doomsday shelter

Chapter 9：stay away or stay

Upon the rooftop platform, aside from two seven-year-old children, five adults took turns peering through a telescope at the W town, ten kilometers distant. The morning skies were clear, the mountain air crisp, affording exceptional visibility. From their elevated vantage, each beheld the streets of W town ablaze, shrouded in billowing smoke. The diminutive figures traversing the streets resembled ants, their identities obscured by distance.

Despite cars traversing the streets, they found their passage impeded by fallen streetlights and burnt-out vehicles, forming impassable barriers. Upon concluding her observation, Liang Jiajia fretted, "We're so close! What shall we do?"

"The linear distance is indeed short, approximately ten kilometers. However, the winding mountain roads to our location elongate the distance to about thirty kilometers in actuality. Given the sluggish pace of the undead, we yet have time," Song Yunian reassured.

"Mr. Song, do you have any strategies in mind?" Zhang Jian inquired.

Taking hold of the telescope, Song Yunian remarked, "Let me survey other areas." Rotating the telescope 360 degrees, he observed that villages, both near and far, emitted plumes of smoke. It appeared that infected individuals from the town had returned to their villages, subsequently infecting the local populace. In this age, few paid heed to radio broadcasts; reliance on television and smartphone news prevailed. This sudden crisis rendered television and the internet defunct, catching many off guard, unable to resort to radio for updates, leading to inadvertent exposure.

Part of the road leading up the mountain was obscured by trees, rendering visibility nil. Yet, neither Song Yunian nor Zhang Jian espied a single undead or living soul. Setting aside the telescope, Song Yunian lamented, "It seems we're temporarily stranded! The undead encroach from all directions! We must fortify our defenses and await rescue."

"But don't we have cars? Can't we drive to a safe location? Perhaps some areas remain uncontaminated?" Liang Jiajia suggested.

"The crux lies in discerning where safety lies. Haphazardly driving about without direction would prove futile, leaving us stranded once our fuel depletes," Song Yunian reasoned.

Adjusting his spectacles, Zhang Jian proposed, "Let us first close the gates to the scenic area! The mountain road is our sole ingress; other routes are precipitous, likely impeding the undead's ascent momentarily."

"I shall accompany Doctor Zhang to close the gate halfway up the mountain. The rest of you shall remain here," Song Yunian directed.

"Please, exercise caution," Liang Jiajia implored.

"Fear not! There's no cause for concern!" Song Yunian reassured, a smile gracing his lips.

Suddenly, Zhang Meng grasped her brother Zhang Jian's arm. "Brother, I wish to accompany you!"

"Why do you wish to join us? There's no need for so many people!" Zhang Jian countered. At this juncture, both Tongtong and Lele clamored to accompany them. However, Xu Xiaoli swiftly restrained the two, saying, "You two shall only cause chaos!"

Zhang Jian tenderly embraced his two children, jesting, "Both of you are young men now; heed your mother's words!" Encouraged by the praise, both boys nodded fervently. "Father, return soon!" they chorused.

"You should stay as well! You can assist your brother when you come of age at eighteen!" Zhang Jian directed towards Zhang Meng.

"You'd best depart now! No need for further delay!" Zhang Meng muttered despondently.

Song Yunian and Zhang Jian arrived at the gate of "Paradise Manor" on the mountainside. Alighting from the car, they shut the massive iron gates beneath the archway. Sensing the weight of the gate, they exerted considerable effort to close it completely, the resounding clang echoing through the air.

"This gate is truly weighty," Zhang Jian remarked.

"I quite like it; it yields the desired effect!" Song Yunian chuckled.

As they prepared to lock it, they realized there was no lock. Song Yunian entered the guard booth and rummaged to no avail, while Zhang Jian scoured the surroundings, equally fruitlessly.

"Old Xu's up to something. He left behind all those exquisite wooden furnishings in the villa but absconded with a rickety lock," Zhang Jian remarked.

"We need some wire or rope to secure the gate. Let's split up and search!" Song Yunian suggested.

In the storeroom of a small supermarket, they unearthed some rope, wire, and scissors. Using these, they securely fastened the iron gate. "I fear the undead may soon chew through this rope. We'll need to find wire and locks to reinforce it later," Song Yunian said.

"But do zombies really bite ropes? It seems a fanciful notion," Zhang Jian remarked.

"Such are tropes from movies; the intelligence of real-life zombies remains uncertain. Caution is our best recourse," Song Yunian asserted.

Having locked up, they returned with some iron wires they found at various spots in the holiday area, and some bicycle chain locks. They fortified the gate once more with the wires and used some broken wardrobes to block the entrance before heading back.