Before everything goes out

Which floor?

"The eleventh floor, Yangyang knows. Our family has always lived on the eleventh floor, but we didn't live here at first. We moved here later."

"Are all these floors below empty?"

"Yeah, the places I lived in before were either terrible or I moved away."

"Since they're all empty houses, why didn't you move to a lower floor?"

"Climbing high floors is strenuous, but it's safe. Not to mention humans, even zombies don't like climbing stairs; they'll just wander around downstairs at most."

As they were talking, the group passed by the elevator.

The elevator buttons were covered in dust, clearly indicating they hadn't been used in a long time.

After thinking about something, Li Fei asked about Yuan Dahai.

"By the way, why were you downstairs just now? Was it a coincidence?"

"What a coincidence, sir. Not long after you entered the community, Yangyang's mother and I were watching from upstairs."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, sir, you don't know this? From the outside, our neighborhood looks deserted, but actually there are people here, including lookouts."

"As soon as anyone approaches, the lookout will use the walkie-talkie to notify us to turn off the lights and shut off the fire to avoid causing trouble."

"Have you always been like this?"

"No, it wasn't like that. Things were normal for the first few years, but after suffering a few losses, everyone learned their lesson..."

Look, it's that window. Yangyang's mom and I were peeking at you from there. She even said the little one you were with looks a bit like Yangyang. I didn't believe her at the time...

Not only at the time, but even when I came down and saw him with my own eyes, I couldn't recognize that this was my son..."

Hearing this, Li Fei secretly rejoiced.

Fortunately, he had already made some modifications and improvements to the little mute a couple of days ago.

otherwise.

If the father had simply thrown his son, in his pitiful state from the cellar, in front of him, Yuan Dahai at the door would probably have broken down in tears instead of weeping with joy.

that's it.

The two of them asked and answered questions as they continued upwards in the narrow fire escape corridor.

Although the two had a pleasant conversation, Yuan Dahai's answers seemed flawless from every angle...

However, because of what happened to Zhang Cheng, Li Fei was left with lingering psychological trauma. Right now, no matter how good the situation is, he dares not relax for even a second.

He rested one hand on his gun, guarding every door he passed and constantly watching for changes in the barrel.

after all.

This dog has keen senses; if something is wrong, it should be able to detect it before he does.

Third floor.

Fifth floor.

The seventh floor.

Eleventh floor.

The floors in high-rise buildings are taller than those in ordinary residential buildings, so climbing them can be a bit more strenuous.

After Yuan Dahai climbed until he was panting heavily and opened his tattered cotton-padded coat to cool off, the group finally stopped in front of a door at the end of the corridor on the 11th floor.

A classic security door, dark green, covered in rust and dust.

This door.

They couldn't tell the difference between any of the doors they had seen along the way.

Is this the place?

Li Fei looked doubtful.

Of course, he didn't think he had gone to the wrong place. From the gradually excited look in the little mute boy's eyes, he knew that he had completely remembered the location of his home.

The reason he asked the question was because he felt the place was really dilapidated; the dust on the doorknob was the same as on the elevator buttons, as if no one had opened it for many years.

"Yeah, this way it looks like no one's here. Even if someone comes into the neighborhood looking for us, they won't have to bother to get in. It's been a habit for years."

As Yuan Dahai spoke, he knocked on the door a few times.

The knocking was sometimes fast, sometimes slow, like some kind of code.

Almost as soon as the knocking ended, the door was opened from the inside.

A middle-aged woman, equally weathered by life, opened the door, glanced briefly at Li Fei, and then excitedly stepped forward, pulling the little mute boy behind her into her arms.

"Yangyang..."

The woman's voice choked up as soon as she opened her mouth.

She vigorously rubbed the little mute boy's bald head, looking at his sunken eyes, which were glistening with tears.

"This is the soldier who brought Yangyang back. They found Yangyang in a villa outside the city and spent two hard days bringing him back..."

Yuan Dahai introduced Li Fei in this way.

Li Fei didn't say much, but instead mimicked She Qingqing's tone and gave the order to Ertong.

"Two of bamboo, go in."

Taking advantage of the family's time together, the man and his dog sneaked into the house and conducted a thorough search.

Living room, no problem.

The living room connects to the three bedrooms, no problem.

Toilets, no problem.

The kitchen is fine.

A terrace where some vegetables are grown is fine.

The room has all the necessary lighting, candles, and oil lamps.

Everywhere you look, there are dilapidated and old traces of life, and there are no hidden rooms that are not for people to see.

"Woof~"

With Ertong's cheerful chirping, Li Fei confirmed that everything in the house was normal.

After that, he went to the window, poked his head out of the dusty window, and beckoned the two people downstairs to come upstairs.

...

...

Five minutes later.

Inside the house, the group put down their luggage and looked around the fairly spacious home.

Although it was somewhat impolite, Niu San and She Qingqing were naturally quite curious as it was the first time they had witnessed the lives of normal people outside the village.

Not to mention after the cataclysm, even before the cataclysm, they rarely came to such places.

"I felt something was strange earlier. From downstairs, there wasn't a trace of anything here. It turns out that all the windows were covered with paper and dusted off."

"So it's the same at the entrance of the residential complex? It's all just to pretend no one's there?"

"Oh? You always wipe dust off the doorknob when you come back from going out?"

"Is it that complicated?"

"But speaking of which, who are you trying to protect yourself from? There's nothing good here, yet someone still comes looking for trouble?"

Niu San watched with great interest and kept asking questions.

She Qingqing was much the same; she didn't ask any questions, but she also stood in front of the dusty television and stared at it thoughtfully for a long time.

On the terrace.

Li Fei stood under the awning, looking at the various plants in pots or buckets. He roughly knew why Yuan Dahai had chosen to settle on the 11th floor.

Because apart from this floor, the only other floors with balconies are the second floor and the top floor.

The second floor is too low, and the top floor is too high; this eleventh floor is just right.

Planting things on this floor is not visible from downstairs, and it is covered by a canopy upstairs, so it is hard to spot unless you look closely. It is a great place for a family to live in seclusion.

"Yuan Dahai has done a good job keeping his house in order."

Li Fei thought so.

It's no wonder Yuan Dahai looks old. Making a living in this post-disaster city must be quite difficult. Years of worry and hard work, coupled with the pain of losing his son, have caused his hair to turn gray prematurely.

"Sir, have you finished the inspection?"

From the entrance to the terrace, Yuan Dahai's tentative voice could be heard.

"Okay, no problem. Can I stay at your place tonight?"

"Of course, as long as you don't mind our family's poor conditions."

"This is troublesome."

Just as Li Fei was about to go back inside, Yuan Dahai stepped forward and blocked him on the balcony.

"Sir, please don't think I'm being nosy, but I know and can tell you guys are good people, and I don't mean anything by it. It's just that Yangyang's tongue..."

"It was cut off. There's a group of cannibalistic corrupters outside the city; they did it."

Li Fei confessed this frankly.

What he didn't say was that compared to the others in the villa's basement, the little mute was only missing a tongue, which was already considered a good treatment.

"Oh, is that so? Then it's alright. It's just that Yangyang's mom just asked me about it, and I need to give her an explanation."

Yuan Dahai nodded.

The question I've been wanting to ask since downstairs has finally been answered.