Rebirth: City Beseiged By Zombies

Chapter 57: Sudden Power Outage
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Plates of meat and vegetables went into the pot, and a dozen people scrambled to eat them. Even Duoduo had gotten on a chair, using both his hands to snatch at the food. He looked so adorable with his cheeks stuffed full that the girls couldn’t help pinching his face.

Everyone forgot their sorrows and worries, as well as the zombies waiting for them outside. In that moment, all they could think about were the plates of food waiting to be eaten and the bottles of beer waiting to be drunk.

Indulging in the merrymaking provided a brief respite from their troubles and temporarily allowed them to escape from the uncertainties that lay ahead of them. What was most important to them in this moment was the fact that they were still alive. Carpe diem, baby!

After several rounds of drinking, Guo Yuan shouted enthusiastically, “Turn on the TV! How can we have hotpot without turning on the TV?”

Guo Zhen chuckled. “Do you think there will be anything to watch?”

Zhang Hongtao circled around the television and suddenly smiled. “There may be nothing on TV, but we could watch DVDs!” He held up a bunch of discs. “There’s a DVD player, and there are DVDs. What movie should we watch?”

“Let’s watch Resident Evil!” Guo Yuan chortled.

“What the heck? Haven’t you had enough of killing zombies? You still wanna watch something like that?” Pan Di slapped him on the back, then quipped, “Are there any ‘artistic’ films? Y’know what I mean!”

“Hey!” The girls became indignant at Pan Di’s suggestion. They walked up to him and pinched him hard. “You’re such a pervert! And shameless! How dare you talk about stuff like that in front of us girls!”

“Oh, c’mon. As if you girls don’t watch stuff like that in the female dormitory. Don’t you girls love reading comics of the same genre?”

“Shameless! Despicable!” P*ssed off at Pan Di, the girls chased him around the room!

Watching Pan Di begging for mercy, Ye Xiaoyu couldn’t help but chuckle, “That Pan Di’s a real jokester!”

Shen Chen shook his head at the lively scene in front of him, then suggested, “How about a comedy? What’s available?”

“What do you think of ‘Lost in Thailand?’ It was really popular back then,” Zhang Hongtao said as he looked at the disc he was holding. “It stars Xu Zheng and Wang Baoqiang.”

“Okay, put that on. It’s pretty funny. Let’s watch that!”

Everyone cheered as the 60-inch television was turned on. Unsurprisingly, there was nothing but static and white noise on the screen.

Just as Zhang Hongtao was about to press “play” on the DVD player, they heard a robotic female voice from the television. “May I have your attention, please? Kindly take note of the following announcement. The Huaxia army is now stationed in every city. Temporary shelters have been set up for survivors. Please find details below about the shelters in each city. Ten shelters have been set up in BJ City, located at…”

Clatter! Their chopsticks fell onto the table.

Everyone was fixated on the static on the television screen, as if it were the best movie in the world. A deluge of emotions threatened to overwhelm them, and their eyes brimmed with tears.

“It’s zf!” they thought. “They haven’t given up on us! They’re coming to save us!”

Everyone was incredibly focused. They listened intently, not willing to miss out on a single bit of information.

“H City…” the female voice continued.

“Where is it, where is it…” Li Jing muttered to herself.

“45 Xiahe Street, Xiuhe District…”

“That’s near my home!” Li Jing tightly clasped her hands. If her parents had managed to survive, she might be able to find them there.

When everyone heard their hometown mentioned, they were either excited or dejected until it was finally mentioned, “S City has set up four shelters for survivors… respectively…”

Their hearts lurched as they listened attentively in anticipation. At that moment, they no longer cared about hotpot! Everyone was so focused on listening to the announcement that the veins in their necks popped.

“Buzz… buzz…” The television suddenly started flickering, and the screen went dark. And the very next moment, the whole room was plunged into darkness.

The women’s piercing screams filled the room! “Where are the shelters for S city located?”

“Why did the power suddenly go out?”

“D*mn this lousy TV. D*mn this lousy hotel!”

The room immediately descended into despair and madness. Everyone was extremely angry and irritated. Why did the hotel have to suffer a power outage at such a crucial moment?!

Shen Chen watched everything and everyone as if he were an outsider, detached from the situation. He witnessed the varying degrees of sadness and anger on their faces. It was evident from his companions’ reactions to the news that receiving aid from zf would mean a lot to them. Such trust and reliance was characteristic of human nature. Even in his previous life, Shen Chen had been no exception. But such blind faith had resulted in disastrous consequences, which was something that Shen Chen wanted to avoid in his present life.

Shen Chen did know where the shelters were located, but he was far from willing to bring them there. It wasn’t exactly a good idea for people like them, who had survived the early stages of the apocalypse, to congregate in a large group… But he couldn’t exactly tell them that, could he?

His reverie was broken by Zhang Hongtao, who suddenly thumped the table with such great force that everyone stopped screaming and ranting.

“This hotel has a backup generator. If we manage to find it, we’ll be able to get it going. The news is probably being broadcast repeatedly, so even if the emergency power supply lasts for only twenty minutes, it should be enough for us to find out where the shelters are located!” Zhang Hongtao said calmly.

“The question is, where is the backup generator?” Li Jing shouted frantically.

“They’re usually in the basement,” Zhang Hongtao answered.

Everyone drew a deep breath at the mention of the basement… The basement was filled with cars and was submerged in darkness. If zombies were to attack them in the basement carpark, they would practically be defenseless…

They turned to look at Shen Chen. His decision would decide their fate. His three buddies appeared to be somewhat hesitant. Even though the shelters might be a good idea, they had no doubt that they would survive without them as long as they stuck with Boss. But that wasn’t what the ladies were thinking. They were staring hopefully at Shen Chen.

Shen Chen sighed deeply and slowly got up. “Let me go! You guys wait in your room!”

Ye Xiaoyu leapt up anxiously, her eyes filled with worry. “No! You can’t go alone! Do you have a death wish? There are three levels to the basement, and it’s extremely dark down there! Who knows how many zombies there are! If you go… what if… what if…”

Ye Xiaoyu’s protectiveness brought a smile to Shen Chen’s face. It warmed his heart to know that she was so concerned for his well-being. Ruffling her hair, he said to Ye Xiaoyu, “Trust me!”

“Boss, we’ll come with you!” Guo Yuan, Zhao Zhen, and Pan Di said in unison as they made eye contact with each other.

“I don’t think so,” Shen Chen said, shaking his head. The basement wasn’t too dangerous for him, but it would be no different from hell for Guo Yuan, Zhao Zhen, and Pan Di.

“Ahem. How about I go with Boss?” Zhang Hongtao suddenly suggested.