Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Feng Chen released Chen's father, took out a piece of tissue to wipe his hands, and then strode towards the door.

Chen Wenzhao was so frightened he couldn't even cry, his face pale and trembling. Feng Chen didn't spare him a glance, brushing past him and walking out the door.

Inside, Yan Bubu was diligently practicing the move. The door opened, and Feng Chen walked in.

"Brother, are you done with your work?" Yan Bubu stopped and asked with joy.

Feng Chen nodded, then said, "Don't stop, continue, come and practice with me."

"Okay."

Yan Bubu charged forward, ducking under Feng Chen's arm to get behind him, then stretched out his foot to hook his leg.

"Stop!" Feng Chen called out to Yan Bubu, "Your movement is quite standard, but it lacks speed and strength. Let me show you some adjustments."

"… Like this, don't try to hook the other person's foot. If they are taller and stronger than you, you won't be able to trip them; you might even fall yourself. Instead, aim to kick the back of their knee. Watch how I do it..."

Yan Bubu practiced the modified self-defense technique all night. The next day, while gathering Li stones, he kept a vigilant eye on the chubby boy, ready for a fight. He hid the bag containing Binunu aside to avoid any hindrance during a potential scuffle.

But all his preparations were in vain; the chubby boy kept his distance from him that day. He didn't come looking for trouble, nor did he even glance in Yan Bubu's direction.

Although Yan Bubu found it strange, he was relieved there was no conflict. He quietly continued collecting Li stones, earning credit points. By the end of the day, he had gathered four stones, earning five points in total. With the extra stone recorded, he planned to collect two more the next day to earn another five points.

Half a month passed in this way.

That evening, as usual, they washed up and went to bed. The lights were turned off, and Yan Bubu chattered away as usual, while Feng Chen lay flat, eyes closed, occasionally responding.

A series of chaotic footsteps from upstairs broke the stillness of the night at the Hive, followed by a succession of screams.

Sensing something was amiss, Yan Bubu stopped talking and clutched Feng Chen's arm. Feng Chen also opened his eyes, staring into the darkness of the room, listening intently.

The cries for help and screams became clearer and clearer, and there was chaos upstairs as if a large group of people was rushing towards the elevator.

After listening for a moment, Feng Chen threw off the blanket, got out of bed, and walked out the door.

"Brother," Yan Bubu, feeling anxious, also got out of bed and followed him out.

Many people were already standing in the corridor of their floor, looking up at the floor above, whispering among themselves, unsure of what was happening.

"A fight? There was a fight in Hive C last night too, brutal and bloody. The Western Alliance Army took away everyone involved, each getting a month of confinement."

"Not sure, let's wait and see. The Western Alliance Army should be here soon."

"Aaah!"

A howl akin to that of a wild beast emanated from the floor above, yet it was unmistakably a human's roar of agony.

The people in the corridor froze as if struck by a spell, falling silent simultaneously. After a brief second of stillness, it was like a drop of water hitting hot oil – everyone exploded into action, turning and rushing into their rooms.

"Zombies, there are zombies upstairs again!"

The sound of doors slamming shut echoed rapidly. Feng Chen quickly scooped up Yan Bubu and hurried back into their room, swiftly locking the door and flicking on the light.

Their room, devoid of windows, offered no view of the outside chaos, but the moans, screams, panicked cries, and the sound of frantic footsteps could be heard through the door.

Feng Chen leaned against the door, listening intently, while Yan Bubu, though silent, recalled the horrific scene of people tearing each other apart in the square, fear rising in his heart. He stood next to Feng Chen, helplessly looking at him.

The sound of running footsteps, initially only above, gradually appeared on their floor, likely from people fleeing the upper levels.

These people knocked on doors as they passed, pleading loudly, "Please let me in, just let me hide for a while."

At this time, no one dared to open their doors, uncertain if the zombies were following or if the people knocking were infected.

"Head to the safety corridor, run down from there," someone shouted from inside a room. "What are you knocking for now? The stairwell is right ahead."

Seven or eight people ran past their corridor, heading towards the stairwell, their chaotic footsteps echoing by the door of Feng Chen and Yan Bubu.

However, the footsteps of the last person suddenly stopped, but their heavy breathing was distinctly audible, halting right in front of their door, separated only by a thin barrier.

As Feng Chen hesitated whether to open the door, the person outside emitted a strange, gurgling sound as if their throat was clogged with phlegm.

"Heh...heh...heh..."

Feng Chen's hand had already reached the doorknob but slowly released it.

A few seconds later, the noise outside ceased, and no further sound came. Both stood silently behind the door, only the sound of their quickened breaths and distant screams audible.

Yan Bubu, nervously watching Feng Chen, was about to speak when Feng Chen placed a finger to his lips in a silencing gesture, and Yan Bubu immediately clamped his mouth shut.

Bang!

The next second, their door was violently struck, causing the door panel to tremble violently and the lock to emit a strained creak, almost giving way under the impact.

The door was then violently battered, accompanied by a beast-like roar that seeped through the cracks, reaching the ears of the two inside.

