Chapter 8: Rest and Recuperation
The lights in the cafeteria came on one by one.
turned on all the lighting that still worked, switched off the emergency red lamps, and brought back normal white light.
The place had originally been the staff cafeteria, with long tables, stainless steel trays, and an old “Clean Plate Campaign” poster still on the wall.
arrived first. After all, with professionals now involved, there wasn’t much she could do to help clear out zombies.
She might as well not add to the chaos, so she came to the cafeteria to wait for the rendezvous.
And honestly, when there was no other choice, she really did not shrink from going hand-to-hand with zombies.
But that did not mean she had no psychological pressure.
In fact, she had basically been enduring it all by relying on survival instinct.
Now that there was help, she really could breathe a sigh of relief.
She stayed sprawled in a chair until the other three appeared, and only then did she tense up again.
[Don’t worry, they’re on our side.]
typed on the cafeteria screen,
[ —she’s the other survivor I mentioned.]
[These three are , , and .]
[Two soldiers and one... uh, a researcher.]
The four of them sized one another up.
was the first to greet her. “Uh... hello, I’m . Nice to meet you.”
nodded. “ , a freshman at University.”
“Today was supposed to be the first day of school, but... well, you know.”
“Ugh!” sighed in sympathy. “Life really is unpredictable!”
That one sentence added a bit more mutual sympathy to the atmosphere.
looked over, scratched his head, and said admiringly, “So you’re the one who... resolved the crisis at this power station? Amazing!”
suddenly felt a little embarrassed and hurriedly waved her hands, smiling. “It was nothing. Just something like closing a valve. With ’s help, it wasn’t difficult.”
As they talked, the atmosphere finally relaxed.
“Alright, let’s save the reminiscing for later,” clapped his hands and reminded them. “Let’s first take stock of the supplies here, especially food and water. After all, we need to prepare for the future.”
Thanks to the low-temperature cold storage, the meat and vegetables stored inside were still fresh.
Boxes of instant noodles, canned food, and drinking water were stacked in the storeroom—more than enough to last them a long while.
Seeing the abundant supplies, everyone visibly relaxed.
In the apocalypse, the sense of security that food brought was irreplaceable.
“I used to be in the cooking squad,” said as he walked around the kitchen like he was inspecting his own territory, his face glowing with confidence. “Tonight, I’ll fix everyone a proper meal. Think of it as... a victory feast.”
No one objected to that proposal.
Half an hour later, the cafeteria was filled with the long-missed aroma of home cooking.
A simple tomato and egg soup, a plate of garlic greens, a plate of red-braised pork with a bright caramel color, and a big pot of potatoes stewed with frozen beef.
It wasn’t lavish, but in this apocalypse, steaming hot food was enough to comfort anyone.
’s cooking was indeed good—though perhaps it was also because everyone had been tense for so long that they had burned through their energy.
Everyone wolfed down the meal. Even , who usually paid close attention to her figure, ate two large bowls.
“I never thought I’d live to eat freshly cooked dishes again.” ate in small bites, her eyes a little hot.
Before, she had been too busy running for her life to think about any of that.
“Don’t worry, we’ve got plenty of food stored here,” said with a grin, showing a row of white teeth. “As long as big shot keeps the electricity running, I can make you a full Manchu-Han feast.”
At the mention of “ ,” everyone’s gaze turned to the display screen.
The screen flickered: [As long as you cooperate with my suggestions, electricity won’t be a problem.]
“Speaking of which,” put down his chopsticks and turned serious. “About that mutant we encountered today—Professor Su, what do you think?”
The topic instantly grew heavy.
frowned. “Its speed and strength far exceed those of ordinary , and it seems to have developed a certain tactical awareness.” “If it hadn’t been for ’s early warning, rushing in recklessly would have cost us dearly.”
“Its muscle fibers and tissue structure are completely different from the samples I collected before,” said faster, with the excitement and gravity peculiar to a researcher.
“This means the virus is continuing to mutate—assuming all of this really is caused by a virus—then... then the situation may be even worse in the future.”
“You mean,” caught on and his eyes widened, “there might be more and more of these things? Or even scarier ones, like in the movies?”
“I don’t know,” shook her head. “But I’m certain things aren’t that simple. I need a laboratory. With basic equipment, maybe I can analyze something.”
, silently listening to the conversation, was also frowning at this moment. (Though he didn’t actually have eyebrows, that was the idea.)
In fact, he knew better than the people at the table that these weren’t empty alarmist words.
Because in the footage from the few cameras on the station’s periphery, there were already many unsettling signs.
Figures with that special build had appeared around the station more than once, and apart from them, an even more slender type had also been caught by the cameras once.
And in the distance, toward the city, at a distance the cameras could not make out clearly, something that seemed too huge was moving slowly.
That was not a good omen.
So he immediately typed.
[You’ll have your laboratory. I’ll fully support your research.]
nodded and said with a smile, “Thank you, .”
The meal was finished in alternation between light and heavy.
The joy of surviving, the confusion about the road ahead, and the worry for family and friends whose fates were unknown all wove together into a complex emotion.
It hung over the dinner table, over the four of them.
But by tacit agreement, no one mentioned these things; they only talked about plans for the future.
Like how to repair the pipes tomorrow and ensure the water was safe.
Tomorrow, they would check what other useful supplies or equipment the power station still had.
Tomorrow, they would clean up the power station and clear away all the corpses.
Tomorrow... tomorrow.
If yesterday had already passed, and today had been turned upside down, then the only strength people could rely on was tomorrow.