Chapter 3: Someone Was Killed

When the gate of the old house courtyard was kicked open, rust flakes scattered across the ground.

Xia Nuan rushed into the kitchen first.

Lifting the stone slab to reveal the cellar entrance, Lin Chen followed close behind.

The beam from the mobile phone flashlight shook violently in the darkness.

"It's in that wooden box over there," Xia Nuan said, pointing to the corner, her voice trembling.

Lin Chen walked over; the wooden box was locked.

He smashed it open directly with a steel pipe; the shotgun, wrapped in oilcloth, felt ice-cold to the touch.

System notification: [Obtained Shotgun x1, Side Quest Completed].

Several burlap sacks were piled in the depths of the cellar; Xia Nuan opened one.

Inside were dried sweet potato slices: "My grandmother dried these; they can last for several years."

Lin Chen stuffed them all into his pockets, then spotted a kerosene lamp in the corner.

Dust covered the glass chimney; shaking it revealed it was still more than half full of oil.

"Let's go." Lin Chen lifted the wooden box, but just as he turned,

he heard movement outside the courtyard. The two pressed themselves against the cellar opening to listen.

It was footsteps, more than one. "That's Zhang Hao's voice."

Xia Nuan clapped a hand over her mouth; outside came a stream of curses.

"They're definitely in there; the tricycle was left by the roadside."

Lin Chen disassembled the shotgun, quickly reassembled it, and loaded a round into the chamber.

System notification: [Firearm Maintenance Kit Activated, Weapon Durability +20].

"Hide well." He shoved Xia Nuan.

He himself crept outward along the base of the wall. The footsteps at the courtyard gate grew nearer.

Someone kicked the door open and entered.

It was the burly men Zhang Hao had brought with him. "Search!"

Zhang Hao shouted, his plaster-cast arm shaking violently.

Lin Chen raised the shotgun, aiming at the burly man closest to him.

He pulled the trigger. The gunshot rang out, hurting his ears.

The burly man collapsed on the spot. The remaining men froze in shock.

Zhang Hao cursed, "Damn it," and turned to flee.

Lin Chen did not pursue; he fired another shot, hitting the leg of the slowest runner.

Screams of agony echoed through the courtyard. Xia Nuan crawled out of the cellar,

her face deathly pale: "You... you killed someone?"

"No." Lin Chen checked the magazine. "Only wounded two."

He slung the shotgun across his back, grabbed Xia Nuan, and ran outward.

Passing the fallen burly man, he kicked the steel pipe out of his hand.

Outside the courtyard gate, tire tracks marked the snow.

It was a van. Lin Chen ran in the opposite direction; Xia Nuan couldn't keep up,

so he hoisted her onto his shoulders and charged forward with long strides.

"Put me down," Xia Nuan said, pounding his back. "I can run."

Lin Chen ignored her until they had run half a li.

Only then did he set her down; the two leaned against a tree, gasping for breath.

"How did they find us?" Xia Nuan asked. Lin Chen took out his phone.

He realized he hadn't discarded the bag snatched yesterday from Su Qing; inside was a tracker,

flashing red. He snapped it in half and threw it into the snowdrift.

System notification: [Tracking Neutralized, Safety Level +5].

Lin Chen checked the time: 3 PM. There was still some distance to the warehouse.

The snow fell heavier; visibility was less than ten meters.

"Head back," Lin Chen said, dragging Xia Nuan along. "We'll take a small path."

They passed a vegetable patch where a small wooden watchman's hut stood.

Lin Chen pushed the door open; the interior was empty, containing only a broken wooden bed.

He told Xia Nuan to go inside and rest while he guarded the doorway,

the shotgun resting across his knees. "Do you know Li Wei?" Xia Nuan suddenly asked.

"The student brought back yesterday." "No, I don't."

Lin Chen stared outside. "System mission."

Xia Nuan asked no further; she fished a compressed biscuit out of her bag

and handed it over: "Replenish your strength." Lin Chen took it and took a bite.

It was so dry he couldn't swallow; Xia Nuan passed him a thermos, and he gulped down two large mouthfuls.

Wolf howls came from outside the wooden hut, more than one.

Lin Chen stood up, gripping the shotgun tightly, as the system notified: [Mutated Creatures Detected,

Distance: 100 meters, Threat Level: Low].

"It's wild dogs," Xia Nuan said, peering through the crack in the door. "The kind bitten by zombies."

"Their eyes are red." Lin Chen remembered the days in his past life when he was chased by wild dogs.

His stomach churned. Three wild dogs burst through the wooden door and charged in.

Lin Chen raised his hand and fired a shot.

He hit the leader in the head; the corpse slammed into the wall, splattering blood everywhere.

