The Walking Dead : Rules of Survival

When Suo Tian and I got back to the supermarket, Beard Face was standing there with a dark expression, clearly about to lead nearly all the black-clad men out in a convoy to look for us.

Of course, whether they were planning to look for "us" or just Suo Tian… that was still up for debate.

As soon as I got out of the car, Shen Xue and the others dragged me aside for a proper scolding.

"Chen Yang, what's wrong with you? You just ran off with Suo Tian without saying a word and were gone for forever. Where the hell did you two go?"

Shen Xue stood with her arms crossed, full-on mom mode activated.

I cleared my throat, just about to correct her wording—what do you mean I ran off with Suo Tian?

But before I could even speak, Yangyang chimed in:

"Exactly! Sis, you're getting more and more unreliable. Can't even give us a heads-up before disappearing. If you had to go out with Brother-in-law, at least tell one of us! That big bearded guy had a sour face the whole morning, and we were all worried sick!"

"Yeah, totally! Auntie, that was super irresponsible of you," Zheng Rongrong added in a very serious tone, clearly trying to imitate the others as she joined in the lecture.

In Zheng Rongrong's arms, little Zheng Yiyi also blinked her innocent eyes and let out a soft, puppy-like "woof woof."

I stood there, helplessly enduring everyone's scolding, until Shen Feng finally couldn't watch anymore and pulled me aside, saying, "Alright, alright, even if Chen Yang's a little unreliable, Suo Tian isn't. If he took her out with him, there was clearly something important to do. You guys are all talking over each other—how is she supposed to get any rest like this?"

I looked at Shen Feng with tears of gratitude in my eyes and was just about to cup my fists and thank him when a thought hit me—hold on, what do you mean 'even if Chen Yang is unreliable'? How unreliable do you people think I am!?

Although I was clearly feeling wronged inside, there was no way I could win against the group's overwhelming numbers and unified front.

So, I just pouted and said I was tired, effectively ending this one-sided interrogation.

Back inside the supermarket, Shen Xue and Xu Shu had already put the bedding back in place.

I took off my jacket and quickly crawled under the covers.

The exhaustion from not sleeping properly in the second half of the night finally caught up with me under the warm midday sunlight.

Before falling asleep, my mind kept replaying those brief moments of contact and conversation with Suo Tian on the way back.

My heart felt as sweet as if I had downed an entire jar of honey.

By the time I woke up again, the sky was already dimming.

I sat in bed in a daze.

Unless something particularly shocking happened, zoning out after waking up had become my daily ritual—it was essential.

The quality of the surrounding environment during this daze could even directly affect how much energy I had for the rest of the day.

Just as I was practically merging with the cosmos in a state of post-nap enlightenment, a sudden loud explosion outside jolted me so hard it was like my soul almost left my body.

I sprang up from the bed like a shot.

No more dazing off now—I grabbed the jacket that had been tossed aside and threw it on haphazardly before rushing outside.

What just happened?

When I got to the door, I saw almost everyone had gathered there.

Suo Tian stood in the middle of the crowd, looking up at a nearby building that was now billowing black smoke.

He occasionally leaned down to exchange a few quiet words with the bearded man beside him.

I stared blankly at the small two-story building not far away, which was now billowing with black smoke and seemingly on fire.

It felt strange—was that loud explosion just now really from that building?

Yangyang, Shen Xue, and Jun Di were standing by the door, while Chen Pu stood behind Xu Shu.

I walked over to Shen Feng and asked, "What happened?"

Shen Feng frowned, glanced at me, then turned back to look at the building and said, "Not too sure. Seems like a gas tank explosion."

"A gas tank explosion?" I looked at him in disbelief.

"How's that possible? If no one touched it, how could it suddenly explode?"

Xu Shu, behind me, chimed in, "There were people in that building. A middle-aged woman and her paralyzed husband. While you were out this morning, they came to us, hoping we'd take them in."

I turned around and looked at Xu Shu. "And then?"

Xu Shu shrugged and pointed at the building.

"The bearded guy had them thrown out. She never came back after that. And then… well, you're seeing the rest yourself."

"This morning, she already looked like she was on the verge of breaking down," Yangyang said, squatting down to pat the back of a seemingly frightened Rongrong.

"Kept saying she couldn't hold on anymore. I'd say there's a high chance she turned the gas on herself—probably wanted to commit suicide."

"Can't blame her, really. Stuck with a paralyzed husband… I wouldn't want to go on either," Shen Xue added with a sigh, her tone carrying a hint of sympathy for the woman.

I glanced at Yangyang, who had so casually spoken about someone taking their own life, and felt a bit unsettled inside.

Just a few months ago, he had risked his life going outside to save Rongrong—and now he could talk about life and death so lightly.

I shook my head, forcing myself not to dwell on it.

After all, in this world we live in now, being able to harden one's heart is far better than clinging to useless compassion.

