Chapter 66

Chapter 66

November 14.

The moment midnight passed, all traces of drowsiness vanished. No one lay down. No one closed their eyes.

Five pairs of eyes… No, six, counting Zhou Yaping curled up in the corner. Every pair seemed nailed to the window, staring fixedly at the night sky outside.

In the absolute silence, with everyone watching so intently, time seemed to crawl.

The night sky gradually faded from pitch-black to gray.

The stars were sparse and the clouds faint and wispy. As far as they could see, the sky was so vast and empty that it made their hearts clench. Nothing left so much as a streak across it.

As the sky grew brighter, the hope in their hearts gradually faded.

“Could it be…”

Lin Hao’s hoarse voice broke the near-deathly silence, tinged with agitation. “Could this area be outside the drop zone?”

His voice fell. “That can’t be.”

An Xiaolin and Ji Feifan pressed their lips tightly together, their expressions grave.

“Let’s wait a little longer,” Chen Yuhui said, leaning against the wall. Her injured leg kept her from standing for long, but her voice was steadier than the others’. “The drone fleet is starting from Jing Province. It’ll take time to fly all the way here. The supplies couldn’t possibly drop right on top of us the instant midnight passed.”

“That’s true…”

They waited until the sun climbed to its highest point. The temperature rose, dispelling some of the night’s chill.

After being wound tight for half the night and the entire morning, their nerves finally began to tire under the strain of the long, fruitless wait. Aside from An Xiaolin, who remained on watch, the others gradually retreated to the corners of the room to rest.

Zhou Yaping had reached her limit long ago and fallen asleep curled up beside Lin Hao. But she slept fitfully, her body trembling every so often.

Lin Hao carefully shifted his numb leg and was about to remove his jacket.

“Uncle Haohao…” The moment his arm moved away, the little girl jolted awake. Still half asleep, she called out softly and grasped helplessly at the air with one small hand.

“I’m here. I’m right here.”

Lin Hao hurriedly draped the half-removed jacket over her. He soothed her in a low voice while gently patting her back.

Zhou Yaping nuzzled his arm for comfort, then slipped back into an uneasy, shallow sleep.

His gaze drifted unconsciously to Zhou Yaping’s slender wrist, where she wore a watch with a rabbit printed on it.

It was a birthday present he and Fang Shuyao had once spent an entire afternoon picking out.

Lin Hao stared at the watch, a bitter smile tugging at his lips.

Those days… were all in the past now.

He lowered his head and looked at the dust-covered little face in his arms. Her familiar features gradually overlapped with two warm, smiling faces from deep within his memories.

“So you’re Zhou Hao?”

The floodgates of memory burst open.

He had been eight years old that year, newly brought to the Zhou Family Old Mansion, which had seemed as vast as a maze to him.

A boy much taller than him blocked his path in the corridor and looked down at him. The boy wore a perfectly fitted black suit, and his hair was combed meticulously into place.

“I’m not! My name is Lin Hao! Not Zhou Hao!”

He had nervously clutched the hem of his clothes, bracing himself for yet another contemptuous stare.

But there was no contempt in the boy’s eyes, only undisguised curiosity. After hearing his stubborn denial, the boy merely said, “Oh.” Then, as though it were the most natural thing in the world, he declared, “I’m your older cousin, Zhou Shaocheng. Go on, call me Cousin.”

“C-Cousin…” he stammered awkwardly.

The boy nodded in satisfaction, then stepped aside and pointed toward the brightest part of the banquet hall. He lifted his chin slightly, a hint of barely perceptible pride in his expression. “Over there. The most dazzling girl, right in the middle of the crowd. That’s my girlfriend, Fang Shuyao. Your future cousin-in-law.”

He stared blankly in that direction.

Beneath the crystal chandelier, the girl in the white gown seemed to glow with a soft light of her own. She was chatting with someone, a gentle smile on her face, radiant and full of life.

He looked back up at his cousin. The boy was clearly trying to act mature, but his eyes were bright and clear. A vague thought surfaced in his mind.

How wonderful… I want to become like them too. I want to stand in the light and be that confident.

