BC Chapter 8

Although the outer shell of the water dispenser was made of steel, the thin steel sheet didn’t pose much of an obstacle for the seemingly frenzied man. Moreover, after that one impact, the entire water dispenser shattered. Even after tripping, the man quickly got back on his feet because the viral infection had damaged the important nerve centers in the human body. Some sensory abilities were lost, transferred, superimposed, or disordered, depriving most of the infected people of their sight and damaging the pain conduction in the nerve endings. While sight was taken away, the sensitivity of their sense of smell was actually enhanced.

For the man who had lost his sight due to the infection, the strong scent of makeup on the heavily made-up woman was the best guide, allowing him to accurately attack her even without seeing.

Although the woman was constantly screaming, she thankfully didn’t freeze in place in terror and knew to dodge. Because she was thin, she narrowly avoided the man’s lunges several times.

However, her good luck wasn’t going to last forever. The debris from the objects she had knocked over earlier now covered the floor. She was also wearing high heels, which made it difficult to move quickly. Every step she took required her to watch the ground carefully to ensure there was enough space for her to stand firmly. But in her current state of mind, she was in no condition to focus and place her feet with any sense. The result of her reckless movements was that, in the moment she focused her attention on the man chasing her from behind, her right foot landed on a broken table lamp support. The rounded column slipped, and she completely lost her balance, falling towards a beige patterned armchair.

“Help!!!” Just as the man was about to pounce on the woman and start feeding, a rolling pin, swung in a wide arc, came flying over and struck him on the side of his face. The man staggered back a few steps, his body leaning against the sliding glass door leading to the balcony. The door was forced open, sliding to the side, and the man turned halfway around, staggering towards the balcony.

Lu Ziming’s apartment building was an old one. There were no safety nets or railings on the balcony. A few days ago, Lu Ziming had left empty vinegar bottles on the balcony, and somehow one had rolled to the center. Like the woman just now, the man stepped on the bottle. Tripped by the bottle, his body lurched forward. Clearly, the infected man wasn’t as lucky as the woman. She had fallen into the sofa unharmed, but he… following his momentum, he crashed into the waist-high cement barrier and plunged down.

In less than five seconds, a “thud” came from downstairs.

Lu Ziming, still holding the vegetable basin in her hand, was somewhat dazed. Was that… it?

It was a bit unbelievable, wasn’t it? Lu Ziming hadn’t expected that the vinegar bottle she’d casually placed on the balcony a few days ago would save someone’s life. Moreover… she looked down at the vegetable basin in her hand – a spatula, ladle, chopsticks, and kitchen knife were all there. She had only thrown a rolling pin, so wouldn’t the rest of her weapons be useless?

Who would have thought that the man would be dealt with so easily? Lu Ziming felt like she’d put all her strength into a punch that hit thin air. However, although things hadn’t gone as Lu Ziming expected, the result was still a good thing for her. Now that the man was gone, the only hidden danger in this apartment was eliminated.

The woman on the sofa was still trembling, her eyes tightly shut, screaming. Lu Ziming ignored her, put down the things in her hand, turned around, took out her key, and went into her own room.

The screaming outside didn’t stop as Lu Ziming rummaged through her belongings. It wasn’t until she had gathered nearly all the things worth taking that the screaming abruptly stopped.

Lu Ziming didn’t have many possessions to begin with, and even fewer that were worth taking. She changed out of her business attire and put on her usual everyday cuffed cargo pants and mid-calf combat boots. Over her white short-sleeved T-shirt, she put on a denim shirt. Her outfit was now complete.

She took out her climbing backpack, which she usually used for outdoor rock climbing, and packed the necessities she might need, such as a fruit knife with a protective cover and steel scissors, which could serve as both tools and weapons. A flashlight was also essential, as was a lighter. In short, she packed all her climbing gear except for the large tent.

Lu Ziming’s life was simple, and her hobbies were few. She didn’t like the internet but preferred sports, especially mountaineering and rock climbing. If she liked anything else besides those two, it would probably be reading novels – not just any books, but novels, regardless of whether they were old or new, Chinese or foreign, popular or obscure. And she always bought paper copies with her own money, not because she had any high-minded ideas, but simply out of personal preference.

