Chapter 13 Gu Lanjuan

Before evening, all residents had retreated to their homes, and both the bustling city center and the vibrant urban villages had fallen silent.

After dark, things were still normal in Zone D, but gradually a few families couldn't wait any longer and started cooking.

Gu Lanjuan, who lives downstairs from Lin Xi, does the same thing. She pours vegetables with water droplets into the oil pan with a "sizzle" sound, which is the clanging sound of the spatula hitting the pan.

As Lin Xi listened to the sounds, she could almost smell the cooking fumes.

Looking at the refrigerator full of food, she began to think about what to have for dinner.

Suddenly, a shout came from downstairs: "Are you trying to get yourself killed? Cooking so loudly, aren't you afraid of attracting zombies?"

It seems they're criticizing Gu Lanjuan.

Gu Lanjuan, a sociable woman who knew many people in the area, was unwilling to be insulted for nothing. She opened the window and yelled back, "They haven't come yet, have they? Aren't you afraid of attracting the zombies by shouting so loudly?"

After a brief argument, neither of them could do anything about the other. Gu Lanjuan continued cooking, and seeing that she had almost finished making four dishes and a soup, other people in the other households gradually started cooking as well.

In an instant, this place transformed back into the vibrant urban village it once was.

Lin Xi shook her head. She knew that the zombies would only attack District D after midnight, so cooking at that time wouldn't really have any impact.

So she picked out a few vegetables from the refrigerator, made herself a chicken soup, and stir-fried a dish of dish number five.

This is enough for one person.

After finishing her meal, she took a relaxing shower. Having learned from her previous life, she knew what would happen at what time, so she stopped paying attention to her phone and instead watched some variety shows to unwind before going to sleep.

Lin Xi was woken up again by screams in the middle of the night, but she didn't get up. She stayed in bed listening to the commotion outside.

Gradually, the screams outside stopped. Lin Xi knew that the living people outside had probably turned into zombies, and there were only the sounds of zombie footsteps on the road.

Lin Xi fell asleep again and slept until she naturally woke up, close to noon.

A few zombies roamed the streets sparsely. Lin Xi knew that her old apartment building wasn't well soundproofed, so she quietly washed up.

Since she couldn't make any noise, Lin Xi heated up the chicken soup in the refrigerator, boiled the cabbage in salt water, and steamed two lion's head meatballs for lunch.

The entire D district was quiet that day, and no one dared to venture out into the streets.

The sound of a cup shattering came from a resident's home on the first floor, which immediately attracted several zombies from the surrounding area to crowd around it. The old blue glass was very brittle, and the zombies smashed it with a few punches. Unfortunately, the house did not have security bars on the windows, so the zombies climbed in without any hindrance.

The house had extremely poor soundproofing; screams for help could be heard coming from inside, but then silence fell shortly afterward.

Lin Xi saw the whole thing through the gap in the curtains, unaware of how many other people were secretly watching like her.

After witnessing a family make too much noise and attract zombies, no one dared to cook, and everyone lived in fear.

Lin Xi's phone kept receiving messages, so she browsed forums to pass the time.

The Big Eyes blog crashed several times, but after it was finally fixed, Lin Xi learned about the situation outside from the perspective of a living person:

So far, only Nanhua has been found to be infected with zombies. Nanhua was locked down at 2 pm yesterday, highway entrances were closed, and people who left Nanhua and had records of entering or leaving the city within the past two days were also quarantined in military-guarded areas to prevent further mutations.

Nanhua is in turmoil both internally and externally.

The riots in South China drew everyone's attention, and people in other cities also began to panic. People rushed into supermarkets and looted indiscriminately, causing prices to soar. The zombies hadn't even arrived yet, but people's hearts were already in chaos.

At this time, people's hearts are hard to control, and even if the relevant departments step in to suppress them, they cannot control the merchants who privately raise prices.

After all, it's a matter of survival, and everyone is worried that if they don't stockpile supplies now, the situation will eventually become one where there are goods but no market for them.

Lin Xi's house was dark; the lights hadn't been turned on all day, and they didn't even dare to open the curtains. Even abundant survival supplies couldn't ward off the gloomy atmosphere of impending doom.

-

On the fourth day of the zombie outbreak, many people had run out of ammunition and food, and posted SOS messages on social media asking for supplies.

Since most people haven't experienced the apocalypse, and in this lifestyle that emphasizes green and healthy eating, most households don't keep a lot of fresh vegetables and meat.

