Chapter 79 The Current Dilemma
Lin Xi felt a warmth in her heart.
Someone cares about her.
Since her parents passed away, she has become accustomed to being alone, not contacting relatives, nor making close friends with her peers. She finishes her studies in an orderly manner and drifts along aimlessly, doing manual labor.
No one cared about her, and no one cared about her either.
Having witnessed the ugliness of humanity after the zombie outbreak, Lin Xi never expected that the only people in the world who still cared about her were Gu Yixuan and Yu Shiyun.
Lin Xi typed a few words, deleted them, and started over. She still didn't know how to respond to this distant kindness, so she finally clicked on the video call button.
This was a very unfamiliar operation for her; she had almost never initiated a video call before.
The call was disconnected after the personalized ringtone had only rung for a few seconds.
Lin Xi was not surprised, and even regretted that she should have sent a text message first.
Gu Yixuan was abroad, but she didn't specify which country. Lin Xi didn't know how many time zones she was in.
After putting down her phone, Lin Xi turned on the air conditioner in the room and the heater in the bathroom, preparing to take a good shower.
Her hair wasn't long yet, just past her earlobes, making it very easy to wash and drying in half the time.
After cleaning up and changing into clean clothes, Lin Xi was still surprised and saddened by her appearance in front of the mirror.
She looked emaciated in the mirror. Due to not seeing the sun for several months and recovering from a serious injury, her skin was abnormally pale, and her short hair was extremely ugly, as if it had been chewed by a dog.
When Lin Xi hid in the basement and suffered a serious injury and high fever, she had no energy to wash her hair and couldn't stand her long hair getting oilier and oilier, so she had to cut it off.
She was never good at cutting hair to begin with, let alone when she was exhausted and using her less dexterous left hand, so naturally the cut didn't look good.
But she quickly came to terms with it—
It's good that she's alive; no one else has seen her anyway.
She was thinking this without realizing that someone was about to meet her.
Lin Xi nestled in the warm, air-conditioned room, grabbing some snacks and drinks from nearby and indulging in them.
The food was terrible during the five months underground, and it's been a long time since I've had such flavorful snacks.
Pour on all sorts of things like braised chicken legs, potato chips, spicy strips, and fresh shrimp chips, and then have a cup of sweet U-Love-Me milk tea. The feeling of happiness spreads from your mouth into your body.
Because she couldn't use her right hand, Lin Xi couldn't simultaneously eat snacks and play with her phone, so she could only focus on enjoying her food.
The phone screen lit up and lit up, and Lin Xi instinctively knew that Gu Yixuan had sent a message.
She wanted to finish eating before going back.
But the young lady obviously couldn't wait and made a video call directly.
Lin Xi took out a tissue to wipe her hands and answered the video call.
Gu Yixuan's voice came out first: "You're still alive!"
The signal was weak, and the picture only became clear after a while.
Yu Shiyun and Gu Yixuan appeared in the picture at the same time. Their faces were not much different from what Lin Xi remembered. They were still beautiful and had a healthy rosy glow.
Both faces showed surprise when they saw the screen clearly.
Gu Yixuan asked in surprise, "Are you really me?"
Lin Xi had already seen herself in this "ghostly" state, so she wasn't surprised when Gu Yixuan said this. Instead, she shrugged and replied, "Oh, what else?"
Hearing her own voice, Lin Xi felt a sense of unfamiliarity.
She hasn't spoken in a long time.
Gu Yixuan curled her lip: "Tch, not a word for over half a year. They just called out of the blue and almost ruined our plans."
Lin Xi: "What good news? What were you guys doing just now?"
She remembered that zombie outbreaks had occurred overseas, and if they had been fleeing for their lives, the sudden ringing of the bell could have been deadly.
Yu Shiyun joined the conversation with a smile: "Are you alright? How come we haven't heard from you for half a year, and you've become like this?"
It's hard not to worry about Lin Xi, who looks like she's seriously ill.
But where to begin? She didn't like to recall the pain that had just passed, and before she could even speak, Gu Yixuan had already begun to agree:
"Yeah, yeah, I heard your house is very safe and has solar charging equipment, so you shouldn't have lost contact. And what happened to your hair..."
The sudden barrage of questions made Lin Xi's ears itch, but she suddenly felt her vitality return.
She answered succinctly, "I was injured and it took a long time to treat."
Gu Yixuan: "Even if you're injured, you won't be able to go without internet for months..."
Yu Shiyun changed the subject: "Are you alright now?"
"Um."
After a brief greeting, they exchanged recent news, both domestic and international, about zombies and about people.
However, they simply replied "It's okay" when asked about their respective situations.
After hanging up the phone, Lin Xi went on Weibo to learn about what had happened in the past five months.
There are no more trending topics on Weibo, and each topic has very few participants.
Nearly ten months have passed since the zombie outbreak last May. The population has dwindled, the living conditions for survivors have become increasingly harsh, and very few people still have the opportunity to go online.
The official message changed from conscription to calling on everyone to take refuge in the nearest underground base.
Netizens have very different opinions about the underground base.
"The underground base has internet and electricity, and is protected by armed forces. Everyone, come quickly."
"Don't go! They confiscated my luggage and money."
"Upstairs, the base provides you with a safe home. What's wrong with you handing over some supplies?"
"Exactly, if you were still at home, you would have run out of food and internet long ago. How dare you complain like this?"
“I have solar panels, and I’m doing just fine at home. The base sent people to confiscate my solar panels and then reassigned me to do infrastructure work. What do you mean by that?”
"SOS! Don't come to the base!!! They're eating people!!!"
"Someone is using the base's name to collect supplies, but they are actually a private mercenary group. Everyone be very careful!"
The netizen who said the base was a place of murder and cannibalism has not appeared since he said that, and it is unknown whether he is still alive.
In this apocalyptic world, death comes very suddenly.
Opinions on the base are mixed.
Lin Xi couldn't help but think of Yang Yicheng. At first, she thought Yang Yicheng was sent by the authorities to clear out the zombies, but she realized she was wrong when Yang Yicheng raised his gun and tried to shoot her.
According to netizens, in a post-apocalyptic world where order has collapsed, killing for survival is no longer a big deal.
Some people establish new rules by relying on their own force or manpower, just like mountain kings who occupy mountains and do not obey official orders, but have the power of life and death over ordinary civilians.
Yang Yicheng probably leans towards the latter.
Domestic survivors have found ways to survive the zombie apocalypse. Like Lin Xi, zombies are no longer the biggest threat to them; the biggest threat has become their own kind who harbor malice.
Meanwhile, a large-scale zombie outbreak is occurring overseas, and soon people will also face a situation of social unrest.
After reading these messages, Lin Xi felt that the end of the apocalypse was a long way off.
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