Chapter 20: Sweet Home

Volume 1 “Year of Calamity”

Dusk gradually descended as the chilly autumn wind rustled, the crimson sun at the horizon fading from its midday fervor, leaving only a soft orange glow. An Sheng sat beneath a pine tree on the mountainside, admiring the sunset’s afterglow while allowing the golden twilight to illuminate his somewhat pale face.

Time flew by – it had already been over three months since An Sheng’s group settled in Yushan. Autumn was originally harvest season, but with the apocalypse now upon them, everything lay abandoned. Fortunately, the food they had prepared could sustain them until next spring. When spring arrived with blooming flowers, An Sheng believed they would establish their own home here on Yushan.

After the incident on the national highway, only seventy-eight survivors remained from the Tube-Style Apartment Building. However, their group had gained a new member – the Pig-Head Monster that An Sheng had brutally defeated, whom he named Pighead Three.

Initially, many people feared this monster, after all, it was responsible for over twenty lives perishing to the Yellow Springs during their migration. But after more than three months of coexistence, everyone gradually began to accept it.

Truth be told, this fellow had been quite helpful. For instance, over these three months, it had completely devoured all the zombies and mutated creatures in several villages around Yushan, leaving none behind.

At first, when Pighead Three went down the mountain to feed, An Sheng always suspected it would seize the opportunity to escape. Yet every time, after eating its fill, it would voluntarily return to the vicinity of the mine shaft. The abandoned gold mine smelter’s factory building had become its bedroom.

Thanks to having such a powerful security guard, the migrated residents from the Tube-Style Apartment Building could settle down and rebuild their lives here. Most importantly, this guy required no salary and didn’t need them to provide meals – essentially a volunteer worker.

The living conditions on Yushan were quite decent. The abandoned military fortress was built inside the mountain, with its entrance being a bunker constructed of reinforced concrete, featuring a massive iron door thirty centimeters thick. Structural analysis suggested it could withstand direct hits from large-caliber artillery. An Sheng had once ordered Pighead Three to test it.

The result proved that even a powerful mutated monster like Pighead Three couldn’t force its way into the fortress through brute strength. The bunker connected to the mountain’s interior, where the space was complex with numerous rooms. Based on the scale, it could be inferred that the troops previously stationed here comprised at least a reinforced battalion.

“Uncle An Sheng, dinner’s ready!”

Little Biscuit came running, breathing heavily, her little belly puffing in and out. The bun hairstyle tied with red string swayed with the movement of her small head, making her look like a adorable little angel. Little Biscuit was Su Yao’s younger daughter, her formal name being Su Yijing. She had an older sister two years her senior named Yi’an.

An Sheng bent down to pick up Little Biscuit, affectionately smelling the laundry detergent fragrance on her clothes. After experiencing life and death situations together, they had all become family.

“What are we having for dinner tonight?”

An Sheng teased Little Biscuit while carrying her toward the fortress entrance.”Noodles with gravy. Uncle An Sheng, I want to eat chicken legs. It’s been so long since I’ve had chicken legs, Uncle.” Little Biscuit rested her small head comfortably on An Sheng’s shoulder, complaining with a hint of grievance.

For the past few months, everyone had been busy constructing Yushan Fortress. Since they would be living here long-term, many supporting facilities needed to be built to ensure better living conditions.

During this period, their food had mainly consisted of grains and dried vegetables. The canned meats and packaged meat products had been exhausted within the first month. While adults could manage with this over time, the seven or eight children were growing increasingly dissatisfied.

An Sheng thought to himself that the work at the fortress was nearly complete, and it was time to venture out to gather supplies. With this in mind, he promised Little Biscuit confidently, “Tomorrow, Uncle will get you chicken legs!”

“Really? Uncle, pinky promise!” Little Biscuit exclaimed excitedly, almost dancing with joy, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.

An Sheng extended his little finger and hooked it with Little Biscuit’s.

“Pinky swear, a hundred years no changes, whoever breaks it is a big bad guy!” Little Biscuit’s clear voice echoed through the mountain valley of Yushan…

After dinner, all seventy-eight people in the fortress gathered in the bunker. This was the largest room in the fortress, typically used for meetings whenever important matters needed discussion.

The diesel generator was started, and after a few flickers, the dim electric light gradually brightened. Everyone sat in a circle, conversing quietly.

“Everyone, quiet please. Commander Zhang is about to start the meeting,” Butcher announced cheerfully in a loud voice. Since arriving at Yushan Fortress, everyone had jokingly started calling Old Zhang “Commander.” After all, this was a military fortress, so the title seemed fitting. At first, Old Zhang wasn’t very comfortable with it, but over time he went along with everyone’s wishes.

Upon hearing that Commander Zhang was convening the meeting, everyone immediately stopped their murmuring, and the previously noisy scene fell into complete silence.

“Ahem, ahem,” Old Zhang cleared his throat like a veteran cadre, eliciting a round of laughter from the crowd. After the laughter subsided, he spoke: “Xiao An has suggested that we go down the mountain to gather some supplies. Today, we’ll take inventory to see what each household is lacking. However, I must emphasize that our vehicle transport capacity is limited, so don’t list unnecessary items.”

Old Zhang’s words sparked another round of lively discussion among everyone. There were indeed many things they needed. Although just a few months ago, they were all low-income workers living at the bottom of society, they at least had their basic living needs met.

Now, having taken refuge in this Yushan, they essentially had nothing. But everyone had experienced life-and-death situations and were fortunate to have reached this shelter alive. Being able to survive was already satisfying enough. Although current living conditions were tough, at least they didn’t have to worry about food and drink.

“Let me speak first!” The first to stand up was Little Old Man.

He smoothed his graying hair and said to Old Zhang: “Commander, autumn has arrived, and the weather will soon turn cold. When we came here, we were all in a hurry and couldn’t bring many cotton-padded clothes and quilts from home. This issue needs to be addressed.”

“Alright, Old Brother, I’ve noted it down,” Old Zhang replied while writing “cotton-padded clothes and quilts” in a small leather-bound notebook.”Drumstick, drumstick!” A childish voice rang out through the crowd. Everyone turned to look—the source was Su Yao’s youngest daughter. She was standing on tiptoes, waving her little hand high and shouting loudly, afraid that Uncle Zhang wouldn’t hear her. Su Yao quickly pulled her into her arms and pressed down her waving hand, offering an apologetic smile to the others while quietly scolding her daughter for being impolite.

The little one wouldn’t have any of it. Struggling free from her mother’s grasp, she protested in her childish voice: “Uncle An Sheng promised me! He’ll bring me a drumstick tomorrow! If you don’t believe me, ask Uncle An Sheng yourself, Mom—we pinky swore!”

An Sheng laughed heartily and nodded at Su Yao, confirming his promise with Little Biscuit. Standing up, he addressed the group: “It’s been so long since we’ve had any meat. We adults can manage, but we have these children to think about—they’re growing! They must have drumsticks, they absolutely must!”

After hearing An Sheng’s words, all the children burst into cheerful cheers. Watching the happy smiles spreading across the children’s faces, he found himself unconsciously infected by this joyful atmosphere. These people before him were no longer just his neighbors—in An Sheng’s heart, he had already come to regard them as family. And this aging military Fortress had become their sweet home, belonging to all of them.