It's not unusual to have rice, since rice is usually bought in bags, and one bag can last a family a long time.

But the streets are full of zombies, and no relevant departments have come out to clear them. People are inevitably worried that this zombie outbreak will last a long time and that sooner or later they will run out of food.

By the fifth day, some people were getting restless. Those who had run out of food were gradually losing strength and decided that rather than waiting to starve to death at home in two or three days, they should take a gamble while they still had the strength. They learned survival skills from movies to evade zombies and search for supplies.

However, most people had no martial arts background, and coupled with panic, the majority died at the hands of zombies, and very few managed to find supplies.

That night, Lin Xi was watching TV in her room to pass the time when she suddenly heard a very soft knock on the door.

She immediately became alert—she had lived alone for many years after her parents' death, had few friends, and hardly interacted with her neighbors. Who would knock on her door late at night at this time?

She turned down the volume on the tablet and waited to see what would happen.

The knocking continued, the sound low and deliberately suppressed.

Lin Xi carefully searched her memory, recalling that on the fifth night of her previous life, Gu Lanjuan seemed to have gone out to borrow supplies, but she knocked on the door next door...

She tiptoed to the door, peeked through the peephole, and saw that the person standing outside was none other than Gu Lanjuan.

Five days had passed, and this outspoken middle-aged woman had lost weight and looked haggard. She glanced around and whispered into the doorway:

"Xiao Xi, Auntie knows you're home. Please open the door and help Auntie!"

Lin Xi understood; they must have come to ask for food.

She remembered that Gu Lanjuan died on the fifth night in her previous life because she couldn't borrow supplies and was sensed by the motion-activated light in the stairwell. A zombie that was already wandering downstairs chased the light source upstairs.

Gu Lanjuan didn't have time to return to her own home. Seeing the zombies getting closer and closer, she banged on the door next door for help. The sound of banging and the light attracted more zombies.

The neighbors naturally refused to open the door, and Lin Xi wouldn't open it under those circumstances either. The result was that Gu Lanjuan was devoured in the stairwell, her screams utterly horrific.

The concrete stairwell was covered with bits of flesh, and dark red blood spread downwards, the stench of blood drawing the zombies to linger in the stairwell for a long time.

Lin Xi shook her head, trying to shake off the bloody images from her mind.

Seeing that she wouldn't open the door, Gu Lanjuan outside pleaded desperately, "You told me a few days ago that you wanted to buy more vegetables, did you buy a lot? Can you lend me some?"

"..." It turned out that his previous advice had caught Gu Lanjuan's attention.

Lin Xi hesitated.

It was pitch black outside, the motion-activated lights weren't on yet, and Gu Lanjuan's voice wasn't loud either.

I don't think it will attract zombies anytime soon.

But opening the door is still too dangerous.

Seeing her hesitation, Gu Lanjuan outside the door continued to plead in a low voice: "Auntie has a little grandson at home, Lei Bao is starving."

"..." It sounds a bit pitiful.

Gu Lanjuan played the emotional card: "Xiao Xi, do you remember when you were little, your parents would come home late from get off work and you had no food to eat, so your auntie would cook wontons for you..."

Lin Xi did have a vague memory of Gu Lanjuan kindly helping her a few times when her parents had just passed away. She wavered.

She leaned close to the door and said in a very low voice, "Aunt Gu, you should go home first. Be careful that the lights don't attract zombies. I'll bring you some food later."

Gu Lanjuan, standing outside the door, immediately breathed a sigh of relief and asked happily, "Hey~ where are you going to pass it from?"

Lin Xi thought for a moment. There was no way to open the door. Not to mention what if zombies suddenly rushed in, even if the whole room full of stored grain was seen, it would attract covetous eyes.

"The window, I'll lower it down for you with a rope."

Because Lin Xi lives alone, every window in her house has security bars, which provides a certain level of security. She simply handed her a packet of instant noodles and wrote a note:

"Auntie, I'm out of stock too. This is the last package. I heard a relief team is coming to distribute supplies soon."

In her previous life, Lin Xi died on her way to collect supplies. She didn't know about Gu Lanjuan's family. Perhaps they left earlier and got the supplies safely home, or perhaps they died in the riots like her.

If Gu Lanjuan is lucky enough to receive supplies and return home safely before the zombies attack the rescue team, she will be able to save her life.