Chapter 28: Are You Whispering Secrets?

They were two men armed to the teeth, their true faces completely hidden. One of them, swaggering, spoke as he held his gun. The binoculars were so powerful that even the expressions on their faces were clearly visible. The man who spoke first seemed to be gesturing with his gun, pointing out directions like a commander, while the other was impatient, directly refuting him.

Soon after, two groups of people emerged: one followed the commander, the other followed the refuter, each heading in opposite directions. The crowd grew, roughly fifteen or sixteen people, more than half wielding clubs, bolt cutters, and the like.

Jiang Huan immediately concealed herself even more carefully. After waiting ten minutes and seeing that all was quiet across the way, she cautiously looked again. At an unshaded window, she saw someone relieving himself.

Well then, the “pepper” was indeed as literal as it sounded. The binoculars were simply too good.

So many people had come out, yet it was impossible to tell how many remained inside. Jiang Huan waited patiently for another hour. Then she saw two more people dragging a snakeskin bag outside. They abandoned it several hundred meters away, and Jiang Huan memorized the spot but didn’t rush down immediately.

About forty minutes later, the two groups who had left earlier returned. Both teams were noisy and neither came back empty-handed. One had several terrified men and women in tow, the other carried a fair amount of supplies.

Jiang Huan’s sharp eyes recognized that half of those captured were familiar faces—relatives of the gold shop owner, who, it seemed, had received some rudimentary treatment for their wounds.

For reasons unknown, these people had fallen into danger once again.

When the commotion faded from the police station’s entrance, Jiang Huan waited a little longer, then decided to go downstairs to check what had been thrown away.

Nine floors was no small feat. If she hadn’t been strengthening her fitness lately, if her physical condition wasn’t already decent, she would have been gasping for air by the end.

At the fifth-floor landing, she heard voices, deliberately hushed.

“I told you, we’re just old classmates, nothing more! Survival is so hard out there now—where do you expect her to go?”

“I didn’t object to you taking in a classmate. But now she’s crawling into your bed? Fine, you say she wandered in by mistake while half-asleep, I’ll accept that. But what about her taking my son’s formula? My boy is only two! We have no other baby food, that formula was all my mother could send us, just barely enough to keep him nourished. She took it to soften her hands, and then complained it wasn’t fresh milk! Is she insane? I can’t stand her anymore. This apartment was bought for me by my family. If you don’t like it, you can leave with her!”

“What? How can you be like this? Don’t I bring home money and give you a living allowance every month?”

“You give me two thousand a month, and it’s not even enough to cover the maintenance, car washes, and gas for your precious car. I used to keep quiet for your sake, but since you’ve made your intentions so clear, I won’t bother anymore. Whether in this building or outside, there are plenty of empty apartments. You two can do as you please.”

A scuffle followed. As Jiang Huan hesitated, wondering whether to risk turning the corner and hurrying downstairs, the main door slammed shut, then came the sound of pounding fists.

“Go ahead, keep banging. If you attract trouble and get your son killed, I hope you’re happy.”

“Liang Sihai! Are you crazy? You locked me out!”

“Calm down. Let’s talk later.”

“Liang Sihai! Liang Sihai!”

Clearly, some fear lingered. The woman locked outside whimpered, crouched against the door. Her desperate pounding was sharp, but not loud enough to be heard from outside.

Jiang Huan took another step down.

And another.

And another.

At last, exposed to the woman’s line of sight, she realized the woman hadn’t noticed her at all—she was too busy pleading softly for them not to hurt her child.

From the conversation, it was easy enough to guess what had happened: the husband had brought another woman home, someone who not only failed to contribute but even stole the child’s formula for her own beauty routine. The husband sided with the outsider, turning against his wife, ready to cast her out for the sake of his paramour.

Jiang Huan turned away.

Forget it. She might as well do a good deed.

“Hey,” Jiang Huan called out, her voice cool and crisp. The grief-stricken woman snapped to attention, startled back to reality.

Seeing a stranger, she grew instantly wary, watching Jiang Huan with suspicion.

“Our residential complex has established a survivor shelter at the official request,” Jiang Huan said. “If it’s just me, I can protect two people on the way there…”

The woman realized at once that her earlier argument had surely been overheard. And this stranger had specifically said “two people”—surely referring to her and her child.

She was still suspicious and hesitant, but with the temperature so low, she would fall ill before long if she remained outside. And if she fell ill, her child would be doomed as well.

Thinking this through, she nodded fiercely, gestured for silence, and motioned for Jiang Huan to move aside.

Jiang Huan went down a few more steps and waited against the wall.

She wasn’t sure what the woman was doing, but after about fifteen minutes, she came down with her child and a backpack. The little one was wrapped in a blanket strapped to her chest, with a pack slung over her back.

Jiang Huan offered to help, but she shook her head, insisting she could manage.

“All right then,” Jiang Huan said, leading the way and introducing herself. “My surname is Jiang. You can just call me Xiao Jiang.”

“Okay, Xiao Jiang. I’m Ren Minmin, thirty years old. You can call me Sister Minmin, or just Xiao Ren. This is my son, Lu.”

“Sister Ren,” Jiang Huan nodded, glancing at the boy. “Hello, Lu.”

The child buried his face in his mother’s shoulder, peeking at Jiang Huan every few steps—sweet and innocent.

Once outside, they walked north for a bit. Jiang Huan led them into a breakfast shop down a side alley. There was no food left, but at least it offered some shelter from the cold.

“Sister Ren, wait here for a bit. I need to check on something.”

“I know this area well. Are you looking for supplies?” Ren Minmin’s face showed a hint of confidence. “Actually, I’ve stashed some things outside. Tell me what you need—I might have it.”

Smart, Jiang Huan thought. Not a love-struck fool who can’t survive without a man—she’d taken precautions too.

Saving someone like this was worthwhile.

“No, I’ve been watching that group at the police station for a while. Today they tossed out a bag, and I want to have a look.”

“That group…” A trace of terror flickered across Ren Minmin’s face.

“You’ve had contact with them?”

“No. I’ve seen them, that’s all. But if they threw away that bag, there’s no need to look. I know what’s inside.”

She covered her son’s ears, then mouthed a few words to Jiang Huan.

Jiang Huan’s pupils contracted sharply when she understood.

How many days had it been, and people were already this depraved? Such rapid descent—they couldn’t have been good people even before the apocalypse.

“Mom, are you whispering secrets?” Ren Minmin’s child suddenly asked from her arms.