Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Trapped – The Door of Rebirth in the Apocalypse

Trapped

After Gu Ning finished speaking, accompanied by the banging sound of the zombie dog hitting the door, everyone in the room turned pale.

Xiao Yunyun and the other two girls burst into tears.

Huang Mengyao bit her lip tightly, her face also pale, and then she asked, “What should we do next?”

She was asking Gu Ning.

Gu Ning glanced at her and said, “Wait.”

Wait for the zombie wolf dog to tire out or lose patience.

After saying this, she began a second round of searching in the house, this time not for an exit, but for supplies.

She first entered a bedroom. A large wedding photo hung on the wall by the bed. The door had already been smashed, and dried bloodstains were all over the floor, spreading out from the bedroom door. A white leg bone lay beside the cabinet, sending chills down one’s spine. It wasn’t hard to imagine that someone had rushed into this bedroom in a panic but still couldn’t escape, as the zombie dog broke in and devoured them. If Gu Ning hadn’t reacted quickly earlier, their fate might have been the same as the owner of that leg bone.

Just thinking about it made Gu Ning shudder.

She opened the closet and found some thick clothes, piling them on the bed. It was already nearing October, and the weather would get colder. Her parents were still wearing short sleeves, and they had a whole winter to get through. Keeping warm was not something to overlook. While searching for clothes, Gu Ning also found a brand-new fluffy blanket in the upper cabinet. It would be perfect for winter nights, but her backpack had limited space, so she had to leave it behind. She regretfully touched the soft blanket, wishing she could take it with her.

Just as this thought crossed her mind, her hand suddenly felt empty.

After a moment, Gu Ning realized that the blanket had disappeared! It had vanished into thin air right before her eyes!

She hadn’t blinked, yet it had disappeared without a sound.

Gu Ning looked at her hand, feeling a bit dazed, wondering if she was hallucinating. But the sensation of the blanket still lingered on her hand, reminding her that what had just happened wasn’t an illusion.

Just as Gu Ning was puzzled, Jia Daozhang walked to the door. Seeing the dried bloodstains on the floor, a look of pity crossed his face. He muttered “Infinite Heavenly Respect” to the leg bone, and for a moment, Gu Ning thought she saw a glimpse of a transcendent figure in him. But in an instant, he returned to his normal expression, smoothing his greasy or gel-covered hair, and asked curiously, “Gu Ning, what are you doing?”

Gu Ning watched him smooth his hair, feeling that he was quite different from the image of a Taoist priest she had in mind. However, he had left a somewhat good impression on her in the garage, so she wasn’t entirely repelled by him. She explained, “It’s already October. We need to prepare some warm clothes for winter.” As she spoke, she stuffed the selected clothes into her backpack.

Jia Daozhang suddenly understood and quickly picked up a few clothes he could wear, holding them in his arms. He also grabbed a few more and said, “These will fit Cheng Ming.” Then he added, “I almost forgot. I felt a bit cold last night. Hey, are there any down jackets here? Oh, there’s a blanket. Should we take it with us?” He rummaged around while talking to Gu Ning.

Gu Ning, still thinking about the vanished blanket, ignored him and walked out of the bedroom, heading toward another door.

This time, she entered the kitchen, where two girls were already rummaging through the cabinets for food. Seeing Gu Ning come in, they exchanged nervous glances and instinctively hid the food they had found behind their backs, then slipped past Gu Ning and left.

Gu Ning didn’t pay much attention to them. Her first reaction was to turn on the faucet, but only a trickle of water came out before it stopped.

Just then, Jia Daozhang followed her in, waving something in his hand proudly. “Hey, Gu Ning, Cheng Ming found something good!”

Gu Ning looked and saw that Jia Daozhang was holding a pack of instant noodles.

He smiled broadly and said, “We can cook this and have a full meal.”

“No water,” Gu Ning poured cold water on his enthusiasm.

“No way!” Jia Daozhang wailed, rushing to the faucet and turning it on. Sure enough, not a single drop came out. He deflated instantly, groaning in despair, “Heaven wants to destroy me!”

“We can eat it dry,” Cheng Ming, who had followed them in, said, carrying a large bag with some clothes he and Jia Daozhang had found. “Having something to eat is already good.”

Jia Daozhang complained bitterly, “I haven’t had anything hot to eat in almost two months.”

The kitchen had rice, oil, and even a gas tank with gas to light a fire, but there was no water.

The three of them left the kitchen. In the living room, the others were sharing the food they had taken from the kitchen.

Seeing Gu Ning and the others come out, their expressions became somewhat uneasy, and they quickly stuffed the remaining food into their mouths.

