The path was covered with logs, which still smelled of gasoline.
Yu An was dragged to a small house. The house was tightly closed, and once inside, she discovered that many people were hiding there.
"Wood, have the zombies arrived yet?"
No, they're gone.
The path was covered in burn marks; almost all the zombies that came before had been burned to death. Over time, the zombies got smarter and stopped using this cramped path, barely wide enough for three people, for their barbecues.
Yu An looked around the small house and saw the survivors. Most of them were teenagers, and there were a few adults, but they all looked like they were missing limbs.
"What's your name? Why are you out so late at night?"
He took the wooden stick from Yu An, poked his arm, and frowned as he asked, "Didn't anyone tell you that you have to go out during the day?"
There are many zombies in the city, and they are all wandering around aimlessly.
Without lights at night, you might be attacked by zombies as you walk.
Yu An met Mu Tou's probing gaze and replied simply, "My name is Yu An. I entered the city the day before yesterday. I'm here to find someone."
wood:"……"
Wood was taken aback: "You're not a local?"
Yu An shook his head honestly.
Wood choked for a long time before muttering, "You dare to come in looking for someone all by yourself? You're really brave."
The two men looked at each other in silence. Finally, the other man stepped forward and said, "If you dare to come looking for someone at a time like this, it must be someone important. Tell us, what's the name of the person you're looking for? What do they look like? We'll help you take a look."
Yu An struggled for a long time but still couldn't describe her baby's name and appearance.
Her name is Xiao Jiu, and she looks like a little white mushroom.
If I say this, these people will definitely look at me like I'm an idiot.
After hesitating for a while, a name popped into his mind: "Ruan Ke, I'm looking for Ruan Ke. Do you know where he is?"
Ruan Ke is the person Xie Chiyuan and Pei Si are trying to rescue, and he is also Xie Chiyuan's son.
If we can find it, that would be the best.
"Ruan Ke".
The name was read aloud by those present, and everyone fell into deep thought.
Mu Tou brought over a small stool for Yu An and told him to sit down first.
After some time, someone finally said hesitantly, "I think I've heard this name before. Last time it was my turn to go out and find supplies... that's the name I heard."
Yu An was somewhat surprised to hear this.
The man was still carefully recalling: "There are vegetable farmers in the eastern suburbs. I wanted to get some vegetables. When I went there, there were a few other people there, and they were accompanied by a monster."
“I hid and overheard them talking. They said that Ruan Ke looked like a pretty boy and wondered if he got to where he was through his looks.”
"They say the leader treats him so well, could it be that he also wants to sleep with him?"
Yu An: "..."
Yu An was caught off guard by a string of vulgar words, and the main characters were Xie Chiyuan's family members.
He didn't want to listen anymore, so he promptly interrupted the other person's continued lewd remarks and asked, seizing the key point, "Did you hear them say where Ruan Ke is?"
"I guess so. They're here to get vegetables to take to the school, saying that Ruan Ke wants to eat them."
There is an industrial university in the abandoned old city of Yu, which is a second-tier college.
Having only attended kindergarten outside of school, Yu An had no idea how big a university was. He thought for a moment and said, "If it's on campus, it shouldn't be hard to find, right?"
Several college students present fell silent for a moment.
Yu An was still asking, "Where is the school? Can you point it out to me? I'll go by myself, no need to trouble you."
“Yu An, it will be difficult for you to find someone at school.”
A college student frankly stated, "A few of us escaped from the school. There are still some people hiding inside, and their situation is currently unclear."
Yu An paused for a moment, then insisted, "It's okay, I'll be careful."
Of the zombies he encountered, not many coveted his head like they had before.
Seeing that Yu An was about to leave, the girl who had been silently sitting in the corner suddenly came over. She pulled Yu An aside, not wanting anyone to hear their conversation.
"What do you want with Dr. Ruan?"
Yu An was stunned for a moment before realizing that the doctor was referring to Ruan Ke.
Before he could answer, the girl continued, "Are you here to rescue Dr. Ruan? But you don't look like a soldier. Who are you?"
Yu An is indeed not a soldier.
He hesitated for a moment, then gave himself an identity: "I am a relative of Ruan Ke. Soldiers have come to the city to rescue him."