Having read many books, she naturally had a clearer understanding of life’s various aspects, which was why she had always drifted along, not quite succeeding but not failing either. It wasn’t that she lacked the ability, but she simply didn’t want to participate. Although a person’s life inevitably involves some interaction with those around them, Lu Ziming avoided it whenever possible, just as no one at the company knew where she lived or what she did in her free time, despite her having worked there for so long.

However, not being assertive at work wasn’t necessarily a good thing for Lu Ziming’s life, at least in terms of spending compared to others. Her income wasn’t high to begin with, and she also liked to buy mountaineering and climbing equipment and various books, which meant that she hadn’t saved much money in her bank account. But fortunately, because she had grown up in poverty, this kind of life was commonplace for Lu Ziming.

After her parents divorced, Lu Ziming’s mother, Xia Shulan, fought for custody of Lu Ziming. But a single woman raising a child was never as good as a normal family. It had taken all of Xia Shulan’s effort to put Lu Ziming through college. Sometimes, people are only strong because of a stubborn persistence. Once they lose their reason to persist, they immediately collapse, unable to maintain the facade of strength. This was exactly the case for Lu Ziming’s mother, Xia Shulan. Out of anger, she divorced Lu Jinghai and took on the responsibility of raising Lu Ziming alone. Also out of anger, she insisted on putting Lu Ziming through college. Once Lu Ziming graduated, the reason that had kept her from falling apart for so many years was gone. She fell ill and never recovered. The illness quickly drained all her life force. When Lu Ziming knelt before the doctor, begging with her salary from half a year of internship, she didn’t cry. All the tears flowed into her heart. She knew that some things couldn’t be reversed just because you looked pitiful. On the contrary, there were countless people in the world who wanted to see you make a fool of yourself. The more pitiful you were, the happier they would be.

So Lu Ziming accepted it calmly. However, she didn’t expect Xia Shulan to be even more composed. She would always remember her mother’s last words: “You can give anything as long as you think they are worth it. So your mother died well, because my efforts have been rewarded.”

Xia Shulan put the money back in Lu Ziming’s trembling hand, took a breath, and continued: “Live on, whether it’s just for yourself or for someone who’s worth it. As long as you’re not in a desperate situation with no chance of survival, you must live well, because your mother lived her whole life for you. I’m not saying this to threaten you. I know my child won’t go wrong, but it’s a pity that I won’t be able to see you get married and have children…” At this point, Xia Shulan seemed to think of her own experiences after marriage and quickly changed her mind, “No, no, no, neither marriage nor having children can compare to being free and unfettered alone. If the other party isn’t willing to die for you, then don’t bother looking for a partner. Never mind…” After saying what she wanted to say, Xia Shulan raised her eyes and looked at Lu Ziming’s heroic eyes, and eyebrows. This child looked more and more like herself, the proud and disobedient of her parents of herself. However, the family circumstances of the mother and daughter when they were young were vastly different, which led to Lu Ziming having a introverted and mature sense that Xia Shulan didn’t have when she was young.

But after all, Lu Ziming’s veins ran with Xia Shulan’s naturally proud blood. Not having in-depth contact with others, from another perspective, wasn’t that a kind of arrogance of not deigning to associate with ordinary people?

…

Lu Ziming put on the dark green mountaineering bag and tightened the shoulder straps. For some reason, she felt a long-lost sense of excitement, and all her senses were stirred up. She subconsciously squatted down and stretched her legs before realizing that this time she was leaving home not for a camping trip, but for a real escape.

Before her death, her mother had told her to live on, so she would try her best to live on. She took out a silver necklace with a star-shaped pendant from her collar – the only memento Xia Shulan had left her. She gently kissed it and tucked the necklace back into her clothes.

Alright, let’s go!

…

Compared to Lu Ziming’s calm and composure, Duan Xiaomin from across the hall was clearly not as rational. Seeing the mess in the apartment, the first thing she thought of was not to arm herself, but to call her boyfriend and cry about the sudden disaster she had encountered, begging for protection and shelter.

When Lu Ziming opened her door, the first thing she saw was Duan Xiaomin, whose face was covered in snot and tears.