Apocalypse Escape: Day One of Survival

Xie Ning hadn’t said a single word from start to finish. After kicking them out, she turned and left, her lips pressed tightly together.

But no one dared to make a sound. They could all sense that the young woman was absolutely furious.

Song Youzhi was desperately signaling to his older sister, Song You’ai, urging her to go talk to the young woman.

But Song You’ai was a coward herself. At a time like this, she would never dare to provoke her daughter, so she frantically shook her head and waved her hands at Song Youzhi.

Song Youzhi couldn’t help but roll his eyes. He wanted to scoff at his sister, but figured that wasn’t appropriate. Instead, he turned and started signaling frantically to his own daughter, Song Kexin.

Song Kexin pouted. Under the intense pressure of her father Song Youzhi’s gaze, she reluctantly rolled her eyes and trudged toward the living room.

A moment later, Song Kexin came running back out cheerfully, waving to the group standing awkwardly in the courtyard. ”Sis says we’re having a family meeting.”

She then turned to Ji Taixian, Xiao Huang Mao, and the other three. ”You guys wait here for a bit. After our family meeting is over, Sis has something to say to you, too.”

Song Youzhi sidled up to Song You’ai. ”Big Sis, my decades of life experience are telling me... meetings are never for good news.”

Song You’ai’s lips twitched. Torn between exasperation and amusement, she couldn’t help but feel a faint sense of worry.

The nine of them—the two elders of the Song Family, the three Song siblings, the third brother’s wife He Shuping, Song Kexin, Song Shijun, and Xie Ning—all sat in a circle around the sofa.

Except for the fourth sibling, Song Youxuan, and her family of three, three generations of the Old Song Family—old, middle, and young—were present.

Before Xie Ning could even speak, Song Kexin was the first to raise her hand. ”I think what Sis did was totally right! I’ve been putting up with them for a whole day and night!”

As she spoke of the six members of the He family, the young woman was filled with indignation.

”First, those people got the crazy idea to take over the fourth floor, where my two aunts and my sis live. When they were refused, they took over my youngest uncle and aunt’s bridal suite! What is wrong with them? Do they have any self-awareness as guests? They’re acting like this is their own house.”

”And those two brats! One’s nine and the other is ten, and they eat more than pigs!” When it came to food, Song Kexin’s resentment ran deep.

Those two little monsters were constantly rummaging through the kitchen, eating anything they could get their hands on. Luckily, she eventually hid all the food in her room and locked the door, saving it from their clutches.

”Kexin,” Song Youzhi chided, giving his daughter a subtle wink. ”Watch your mouth.”

Her youngest aunt-in-law, He Shuping, was so ashamed she looked like she wanted the ground to swallow her whole. She kept wringing her hands. ”I’m sorry, I’m sorry, everyone. It’s all my fault.”

”No, how could it be your fault?” Song Youzhi quickly consoled her. ”Shuping, don’t take it to heart. She’s just a kid who speaks her mind. She’s only upset because they got into her snacks.”

Song Kexin pouted and let out a small hmph.

’Adults are so two-faced,’ she thought. ’Dad was the one who complained the most to me about them!’

”I’ve called you all here to talk about this,” Xie Ning began, her face calm. She didn’t seem particularly angry or emotional, just narrating the facts with a cool head.

”As for the situation outside, I’m sure my youngest uncle and aunt saw it very clearly on their way back.”

Her youngest uncle, Song Youyi, nodded, his eyes grave behind his glasses.

”We faced a lot of danger bringing Junjun back from Su City. The zombie virus is constantly mutating. We encountered a Mouse-man.” Xie Ning proceeded to tell her family everything that had happened, leaving out no detail.

She didn’t embellish the story or play up any heroic feats, just gave a straightforward account of the facts they had witnessed firsthand.

This was how ordinary people survived in a world that had become a hellscape.

Her youngest aunt-in-law, He Shuping, hugged her son tightly and turned to Xie Ning, her face filled with endless gratitude. ”Ningning, I’m truly, incredibly grateful to you.”

”I... I really don’t know what to say.”

Old Mrs. Song smiled and wiped her eyes. ”Shuping, we’re all family; there’s no need for such words. I believe Ningning did this entirely for her little cousin. It shows the deep bond between them. We, the older generation, should be proud and happy.”

”Yes, yes,” He Shuping agreed, nodding emphatically through her tears.

”I need everyone to recognize the gravity of the current situation.” Xie Ning took a deep breath, opened her phone, and showed her family some of the desolate landscapes she had filmed along the way, including the footage of the Mouse-man being burned on the spot.

”If you’re still dreaming that this chaos is temporary, that things will slowly stabilize and get better, I advise you to get rid of that idea right now.”

”The biggest challenge we face right now is the scarcity of food and other daily necessities.”

”It might not be obvious in the next couple of days, but what about in three days? Or five? Or a week from now?”

”Before we can move to a safe zone, I need everyone’s help to defend our home!” Xie Ning said calmly. ”The first step is to stop letting just any random person in.”

”Okay.” Recognizing the gravity of the situation, everyone nodded in agreement.

Her youngest uncle, Song Youyi, looked ashamed. ”This is all my fault. I should have lost them on the road.”

Song Yaoguo was exasperated. ”What good would that do? It’s not like they don’t know the address of the Song Family Pavilion.”

”This whole thing is hardest on Shuping, being caught in the middle,” Song You’ai sighed, taking her sister-in-law’s hand and patting it. ”Ah, Shuping, you’re so soft-hearted. Your family has been taking advantage of you for years.”

”Even if it’s just for Junjun’s sake, you have to stand up for yourself now!”

”Listen to Ningning. When we’re really short on food and clothes later on, are you really going to take from Junjun’s share to provide for your spoiled, demanding siblings?”

He Shuping’s face flushed beet-red. ”Big Sis, I... I know. I’ll change, Big Sis.”

Xie Ning wasn’t familiar with the He Family. She only saw them once a year at the reunion dinner hosted by her youngest uncle, and they would occasionally exchange greetings.

She had no desire to discuss the He family’s drama, so she changed the subject. ”Uncle, what’s the deal with that torn half-quilt on our iron gate?”

The mention of this made Song Youzhi laugh with exasperation. ”Who else could it be but that bizarre brother-and-sister pair from across the way?”

”Ningning, that Li Dawei, he awakened a Strength Ability! And Li Xiang, I think she awakened some kind of superpower too. Your uncle couldn’t figure out what it was.”

”They used a quilt to climb over the gate?” Xie Ning asked, looking at her uncle Song Youzhi in confusion.

”Yeah! I have no idea what they were thinking. They got it hung up there and couldn’t get down. This was just last night. Oh, you have no idea, it was absolute chaos!”

Yesterday afternoon, they had been pleasantly surprised to see their youngest brother and his wife return. But before they could even celebrate, the He Family gave the Old Song Family a huge shock.

Then, at night, the Li Dawei siblings tried to sneak over the gate again. But they overestimated their own abilities and couldn’t get past the Metal Spikes. They ended up hanging on the gate, tangled up in the quilt.

”Those two were up there on the gate, wailing louder than zombies,” Song Youzhi said with a look of disgust.