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On the west side of South Gate Square, atop the Chang'an Castle Grand Hotel, a dark-skinned man stood proudly against the wind, thirty-eight meters above ground. The wind howled, tousling his short hair. Dressed in black tactical gear, he had broad shoulders and a strong physique, with a chiseled jawline that exuded masculinity. A zip line was secured at his waist, stretching across the air from the hotel rooftop to another office building a hundred meters away. Below him, the streets were filled with Zombies drawn from alleys and avenues, staggering toward a location where sporadic bursts of fire and explosions erupted.
The man's dark face revealed hints of worry as he slowly lowered his high-powered binoculars and removed a walkie-talkie from his waist. He called out, "Xiao Bear, can you hear me?" The walkie-talkie crackled with static before a clearer voice responded after a moment, "Received, received. Xiao Wei, please speak."
"You need to return to the Roundabout and inform Ming Ge that the west gate has been breached." Xiao Wei licked his cracked lips, speaking in a steady tone that carried a hint of gravity. "Tell Ming Ge to prepare for evacuation; there are too many Zombies to hold them off."
"I understand. Wait for me on the rooftop," came Xiao Bear's intermittent reply from somewhere unknown.
"No need; I can keep up with you from above." Xiao Wei switched off the walkie-talkie but thought better of it and turned it back on. "I haven't seen Yao Yao. If she's not at the Roundabout, find a way to bring her back."
"Understood. Be careful and stay in touch." After this exchange, silence fell on the other end.
Xiao Wei exhaled slowly and turned his gaze toward the distant fireworks that occasionally lit up the sky about a kilometer away, their remnants still lingering in the air as white smoke after each explosion. Within a five-hundred-meter radius below him, most of the Zombies had gathered around, drawn by the daytime fireworks that were not very conspicuous but loud enough to guide these flesh-eating creatures toward their final destination.
Before long, a mountain bike sped down a street in the distance. The rider hunched over, almost lifting off the seat as he pedaled furiously just before entering the throng of Zombies. He veered through several alleys and disappeared from Xiao Wei's sight. Seeing that the graduate student had successfully avoided the oncoming horde brought Xiao Wei some relief. He bent down to retrieve a bayonet embedded in a corpse and secured it in his waist sheath before adjusting his backpack and vaulting over the railing.
With his zip line secured at his waist, he took a deep breath and leaped into the air like a great bird soaring into the wind, propelled swiftly toward the high-rise at the end of the zip line.
Meanwhile, in a luxurious private room on the second floor of Roundabout KTV, Chef Jia sat up from a sofa covered with blankets and took a sip from a cup of water on the table to clear his throat. He glanced around with a bitter smile. The room was spacious; in its center stood a tea table surrounded by sofas facing each other like an expansive bed where several women and children from Riverside Camp slept soundly, occasionally interrupted by soft snores from children.
On the wall opposite hung an LCD screen that reflected Chef Jia's weary face despite its dim light. After sitting for a while and rubbing his throbbing temples, he got up to cover a sleeping child with a thin blanket before tying back his long hair and stepping out.
The corridor was silent; doors to other rooms were open, revealing similar furnishings. Rooms equipped with bathrooms had added beds, while unburned candlesticks adorned tea tables. The elevator was already closed off; torches illuminated both sides of the stairs, casting flickering light that danced against mirrored walls, adding to an atmosphere of drowsiness.
Descending the stairs to an empty lobby on the first floor, Chef Jia noticed that no one was resting on the reception sofa anymore. Outside, voices clamored as if people were busy with something important. Adjusting his wrinkled clothes, he pulled out an antique pocket watch from his pocket to check the time and sighed helplessly. He had originally told Liu Yan he would rest for an hour while waiting for him to take over; now he realized he had slept for three hours instead.
As he stepped outside, he spotted Yinuo approaching briskly and was momentarily surprised by her presence. "Is something wrong?" Chef Jia instinctively felt alert; there was something strange about Roundabout's atmosphere at this moment.
"I was just coming to find you," Yinuo panted slightly as she spoke. "Tell your people not to sleep yet; everyone needs to come down to collect supplies at the warehouse."
"Huh?"
"I'll explain later; your bespectacled companion has already moved the injured." Noticing Chef Jia's confusion and wanting to avoid panic, Yinuo reassured him: "Don't be too nervous; the warehouse is across from the hospital where people are lining up."
Without waiting for further questions from Chef Jia, she jogged away from the entrance. Chef Jia felt vaguely uneasy but did not hesitate any longer; he hurried back upstairs to rouse all those sleeping women and led them toward Yinuo's indicated warehouse.
The so-called "warehouse" turned out to be a bank with its glass doors wide open. Thirty or so people stood quietly and orderly in five lines at service windows as if they were making deposits—calm expressions devoid of panic marked their faces.
