On the fourth day of the chaos, my sense of panic finally set in—late, but overwhelming.
I locked myself in my room for an entire day and night.
The front gate of the courtyard downstairs had already been tightly secured with wire.
I racked my brain trying to calm myself, trying to force my nerves to settle.
…
At the very least, at this moment, I was still in a relatively safe space.
At the very least, I still had enough food.
At the very least, the electricity and gas hadn't been cut off.
At the very least, the military was still trying to get things under control.
At the very least… Yangyang was still okay.
Yes! Yangyang.
My little brother's face suddenly flashed through my mind—damn it!
As his sister, how could I hide away by myself and leave him, still just a child, all alone?
I'm grateful to our parents for bringing him into this world.
Ever since I first saw Yangyang's chubby little face at the hospital when I was seven, he's pretty much become the center of my life.
Even our parents couldn't really understand the depth of my love for him.
Honestly, I don't even fully understand it myself.
I've mentioned it to some friends before, and they told me I probably have a serious case of "little brother complex."
(Actually, most people with siblings have something like that to some degree—it's just that some show it less obviously, or never realize it themselves.)
I opened the bedroom door, and the only sound in the living room was the faint noise coming from the TV.
"Yangyang?"
Maybe he was in his room?
I quickly opened his bedroom door, but...
He wasn't there!
"Yangyang?! Where are you?"
I rushed through the house, checking every single room.
I even neurotically checked inside the refrigerator.
I came to a conclusion that nearly broke me.
Yangyang had left the house.
He was out there—out there, where those flesh-eating walkers roamed...
The moment that thought hit me, I felt, deep in my bones, that the end of the world had truly come.
If Yangyang ran into those things out there...
Then for me, it really would be the end of the world.
Damn it! How could I have been so careless?
Shaking, I ran to the balcony.
From there, I could clearly see the wire that had been securing the courtyard gate lying on the ground.
The gate itself was just slightly ajar.
A thousand questions flashed through my mind in an instant.
When did he leave? Why would he leave? We had more than enough supplies at home...
But thinking about all that now was pointless.
What mattered most right now was getting Yangyang back safely.
My mind was a mess.
I forced myself to calm down.
But no matter what I did, I couldn't truly feel calm.
Right. I had to go out and find him.
The moment the thought formed, I acted immediately.
I quickly changed into lightweight clothes and sneakers, shoved the dagger into the back pocket of my pants, and grabbed a kitchen knife I had brought back from the convenience store.
Without hesitation, I threw the door open and dashed out.
I wasn't being cautious anymore—I ran full speed out of the yard, scanning my surroundings.
But there was no one around!
In the distance, I heard faint growls and howls—coming from the main road up ahead, it seemed.
A dreadful thought hit me, and a cold sweat broke out across my body.
Gripping the knife tightly, I sprinted toward the direction of the sound.
Those things wouldn't be making noise for no reason.
There was no room left for fear.
I bit down hard on my tongue, trying to keep my mind focused.
The road was wide—you could see everything from far away.
And when I saw what was happening not far ahead, it felt like my brain exploded.
In the distance, my poor little brother was being chased by over a dozen walkers.
And it looked like there was another child with him.
Looking closer, I saw he was holding tightly to a little girl, probably around seven or eight years old.
It was obvious he was struggling to run with her.
My nose stung instantly with emotion!
Without thinking another second, I tightened my grip on the knife and charged straight toward them!
The walkers were entirely focused on the "Yangyang feast" in front of them—not a single one noticed me approaching from behind.
Honestly, the kitchen knife was much more effective than the dagger.
Chopping off their rotten heads was surprisingly easy.
One swing per corpse.
Some of the walkers' heads were sliced clean in half by my blade, brain matter splattering all over me.
After taking down five or six of them, the remaining ones finally noticed me.
Their filthy throats let out disgusting growls.
"Yangyang, run! Go around to the other side of the road—go home! Hurry!!!"
I screamed so loud I thought my throat would tear, terrified he might miss a single word.
The walkers turned at the sound of my voice, all shambling toward me now.
There was no time to be afraid.
I kept retreating, eyes darting around to check if Yangyang's path was clear.
He was still holding that little girl's hand, circling to the other side and running in the direction of home.
In the distance, I seemed to hear him crying—he was calling out "Sister," his voice thick with panic and fear.
"You damn things!!"
I shouted furiously, my body no longer under the control of my mind, consumed by bloodlust.
People always need something to blame, some source of evil, to release their inner turmoil.
I must've gone mad.
Looking at the scattered, mangled corpses around me…
I felt like I was about to collapse.
A wave of delayed fear surged through me, and I started trembling again.
My entire body—my face included—was covered in the thick, black, putrid blood and brain matter of the walkers.
Sticky and foul, my skin screamed in revulsion even through my clothes.
Right now, if even one more walker appeared, I wouldn't have the strength to lift my blade again.
Footsteps sounded behind me…
Was… was there another walker?
