Chapter 70 – After the Rescue
In the narrow corridor, the violent wind gradually died down. Zhang Su’s bloodshot eyes began to clear. He knew all too well — from that massive metal contraption hanging in Yan Fei’s apartment — that when this man focused on defense and had enough metal nearby, he could form an impenetrable “turtle shell.” Breaking through it would take enormous effort, even for him.
Before Zhang Su could speak, Yan Fei said calmly, “Don’t kill anyone. If people die, the military will come causing trouble again.”
He shot a cold glance at the blood-soaked, half-naked men. “You have half a day. If any of you are still in this building by tonight, we’ll throw you out the window ourselves.”
Earlier, when Yan Fei and Luo Xun had heard shouting downstairs — about someone breaking into an apartment — they hadn’t planned to interfere. Those who had been robbed had the right to take revenge, and the robbers deserved what came.
But only moments ago had they realized those men had gone so far as to violate a woman. That’s when they opened their iron door and came down to see.
Neither Luo Xun nor Yan Fei cared much for women who willingly sold themselves to survive. But seeing something this filthy and chaotic right under their noses — that crossed the line. If the men had simply beaten the thieves, they wouldn’t have intervened. But this… this was too much.
Then, one man still hiding in a room stammered out, trembling, “It—it was them… they stole our stuff first…”
Zhang Su let out a low, mocking laugh. “I just don’t like the look of you. What? Want me to throw you out the window right now?”
He didn’t care who was right or wrong. He wasn’t a cop, nor a judge. He killed whoever he found unpleasant.
The man shuddered violently and shook his head. In this apocalypse, the strong didn’t need reasons.
Those who saw what happened inside were too terrified to move — they’d witnessed that impossibly beautiful man place his hand on Zhang Su’s shoulder, and then a chunk of black metal appeared out of nowhere, blocking the deadly wind.
These two weren’t human. No men who looked like that could be human. They were monsters. Powerful ones. Best not to provoke them ever again.
When the terrified men finally agreed to leave quietly, Li Tie and his friends followed behind Zhang Su and Yan Fei up to the sixteenth floor. Only after the heavy iron door closed behind them did they all exhale, shoulders slumping in exhaustion.
Their “heroic rescue” had failed — and in the end, their own “beauty” had ended up saving them instead. The feeling was… indescribable.
Luo Xun had been following closely behind Yan Fei. Seeing the situation now, he smiled and asked, “Nothing happened at the military base before you came back, right?”
Han Li was the first to step forward and unlock his own door, while He Qiankun and the others shook their heads as they walked inside. “No, nothing happened. What about you guys? You came back around noon yesterday, right? Everything went smoothly on the way?”
After briefly explaining what had happened to them around noon yesterday, everyone entered Apartment 1601 to hold a quick meeting. Yan Fei, after securely locking the heavy iron door behind them, followed inside as well.
Li Tie sat on a folding chair, recounting everything that had happened since yesterday’s sudden incident up to their return today. “We only knew something went wrong in the base when the alarms went off. The higher-ups came and told us there was a zombie virus outbreak inside the base, and instructed us to stay put for the time being. Luckily, our workshop is big enough to accommodate everyone. Later that night, the military drove the teachers back to their homes—they live in the new residential area next to the barracks, which is supposedly completely safe, no one turned into zombies there. This morning, after hearing that everything had been checked and cleared, we decided to come back.”
As he spoke, one of them asked curiously, “But what’s going on here today? Why is the neighborhood so chaotic? Has it been like this since yesterday?”
Hearing that, Luo Xun gave a wry smile. “Aside from the chaos when everyone was fleeing home yesterday afternoon, things had been calm until this morning. After the military came to inspect and confirmed the area’s safety, people started breaking windows and stealing from others. That’s when the chaos began. What was it like outside when you came back?”
When danger loomed, people usually didn’t turn against each other—but the moment the threat eased, human ugliness resurfaced. That thought left Li Tie and his friends with a bitter feeling.
