006 It Is Not Our Turn

"Global outbreak..."

Zhang Su stood stunned. At first, he had wondered if a biological weapon had been unleashed by some nation, but now... that possibility could still not be ruled out. Those who open Pandora's box are not necessarily spared from its contents.

That comfortable, easy life was certainly gone forever. There was no point in dwelling on how the disaster had been triggered; he only cared about the situation in Qincheng, or more specifically, he only cared about his own survival.

"Forget about the rest of the world for now. I doubt we can even make it out of the apartment complex. Let's see if there’s any news in the residents' group chat. You’re in the group, right?"

Zhang Su rubbed his temples and shook his head helplessly.

"Yes, I am."

Zheng Xinyu pulled up the Shengqin Garden residents' group. There weren't many unread messages—about seventy, including those from the previous few days. She scrolled down to the messages from today.

6:37 AM, 8-2-702: Good morning! Wednesday, September 27th, Year X023, the 13th day of the eighth lunar month. Morning is the start of hope. May your hearts be filled with sunshine, and may you greet the sunrise with a smile. Good luck is sure to come your way! [Rose emoji]

"The first message was at 6:30. Seems like everything was fine then?" Zheng Xinyu asked.

Zhang Su gave a noncommittal grunt, gesturing for her to keep reading.

6:45 AM, 11-1-201: Whose car is XC·XXXXX? Please come down and move it immediately. You're blocking my car! Hurry, hurry, hurry! @everyone.

6:48 AM, Just This Style: @11-1-201, sis, you're not a group admin. Tagging everyone is useless. I suggest you ask the group owner for help.

6:50 AM, 11-1-201: Thanks for the tip. A nice guy just came by and helped me get out.

7:03 AM, Happiness and Joy: @7-1-601, hello, could you keep it down early in the morning? My old man just had surgery and is recovering at home. Let’s show some mutual understanding.

7:06 AM, Fruit Sister Ling: Dear ones, I ordered...

(The message was clearly unfinished.)

7:07 AM, 301: Neighbors, I heard an explosion. Whose place is it? It's damn terrifying.

7:10 AM, Tomorrow Will Be Better: Neighbors, there's a fight going on downstairs. Look, everyone, there’s blood everywhere!

7:11 AM, Building 10 Seafood Brother Wang: Someone on the road has gone crazy, biting people on sight. There’s a massive pile-up, and Seaside Road is completely blocked. No seafood deliveries today!

7:13 AM, 3-1-402: Who is yelling like a maniac in the garden this early? Next time, I'm calling the police!

10:55 AM, Winter Plum Blossom: People are dying! There are monsters biting people to death!

At the same time, 12-3-1101 sent a voice message, but it could not be played.

Dozens of messages followed, all of them voice notes. Although they couldn't hear the contents, they could guess the gist.

Zhang Su took the phone from Zheng Xinyu and scrolled through. "It seems the zombie virus broke out around seven in the morning, and the internet cut out less than half an hour later..."

The group chat offered almost nothing of substance, only allowing them to infer the time of the outbreak. It was of limited help.

"Seven o'clock..." Zheng Xinyu bit her lip. "That’s right during the morning rush hour. Adults going to work, kids going to school... God, I can't even imagine it."

"The complex has about seven hundred units. I remember finding out when I paid for my parking spot that the occupancy rate was around sixty percent, so a bit over four hundred households. Calculating three people per household, there are about twelve hundred people in this complex. I wonder how many are still alive."

Zhang Su didn't mention the infection rate; how many were infected didn't matter. Not being infected didn't mean you wouldn't be killed by a zombie. Survival was all that mattered.

Zheng Xinyu thought of the carnage downstairs and shook her head sadly. "Maybe half?"

"Half..." Zhang Su thought to himself that she was quite the optimist. Based on what he had observed, he felt that only one or two out of ten would survive. In other words, if two hundred people made it out alive, it would be a miracle.

Suddenly, he thought of his two employees.

The twenty-four-hour convenience store shift change was at eight. However, unlike Wu Lue, who worked the night shift, the girl on the day shift usually arrived early to do the handover—meticulous and very diligent.

If only...

Zhang Su stopped himself. There was no point in continuing that train of thought. It was a waste of energy; better to save his brain cells for something useful.

"Xinyu, let's think about what to do next."

"Yes, Brother Su, I’ll listen to whatever you say!"

While the two were strategizing in the room, shrill screams occasionally drifted in from outside. Fortunately, the excellent soundproofing kept the noise from being too overwhelming, and they both tacitly agreed to ignore it.

However, a sudden explosion shattered their composure. They looked at each other, their faces grave.

*Thump-thump-thump-thump...*

An unusual sound reached their ears.

"What is that?"

"A helicopter!"

Zhang Su reacted instantly. He dashed to the bedroom window and pulled back the curtain. The first thing he saw was thick black smoke rising in the distance—the site of the earlier explosion. He didn't have time to dwell on it; he looked up to see three helicopters flying across the sky in a formation.

"Type 11 helicopters..."

"Brother Su, are those military helicopters?" Zheng Xinyu asked, hope flickering in her eyes.

In the face of catastrophe, ordinary people naturally pinned their hopes on the military, the government, and the state.

Zhang Su shook his head. "They're police helicopters."

Even from a distance, he could tell from the livery that they weren't military.

"Police? Police are good too! It means the police force is still intact. That’s great! They’ll definitely come to rescue us, right?" Zheng Xinyu clasped her hands together, looking as pious as a believer praying for divine light.

"Think about how many people are in Qincheng. When do you think it will be our turn?" Zhang Su looked at her with an unreadable expression.

Zheng Xinyu was no longer an innocent student in an ivory tower. She had navigated the rough waters of the internet, witnessing the warmth and coldness of human nature. The vitriol and slander from trolls had forced her to see the world for what it was.

Her earlier hopeful fantasy had been a reflex of panic, but after Zhang Su’s reality check, she understood the stakes.

"You're right, Brother Su. Even if help comes, we have to stay alive until that moment arrives..."

Zheng Xinyu wiped away her tears and sniffled, her resolve hardening.

"Damn it!" Zhang Su suddenly cursed through gritted teeth.

Zheng Xinyu looked at him, confused.

Zhang Su said with extreme frustration, "I really should have brought up all those things you bought last night!"