“Damn, why does my phone have no signal?” The blond boy’s voice came from the balcony.
“There’s still a little water left. Everyone, just wipe your faces casually.” Geng Manhong was carrying half a bucket of water out of the bathroom. Hearing this, he pulled his phone out of his pocket. “No signal?”
Fu Yan frowned, took out his phone, and saw that indeed there was no signal.
“Damn.” The blond boy turned and came inside. “No way, what the hell—”
“Shh.” Geng Manhong suddenly lowered his voice and pointed at Jiang Xinghuai, who was in Fu Yan’s arms with his eyes closed. “Xingxing is asleep.”
Afraid that moving Jiang Xinghuai while he slept would disturb him and aggravate the injury on his leg, Fu Yan didn’t change his position. He just held him halfway like this.
The two of them leaned against each other, resting in the candlelight. Their clothes and shoes were covered in dust and blood, their posture relaxed, but their clasped hands gripped tightly.
Geng Manhong looked around, sighed at the sight of the three of them in such a messy state. “Wipe your faces, and wipe your hands, too.”
Fu Yan took the towel and gently wiped Jiang Xinghuai’s face.
The moment the cold towel touched Jiang Xinghuai’s face, he immediately twisted away uncomfortably. But his skin was fair. The smudge of dirt on the tip of his nose was very obvious.
“Your face is dirty.” Fu Yan comforted him, squeezing his hand. “Go back to sleep. It’ll be quick.”
Jiang Xinghuai hummed twice and let Fu Yan fuss with him.
After Fu Yan wiped his face and hands clean, Jiang Xinghuai’s body temperature began to rise as he leaned against him. His complexion gradually turned slightly red, a fine sheen of sweat appeared across his forehead, and his brows were tightly furrowed. He was sleeping restlessly.
“Starting to get a fever.” Fu Yan lifted his head, his expression darkening.
“What’s going on?” Geng Manhong suddenly stood up from the low mattress, his expression anxious.
“The wound is too large, causing a sudden fever.” Fu Yan frowned tightly. As he spoke, he smoothly laid Jiang Xinghuai flat and lifted the T-shirt off him. “I don’t have any fever medicine in my bag. We can only use alcohol and a damp towel to cool him physically.”
After diluting the alcohol, Fu Yan rubbed it with the palms of his hands on Jiang Xinghuai’s armpits, the back of his neck, the inner thighs, and other areas.
“This should bring the temperature down safely, right?” Geng Manhong anxiously changed the damp towel on Jiang Xinghuai’s forehead.
“He needs to go to a hospital. The wound on his leg must be stitched. The fever caused by the infection requires antibiotics.” Fu Yan fell silent after speaking.
A seventeen-year-old child, thrown into unknown darkness, injured like this, and not a sound.
The damp towel on Jiang Xinghuai’s head was changed back and forth about ten times before his temperature finally lowered enough. Clinging tightly to Fu Yan’s arm, he finally fell into a deep sleep.
The other three barely managed to wipe their faces and hands clean with the remaining half-bucket of water and sat around the dim candlelight. Watching Jiang Xinghuai, none of them could sleep.
“There’s nothing to eat, right?” Geng Manhong dug through his pockets. “I don’t even have a candy. Adults can go a day or two without food, but Xingxing, this kid, is still growing.”
“There’s nothing.” Fu Yan’s expression remained grim.
“That won’t do!” Geng Manhong frowned tightly. “If a child is hungry, their brain will get dull.”
“My van should have bread,” The blond boy frowned. “We’ll give it all to this dumb kid so he can refill his brain.”
“Uncle…” Jiang Xinghuai nuzzled against him in Fu Yan’s arms.
“Hm?” Fu Yan looked down at him.
“…What are you eating?” Jiang Xinghuai murmured, half-opening his eyes groggily.
“I’ll take you to eat bread tomorrow.” Fu Yan smiled and patted his back.
“I want the orange-flavored… and the cantaloupe-flavored…” Jiang Xinghuai started saying, then drifted back to sleep.
“Alright.” Fu Yan nodded.
Half-holding him, Fu Yan used the fading candlelight to smooth the stray hairs falling across his forehead.
