Chapter 14: Nocturnal Reconnaissance

At this hour, it was impossible for anyone to be outside. The cold bit sharply as Meng Ran stepped out the door, causing her to shiver.

She locked the door behind her and moved down the dimly lit hallway. Holding up a small flashlight, she peered ahead. The light was faint—intentionally so—just enough to see the path beneath her feet.

“So cold.”

Meng Ran muttered softly. She was fully bundled up and had even stuck warm patches inside her clothes, yet the chill was unbearable, as if the next moment she might freeze solid.

If the temperature dropped further, reaching minus seventy or eighty degrees wouldn’t be impossible.

Any colder, and everything would be encased in ice.

Clutching the flashlight, Meng Ran hurried down the stairs. Moving generated some heat, making the cold a little more bearable.

She reached the ground floor and headed toward the warehouse where Zhao Weijie stored the body.

Snow continued to fall, dusting her eyelashes. She lowered her head and hugged the wall as she walked.

The residential complex was silent. With the power out, darkness blanketed every corner. Meng Ran switched off her flashlight and groped forward cautiously, unwilling to reveal her presence.

The ground was slippery, but fortunately, she had worn anti-slip boots. Her steps were slow, the packed snow crunching beneath her soles.

At the warehouse door on the first floor, she found it locked from the inside. Pressing her ear to the door, she listened intently, then moved to the window.

The curtains were open. She shone her flashlight through the glass and saw something wrapped in a blanket.

That must be Zhao Weijie’s deceased father.

Meng Ran leaned closer for a better look. She couldn’t enter but could only peer through the window. It appeared to be a corpse, with no unusual movements.

“Did they mishear?”

She took a few steps back, unwilling to linger. She was already planning to leave.

Just then, a thud echoed from inside. She turned and shone her flashlight again.

The bound body remained still and silent, as if the sound hadn’t come from it.

“What exactly is going on?”

Meng Ran glanced at the locked door. If she weren’t worried the body might somehow escape, she would have smashed the lock just to find out.

The sudden occurrence made her stay outside a little longer.

About five minutes passed before she noticed a small bulge forming beneath the blanket, starkly visible in the flashlight’s beam. But it quickly flattened again.

That was enough.

Zhao Weijie and the others weren’t lying. There was indeed something wrong with that body.

Meng Ran quickly left. The footprints she had made were already covered by fresh snow. She returned to her floor. No one was around. She unlocked her door and entered.

The living room was cold, but at least better than outside.

Meng Ran retreated to her ring space for the night, planning to make do there.

“Why aren’t you asleep yet?”

Hearing the sound of a cartoon inside, Meng Ran walked in to see Nian Nian stepping down from the bed in slippers.

“Mom!” Nian Nian shivered as she approached. “Why are you so cold?”

Meng Ran, chilled through and through, told her to go back to bed.

“I’ll heat some hot water bags with the generator in my room. Wait for me a moment.”

Though the ring space maintained a comfortable temperature, its wiring wasn’t as complete as outside. The generator there only powered the freezer; to use electricity for other purposes, she had to switch back to another generator in her living quarters.

Meng Ran went out and boiled water, filling four or five hot water bags before returning.

The bed was warm. Nian Nian covered herself for a long time, and after the hot water bags were placed, it felt even cozier.

“It’s late. Rest now.”

Meng Ran closed her eyes but soon opened them again.

“Nian Nian, someone died in this complex, but there’s something strange about the body. I suspect trouble is still coming.”

She didn’t want to hide it from Nian Nian; the child would eventually learn. Though unaware of the full gravity, Nian Nian grasped the danger Meng Ran warned of.

“I understand. If I see it, I’ll stay far away.”

Only then did Meng Ran feel at ease. “I’ll protect you.”

Nian Nian nestled in her arms as Meng Ran switched off the lamp.

That night, they heard no howling wind or snow, finally sleeping soundly.

They were woken early by roosters crowing outside. The birds stretched their necks and called out. Meng Ran glanced at the clock; dawn had just broken.

She fed them some food, and the roosters quieted.

Unable to fall back asleep, Meng Ran returned to bed and browsed the news.

This time, she searched for incidents similar to the strange behavior of the corpse but found little besides useless reports.

Scrolling through recent headlines, she spotted subtle clues in the comments.

A user named “Ten Years to Forge a Sword” had left a message under a weather news post, claiming to have encountered a bizarre event much like what Meng Ran had seen.

Meng Ran found his private messages and inquired about the details. He didn’t reply immediately, but she wasn’t in a hurry.

Nian Nian was still asleep, so Meng Ran got up to prepare breakfast in the ring space.

She brought inside the generator and power strip from outside, then cooked a pot of sweetened porridge.

She took out the thick pancakes she had made earlier and steamed them—perfect for a filling meal.

Meng Ran also stir-fried two dishes to use up the remaining ingredients that required cooking.

The aroma woke Nian Nian, who went to wash up and sat neatly on a chair.

Meng Ran served a bowl of hot sweet rice porridge.

“I put sugar in it. Try it.”

Nian Nian loved sweet things. She blew on the warm porridge while Meng Ran brought over the dishes, and they ate together.

Her phone chimed. Meng Ran checked; it was the user replying to her message.

Ten Years to Forge a Sword: “Did you encounter something similar?”

He didn’t answer her question but instead tried to extract information from her.

Curious, Meng Ran recounted the events in Zhao Weijie’s voice.

Several minutes passed before he responded.

Ten Years to Forge a Sword: “What I experienced was a bit different. I saw the corpse stand upright and walk. By the way, which city are you in?”

Stand upright and walk?

Meng Ran recalled the sudden bulge beneath the blanket. That must have been evidence the body moved.

She didn’t reveal her location, wary since she didn’t know much about this stranger.

Seeing her silence, the user didn’t press further but posed another question.

Ten Years to Forge a Sword: “You weren’t scratched by that corpse, were you?”

The question jolted Meng Ran. She knew of creatures called zombies in fiction, though none had appeared in reality.

This person must be equating those bodies to zombies from novels and films.

Ten Years to Forge a Sword: “I’ll add you to a group. We’re not the only ones dealing with this.”