Reunion

"Once again, we remind all citizens: the temporary shelter is here to protect everyone's safety. Please remain calm and orderly..."

Outside the window came the clamor of voices, mixed with various shelter regulations blaring from the loudspeakers.

The cacophony was grating, yet it somehow carried a strange sense of stability—a sign that order was being rebuilt.

Given the lack of understanding about the Zombie Virus, the military base had adopted a cautious approach, placing all sheltered survivors under a mandatory observation period.

Lu Bai leaned against the cold cement wall, idly watching the light filtering through the small window above.

Though it was a single room, these quarters were likely converted from solitary confinement cells or prison blocks. They all shared one trait: completely empty, with nothing to pass the time.

He had been brought in yesterday evening, and now daylight had already broken outside.

Given the situation, humane management was a luxury best left unimagined.

Still, food and water were delivered on schedule, and most survivors under quarantine had no real complaints.

Well, there were exceptions, of course.

"Iron door~ Iron bars~ Iron~ chains~"

Hearing the mournful singing from the next room, Lu Bai's eyelid twitched.

He was ninety percent sure that guy next door was a Deathmatch Participant.

After all, he had dealt with so many of them. Even without verification from the locator, he could tell from their mental state alone.

After a zombie outbreak, normal survivors were almost never this carefree and lighthearted.

But even if a Deathmatch Participant was right next door, Lu Bai couldn't make a move here.

He'd deal with it outside.

As luck would have it, the singing stopped after just a couple of lines.

Lu Bai caught the sound of military boots stomping on the ground.

Creak~

Two fully armed soldiers walked over. One of them opened the iron-barred door and waved at Lu Bai. "Come out."

Under the escort of the two soldiers, Lu Bai arrived at a place that looked like a service hall.

There were quite a few other survivors being led in by soldiers. Behind every glass counter sat staff members, busy yet orderly.

As Lu Bai took his seat, the staff member behind the glass smiled and said, "Don't be nervous. I just need you to answer a few simple questions."

Lu Bai glanced at the soldiers scattered around the hall and obediently nodded.

"Name?"

"Ke Jianghao."

"Age?"

"Eighteen."

"Where were you when the social security incident broke out? Did you have close contact with any infected individuals?"

"School..."

"...Don't be nervous. You're safe here. Alright, thank you for your cooperation. You can go rest in your assigned tent."

The staff member stopped typing, their peripheral vision catching something on the screen. They casually asked, "Xiao Ke, do you have a younger sister?"

Lu Bai was already getting up to leave. Halfway through the motion, he paused at the question, a flicker of surprise passing through his eyes before his face lit up with exaggerated excitement. "Yes, that's right! Have you seen my sister?"

"Haha, you two siblings are pretty lucky. Let me check... Ah, your sister is in Tent 13 of District 21."

Leaving the service hall, Lu Bai smoothly wiped the excitement off his face.

Before him stretched a sea of military tents, with people moving through the gaps between them. Some were even gathered together playing poker.

Clearly, due to a shortage of personnel, the lockdown was at best strict on the outside and loose on the inside.

A thousand-person zone was guarded by only two or three soldiers.

As long as there was no fighting, no one bothered to enforce anything.

Lu Bai looked toward District 20, hesitated for a moment, then decided to head to District 21.

If Ke Jiangni was in this shelter, that meant the others were probably with her too.

Yet the fact that he had impersonated Ke Jianghao without being caught was strange.

Could it be that Ke Jianghao had died on the way to the shelter?

Lu Bai mulled it over as he walked toward District 21, keeping a harmless smile on his face.

By the way, at this stage, the temporary shelter operated under semi-military management, prohibiting civilians from crossing between zones.

But that rule... well, it was like saying "in principle, not allowed."

If you weren't caught on the spot, it didn't count as a violation.

Avoiding the eyes and ears of the soldiers along the way, Lu Bai easily slipped into District 21.

"Sigh~ When will this damn life ever end?"

"Come out and get some sun."

"Don't cry, baby, Mama's here."

"That was fucking intense, I'm telling you, that monster was half a meter away from me..."

It had to be said—humans were incredibly adaptable creatures. No matter what happened, as long as they didn't die, life always found a way to go on.

Lu Bai looked around but didn't spot any of his familiar classmates from school.

He decided to check the numbers posted on the tents one by one.

Lu Bai stopped and poked his head into a tent. Unfortunately, aside from a few bedding rolls, there was no one inside.

He turned back to confirm the number: "21-13, this is the right one."

Just then, a voice tinged with surprise and uncertainty sounded behind him.

"Lu... Classmate Lu?"

Lu Bai spun around reflexively.

He saw the face behind him—not particularly pretty, but quite familiar—and couldn't help raising an eyebrow. "Wu Ya."

Wu Ya nodded vigorously, her tone clearly bright with joy. "It really is you. I thought I'd mistaken you for someone else."

Lu Bai asked, "Are you alone?"

"Jiang Ni and Tian Wang went over there to get food." Wu Ya pointed to a shaded awning in the distance, surrounded by a crowd of people.

"What about the others?"

As soon as this question left his mouth, the joy on Wu Ya's face vanished instantly, sinking visibly into gloom.

Lu Bai didn't press further. Instead, he shifted to asking why they had left the supermarket.

After all, less than a week had passed. Given the supermarket's stockpile, it shouldn't have been necessary for them to risk their lives venturing out to find food.

"I don't really know how to say it."

Wu Ya was silent for a long time, as if afraid to stir up the memories. "The night after you left, it felt like there was one more person in the supermarket."

"Felt like?" Lu Bai noted her choice of words.

"Mm... That's how all of us felt. But Ke Jianghao searched the whole supermarket and couldn't find that extra person."

Describing the situation back then, even under the sunlight, Wu Ya felt a chill run down her spine.

"This kind of supernatural thing." A Deathmatch Participant?

Lu Bai was thoughtful as he reached out and patted Wu Ya's head to comfort her.

Relying on his hearing, far superior to an ordinary person's, he wasn't worried about a Deathmatch Participant having invisibility.

But from Wu Ya's description, it seemed to be more than just invisibility.