Surviving the Apocalypse with the Young Miss - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Good Luck!

If they failed tomorrow, they would die a gruesome death in the mouths of monsters. All their efforts and perseverance would be for nothing, their lives ending right there. Even if rescue eventually arrived, they would likely be cleared away indiscriminately along with the creatures.

Thinking this, Tong Xiangyu succumbed to total insomnia.

Hearing her tossing and turning, Song Ge asked, “What’s wrong?”

Tong Xiangyu watched the thin white candle on the nearby table. Its small flame flickered as melted wax slid down the pillar, pooling at the base. She suddenly said, “Song Ge, I’m a little scared.”

“Scared of what?”

“Does it hurt much to be bitten by a monster?”

In the past, Song Ge wouldn’t have bothered answering such mindless chatter, choosing silence instead. But given the special circumstances of tomorrow, she thought for a moment and offered a rational analysis: “It probably won’t hurt. Based on my observations, the mutation happens very quickly after infection. People lose their consciousness and all perception in an instant.”

Tong Xiangyu fell silent.

Song Ge waited for a moment. Hearing no follow-up, she assumed the “Young Mistress” was no longer afraid and prepared to sleep. Then, she heard a tiny voice whisper: “Song Ge, can I recite my texts for a while?”

Song Ge: “………… Go ahead.”

“It is the ninth month, the season of mid-autumn. The floodwaters have receded, leaving the deep pools clear; the mist condenses, and the evening mountains turn purple…” Tong Xiangyu closed her eyes, trembling slightly as she softly recited excerpts from Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng. “Harnessing the horses on the high road, I visit the scenery in the towering mountains. Arriving at the Prince’s long isle, I find the old residence of the celestial being. Range upon range of emerald peaks rise into the high clouds. The flying pavilions flow with red, looking down upon the abyss…”

Song Ge fell fast asleep to that gentle, soft voice.

When she woke up, it was likely around 6:00 AM.

The two candles on the table had burned down to mere stubs. Song Ge looked at Tong Xiangyu on the bed; she was still fast asleep.

Song Ge took a new candle, lit it from the dying flame, and dripped wax onto the table to fix two fresh candles in place. She then opened the cabinet and pulled out a shoulder bag, inventorying the items they would take for their breakout.

Four bottles of mineral water, ten packs of compressed biscuits and dried meat, four pairs of underwear, two packs of sanitary pads (day and night use), two packs of tissues, a bag of masks, a bottle of disinfectant, iron pliers, the dead phone and its charger, and finally, two candles and a lighter.

Everything had to be streamlined; excess weight would slow her down. Once outside, they would have to adapt to whatever happened. However, she filled the remaining space in the bag with clothes to prevent items from rattling and attracting monsters while running.

After a moment’s thought, she added a few of the small chicken drumsticks Tong Xiangyu liked before zipping the bag shut.

While she hoped to leave Kecheng smoothly, the road conditions near the school suggested things would be bad. Their best bet was to find an SUV—something that could handle complex terrain.

When Tong Xiangyu woke up, Song Ge reviewed the precautions for their departure. Afterward, Song Ge spent her time listening to the movements outside, mentally tracking the time.

Sure enough, around 1:00 PM, when the sun was at its most fierce, the activity of the monsters outside diminished significantly.

Tong Xiangyu had finished her stretches. Her delicate features were flushed with health, and her usually cheerful ponytail was pinned into a tight bun. She wore Song Ge’s cheap black-and-white tracksuit; the pants were originally too long, but they fit perfectly after she had trimmed a few centimeters off the hems.

Seeing Song Ge pick up the backpack, Tong Xiangyu clenched her fists nervously, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly.

“Watch my signals and follow my lead,” Song Ge reiterated. She shouldered the bag, her voice steady and calm. “Stay as quiet as possible. If we run into a monster, just run. If something unmanageable happens, pull down your mask and shout for me.”

Tong Xiangyu nodded vigorously. “Okay!”