Zhang Su ignored the five “pure-hearted, traumatized good kids” and gestured toward the outside. “We passed by a few other neighborhoods on the way, and there were faint sounds of commotion, but since we were far off, we couldn’t tell the details. Still, I’d bet it’s about the same as here.” He’d never been as naïve as Li Tie’s group. Whenever something happened, his first instinct was to assume the worst—to see the darkest, ugliest side of human nature. The outburst he’d had earlier wasn’t without reason either… ahem, after all, that water-type ability user had dared to splash Wang Duo right in the face! Those guys were under his protection out there—how could he just let someone slap them in the face like that? If his people could be humiliated right in front of him, then what was the point of his position? Might as well go home and sit quietly.
—So in truth, Wu Xin should probably thank his good roommate and classmate Wang Duo. If that splash of water hadn’t hit Wang Duo, Zhang Su wouldn’t have found an excuse to blow up like that.
Yan Fei suddenly asked, “Work resumes tomorrow?”
Pulled out of his dark thoughts about human nature, Li Tie nodded. “Yeah, our team leader said unless something unexpected happens, we’re resuming normal work tomorrow.”
Luo Xun and Yan Fei exchanged a knowing look—most likely, they’d have to prepare to return to work as well.
With a bit of pride, Han Li leaned in and said quietly, “Guess what? The higher-ups have started setting up new base stations inside the compound—they’re trying to restore mobile phone service so that people inside the base can communicate more easily!”
“Oh? Will there be any phone requirements?” Yan Fei asked with interest.
“Not for now,” He Qiankun explained. “They’re basically restoring the old communication system using the existing pre-apocalypse base stations. They just need to modify the signal reception a bit. The only issue is that SIM cards will likely have to be remade.”
“Right,” Li Tie added excitedly. “They want to make the new SIM cards compatible with all old phones. That way, if something happens, everyone can get messages directly from the base instead of relying on radios—since a lot of homes don’t have one—and loudspeakers are too noisy and might attract zombies.” The group grew visibly more animated; this was a project they’d be directly involved in, and once completed, it would greatly benefit the entire base.
“If anyone’s lost their phone, grab one from outside while they’re still cheap,” Wang Duo suggested. “In a few days, prices will definitely go up.”
Luo Xun, however, was thinking of something else. He already knew about this phone restoration project—he’d lived through it in his previous life and even used the system himself. This time, he’d kept his phone with him from start to finish and had even picked up two spare ones earlier.
“By the way,” he asked after a moment, “have you heard how this zombie virus outbreak started in the first place?”
Li Tie and the others exchanged looks and shook their heads bitterly. “They say it’s still under investigation. Our team leader hasn’t heard anything either.”
But Zhang Su chuckled when he heard the question. “Actually, I’ve heard a little about that.”
Since he worked in a hospital, he naturally had better access to inside information—his field, after all.
Seeing everyone turn to him, Zhang Su didn’t keep them in suspense. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back on his chair, rocking it on its rear legs as he spoke. “The exact cause hasn’t been confirmed yet, but the first people who turned into zombies all came from the downtown area.” His gaze swept over everyone, a faint, mocking smile in his eyes. “The downtown area—especially near those food exchange stalls.”
The room instantly went dead silent, as if someone had hit a mute button. You could’ve heard a pin drop.
After a long moment, Yan Fei finally spoke, his voice low and steady:
“You mean… poisoning?”
Zhang Su shrugged. His thoughts were about the same as Yan Fei’s — after all, when he first heard the news, his immediate reaction had been the same: someone poisoned the food, deliberately causing chaos.
“How—how could that be?!”
“That’s way too vicious!”
“It’s a zombie virus! A zombie virus!!” Li Tie and the others couldn’t hide their shock, their voices rising in disbelief.
Luo Xun suddenly said, “That might not necessarily be the case.” Seeing everyone turn to him, Luo Xun smiled and pointed toward the kitchen. “The possibility of deliberate poisoning isn’t that high. Once something like that gets exposed, no matter what the culprits’ goal was—even if it was just to cause trouble—it’d be far too risky. I actually think it’s more likely that one of those food vendors didn’t clean their cooking water properly.”
Zhang Su raised an eyebrow in surprise, then nodded thoughtfully as something occurred to him. It did make sense—he himself had always thought Luo Xun and Li Tie’s insistence on their tedious water-filtration method was overkill. In his view, boiling the water long enough should kill off any bacteria or viruses. Though he was a doctor, he wasn’t exactly a clean freak. People cooking food in bulk might have cut corners or accidentally used unboiled water—that was entirely possible.
