I glanced at the stone that had fallen to the ground, then turned my head and saw a figure in the second-floor window of the building on my right. The figure looked to be about twelve or thirteen years old. I looked at his hand and saw that the child had taken a second stone, placed it in the slingshot in his hand, and then pulled hard.

call out!

The second stone flew towards me!

I couldn't dodge in time and was hit in the chest by a stone, but it didn't hurt or itch.

"Yay!" The boy in the window was delighted to see the stone hit me.

"..." I was speechless at the scene before me.

Who is this little brat?

I looked up at the little kid in the window and saw him turn around and go back into the house.

"Hey, wait a minute!" I called out.

The boy who had just walked in stopped, turned around, and looked at me in surprise. "Hey, you're alive!"

I said, "Yes, I'm alive, child. Where are your parents?"

The child shook his head and said, "They went out, I don't know where they are."

"They went out?" I asked, looking at the child's dirty face. "How long have they been gone?"

The child shook his head. "I don't know. He went out a long time ago, saying he was going to buy me toys, but he hasn't come back yet."

They went out very early? It seems this child has been here for quite some time.

I then asked, "Little friend, what's your name?"

The child said, "My mom told me not to tell my name to strangers, so I can't tell you."

I nodded: "Okay, then I won't say. By the way, how long have you been here? Have you been alone the whole time?"

The child shook his head and said, "I don't know how long I've been here, but it feels like a very, very long time. Many people have come here, but then they left. I've been so bored lately."

Having stayed there for an unknown amount of time, it's reasonable to assume the child's parents wouldn't have abandoned him. Therefore, it's highly likely that the child's parents left before the zombie outbreak, and that they died outside, never to return.

As for the child, he has been waiting here all this time.

But I have a question: what will he do for food while he's waiting here?

Is it realistic for a twelve or thirteen-year-old child to come out alone looking for food?

I asked, "Little friend, do you have any food with you right now? Have you been out looking for food on your own these past few days?"

The child said, "Yes, I have plenty of food around me. I don't need to go out to look for it at all. Why would I go out? My parents told me to wait for them at home. What if they come back and can't find me if I go out?"

I was stunned when I heard that.

"So you haven't come out at all?"

The child nodded.

This surprised me a bit. A child who has never left home, even if there is plenty of food at home, it has been seven months since the zombie outbreak. Could it be that he still has seven months' worth of food at home?

This is obviously unrealistic; either the child is lying, or there's definitely something wrong with it.

At that moment, the child picked up a small stone and, taking advantage of my momentary lapse in concentration, pulled back the slingshot and hit me. It didn't hurt or itch at all; I didn't even feel anything.

I looked up at the child on the second floor with curiosity and asked, "Little friend, have you ever thought that your parents will never come back?"

The child shook his head decisively, "No, my parents told me before they went out that they would definitely come back, and they even called before telling me not to go out."

They even called, telling the child not to go out. It seems the child's parents are indeed dead.

So I asked, "Little friend, do you know what's happening outside?"

The child nodded decisively and said, "I know, a lot of people outside are dead, and a lot of people are fighting and eating each other. I used to see it from the window, but then there was no one outside, and I couldn't see anymore. Then a lot of people changed, and they couldn't hear my voice anymore. It's so strange. You're the first living person I've ever met."

I said, “Little friend, let me tell you, the outside world has completely changed. Many, many people have died, and not many people have survived. So your parents may also be dead. If you continue to stay here, you will starve to death after a long time when you have no food.”

The child didn't believe me and retorted, "My mom and dad aren't dead! How could they be dead? They're so young! And I have so much food here, I can't possibly eat it all!"

I gave a wry smile; it seemed this child was convinced his parents were still alive.

Oh dear, how am I supposed to explain this to this child?

Are we just going to let him stay here indefinitely?

In that case, he'll die sooner or later. Now that I've seen him, I can't just stand by and watch him die. I have to find a way to make this child believe me.

His parents are definitely dead, otherwise they wouldn't have stayed away until now.

I thought about it for a while and suddenly came up with a solution.

So he said, "Little friend, I bet you haven't been out playing at home for a long time, have you? Why don't you come out and play?"

The child wasn't having any of it and firmly refused, saying, "No, I don't want to go out to play! Mom and Dad say the people outside are bad people and I'll get kidnapped, I can't go down!"

I'm a little helpless; the child's parents have done a pretty good job raising him.

"Hey Lu Xiaonan, what are you standing there for? Come help me, I'm so heavy!"

Suddenly, Lu Yun's voice came.

I turned my head and looked at the child on the second floor, saying, "You wait here, I'll be right back."

After I finished speaking, the child on the second floor didn't say anything. I ran back to the entrance of the supermarket building. There were no zombies next to Lu Yun. I went to her side and helped her pick up the things in her hands. Upon closer inspection, I found that it really was a tent.

"Wow, that's amazing! They actually have a tent!"

Lu Yun said breathlessly, "You take it and put it away first. There are other things inside. I need to go get them."

I nodded and put the two tents into the pickup truck.

Not long after, Lu Yun brought out a cart full of food, all of which were foods that could be stored for a long time, mostly instant noodles and rice, as well as vacuum-packed and canned goods.

I helped her load everything into the car, and then said, "Lu Yun, I found a child over there. He seems to have been here for a long time. I plan to take him with me, otherwise he might starve to death if he stays here any longer."

"A child? How old?"

"He's about twelve or thirteen years old," I said.

"Twelve or thirteen years old? Big brother, that's a teenager!" Lu Yun said with a smile.

I was taken aback. "They're all the same. Come on, let's go take a look."

(End of this chapter)