Chapter 19 – Home Inspection
Looking at the tenderness and happiness in Luo Xun’s eyes, Yan Fei suddenly felt a tightness in his chest. It was as if… he wasn’t even as good as a dog. He had no intentions toward Luo Xun, and yet, he couldn’t help feeling suffocated. Thinking carefully, from the very beginning Luo Xun had never shown him a kind expression. And now, in Luo Xun’s eyes, he wasn’t even worth one of that dog’s paws!
Since childhood, he had never received his parents’ expectations or affection. The elders in his family only valued him as the “high-quality product” of a political marriage between two families. He was sick of those staged family plays: one acted as father, another as mother, someone else as grandfather—while he played the role of son, grandson. When the scene was required, they’d put on a show like a happy family gathering. When the act ended, everyone went their separate ways. They didn’t even bother with the most ordinary kind of greeting like “What’s for dinner tonight?”
Even when he grew up and matured, he never once imagined marrying a woman he truly liked, someone he could live wholeheartedly with. His marriage could never be at his own will. So, whenever he had the chance, he tried to live the way he wanted and enjoy what he could, but he never once allowed himself to expect true friendship or love.
Then came that sudden upheaval. Overnight, the entire world order collapsed completely. For others, it was the apocalypse. For him, it was an opportunity—an enormous chance to change the course of his life.
Unlucky as he was to run into that gang that night—injured, knocked unconscious—he had later met Luo Xun, and ended up staying in his home… a home with a reassuring warmth. Otherwise, he would never have been able to sleep so peacefully while unconscious.
And now this man was telling him: Leave quickly. It’ll be better for you.
“I don’t want benefits.” All his life, he had received “benefits” from those blood relatives—so long as he played his assigned role and fulfilled its duties, he got whatever he wanted. But the one thing he secretly longed for, the deepest desire in his heart, he never once obtained…
Now that it was the end of the world, he could finally live willfully, just once.
“Huh??” Luo Xun blinked, utterly confused. Benefits? What benefits? Wasn’t this guy injured in the chest? And now he was spouting nonsense? Wait—that night, hadn’t he also had a cut on his head? Could it be… a concussion?
Yan Fei steadied himself, then suddenly put on a serious face and made something up. “I hate trouble. And no one can predict what’ll happen in the future. What if someone wants to experiment on ability-users? With no backing in the military, I’d be nothing but cannon fodder.”
(Who said he had no backing? Just not in this particular district…)
Luo Xun suddenly understood. True enough—even he couldn’t be sure if, in his past life, anyone had secretly experimented on ability-users. After all, he hadn’t been qualified to step into the higher circles. And Yan Fei’s ability was indeed unusual…
The doorbell suddenly rang, breaking the silence.
“Must be the army. I’ll check.” Luo Xun turned to head out.
Yan Fei suddenly spoke: “Don’t tell them about my ability…”
Luo Xun paused, turned back, and smiled at him. “I know. I won’t say a word. Relax.”
By the time Yan Fei looked up, the doorway was already empty. He found himself staring blankly for a moment, before murmuring under his breath: “Relax…”
The doorbell rang again. Luo Xun was already hurrying down the stairs toward the entrance.
Several soldiers stood in the corridor with guns raised. The doors of the neighboring apartments had all been forced open—including the one Luo Xun had arranged for Yan Fei. Any rooms without cloth strips hung out to indicate occupants were forcibly broken into and inspected by the soldiers, to ensure there were no zombies inside.
When Luo Xun opened the door, the soldier who had been knocking finally lowered his weapon.
“You’ve got two survivors in here? Has anyone been scratched or bitten by zombies?”
Luo Xun quickly shook his head. “No, it’s just me and my cousin. After we realized something was happening outside, whenever we had to go out, we always dressed in thick layers.”
“Where’s your cousin?” The soldiers weren’t only there to clear out stray zombies but also to register the population. After discussions, headquarters had already decided—the city couldn’t be reclaimed in the short term. For now, each military district would mark out several points in every city to establish safe zones and rescue survivors as quickly as possible.
This southwestern district, being less densely populated and near two military bases, had its safe zone boundaries set fairly early.
“My cousin tried to go out to find some water that day, but someone mistook him for a zombie and attacked him! He took a blow to the chest and even coughed up blood. We didn’t dare go out to find a doctor, so we just used some antibiotics we had at home to get by…” Luo Xun spoke as he let in the two soldiers assigned to verify household situations.
These two were administrative officers, tasked with gathering survivor information and basic conditions.
“Oh? He coughed blood?” The officers exchanged a troubled look. “We’ll report this truthfully, but all our field doctors are at the front lines right now. I’m afraid…”
“He doesn’t have a fever anymore, but I’m worried his ribs might be broken. Could you at least check? I’m afraid it could get dangerous.”
For something simple like checking for broken bones, most soldiers could manage. But with so few doctors available, they couldn’t guarantee a physician would come if the injury turned out to be serious.
