Chapter 55 Just in Time for Dinner

Chapter 55: Just in Time for Dinner

Everyone rushed out like birds freed from a cage, scrambling down the three sections…

On the shuttle bus, Chen Yi pressed his face against the window, exclaiming noisily, "Whoa whoa whoa! I see my parents! And my grandpa and grandma too, boo hoo hoo!"

After leaving Gu Ze’s stop, the driver didn’t have to go far before reaching A19—the address on Chen Yi’s ID card. The driver chuckled and said, "Hey kid, quit howling and get off already. Your whole family’s waiting for you."

Chen Yi wiped his tears and replied, "Okay, thank you, Uncle—wait no, thank you, Brother." Then he turned to Bai Suizhi and said, "Sui-ge, I’ll get off here then."

Bai Suizhi nodded slightly. "Mm, go ahead."

After saying his goodbyes, Chen Yi bounded toward his family’s warm embrace like an overexcited husky. Through the rearview mirror, it was quite the lively scene.

Bai Suizhi quietly withdrew his gaze, leaning his head against the window, his expression dark and inscrutable.

Finally, they arrived at the last stop. The driver stretched lazily and glanced ahead casually before suddenly muttering in confusion. "Huh? Why aren’t your parents here to pick you up? Didn’t they get the notice? That shouldn’t be…"

The driver stammered, "Oh, okay." *Why did this young man’s expression suddenly turn so grim? He was all smiles and laughter just moments ago,* the driver thought, puzzled, as he turned the steering wheel and drove toward another destination.

After getting out of the vehicle, Bai Suizhi took a deep breath and walked up to the front door, pressing the doorbell.

The door was opened by a young woman who didn’t look much older than Bai Suizhi. Her eyes curved as she smiled and said, "Suizhi, you’re here."

Bai Suizhi nodded in response. Even after all this time, he still didn’t know how to address this woman who seemed more like an older sister but was actually his stepmother.

Ning Ruxue led Bai Suizhi inside as she spoke. "Your father went out to play golf and won’t be back until later. He specifically asked me to wait here for you. Would you like to rest first or have something to eat? I can prepare something for you."

"Playing golf?"

Ning Ruxue replied, "Well, that’s just the excuse—it’s really for business discussions. You know how it is, right? And there’s a very important person there today, so your father really couldn’t get out of it. That’s why he couldn’t come pick you up. Suizhi, please don't be mad."

Bai Suizhi let out a light laugh. "Don’t worry, I’m not upset. I’m just feeling a bit disoriented, like I'd woken up from a nightmare where I was still in the old world—no virus, no zombies, as if nothing had happened."

Ning Ruxue didn’t know how to respond, so she repeated her earlier suggestion. "Would you like something to eat? I’ll go prepare it."

Bai Suizhi politely declined. "Thank you, but I’m not very hungry. Where’s the room? I’d like to rest for a bit."

"Alright, I’ll take you there," Ning Ruxue said softly.

Every time she spoke with her stepson, who was nearly the same age as her, Ning Ruxue felt an indescribable awkwardness. Fortunately, Bai Suizhi seemed to share the sentiment. As soon as he entered his room, he locked the door and didn’t come out again, conveniently avoiding any further face-to-face encounters where neither could find a word to say.

……

In Zone C, Kahn and Oliver followed a uniformed staff member into the building.

They hadn’t gone far when their guide suddenly stopped and turned to give them a warning. "Zone C and Zone D are both located underground. Since there are a lot of people here, it might get a bit… lively. Don’t be scared."

The two of them didn’t take it seriously and simply nodded slightly before continuing to follow the guide.

Before long, something resembling a subway entrance appeared before them. Under transparent glass doors was a long staircase that seemed to stretch endlessly downward.

Kahn and Oliver both looked on with curiosity at this uniquely designed entrance.

The guide used the card hanging around his neck to open the transparent arched door, then gestured for them to enter.

The staircase spiraled downward, much longer than they had imagined. Standing at the top, they couldn’t hear a single sound from below.

By the time the two were starting to feel dizzy from the descent, they finally heard noises other than their own footsteps—a muffled sound like boiling water bubbling up from below.

Kahn and Oliver’s spirits perked up, and they unconsciously quickened their pace.

When they reached the final level before the bottom, a large gate stood imposingly before them. The guide, who had been a few steps behind, caught up and swiped his card to open the checkpoint.

The door swung open abruptly. Before Kahn and Oliver could even get a clear look at the scene ahead, several lewd whistles rang out. A voice from the left front teased mockingly, "Well, well, two new faces. And foreign goods too."

"I’ve never had foreign cuisine before. This is exciting."

"Looks like they're just asking for it."

"Hahahaha…"

Jeers and catcalls erupted one after another.

"Damn it, watch your mouths!" a young man on the right spoke up in their defense.