If so, I was definitely done for.
Where would it bite me first? My neck? My arm? Or my shoulder?
Trembling, I forced myself to turn around.
A clean face, clean clothes, and a bloodstained long blade.
A human.
Everything suddenly went black in front of me...
It felt like I was falling into an endless hell.
A place filled with nothing but hopeless darkness.
...
"Sis, Sis... Sis, wake up." From far away, I seemed to hear Yangyang's voice.
"Auntie, why is she sleeping for so long?"
Whose soft little voice was that?
I slowly opened my eyes... the familiar ceiling—this was my bedroom.
My clothes had been changed.
And the moment my gaze landed on Yangyang's face, tears instantly welled up and fell.
Using all the strength I had, I pulled him into a hug.
Thank heavens—thank heavens you're okay.
Yangyang was still safely by my side.
He could still speak, still call me "Sis."
My tears flowed in big drops, and a rush of overwhelming emotions flooded my mind all at once.
My throat tightened so much I couldn't say a single word.
"Sis... you're going to smother me."
It took me a while before I finally let go of him.
I checked him from head to toe, and only after confirming that he wasn't injured did I finally let out a long sigh of relief.
"Auntie…" My eyes landed on the little girl standing next to Yangyang.
She was wearing a pink jacket, her hair tied up in a cute little bun.
She looked absolutely adorable.
I wiped away my tears and smiled, hoping it would make me appear more gentle and natural.
Communicating with children—it was my job just a few days ago.
"Sweetie, how old are you? What's your name?"
I tried my best to make my tone sound normal, but my emotions hadn't settled yet—my voice was trembling.
"My name is Zheng Rongrong, I'm eight years old!" the little girl said cheerfully, flashing me a big bright smile.
"Rongrong, your name is just as cute as you are." Her smile was infectious, and my voice finally stopped trembling.
"Heehee, thank you, Auntie." She stuck her tongue out shyly, a little embarrassed.
A child's world should never have to contain such absurd horrors.
I let out a sigh and asked Yangyang, "What exactly happened?"
"Sis, Rongrong was walking on the road all by herself—there wasn't a single adult around. I just wanted to go downstairs and bring her back. But then those things suddenly appeared and blocked our way back, so I had no choice but to run with her toward the main road."
Sniffling, Yangyang's face was filled with fear, clearly recalling the terrifying scene: "Sis, if you hadn't shown up, the two of us would've definitely been eaten."
"You knew you might get eaten?" I shot him a glare.
Then suddenly remembered the person I saw before I passed out.
"Yangyang, was it someone who brought me back?"
"Oh, you mean that mute guy? He's in the living room. Rongrong and I were waiting by the gate for a long time when we saw him carrying you back. We tried talking to him but he didn't say a word. It's already been a whole day—he's just sitting on the couch, hasn't moved an inch."
"Don't give people nicknames like that." I glared at Yangyang and got out of bed.
Now that I'd rested, my feet on the floor brought a strange sense of groundedness.
The young man was sitting on the couch, eyes fixed on the TV, brows furrowed tightly.
"Ahem, thank you for bringing me back," I said.
The man turned his head and looked at me for a moment before giving a slight nod.
"You're welcome."
"Huh? He's not mute?" Yangyang said with a hint of surprise.
"Yangyang!" I scolded sharply, then sat down on the couch with a smile and asked, "My name is Chen Yang. May I ask your surname?"
"My name is Suo Tian," he replied, giving me a glance.
"Given the situation, let's skip the formalities. Just speak plainly."
I smiled. "Suo Tian, what did you do before all this? Why were you on the road? Were you going somewhere or heading back? I haven't seen you around here before."
I blurted out all the questions swirling in my mind.
Strictly speaking, questioning someone who just saved my life like this was a bit much, but… with how things are outside, I can't afford not to be cautious with everyone.
"I was a police officer. I came here for a case. Then everything suddenly happened, and I didn't have time to get back. I've been staying in a hotel nearby, hiding there until I ran into you."
"You saw me from the hotel and came down on purpose to save me?"
"No," he said, shaking his head.
"I happened to be out looking for food."
I shrugged to show I didn't really mind.
"That sword of yours?" I asked.
He picked up the long blade resting beside him. (imagine the kind Michonne uses in The Walking Dead).
"Found it by chance. Feels good to use."
"Oh." So far, his answers seemed believable.
At the very least, I hadn't seen anything suspicious about him yet.
And really, if he had any ill intentions, he could've acted while I was unconscious.
No need to wait for me to wake up.
The TV screen switched to an elderly man in military uniform—it wasn't the same middle-aged man from before.
"We will spare no effort to regain control. To all survivors out there, if you can see or hear this message, remember—stay away from the Walkers. If you are cornered, pick up a weapon and smash their heads!"
"The military has established shelters in various regions—they're safe. But we still urge survivors to stay in your homes if they're secure. Do not make loud noises—those things will come after any sound…"