Rebirth: Leading Families to Survive in the Apocalypse

Chapter 123: Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Three: Finally Arriving
 

After Su Jin led the group away, considering that no one had eaten breakfast, they drove for a while and then stopped in front of a small eatery at the street corner.

This place used to be a wonton shop, and it was fairly clean, only needing a quick wipe down to dust off the tables.

A few zombies lingering nearby the roadside were quickly eliminated by Lu Hao; there probably wouldn’t be any more zombies finding their way here for the time being.

And just ahead was the downtown area, so they needed to check the map here to choose a route to Dragon Leap Villa, obviously the more remote, the better.

The maps of S city given out at the checkpoint were extremely useful. Although they were only in black and white, they had already marked areas according to the severity of zombie infestation: heavy concentration, moderate concentration, and light concentration of zombies.

Mao Zhihang studied the map with great care. The person who made this map was truly amazing.

“We’ll take this route here,” Mao Zhihang said, pointing at the map while explaining to the group, “even though it’s a bit of a detour, it will allow us to avoid areas with lots of zombies.”

Having had to deliver goods himself when doing business in the past, Mao Zhihang had a decent understanding of the map, which Su Jin admired. Although she wasn’t directionally challenged, she often struggled to understand maps.

Lin Cheng had securely closed the door of the shop, and while everyone was discussing the route, Su Jin took out a lot of breakfasts from the Space.

Inside the Space, Lin Yunguo watched as the food from the back kitchen disappeared one by one before his eyes, and he finally relaxed.

It must be known that they had stayed in the gymnasium the entire previous night. To keep the secret of the Space, no one dared to enter it. Lin Yunguo had made a lot of delicious food that stayed untouched on the counters, so he was anxious and worried whether his family members outside were facing any dangers, hence he kept vigil in the kitchen, watching the food.

“Xiao Jin took so much; they must have been starving,” Grandma Li Xiuying said with concern.

“Yes, seeing them eat so much puts my mind at ease!” Lin Yunguo then felt relieved enough to leave the kitchen.

“Su Jin, these shrimp dumplings are just too delicious; I could eat a whole plate by myself,” Lin Xiuyuan said while picking up a pinkish shrimp dumpling with his chopsticks.

Local Tyrant Gold, hearing this, jumped beside Lin Xiuyuan, with big watery eyes looking at him. Lin Xiuyuan found it amusing and placed a shrimp dumpling on the table, which Local Tyrant Gold immediately grabbed and stuffed into its mouth.

“Man, sis, where did you buy these things before? I’ve never had such tasty breakfast in H city,” Guo Yang said with his mouth full of food.

“Oh, these were made by H city’s one and only Head Chef. Just eat and enjoy,” Su Jin said with a smile. The food in the Space was endlessly fresh and delicious and also bountifully produced. She wasn’t just talking about the grains and vegetables; even the livestock, poultry, and the fish and shrimp from the streams were too numerous to count.

Those who had been worried about Su Jin running out of food one day, like Liao Yifan and others, began to eat without worries after hearing her words. Su Jin said that uneaten food would not be taken back into the Space, and this time, to make up for not eating well last night and to put her grandparents in the Space at ease, she’d brought out enough for two full tables!

The family, aware of the reason, ate with reassurance, thinking that they should also visit the Space later on the road to greet the old folks to prevent them from worrying after such a long absence.

Watching Li Xiuying tending to the flowers and plants in the courtyard of the Lu Residence, Lin Xiuyuan ran up to her and gave her a big hug.

“You rascal, you scared me to death. Why haven’t you come in for so many days?”

Li Xiuying wasn’t unhappy; these past days she truly understood the feeling that one day apart felt like three autumn years had passed.

“Hehe, Grandma, we arrived in City S yesterday and stayed a night in the Survivor Shelter,” Mao Qiqi explained.

“Have you already left that place?” Lin Yunguo asked as he walked out of the inner room.

“Yeah, we’re on our way to Dragon Leap Villa now. Grandma, let me tell you, that Survivor Shelter…” Mao Qiqi excitedly began sharing the outside world’s news with his grandparents, who listened intently. Nie Qing, seeing the three of them chatting happily, did not interrupt and went inside to catch up on the TV drama she had thought about all night.

The map had been a tremendous help. The journey to Dragon Leap Villa was relatively smooth.

Su Jin noticed that many intersections had been blocked with wire or barricades, an effective method to prevent zombies in the city from spreading to the safe shelters.

However, these would only serve as temporary barriers. Soon, zombies that had finished consuming the corpses within the city would break through these restraints and spread outwards.

Finally, when Mao Zhihang drove past an intersection and turned at the next one, they were greeted by an ornate wrought iron gate in a classical style. A dragon-shaped fountain, now in disrepair, stood in front of the gate, beside a massive yellow cobblestone emblazoned with the words “Dragon Leap Villa” in green, gold-embossed letters.

They had arrived.

“Is this the place, Xiao Jin?” Aunt Lin Tianzhen inquired.

Su Jin nodded. She couldn’t remember the surrounding scenes clearly, but the memory of that dragon-shaped fountain was vivid—this was the place, there was no doubt about it.

The two cars behind them were also informed via walkie-talkie that they had reached their destination. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief; they had finally arrived!

Lu Guanhai hurried into the Space and called out Lin Xiuyuan and Liao Yifan, just in case they needed to get off soon—it would be troublesome if they were not in the car.

“What? We’re already here? That was fast!” Liao Yifan hurriedly put on his shoes, ready to join Lin Xiuyuan and Lu Guanhai outside. He had just watched half of an episode of his drama!

Dragon Leap Villa was surrounded by many garden paths. Mao Qiqi told them that roughly fifty zombies were heading their way. Sure enough, from the garden paths, zombies slowly emerged, staggering elderly ones, some dressed in white Tai Chi outfits and colorful skirts—likely seniors who had been exercising or dancing in the square before they turned.

“Sister Xiao Jin, they look pretty clumsy. Can I go down and kill a few?” Mao Qiqi asked, holding her Local Tyrant Gold.

Hearing Mao Qiqi’s words, Local Tyrant Gold’s ears perked up. The dog struggled to leave her embrace and ran onto Lin Tianzhen’s lap.

Su Jin smiled and said, “Don’t underestimate them. Go ahead.”

She then took a lightweight watermelon knife from the Space and handed it to Mao Qiqi. The Folding Knife originally intended for Qiqi’s self-defense was no longer very useful. Qiqi would be safer with the watermelon knife.

Lin Tianzhen shook her head helplessly, casting a glance at Lin Tianhui in the back seat. This child, she wondered who she took after.

Liao Yifan had also been itching to get off the car, and seeing Qiqi coming down, he gave her a thumbs-up.