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墨書 Inktalez
"There’s one more thing. After 10 PM, please do not wander the streets. There is a curfew in place, and if you are found on the streets after that time, we have the right to shoot. Some of the veterans don’t ask questions before firing; they’ve even killed someone before. Alright, I’ve said everything I needed to say, so I’ll take my leave now." With that, Brother walked away.
Wang Chao led Chen Feifei into the hallway. As soon as they entered, they saw a man squatting in front of a door on the first floor, holding a hammer and nails, busy nailing a door panel. When he noticed Wang Chao and the girl entering, he spat out the nail he had been biting and said, "New here, huh? I'm your neighbor on the first floor. My name is Zhao Dong." Wang Chao looked at him; he seemed to be around the same age, with a handsome face and a cheerful smile.
"I'm Wang Chao, and this is Chen Feifei," Wang Chao introduced them.
Just then, a woman walked out of the room and naturally linked her arm with Zhao Dong's. "Honey, who are you talking to?" she asked. Zhao Dong replied, "We have new neighbors upstairs starting today. This is Wang Chao, and this is Chen Feifei."
"Hello! I hope we can get along well," the woman said. "My name is Li Yunqi, and I'm Zhao Dong's girlfriend."
"Now that we're neighbors, we should help each other out," Wang Chao said.
After bidding farewell to Zhao Dong and his girlfriend, Wang Chao and Chen Feifei made their way to the second floor. It was then that Wang Chao understood why Zhao Dong was nailing the door panel on the first floor. The wooden door was practically useless; it had many holes of varying sizes in its thin planks, and much of the wood veneer had peeled off. It looked like a house that had been abandoned for ten years. The key was still in the lock as Wang Chao pushed the door open.
The interior was small, which was evident from outside. The living room was tiny with only one bedroom; the bathroom was outside, and the kitchen was shared with the first floor, located at the right side of the staircase corner on the first floor. Wang Chao shook his head helplessly; there was nothing in the room—just a narrow double bed in the bedroom without any sheets or blankets.
Wang Chao exchanged glances with Chen Feifei and shook his head again in resignation.
"Wang Chao?" a voice called from the living room.
Stepping outside, Wang Chao saw that it was Zhao Dong and his girlfriend Li Yunqi coming up. He noticed they were each holding a small bowl filled with steaming rice along with some vegetables—greens and radishes. "You just arrived and probably haven't received any rations yet. Here are two bowls of rice for you to start with," Zhao Dong said with a big smile. After spending several hours in a cage without eating anything, both Wang Chao and Chen Feifei were indeed hungry; during their time in the cage, it would have been inappropriate for Wang Chao to take food from his Spatial Ring.
Wang Chao didn’t hesitate to accept it; after all, they had brought it upstairs for them. Being overly formal at this point would seem pretentious. He took the bowls awkwardly and said, "There’s really no place to sit here; I’m sorry about that." Li Yunqi replied, "Let’s wait until tomorrow. Zhao Dong can take you to check out that abandoned warehouse behind us; it’s filled with discarded items—there are plenty of wooden planks and some good stuff too. I got my armchair from there."
Wang Chao nodded and began to eat. The two others were not idle either; they ran downstairs to fetch two small stools and brought them back up. Their warm hospitality made Wang Chao feel a bit embarrassed.
The food was old grain, with a slight bitterness, but Wang Chao didn’t mind. Just after finishing his meal, he heard the distant voice from the loudspeaker: "Please gather at the big iron gate if you are new today. I will say it again..." As he listened to the faint voice, memories of his time in the orphanage flooded back—every time someone couldn't find their way, they would use the loudspeaker to announce it.
"Let's go!" Wang Chao said to Chen Feifei.
Chen Feifei nodded and followed Wang Chao. Zhao Dong spoke up beside them: "Hey, Wang Chao, they will choose some strong and capable people to join that... what’s it called?" Li Yunqi chimed in, "Biochemical Terrorism Security Alliance."
"Right, that alliance," Zhao Dong continued. "I see you’re pretty strong, so you must act like you’re not very good when the time comes."
"Why is that?" Wang Chao asked.
"You don’t know? To the north of the Refugee Camp, near that wall, there’s a large research area. They’re trying to find a solution for the Zombie Virus, so they often capture many Zombies. But catching Zombies isn’t easy. Just last time, those people from the alliance went out to catch some kind of monster—ten went out, and only three came back!"
"Why don’t the soldiers go instead? Why send those alliance members?" Wang Chao countered.
"Soldiers can kill Zombies, but they can’t capture them alive," Zhao Dong said mysteriously. "It seems those alliance members have superpowers; some can punch through steel! What I’m telling you is confidential, so don’t mention it to anyone!"
Wang Chao sized up Zhao Dong; he looked quite frail and didn’t seem like an alliance member. He asked, "How do you know all this?"
"I have a college classmate in there; we’re close," Zhao Dong replied. "So even the rice we get is a bit more."
The loudspeaker announced again several times. Wang Chao said, "I’ll go check it out."
As he stepped outside, he could hear Zhao Dong shout, "Don’t be reckless; you only have one life!" Wang Chao shook his head helplessly, thinking that Zhao Dong was genuinely a good person at heart. He and Chen Feifei walked toward the big gate and saw groups of people heading in that direction as well. It seemed they were also newcomers who had just arrived today. Following the crowd, they reached the iron gate and saw that dozens of people had already gathered there.
A simple platform had been set up, with a long table placed on top. Behind it sat three people, while on either side stood a group of armed soldiers. Beneath their feet were many small bags of food, neatly stacked and filled with rice and noodles.
At the iron gate, about a dozen people were chattering away, each discussing their own topics.
"Ahem." Wang Chao noticed the man sitting in the center of the platform clear his throat before speaking. "Citizens, I am the Logistics Department Head of this Refugee Camp. You can call me Minister Hao!"
As Minister Hao's words reached the crowd below, they gradually quieted down.
Minister Hao nodded and continued, "Everyone, at this critical moment, it is not easy to survive. Just look outside; there are monsters wandering about. But here, this place is safe. This is your sanctuary, your safe haven. Once you arrive here, you can rest assured!"
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