Surviving the Apocalypse with the Young Miss - Chapter 62

Chapter 62: The Woman

Song Ge had said those words to cover their tracks, but she wasn’t sure if Yue Yao truly believed them.

To be safe, on the way back to Building 11, Song Ge intentionally dropped back a step. She let Tong Xiangyu go ahead and asked Yue Yao privately, “She was talking nonsense. You won’t take it seriously and go tell that Gao He, will you?”

Yue Yao froze and immediately denied it. “I know. Of course I won’t.”

Then, Yue Yao felt a sting of humiliation from Song Ge’s words. She should have been used to this feeling, but hearing it now felt like a needle to the heart. “I consider Yu-Yu a friend. I know she only said those things because she’s worried about me. How could I possibly tell anyone else?”

Yue Yao instinctively used the word “said” instead of “nonsense.”

Song Ge’s expression was unreadable as she replied, “That’s good then.”

Hearing those three words, Yue Yao suddenly remembered how the two had been whispering and hiding things from her earlier, how they had gone out in the morning without a word, and the anxious look on Tong Xiangyu’s face when she tried to talk to her.

Maybe it really is like what Yu-Yu said?

But Yue Yao shook her head, telling herself not to overthink it.

Tong Xiangyu walked very fast. As soon as she got back to the room, she headed straight for the bathroom. She had an ominous feeling. She pulled down her pants and looked…

Her period had actually started.

She wasn’t sure if it was the effect of that Motherwort tea or something else. Tong Xiangyu’s face went pale. Since it was delayed for so long, why couldn’t it stay away for a few more days? Why come now?!

She was worried. It would be terrible if her period interfered with Song Ge’s escape plan. After washing her underwear, she used a hair dryer to dry it while thinking: At least I don’t get cramps. At least I won’t hold us back in that way.

Coming out of the bathroom, she decided to “confirm” her period for the sake of the surveillance cameras, so she openly carried a sanitary pad package. However, she didn’t tell Song Ge. She was afraid Song Ge would change the plan if she knew, and every extra day spent here was an extra day of danger.

To be honest, it was actually more convenient that Yue Yao wasn’t coming. But it also meant one fewer person to keep watch.

Tong Xiangyu actually had another thought she didn’t dare share with Song Ge: she wanted to honestly tell Yue Yao about their escape and ask her to help cover for them or even assist them. Tong Xiangyu trusted Yue Yao.

But Song Ge didn’t.

Song Ge would definitely oppose it, so there was no point in mentioning it.

In the afternoon, Tong Xiangyu followed Song Ge to scout the area again.

A few fishermen were still catching fish in the mud; they seemed nearly finished. Tong Xiangyu saw the woman from this morning walk to the edge of the pond. She set down a pot of something. The ground was covered in filth, and as a large fish flopped in a basket, mud splattered directly into the pot.

The woman turned and left. A moment later, she returned with a lid to cover it. She shouted, “The water is ready. I’m leaving it here.”

The busy men stopped one by one, walked to the edge of the pond, and climbed up a telescopic ladder.

Watching this, Tong Xiangyu remembered the woman’s uncontrollable tears from that morning. To escape, having someone on the inside would definitely be the safest, most successful way. But Tong Xiangyu wasn’t sure if Song Ge—who didn’t even trust Yue Yao—would trust a strange woman who had lived here for a while.

Song Ge noticed two surveillance cameras in the backyard of the complex, one on the left and one on the right, both in the corners of the walls. However, she guessed that usually, no one paid attention to this area.

Even if there weren’t actually six thousand people, the first ten buildings were full. Hundreds of rooms had cameras. Regardless of whether the private base station’s network was sufficient, no one could stare at hundreds of camera feeds simultaneously. Unless it was specific point-to-point monitoring, no one would be glued to the feed of a backyard that usually saw no activity.

After all, except for them, the people living here seemed well-adjusted and had no intention of leaving. Some were brainwashed followers; the rest likely felt the same as Yue Yao: If I go out, I’ll die. I’d rather stay here.

Because they had seen how terrifying the monsters outside were, they were even more reluctant to leave this safe haven of food and shelter. Moreover, Zeus and Nana repeatedly emphasized that the government had abandoned them and that rescue would never come. They didn’t want to go out and seek death.

But Song Ge didn’t believe it. Unless not a single national leader remained, they would eventually send police and resources to reinforce disaster areas and save survivors. Song Ge curled her lips expressionlessly; she might not believe in anything else, but she believed in that.

She stared coldly at the complex’s perimeter wall, thinking she needed to find a spot to see what was happening outside.

“Song Ge, Song Ge.”

Song Ge snapped out of it. “What is it?”

Tong Xiangyu beckoned her over quietly. Song Ge walked over and saw the young woman behind Tong Xiangyu—the one who had just delivered the pot to the men. She looked to be in her twenties, very young, but her face was numb and haggard.

