January 18
On the rooftop stood Xiangzi and Huaxiu.
Huaxiu had just finished her work and come up to talk to her.
"Are we really going to give up so much and leave, Xiangzi?" Huaxiu's mood was clearly low. The decision to move was simply too abrupt.
Just yesterday, they had still been living a decent little life here—planting vegetables, purifying snow into water, cooking food, and searching the safe parts of the building for supplies.
And now they were leaving just like that.
A corpse tide. What a hateful thing.
"What, you're reluctant to part with this place?" Xiangzi's voice was very gentle, soft as spun sugar, the warmth in it enough to ease a person's heart.
"Not exactly… It just feels too sudden." Huaxiu pinched at her clothes, her voice low.
"It's fine. Getting attached to home is only natural. We'll come back later. The place is still here—it's not like the corpse tide is going to swallow the whole building, right?"
Takajo Xiangzi refused to believe that if they left to take refuge elsewhere for a while, they would come back and find home completely gone.
There was nobody inside the building. It wasn't as though the infected had gone insane and would decide to climb up into an empty high-rise. Besides, she had already blown the stairs apart. They would have to build a human ladder to make it up here.
As for other survivors, that was even less likely. With a corpse tide of that scale looming, what kind of person would choose to stay in a place like this? It simply wasn't rational.
What were they supposed to be—superhuman? Captain America?
In short, as long as the building stayed quiet while they were away, there was every chance it would remain untouched until they returned.
"Alright, go back inside. It's cold out here. I'll finish checking the surroundings and then head to bed."
"You be careful too. I'll go first, then."
"Mm."
After seeing Huaxiu off, Xiangzi remained on the rooftop, using her drone to scout several kilometers out.
The signal quality was much better now than it had been a while ago. Maybe the electromagnetic interference had weakened, or maybe this newer military drone was simply that much better.
Through the night-vision feed, every movement on the ground was under Xiangzi's watch.
There weren't many active infected on the streets. Probably because the temperature had dropped too far—nighttime was much colder than daytime, and infected still suffered from the cold like anything else.
"Ah—achoo! So cold…"
Even Xiangzi was feeling it. The outdoor temperature was probably somewhere below minus ten degrees Celsius. The cutting wind struck her unmasked face like knives, every slice carried straight through her nerves to her brain.
The snow kept coming and going in uneven bursts. At this rate, spring would definitely be delayed. Lately, every year had seemed colder than the last. The earth's weather was growing more and more extreme.
"Looks like I can sleep well tonight."
Watching the sluggish infected moving through the drone's feed, Xiangzi finally relaxed.
She brought the drone back. The surrounding area was clear. No unusual movement.
Still, she did not return directly to Room 1502.
Instead, she headed for the equipment room.
Everyone else had already packed up their things. She still had to choose her own gear.
She took out her key and slowly unlocked the heavy security door.
Inside the living room, weapons were displayed practically everywhere.
Blades, clubs, spears, armor, helmets, guns, explosives…
Xiangzi's stockpile had already reached the point where she could have opened a stall and sold them. As for calling it an actual armory, she figured that could wait until after she looted a military base. She was not quite there yet.
"A lot of this should probably be recycled. I've got too much."
Looking over the many daggers and folding knives she owned, Xiangzi realized she had far more than she actually needed. She started setting some aside for the system to reclaim.
"System, what do you think I should do from here?"
As she selected the weapons that suited her best and handed off the ones she no longer wanted, she talked to the system.
"So you're feeling lost now, huh, Xiangzi."
Instead of answering right away, the system laughed first.
If it had possessed a real body, Xiangzi would have punched it on reflex.
I'm asking you seriously, and you're laughing at me?
What exactly is your problem?
"Alright, alright. As things stand, you've got food, water, shelter, and warmth. How am I supposed to know what you should do?"
That part, unfortunately, was true.
While everyone else was still worrying over food, clothes, and the dangers around them, Xiangzi had somehow already arrived at a fairly comfortable "quiet life" in the apocalypse.
A quiet life, of course, meaning that life-threatening disasters happened every three days and strange emergencies every two.
"It's more like… I'm feeling uncertain about what comes next. Like I can already see the entire future stretching ahead of me."
That kind of emptiness was normal, really. Once the old order collapsed and before any new one took shape, most ordinary people would feel it.
Work, school, hobbies, games, social life—everything that had once seemed fixed and ordinary had all been thrown into ruin.
No more sitting safely at home and gaming with people from around the world.
No more ordering takeout when hungry.
No more turning on the tap when thirsty.
No more warm heating when the weather turned cold.
All the things that had once been effortlessly close at hand were now luxuries.
Even if Xiangzi had never openly complained about the apocalypse, there was no denying it: the old world was gone, and no one adjusted to that overnight.
"You should take your mental health seriously too. Why don't you make a proper plan for yourself? Try to live well every day."
"I know that much."
"As long as you're happy."
Xiangzi thought for a moment, then suddenly noticed a particularly ornate weapon resting among the stored gear.
Its hilt was set with a large crimson gem. The guard was hollowed out in a decorative pattern, and elegant engravings ran along the blade.
As an actual combat weapon, it would probably lose to a brick. But as an ornament, it was beautiful.
"…This was from her."
The moment she touched the hilt, regret flashed across Xiangzi's face.
This dagger had been a gift from her current legal guardian—
Tomono Chiyo.
And Xiangzi realized, with a jolt, that she had almost forgotten about her completely.
Since the first day she woke up and read Chiyo's message, Xiangzi had been so overwhelmed by the demands of survival that she had hardly had time to think about anything else.
Besides, Aunt Chiyo had said she had escaped to Hawaii, to a safer region.
An island out in the ocean should be safe, at least relatively speaking.
But it was also painfully likely that the two of them would never meet again.
Crossing an ocean under these conditions was far too difficult.
In the end, Xiangzi forced herself to stop thinking about it.
Huaxiu, Miranda, Brent—they were all in similar situations in one way or another.
Huaxiu had run away from home.
The others had simply been tourists in a foreign country when the world ended.
Being separated from family hurt.
Seeing your loved ones become infected hurt even more.
Being forced to kill your own family just to survive…
Xiangzi refused to let her thoughts go any further.
She packed the things she would need and took them down to the seventh floor.
The others had already piled up their supplies there.
Food and water collected over nearly three weeks.
Basic medicine and seasonings.
Warm clothing.
Cooking utensils.
Personal gear.
Tools.
Waterproof tarps.
Lighters.
Maps.
Axes.
Among the supplies, Xiangzi also spotted the Invisifier XLT crossbow she had previously given Huaxiu.
After setting down her own crate, Xiangzi climbed back upstairs.
Her own weapons and armor were still in her room. Those could wait until tomorrow before being loaded.
If anything happened during the night, she still wanted them close at hand.
Next, she needed to go upstairs again to plan their escape route.
Outside, a curved sliver of moon had emerged from behind the thick clouds, like a shy girl peeking out.
Night had fully fallen. Dark clouds glimmered with silver light.
And across the white-covered ground, many footprints had appeared.
Far from Xiangzi's sight, a trail of footprints stretched all the way to another building, where red firelight flickered inside.
There were people stationed there.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
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TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
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I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter175)
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Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 35
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