As though he had seen straight through him, the boy suddenly smiled. That smile erased the last trace of distance between them. He reached out and ruffled Lin Hao’s hair, none too gently.

“Don’t worry, little cousin. From now on, I’ve got your back.”

And he kept that promise for ten whole years.

From elementary school to middle school and then high school, all the way until Lin Hao was accepted into university, his cousin had always looked out for him. When it was time for him to start college, his cousin and cousin-in-law personally drove him there.

Over those ten years, the boy who had promised to watch over him grew into a calm, dependable man. He married the girl he loved and had two adorable daughters, yet he never forgot his timid little cousin.

Lin Hao abruptly bit down on the tip of his tongue, forcing back the burning sensation that suddenly surged into his nose and eyes.

I’m sorry, Pingping. I’m sorry, Cousin. I’m sorry, Cousin-in-law. She was once the cherished darling of the entire family, but now she’s as filthy as a beggar and too terrified to even sleep peacefully.

I’m so useless… What am I supposed to do? How can I possibly protect her…?

Time passed slowly. Every minute and every second was unbearable.

Qingshui stood silently by the window and watched for a long while longer. Only after determining that nothing was likely to change anytime soon did she finally return to the corner and slowly close her dry, aching eyes.

The instant her eyes shut…

“Hey…!” An Xiaolin’s trembling voice rang out. “Everyone… look! Look at the sky!”

Qingshui’s eyes snapped open.

Outside the window, against the clear blue sky, a “flower” suddenly blossomed without warning.

Then came a second, and a third… Yellow, red, and white. One after another, cluster after cluster, they spread across the vast sky in an instant.

They were here.

The airdrops had really come!

The deathly silence erupted into frantic activity.

Everyone, including Chen Yuhui with her injured leg, scrambled toward the window, staring fixedly at the swaths of color slowly descending from the sky.

Their hearts hammered wildly in their chests. Blood pounded against their eardrums, filling their ears with a deafening hum.

Chen Yuhui dug her fingers deep into the windowsill and craned her head upward. Only one thought remained in her mind, roaring over and over:

Come down here! Don’t fly any farther! Land nearby! Please, just land somewhere nearby!
Please!!

Let us live… We just want to survive!!

Perhaps their despair and desperate prayers had finally moved the heavens to show them a shred of mercy.

Under the scorching intensity of everyone’s gaze, several “flowers” began plummeting straight toward their area, accelerating as they fell before finally disappearing into the distant park!

“Yes!!” An Xiaolin whipped around and grabbed Chen Yuhui’s arm, her eyes shining with almost frightening brightness. “They landed in the park! They’re right there in the park!”

The next second, everyone sprang into action.

Ji Feifan and An Xiaolin tightened their backpack straps and checked their weapons as fast as they could.

“Lin Hao,” Qingshui said. “Use the drone to pinpoint where those packages landed and check the current situation in the park.”

“Got it!” Lin Hao lunged for the drone charging in the corner.

The drone swiftly rose into the air, streaked over the desolate cement factory grounds, and flew toward the park.

The feed on the screen shifted rapidly. Then twenty or thirty naked Madmen appeared in one corner of the screen, charging out from somewhere in the park!

Lin Hao’s fingers flew over the controls as he quickly scanned the entire park.

“There’s a yellow package stuck on top of the artificial hill to the right of the lake. It’s easy to spot!” he rattled off. “There’s a red one hanging from the railing near the lake by the entrance! And another… another red one… landed in the small plaza at the very back of the park, but-”

He sucked in a breath. “The Madmen are already gathering around it. There are… quite a few of them.”

They couldn’t rush this. The more desperate the situation, the more important it was to stay calm.

“We wait until dark,” Qingshui said.

The feverish edge of their elation subsided, and reason returned. An Xiaolin and Ji Feifan also calmed down and found places to sit.

Their hopeless waiting had become an agonizing wait filled with fear.

Lin Hao switched on the radio.

After a burst of static, the familiar woman’s voice came through again, this time with an updated announcement:

[Attention, all survivors! The first batch of airdropped supplies was deployed on November 14! Repeat, the supplies have been deployed!]