“Sister, this is Song Ge, my friend,” Tong Xiangyu introduced.

The woman nodded to Song Ge. Song Ge felt like she had been handed a pillow just as she was getting sleepy. She didn’t hesitate and asked directly, “Can we go upstairs to take a look?”

The woman was stunned. Tong Xiangyu was also taken aback, looking at Song Ge, wondering what she was up to.

Song Ge said, “We want to see the scenery outside. As soon as we entered Taiyun, we were ‘invited’ into the base by Zeus and Nana. We heard all of Taiyun has fallen, so we wanted to see how ruined it actually is.”

Hearing this, the woman didn’t indicate whether she believed it or not, but simply said, “Follow me.”

As they entered the house, the woman asked, “I have lemon water. Do you want some?”

“Yes, yes, thank you, Sister!” Tong Xiangyu smiled. “The sun is so hot, I’m quite thirsty after walking all this way!”

While the woman poured the water in the kitchen, Song Ge stood and waited. She only wanted to see the situation from above to get a general idea. After taking the drinks, the three of them went to the roof.

Standing high allowed them to see far. Outside the complex were ordinary alleys, similar to the ones in the suburbs of Kecheng—messy and deserted. However, it wasn’t quiet outside. Song Ge listened closely; there was a faint, strange movement. But she couldn’t see what was causing it.

The woman seemed to know what Song Ge was wondering. “There are several large dogs outside, kept in iron cages.”

Song Ge frowned. “Won’t the barking attract monsters?”

“I thought so too at first,” the woman said. “But look, half a month has passed, and those dogs are still alive and well.”

“Do they bark every day?” Song Ge asked.

“Not always,” the woman replied. “But who would pay attention to that?”

Song Ge put her hands in her pockets, thinking in silence. Tong Xiangyu was terrified. If there were dogs, how could they escape? Even in cages, they would bark! If they barked like crazy in the middle of the night, the base people would definitely notice and chase them. They didn’t know the roads in Taiyun, and they could run into monsters at any time… Caught between two sides, wouldn’t it be even harder to survive?

“Perhaps you two sleep well here?” the woman said suddenly.

Tong Xiangyu was confused, but Song Ge’s heart sank as she looked at her.

The woman didn’t look at Song Ge; her gaze was fixed on the distance. She said softly, “That’s right, you’re young, so of course you sleep well. I’m older, and with things on my mind lately, I can’t sleep. I’ll go pick up a few sleeping pills this afternoon.”

Tong Xiangyu finally realized what she meant. She looked at her in disbelief. “Sister…?”

The woman’s eyes reddened slightly. She took a deep breath, turned back to them, and gave a beautiful smile. “Go back after you finish your drinks. It’s hot now, so be careful of heatstroke. Come back in the evening when it’s cooler. I’ll be steaming buns; you can come have some.”

Song Ge remained silent for a moment before responding, “Okay.”

On the way back, Tong Xiangyu whispered, “Is she trying to help us? She knows we want to escape?”

Song Ge had originally thought Tong Xiangyu had told the woman, but seeing Tong Xiangyu’s shock on the roof, she knew the woman had guessed it herself.

“It seems so,” Song Ge replied. Seeing Song Ge’s unreadable expression, Tong Xiangyu couldn’t help asking, “Do you trust her?”

“No,” Song Ge said. “But do we have any other choice?”

Yue Yao was a ticking time bomb. They had to escape while she wasn’t yet fully brainwashed or completely aligned with this cult. If Gao He kept telling her “It’s dangerous outside” or “You’ll die if you leave,” Yue Yao might “for her friends’ own good” tell Zeus or Nana about their plans. That would be trouble.

They returned to their home in Building 11. Yue Yao wasn’t in the living room. The door to the small bedroom was slightly ajar. Song Ge glanced in and saw Yue Yao sitting upright at the desk, deeply engrossed in that “sutra.”

Song Ge signaled Tong Xiangyu to be quiet. They went into their room.

“It’s so hot. Let’s take a nap,” Song Ge said, slightly raising her voice. “We’ll go have buns at that sister’s place tonight. Tell Yue Yao to let Zeus and Nana know we won’t be joining them.”

Tong Xiangyu knew this was for the cameras. She nodded and replied loudly, “Okay!”

There was no time to lose. Song Ge planned to leave tonight. They needed to sleep well to conserve their energy.

As the sun began to sink in the west, Song Ge woke up. Tong Xiangyu was still asleep. Song Ge washed her face, opened her backpack, and took out one item to put in her pocket. She left the rest untouched and didn’t even zip the bag back up. Leaving the luggage behind suggested they weren’t going anywhere. Preparing their bags under surveillance would definitely alert their captors.

As long as they could get out, they wouldn’t starve. Song Ge didn’t even look back at the backpack. Then, she woke up Tong Xiangyu.

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