Song Ge patted her shoulder. Feeling how tense her body was, she asked, “Are you sure you warmed up properly? I don’t want you getting a leg cramp halfway through.”

Hearing this, Tong Xiangyu immediately redid her warm-up exercises.

Meanwhile, Song Ge went to the door to listen to the stairs. It was quiet. Ever since the day she had kicked the landlady and sent a “bowling ball” of monsters tumbling down, the stairs had remained silent.

Song Ge turned back and whispered, “Ready?”

Tong Xiangyu’s breathing was slightly shallow. She steadied her heart rate and nodded.

Song Ge put on her masks one by one—three layers in total—and pressed the metal strip over the bridge of her nose. Tong Xiangyu followed suit.

Song Ge then pulled two long strips of black fabric, cut from an old T-shirt, from her pocket. She handed one to her. Her voice sounded muffled through the masks: “The sunlight will be very intense. We’ve been in the basement too long; our eyes need time to adjust to the light. Tie this on first.”

Tong Xiangyu followed her lead, tying the cloth over her eyes. She found the fabric soft and thin enough to see through clearly, though it darkened her surroundings considerably.

“Won’t this get in the way of our escape?”

“You can take it off once your eyes adapt,” Song Ge said. She did a final check: “What’s the first thing we do once we’re out?”

“Find a car that works.”

“Right.”

Song Ge signaled Tong Xiangyu to stand back, then cautiously and slowly opened the door.

Through the masks, Song Ge could hear her own rhythmic breathing. Peering through the black cloth, she scanned up and down the stairs. No monsters. She reached out to grab the spear she had left outside and beckoned with her other hand.

Inside the room, Tong Xiangyu immediately lightened her footsteps and followed. They crept up the stairs, step by step.

Soon, Tong Xiangyu saw the world outside.

The shop signs had collapsed, greenery was destroyed, and rotting corpses lay everywhere. Flies swarmed, rats as large as buckets scurried about, and giant cockroaches crawled across the ground. There were no intact cars in sight; private vehicles had either piled up in collisions or careened into shops. Many were just charred frames surrounded by shriveled, blackened bodies.

Seeing this for the first time, Tong Xiangyu broke out in goosebumps. Her heart hammered against her ribs. She felt so sick with fear that she quickly looked away; she couldn’t afford to vomit now.

They needed a car. There were a few parked in distant spots, but without keys, they were useless.

Song Ge hid behind a wall, observing carefully. In front of a large pharmacy, two monsters in suits their necks snapped so their heads lolled on their shoulders wandered sluggishly under the shade of a tree. The shop window she had seen the fireman-monster near was now shattered, glass littering the ground.

There seemed to be no monsters inside that shop, but at this hour, they might be “resting in the shade,” waiting for “food” to walk right in.

Song Ge signaled for Tong Xiangyu to stay put while she crept forward to check the blind spot to the right. Under the scorching sun, the air shimmered with heat distortion. The sunlight felt like it could burn right through clothing into the skin. Perhaps because of their time underground, it felt much hotter than 40°C.

With multiple masks and the extreme heat, Song Ge’s breathing was labored. Large beads of sweat rolled down her neck. She didn’t wipe them, keeping her eyes fixed on the two monsters while listening to the heavy thump-thump of her own heart. She scanned the road to the right with surgical precision.

She looked far, checking every vehicle. Through the shimmering air, she suddenly noticed an SUV in the middle of the road about a hundred meters away! It had crashed into the central divider’s greenery. From a distance, the damage didn’t look severe, and the door appeared to be ajar!

Good luck!

Song Ge’s eyes lit up, but she didn’t let excitement take over. She steadied her breathing, removed the black cloth from her eyes, and leaned out to re-confirm.

She hadn’t miscounted. It was a black SUV.

Song Ge immediately retreated to the stairwell and whispered the next part of the plan to Tong Xiangyu. Tong Xiangyu stood ready, listening intently and nodding as they prepared to move.

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