No One Was Home, But There Was a Note

"We must take another route. If we fight, we're likely to disperse. By then, it'll be harder to build another passage. Let's move to the middle of the road and take the next turning to the left again."

Having stared at the control panel carefully and screening different options, Yun Che picked a new route. Their priority was to get to Zhan Yafei's home in the shortest time.

"Mm."

Without demur, Shen Rui followed Yun Che's instruction. The latter, however, complained in a whisper, "It's been less than one month since the doomsday. Why are there so many level-3 zombies?"

He remembered level-3 zombies appeared one or two months after the doomsday in his previous life. Could rebirth have changed something? Or maybe he didn't manage to go this far in his previous life?

"It's not weird. Don't forget. It's a provincial capital. Dead bodies, especially dead bodies of superfunction possessors are highly effective to zombies. It's normal to see more level-3 zombies in a provincial capital where there is a large population."

Even without any enhancement, superfunction possessors had better hearing than ordinary men. Xing Feng took a slight glance at Yun Che upon hearing his whisper. Xing Feng, as a matter of fact, wouldn't feel surprised even if they ran into some level-4 zombies. But if they really met some, it would mean that humans had fallen far behind, which would be a very serious problem.

"Mm. We must try harder."

Yun Che nodded. Yet he didn't tell Xing Feng that zombies would possess wisdom as they reached level-6. By then, they would not only hunt humans, but also swallow the crystal nuclei of other zombies. In this way, they would be upgraded faster. A level-7 zombie could be as clever as a human teenager. Smart, invulnerable, and skillful with superfunctions, such zombies would be real trouble.

Thanks to Yun Che's control panel, they managed to avoid level-3 zombies every time. It took more than three hours to walk from the fourth ring to the third. Luckily, Zhan Yafei's home wasn't in the center of the third ring. After getting into the third ring, it took them another half an hour before they finally reached downstairs of the building. Looking up at the high-rise with probably more than thirty storeys, everyone's feet felt like jelly. Right at this moment, there wasn't an elevator available for them. Strong as they were, they felt terrible after walking for six hours without a break.

"Yafei, which floor do you live on?" asked Chu Haoling, who kept providing steel for Shen Rui and Lu Haixuan, when the passage stopped its extension. If someone looked carefully, he would see the corners of Chu Haoling's mouth twitching. After all, he hadn't only exhausted physical strength, but also his superfunction.

"…the eighth floor."

For the first time, Zhan Yafei felt lucky that she lived on the eighth floor. It wasn't a big deal, compared to the thirtieth.

"Oh, that's fine."

Hearing her answer, Chu Haoling rubbed his chest dramatically. They could take anything, except the twentieth or thirtieth floor. They would, with some efforts, reach the eighth floor at last.

The other team members felt happy, too. They were only too restrained to behave as dramatically as Chu Haoling.

"Let's go. Let's get in through the entrance to the emergency staircase."

They walked forward, through the hall of the ground floor and into the entrance to the emergency staircase. "I think it's time to remove the passage. Don't you think so? There won't be too many zombies in the staircase, I suppose. We'll go faster. Take your time to have some rest."

"Mm."

No one objected. The passage and the air membrane were removed at the same time. Leng Yehan and his partners, who didn't have the chance to give full play to their superfunctions on the way, were divided into two teams. One team would clear the way while the other would bring up the rear, in case zombies rushed into the emergency staircase. Yun Che and some other guys, who had exhausted much more strength, walked in the middle so that they could recover their energy as much as possible.

ROAR!

As they reached the third floor, they finally met some zombies. Zombies that sprawled on the ground with only the upper part of their body were stretching out their hands and roaring at the team. Even when they were dead, they still had a strong thirst for flesh and blood. How cruel doomsday was!

BOOM!

Leng Yehan condensed a fire arrow and shot it through a zombies' head. Zhou Zeyu, with his wind superfunction, took out the crystal nucleus in the zombie's head. For a zombie, the kindest way was to kill him.

After killing a dozen zombies on their way, they came to the eighth floor at last. Zhan Yafei was the first to rush out of the emergency staircase. When she met a zombie, she brandished her chopper toward him, even more agilely and strongly than a man! The other men behind her clicked their tongues in admiration. Two women in Yun Che's family were both beautiful. They used to be gentle. Yet sometimes, they could be horrible.

BANG!

"Dad. Mom…"

Zhan Yafei thumped on the door of her house, tears rolling down her cheeks silently. Yun Che walked up and put his hand on her shoulder. He said, "Stop yelling. No one is in. No zombies, either. Let Haixuan open the door and we shall get in.

Without here parents or zombies, there was still hope, wasn't there?"

"Mm."

Replying in a choked voice, Zhan Yafei stood aside. Lu Haixuan walked up and melted the door lock. When the door was opened, everyone held his breath. The living room was in a mess where a variety of things were scattered on the ground. Fortunately, they didn't see any blood. They filed into the room while Lu Haixuan, the last to get in, fixed the door lock.

Seeing the messy home, Zhan Yafei couldn't help shedding tears. Her mother was a tidy woman who always cleaned up their home. "How would the flat be in such a mess if nothing happened? Are my parents still alive?" thought Zhan Yafei, nearly having a nervous breakdown. The rest of the team said nothing. In silence, they searched the flat with three bedrooms, one living room and one dining room. The kitchen was as messy as the living room.