One of the boys, Zhang Qi, whose backpack had been flat before, now had a bulging backpack, clearly filled with food. He kept it behind him, his hand resting on it, his expression slightly unnatural, but he made no move to share the food with Gu Ning and the others.

Cheng Ming frowned, about to say something.

But then Huang Mengyao suddenly spoke up. She held up a large unopened pack of egg tarts and said, “Xie Yuhong and I found this.” She and Xie Yuhong, whose bangs covered one eye, stood up and walked over, saying, “We can share it.”

Xie Yuhong stood beside Huang Mengyao without speaking, his uncovered eye fixed on Gu Ning.

Gu Ning was slightly surprised. Before Cheng Ming could say anything, Jia Daozhang had already taken the pack of egg tarts from Huang Mengyao, smiling and saying, “You guys have a conscience.” His words were clearly aimed at the others who had found supplies but refused to share. If it hadn’t been for Gu Ning’s quick reaction earlier, they might not have escaped safely. Now, they were safe because of Gu Ning, yet those who had found supplies were unwilling to share, which was quite disheartening.

Hearing this, the expressions of the others changed.

“Mengyao, what happened to your hair?” Cheng Ming suddenly asked, looking at Huang Mengyao in surprise.

Gu Ning also noticed that Huang Mengyao’s long hair had been cut into a short bob, clearly by someone with poor skills, as it was uneven.

“I had Xie Yuhong cut it for me,” Huang Mengyao said, somewhat self-consciously, instinctively reaching to tuck her hair behind her ear, only to find it too short. She awkwardly lowered her hand.

“It looks good,” Gu Ning said.

“Really? Thank you,” Huang Mengyao said, looking at Gu Ning with pleasant surprise.

“Pretty people look good no matter what hairstyle they have,” Jia Daozhang said as he opened the pack of egg tarts, counting them. “Twenty-four. I also have five packs of instant noodles. Let’s just pool all our supplies together. No need to be so strict about who owns what.”

His words clearly divided the eleven people in the hall into two groups.

On one side: Gu Ning, Cheng Ming, Jia Daozhang, Huang Mengyao, and Xie Yuhong.

On the other side: Zhang Chao with black-framed glasses, Xiao Yunyun, Liu Qi with a bulging backpack and a yellow T-shirt, and two other girls named Zhang Ling and Wang Zi.

The expressions of those sitting together changed instantly.

They were all classmates with Cheng Ming, Huang Mengyao, and Xie Yuhong, and they knew each other well.

They hadn’t wanted to share their supplies, but that was only because they considered Gu Ning and Jia Daozhang “outsiders.” They hadn’t expected Cheng Ming to stick with Gu Ning and Jia Daozhang, and Huang Mengyao and Xie Yuhong to unexpectedly side with them. Gu Ning’s earlier actions had been impressive, but her hand was injured, so they didn’t feel too bad about it. Jia Daozhang, on the other hand, had only run away whenever danger arose.

But Cheng Ming and Xie Yuhong had been the protectors in their group, killing the most zombies along the way.

Hearing the zombie dog still banging on the door at a rate of once a minute, their expressions turned grim. But considering the situation, it seemed the zombie dog wouldn’t leave anytime soon. They were trapped here, unsure when they could leave, so supplies were the most important thing. With four fewer people, their remaining supplies would last longer. Thinking this, their expressions softened a bit, even feeling a bit of schadenfreude. With so little food, Gu Ning and the others wouldn’t last long.

Gu Ning didn’t object to Jia Daozhang’s words. She might leave the group at any time, so there was no need to say more now.

If anyone in the house was feeling the most relaxed, it was undoubtedly Gu Ning.

Even if the zombie wolf dog broke in, she had enough time to return to her space. She wasn’t worried about supplies either. Last night, she had gone back to her space and filled half her backpack with supplies before returning. Even if they ran out of food here, she could always go back and get more. The only thing she was concerned about was wasting too much time here, delaying her search for her parents.

The group sat down and began to eat breakfast.

Everyone had been through intense physical activity that morning and was starving.

After eating two egg tarts, Jia Daozhang wailed, “I’m still hungry!”

The others couldn’t help but show a hint of schadenfreude.

But soon, their expressions froze.

Gu Ning silently began pulling things out of her backpack.

Sausages, chocolate, bread, compressed biscuits…

Not only the others but even Jia Daozhang, Cheng Ming, Huang Mengyao, and Xie Yuhong were stunned.

Looking at the small mountain of supplies in the middle, no one could speak.

Author’s Note: Working hard to write, will try to update earlier tomorrow.

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