Chapter 111

Chapter 111

In the dormitory, no one spoke; the sound on the television hanging on the wall was muted, silently playing an old, dull movie. Someone's old phone was playing a song on repeat, the gentle female voice filling the cramped space, slightly alleviating the suffocating atmosphere.

Suddenly, someone said, "Hey, hey, stop the music, it's time for the Central City news."

The music stopped, and the television volume was turned up. Yan Bubu rested his head on Feng Chen's arm, listening to the news together.

"According to a recent announcement by the Central City Research Institute, the substance covering the sky has been confirmed to be harmless to humans. Everyone is advised not to worry, and the military is currently searching for the source of this substance…"

Someone slapped the bed frame: "It's been several days, and they still haven't figured out what this thing is?"

"It's not that easy, you know. Didn't you hear yesterday's news? They can't even analyze the composition of this material. It'll take some time to trace its source."

"The Central City Research Institute is useless. They've been studying the zombie virus for years, and what progress have they made? Look at the number of zombies beneath our city. We might become one of them tomorrow. Sigh..."

"Maybe even today..."

"Actually, I heard a rumor that the Eastern Alliance Army had found a way to combat zombification a long time ago, but the key component was lost during an earthquake."

"What was it?"

"How would I know?"

"Impossible, definitely fake news. If they had discovered a method that early, even if it was lost, they could continue the research based on the old methods, right?"

"I said it was just a rumor. Don't take it seriously, just something to listen to."

Hearing this, Yan Bubu looked up at Feng Chen, who had his eyes closed, so he remained silent.

Soon, a bell rang, and the footsteps in the corridor quickly faded away. A soldier's voice came through the loudspeaker: "Everyone return to your rooms, prepare for temperature checks."

Hearing this, Yan Bubu quickly nudged Feng Chen. Feng Chen knew what he wanted to say and spoke in a calm tone, "Familiar feeling, just like being back in the underground settlement."

Rows of soldiers passed by the door, stopping every two at a room: "Get up, time for temperature checks."

Everyone stood up at their doorways, and Yan Bubu and Feng Chen lined up at the end.

During the temperature check, Yan Bubu noticed that the uniforms of the two soldiers in front of them were different, with sleeve and collar stripes in two different colors. After the check, he shared this observation with Feng Chen.

Feng Chen replied, "The white stripes are for the Western Alliance Army, and the dark red ones are for the Eastern Alliance Army."

Yan Bubu laughed, "Are the Eastern and Western Alliances still competing? Even for temperature checks, they need to send one person each."

Feng Chen leaned against the head of the bed, his eyes fixed on the bunk above. "The world has completely changed, but the only constant is the covert and overt strife between the Eastern and Western Alliances."

It was already eleven o'clock at night by the time the temperature checks were completed in Zone C. As the soldiers left, lights went out one by one in the rooms. The entire settlement quieted down, save for the intermittent snoring and occasional roars like wild beasts that could be heard between the snores.

Yan Bubu was familiar with these roars; they were the howls of zombies.

"Brother, do you hear that?" he asked quietly.

Feng Chen hummed in acknowledgment: "It's nothing, they're below the city."

Listening to the endless wailing of the zombies, Yan Bubu, though exhausted, couldn't fall asleep and kept tossing and turning in Feng Chen's arms.

"Can't sleep, huh? I couldn't sleep either when I first got here," the old man lying in the bed to the left suddenly spoke.

Yan Bubu was startled, then quickly realized he was being addressed and replied hastily, "Yes, it's a bit hard to get used to."

"You'll adapt after living here a while. Listen to their snoring. They all had trouble adjusting when they first arrived, but now they sleep more soundly than anyone."

Bang, bang, bang.

A knocking sound came from under the bed. Yan Bubu leaned over Feng Chen's body and peered down from the edge.

The old man continued, "It's zombies climbing the pillars, knocking on the ground floor."

