Chapter 50: Understanding Zhong Xiaoshanjian (4K, Additional 2K Today)

Qin Ya ignored Tian Fan’s question, closed the door while observing the rooftop, then walked toward the guard wall and asked himself: “This afternoon, when the music played, did you see anyone on the building across from us?”

Yu Nuo had already climbed to his feet, stumbling over weak legs to Qin Ya’s side, and hurriedly replied: “I saw them—a man in his twenties and two women, also around twenty-something. Did they do something wrong, Officer?”

“No way—they were just trying to lure zombies with sound. They didn’t break any laws, right?” Tian Fan asked, incredulous.

“So there were three people…”

Qin Ya shook his head, dismissing Tian Fan and Yu Nuo’s guesses, his gaze scanning the pitch-black windows of Building Three, searching for any trace—but the result disappointed him; not a single light glowed, as if the entire building had become a ghost tower.

Tian Fan’s vision gradually returned, and he walked over to Qin Ya’s side, hopeful: “Officer, has the situation outside improved?”

In his mind, if the special police could spare forces to rescue him and Yu Nuo, things must be going well—after all, neither he nor Yu Nuo were important people.

Qin Ya looked at Tian Fan’s hopeful face with eyes full of despair, sighed inwardly, and said without expression: “No signs of improvement—at least, none I’ve seen.”

He turned and walked toward the rooftop door, adding: “Hurry up and grab your things—follow me down!”

“Oh, oh, okay!”

Tian Fan and Yu Nuo had no time to react—they snatched up their few remaining belongings and hurried after Qin Ya.

“Watch your step—don’t step on the corpses.”

Qin Ya casually warned, shining his flashlight on the two completely motionless bodies.

“Ah!”

Yu Nuo hadn’t expected such a horrifying sight—he couldn’t help crying out.

“Ah, ah, ah…”

The terrified screams echoed through the stairwell, giving off the vibe of a Southeast Asian horror film.

“Stay quiet!”

Qin Ya shot Yu Nuo an irritated glance. “Luckily, the stairwell’s clear of zombies—otherwise, your scream would’ve drawn every zombie on the first floor up here!”

“Aowu.”

“Papapa.”

As if responding to Qin Ya’s words, zombie growls erupted, accompanied by pounding on doors.

Tian Fan’s bladder tightened in fear—he gripped his stainless steel pipe tightly.

“They’re zombies from residents’ apartments—don’t panic. Stay calm around zombies; the more nervous you are, the more likely you are to make a mistake!”

Qin Ya reassured them, then waved for the two to follow.

Soon, the three returned to Apartment 902.

“Uncle Qin, Brother Tian Fan, Auntie Yu!”

Qin Ya opened the door to find Liu Xuanyu standing behind it, holding a candle in his hand.

“Right—I forgot! Brother Liu is a special police officer. Officer, you’re Brother Liu’s colleague, right?”

After entering and sitting down, Yu Nuo, still shaken, made small talk: “Qin Ya took off his gear, checked the food bowl on the table, and saw Liu Xuanyu had eaten nearly all the noodles. He glanced at Yu Nuo and Tian Fan, both looking puzzled.”

“Correct. I was sent to retrieve Brother Liu’s son.”

Yu Nuo seized this like a lifeline: “Officer Qin, if your special police unit has mobilized, what about the army? Doesn’t Qincheng have garrison troops?”

At the mention of garrison troops, Qin Ya fell silent for a long while, frowning: “We lost contact with official forces the day the disaster struck. Since then, we’ve seen no military presence. They’re likely dead.”

The news chilled half the blood in Tian Fan and Yu Nuo’s veins.

“Enough. Don’t ask about anything else. Do you have any idea—any plan—to escape? Speak up!”

Yu Nuo and Tian Fan exchanged glances, both biting their lips and shaking their heads. They had no idea what to do—and now, hearing how dire things were, they were utterly lost.

Qin Ya wasn’t discouraged by their ignorance; he handed each of them a bottle of water.

“I know you’re terrified—but panic won’t help. Look at Sheng Qin Jiayuan: no water, no electricity, no gas. Every bit of supplies you use is one less. If you want to survive, you must escape!”

"I know you're all panicked, but panicking won't help—you've seen the state of Sheng Qin's homeland: no water, no electricity, no gas, every bit of supplies dwindling. If we want to survive, we must escape!"

After gulping down several swallows of water, Yu Nuo stammered.

“Auntie Yu, you’re silly—I already called him Uncle Qin. Of course his surname is Qin!”

At that moment, Liu Xuanyu walked over with a toy dump truck. With more people around, the boy was in better spirits. He went to Tian Fan’s side and said: “Brother Tian Fan, let’s play Three Kingdoms Flash!”

Tian Fan smiled helplessly: “You play by yourself, kid. I’ve got things to do.”

