Spotless clean, though certain areas... well, it was awkward.

Thankfully, I slammed the brakes just in time. Disaster averted.

I toweled off the water. My already jade-smooth skin flushed pink under the cold spray, glowing translucent.

As a virgin, the sight stunned me.

But the blood didn’t rush downward. Instead, a boiling surge from my chest swirled down, found nothing where something should be, flipped violently, and flooded straight to my head.

My cheeks still burned.

“This shower... more exhausting than fighting Zombies.”

I sighed heavily and returned to Liu Jia’s room.

Glancing at the clothes on the bed, then at my own towering peaks, that familiar heat surged again. I snatched the clothes and yanked them on.

The pants were easy—long, ripped jeans, perfectly fitted. Slightly restrictive for movement, but manageable.

The top was trickier.

First attempt: buttons fumbled for nearly six minutes before clicking into place.

After slipping on the undershirt, I sat on the bed’s edge. To my right, the window framed...

A construction site. Half-built apartments still rising. Unlike before, the busy workers were now Zombies.

Luckily, heavy iron gates sealed the site entrance. Those inside probably couldn’t escape.

From my old bedroom window, I’d always seen this site. The morning clatter of tools used to annoy me. Now, I craved that sound.

I’d always been cold, bad at making friends. Only a few people I still talked to. Now...

“I wonder if they’re even alive.”

Muttering, I scanned the room. The dressing table caught my eye.

I walked over and picked up an object.

“A hair tie?” I fiddled with it. Simple black elastic, a tiny star charm. Cheap street-vendor stuff.

Made sense. These siblings lived frugally. Still...

“Not bad.”

Testing its stretch, I gathered my shoulder-length hair and tied a ponytail before the mirror.

“Hss—yanked a strand!”

A strange new sensation, tying hair.

Done. The length remained, but no more hair in my eyes. Satisfied, I left Liu Jia’s room and entered the next one—“Big Brother Liu’s” space.

I turned the knob, eased the wooden door open.

A dazzling array nearly blinded me.

First, a Samurai Sword hung on the wall. Then high-tech gadgets filled a floor-to-ceiling cabinet—handmade, I recalled, built by Liu over a day downstairs.

Phones, watches, trinkets, even jade-like stones lined the shelves. But my eyes locked on a folded stack of black panels at the edge.

“A solar charger!”

I rushed over, grabbed it—and pulled out a backpack attached to it.

“Connected?”

Peering closer, I saw it: a large power bank inside the backpack, linked to solar panels on one side, ports on the other.

“Clever design.”

I hefted the pack, felt the sturdy fabric. Perfect replacement for my stinking old backpack.

I hadn’t thrown that one away—my home lacked decent bags, only a small shoulder sling for my tablet.

Strapping on the new pack, I noticed a tiny switch near my waist.

“What’s this?”

I pressed it. The pack jerked. I jumped. Gears whirred softly.

The switch deployed the solar panels—mechanically.

“Big Brother Liu... always tinkering.”

His craftsmanship was brilliant. He could cobble together anything, make it work.

Now... it was all mine.

I approached the Samurai Sword, lifted it, and drew the blade slightly.

*Shiiing—*

Even ten centimeters out, the steel sang. Tempering patterns shimmered with an eerie, soul-chilling light. I pulled it fully free—

*Swish!*

A crisp, exhilarating sound I couldn’t name thrilled my ears. The blade’s glare made me squint.

Seventy centimeters of blade. Twenty for the hilt. Nearly a meter total. I balanced the blade alone—it felt perfect in my grip.

Weight, center of gravity, handle width, blade length—all harmonized.

“Fine sword. Why didn’t Liu show it off?” I muttered, flipping it point-down, sighting along the hilt.

A genuine curve. True samurai geometry. Blade spine and tip aligned perfectly straight.

I’d seen decorative swords online, even bought a cheap iron one once. Its spine and tip never lined up. Wind resistance would wrench such blades sideways mid-swing—useless for hitting targets.

“This looks aged... Vaguely recall Liu mentioning his grandfather was in the Red Army? Killed an officer, took something?”

The memory was hazy. From my early days here, when I was too depressed to listen.

“Probably thought I wasn’t interested. Never showed me this blade.”

I sheathed it. A cord tied the scabbard to the blade. I fastened it to my belt. Slightly restrictive, but the draw was smooth—arm’s reach.

I scanned the room once more. Nothing else useful. Time to go.

Just as I reached the door—

*Bzzzzzzzz—*

A distinct, rhythmic thrumming—familiar from movies but utterly alien here—drifted into my ears.

“Wait! What’s that sound?”

I shut my eyes, straining to hear. As it grew louder, I jolted onto the bed, threw open the window, and looked up—

*Whump-whump-whump!*

In the distant sky, a palm-sized speck grew visible...

“A HELICOPTER!”

Shock froze me. Then disbelief turned to hope as it descended—slowly, deliberately!

It wasn’t landing near me. But its target was unmistakable: this city.

“What if... what if I reach it? Could I escape? To a... safe zone?”

My pulse raced. But as the chopper shrank toward its landing spot, ice flooded my veins.

“That’s... City Hospital.”

The city’s heart. A place crawling with uncountable Zombies.

I watched it settle onto the hospital’s rooftop helipad, vanishing from view.

“Tch.”

I sat on the bed, silent for long minutes. Then I went home, gathered my gear.

Combat knife. Samurai Sword. Empty pistol. Food. Essentials. My USB-charged flashlight. I stuffed Liu’s clothes into the solar backpack.

I tightened the sword’s belt at my waist, strapped the combat knife across my chest. One last look at my home...

“I’ll return.”

A promise I wasn’t sure I could keep. I locked the door behind me.

“City Hospital it is.”

The helicopter’s landing site. The endless Zombies. The unknown horrors. I gritted my teeth and ran downstairs.