."
I laughed. "You sweet-talker. But hey, I'm a few years older than you—remember to call me Sister."
Shu Guang frowned slightly, then looked away and turned to head downstairs.
"Let's go… Chen Yang."
"Tch… so rude." I closed the door and went back to the fourth floor.
After a hot shower and drying my hair, I crawled into bed.
My mind drifted — I needed to find a chance to refuel those few vehicles.
The weather was already getting cold.
The last batch of warm clothes we brought back wasn't nearly enough for everyone to change and wash.
We'd need to go fetch more.
We really can't afford for anyone else to get sick…
Thinking through all of that, my head started to get fuzzy… and just as I was about to fall asleep— the door to my room suddenly swung open.
Shen Feng stood at the doorway and shouted, "Hurry! Chen Yang, the news!"
The news?
I jolted upright from bed.
The room was well-heated by the air conditioner, but I still felt a chill.
I wrapped myself in a thick coat and ran to the living room.
I found everyone gathered there.
"…Survivors in the XX area are advised to stock up on a large amount of food. A massive horde of the infected has begun converging and is moving in that direction. The shelter is reinforcing its defenses—survivors should enter the shelter as soon as possible. The horde is enormous and cannot be resisted."
I was nearly stunned speechless.
Dealing with a few—or even a few dozen—walkers had already taken everything out of us.
Now, a horde?
That "XX area"… was exactly where we were.
How massive was this horde supposed to be?
The broadcast kept repeating.
From how much they seemed to know about ground conditions, it looked like satellites were still operational.
"They actually used the word 'irresistible,'" Shen Feng said in a heavy tone.
"It must be a staggering number. Otherwise, why would they phrase it like that? Even shelters protected by the military are only reinforcing defenses. If we keep hiding out here… are we really safe?" Yangyang turned and looked at me.
"You mean we should leave? Go to the shelter? But Rongrong is still sick…"
Shen Xue said worriedly, glancing toward the room.
"Even if she's sick, we can treat her on the road. I think we should head to the shelter. We still have time before the horde gets here. Staying here is too risky—the door downstairs could easily be broken down by them," Mei Jing said.
That news report shook every single one of us.
It was obvious—almost everyone had lost confidence in this temporary safehouse.
"Miss Chen…" Wang Jun and Jun Di rushed into the room looking equally worried.
Judging by their expressions, they'd seen the news too.
"You saw the news too?" I asked.
"Of course we did! What the hell's going on? What does 'horde' even mean?"
Wang Jun said with a pained expression before he even sat down.
No surprise he was so anxious—Lili was heavily pregnant.
Any bad news wasn't just about danger to himself, but about the survival of two lives.
"A horde means a massive, organized group of walkers," Shen Feng explained.
"Based on the current situation, it looks like a huge walker horde is going to pass right through here. I've thought it through a bit. As of now, we have three possible choices," I said.
"What are the three?" Jun Di asked.
I glanced at everyone, then said, "First, we leave now and head for the shelter. We don't know what we'll encounter on the way or what could happen. Second, we stay here. It's safe for now, but once the horde arrives, we can't guarantee this place will remain safe."
"What's the third option?" Wang Jun asked.
"The third… We stay nearby for now, either somewhere close or somewhere in this town, and find a sturdy, secure place to hole up. Once the horde passes, we can move back here."
"A secure place? What exactly counts as secure?" Mei Jing immediately chimed in before I even finished.
"I'm not entirely sure yet. But we can go out and look. Maybe places like banks, or something with strong, reinforced structures might be safer."
"But we've got so many people… Who knows how massive the horde is? How long would it take for them to pass? How could we live in a place like that for very long?" Shen Feng asked.
"As long as we don't make noise, can't we just stay here? It's not guaranteed we'll be found, right?" Shen Xue clearly wasn't keen on the idea of leaving.
"And what if we do get found? Then what?" Shen Feng shot back at her.
"We can't take that risk. There's too many of us. Getting found isn't something we can joke about. With that many walkers… we'd have nowhere to run," Yangyang said, his expression serious.
Honestly… both sides had a point.
Stay and risk being overrun… or leave and risk the unknown.
....
Next came everyone sharing their opinions.
The more I listened, the more I felt a headache coming on.
Each method had its supporters.
"Suo Tian, what do you think?" I asked, turning to Suo Tian, who had remained silent so far.
In some ways, I thought his answer might be the most reliable.
Suo Tian glanced at me before speaking: "A compromise. Find a safer place."
He gestured around: "You all have lived outside for a long time; you won't survive out there for much longer."
The group was instantly silenced by Suo Tian's words, everyone stopping in their tracks.
Suo Tian made a lot of sense.
Forget about anything else, but Wang Jun, Jun Di, Mei Jing, Shen Xue, Rongrong, Lili...
These people had no idea how to survive.
If we went outside, even with just Suo Tian, Shen Feng, and me, we couldn't possibly protect them all.
Yangyang was a half-baked fighter, and it was uncertain whether he could even protect himself.
"You can't even protect your own lives. What makes you think you could make it to the shelter?" Suo Tian's words were practically aimed at Mei Jing.
Mei Jing's face alternated between green and white as she glared at him, biting her lip and remaining silent.