Chapter 2: The Thief

December 16, 2012, 3:00 AM.

Lin Chen kicked Xia Nuan awake.

"Shift change." He shoved a steel pipe into her hands,

then curled up in the cellar corner, falling dead asleep the moment his head touched the wall.

When he opened his eyes again, Xia Nuan was staring blankly at the system panel.

She poked the text reading "Safe House Reinforcement Progress: 15%" with her fingertip,

then looked up at Lin Chen: "Can this thing be turned off? It's making my eyes dizzy."

"No." Lin Chen climbed to his feet,

pulled out a compressed biscuit, and handed it over. "Eat."

Xia Nuan took a bite, crumbs falling onto her clothes.

Suddenly remembering something, she rummaged through her bag and pulled out a thermos:

"It's hot. I filled it with hot water yesterday."

Lin Chen took it and drank a large mouthful.

The water flowed down his throat, warmth trickling down his esophagus.

System Notification: [Target Affinity +5].

"Today we go to Xia Nuan's home." Lin Chen wiped his mouth,

"for the things you didn't finish bringing yesterday,

and any supplies your parents might have left behind."

Xia Nuan nodded, stuffing the thermos back into her bag:

"My mother has a medical kit; it's on the very top of the wardrobe."

The two locked the warehouse door; the snow had already risen to their ankles.

Lin Chen found a tricycle left behind by the warehouse owner;

its chain was heavily rusted, clattering loudly with every pedal stroke.

Xia Nuan sat in the back, tying herself to the cargo bed with a rope

so she wouldn't fall off.

Passing the supermarket from yesterday, they saw the rolling shutter pulled down,

with several trash bins piled outside, rummaged through into a mess.

Lin Chen glanced over; the system gave no supply notification,

so he pedaled straight ahead.

At the entrance to Sunshine Community, the security guard had been replaced by a young man

who was huddled in the booth playing on his phone.

Lin Chen rode straight in; curses erupted from the booth,

but he didn't look back.

The door to Building 3's unit wasn't locked, likely broken by someone the night before.

Lin Chen told Xia Nuan to wait downstairs while he took the steel pipe up.

Door 502 was still ajar; he pushed it open to find a puddle on the living room floor, leftover from yesterday's incomplete mopping.

In the bedroom, the medical kit Xia Nuan mentioned was indeed on top of the wardrobe.

Lin Chen dragged over a chair and stepped up; as he reached down, the box bumped his forehead, making him wince in pain.

System Notification: [Obtained Basic Medical Kit, containing Antibiotics x10, Bandages x20].

Inside the bedside table drawer lay a photo album; he flipped through it casually, finding pictures of Xia Nuan with her parents against a seaside backdrop,

where she smiled, revealing her tiger teeth.

Lin Chen closed the album and shoved it back into the drawer,

then turned to search the balcony.

Several packs of laundry detergent sat atop the washing machine, alongside a bottle of disinfectant.

He stuffed everything into the woven sack he had brought,

triggering a System Notification: [Obtained Cleaning Supplies, Safe House Rating +2].

"Lin Chen!" Xia Nuan shouted from downstairs, her voice urgent.

Lin Chen grabbed the woven sack and rushed down,

colliding on the stair landing with a man in pajamas who was trembling while holding a cleaver.

"Don't come closer!" the man roared. "This is my home!"

Lin Chen ignored him and continued running down.

Reaching the first floor, he saw Xia Nuan blocked by two men in security uniforms;

one was the young guard from that morning, and the other was Auntie Wang, who had stopped him yesterday, now wielding a crowbar.

"She's a thief!" Auntie Wang shouted,

"acting suspiciously yesterday, and today she brings a man to move things!"

Xia Nuan's face turned crimson with anxiety: "This is my home!"

The young guard reached out to yank her bag; Lin Chen charged forward, smashing the steel pipe onto his wrist.

The guard screamed and retreated; Auntie Wang lunged forward with the crowbar, but Lin Chen sidestepped and casually hurled the woven sack at her.

The medicine bottles inside the sack clattered loudly,

knocking Auntie Wang back two steps as she cursed: "Have you gone mad!"

Lin Chen yanked Xia Nuan up and ran toward the tricycle.

Footsteps echoed from behind; the man with the cleaver was chasing them down.

He shouted, "Catch the thieves!"

Lin Chen shoved Xia Nuan onto the vehicle, then jumped on himself to pedal.

The chain suddenly jammed, nearly tipping the tricycle over.

"Damn!" He lowered his head and kicked at the chain.

The man had already caught up, swinging the cleaver down. Lin Chen raised his arm, blocking with the steel pipe. A loud "clang" rang out.

The impact numbed his arm.

Xia Nuan fished a thermos out of her bag.

She smashed it directly onto the man's head. The thermos bounced off, splashing hot water all over his face.

He let out a miserable scream, covering his face as he staggered back.

"Go!" Lin Chen finally kicked the chain free, pedaling furiously. The tricycle lurched forward, swerving wildly.

It nearly crashed into the curb.

The barrier gate at the community entrance hadn't risen.

Lin Chen didn't slow down, charging straight through. The gate groaned under the impact; a falling iron bar

grazed past Xia Nuan's hair.

"Your parents' things..." Xia Nuan looked back,

her eyes reddening.

"We'll come back next time." Lin Chen didn't turn his head.

"Survival first."

Halfway there, the tricycle chain snapped completely.

Lin Chen cursed, threw the vehicle to the roadside,

and grabbed the snakeskin bag. "Let's walk back."

The snow grew heavier again; the wind whipped snowflakes against their faces like tiny knives.

Xia Nuan stumbled along, stepping deep then shallow, when she suddenly said:

"My father has a shotgun, hidden in the cellar of the old house."

Lin Chen stopped. "Where is the old house?"

"In the suburbs of Chengxi, not far from the warehouse." Xia Nuan wrapped her coat tighter.

"I lived there as a child. It's been empty since we moved."

System Notification: [Side Quest Triggered: Acquire the Shotgun.

Reward: 50 Bullets, Firearm Maintenance Kit].

The two changed course toward Chengxi. Along the way, they passed a breakfast stall

where the owner was packing up to go home. Lin Chen walked over and dug out all his loose change:

"I'll take every bun you have."

The owner paused, then quickly stuffed the steamer buns into plastic bags.

Standing nearby, Xia Nuan suddenly pointed into the distance:

"Isn't that Su Qing?"

Lin Chen followed her gaze. Su Qing was running out of a pharmacy,

carrying two large bags. Zhang Hao followed behind her,

his arm in a cast, his face grim. The two got into a taxi, which drove off toward the city center.

"She's stockpiling medicine too," Xia Nuan said.

Lin Chen said nothing. He took the buns from the owner, handed half to Xia Nuan. "Eat quickly."

By the time they reached the old house, it was already noon.

It was a single-story house with a courtyard. The yard gate was so rusted it wouldn't open.

Lin Chen kicked it open directly...