The remaining two circled around to the side as Xia Nuan grabbed a wooden stick from the ground.

She smashed it hard onto one dog's leg. Lin Chen took the opportunity to load a round.

The second shot went wide, grazing past the dog's ear.

The wild dog howled and pounced; he sidestepped to dodge, then smashed the butt of his gun into its head.

The dog dropped instantly.

"Clean them up," Lin Chen said, gasping for breath. The wild dog corpses began to twitch.

Something was moving beneath their skin. Xia Nuan found some kerosene.

She poured it over the corpses, and Lin Chen lit a match and tossed it over; flames erupted instantly.

They crackled as they burned. The system notified: [Mutated Creatures Eliminated x3].

Reward: Physical Enhancement Serum x1. After Lin Chen injected it,

he felt his strength increase slightly, his clenched fist feeling harder.

"It's getting dark," Xia Nuan said, looking out the window where snowflakes danced in the firelight.

Lin Chen disassembled the shotgun for maintenance.

Using the kit provided by the system, he polished it until it gleamed, then loaded bullets one by one into the magazine.

"We'll rest here tonight," Lin Chen said.

He re-barred the wooden door. "We'll take turns keeping watch." Xia Nuan nodded,

curled up in the corner of the wooden bed, and fell asleep quickly.

Lin Chen leaned against the door, listening to her breathing

and the howls mixed in with the wind and snow outside. He pulled out his phone.

Signal strength was down to one bar; the system panel displayed [Countdown: 28 days, 12 hours].

In the early morning, Xia Nuan suddenly woke with a start.

Grabbing Lin Chen's arm, she said, "I dreamed of my parents; they said they were cold."

Lin Chen said nothing, draping his military coat over her.

He wrapped his own jacket tightly around himself. "We will find them,"

he said, his voice sounding somewhat dry. Xia Nuan did not respond.

Tears fell onto the military coat, spreading into a small wet patch.

By dawn, the snow had lessened slightly.

Lin Chen kicked Xia Nuan awake, and the two continued toward the warehouse.

They passed a river where the ice was frozen thick enough to see the fish trapped beneath.

They lay motionless. "Chip off some ice to take back."

Lin Chen found a stone and smashed the ice surface.

He filled his thermos cup to the brim. The system notified: [Obtained Clean Water Source,

Safe House Score +3].

As they neared the warehouse, they saw Li Wei pacing at the entrance.

Upon spotting them, he shouted, "Someone has been here!" Lin Chen rushed over.

The warehouse door had been pried open; half the supplies inside were missing.

Cement bags had been slashed, spilling powder all over the floor. "Su Qing did this," Lin Chen said, clenching his fist.

On the ground lay a perfume bottle, a brand Su Qing often used.

Li Wei cowered in the corner, clutching a wooden stick. "They brought over a dozen people."

They said if you didn't come out, they would burn the warehouse. "Useless,"

Lin Chen cursed, ignoring him as he began to inventory the remaining supplies.

Only three boxes of compressed biscuits remained, and half the canned food was gone.

Worst of all, the diesel generator had been smashed, its parts scattered everywhere.

The system notified: [Safe House Damaged, Score decreased by 10 points.

Emergency Mission Triggered: Repair the Generator. Reward: Solar Charging Panels x2].

Lin Chen squatted down to assemble the generator; there were too many parts, making his head spin.

Xia Nuan walked over, picked up a gear, and said, "This should be installed on the side."

She fiddled with it for a moment and actually assembled it correctly. "You know how to do this?"

Lin Chen asked in surprise. Xia Nuan nodded.

"My father was a mechanic; I watched him work on them since I was a child." The two worked together to repair the generator,

while Li Wei handed them tools nearby, occasionally saying a word.

"They said they're coming back tomorrow with more people." Lin Chen ignored him,

his movements speeding up. By noon, the generator was finally repaired.

The sound of it starting up made the warehouse hum.

The system notified: [Emergency Mission Completed, Rewards Issued].

The solar panels were placed directly in the cellar by the system.

Lin Chen climbed down to take a look; the two panels were quite large, suitable for laying atop the warehouse roof.

"We'll reinforce the roof today," Lin Chen said.

He hoisted the solar panels up while Xia Nuan and Li Wei handed him nails.

He hammered with swift strokes; snow fell into his collar, melting into an icy chill.

In the afternoon, the sound of a car horn drifted from afar. Lin Chen lay prone on the roof to watch.

It was a truck, stopping two hundred meters outside the warehouse.

Among those who disembarked was Su Qing, along with a figure in military uniform.

A rifle rested on his shoulder. "They've brought someone from the army," Xia Nuan said, her voice trembling.