The doors in the settlement were not made of ordinary wood but a material called acrylic metal. This material, cheaper and harder than wood, also offered moisture resistance and thermal insulation, making it suitable for underground structures.

Yet, the force with which the person outside was slamming the door was astonishing, as if they had transformed into a real beast. The door was slightly caving in, and the lock was beginning to deform.

Feng Chen quickly braced himself against the door, but it still struggled under the relentless assault. He turned to Yan Bubu, who looked petrified, and shouted, “Quick, get under the bed, into the room!”

Yan Bubu crawled under the bed on all fours, and Feng Chen followed, flipping over the bed and pushing it against the door for extra reinforcement.

Feng Chen held the iron bed firmly, and Yan Bubu joined him, both pushing against it as the 'person' outside became increasingly frenzied, roaring in anger while forcefully slamming the door.

Their assailant's body seemed no longer human, with each impact causing even the walls to tremble.

"Roar... roar... roar..."

As they listened to the howling outside, both strained against the bed, Yan Bubu’s face turning red, feet alternating in a frantic push against the floor.

Feng Chen knew this couldn't last; the deformed lock was giving way. The door would inevitably be broken down, and with no windows in their room, there was no escape route.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The door, now slightly caved in, no longer shut completely, revealing a gap about half a finger wide. The lock, bulging outward, looked ready to snap off.

Feng Chen glanced at Yan Bubu and gritted his teeth, “...if the door opens... crawl out from under the bed... and run out...”

"Aiyah!" Yan Bubu seemed not to hear him, his eyes closed, focusing all his strength on bracing the bed, his face scrunched up in effort.

Suddenly, continuous gunfire erupted from the direction of the elevator, accompanied by loudspeakers blaring, “All residents, do not leave your rooms, do not open your doors, or you will be shot on sight. Anyone outside the rooms, get down with your hands over your head, or you will be treated as infected and dealt with accordingly!”

"One! Two! Three!"

After the countdown, more intense gunfire erupted, the sound of machine guns firing. The running footsteps in the corridor abruptly decreased, as many people presumably crouched down.

The deafening gunfire resonated through the Hive for several minutes, and the screams and roars gradually faded. The 'person' who had been pounding at their door slowed down and finally stopped.

"Aiyah!" Yan Bubu still strained with his eyes shut, veins popping on his thin neck, his legs alternating in a desperate push against the floor.

"Stop, stop, quickly stop," Feng Chen urged him.

Yan Bubu ceased his efforts, and both of them, still catching their breath, listened to the sounds outside. Fearing that the 'person' might start slamming the door again, they continued to brace the bed with their bodies, even while stopped.

"Get down, everyone get down and cover your heads. Do not stand up, anyone standing will be shot immediately!" a soldier commanded loudly from one end of the corridor.

Although the continuous machine gun fire had ceased, sporadic single shots persisted, gradually moving deeper into the corridor.

"Did you hear that, the person in front? Get down and cover your head, do not stand up, or you will be shot immediately! I order you to get down now!"

"Roar—"

Bang!

A gunshot sounded, and the roar that had just begun was abruptly cut off.

Feng Chen, listening to the soldiers' footsteps passing by the door without stopping, finally sighed in relief, realizing the 'person' who had been banging on the door was now dead.

He turned and slid down to sit on the floor against the foot of the bed, pulling Yan Bubu, who was still bracing the bed, towards him, and said in a hoarse voice, "It's over now."

The two sat on the floor, huddled together, holding each other’s cold hands, silent, just quietly listening to the sounds outside.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry, everyone in the corridor, go to the elevator now, you will be escorted down, move quickly, hurry."

The sound of running echoed again as the survivors passed their door, some crying as they ran, all rushing towards the elevator.

Moments later, the corridor fell completely silent. Feng Chen stood up, returned the bed to its original position, and reached to open the door.

The lock had been broken by the impact and didn't require turning the handle. He just gave it a slight tug, and the door opened.

As the door swung open, a heavy body fell forward. Reflexively, Feng Chen kicked it away, and it landed with a thud on the corridor floor.

This was likely the person who had been banging on their door, now lying face-up on the ground, eyes wide with rage, face covered in purplish veins. Half of his ear seemed to have been bitten off, and a bullet hole in the middle of his forehead oozed dark blood.

Feng Chen, holding the half-broken dagger, leaped over the threshold to look both ways down the corridor. Numerous bodies lay strewn about, easily a hundred, and soldiers, guns at the ready, cautiously navigated through them.

Although their floor was cleared, sporadic gunfire continued below and above as soldiers cleared the remaining infected.

"Brother," Yan Bubu, still standing behind the bed, called out anxiously, "Come back, please come back."

"It's okay, you stay there and don't come out, I'll be back in shortly," Feng Chen called back.

Outside, the corridor was littered with corpses, some gruesomely mutilated beyond recognition, a sight he didn’t want Yan Bubu to witness.

Suddenly, there was a rustling sound behind him, and a whoosh of air beside his ear. Feng Chen tensed, ready to swing his dagger, but then he halted, realizing something was amiss.