“Okay…” Liu Xuanyu walked off reluctantly.

“Qin… uh, Officer Qin.” Yu Nuo didn’t know how to address Qin Ya, so he picked a random title. “In this situation, shouldn’t we just stay home and wait for official forces to clear the zombies? Isn’t going out just causing trouble for them?”

Qin Ya said gravely: “On the day the disaster broke out, our unit lost all contact with official authorities. The situation was worse than any of us imagined. I hate to tell you this—but no official rescue is coming.”

Qin Ya said grimly, "On the day the disaster struck, our team lost contact with the authorities. The situation was far worse than any of us anticipated. I hate to deliver this bad news, but... no official rescue is coming!"

One shocking revelation after another left Yu Nuo and Tian Fan staring at each other in disbelief.

“Enough. You know enough. I’ll ask you one question: Do you want to live?”

Qin Ya wasn’t afraid of their ignorance—in fact, he preferred it. Novices were easier to lead than those burdened with prejudice.

Qin Ya didn't fear the two were novices; on the contrary, he preferred novices—they were far easier to lead than those burdened with prejudice.

“Of course!”

Yu Nuo and Tian Fan nodded frantically. All their earlier hopes had shattered. In an instant, they understood: their only chance of survival rested on this man named Qin.

“If you want to escape, you must strengthen your bodies and harden your will. From now on, you do exactly as I say. Understood?”

"If you want to escape, you must strengthen your body and harden your will. From now on, you will follow my orders without question—understood?"

Tian Fan and Yu Nuo’s expressions grew calmer. Having someone take charge was a relief.

“Good. I’ve made a plan. First, quickly recall what resources you still have at home…”

Qin Ya’s first priority was gathering supplies with Tian Fan and Yu Nuo—Liu’s family had barely enough food to last four people for two or three days.

“Yes, yes! Brother Qin, I’ve got plenty of food and drink downstairs!”

“Officer Qin, I don’t have much food, but I’ve got several cases of bottled water—just bought them.”

“Good. We’ll collect everything right away!”

Qin Ya acted swiftly—he decided to begin working under cover of night.

Qin Ya acted swiftly and immediately decided to begin working under cover of night.

“You’re sitting by the window in so little clothing—aren’t you cold? Don’t catch a chill now!”

Zheng Xinyu walked over to Zhang Su, placing her hand on his strong, firm arm.

“Calluses already in just a few days—you’ve been working hard.”

Zhang Su felt the roughness of her calluses against his skin, turned, and smiled at her. If he indulged in self-pity now, pretending to be a decorative ornament, his end would be grim.

Zheng Xinyu squeezed her palm, shrugged, and smiled: “No choice—I can’t afford to be delicate. Zombies don’t care about beauty. I don’t want to be a delivery girl!”

These past days, Zheng Xinyu had practiced swinging her baseball bat most—training during drills, and swinging it whenever she had spare moments. The heavy bat was both her weapon and her training tool.

These past few days, Zheng Xinyu had practiced swinging the bat most often—not just during training, but whenever she had a spare moment, she'd swing it a few times. The heavy bat was both her weapon and her training tool.

Zhang Su pinched her cheek affectionately. In this environment, only by fighting together could they survive—he didn’t need a doll.

Zheng Xinyu nodded firmly. She felt her own growth clearly: compared to her terror the first time she saw a zombie, she could now face them calmly. She believed that, if not ambushed, she could handle a single zombie in open combat.

At first, she’d considered hiding entirely behind Zhang Su’s protection—but putting herself in his shoes, she knew his nature: he’d know life mattered more than sex.

“Hey, didn’t there just come a flash of light from across the way?”

As she leaned against Zhang Su’s shoulder, lost in thought, she suddenly pointed forward.

“Yes.” Zhang Su pointed to Unit One of Building Four. “That special officer rescued the two men on the rooftop. He’s now leading them to scavenge supplies.”

Due to distance and walls, he couldn’t hear what was happening across, but he could infer from occasional sounds.

“Ah… the people on the other building were rescued? Special police undergo professional training—they really are different. They adapted so fast and started scavenging already.” Zheng Xinyu nodded approvingly.

Zhang Su smirked: “Special police are certainly skilled—but we’re not bad either. If we want, we can easily gather supplies from this unit. Have confidence!”

“Brother Su, how long do you think we can stay here?”

Zhong Xiaoshanjian walked over too, having heard about the scavenging across the way, and asked with feeling.

Zhang Su glanced down. More zombies had appeared between the two buildings. After the music stopped playing, the horde had scattered, and now zombies wandered slowly toward them.

“The ratio of food to water is off. With our current training, food will last at most ten days. Water’s more plentiful—we can stretch it to half a month.”

