radicalducati Chapter 14 Mother and Daughter
Chapter 14 Mother and Daughter
After the zombies in the room were dealt with, Shen Qingci walked past everyone and headed straight for the bedroom.
Her steps were quick, and the crisp clatter of her heels on the floor was particularly clear in the quiet room.
She stopped in front of a door and gently knocked twice.
This is an ordinary interior wooden door with a beige paint finish and a cartoon rabbit sticker above the doorknob.
There were several deep scratches on the door panel, the paint was scraped off, revealing light-colored wood underneath. The scratches stretched from near the door handle all the way to the middle of the door panel, dense and messy.
It was that zombie that scratched it.
Perhaps they were lucky, or perhaps the wooden door was indeed of decent quality; although the scratches were deep, they never penetrated the door panel.
Shen Qingci's voice was soft, her tone as even as possible: "We are people with superpowers, and we've formed a team of survivors. Would you like to join us?"
There was no response; the room was quiet, as if no one was there.
But Lu Chen knew there were people inside, and Shen Qingci's perception wouldn't be wrong.
He leaned against the wall in the entryway, arms crossed, without saying a word, wanting to see how Shen Qingci would handle the situation.
There is only one possible reason for this situation: distrust.
It makes sense when you think about it. After the apocalypse, order collapsed, and although the state apparatus was still functioning, grassroots control had almost completely failed.
With the internet still not completely cut off a couple of days ago, all sorts of messages were circulating wildly in WeChat groups: some people took advantage of the chaos to break into homes and rob people, some pushed their neighbors out as bait, and some even went so far as to use a knife for half a box of instant noodles.
On the first day of the apocalypse, there were still people denouncing it online, but by the second day, the voices of condemnation had decreased because fewer people were speaking out.
Trust between people plummeted to rock bottom within three days.
Shen Qingci received no response, but she showed no sign of stopping.
Her tone remained calm and unhurried, as if she were discussing salary and benefits with a candidate in an office.
"This morning the government announced the Dawn Project; I don't know if you're aware of it."
Shen Qingci said softly, "The content is very simple; it encourages us superhumans to help ordinary survivors."
"Of course, we will also receive corresponding military merits for saving lives. It's a mutually beneficial thing, not a one-sided act of charity, nor is it taking advantage of a crisis."
She paused for a moment, giving the other person time to process it.
"Time is of the essence; we only have one minute. If you don't join us, we'll go rescue the other survivors."
Still no sound.
Shen Qingci's tone changed slightly, and she said solemnly, "Let me remind you one last time. Even if you don't think about yourself, you should at least think about the child."
After saying this, Shen Qingci stood quietly in front of the door and did not speak again.
About ten seconds passed.
The sound of the lock turning, a click, was particularly clear in the quiet room. The door was pulled open a crack from the inside, then slowly opened.
A young woman appeared behind the door.
She looked to be under thirty, with messy, disheveled hair, sunken eyes, more prominent cheekbones than normal, and chapped, peeling lips. She looked like she had lost weight in just three days.
But these are not the main points.
The key point is that she was holding a baby in her arms.
It was very small, only a few months old, and wrapped in a light blue blanket.
The baby's face was pressed against the young woman's chest, eyes closed, fast asleep, its small chest rising and falling gently with its breath, completely unaware of what the outside world had become.
Lu Chen looked surprised; he was very curious about how the other person had survived until the third day.
A baby a few months old may cry at any time. They cry when they are hungry, when they are wet, or when they are uncomfortable, and there is no reason why.
In the apocalypse, a single cry can be catastrophic. Zombies have much more acute hearing than they did in life, and can be heard even from several floors away.
But they survived.
He was sizing her up, while the young woman was also looking at the situation outside.
Her gaze first fell on Shen Qingci, lingered for a moment, and then moved to the living room.
She saw Lu Chen, Tie Zhu, Da Zhuang and Er Zhuang, and even more zombies standing shadowy at the door.
Her pupils contracted sharply.
Lu Chen noticed that her body tensed up, and her arms unconsciously tightened, holding the baby in her arms even tighter.
Her lips moved, and a very short breath escaped her throat, but she forcefully suppressed it.
There was no screaming.
She tried her best to restrain herself.
Of course, this could also be because Lu Chen dressed the zombies in "equipment".
Winter clothes, scarves, and the knives and sticks in their hands—these things made Tie Zhu and his companions look distinctly different from ordinary zombies.
A normal person could tell something was wrong at a glance.
"Don't be surprised," Lu Chen said, his voice low so as not to disturb the baby in her arms. "My special ability is to control zombies."
The young woman's gaze shifted back and forth between Lu Chen and the zombies several times before she slowly nodded. Her expression was still tense, but at least she didn't turn around and run away.
Lu Chen's gaze fell on the baby girl in her arms.
Does she cry or fuss often?
Sound is the main way to attract zombies. Although he already has ten zombies under his command and is not afraid of any number of ordinary zombies, he doesn't want to carry a time bomb with him.
Moreover, he needs to build a team and also consider the team's safety.
The young woman naturally understood what Lu Chen meant. Her expression immediately became tense, and she spoke very quickly, as if afraid that if she spoke too slowly, the other party would change his mind.
"Don't worry, Yingying is very well-behaved." Her voice was a little hoarse, probably because she hadn't drunk much water for three days. "She really won't make a fuss or attract zombies. Besides, at her age, she sleeps most of the time, and when she's awake, she's very quiet and won't cause you any trouble."
Lu Chen glanced at her.
A baby a few months old hasn't cried or fussed for three days. Either the child is exceptionally gifted, or the mother has made some unimaginable effort.
In either case, it at least proves one thing: they do have the ability to control their voices.
Considering that the other party has safely survived the first two days, there is some credibility to this statement.
"Okay!" Lu Chen nodded. "Pack your things and come with us after I've cleared out the zombies in this building."
The young woman was stunned for a moment, as if she hadn't reacted yet, and then her eyes suddenly reddened.
"Thank you! Thank you all."
She held her daughter and bowed repeatedly, bending down deeply, the baby in her arms swaying slightly with her movements.
Just then, Lu Chen suddenly felt a burning sensation on his wrist.