The candle went out. In the darkness came a soft, helpless sigh.
—
Early morning.
Fu Yan got up and pushed open the window, gazing into the distance.
It was the third day since the viral outbreak. The city, once bustling and full of life, had turned gray and gloomy in an instant.
As time passed, the clouds dispersed, the sun rose, and the city was reignited.
“Ah—” Jiang Xinghuai’s scream rang out.
Fu Yan turned around: “Don’t move!”
Jiang Xinghuai immediately froze mid-rise, straining his neck to look at his immobile legs: “What did you tie me with?”
“You can’t bend them. A second tear in the wounds would make it much worse.” Fu Yan helped him to stand, pressing a hand gently to his forehead. “How do the wounds feel?”
“A bit swollen, but that doesn’t matter.” Jiang Xinghuai pointed at the wooden board. “I don’t want this. It’s so ugly. And can I change into another pair of pants before you tie me up again? These were cut up and look terrible.”
“What kind of ‘ugly’ matters to a kid! As long as it’s comfortable and clean, that’s enough!” Geng Manhong suddenly sat up on the bed. “Right now, don’t keep worrying about what clothes to wear. When you grow up, you’ll have plenty of time to dress however you like! Look at Blond. He dyed his hair this disgusting color. Did I say anything to him? No! Because he’s an adult! You’re a student! Students should look like students—”
“Stop!” Jiang Xinghuai shut his eyes, then opened them again, looking at Fu Yan. “I’m so hungry.”
“We’ll go eat bread in a bit.” Fu Yan patted his chest and set aside the pills. “First, take your anti-inflammatory medicine.”
“Do I still have to? I don’t feel any pain in the wound.” Jiang Xinghuai hesitated.
“If you’re afraid of taking medicine, just say so.” The blond boy walked past him with a cigarette in his mouth.
“Why don’t you take it then?” Jiang Xinghuai snorted coldly.
“I’m more than capable. Back in the day—”
“Shut up, all of you!” Geng Manhong roared.
Jiang Xinghuai: “…”
The blond boy: “…”
“Alright, I’ll say a few words.” Geng Manhong cleared his throat twice, putting on the teacher’s demeanor. “We’re about to set off. Right now, we are one team. The most important thing for a team is unity! Unity is victory! Unity is half of success! Everyone, say something encouraging to each other!”
“Still on the bottle.” The blond boy snorted coldly.
“Little thug.” Jiang Xinghuai shot back without even lifting his head.
“Good! Everyone is very united and confident!” Geng Manhong raised the spatula high into the air, then turned his head. “Finished your medicine?”
“Finished.” Jiang Xinghuai nodded obediently.
“Move out!” Geng Manhong shouted.
This building was a rental property. Since the area was scheduled for demolition and rebuilding, most of the rooms had already been cleared before the viral outbreak.
On top of that, the landlord had firmly locked the heavy front door downstairs.
The group made their way down to the ground floor without running into a single infected person.
“If the staff housing building had doors like this one,” The blond boy tapped the thick security door with a finger, “we wouldn’t have had to jump out the window in the middle of the night.”
“Why isn’t there anyone outside?” Jiang Xinghuai peered out through the peephole.
“With all that commotion yesterday, the infected on this street were probably all lured to our building.” Geng Manhong sighed.
“Then that crappy wooden door of yours probably didn’t hold up, did it?” The blond boy added, then cursed, “Serves them right.”
As soon as the blond boy said that, everyone fell silent.
After a while, Fu Yan spoke in a low voice: “When we open the door and head out, Blond leads the way. Teacher Geng, you stay in the middle. I’ll support Jiang Xinghuai at the rear. Each of us needs to stay alert and cautious.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Normally, dressed in his suit, Fu Yan might seem a bit stern. But after spending time with him, one would realize he was a very mature and gentle person.
But once Fu Yan’s face sank, his whole aura would undergo a complete change. Cold, hard, forceful—allowing no refusal.
“Uncle, are you nervous?” Jiang Xinghuai leaned close to him, quietly asking.
“I’m fine, don’t worry.” Fu Yan patted his back. “Don’t move around. If your leg feels any discomfort, you must tell me right away, understand?”
