Chapter 34

Chapter 34

The woman’s eyes were hollow, showing no reaction upon seeing them. It was Huang Qian who called out to her:

"Ms. Lin."

The little girl was bundled in a pink puffer coat, her face half-buried in an adorable panda-print scarf, revealing only a pair of large, timid eyes as she hid behind her mother.

The woman paused at the stairwell and turned to look at them, her voice raspy and detached:

"Is there something you need?"

Seeing how frightened the child looked, Cheng Jing and the others stayed back, allowing only Huang Qian and Jiang Nian—who had a gentle, approachable demeanor—to step forward and speak with the mother and daughter.

Perhaps from lack of proper care, their clothes were stained and grimy, reeking of a nauseating blend of heavy perfume and a sharp medicinal stench.

While Huang Qian spoke with the woman, Jiang Nian skimmed the apartment register. The woman’s name was Lin Qin, her husband Shan Chengfei, and their daughter Shan Ya.

After glancing at the names, Jiang Nian pulled out a fruit-flavored lollipop and offered it to the timid little girl:

"Shan Ya, right? No need to be afraid. Here’s a lollipop for you."

Shan Ya relaxed slightly under Jiang Nian’s kind gaze. She stared at the candy, swallowing hard but didn’t take it, instead giving her mom’s sleeve a tiny pull.

The woman, mid-conversation with Huang Qian, looked down and smiled gently:

"If this kind gentleman is giving it to you, take it. Remember to thank him."

"Thank you..."

Shan Ya accepted the lollipop and tucked it into her coat pocket, her big, curious eyes peering at Jiang Nian, whose face was half-hidden.

Taking the moment to ask, Jiang Nian gently questioned where they were headed. Shan Ya hesitated, glancing at her mother before answering softly:

"We’re going to the distribution center to get medicine..."

Jiang Nian blinked:

"Who’s sick?"

That must have been where the medicine smell came from.

Shan Ya shook her head:

"Not me... It’s Mom."

At that moment, the woman cut in:

"Ever since the apocalypse began, I’ve been so anxious I can’t sleep without medication. My husband used to bring back calming meds during scavenging runs, but after he went missing… we ran out."

"I’m so sorry…"

Jiang Nian sighed softly, unsure how to comfort the grieving pair.

The woman shook her head, tears welling up—only to turn to frost before they could fall. Her voice cracked with emotion:

"I toughed it out for days, but I just can’t anymore. I wanted to pick up some medicine… and maybe find out what happened to Shan Ya’s father. If you need to inspect our apartment, could it wait? I’m sorry… I just can’t keep it together right now…"

"Don’t cry..."

Seeing the woman start to cry in an emotional outburst, Huang Qian decided not to push for answers and instead walked over to Cheng Jing, whispering:

"Captain, let's move on to other units for now."

Getting this worked up can make you sick in this weather—they've been through enough already.

Cheng Jing nodded and told the mother and daughter:

"It's too cold outside. Don't stay out too long."

With that, he took the team upstairs to continue their rounds.

However, as Jiang Nian stepped onto the stairs, Xiao Ya suddenly called out to him:

"Big brother... can you save Daddy?"

"Xiao Ya, don't make trouble..."

The woman, still weeping, tensed up slightly and hastily wiped the frost from her cheeks, pulling her daughter back:

"They've got important work to do. You shouldn't keep them..."

The others glanced back but kept climbing. Cheng Jing frowned slightly, while Jiang Nian paused, unable to bear to meet her hopeful gaze. Yet reality was cruel, and he finally shook his head:

"I'm sorry, Xiao Ya... I can't help you."

Faced with those pleading eyes, he would have agreed to anything else—but how could he save someone who had gone missing outside? They couldn't even recover the bodies.

Xiao Ya stared at him for a moment, then turned to Cheng Jing, whose expression was slightly stern. Finally, she dug her teeth into her lip and lowered her head:

"Okay... then just go away, mister..."

With that, she turned away.

"Xiao Ya, don’t be rude."

The woman, her eyes red, sorrowfully scolded her daughter and gave Jiang Nian an apologetic look:

"Sorry... she’s really shaken up..."

"It's fine. You stay safe now."

Jiang Nian turned and went upstairs. Cheng Jing was displeased but said nothing more.

Once they turned the corner on the stairs, the woman dropped to her knees and pulled her daughter close. Xiao Ya clutched her scarf, biting her lip as tears froze the moment they fell, rolling down to the ground in icy droplets.

Mother and daughter wept in each other's arms.

Walking behind Cheng Jing, Jiang Nian felt his chest tighten at their sobs. Such tragedies were everywhere in the apocalypse, yet they still hit just as hard every time.

Women and children always got the worst of it in these chaotic times. He wasn't some bleeding heart, but that didn't mean he was heartless.

Cheng Jing gave his shoulder a knowing squeeze:

"Don't beat yourself up. Some things are just out of our hands—there's nothing we can do."

"I know."

Jiang Nian took a deep breath. The air was cold enough to freeze his heart, yet it kept him alert.

...

The search proceeded smoothly. Since not every floor was fully occupied, the workload remained manageable.

By 4 p.m., all search teams had returned to the command post. Each team left behind three members for an after-action review.

Cheng Jing stayed behind with Jiang Nian and Zhao Lei.

Only a few households across the entire complex happened to be downstairs and were therefore unavailable for inspection—just like Xiao Ya and her mother.

Each team compiled a list of unsearched residences and planned to conduct another sweep after dinner, once everyone had returned home, organized by assigned buildings.

The after-action review began but uncovered no useful clues.

Even those who revisited the basement found nothing new—only zombies lurking in the shadows, which they quickly eliminated.

...

In the meeting room, converted from the property management hall, others discussed the results of the search. As an ordinary member of his team, Jiang Nian didn’t attract much attention. He casually picked up the mortality report from Hejiayuan Shelter and started skimming through it.

People died at the shelter every day, and each investigation was summarized in just a few lines: died from illness, froze to death, left and never returned, disappeared from their rooms, and so on.

Jiang Nian paused at the names of the most recently missing ordinary residents. Though they lived in different buildings and on different floors, and though the time intervals between disappearances varied, they shared two things in common:

First, they were all alone—either initially assigned to live alone or left alone after their roommates died.

Second, they vanished without warning. The day before, they had come out normally to collect supplies, but by the next night, night patrols discovered they were gone, with their rations still untouched.

Therefore, investigators assumed they disappeared the same night they collected their supplies.

Since the doors were not locked from the inside and neighbors reported no unusual noises, the reports concluded: "assumed to have walked out voluntarily."

After all, the shelter did not restrict anyone’s freedom. Whether during the day or at night, leaving the refuge meant facing the outside world entirely on one's own.