The girl remained silent, still watching him.
Yu An sensed that the girl must know something inside, given how quickly she started talking. He gritted his teeth and decided to go all out: "I really am his family member!"
"I came with Xie Chiyuan, um, Xie Chiyuan and I, the two of us—"
The girl already understood whether he was going to speak or not.
"impossible."
The girl's face darkened; surprisingly, she was a rare person who understood: "Xie Chiyuan could never be with you; you're spreading rumors!"
Yu An remained silent.
The two remained locked in a stalemate. After a long while, Yu An reached out and handed her the lizard skin pouch he was carrying across his shoulder: "Xie Chiyuan made this for me."
"You're talking nonsense again!"
The girl was furious. She poked at the lizard skin and said, "How could Xie Chiyuan possibly make things for others? It's always others who fawn over him and flatter him!"
Seeing that she didn't believe anything, Yu An frowned and stingily put the bag back.
The atmosphere froze again.
Yu An, with her bag slung over her shoulder, stood there sulking without saying a word.
The girl glanced at him, then at his pocket. The pattern on the pocket leather was indeed that of the lizard from the street earlier; only Xie Chiyuan could have killed the lizard.
Time passed little by little.
The girl pursed her lips and compromised first: "Fine, let's just say you have some connection with Xie Chiyuan. Are you sure you want to go save Ruan Ke?"
"Um."
He wanted to visit the school.
Anyway, the search for Zaizai is aimless, so it wouldn't be bad to visit the school and look for Ruan Ke along the way.
“I’ll draw you a map of our school; Ruan Ke is definitely in it.”
The girl said, "Go by yourself, we're not going with you."
She got right to it and soon drew a simple diagram for Yu An, showing the location of each building and the layout of the four doors.
"If you're so capable, try sneaking into the chemistry building."
The girl seemed to know Ruan Ke well and knew what he did at school: "It's pretty much him, he's busy here."
Everything is ready.
The man who brought Yu An in earlier looked at Yu An and suddenly said, "I'll take you there. I feel like you have a bad memory for directions."
Yu An was embarrassed; his sense of direction wasn't very good.
Mu Tou smiled at Yu An and assured him that he could deliver Yu An to her destination.
Yu An shook his head: "It's not safe outside, you shouldn't go out. If you encounter danger while taking me, I'm afraid you'll be in trouble."
"Don't worry, my dad works in food delivery. I help him whenever I have a holiday, and I know all the routes here like the back of my hand."
“Look at these people, they are all the ones I brought back.”
Wood was only about ten years old, with dark skin and a short buzz cut. But when he said that he had brought all these people back, no one refuted him.
After reassuring Yu An repeatedly, the kind-hearted Mu Tou took him outside.
No sooner had they left than someone spoke up: "You guys think there are so many zombies and monsters near the university? Will Wood still be able to come back?"
"Of course it can, Wood is very clever."
"Alright, enough nonsense. Let's stick to what we were doing before: find supplies and pick up the other survivors."
When an outbreak occurs, many people abandon their companions in an effort to escape, even using them as bait. Others, once they find themselves hidden, completely disregard anyone who comes to their aid.
This group of people is different.
Besides being full of hope, they will try their best to save as many people as possible.
Everyone got moving and did their own thing.
Outside, Mu Tou was whispering to Yu An: "I overheard your conversation just now. The Ruan Ke you're looking for, is he a very capable PhD?"
Yu An hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Wood chuckled and said, "The world is in chaos these days, we can't afford to let anything happen to Dr. Ruan! I know a shortcut, let's go, we can get into the university in one go."
Wood has a strange sense of reverence for culture.
He overheard quite a few things, so even with some guesswork, he could tell that Ruan Ke was an important person.
With him by her side, Yu An had a smooth journey.
On their journey, they encountered other survivors, some of whom were banding together and seemed to be in good condition.
Half an hour later.
Led by Mu Tou, Yu An crawled through the dog hole under the east gate wall and entered the school.
"alright."
Yu An stopped Mu Tou from delivering any more: "Don't come in. I'll go in and look around for a bit and then leave."
Wood looked inside, still wanting to follow him.