“Mm.” Jiang Xinghuai nodded, feeling that Fu Yan’s emotions were somewhat different from usual.
The security door was pushed open, and a gust of foul, rotten-smelling wind blew in.
Jiang Xinghuai followed right behind Fu Yan, uneasily sizing up this familiar place.
The street that was usually clean and bustling was now desolate, stained with blood, and trash drifting all over. The small shops on both sides had their doors smashed open, and the goods inside looted bare. At a glance, it was a scene of devastation.
Fu Yan gripped the knife tightly in his hand, held Jiang Xinghuai, and stepped forward.
The street wasn’t long. They walked about a hundred meters before reaching the corner turn. And just about fifty meters ahead of that corner was the bakery.
“Don’t go any further.” Fu Yan suddenly stopped in his tracks, staring straight ahead. His expression turned cold in an instant. “Trouble…”
Everyone shuddered and looked forward.
The bakery’s display facing the street was a wall of glass. Inside, it was packed densely with heads.
There were even a few infected children pressed against the glass, their round eyes bleeding, terrifyingly eerie.
“Why are there so many people in that little bakery?” Jiang Xinghuai froze.
“There was some promotion going on that day…” The blond boy frowned. “What do we do? We’ll definitely have to pass through. If these people rush out, even if each of us fought ten, we still wouldn’t finish them all.”
“Where’s your car?” Fu Yan asked calmly.
“Right at the store entrance. That one.” The blond boy pointed.
There were quite a few cars parked along the street, most of them small ones. So the beat-up little van parked right in the middle, painted pink, stood out especially.
“No wonder I said yesterday, why were you blushing…” Jiang Xinghuai laughed. “Turns out your taste is pretty unique.”
“Damn, it was the shop’s requirement, okay?” The blond boy rolled his eyes.
“Crawling over should work.” Fu Yan frowned as he made the suggestion. “Using the parked cars along the street as cover, the people inside definitely won’t be able to see us. But if any unexpected situation happens, we won’t have time to react.”
Everyone fell silent for a minute.
In the end, Teacher Geng made the decision: “There’s no other way, and we can’t delay any longer. We’ll crawl over. It’s just Xingxing’s leg—”
“I can do it. Why wouldn’t I be able to?” Jiang Xinghuai frowned and cut him off. “I can crawl sideways.”
Fu Yan didn’t say anything, just helped Jiang Xinghuai carefully get down onto the ground.
“Everyone, crawl forward!” Geng Manhong encouraged in a quiet but firm voice. “Every bit of effort brings every bit of gain. Hopefully, during the crawling process, everyone can gain some insight.”
“I realized I’m like a handsome little caterpillar.” Jiang Xinghuai wriggled with difficulty.
“I’m not.” The blond boy retorted.
“Of course you’re not handsome. You’re a yellow-haired caterpillar.”
“Damn it. What I meant is I’m not a caterpillar at all!” The blond boy was furious.
“Old Geng is a fat caterpillar.” Jiang Xinghuai didn’t respond to him, “Fu Yan is a…”
“Wait…” The blond boy suddenly stopped. “I just remembered something. Our store’s door is an electronic sensor door, but the power’s already out…”
The crowd, crawling and covered in dust: “…………”
“In other words, they can’t get out at all…” The blond boy added.
“Actually…” Jiang Xinghuai thought for a moment. “Since we’re already about to crawl there, you could’ve just not said that.”
“Then should we keep crawling?” Teacher Geng suggested. “Personally, I believe in finishing what we start.”
“I agree. Standing up now would be way too embarrassing.” Jiang Xinghuai echoed, “So awkward.”
Fu Yan frowned: “I think…”
“Actually, we could crawl back, then walk over again. Wouldn’t that make us look badass, like we’re not afraid of anything?” The blond boy interrupted Fu Yan.
“Hey, you’ve got some brains after all!” Jiang Xinghuai praised him.
Fu Yan coughed lightly: “I think…”
“Can you guys not joke around? Look at the situation we’re in.” Geng Manhong’s face was full of disapproval. “Crawl back and then walk over? We’re running for our lives here, kids! What we should do is run back, then run over again!”
Fu Yan closed his mouth.
