This villa has three floors.
Upon entering, there's a spacious hall.
Aside from the necessary sofas, dining table, and some basic appliances that were probably already there, there's nothing extra at all.
Once inside, Tingyun and Xiaohu ran straight to the front yard to play on the lawn.
We left the door open to keep an eye on them, and then the rest of us finally sat on the sofa, waiting for Suo Tian to return.
During this time, Bruno seemed to remember something and ran out for a while.
When he finally returned, he had a mysterious look on his face and said to us, "Hey, I know why Suo Tian was in such a hurry."
"Hm? Why?" Lili asked.
"A horde of walkers has appeared in the southern city. It's said there are thousands of them. Headquarters has issued an urgent order: they must all be eliminated before tonight, or they'll surround the city and attract even more walkers. This is exactly what headquarters does not want to see," Bruno explained, glancing at me repeatedly as he spoke.
I sighed, sitting up slightly, and asked, "Thousands? Could they possibly get in?"
In reality, I knew very well that these walkers could never breach headquarters.
The ironclad walls, the highly trained personnel, and all the cannons clearly indicated that thousands of walkers posed no real threat.
However, I also understood Bruno's intention.
Seeing Suo Tian's seemingly calm attitude earlier, he probably wanted to make sure I understood the urgency of the situation, so he went out to confirm it.
Since everyone living nearby were relatives of internal personnel, obtaining such information wasn't difficult.
"It's not a matter of whether they can get in or not. Headquarters' principle is that walkers must never be allowed to surround them," Bruno emphasized, deliberately stressing the point to hint that the situation was extremely serious.
I curled my legs up on the sofa, resting my head on my hand, staring at the carpet.
In truth, Bruno didn't really need to say all this.
From the moment we entered headquarters, our capabilities, and all the survival skills we'd learned outside, were completely useless in this secure space.
Suo Tian, however, was different.
Outside, he was the backbone when leading us.
Here, this is his kingdom—countless people need him, the teams need him, headquarters needs him.
"Thousands of walkers… can they really be wiped out by tonight?" Shen Feng asked worriedly.
"It's unlikely," Xu Shu said.
"You have to crush a walker's head to truly take it down. With thousands of them, unless there are enough people and each one is a good shot, it will take quite a while."
"That's why Suo Tian was in such a rush. Headquarters' orders allow no room for negotiation," Bruno added.
Hearing this, Xu Shu frowned. "Isn't that unreasonable? It's practically forcing them."
Bruno looked at her and shrugged. "If everything had to make sense, then Suo Tian and his C-Team, along with some of the A and B core teams, wouldn't even be necessary. The reason headquarters sent C-Team all that way to retrieve Suo Tian is precisely because he's someone who doesn't need to discuss orders. As long as a task is assigned, he will complete it."
Hearing this, I couldn't help but ask, "Who exactly is the leader of headquarters? Who could have that much authority?"
Bruno's expression suddenly turned serious.
What I had asked casually made me feel uneasy under his gaze.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
He didn't answer but stared at me for a moment, then shook his head.
"Nothing. Let's get something to eat here. Suo Tian said he'd come back in the afternoon, so he should be back briefly. No need to go back over there."
It wasn't until he said that that I realized, without noticing, it was already noon.
At Bruno's suggestion, I got up and ran to the kitchen to check the fridge.
Luckily, it was very well-stocked, even more than what we had been allotted as a household.
After making sure all the seasonings were sufficient, I started preparing lunch.
Shen Feng was quite experienced with cooking, so I left him to help, while I sent Xu Shu, Lili, and Bruno out to keep an eye on the kids.
Those two little troublemakers were a handful—compared to them, cooking with Shen Feng really felt like taking the easy way out.
After stewing the ribs, stir-frying a few dishes, and letting the rice finish steaming, I brought everything to the table and set the utensils, while Shen Feng ladled out some soup.
Even working quickly, it still took us nearly an hour to get everything ready.
I grabbed a piece of tissue to wipe my hands and went to the door to call everyone back for lunch—but I craned my neck for a long time and still didn't see them.
"Where is everyone?" I muttered, pacing in front of the house, scanning back and forth, but still no sign of anyone.
Just as I was about to call out with Shen Feng's help, I saw a black car driving toward me in the distance.
Squinting, I realized—it was the same car Suo Tian had driven when he left!
Sure enough, shortly after, the car pulled up in front of the house.
