Surviving the Apocalypse with the Young Miss - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Preparation

Over the past ten days, Song Ge had maintained a habit of recording the outside activities: “when the monsters are most active,” “when they are intermittent,” and “when they are quietest.” This data was intended to be the primary basis for choosing the best window of time to make their escape.

However, her notebook recorded specific times. With the phone dead, no clock in the basement, and the window obstructed, the value of that data was severely diminished. They could only estimate the time based on Song Ge’s internal biological clock combined with the sounds from outside.

Beyond that, there was another crucial step.

Song Ge tore away the newspaper.

Tong Xiangyu didn’t understand why she was doing this so suddenly.

“Look at it first,” Song Ge said. “Get used to it.”

“What do you mean?” Tong Xiangyu was confused. When her eyes adjusted and she saw the slurry of rotting flesh crawling with countless maggots right outside the glass, her stomach churned. She clutched her mouth and bolted for the bathroom.

Even in her panic, she remembered the water was cut. She didn’t vomit into the toilet; instead, she ran back out, grabbed an empty potato chip bag, and heaved into it. Having eaten little that morning, she only brought up bitter stomach acid.

Song Ge was prepared. She handed her an open bottle of mineral water.

Tong Xiangyu took it, rinsed her mouth, and said weakly, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Song Ge said. “Feeling better?”

“Mhm.”

“Then keep looking.”

Tong Xiangyu: “?” Song Ge, have a heart!

Song Ge looked down at her. “You asked why I wouldn’t let you see the situation outside. This is why. I was afraid you’d lose your appetite.”

Tong Xiangyu felt aggrieved. “So you’re getting back at me…”

“You’re overthinking it,” Song Ge replied. “If we’re going to break out, you have to adapt to these visuals. When it’s a matter of life and death out there, there won’t be time for you to vomit.”

But Tong Xiangyu found it impossible to adapt. Especially since Song Ge, wanting her to see clearly, made her hold the candle close to the glass. Every time she saw the writhing maggots, her skin crawled and her stomach reacted. After vomiting no fewer than three times, she was so weak she could only lie on the bed, unable to get up.

They still had a few days. Song Ge didn’t expect the Young Mistress to adapt in a single day, but she didn’t tape the newspaper back up.

Tong Xiangyu turned her back to Song Ge, her voice weak and full of misery. “Even if we run, I won’t be staring at things that disgusting. I’ll just pretend I don’t see them. Why do I have to do this?”

“This is only a part of it,” Song Ge said. “Outside, the streets are paved with corpses and severed limbs. It’s much worse.”

“I just won’t look,” Tong Xiangyu insisted, pouting. “There were so many monsters that day, and they were scary and gross too, but I didn’t vomit then.”

“Because you were mentally prepared?”

“Yes.” Tong Xiangyu turned around to face her. “Don’t worry, I won’t drag you down. If I really freeze up, don’t worry about me. Just leave me and run. You’re fast, anyway.”

Song Ge raised an eyebrow, sensing a hint of lingering blame for the time she had run away at school without saving anyone.

Tong Xiangyu immediately frowned with regret; she hadn’t meant it that way. Spending time with Song Ge was making her too blunt. She tried again: “What I mean is, I’m grateful you saved me at school. If not for you, I’d have died in that classroom and turned. You’ve already helped me so much; I don’t want to get you killed at the critical moment. So if something goes wrong during the escape, don’t hesitate. Don’t feel guilty afterward.”

“After all,” Tong Xiangyu continued, “we’re just classmates. You’ve been more than kind to me. I definitely won’t blame you.”

Song Ge thought for a moment and suddenly asked, “Don’t you want me to take you home?”

Tong Xiangyu froze.

“If you can run out with me,” Song Ge said, “I’ll take you home.”

Tong Xiangyu looked at Song Ge. With her back to the candlelight, her expression was obscured, but Tong Xiangyu was moved. After these days together, she knew how much Song Ge hated making promises—but if she said she’d do something, she did it.

However, Tong Xiangyu felt a pang of bitterness. “In this situation, I don’t even know if my parents are still at home.”

“Then if you can run out with me,” Song Ge added, “I’ll take you to find them.”

Tong Xiangyu’s eyes lit up. She sat up excitedly. “Really?”

Song Ge looked at the Young Mistress’s pale face and the light of hope in her eyes. She pursed her lips and replied, “Mhm. Really.”

The monsters didn’t sleep. They were most active in the mornings and evenings, while their activity weakened significantly in the afternoons. It seemed the virus was sensitive to heat; Kecheng’s midsummer temperatures often soared above 42°C. Therefore, between 1:00 PM and 2:00 PM—Tong Xiangyu’s usual nap time the monsters were at their quietest.

“Quiet” didn’t mean “absent.” There would still be a few wandering zombies.

The night before the breakout.

Song Ge opened the corner drawer of her cabinet and pulled out a large bag of masks and some disinfectant.

Tong Xiangyu looked at them in wonder. “How do you even have these?”

“Kecheng often gets heavy rain and dirty floodwater,” Song Ge explained. “While the epidemic prevention stations disinfect the city, they’d never come to a basement like this. The landlady won’t spend money on a disinfection company, so if we don’t want to get sick, we have to look out for ourselves.”

Hearing this, Tong Xiangyu felt a secret sadness. They were the same age, yet Song Ge had to consider so many things and live such a difficult, calculated life.

Unaware of the girl’s pity, Song Ge handed her a small pack of masks. “Wear several. No one knows what bacteria those rotting corpses carry or if it’s airborne.”

She added, “Even if there are no germs, the smell definitely won’t be pleasant.”

Tong Xiangyu took the masks and nodded with a serious expression. “Mhm!”

They prepared to rest and gather their strength.

“You sleep on the bed tonight,” Tong Xiangyu said. “You need to keep your strength up.”

“No need.” Song Ge sat on her small stool in the corner. “I’m used to sleeping on the stool. I wonder if I’ll even be able to sleep without it after we escape. Maybe I should bring it with me?”

She was clearly joking.

But Tong Xiangyu didn’t find it funny. Instead, her heart felt strangely heavy. They were about to face the terrifying, unknown world outside. Compared to that, this basement though small and closed was the only place where they could feel at peace.

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