Feng Chen, worried Yan Bubu might fall off the bed, reached out to embrace him, explaining softly, "Under our bed is just a layer of tiles, and beneath that, a thick metal plate."

Yan Bubu remembered seeing zombies clinging to and climbing up the huge metal pillars outside the Central City, and felt a chill up his spine.

"They're crawling right under our bed, separated only by a metal plate. We're sleeping right above the zombies."

Feng Chen comforted him, "Let's just get through tonight. Tomorrow, I'll find out how we can move to the second floor. We can rent a room there and won't hear these noises."

The old man chuckled, "You get used to it after a while. Now, I can't fall asleep without these sounds. They remind me that I'm still alive."

Hearing that the old man had lived in the settlement for a long time, Feng Chen asked, "Grandpa, may I ask you about something?"

"Go ahead and ask," the old man said.

Feng Chen inquired, "About nine years ago, a group of survivors from Haiyun City arrived in Central City. Do you remember anything about that?"

"Nine years ago... survivors from Haiyun City... let me think." The old man murmured, lost in thought, before continuing, "I do remember a group of survivors arriving from Haiyun City. It was right when the extreme cold set in. They came on a cargo ship to Central City, so it left an impression on me."

"Yes, they came on a cargo ship," Yan Bubu exclaimed excitedly.

"I remember back then, Central City hadn’t been rebuilt, and everyone lived in underground settlements. Suddenly, a lot of people arrived, all freezing cold. They said their ship encountered ice at sea, and they had to walk the last part of the journey. Some even froze to death on the way."

After a few seconds of silence, Yan Bubu asked, "How many of them made it to the settlement in the end?"

"I’m not sure about the exact number, but it must have been several thousand. The underground settlement was nearly packed at the time," the old man said.

Feng Chen asked further, "Do you know where they are now? Are any of them in this settlement?"

The old man replied, "I wouldn't know about that. After all, Central City was rebuilt, and people who lived in one underground settlement were dispersed and re-assigned to different zones. Besides, so many years have passed, and many have... well, passed away."

"Oh yeah, I met someone at the mine where I work, who was pushing a cart with me. He mentioned he was from Haiyun City and lived in Zone A," a voice from a corner chimed in, obviously also awake.

Feng Chen perked up, "Did you hear anything else from him?"

The person responded, "I was working to earn credits to rent a place from the military. What did he say again? Oh, right, he mentioned he had a house, located in a rental area in Zone A. That's all I know."

Someone from the adjacent bed interjected, "Zone A’s rental area is huge. Where do you even start looking for someone there?"

"Ah, but you might not know this," the person replied. "After Central City was rebuilt, acquaintances could apply to be placed in the same zone. If he's from Haiyun City, there won't be just him in Zone A's rental area. There should be many more; just ask around, and you’ll find them."

"Makes sense. Except for people like me who came from small places, those from big cities tend to stick together."

Though they couldn't provide more information, it was enough. Feng Chen thanked them and didn't ask further.

"Shall we go find them tomorrow?" Yan Bubu asked.

Feng Chen hummed in agreement, "We'll look for them tomorrow, let's sleep now."

Yan Bubu buried his face in Feng Chen's chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. Gradually, he became less aware of the zombies knocking under the bed and drifted off to sleep.

In the dead of night, when the first scream echoed outside the door, Feng Chen's eyes snapped open.

"Help, someone's turned, a zombie..."

A flurry of footsteps ensued, running towards the corridor, accompanied by terrified screams and cries. The commotion was so loud that Yan Bubu also woke up, sitting up in bed alongside Feng Chen.

"Don't move, I'll go check."

Just as Feng Chen got up, several gunshots rang out in the corridor, buzzing in their ears. But as he approached the door, the gunfire ceased, and all the screams and wails abruptly stopped.

With a click, the dorm leader Wang Quan turned on the room light.

Feng Chen turned and saw that everyone was awake, yet all lay still, none daring to get out of bed.

A child, woken by the gunshots, mumbled incoherently. His mother gently patted him, saying, "It's okay, someone just turned into a zombie, but it's over now."

