Chapter 3

When the courtyard gate of the old house was kicked open, rust flakes fell all over the ground.

Xia Nuan rushed into the kitchen first.

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

the beam of his phone's flashlight shaking violently in the darkness.

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

Lin Chen walked over; the wooden box was locked.

He smashed it open directly with the steel pipe; the hunting rifle was wrapped in oilcloth, feeling ice-cold to the touch.

The system prompted: 【Obtained hunting rifle x1, side mission complete.】

Deep in the cellar were several sacks; Xia Nuan opened one,

revealing sun-dried sweet potatoes: "My grandma dried these; they can last for years."

Lin Chen stuffed them all into his pockets and discovered a kerosene lamp in the corner,

its glass cover covered in dust, but shaking it, there was still half a bottle of oil left.

"Let's go." Lin Chen picked up the wooden box; just as he turned around,

he heard movement outside the courtyard. The two lay at the cellar entrance to listen.

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

Xia Nuan covered her mouth; cursing could be heard outside.

"They must be inside; the tricycle was just dumped by the road."

Lin Chen took the hunting rifle apart, quickly reassembled it, and shoved a bullet into the chamber.

The system prompted: 【Gun maintenance kit activated, weapon durability +20.】

"Hide well." He pushed Xia Nuan.

He moved along the wall toward the outside. The footsteps at the gate grew closer,

and someone kicked the door open.

It was the few strong men Zhang Hao had brought. "Search!"

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

Lin Chen raised the hunting rifle and aimed at the nearest strong man.

He pulled the trigger. The gunshot made his ears ache,

and the man fell to the ground. The rest were stunned.

Zhang Hao cursed "Damn it" and turned to run.

Lin Chen didn't chase; he fired another shot, hitting the leg of the one running the slowest.

Screams echoed in the courtyard. Xia Nuan climbed out of the cellar,

her face deathly pale: "Did, did you kill someone?"

"No." Lin Chen checked the magazine, "Just wounded two."

He slung the hunting rifle over his back and dragged Xia Nuan out to run.

Passing the fallen strong man, he kicked away the steel pipe in his hand.

Outside the gate, there were tire tracks in the snow.

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

so he hoisted her up and rushed forward with long strides.

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

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

He finally put her down, and the two leaned against a tree to catch their breath.

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

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

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

The system prompted: 【Tracking removed, safety +5.】

Lin Chen glanced at the time: 3:00 PM, still a distance from the warehouse.

The snow was getting heavier, visibility less than ten meters.

"Head back." Lin Chen dragged Xia Nuan, "Take the side paths."

Passing a vegetable plot, there was a small shack for watching the crops.

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

He let Xia Nuan go in to rest while he stood guard at the door,

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

"The student we brought back yesterday." "Don't know him."

Lin Chen stared outside the door, "System mission."

Xia Nuan didn't ask again; she fished a piece of compressed biscuit out of her bag,

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

It was so dry he couldn't swallow; Xia Nuan handed him the thermos, and he took two big gulps.

Howls of wolves came from outside the shack, more than one.

Lin Chen stood up and gripped the hunting rifle; the system prompted: 【Detected mutated creatures,

100 meters away, threat level: low.】

"They're wild dogs." Xia Nuan peeked through the door crack, "The kind bitten by zombies,

their eyes are red." Lin Chen remembered the days of being chased by wild dogs in his past life.

His stomach churned. Three wild dogs smashed the wooden door and rushed in;

Lin Chen raised his hand and fired a shot.

It hit the head of the leader, the corpse slamming into the wall, blood splattering everywhere.

The remaining two circled to the side; Xia Nuan grabbed a wooden stick from the floor.

She smashed it hard onto one dog's leg. Lin Chen took the opportunity to reload,

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

The wild dog howled and lunged; he sidestepped, smashed the butt of the rifle onto its head,

and the dog fell to the ground.

"Clean it up." Lin Chen panted; the wild dog corpses began to twitch,

something moving under their skin. Xia Nuan found some kerosene.

She poured it on the corpses; Lin Chen lit a match and threw it over, the flames leaping up,

crackling and popping. The system prompted: 【Cleared mutated creatures x3.】

Reward: Physical enhancement agent x1. After Lin Chen injected it,

he felt his strength increase again, his fists feeling harder when clenched.

"It's dark." Xia Nuan looked out the window; snowflakes swirled in the firelight.

Lin Chen took the hunting rifle apart for maintenance.

He polished it until it shone with the kit provided by the system, and pressed the bullets into the magazine one by one.

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

He propped the wooden door back up, "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 roars mixed in with the wind and snow outside. He took out his phone.

Only one bar of signal remained; the system panel displayed: 【Countdown: 28 days, 12 hours.】

In the middle of the night, Xia Nuan suddenly woke up.

She grabbed Lin Chen's arm: "I dreamed of my parents; they said they were cold."

Lin Chen didn't speak, draping his military coat over her.

He wrapped his own coat tighter. "We'll find them."

He said, his voice a bit dry. Xia Nuan didn't respond.

Tears fell onto the military coat, creating a small damp patch.

At dawn, the snow eased up a bit.

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

Passing a river, the ice was very thick, and they could see fish frozen underneath.

Motionless. "Chisel some ice to take back."

Lin Chen found a rock and smashed the ice.

He filled the thermos to the brim. The system prompted: 【Obtained clean water,

safe house rating +3.】

Nearing the warehouse, they saw Li Wei circling the entrance,

and when he saw them, he shouted: "Someone's been here!" Lin Chen rushed over.

The warehouse door had been pried open, half the supplies inside were gone,

and the cement bags had been slashed, powder scattered all over the floor. "Su Qing did this." Lin Chen clenched his fists.

There was a perfume bottle on the floor, the brand Su Qing often used.

Li Wei shrank into the corner, clutching a wooden stick: "They brought over a dozen people."

Saying if you didn't come out, they'd burn the warehouse. "Useless."

Lin Chen cursed, didn't look at him, and began counting the remaining supplies.

Three cases of compressed biscuits remained, half the canned goods were gone,

and the most fatal thing was that the diesel generator had been smashed, its parts scattered all over the floor.

The system prompted: 【Safe house damaged, rating dropped by 10 points,

triggered emergency mission: Repair generator, reward: Solar charging panels x2.】

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

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

She fiddled with it a few times and actually put it together correctly. "You know how to do this?"

Lin Chen was surprised. Xia Nuan nodded.

"My dad was a repairman; I watched him do it since I was little." The two worked together to repair the generator,

Li Wei handed them tools from the side, occasionally saying a word.

"They said they'd come back tomorrow and bring more people." Lin Chen ignored him,

his movements faster, and by noon, the generator was finally repaired.

The sound of it starting made the warehouse hum.

The system prompted: 【Emergency mission complete, reward issued.】

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

Lin Chen climbed down to look; the two panels were quite large and could be laid on the roof of the warehouse.

"Reinforce the roof today." Lin Chen said.

Carrying the solar panels up, Xia Nuan and Li Wei handed him nails,

and he hammered them in quickly, snow falling into his collar, melting and feeling ice-cold.

In the afternoon, the sound of a car horn came from the distance. Lin Chen lay on the roof to look;

it was a truck, parked 200 meters outside the warehouse.

Among the people who got out was Su Qing, and someone in military uniform,

carrying a gun on his shoulder. "They found people from the military." Xia Nuan's voice trembled.