However, Chef Jia's group of women became startled birds at this sight; despite Chef Jia's repeated reassurances that there was no danger, they remained restless. The crowd in front heard their commotion and cast puzzled glances backward. With no other choice left but to abandon attempts at calming them down, Chef Jia allowed them to chatter amongst themselves as they tried to ease their nerves.
The people ahead moved quickly without unnecessary words; they collected their items and exited promptly until they reached Chef Jia's group at last. Behind the service window stood an exceptionally young girl who looked about as old as any child but lacked their innocence.
She glanced up at Chef Jia before deftly sorting through supplies piled on her desk—two bottles of water, one pack of compressed biscuits, and some fruit candies—before placing them into plastic bags without uttering a single word or even looking directly at him.
Chef Jia pondered this interaction while stepping outside with his plastic bag in hand; he felt an odd mix of familiarity and strangeness wash over him—something felt off but he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.
Waiting outside for a moment longer as camp women crowded around the window asking questions about what had happened inside only yielded no answers from the girl who remained impassive while distributing water and food according to headcount until she finally pulled down her window glass and hurriedly left.
Disappointed by their lack of answers, several women wore displeased expressions while some others who were less settled in camp muttered angrily under their breaths. Chef Jia chuckled softly again as he recalled some words Song Jiu had said early on in camp about those who had grown too comfortable for too long; suddenly losing interest in maintaining order over them felt liberating—a heavy sense of pity within him seemed less easily awakened now.
As Chef Jia rounded past Roundabout’s massive planting shed, he noticed more than twenty people gathered in front of the bar—men and women alike—standing quietly with weapons in hand while listening intently to Luci speaking from an upstairs balcony.
Seeing Liu Yan among them along with several Militia Youth piqued his curiosity enough for him to approach closer just as Luci finished her speech.
Upon noticing Chef Jia’s arrival, Luci waved before rushing down hurriedly while leaving Liu Yan along with several Militia members behind her.
"What happened?" Chef Jia still felt confused about what was going on.
"The west city gate has been opened; there are many Zombies nearby," Luci explained while tying her long hair back—though she appeared delicate her calm demeanor lent her an undeniable strength.
"What do we need to do?" Chef Jia nodded; though unfamiliar with city layouts he had encountered Zombie invasions before so panic did not grip him.
"Everything is arranged already; you and Liu Yan should take your people underground—the injured have already been moved there along with Doctor Yu—there’s no need for concern," Luci said while rolling up her sleeves revealing faint scars across her pale arms.
"Let Sister Jia take care of them; we older men don’t need hiding," Liu Yan smiled slightly saying: "You’ve provided us so much help; I should contribute my part."
Luci hesitated briefly but upon seeing Liu Yan’s calm gaze alongside those Young Men’s resolute expressions felt moved enough to nod: "Alright then—we're short-handed anyway; thank you all."
"Then I won’t cause any trouble," Chef Jia bid farewell wishing them well before following Luci’s lead toward what they called “the underground shelter.”
It turned out to be an underground billiards room where three gates had been installed at its entrance—several foreigners were busy escorting non-combatant women and children downstairs while locking those gates behind them sealing off any potential risks.
The billiards room itself was spacious enough with ventilated windows covered by mesh screens obscuring flickering flames below—the tables remained intact while non-combatants filled chairs lining either side comfortably chatting amongst themselves rather than exhibiting signs of panic which surprised Chef Jia compared to what he'd expected.
Among them stood Jiao Ziqian along with several injured men—the only four men present underground—Doctor Yu leaned against one surgical bed appearing somewhat fatigued yet waved cheerfully upon spotting Chef Jia enter.
"Doctor Yu! Thank you for your hard work," Chef Jia sat beside her as several Young Men greeted him before continuing conversations with nearby ladies while Jiao Ziqian seemed still asleep breathing steadily with some color returning to his cheeks.
"No need for thanks," Doctor Yu offered sunflower seeds from beside her round table smiling warmly like a child: "Don’t worry—it’s very safe here just treat it like rest."
"Mm." Chef Jia smiled gently wondering if he appeared tense after all?
"Doctor Yu! Our Sister Jia has weathered many storms herself—you’re worrying too much," one Young Man joked showing familiarity among themselves despite having only been here half a day daring even playful banter towards Ladies present.
"I know—you all have come through storms yourselves," Doctor Yu laughed teasingly: "We little girls need you big strong men for protection!"
"Don’t worry Aunt Yu! Even if I’m limping I can still handle Zombies!" another Young Man boldly declared addressing her casually without formality calling her “Aunt.”
Doctor Yu seemed pleased by this exchange engaging further in light-hearted conversation filled with smiles radiating energy among them all while Chef Jia observed quietly feeling relief wash over him amidst flickering shadows surrounding these contented souls.
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