The child, seemingly accustomed to such incidents, fell back asleep under his mother's soothing touch.

"It must be someone from one of the rooms who turned into a zombie. Don't go out, the soldiers will take care of it. Going out might just get you bitten," someone advised Feng Chen, seeing him at the door.

Hearing no more noise outside, Feng Chen didn't say anything and returned to his bunk.

"Let's sleep, I'm turning off the light," dorm leader Wang Quan yawned and switched off the light.

The room quickly quieted down, and in the darkness, Yan Bubu lay with his eyes open, listening to the various sounds around him.

Some people had already fallen asleep quickly, their snores echoing through the room. Zombies continued to knock on the floor under the beds. The freshly killed corpse was dragged past the door, sounding like a heavy bag of cement being pulled along. Soldiers were rinsing and cleaning the floor, the sound of water rushing incessantly.

The more Yan Bubu listened, the more awake he became, feeling bursts of cold sweat seeping through his palms.

But soon his hand was enveloped in a warm palm. Feng Chen draped his other arm over Yan Bubu's shoulder, pulling him close: "Sleep, it's all right now."

Yan Bubu pressed close to Feng Chen's chest, absorbing his warmth and scent, whispering, "Pat me too."

Feng Chen gently patted his shoulder.

The next morning, after breakfast, the two of them took Bino Bino and left the settlement.

Although many people chose to just lie around in the settlement, waiting for death, some still opted to go out and work. Even with no clear future and unsure how long they would be safe, they hoped to rent a room in Central City to make their remaining days slightly better.

Driverless buses departed one after another from the station. When the bus to Zone A arrived, Feng Chen and Yan Bubu boarded.

The bus was crowded, with no seats available, so they had to stand in the aisle. Yan Bubu opened a slit in the bag to check on Bino Bino, who quickly closed it again.

The bus headed towards Zone A, stopping at several stations along the way. Eventually, everyone else got off, leaving just the two of them.

"Sit down," Feng Chen said, taking a seat by the aisle and leaving the window seat for Yan Bubu.

Yan Bubu sat down, and Bino Bino poked his head out of the bag. Both of them leaned against the window, looking outside.

The view outside the bus window hadn’t changed much; there were still street lights at regular intervals and uniformly whitewashed low-rise buildings. The only difference was the increased number of pedestrians, all walking quickly with heads down, turning into alleys on their way to work.

Zones A and C were two different sectors, connected by an iron bridge. Shortly after crossing the bridge, the announcement sounded: "Approaching Zone A Rental Housing Station."

The bus came to a stop at the station, and the two of them got off.

Zone A appeared much more rundown than Zone C. The sidewalks, though paved with brown-red bricks, were mostly missing, leaving only a layer of giant metal plates exposed. The buildings along the street were covered in messy graffiti and sprayed with various colored words. Some people were lying at the roadside, wrapped in dirty, colorless rag blankets.

"Brother, why doesn't he stay in the settlement?" Yan Bubu asked Feng Chen.

Feng Chen glanced outside: "I don't know, maybe he doesn't like living with others."

Yan Bubu looked down at Bino Bino, "Would you rather sleep on the streets than go to the settlement?"

Bino Bino gave no response, which was taken as agreement.

The two walked along the long street. The ground, made up of giant metal plates joined together, varied in height, forming a network of iron bridges and ladders in some places.

As they crossed a mesh iron bridge, they could see through the gaps in the giant metal wires the zombies below, howling and looking up at them.

One zombie climbed up a column, reaching out to slap the giant metal mesh above. Yan Bubu even wondered if its long nails could poke through the mesh.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.

The entire bridge, pounded by the zombies, seemed like it could break at any moment, the mesh below revealing the ferocious faces of the undead.

Bino Bino tried to jump out of the bag to scratch at them, but Yan Bubu quickly held him back: "Don't mind them, we've got to find someone."

"Roar!" Bino Bino growled down at them, prompting Yan Bubu to quickly cross the bridge.

