Chapter 171: Story Continues.
Even though she was tired, her mind stayed active. Images from the past two days kept flashing through her head. The hospital full of blood. The zombies chasing people in the streets.
Yan Cijin holding LiLi protectively. LiLi hugging her leg and calling her auntie in that sweet childish voice.
Thinking about the little girl somehow made Bai Liβs expression soften.
LiLi really was very cute.
The child had only met her briefly, yet she already trusted her so openly. Bai Li had never been especially good with children before the apocalypse. She always felt children were noisy and troublesome. But LiLi was different. Maybe it was because the little girl was obedient and affectionate. Maybe it was because LiLiβs eyes were too clean and innocent in this terrifying world.
Bai Li slowly closed her eyes.
She did not know how long she slept, but when she woke up, it was already past four in the afternoon.
The room had become brighter again from the afternoon sunlight shining through the curtains. Bai Li sat up slowly and rubbed her eyes. Sleeping this long actually made her body feel lighter. Her hands still hurt, but the pain had reduced a little compared to yesterday.
She got out of bed, walked into the kitchen, poured herself a glass of water, and drank most of it in one breath. The cold water helped wake her up properly. Then she carried the glass back to her bedroom and sat down in front of her computer.
The first thing she did was check the surveillance footage installed around the building.
Several small screens lit up at once, showing different floors and corners of Building 9. Bai Li carefully observed each camera feed. Soon, she noticed that several new zombies had entered the stairwell since yesterday. One zombie was wandering aimlessly near the second floor emergency stairs while another stood motionless beside the elevator doors on the fifth floor. Bringing the total number of zombies roaming Building 9 to seven.
Bai Li frowned slightly.
That number was already dangerous enough. If ordinary survivors accidentally opened their apartment doors at the wrong moment, they could die immediately. Thankfully, the zombies still moved relatively slowly unless stimulated by sound.
Bai Li then checked the surveillance footage outside the building entrance. There were even more zombies outside now than before. Some wandered near the parking area while others slowly drifted across the small community square. The neighborhood was as quiet as if no one was alive. No children playing. No elderly people chatting downstairs. No cars moving. No sounds from televisions through open windows. The silence was so complete that it almost felt unreal.
After turning off the surveillance, Bai Li leaned back slightly in her chair and opened the news online instead.
The internet was still functioning for now, although much slower than before. News reports flooded every platform. Apart from Country A, other countries were basically in the same situation. Cities had been overrun by zombies, and some cities had even completely lost internet access. There were videos of military evacuations, videos of crowded refugee shelters, videos of streets covered in abandoned vehicles. Some reports claimed the infection had already spread worldwide.
Bai Li quietly scrolled through everything.
Many people online were already losing hope. Some begged for rescue while others cursed the government. There were also rumors everywhere. Some claimed the zombies evolved overnight. Others claimed infected people could still recover during early stages. Nobody knew what was true anymore.
Bai Li sighed softly.
She did not know how long the internet in Jinghua City could last. Once the water, electricity, and internet were cut off, the real apocalypse would begin. Right now, many people still depended on modern systems to survive. But once those systems failed completely, things would become far uglier.
And that was not even the worst part.
If the septic tank was not cleaned properly, the sewage system would become unusable within days. Once toilets stopped working, the smell alone would become unbearable. Entire apartment buildings would turn disgusting very quickly. Hygiene problems would spread disease even without zombies.
Fortunately, Bai Li had already prepared in advance.
She had installed a water circulation system in her apartment long before the apocalypse began. At that time, she only thought it was a fun emergency preparation project. Now it became one of the smartest decisions she had ever made. As long as she sealed the drains in the living room and bathroom with a glue gun, then sealed the kitchen drain too, it should not become a big problem for her.
Thinking about this made Bai Li feel slightly more relaxed.
At least she still had enough supplies to survive comfortably for a while.
Bai Li was not too hungry in the afternoon, but her hand was injured, so she could not skip meals. Injured bodies needed nutrition to recover faster. She walked into the kitchen again and searched through her supplies. Soon she found a cup of instant noodles and a can of luncheon meat.
She opened the can carefully, then used a small knife to cut the luncheon meat into tiny cubes. The salty smell immediately spread through the kitchen. Bai Li poured all the meat into the noodles before boiling water in the kettle.
While waiting, she leaned lightly against the counter and stared outside the kitchen window. The apartment was quiet again. Sometimes she could hear faint zombie growls drifting from downstairs, but otherwise the whole building stayed silent.
Soon the water finished boiling.
Bai Li poured the hot water into the noodles and closed the lid. Steam slowly rose upward carrying the familiar smell of instant noodles through the room.
A few minutes later, she opened the cup.
Whether it was psychological or not, Bai Li felt that the instant noodles tasted better now than before the apocalypse. Maybe it was because food suddenly became precious after society collapsed. Or maybe it was because hot food brought a sense of comfort people usually ignored during peaceful times.
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TO BE CONTINUED.
