The scenes on both sides of the road looked vastly different from what we had seen before.
Perhaps it was because we were now much closer to the city center — this place was clearly far more prosperous than the previous areas.
But now, that so-called prosperity was nothing more than an empty shell.
Without the bustling presence of people, all the seemingly luxurious places had lost their lively soul.
As I gazed out the car window, a wave of disoriented confusion swept over me.
For a moment, I couldn't quite distinguish between reality and illusion.
Everything before my eyes felt oddly unreal.
It's hard to explain — it was that kind of feeling where you know you're in reality, but it still feels like a dream.
There's no concrete way to describe it, but it was deeply unsettling.
We didn't run into any obstacles along the way.
Even the occasional walker we came across was sparse enough to be negligible, so the car moved at a decent pace.
Not long after, we really did spot a bank up ahead.
Looking at the lavishly decorated sign that read "XX Bank," I couldn't help but feel amused.
Back in the old days, if a group like ours came charging toward a bank wielding daggers and guns, we'd probably make the front page of the next day's newspaper.
The cars were parked side by side right in front of the bank, perfectly blocking off the glass doors.
This way, we could avoid drawing the attention of any walkers passing by on the road.
A few wouldn't be hard to deal with, but it was still best to avoid unnecessary trouble.
We hadn't had much food left to begin with, and after a few extra people joined us during our time at the shelter, our consumption only increased.
At this point, the remaining supplies were just barely enough to fill our group's stomachs.
After we had a simple meal in the car, everyone used the walkie-talkies to coordinate before getting out.
The bank's front doors were open, and a thick layer of dust had settled on the floor inside.
There were even some rotting newspapers and scattered debris lying around.
Suo Tian led the group at the front, while I followed behind with Shen Feng and a few others, trailing the black-clad men.
After signaling Xu Shu, who was at the rear, to keep an eye on things outside, I focused on observing the situation inside the bank.
Like any typical bank, there was a large glass counter where we could clearly see inside.
That area must have been where the staff used to work.
If I wasn't mistaken, Suo Tian likely intended for us to rest there for the night.
On the far right side of the counter was a heavy security door that led behind the counter.
It was wide open at the moment.
Since the space behind that door wasn't as large as the main hall, Suo Tian only took two black-clad men in with him, gesturing for the rest of us to wait outside.
Even with twenty to thirty of us standing around in the relatively small bank, the place was so quiet that we could hear our own heartbeats.
Through the glass partition of the lobby, we could see Suo Tian and his group.
After entering, they quickly swept the area and even forced open what appeared to be an office door inside.
When they went in, I couldn't help but wonder if there might be walkers trapped in there.
Fortunately, they soon came back out and signaled to us that everything was safe.
Breathing a small sigh of relief, I turned to glance at Uncle Gazi, who was holding Tingyun in his arms.
I gave him a knowing smile and said, "It's safe now."
Before Uncle Gazi could respond, little Tingyun was already looking around with wide, curious eyes and asked me with a face full of childlike wonder, "Auntie, where are we?"
Before I could answer, Chen Pu chimed in, "This is a bank."
"What's a bank?" It was clear from Tingyun's expression that she had no concept of the word.
"It's a place where money is kept—lots and lots of money."
Hearing that, Uncle Gazi let out a hearty laugh and said to Chen Pu, "She doesn't know anything about banks or money."
Then he glanced at the glass window behind the counter, turned back to me, and added, "Even if we could fill a sack with cash right now, it'd probably be good for nothing more than kindling."
On the other side, Suo Tian had already started assigning guard duties.
The bank really wasn't a large space, and if all of us tried to stay inside together, it'd be unbearably cramped.
But once everyone was divided up and rotated around, it became much more manageable.
This time, Suo Tian didn't include any of us in the guard teams.
Only his men were divided into three shifts to stand watch in turns.
Because we left in such a hurry, a lot of our supplies were still back at Building 6.
All we had left in the car were a few blankets.
The weather was still cold, and those few blankets were far from enough.
We had no choice but to prioritize the weaker ones and the children to make sure they stayed warm first.
The dose of sedative they gave Rongrong didn't seem light—she still hadn't woken up by now.
The office that Suo Tian and his people had cleared out earlier was now being used to keep her isolated.
After wrapping her up and laying her on the old desk inside, I stepped out and locked the door, as the room had a key.
When Uncle Gazi saw me locking it and then sitting down on the makeshift rug made from flattened boxes of documents and discarded paper, he let out a faint sigh and said, "Poor girl."
Hearing that, I sighed as well.
After putting the key away, I sat down in front of the cardboard.
Just as I was about to respond to Uncle Gazi, my gaze shifted—and I caught sight of Shen Feng, whose expression looked… off.
My heart skipped a beat.
Suddenly, I realized there was something I had almost completely overlooked.