A vulture flew past him, and the voice of General Lin sounded from behind: "Qin Shen."

Feng Chen turned around and greeted, "General Lin."

General Lin, holding a gun, followed by a squad of soldiers, asked, "Are you both okay?"

"I'm fine."

As General Lin approached, he paused seeing Yan Bubu standing in the center of the room.

Yan Bubu, still shaken from the zombie scare, seemed unafraid of General Lin, even raising his right hand in a wave.

General Lin, touching the brim of his military cap, nodded slightly in return to Yan Bubu, then noticed the deformed door lock.

"Replace the door of this room," he ordered the soldiers following him.

"Yes, sir."

"And remove the corpse at the doorway immediately."

"Understood."

General Lin continued forward, casually tossing something into the room without looking. The object arced through the air, landing near Yan Bubu.

Yan Bubu instinctively caught it and looked down to find a small bag of biscuits in his palm.

The soldiers acted quickly, replacing the door with a new one and installing a sturdier lock.

While the door was being replaced, Yan Bubu stood beside Feng Chen, feeding him a biscuit, then taking one for himself.

When they lay back down to sleep, it was already 1 am. Normally they would be sound asleep by this time, but after such a terrifying ordeal, sleep was elusive.

Yan Bubu lay in Feng Chen's arms, neither suggesting to turn off the light, just closing their eyes while listening intently to the sounds outside.

"Everyone in the corridor just now must be taken to the medical point for a thorough examination. Anyone with skin wounds, regardless of the cause, should be isolated for observation."

"Understood."

"Transport the bodies to the surface for cremation, then bury the remains."

"Yes."

The first half of the night was tumultuous, with the sounds of bodies being moved, the continuous whoosh of water as cleaners hosed down the floors, and sorrowful wails from several rooms upstairs.

Feng Chen knew that those crying might not be the worst off; silence from some rooms didn't necessarily mean everything was fine. It could mean that entire families were gone.

By the latter half of the night, all the noise had finally subsided, and the Hive returned to a deathly silence.

Yan Bubu had been holding onto Feng Chen’s arm the whole time, never changing his position. Feng Chen thought he had fallen asleep, but then he heard him ask softly, “Master, if we never take a bath, will those people still bite us?”

After a moment of silence, Feng Chen replied, "Yes, they will."

“Don’t they mind the smell?”

“No, they don’t.”

“Ah…” Yan Bubu sighed.

Feng Chen turned to look at him, asking softly, "When that person was banging on the door earlier, I told you to crawl under the bed and run out once the door opened. Didn’t you hear me?"

"I heard it," Yan Bubu said.

"Then why didn’t you go under the bed?"

Yan Bubu moved closer, pressing against Feng Chen, his soft hair brushing against his neck, and said in a tiny voice, "I didn’t want to run away alone."

"But if you don't run away, we both might die," Feng Chen stated calmly, without pushing him away.

"If we die, we die," Yan Bubu said nonchalantly.

After a moment of contemplation, Feng Chen hesitantly said, "Yan Bubu, not everyone who dies goes to heaven, so we should try to stay alive if we can."

Yan Bubu suddenly looked up at him, a few curls resting on his fair forehead, his eyes wide.

"Of course, people like your mother, they all go to heaven. But if we die, it's not certain we would go, since we are still children," Feng Chen said, gazing at the ceiling, not looking at Yan Bubu.

Yan Bubu lay back down slowly and after a moment said, "No matter where, I want to be with you."

"In the future, if something like this happens, you must listen to me—"

"No." Yan Bubu, seemingly upset, firmly patted Feng Chen's chest, "I won't. I want to be with you."

It was the first time Yan Bubu had defied Feng Chen's wishes, and he was quite stubborn about it. Knowing he couldn't reason with him at the moment, Feng Chen chose not to say more.

If such a day ever came, they would deal with it then.

Yan Bubu, as if thinking of something, zoned out for a while before saying, "Brother, if you get bitten and you bite me, do it gently, and please don't bite my face, okay?"

Feng Chen, with his eyes closed, asked, "Then where should I bite you?"

Yan Bubu thought hard, "Bite my fingers? No, no, even a small cut on the finger hurts... then, my ear? That hurts too. How about you just bite my fingernails or hair strands?"

"Since you're afraid of pain, you might as well just run away," Feng Chen suggested.

"I won't run. I'll stay with you. If it hurts, I'll just bear it. Ah, forget it, just bite wherever," Yan Bubu gave up thinking, "Bite my face, there's more flesh there."

Feng Chen lifted his hand and pinched his face, "Where is there more flesh? You've clearly lost weight."

"It's fine, a few bites wouldn't hurt much," Yan Bubu puffed his cheeks, inviting Feng Chen to poke his face.

Feng Chen did poke his face again, chuckled softly, and said, "Let's sleep, nothing like that will happen. But you need to eat more."

"Yeah, I've been eating a lot these days, let's sleep."

The heavy atmosphere that had enveloped them earlier dissipated with Yan Bubu’s light-heartedness. Feng Chen turned off the light, and soon, both of them fell asleep.