[Yellow supply crates primarily contain compressed food, drinking water, and basic survival supplies.]

[White supply crates contain emergency medical supplies, including antibiotics, tourniquets, disinfectant, and more.]

[Red supply crates contain specialized protective equipment and self-defense weapons, including firearms, compatible ammunition, grenades, two-way radios, and more…]

[National rescue forces are assembling. Further information regarding airdrops and rescue operations will continue to be broadcast on this channel. All citizens are urged to remain calm, stand united, and help one another through this crisis!]

[Your country stands with you! We repeat: your country stands with you!]

The voice over the radio rang with conviction and strength.

Everyone in the room unconsciously straightened their backs as hope rekindled in their eyes.

Meanwhile, inside a massive underground base somewhere…

“Dad! I’ve already told you, it’s impossible right now!” A middle-aged man in a crisp green combat uniform, evidently someone of considerable rank, growled at the white-haired old man sitting ramrod straight before him.

“The pressure at Rift No. 4 keeps mounting, and my detachment is holding one of the primary defensive lines! You want me to abandon my post at a time like this to search for someone? If I leave and a gap opens in the line, the consequences will be unthinkable! If those things inside come pouring out, we won’t be talking about one or two deaths!”

The old man wore a faded military uniform with no insignia. He slammed his palm onto the metal table with a dull bang. “To hell with your defensive line! When I was fighting wars, you were still playing in the mud! I’ll defend Rift No. 4! These old bones can still carry a rifle!”

“You will find that child from the Fang family. Now. I want him found, dead or alive!”

“Would you please stop this!” the middle-aged man pleaded, both anxious and exasperated.

“You think I’m making a scene?” The old man shot to his feet, his chest heaving. “I’m not your father! I’m your commanding officer! Liu Zhenguo! I am ordering you to go!”

He paused to catch his breath. When he spoke again, his voice dropped, weighed down by emotion. “Your father owes his life to Fang Yuan. He dragged me straight out of the King of Hell’s hands… During that breakout, he had shrapnel buried in his back and one leg broken, yet he still dragged me, a wounded man dozens of pounds heavier than him, for over half a mile! I promised him… that as long as I lived, I would protect his son, even if it cost me my life!”

Liu Zhenguo’s eyes reddened. He jabbed a finger against the table, each tap landing with a sharp thud. “And now? How long has it been since we lost contact with his son, Fang Jingzhi, and his granddaughter, Fang Shuyao? Huh?”

“If I can’t find his son or his granddaughter, I won’t have the face to meet Old Fang in the afterlife! I’ll have to hang myself with my own belt in front of his grave to atone!”

A young staff officer standing nearby, also dressed in a combat uniform, couldn’t help speaking up in a low voice. “Please calm down. Although the communications network was still functioning at the beginning of the Cataclysm, many cities lost contact. Major Fang and the others may simply be trapped somewhere and temporarily unable to establish communications. The registration lists from survivor bases are still being updated…”

“What if Fang Shuyao was killed too?” the middle-aged man interrupted, his voice hoarse as he gave voice to the brutal possibility.

Under the command center’s bright lights, the air suddenly froze.

Liu Zhenguo opened his mouth, but it was as though all his strength had been drained from him in an instant. He slowly sank back into his chair, his once-straight back slumping. Before him, chaotic reports and distress signals from across the country continued scrolling over the screens. For a long time, he said nothing.

Just as the suffocating silence threatened to swallow everything, the command center’s automatic door slid open, and someone walked in.

The newcomer also wore a fitted combat uniform, her posture erect. Her features bore some resemblance to the middle-aged man’s, but hers were colder and sharper.

“Father. Grandpa.” Her voice was calm. “If Sister Shuyao is already gone, then our first priority is to find her children, Zhou Yaping and Zhou Ya’an.”

She turned toward the middle-aged man.

“I’ve already requested authorization from our superiors to temporarily take over the defense of Rift No. 4.” She paused, then continued,

“If they’re alive, we must find them. That is the last answer we can give Grandpa Fang.”