I had been thinking about Suo Tian's view of Rongrong, about Yangyang's view, about the others' views… but I had completely forgotten the opinion of the one person who mattered most—Shen Feng.
Of all people, it was his opinion of Rongrong that truly counted.
In some ways, the mistakes Rongrong made had changed everyone's perception of her, but for Shen Feng—who had been the one most directly hurt by what she did—his attitude toward her was especially significant.
I felt this could even be the key to whether Rongrong would be allowed to stay alive in our group.
Sure, Suo Tian was protecting her now, but who could say how long that protection would last?
After all, everyone had seen with their own eyes how ruthless, decisive, and even brutal Suo Tian and his men could be.
If at some point he decided Rongrong's threat couldn't be neutralized, putting a bullet in her might not be out of the question.
Xu Shu, who was sitting not far away, shot me several meaningful looks, finally pulling me out of my daze.
She subtly pointed at Shen Feng, then tapped the side of her head, mouthed the word "Xiao Xue," and then pointed at the room where Rongrong was locked in, a worried expression on her face.
I gave her a small wave, signaling her not to worry, then turned my attention back to Shen Feng.
His expression hadn't changed—still as blank and distant as before.
In his hand, he was unconsciously rolling and unrolling a piece of scrap paper he must've picked up from somewhere.
Maybe he sensed my gaze, because Shen Feng suddenly stopped and looked over at me.
I glanced around at the black-clad men who had quietly laid down to rest and weren't paying attention, then took a deep breath and said to Shen Feng, "You're strong, Shen Feng."
I knew I probably shouldn't have said something like that at a time like this—it might only remind him of Xiao Xue—but I had no choice.
Xiao Xue was gone, and right now, what mattered was seeing if Rongrong had a chance to stay alive.
As expected, a faint look of despair flickered across Shen Feng's face, and then he said weakly, "Chen Yang, just say what you want to say."
Shen Feng was a smart guy.
After thinking it over for a moment, I decided not to beat around the bush anymore and just spoke frankly: "Shen Feng, I know Xiao Xue's death was a huge blow to you. But birth isn't up to us, and neither is death—you know that. Even in the old world, accidents happened all the time."
I paused there and studied Shen Feng's expression.
When I saw that it hadn't changed much, I continued, "No one knows when or how they or the people around them might die. It's not something we can control. If even the peaceful world we used to live in was like that, then how much more so now? So… to put it bluntly, since we can't change anything, all we can do is adjust our mindset as best we can and face it."
By this point, I believed Shen Feng had more or less understood what I was trying to say.
After a moment of thought, I added,
"The dead are gone, and the living must go on. Rather than mourning and dwelling in sorrow, why not look at those who are still by your side?"
As soon as the words left my mouth, I noticed Shen Feng quickly glance at the door where Rongrong was locked inside, then just as quickly look away.
The muscles on his face twitched hard, as if he were suppressing something.
It took a while before he finally turned back to face me.
I lifted my head and met his gaze directly, my heart full of unease.
Shen Feng's expression gave nothing away—I couldn't guess what he was truly thinking.
Even the subtle sounds around us had all faded; everything was silent.
I knew everyone was listening to our conversation, just like me, waiting for Shen Feng's answer.
Even Yangyang, who had previously been extremely hostile toward Rongrong because of Xiao Xue's death, was sneaking glances at Shen Feng—his face held a faint, conflicted look of anticipation.
And then, suddenly, Shen Feng—whose face had been emotionless all this time—forced out a stiff, awkward smile.
In a low voice, he finally said,
"She's just a kid. There's nothing to hold against her. I won't do anything to her."
Hearing that, I couldn't help but feel a huge sense of relief rising in my chest.
But before I could even let out a breath, Shen Feng's next words drove it straight back down into the pit of my heart, making it ache with unbearable heaviness:
"But Chen Yang—if the one who died was your little brother, could you still say all this?"
Hearing those words, I froze on the spot, staring blankly at Shen Feng.
My mind went completely blank for a couple of seconds before it suddenly started spinning.
Shen Feng was blaming me—blaming me for asking them to come along to search for Yangyang, blaming me for dragging Xiao Xue into it.
If I hadn't, his sister wouldn't have been bitten… wouldn't have died.
No wonder he said he forgave Rongrong.
It was because, deep down, he didn't see Rongrong as the one truly responsible for Xiao Xue's death.
The one who truly caused her death… was me, Chen Yang.
"She just wanted all of you to be safe."
Just as I was completely stunned by Shen Feng's words—frozen in place by the impact—Suo Tian, who had at some point walked to the door, slowly said this sentence.
Hearing that, Uncle Gazi, who was sitting beside me holding Tingyun in his arms, quietly patted me on the back and added,
"Kid, everyone understands what the girl meant. She just wanted to find a way for the little one to survive…"
It seemed like Uncle Gazi still had more to say after that, but in the end, he just sighed and said nothing more.
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