"You good-for-nothings! Even in prison, you still haven’t learned to behave!" an auntie scolded with concern.

"Scumbags controlled by their little heads, social scum. Your brains are filled with nothing but filth aside from your lower halves!" an angry female voice retorted.

"Fuck, what did you say, you bitch?"

"I said your damn father has no dick!"

"Just you wait—I’ll fucking kill you when I get out!"

"Kill who? Talk after you get out first. Jumping around like monkeys in a zoo—what a joke!"

The situation quickly spiraled out of control. Kahn and Oliver stood frozen in place, too afraid to take another step forward.

Kahn glanced at their guide, who seemed utterly unfazed, and asked, "Aren’t you going to do something about this?"

"These people argue hundreds of times a day. There’s no point in trying to control them, so we just let them be. Unless there’s bloodshed, we turn a blind eye. It’s easier for everyone that way."

Oliver swallowed hard and said to Kahn, "I’m suddenly very worried about our life here from now on."

Kahn patted his shoulder and, as if naturally inspired, replied with a fitting phrase, "Since we’re here, we might as well settle in."

In the time it took for those few words to be exchanged, the crowd below had already moved on to another heated argument. Seeing that no one was paying attention to them anymore, the two quietly slipped down along the edge.

Due to the limited view earlier, they hadn’t been able to see the full layout. Only after descending the staircase did they gain a clearer understanding of the entire space.

Their first impression was of its height—it looked to be about a hundred stories tall. Each level had countless rooms, arranged like small cages forming semicircular arcs. Each arc was separated by a heavy iron gate.

Kahn massaged his forehead. He had imagined that Zone C and Zone D would be close, but he hadn’t expected them to be separated by just a single door. Because the overall space was semicircular, people from both zones could even see each other face to face, talk to each other… or shout insults.

A natural coliseum.

After completing his task, the guide leisurely took his leave, leaving Kahn and Oliver standing alone in place. Oliver remarked, "This place kinda looks like the ancient Roman Colosseum."

Though Kahn didn’t know much about the Colosseum, he could guess from the name. "Then what does that make us? The beasts?"

Oliver chuckled. "Too bad the audience isn't watching us."

"Thank goodness," Kahn sighed in relief. He checked his pass and said, "Let’s head to our room. Otherwise, we might become the center of attention once the audience snaps back to reality."

The mere thought of that scenario sent a shiver down Oliver’s spine. "Let’s go!"

However, before they could take more than a few steps, a clear bell chimed, and the crowd instantly grew dozens of times noisier than before.

Kahn made a face. "We can't leave now. It seems they're about to come out."

Oliver looked up in panic and saw that the people who had stayed in their rooms earlier, avoiding the commotion, were now stepping to their doors upon hearing the bell. They pressed eagerly against the windows and doors, peering out like crazed institutional patients.

Kahn pulled Oliver into a small corner and began observing quietly.

After the bell rang, several guards holding sets of keys stood in front of each cell door, unlocking them while repeating well-rehearsed instructions: "No pushing, no crowding, no fighting..."

No one paid them any mind. The moment the doors opened, everyone surged out like caged birds set free, taking three steps at a time, almost as if they could glide down from above.

The stairs on the right thundered with the sound of rushing feet. In contrast, the left side was much quieter. Only specific cells were opened by the guards. The others, including those who had been hurling insults earlier, merely glanced idly across the area. Seeing that no one paid them any attention, they lost interest and retreated back into their rooms.

At the same time, several long tables were set up not far from Kahn and Oliver. Kitchen staff in white work uniforms seemed to appear out of nowhere, carrying large steaming pots. They swiftly arranged the pots in a row on the tables. The rich aroma of the food wafted through the air, making people's stomachs growl.

Oliver instantly forgot all other thoughts, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Perfect timing - mealtime!" he exclaimed eagerly.

Before Kahn could respond, he noticed the prisoners descending from the left side, each wearing electronic monitors. They lined up behind the guards and moved slowly toward the food tables. There, they automatically grabbed aprons and tied them around their waists, clearly familiar with the routine of serving meals.

On the right side, the inmates from Zone C formed an orderly line in front of the food tables almost immediately. In no time, the queue stretched almost to the end of the area.

People from the higher floors grumbled, "We're always last. Next time, can we go first? It's exhausting climbing all those stairs..."

"Exactly, we never get to eat while the food is still hot."

This kind of conversation probably happened every day, because although they complained, they moved faster than anyone. Some inmates from the tenth or twentieth floors even managed to get their meals before elderly folks living on the first or second floors.

Seeing the line curve into a U-shape and quickly morphing into an S, Kahn decisively grabbed Oliver and joined the back of the queue.

Once they were in line, both felt somewhat safer. Before long, a long tail of people formed behind them, and the queue gradually took on the shape of an M.