Since Luo Xun’s request seemed reasonable, the officers nodded in agreement.
“Heh, you’ve got quite a stash here, don’t you?” Entering the living room, they saw boxes stacked everywhere. On the balcony, a sheer curtain was hung up to block the harsh sunlight.
This was all part of Luo Xun’s careful preparation. He had ordered all those boxes online—not only to store water but also to hide excess supplies in case people came snooping.
Smiling, he explained, “My cousin and I used to do online sales. This was our new stock, but before we could ship it out, the zombie outbreak happened! We mostly sold daily goods. If I’d known this would happen, I’d have stocked up on grain and cooking oil instead!”
The officers couldn’t help but laugh. “Who could’ve predicted this? Still, you’re lucky. Both of you made it out fine. Just earlier, we checked on a household in Building 3—when the parents woke up, their only son had turned into a zombie overnight! The old couple couldn’t bring themselves to kill him, but didn’t dare let him out either… sigh, just standing outside the door listening, it was pitiful.”
Chatting like this, they went upstairs to the bedroom.
Yan Fei only heard footsteps coming up but didn’t know why they were there. He felt a flash of worry, but after a moment of thought, he understood—the army likely needed to make sure all living people weren’t infected and wouldn’t turn into monsters. That calmed him somewhat.
“Cousin, these two officers are here to check your ribs. I asked them to help you take a look.” Luo Xun spoke loudly as soon as he entered, worried Yan Fei might say something unnecessary.
Yan Fei opened his eyes, glanced at Luo Xun with an unreadable expression, and then nodded politely to the two officers.
Seeing that Yan Fei was pale but clearly lucid—not like an infected person about to turn—they finally relaxed enough to approach. Yet they were still momentarily stunned by his inhumanly beautiful face. Even lifting his shirt to check his chest, they felt awkward—as if touching the ribs of such a beauty was some kind of crime!
After confirming that his chest injury was just a blunt-force trauma, and the wound on his head was only a scrape with no bite marks, they were reassured. One officer carefully palpated his ribs, while the other chatted with Luo Xun, “Your cousin really had bad luck—getting beaten just because someone thought he was a zombie? What kind of eyesight is that?”
Luo Xun sighed. “The power was out in our complex, and since we live so high up, going downstairs means taking the stairs. My cousin went down to fetch some water, but as soon as he turned a corner, someone was waiting and whacked him with a stick! I was behind him, so I didn’t see clearly. That guy ran off the moment we shouted.”
“Hah, but if they live in the same complex, weren’t they afraid you’d recognize them later?”
“You wouldn’t know. These past days, groups of strangers have been fleeing here. Just a few nights ago, we even heard cars arriving. We don’t know those people at all.”
The officer who had been checking the ribs finished, straightened Yan Fei’s clothes, and said, “Lucky. One rib is broken, but it’s not displaced, and it didn’t pierce any organs. Right now, our medical options are limited, so all he can do is rest in bed until it heals on its own. Rib fractures are actually common—if there’s no displacement, it’s usually fine. If anything comes up, report it. Once the complex is fully cleared, it’ll be placed under the safe zone for unified management. Soldiers will patrol and check regularly, so you can contact them if needed.”
“The safe zone boundaries are already set?” Luo Xun asked quickly.
“Temporarily, yes. From south of Liu Family River all the way to the military base. Your complex happens to fall inside. The exact size and whether it’ll change later, we don’t know. But no matter how they draw it, your area will be included. Just wait for further notice.”
The officers then pulled out registration forms and had Luo Xun fill out the information for both of them. It was very basic: ID number, name, sex, address—clearly just a preliminary record. Casually, Luo Xun told them that apartment 1603 next door was also his cousin’s, though it hadn’t been renovated yet before the apocalypse struck. In this way, he successfully claimed ownership of an extra unit.
But as he filled out the form, he noticed a section asking: “Any abilities? Ability type?”
After completing the basics, Luo Xun feigned ignorance and asked curiously, “What’s this about abilities? Earlier I saw someone in the army throwing fireballs from their hands—is it talking about that?”
“Yes.” The shorter officer nodded. “Some people have become stronger, or have heightened hearing. There are all sorts of abilities, just like something out of a fantasy movie. If you notice any changes in yourself, that might be it.”
“I haven’t noticed anything so far. But what if someone suddenly develops an ability later?”
“There should eventually be designated registration points. You can also ask the patrolling soldiers.”
Translator’s Note:
Damn… I just translated 16 chapters in one sitting! Re-reading this novel brings back so many memories. This is one of the first novels that got me hooked to Danmei novels. I’ve re-read it twice already, and finally decided to re-translate it and post it on my site—just for nostalgia’s sake.
Anyway, enough rambling.
This is a casual translation
This is a casual translation
This is a casual translation (yes, I have to say it three times because it’s important ).
There’s no guaranteed update schedule, but if you enjoy my work, please consider supporting me on Ko-fi to let me know (wink) (wink).
