Chapter 24: No Body
News of Lin Xiwan’s return spread rapidly throughout the camp.
Almost everyone who heard the news wore a complex expression.
Because the situation…was complicated.
No one had expected Lin Xiwan, the Awakened who had been missing for almost ten days, to actually return.
Just two days ago, Lin Xiwan’s younger sister had been expelled from the camp as a useless burden, followed closely by members of the Blood Gang…
The Blood Gang was in trouble…
Everyone knew it, but no one wanted to get involved.
Lin Xiwan walked towards her former room, each step heavier than the last.
She could keenly sense the shock in people’s eyes as they looked at her.
Many, including gang members, even scrambled away in terror upon seeing her.
Lin Xiwan knew what this meant.
The further she walked, the more exhausted she felt.
The courage she had felt crossing the bridge, the drive that propelled her across the district, seemed to have vanished.
Now, a sense of dread crept into her heart.
She was trembling, afraid.
The closer she got to her former room, the more intense the fear became.
Almost reaching it, she inexplicably turned and entered the nearby bathroom.
“Sister… Sister Lin?”
The lame man who collected fees at the bathroom entrance jumped up from his chair upon seeing Lin Xiwan, almost losing his balance.
“…Sign me in,” Lin Xiwan said, her voice hoarse.
“N-no need to register. Water and soap are inside… I… I’ll ask Aunt Wang to get you some new clothes.”
The lame man stammered and hurried away, as if terrified.
Lin Xiwan slowly entered the bathroom and saw a dozen buckets of river water neatly arranged inside the bathhouse.
Ordinary people certainly didn’t receive this treatment. This bathroom was only for Awakened and their families; everyone else used the shared smaller facilities.
Lin Xiwan picked up a bucket of cold water and poured it over herself, from head to toe.
She didn’t even bother taking off her clothes, simply letting the cold water soak her body.
The stinging pain from the water on her wounds made her feel slightly more alive.
As an Awakened, she didn’t need to worry about any contamination in the water. In fact, unless it was a special type of zombie, ordinary zombies had limited infection capabilities.
Just as she was about to take off her clothes, a knock came from the bathroom door.
“Little… Little Lin? I’m coming in with some clothes for you.”
Lin Xiwan recognized Aunt Wang’s voice.
She was the aunt of Wang Yi, the leader of the resort camp.
In fact, most of the positions in the camp were held by Wang Yi’s relatives. That was why he chose to stay here and manage the camp.
At least when it came to family, Wang Yi lived up to the “Yi” (righteousness) in his name.
“Okay.”
Lin Xiwan responded, and the door opened.
An older woman with graying hair entered, carrying a bag.
She placed the bag of clean clothes on the bench beside Lin Xiwan and hesitated before speaking.
“Awan, Yizai had no choice but to set that rule. There are too many people in the camp…”
“Aunt Wang, I know. You can leave now.”
Lin Xiwan forced a smile.
Seeing this, Aunt Wang didn’t say anything more, just sighed and left.
Lin Xiwan knew that Wang Yi’s seven-day rule was already humane.
Seven days of absence before expulsion, essentially seven days of free room and board for the families of Awakened.
Even ordinary explorers had three days.
In this apocalyptic world, he was practically a saint.
With Aunt Wang gone, Lin Xiwan was alone in the large bathroom.
As if disconnected from reality, she stood there blankly for a long time, a full minute passing before she finally processed Aunt Wang’s words.
Soaked to the bone, she gently put down the bucket, sat on the floor, hugged her knees, and wept silently.
She wasn’t the Awakened who only smiled at her sister and remained icy towards others. She was just a helpless child.
After some time, she stood up and took off her dirty clothes.
After drying herself with a new towel, she changed into clean black athletic shorts, a black t-shirt, and running shoes, all designed for ease of movement.
Tying up her wet hair, she left the bathroom.
As soon as she stepped out, she saw Li Yi standing in the distance, looking anxious.
As she approached, Li Yi said with a mournful face, “Sister Lin, I tried my best. I’m just a worker, I couldn’t do anything. I stalled those Blood Gang members…”
“Blood Gang?” Lin Xiwan murmured, continuing to walk.
“Sister Lin, I went out to look for you during my shift later. I found Grandma Zhang’s body, she’d been burned. But I couldn’t find your sister…”
“Hmm?” A flicker of hope appeared in Lin Xiwan’s eyes.
She turned to Li Yi. “Go to my room and tell me everything, from the beginning.”
“Okay… No problem, Sister Lin.” Li Yi nodded submissively and followed her to her former room.
Since no new Awakened had arrived, the room hadn’t been touched. Aside from a layer of dust, it was still neat and clean.
Li Yi stood at the doorway, watching as Lin Xiwan took a letter from the drawer, her hands trembling slightly.
Li Yi didn’t know what was written on the letter, but he could sense the dangerous aura emanating from Lin Xiwan. Just looking at her, he could tell something was very wrong.
“Tell me,” Lin Xiwan said, her expression blank, not looking up.
“Well, I was in charge of the expulsion that day. I arrived on time…” Li Yi began to recount the events of that day in detail.
When he mentioned the Blood Gang, Li Yi felt the temperature in the room drop several degrees. He couldn’t stop sweating.
“Blood Gang… Sprinter?”
“No body found…”
Lin Xiwan carefully folded the letter and put it in her pocket.
Even if her sister had been turned into a zombie, she would take her with her.
She didn’t have to stay in the camp. She could take her sister to the highway. With three blood crystals, she could buy a working car.
She would take her sister to Donghai Province, to Survivor’s Light. They must be developing a cure.
As long as her sister was still breathing, even if she had become a zombie, she wouldn’t give up.
This was her last remaining family.
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