Yan made breakfast from the food they had packed, while Lili sat at the
small table with a picture book and kept interrupting to ask what
different road signs meant.
The caravan did not feel like a military vehicle when they were moving
through a quiet stretch of road. It felt like a small home that happened
to have reinforced panels, emergency shutters, and enough supplies to
keep everyone fed and warm. The familiar smell of hot rice and tea
filled the cabin. Lili's questions filled the gaps between engine noise.
Mother Yan reminded everyone to wash their hands before eating, and Yan
glanced over the route with one hand holding her cup. Bai watched all of
it in the corner of her eye and felt a quiet satisfaction that she would
never admit out loud.
Their destination was still far away. They had barely crossed the first
stretch of city beyond Jianghu, and the world had already given them a
roadblock, several zombies, and a mutant strong enough to deform a car.