I looked again toward the building—it was only about twenty or thirty meters from the gas station where we stood, not far at all.

Flames had already started leaping out from the windows.

From the looks of it... the inside was already burning.

Because the explosion had been so loud, Suo Tian made a snap decision to depart immediately—no more staying the night here.

Shen Xue, Chen Pu, and the others looked a bit deflated.

Leaving now meant they'd have to endure yet another long and uncomfortable night swaying in the vehicles.

After Suo Tian ordered people to secure the perimeter tightly, the rest of us began packing up our supplies and gear.

All the clean food left in the supermarket was swept up and distributed among the vehicles.

Technically, none of our cars lacked supplies, but food is food—the more, the better.

While helping with the distribution, I made a point to sneak a few extra packs of sausages, beef jerky, and some Snickers bars into Suo Tian's car.

I'd noticed that during meals, he always just sat there slowly munching on compressed biscuits.

Roughly ten minutes later, everything was packed up and ready to go—just goes to show the power of teamwork.

At that point, the distant but growing howls of the walkers began to echo closer.

The fire in that building had grown huge and now looked like it was about to spread to adjacent structures.

At this rate, even if we didn't attract a horde of walkers, the blaze alone—so close to the nearby gas station—was already dangerous enough.

As the car got back on the road, I glanced at the blazing inferno in the rearview mirror.

A random thought popped into my head—would the walkers know to avoid fire?

Or would they, like always, just blindly charge toward the noise and stumble right into the flames?

Would they get burned to death?

Of course, no one would agree to stop the car just so I could figure out the answer to that.

As for our route, Suo Tian always made a point to inform us each time we stopped, so even though it was nighttime now, there was no need to worry about getting lost or accidentally veering into dangerous territory.

These roads had all been personally vetted by him, chosen for being relatively safer than other paths.

Outside, the sky had gone completely dark.

I leaned my head against the windowpane.

I'd slept too much during the day, so I wasn't tired at all now.

Yangyang handed me some food from the back.

I took a bag of crackers, opened it, and passed it to Xu Shu, who wasn't in a position to use her hands easily.

Then I leaned my head back against the glass again, mindlessly munching on a packet of dry instant noodles.

"Woof woof."

Suddenly, a babyish voice came from the back seat.

I turned my head to see that little thing giving a full-on puppy look at Rongrong, who was chewing on a sausage.

Its little tail wagged back and forth—I imagined if it could talk, it would be nonstop saying, "Give me a bite, give me a bite."

Yangyang snatched the half-eaten sausage from Rongrong and put it in front of drooling Yiyi.

Then he opened another sausage and handed it to the pouty Rongrong.

Chen Pu stood nearby, laughing as he teased Rongrong, "You little chubby, you eat so much and still want more. Look at you, you're round like a ball."

Rongrong happily munched away, babbling nonsense that Chen Pu probably didn't understand either, so he just reached out and pinched her chubby little cheeks.

I turned my head away, no longer watching their antics, and leaned back in the seat to close my eyes and rest.

With those few little troublemakers in the back, whether I was tired or not, falling asleep was impossible.

"Chen Yang," Xu Shu, who was driving, suddenly called out to me.

"Hm?" I turned my face toward her but still hadn't opened my eyes.

"What did you do with Suo Tian today?"

"Oh, nothing much, just took care of some things." I cleared my throat and opened my eyes to look at her.

"Hmm." Xu Shu responded with a nod, pursed her lips, and then said, "Have you thought about what we're going to do next?"

I was stunned for a moment and asked, "Do what?"

Xu Shu glanced at me again and asked, "Whether we continue following their group or leave them to find a safe place to hide on our own?"

Her question caught me off guard.

To be honest, I hadn't really given that much serious thought.

Since I met Suo Tian, even though I always felt like I was relying on others, I never seriously considered leaving him to wander alone with Shen Feng, Yangyang, and the others.

After thinking for a moment, I replied, "For now, I'll stick with them. After all, their fighting strength is strong, and those guns can't be compared to our few knives. It's safer to be with them. We'll decide the rest later."

From the back seat, Yangyang suddenly chimed in, "Sis, can I ask you something?"

I glanced back at him and said, "What question?"

Yangyang hesitated for a moment: "Do you like Suo Tian? I mean, do you really like him in your heart?"

I was taken aback again, never expecting Yangyang to ask me that.

I glanced at Xu Shu, who was driving, and felt my face uncontrollably flush.

I glared at Yangyang and scolded warmly, "Why do kids like you have to meddle in such things?"

Yangyang shook his head and said, "It's not about being a kid or not. Your answer decides whether I support us staying in Suo Tian's group."

I waved my hand at him and said, "Forget it. Setting everything else aside, just about whether you support staying or leaving, I can tell you now—kids in our team don't have voting rights for the time being."

Chen Pu jumped in, "I don't have voting rights either?"

I gave him a firm nod, "Exactly!"

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