Seeing that Li Tie and the others still didn’t quite follow, Luo Xun continued, “The filtration method we’ve been using in the base is complicated and time-consuming. Those who cook in large quantities every day might’ve gotten lazy about it after a while…”
“But… why did it all break out yesterday, suddenly?” one of them asked, frowning. “Didn’t they say zombies appeared in several different areas of the base at the same time? There’s no way all those people bought food from the same vendor!”
Luo Xun’s words had already made them uneasy about eating outside. Though the military camp’s food was still considered safe for now, what if that changed?
Luo Xun shook his head. “That’s hard to say. We’ll have to wait for the investigation results.”
He was basing his reasoning on memories from his previous life. Back in the early days of the apocalypse, no one could clearly explain the source of the initial zombie mutations. Later, the virus’s transmission routes became more obvious—but for now, people still didn’t understand whether the virus could spread through water, how the human body reacted after infection, or how long symptoms took to appear.
Hearing this, Li Tie and the others finally relaxed a little. Compared to believing someone had deliberately spread the zombie virus, it was much easier to accept that it had been caused by poor sanitation. At least that meant they didn’t have to worry about turning into zombies from eating food bought in the camp.
After wrapping up their discussion, the 16th-floor residents’ alliance—better known as the “homebody squad”—temporarily disbanded. The others hadn’t slept much the night before. Even though the military camp was safer, the fear of zombies showing up there too had kept everyone on edge all night.
Luo Xun and the rest stood up to head back to their rooms. They’d rest for the day—tomorrow, they’d have to report for duty again. He and Yan Fei still needed to talk things over: should they keep eating from the camp cafeteria? At least when they cooked at home, they could control hygiene themselves—but food from outside? That would depend entirely on the cooks’ conscience.
Zhang Su was the first to open the door and step outside—but as soon as he did, he stopped in his tracks, a faint, ironic smile curling at the corner of his lips as he looked toward the stairwell gate.
Puzzled, Luo Xun and the others followed him out to see what he was looking at—three women were standing nervously at the bottom of the stairs. When they saw the group appear, they froze, then glanced upward with uncertain, fearful eyes.
It was the fire-type ability user from the 15th floor—the pretty woman—and two female college students from another apartment.
“Eh? You’re…” Wu Xin began instinctively, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he remembered the scene they’d witnessed earlier—one woman surrounded by several men, ahem… in that situation.
The three women lowered their heads even more, while Li Tie and the others blushed awkwardly.
Zhang Su gave the women a single, cool glance. Seeing their downcast faces, he gave a cold snort and headed straight for his door.
The sound of his key turning startled the three women. The one in front—who Luo Xun recognized as the captain of the Rose Mercenary Group—snapped her head up, her eyes flickering with uneasy light as she stammered, “Th-they’ve already moved out.”
Zhang Su ignored them completely and went into his apartment. Wang Duo looked from the three women to Zhang Su, who had already opened the door to 1602 and was about to go inside. Gritting his teeth, he followed him in, leaving the others behind.
The remaining group turned to Yan Fei—the only one clearly in charge now.
Yan Fei glanced briefly at the three women. Their faces were full of embarrassment and a faint, hopeful plea. He replied flatly, “Oh.”
And that was it.
The three women were dumbfounded. The men upstairs looked equally awkward, avoiding eye contact like they were the guilty ones. When Yan Fei didn’t say anything more, they exchanged nervous looks. Han Li coughed lightly and said, “Uh… well, since they’ve left, you three should just… settle down and live properly, okay?”
That seemed to be all he could say. They guessed the women had come because of Yan Fei’s earlier warning to those men.
The women grew visibly anxious. The leader, Xu Mei, stepped forward and took a hesitant step up the stairs, gritting her teeth. “They—they might’ve left, but they took everything with them… They left us with nothing…”
Those men, afraid that Yan Fei’s group might come after them for revenge, had fled in a hurry. But even in their rush, they’d stripped the apartment bare—anything remotely useful or edible, even scraps of cloth and bits of wood, were gone.
First, most of those things had originally been scavenged by them. Second, after robbing others, they’d reclaimed those supplies—so they saw them as their own spoils. And third—Yan Fei had only said they had to move out; he’d never said they couldn’t take anything. So what was wrong with taking what was theirs?