WEEPING!

When Zhan Yafei opened the door and saw her clean and tidy bedroom, she couldn't help crying out. Yang Huaien, who was the nearest to her, reached out and drew her into his arms. Zhan Yafei clamped her hand over her mouth to stifle her own voice, yet she was in floods of tears. The messy living room and kitchen showed how hurriedly her parents had left. Her room, however, was still as tidy as it had been before the doomsday, with only a little dust. It did show how much they cared for their own daughter.

"Stop crying. Your parents have left you a note. Maybe they're still alive."

Yun Che, entering her bedroom, took up a note from the bedside cupboard, saying they went to the secure base at the foot of Longyang Mountain outside of the fifth ring with their friends. Not knowing if Zhan Yafei would come back, they left the note in case. At the end of note, there was another sentence written laboriously, saying they would certainly go to Huai City for their daughter, however hard it could be. It wasn't a sentence left for their daughter. It was, probably, an expectation from the bottom of their hearts. The note was written three days after the doomsday, which showed that Zhan Yafei's parents had been away for nearly twenty days.

"It's dad's handwriting…"

Holding the thin note, Zhan Yafei collapsed into the bed, and could no longer restrain her sorrow. Tears ran down her face. Seeing that, Xing Feng and his partners left the room silently. Yun Che, however, walked up and embraced her. He knew how it felt. Obviously, Zhan Yafei's parents loved her, or they wouldn't have left a note.

"Mm… Dad. Mom…"

Wrapping her arms around Yun Che's waist, Zhan Yafei sobbed and got more agitated. She even couldn't help trembling slightly. Old memories when she stayed with her parents flashed in her mind. She was a lucky girl. Her parents had always loved and spoilt her. In her childhood when her friends were forced by their parents to take extracurricular courses, her parents would discuss with her before they made a final decision as if they were friends. At a young age, she was trained to make up her own mind. Her parents never forced her to do anything she didn't want. There was a good medical university in the provincial capital. When she chose to study in Huai City, her parents didn't object, even though they didn't want her to leave. Every time, her father drove her to school while her mother would made delicious food before she left so that she could share it with her classmates. When she came back home on holidays, her parents would cook all kinds of delicacies. She used to complain about putting on weight. When she thought of it, she found herself so ungrateful.

"Cry out and you'll feel better."

Yun Che patted her on the back, yet said nothing more to comfort her. After all, they hadn't lost all the hope yet. The base at Longyang Mountain. There was still hope.

"Mm…"

Nodding casually in his arms, Zhan Yafei told herself to restrain herself and be strong. Feelings, however, always ran out of control. Tears welled up in her eyes and couldn't stop as if they were conscious.

The rest of the team tidied the living room up simply and sat down on the sofa. Resting, thinking, or reading the map, they did their own thing quietly. It was one o'clock in the afternoon, and everyone was starving. Yet none of them asked to have luck, including Chu Haoling. Zhan Yafei was their friend. What they saw made them gloomy.

"Sorry for making you feel worried."

A moment later, no one knew how long it was, Zhan Yafei, with bloodshot eyes, came out with Yun Che.

"What are you talking about? People get in trouble sometimes. It'll be okay as long as they're alive."

"Oh, finally you sound reasonable. Don't worry, Yafei. Your parents must be alive, and we'll find them."

"Yeah, yeah. They wouldn't leave such a beautiful daughter like you alone. I wouldn't, anyway. If I had a daughter…"

"You should at least have a daughter. Ah, I almost forgot. You don't even have a wife…"

"Fuck it! Shen Rui, are you trying to put up a fight?"

"Show some respect, kid! I'm three years older than you! Behave yourself. Do you think I don't have the courage to fight you? Don't you remember who always cried when he was trained in the army?"

"Forget about the skeleton in my closet…"

"Haw-haw…"

As they argued, the subject changed. Seeing Chu Haoling and Shen Rui bicker with each other, even Zhan Yafei smiled through tears. As the stifling feeling faded away, they had lunch in a bustle. It was nearly three in the afternoon. According to their speed in the morning, it would take them four or five hours to leave the fifth ring. It would be seven or eight o'clock then. Zombies at night were much more ferocious than humans. In case of any accident, Xing Feng and Yun Che insisted that they should stay at Zhan Yafei's home for some sleep and leave tomorrow morning.

"Where are you going?"

Since they didn't need to hurry on with the journey, they could relax as much as they could. After smoking a cigarette, Yun Che said he wanted to go out for a walk. Xing Feng followed up right away. The rest of the team, however, stared at him, confused. Where could he take a walk? Out there were only stinky zombies.

"There are some big supermarkets around, and some good furniture shops. I'm going to have a look." replied Yun Che simply as he turned around. The other day, he studied on the map of the neighborhood. If he rode an electrical bicycle alone, he could use the air membrane. Then he would be back soon.

"I'm going with you."

Xing Feng followed up without wasting any time.

"Che…"

"Boss…"

The others sprang to the feet at the same time, looking extremely worried. Yun Che said, speechless, "I'll go with him. It's not convenient to take many of you. Don't worry. We'll be right back."

After he finished, he looked at Xing Feng. They opened the door and walked out. The rest of team looked at each other, and they had to sit back down. Yun Che made some sense. Too many of them would bring inconvenience. For the sake of their power, there wouldn't be any problem.