Lin Tao silently observed the buildings within the courtyard. It wasn't rge—just about one or two acres in size—but from what the two girls had mentioned earlier, this pce used to be a small food processing factory. More importantly, it had a sizable underground storage room. With both food supplies and a pce to hide from the undead, it had naturally become a refuge for survivors, allowing them to stay alive up until now.
"You all stay in the basement most of the time?" Lin Tao asked as he followed Old Ma, who led the way. The courtyard had two factory buildings and a dormitory, but the shattered gss windows suggested that no one lived aboveground.
"That's right," Old Ma nodded, dragging his rusted iron spear as he turned to expin, "No one dares to live up here. The scent of hundreds of people together is too strong. And, well, the women… they have that time of the month, you know. Except for scavenging for supplies or getting an hour of fresh air daily, everyone stays down below."
Lin Tao frowned. "Are you running out of food?"
"Ha! We've never had enough to begin with!" Old Ma sighed and shook his head, seemingly more talkative in the presence of a stranger. He continued, grumbling, "This damn apocalypse hit during summer. No one had stockpiled much food. This factory was no exception. The only reason we've sted this long is because there was a shipment of pickled chicken feet that hadn’t been sent out yet. But that ran out in less than six months. At first, we all thought the government would send help, so we didn’t ration properly. Who knew we'd be left to rot for over a year now? I bet even the rescue teams are all dead."
As they conversed, the four of them—plus the dog—soon reached a factory building on the north side. The concrete floor inside was retively clean, though there was no machinery in sight, only a few rusted bck iron cages in the corner, emitting a faint stench of blood.
Old Ma walked ahead, lifting a metal hatch on the ground to reveal a short flight of concrete stairs leading down. This was clearly the entrance to the underground shelter.
Lin Tao scanned the surroundings before ducking down to follow Old Ma. The moment he stepped inside, a heavy mix of mildew and human odor assaulted his senses. He instinctively furrowed his brow. Even Mika, the red-furred dog trailing behind, let out several sneezes, its wrinkled face contorted in disgust—as if it found this pce even worse than the stench of rotting corpses.
"Lin, take a look around. I'll go inform our boss," Old Ma said before scurrying deeper into the basement.
At the far end, there was a room made of red brick and concrete. Dim light spilled through a small window, casting flickering shadows of people inside. Laughter and flirtatious giggles echoed from within.
Lin Tao frowned as he took in his surroundings. It wasn’t hard to imagine what kind of hellish conditions three hundred people crammed into this five- or six-hundred-square-meter basement must endure. For a bunker, the space was actually quite rge, but with so many people, it was suffocating. Makeshift beds and ragged bnkets were strewn across the floor, with only a few thin curtains offering any sembnce of privacy.
The ceiling had several air vents, allowing some fresh air and light to seep in. Scattered throughout the room were small fire pits—not for warmth, but for lighting up card games where bored men gambled with handfuls of rice and soybeans. The rgest bet he saw was a single pack of instant noodles. But even with their favorite pastime, these men looked utterly lifeless, their eyes dull and unfocused.
As for the women, who made up more than half the popution here, they sat numbly against the walls, silent and empty-eyed. There was none of the usual chatter one would expect from a group of women. Many wore tattered clothes, while others didn’t bother covering themselves at all, lying on the ground like lifeless dolls. If not for the faint rise and fall of their chests, Lin Tao might have mistaken them for corpses.
There was hardly any space to stand. Lin Tao found a small open spot and simply observed. Despite being an outsider, barely anyone spared him a gnce.
Before long, Old Ma returned, leading several men dressed in retively clean clothing—clearly the ones in charge. At the forefront was a middle-aged man in a bck shirt, radiating an air of menace as he strode forward with authority.
He was about forty, with a faint knife scar along the corner of his mouth that gave him a permanently vicious expression. His slicked-back hair was meticulously groomed, and his half-unbuttoned shirt revealed the grip of a bck handgun resting at his waist—a deliberate dispy of power.
As soon as he id eyes on Lin Tao, the man suddenly burst into exaggerated ughter and boomed, "Brother Lin! What an honor! My apologies for not welcoming you sooner!"
Lin Tao was still wondering how they managed to walk through the basement without stepping on anyone's limbs when the man approached, acting as if they were old friends. The stranger extended a hand for a handshake, but Lin Tao merely gnced at the grimy fingers—clearly unwashed for days—and made no move to accept. Instead, he simply nodded and said, "Lin Tao."
"Ah… hahaha!" The man withdrew his hand without a hint of embarrassment, casually adjusting his shirt to further emphasize the handgun at his waist. Then, he chuckled, "The name's Hu, but around here, folks call me Boss Hu. I’m the one keeping this pce in order. Come, come! Let’s sit down and have a good chat! It’s been ages since we’ve met an outsider. We must take this opportunity to get to know each other better!"
Lin Tao maintained his usual faint smile—neither humble nor arrogant—as he followed Hu into the private room. The other men fnking them, eyes filled with curiosity, silently took formation around him, as if subtly encircling him.
