Chapter 10: Hesitation

“Tsk, we killed one with nothing but steel pipes. What’s so scary about zombies?” Li Fengyi quickly tried to boost everyone’s morale. If their unity faltered, that would truly be a problem. For a moment, a sense of resolve returned to the group.

Li Fengyi asked, “Is everyone clear about the situation now?”

Everyone nodded.

“Now, Wang Shujuan, tell us how much food and water we’ve got, and how many people we have,” he said. At the very least, he thought, they needed to figure out which kids from which families they’d brought back.

Wang Shujuan held a small notebook. Huang Shunyi, sharp-eyed, noticed it was Li Yutian’s homework book.

“In total, we have 50 bags of rice, 10 bags of flour—7 bags of rice and 2 of flour have been brought up already, the rest are still in the corridor and need to be carried up. There are 8 barrels of mineral water, including what’s in the water dispenser, one full 10-liter barrel of peanut oil, two more barrels almost full, some vegetables, 2 bags of salt, and a few other seasonings. We have pots, pans, bowls, all that,” Wang Shujuan read from the notebook.

Then she moved on to their personnel. “There are 15 of us altogether. Apart from my mother, who’s 70, we have two 12-year-olds, one 11-year-old, one 10-year-old, two 9-year-olds, one 7-year-old, and one 4-year-old.”

Quite a lot of people, and plenty of children as well…

Of course, she didn’t mention her own age; a woman’s age is always a secret.

Sun Xiaoshan interjected, “The Xiangshan shelter is gone too…”

Tian Ming muttered to himself, “This is too much for me… Are you sure you’re not joking with me? Don’t mess around, I’m really anxious.”

Everyone fell silent.

That day’s meeting was the group’s first discussion about their future in the apocalypse. No one realized, in that moment of life and death, how important this discussion would be. And so, the organization that would carry them through the end times began its first tentative operations.

None of them understood how the world had suddenly descended into chaos, nor could they guess how things would unfold.

They were panicked, terrified, thrown headlong into disaster, and from that moment on, there was no turning back.

Later, people would call it the “607 Meeting.” On that day, panic and fear swept the globe. No one could say what was really happening, or what tomorrow would bring.

Li Fengyi, determined to protect his family, found little time for panic.

Recalling that day later, he said, “All I could think about was getting more food and water for the old folks and the kids.” He scratched his head sheepishly. “Who had time to worry about anything else?”

Once everyone understood their situation, Li Fengyi said, “Let’s leave one person on watch at each balcony. Everyone else can take turns. Two ladies, while the gas is still on, hurry and cook as much food as you can—make the kind that keeps, because in a few days we might have to eat raw. My mom will watch the kids; the rest of you come with me to move the supplies.”

The security door of apartment 607 opened quietly, and five men, doused in medical alcohol, slipped out.

They carried hammers, axes, steel pipes—whatever they could find—and crept softly down the stairs.

Some apartments clearly had zombies roaming inside, bumping into things, which in turn set off more noise from zombies in neighboring units. The motion-activated corridor lights kept flickering on.

Other apartments were silent; it was impossible to tell if they were empty, or if frightened survivors were simply afraid to make a sound.

Again and again, the five men hauled up heavy loads of food and water—white-collar workers now sweating and breathless, but no one complained. Without these supplies, life would soon become unbearable. Sometimes they would take turns keeping watch on the balconies, resting in shifts, staring out at the city where streetlights illuminated shuffling zombie silhouettes, and the few homes with lights seemed heartbreakingly lonely.

Even though the lights were on inside, and anyone outside could see people were there, Li Fengyi didn’t want to miss any opportunity. In times like these, every chance might be a last lifeline—it was best to keep control in their own hands.

By the middle of the night, they’d moved everything, stacking it as neatly as possible in the living room of 607, leaving only a narrow walkway.

Wang Shujuan and Chu Zhen had also cooked a large batch of flatbreads, hoping they’d last.

There were three bedrooms and one living room. The living room and bedrooms could all be used for sleeping. The children, elderly, and women stayed in the west bedroom of 607 and in 605; the men slept in the living room and the east bedroom of 607.

The computer was left running, with someone always on duty to monitor the news. Who knew when the internet or power would go out? Someone had to guard the door at all times—a building full of corpses… zombies…

That night, apart from the children, no one could sleep. Fear, tension, and anxiety pressed heavily on everyone’s hearts.

Those who couldn’t sleep gathered in front of the computer, anxiously awaiting the latest news, occasionally glancing out the window at the buildings outside, where, in the glow of lonely lights, shadows moved.

The news grew more chaotic, full of contradictions, and more and more websites stopped updating or became inaccessible.

On May 29, 2015, at 10:00 p.m., the children were all asleep under the care of the elderly and the two women.

At this time, Huang Shunyi, on computer duty, found a trove of apocalypse survival guides online and called Li Fengyi over to have a look.

Thanks to the vast flow of information in the internet age, everyone had seen or heard of zombie movies and novels, but none had taken it as seriously as their own professional knowledge. Li Fengyi read for a while, then called everyone together again.

“For years, there have been all kinds of survival guides online for the apocalypse. Don’t worry about the details, but there are two main schools of thought: one says to leave the city immediately when disaster strikes; the other suggests staying put for two or three days, and if there’s no rescue, then leaving to look for shelter.” Li Fengyi looked at everyone. “Right now, the most important thing is to decide: do we leave the city now, or hold out for two or three days before leaving?”

The seven of them started debating, each seeing the pros and cons. If they stayed put, they wouldn’t have to worry about supplies, but staying too long risked being trapped until their resources ran out. On the other hand, with so many children, taking risks outside could be even more dangerous.

Unable to agree, they looked to their leader for a decision. After some discussion, all eyes turned to Li Fengyi.

He nodded. “Let’s contact some other people and see what they’re doing.”

They each used their phones to reach out to acquaintances in Beijing. They couldn’t get hold of Xu Bofeng, who had left the office earlier—his commute home was normally an hour or two by bus, but with the city shut down, it would take three or four hours on foot at best, and by then the zombies would be everywhere.

They managed to contact a few others—some had already left home, some were preparing to leave, and some refused to go out at any cost.

After hearing everyone’s reports, Li Fengyi said, “Let’s rest tonight and check in with them again tomorrow. If they make progress, we’ll leave the city right away. If not, we’ll keep observing.”

They began to take turns keeping watch through the night, but no one could really sleep. The whole building was full of corpses… zombies… and a handful of living people sleeping on the rooftop…