"The ratio of food to water is off. Under the condition of maintaining training effectiveness, food will last no more than ten days; water is more plentiful and can last up to half a month."

Zheng Xinyu asked, worried.

Zhang Su nodded: “We train every day now—food and water consumption has skyrocketed. You think we’re just sleeping and waiting to die? If we were, we could last a month and a half easy. But then what? Just die?”

After increasing training intensity, Zhang Su and the two women’s appetites surged—far beyond normal levels. Compared to low-consumption days, their current daily intake could have sustained them for three or four days if rationed.

“Yeah—if there were hope of rescue, we could endure. But now… clearly…” Zhong Xiaoshanjian shook her head, disappointed: “There’s no hope at all.”

“If you have objections to my plan, speak up. I worry I’ve missed something. Let’s pool our ideas—our only goal is survival!”

"If you have objections to my plan, speak up—I'm worried I might have overlooked something. Together, we'll pool our strength. Our only goal is survival!"

Zheng Xinyu raised her hand immediately: “Brother Su, I think—since we have so much water, could we spare a little for personal hygiene? Hehe.”

Zhong Xiaoshanjian quickly agreed: “Yes, Brother Su—we haven’t washed in days. You know, women’s health… bacteria can grow easily…”

“Cough! That’s a real issue. Fine—I’m granting each of you one bottle of water—half a liter. Enough?”

Zhang Su felt slightly embarrassed. Men’s hygiene was easy; women’s was trickier—but it couldn’t be ignored. If either got sick now, it’d be disastrous.

Zhang Su felt a slight awkwardness—men and women were different. His own hygiene was easy to manage, but hers was trickier. Yet this couldn't be ignored; if any problem arose now, it would be disastrous.

“Enough! Hehe, thanks, Brother Su!”

The two women beamed. Zheng Xinyu even kissed Zhang Su’s cheek, then dragged Zhong Xiaoshanjian away.

Zhang Su touched his slightly warm cheek, sighed with a smile: “Even in hardship, you’ve got to find joy—if not, what’s the point of surviving…?”

Surviving is the foundation—but you can’t just survive. When you live, you must try to be happy. You can endure hardship, but don’t seek it out. If you live forever in fear of the future, you lose the most precious thing: the present.

Surviving is fundamental, but one must not live merely to survive; when alive, one should strive to find joy—endure hardship, but do not seek it out; if one forever lives in fear of the future, they will lose the most precious thing: the present.

After silently watching the opposite side for a while, Zhang Su stopped paying attention to the SWAT team’s movements, tidied up slightly, and lay down on the bed.

In the pitch-black night, time passed slowly; he didn’t know how long he’d stared into space when a cool breeze slipped under the covers, followed by something soft and warm pressing against his body.

“Hm?”

Zhang Su’s eyebrow twitched—this sensation was clearly different from before. He turned his head in surprise: “How is it you?!”

His question carried astonishment.

Zhong Xiaoshanjian’s heart pounded hard. In the darkness, an invisible flush rose on her cheeks as she whispered weakly: “Brother Su, I—I came to warm your bed. Don’t reject me…”

Her frail voice carried a tone of pleading.

Zhang Su understood Zhong Xiaoshanjian’s motive: in the face of sudden disaster and desperate survival, the chance of living alone was nearly zero; to survive, she had to bind herself to him, and the ways to build a reliable bond were few.

“Do you think if you warm my bed, I’ll then risk everything to protect your life?”

Zhang Su rested his arm under his head, gazing at the woman so close beside him in the dim light.

Since accepting Zhong Xiaoshanjian into the team, he’d considered taking her—her demeanor and figure were both appealing, and his protection wouldn’t be so cheap—but he never expected her to come to him before he even spoke.

Zhong Xiaoshanjian stiffened at his question, forcing a nervous laugh: “I—I only ask that, within your ability, you don’t abandon me… I’ll work hard. I won’t hold you back!”

To survive, a frail woman could grow strong.

Zhang Su looked at Zhong Xiaoshanjian’s tag: [Decisive], [Grateful and Vengeful], [Mistress]. He silently shook his head, thinking: Mistress really is your fate…

The timing might not be right yet, but in such close quarters, if a man and woman never broke through that final layer of unspoken tension, it would always feel awkward.

Seeing Zhang Su remain silent, Zhong Xiaoshanjian thought he was hesitant, and whispered: “I… I talked it over with Sister Xinyu. She said as long as you’re willing, it’s fine.”

??

Zhang Su blurted: “When did you two discuss this?”

He was stunned—he hadn’t heard them say anything, and suspected Zhong Xiaoshanjian was lying!

I’m very happy to have made it onto the category’s featured recommendation. Many readers said the pacing was slow, so I’m adding more words—hope you readers enjoy it, and thank you all for your support.

(End of Chapter)