Six weeks in, raising orphans is harder than Xu Qingge imagined. She survives on scavenged beans, ramen, dried chicken strips, and stale bread.
It isn't completely strange for her to raise children; she was a babysitter in her past life. But this is far harder. Food is scarce, water scarcer, and most importantly, the children have lost all trust in people.
The group she finds is uneven: six boys and four girls, all between the ages of three and eight.
Currently, everyone sits inside an abandoned warehouse — their refuge for the past six weeks. It is where they spend their days just sitting around, doing almost nothing other than eating, drinking, and praying every day until exhaustion finally drags them into the abyssal sleep that never truly comes.
Jiang Tai shuffles forward, eyes fixed on the cracked concrete floor. "Miss Xu, there's nothing to do. Can you teach us to read and write? The uncle at our old group promised he'd teach us if we asked… but he died."
"Yes, please teach us, Teacher Xu," a little girl chimes in. She looks about seven. This is Hu Yanmei, who follows Xu Qingge like a puppy, begging for stories whenever she can.
Xu Qingge nods, standing. "Alright. I'll teach you today." Hu Yanmei perks up immediately, bouncing up and down excitedly. The rest of the children look surprised.
"What did you think I meant?" Xu Qingge raises an eyebrow questioningly at the lot of them.
No one speaks up, and her expression turns stern. "Well then, start paying attention."
Walking over to the middle of the room, she pulls up one chair in front of of the children. "Sit down crossed legged in front neatly, please."
They obediently sit down, folding their legs and placing their hands on their knees, facing her. Their expressions are earnest.
"Do you guys know how to read characters?" Xu Qingge asks. She scans their faces carefully. A few shake their heads; others shrug. "Good. We'll start simple. First, your names — every character has meaning. If you learn to write your name, you can write anything you need to survive."
*
Meanwhile, as Xu Meixiang prepares dinner for the group, she blushes meekly. "Zhao‑gege, you really saved us out there. How you fought those zombies was… amazing." She looks over at the young man sitting beside her, silently eating.
He doesn't look very happy, she notices; he seems distracted. After a moment, she continues, "You really did save my life, Zhao Guanyin. Thank you."
"It was nothing. Without your spatial powers we wouldn't have this abundance of food. We would've starved by now," he says, chewing a piece of fish with a grimace. "Besides—"
"No! We should thank you," she interrupts. "It wasn't easy getting here. We would've been eaten alive if you hadn't come." She meets his eyes. "We're very grateful. We're indebted to you."
Everyone at the table nods along. The group is mostly classmates who survived the purge that invaded their college campus; they all feel the same relief and gratitude because he saved them back then as well.
Even though his appearance isn't remarkable, he is handsome enough, and though he isn't popular at school, they still respect him.
"That's alright. I don't want any thanks," he insists, waving his hand to dismiss their gratitude.
Li Wenjie speaks up, "Bro, we really owe you."
His brow furrows. "You owe me no thanks."
Li Wenjie continues, "You saved our lives. Don't say we don't owe you something. We're classmates too — we're supposed to help each other."
"Stop trying to butter up my elder brother. Big Sister Xu, can you pass me the salt?" Zhao Jiaqi says with a frown. She doesn't like Li Wenjie flirting with her elder brother instead of her. Xu Meixiang passes the salt to Zhao Jiaqi.
"When are we going to look for my sister? She might be scared," Xu Meixiang says, worry lacing her voice. Her question silences everyone at the table, ruining the good mood.
"Stop worrying about that b****," Zhao Guanyin scoffs. "I'm sure she's fine."
Xu Meixiang looks shocked and speechless. She never expected Zhao Guanyin to swear, but somehow it fits his personality and makes him more handsome. Still, he can't speak that way about her sister. She's already tired of people treating Xu Qingge badly and she's determined not to let it slide. She bites her lip and stays silent.
She's worried. If Xu Qingge isn't safe, what about Li Xiaoyue and Wei Qingyang? They also got lost on a food run, and she'd rather not think about it.
"Xu Meixiang, we didn't want to tell you this before, but your sister tried to take advantage of Zhao Guanyin," Jing Shiyi says — she's been silent until now. "She climbed into his bed even though she knew you're his girlfriend, then went on the food run so you wouldn't confront her. She didn't get lost — she ran away. She's probably hiding somewhere, waiting for us to find her, and she's probably prepared the sorriest excuse."
Xu Meixiang pales. Anger flares inside her. Her hands clench until her nails bite into her palms; the pain burns.
The group soon packs up to change locations. They plan to go to Base M in the next city, using the armored car parked outside.
Little do they know they will run into Xu Qingge — and face the most humiliating day of their lives.
*
As soon as they arrive at Base M, the convoy slows to a crawl at the end of a deserted street. In the center of the intersection, several corpses lie scattered.
The dead are piled high against a wall, with more bodies slumped behind the first heap—it must have been a pack or a mob that attacked. Several others lie nearby, trampled, broken, and bloodied.
No one stands outside the gates. Base M is silent, empty. The gate hangs wide open, swaying slightly in the wind. Its former occupants are long gone, leaving only the stench of decay and the bodies of their dead.
No one moves to get out of the armored car. No one dares to approach the gates.
Zhao Jiaqi is the first to break the silence, her voice small and tense. "Is this… the place?"
Xu Meixiang's gaze drifts over the corpses. There must be dozens—maybe more. The sight makes the fine hairs on her neck rise, sending a chill through her body.
"Let's leave this place. Who knows what could be waiting for us inside?"
"Oh, come on. Don't be scared," Li Wenjie sneers. "It's obviously abandoned. No one's going to hurt us."
Jing Shiyi smacks him on the back of the head, her expression cold.