Apocalypse Escape: Day One of Survival

"Jia Min, give it a rest!" Zhai Ruobai said with exasperation, batting her hand away. He took the tablet to the car and handed it in to Gu Chen.

"Hey, what’s your problem? We finally made it to Golden City Base in one piece. Can’t I be happy about it?" Feng JiaMin protested loudly. "I don’t care, you all have to drink with me tonight! We’re not going home ’til we’re drunk!"

"See? I told you we should’ve had Pete fly the plane over. You all insisted the skies weren’t safe. What’s so unsafe about them? You’re all just being overly cautious."

"We were delayed on the road for three or four days, and it left everyone a complete wreck. And you won’t even let a girl be happy now that we’ve finally made it to the base!"

Gu Chen turned a deaf ear to Feng JiaMin’s incessant chattering. His long fingers quickly flipped to the last few pages, where Xie Ning’s name was listed prominently in the first row of the Superpower User section.

A Fourth-Rank Gold Element Superpower User—it was impossible for her not to be at the top of the list.

Following that was information on her family members and her address.

Gu Chen’s fingertip traced the line with the address: Courtyard 58, Central District, Golden City Ancient Town.

"Head to Number 58 in the Central District," Gu Chen said, his deep voice ringing out as he reached to hand the tablet back to Zhai Ruobai.

"Chen, wait up!" Zhai Ruobai scurried over to return the tablet, exchanging a few pleasantries with the smiling Left Base Commander.

He then turned and ran to their own jeep, shaking off Feng JiaMin, who was clinging to him. "Hey, Jia Min, aren’t you here with your brother for an inspection? You should get back to work. Stop following us."

"Hey, Er Bai! Er Bai!" Feng JiaMin stomped her foot in frustration as she watched him jump into the car and slam on the accelerator without another word.

The elegantly dressed Mo Wanrong walked up, tucking a strand of her beautiful hair behind her left ear. "What’s wrong, Ms. Jia Min?"

"I have no idea what those guys are plotting. They’re being so secretive and cagey," Feng JiaMin said irritably. "They hide everything from me. Do they even consider me one of the boys?"

"Jia Min, don’t be so rowdy," a man’s deep voice sounded from behind her.

Mo Wanrong turned, gave the newcomer a slight, smiling nod. "Feng."

Feng Lijian nodded in return and walked over to Mo Wanrong and Feng JiaMin. "Alright, let’s get in the car. The Base Commander said he’s going to give us a quick tour of the ancient town."

"Then he’ll arrange our accommodations so we can get settled in. Everything else can wait."

Feng JiaMin pouted. "This base is so tiny. What’s there to even see? It’s not even one-thousandth the size of the Capital!"

"Don’t say that. Golden City Base was one of the very first safe zones to be established. Its potential for future development is surely not to be underestimated."

"Whatever. No place is as good as the Capital. I really don’t get why Chen and his crew came all the way out to Golden City."

Feng Lijian frowned. "You stick your nose too far into Chen’s business. Just do your own job and stop trying to meddle in other people’s affairs."

"How is this meddling?!" Feng JiaMin yelled. "We’re practically family! There’s nothing wrong with showing a little concern, is there?"

Feng Lijian was speechless. Looking at his sister’s tomboyish behavior, he sighed, "Jia Min, you’re a girl! Could you please try to act a little more feminine?"

"Alright, alright, I’m done talking to you. Let’s go, get in the car."

Meanwhile, Gu Chen’s group, unfamiliar with the Golden City Ancient Town, circled the central district twice before finally finding the courtyard home belonging to Xie Ning’s family.

The group parked on the roadside. Just as they were climbing out of the car, they happened to see He Shuping come out with a large bag of garbage.

He Shuping froze for a moment, then let out a surprised "Oh my!" With the garbage bag still in hand, she turned and ran back into the house. "Sis, Sis! Mom, Xiao Gu and his group are here!"

...

"ACHOO." Xie Ning rubbed her nose and pulled the blanket tighter around herself.

Song Kexin reached up to adjust the air conditioning vent, then turned to her with a wide grin. "Sis, were you asleep?"

"I wasn’t asleep." Xie Ning pulled at her blanket, feeling so comfortable she just wanted to stretch.

’Captain Zuo is so extravagant, he’s actually running the AC!’

"And you say you weren’t asleep? The car stopped twice, and everyone got out to clear zombies. Did you even notice?"

Xie Ning gave her sister a deadpan look. "Where are we?"

She glanced at the phone tucked in her pocket. It was 2:15 in the afternoon.

Her Satellite Bracelet vibrated again. Xie Ning opened the message tab to check.

So many messages...

Zhai Ruobai: Help me, Sis! Where are you now?

Gu Chen: !

Followed by a long string of "!"

The last message: Where are you?

The corner of Xie Ning’s mouth twitched. She was debating whether to send back a smiley face.

Just then, Lu Wei sent her a photo.

In the picture, the handsome man’s face was taut and sullen, his lips pressed into a thin, straight line.

Then, Zhai Ruobai sent another photo.

It showed Tu Hou squatting in a corner with his head in his hands, only his pitiful-looking back visible.

Xie Ning raised her wrist, scanned the surrounding landscape through the car window, and quickly sent her coordinates.

Gu Chen’s reply was simple and clear, just one word: Wait!

Xie Ning hesitated for a moment before asking her sister, "If someone messages you all the time, does that mean they’re trying to pursue you?"

"That depends on who’s sending the messages," Song Kexin replied with a serious expression.

"If it’s from someone you hate, then it’s just harassment! Super annoying. You just block them."

"I... don’t dislike them, I don’t think," Xie Ning said quietly.

"If you don’t dislike them, then it depends on whether the person is a guy or a girl, and what they’re actually writing."

"If it’s just pointless small talk, like ’Have you eaten?’ or ’Are you asleep?’, then they’re definitely not trying to pursue you," Song Kexin said with the air of an expert, waving her hand dismissively.

"Then what are they trying to do?" Xie Ning asked, looking like a curious child, humbly seeking instruction.

For the first time, Song Kexin felt that she cut a rather impressive figure in front of her clueless older sister.

"Isn’t it obvious?" Song Kexin scrunched up her face and banged her fist as if delivering a final verdict. "They’re just bored and texting randomly to mess with you."

"It’s definitely not genuine! They’re probably just trying to get you to a cheap motel for a quick, casual hookup!"

Xie Ning’s face went taut and expressionless, the corners of her mouth drooping. She casually sent a reply to Gu Chen.

One word.

"Scram!"

Accompanied by an angry emoji.

’Ningning replied!’

Over on the other side, Lu Wei, Zhai Ruobai, a group of teammates, along with Song You’ai and He Shuping, were all crowded around Gu Chen, seven or eight heads huddled together, craning to see.

Gu Chen stared, completely dumbfounded, at the angry emoji Xie Ning had sent.

He felt inexplicably flustered.

The word "Scram!" magnified in his vision, growing larger and larger until it transformed into a thunderbolt that CRASHED down on his head!

Startled, Gu Chen leaped up from the sofa and bolted outside in a few quick strides.

’What’s going on?’

"Chen," Zhai Ruobai called out, pulling Lu Wei as they rushed out after him.

’We’re so screwed. What did Chen do?’

’The little miss was perfectly fine just a moment ago, sending us her location. How did she send an angry face less than three seconds later?’

"Hey, Xiao Gu, you guys, slow down!" Grandma Song and the others ran to the doorway, but they only caught a glimpse of the car’s rear disappearing into the distance.

Everyone looked at each other, completely baffled.