Suo Tian got out of the driver's seat, and before I could react, Lili, Xu Shu, and Bruno got out from the passenger and back seats, each carrying a child.
I was a bit confused. "What's going on here?"
Xu Shu put Tingyun down on the ground and explained, "Oh, the two of them wanted to go play with water at the park ahead. Not long after we got there, we ran into Suo Tian, and thought it was about time for lunch, so we had him bring us back."
"Ah." I nodded in understanding and gestured, "Okay, come inside first—the food's all ready."
Inside, Shen Feng went back to the kitchen to grab an extra pair of bowls and chopsticks after seeing Suo Tian.
Once everyone was seated, Suo Tian looked at me and asked, "So, what is it you wanted to talk about today?"
Hearing that, Lili and Xu Shu all turned to look at me.
I cleared my throat and said, "It's nothing major—just some personal issues. It's not comfortable living in our current place, and the security downstairs won't help us change rooms… so I wanted to see if you could help us work something out."
Suo Tian glanced at Lili, seemingly understanding what personal issues I was referring to.
After a pause, he said, "Then just move everyone here."
"What?" I was stunned.
He looked at me and added, "My room is the first one on the third floor."
"No, I'm not asking where your room is. We're a big group—will it even be convenient for all of us to live here?" Ignoring Bruno's snicker, I asked.
"Yes, it's convenient," he replied, glancing at me again.
"At least you won't have to cook for yourselves anymore."
"So… we're really moving in here then?" I confirmed again.
"Mm, okay." After agreeing, Suo Tian finally started eating.
Exchanging a quick glance with Lili and Xu Shu, I finally exhaled in relief, though I couldn't help feeling a bit strange.
Before, when he had offered, I had stubbornly refused.
Now, he'd come all this way, bringing the whole group along—how was that supposed to work?
Suo Tian ate quickly.
We were only halfway through our meal when he put down his chopsticks and said, "I only have an hour. There are still some things to handle over there, so I'm leaving first."
With that, he stood up, patted Xiao Hu and Tingyun on the heads, and headed out the door.
I froze for a moment, then quickly got up and followed him.
At the door, Suo Tian stopped and turned back with a gentle tone: "What's wrong?"
"Uh… nothing… just here to see you off. What time will you be back tonight?"
Honestly, I didn't know why I had followed him out—I just did it instinctively when he got up.
Hearing my words, Suo Tian let out a light chuckle: "What a good wife. I'll probably be back late tonight, so don't wait for me."
My face flushed, and I glared at him: "Who said I'd wait for you?"
He chuckled again, stepped forward, quickly kissed my forehead, then turned, opened the car door, and got in.
As he started the car, he seemed to remember something and rolled down the window: "Our room is the first one on the third floor."
I shot him a sharp glare, said nothing, and turned back into the house.
Hearing the car engine fade away behind me, I couldn't help but grin like an idiot.
Just as I stepped inside, I heard Lili's teasing: "Oh my, look who's back! Face all rosy—are you even the same person who went out just now?"
Xu Shu chimed in: "That shy little look… I almost don't recognize you."
I tried to suppress my smile, about to reply, when I noticed Tingyun standing by the table pointing to her forehead.
Xiao Hu, with a mouth full of food, planted a smacking kiss on the spot she was pointing to.
Immediately, the two kids burst into giggles, laughing joyfully.
My face darkened.
I pointed at the kids: "You two! What are you doing? Xiao Hu, how old are you? And you already know how to take advantage of a little girl? Tingyun! Do you know you're a little girl? And you're laughing after being kissed? Are you two for real?"
Shen Feng, who had been quiet, muttered, "They learned it from you, didn't they?"
I was struck dumb by that remark, and with a flushed face, returned to the table and focused seriously on my meal.
After eating and clearing the table, we started preparing to go back and pick up Uncle Gazi and the others.
They didn't have much luggage—just their allocated items and people needed to be brought over.
I roughly calculated that with Bruno's car, two or three trips would be enough.
To avoid troubling Bruno again, we decided he, Xu Shu, and Lili would stay at the house, while Shen Feng and I went back first to pick everyone up.
After helping gather their things, Shen Feng could handle the rest on his own.
It was already getting late, and with the distance, we didn't waste any more time.
Once everything was settled, we immediately set off.
Stepping out of the comfortable courtyard, I stretched and leaned back in my chair, feeling great.
I had no idea that what followed would turn into a major chaotic mess.
— The end of the Chapter–