The women hadn’t dared to argue before, but now that they were left with nothing, how were they supposed to survive? That’s why they’d come up here.
Luo Xun couldn’t help but snort quietly and took a few steps toward his own apartment. Yan Fei’s eyes glinted with mocking amusement as he said coldly, “So what? Want me to go call them back for you?”
The three women trembled violently, staring at Yan Fei in disbelief. Meeting his icy, emotionless gaze made their hearts turn to ice as well.
After a long moment, one of the younger women hesitated, then said softly, “We… we can help with laundry, or cooking… Could you—could you brothers please help us?”
The other girl quickly nodded as well. Xu Mei then turned her attention to Li Tie and the group of college students, looking at them with a hint of pleading in her eyes. “I have an ability. I can go out and fight zombies. If you need people, I can go out of the base just like any man!”
She had never been a weak person—her strong-willed nature had already been formed long before the apocalypse. If she hadn’t been suddenly betrayed by her boyfriend today and hit so hard by the blow, she never would’ve allowed herself to be humiliated like that!
“But…” Li Tie and his companions exchanged glances. They hadn’t expected that after helping save a few people, they’d end up with several girls insisting on tagging along. “But we really can’t…”
“What happened today wasn’t our idea,” Xu Mei tried to explain. “It was… it was one of our previous companions. He saw someone trying to pry open another apartment’s door and got greedy, so he…”
Before she could finish, the two girls behind her suddenly grew indignant. “We didn’t even touch anything today! It was all those men from Sister Xu’s place who did it! It had nothing to do with us! After those men drove away the people from Sister Xu’s apartment, they suddenly remembered that our place still had girls, so they barged in and drove out all the boys we were living with…”
In fact, the girls from Room 1503 were quite unlucky. Originally, it was the people from Room 1502 who had gotten greedy and tried to pry open the doors of 1501 and 1504. But in the end, the trouble spread to 1503 as well.
Those men had only intended to target the people in 1502—and they’d long been coveting Xu Mei’s beauty. So when the chance came, they took advantage of the situation to detain her and satisfy their lust. Still, there had only been one woman—Xu Mei—living in that apartment. The men in the other two apartments, however, were numerous, and when some of them realized that those female college students next door weren’t as innocent as they looked, they decided to break into 1503. They smashed open the door, accused them of being accomplices and thieves, beat up the boys, drove them out, and captured the two girls who hadn’t managed to escape.
Yan Fei noticed the resentment in the two girls’ eyes when they looked at Xu Mei. They didn’t say anything for now, since they were all on the same side at the moment, but he could tell they blamed her. In their eyes, if it hadn’t been for Xu Mei being in 1502, those men wouldn’t have thought of violating women after catching the thieves, nor would they have decided there weren’t enough women to “share,” dragging their neighbors into it.
But Xu Mei had an ability—and right now, their positions were similar—so the three women had no choice but to cooperate for the time being.
The men on the 16th floor all seemed capable; at least the women knew that this floor’s residents went out to work every day. Being able to go out and work meant they could eat their fill! The three of them now had nothing—they desperately needed a backer, someone strong enough to help them survive.
Compared to the muscular, lecherous neighbors who constantly ogled them, the men on the 16th floor were far more appealing. Two of them were even handsome enough to make the girls stare, and the other six were quiet, well-behaved young men. Getting close to any of them would be far better than facing the outside world—especially since these men seemed so kind.
One of the girls rushed forward, gripping the iron gate tightly, tears filling her eyes as she pleaded with Li Tie’s group. “Please, big brothers, help us! We’re willing to do anything! We really can’t survive on our own anymore…”
Another female student ran over too, crying as she added, “We never thought our classmates would be so heartless! The moment they were threatened, they abandoned us and ran away. You’re all good people—please, please help us!”
Li Tie and his friends, who were already a bit shy and inexperienced, instinctively turned to Yan Fei. They weren’t bad people, and this was their first time facing such a situation. The two girls might not be as stunning as Xu Mei, but back at their university, they definitely would’ve been considered “campus beauties.” Seeing such girls begging for help—especially after just surviving a traumatic experience—it was hard not to feel protective. If they helped now, maybe after spending time together, feelings could grow… maybe they could even find girlfriends this way.
Thank you for reading 🙂 I hope you all liked my translations. If you enjoyed my work, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi 😉