The buildings on this side of the bridge were irregularly arranged, with low houses densely packed together, their cement walls covered with corrugated tiles.

Just as Yan Bubu was about to ask Feng Chen where to find people from Haiyun City, Feng Chen led him down a right-hand alley.

"Do you know your way around here?" Yan Bubu asked curiously.

"No," Feng Chen replied. "But there's household trash at the entrance of the alley, so there must be quite a few people living here."

The alleyway lacked streetlights and the ground was uneven, emitting a smell of decay and sewage. Unlike the straight main street outside, this alley twisted and turned, leading in all directions, making Yan Bubu feel as if he had entered a spider's web.

"Where are you two young gentlemen headed?"

A sudden female voice from the left startled Yan Bubu. He turned and saw a figure standing in the shadow of a nearby door.

The figure stepped forward, and Feng Chen instinctively pulled Yan Bubu behind him.

"Heading to the bar so early? Why not come and play here for a while first?"

A frail-looking woman emerged into the light, her lips painted with bright red lipstick, her face pale, with faint dark circles under her eyes.

She reached out to grab Feng Chen's arm, but he avoided her, continuing to walk forward while holding onto Yan Bubu.

Yan Bubu looked back as they walked away, seeing the woman drop her smile and sit down dejectedly at her doorstep, eyes downcast.

"Who is she? Does she know us? She even invited us to play," Yan Bubu asked.

Feng Chen replied, "You've seen so many movies, didn't you realize who she is?"

"Ah? She's... a movie actress? From which movie?"

Feng Chen only glanced at him before turning away, but Yan Bubu understood from his meaningful look: "She, she is..."

Feng Chen asked, "So, do you want to go play?"

"No, no, no," Yan Bubu's face turned red, he shook his head vigorously. "I'm still young, I'm not even seventeen yet, not for another three months."

"Oh... so it's okay when you're older?" Feng Chen's voice trailed off, his face bearing a half-smiling expression.

Yan Bubu nearly tripped over a brick on the ground and growled, "That definitely won't be okay either."

Feng Chen quickly caught him: "Alright, alright, there are no streetlights here, watch your step."

"Where are we going now?" Yan Bubu asked, steadying himself.

"She just mentioned a bar. It should be around here. Places like bars are good for gathering information. I'll find one and ask."

As they continued deeper into the area, they encountered more people, both men and women.

Like the woman before, they sat on small stools at the dark doorways of their homes. When Yan Bubu and Feng Chen passed by, they would cautiously ask if they wanted to come in for a while.

"Thank you, but no need."

"We're not playing, we have something to do."

Yan Bubu, gripping Feng Chen's hand tightly, hurriedly refused, almost as if afraid they would be pulled inside. But those who were refused simply smiled and went back to sitting.

"They seem quite nice," Yan Bubu remarked to Feng Chen.

Feng Chen kept his eyes forward: "They must have been through robberies or beatings many times. It makes people cautious."

"Then they could live in the settlement, couldn't they? They wouldn't have to be scared and do such... work," Yan Bubu pondered.

Feng Chen said, "Last night was our first stay in the settlement, and a zombie incident happened. Living alone outside might be safer than staying in a settlement. Now, just staying alive makes some things seem less important..."

"But when we came out, we saw many people working. There were job postings on the streets. Can't they work instead?"

"It's their choice."

Both fell silent, continuing their walk without further conversation.

"Gentlemen, would you like to come in and sit for a while?" Someone ahead stood under a streetlight.

It was a thin and frail-looking young man, about the same age as Yan Bubu, with a youthful face bearing a bruise and several bloodstains.

"No, thank you," Yan Bubu declined softly, but as he passed by the young man, he added, "There's a garment factory near the station hiring workers to sew buttons, it's not heavy work."

The young man paused, responding slowly with an "Oh."

Unable to discern the meaning behind that response, Yan Bubu walked a few steps away, then looked back to see the young man sitting back down at the doorstep.