Chapter 480: Eternity 41.

There are supplies inside,

but the loading area is crawling with infected. The driver wanted to go

back for the medicine before we got trapped here. We told him he was out

of his mind."

"Then you were right," Bai said.

The brother and sister exchanged a surprised look. They seemed used to

being told that they should have obeyed the driver, or that they should

have left him, or that their choice to stay had been foolish. Bai did

not praise them for everything they had done. She simply acknowledged

that keeping an injured man alive had been a sensible choice, especially

if they could help him move and find somewhere safer.

The warehouse presented a choice. It might contain medicine, food, spare

parts, and a better route to a sheltered building. It might also contain

a nest of fast-moving zombies, as Lin Yue had warned. Bai could clear

the place quickly enough, but she needed to consider how much noise the

fight would make and whether they could get the rescued group to safety

afterward. The family could not turn every encounter into an extended

mission. They had a long road ahead, and Aunt Lan might have little time

left.

Yan finished securing Uncle He’s bandage and looked toward the

warehouse. "How many entrances are there?"

"Two that we know about," Lin Tao said. "The loading bay and a side door

near the storage room. We saw infected at both."

"How many?"

"Maybe ten. Maybe more. They move fast."

"Do they leave the building?"

"Some came out when we tried to start the truck. They followed us until

we crossed the drainage ditch. We lost them around the side of the

warehouse, but there may be more inside."

Bai considered the distance and the terrain. The warehouse lay only a

short way beyond the overturned truck. If it had been left untouched,

its supplies could benefit the siblings and the shelter they had been

trying to reach. But walking into it without a plan would be foolish,

and they would not be able to carry everything they found. The question

was not whether they could take the supplies. It was how to do so

without wasting half a day or drawing a horde toward the caravan.

"We’ll check it," Bai said. "But we don’t promise to recover every box.

We take what we can use, help you reach a safe place, and continue our

trip."

Lin Tao frowned. "You’d do that for strangers?"

"I’m doing it because we can," Bai replied. "Don’t make it complicated."

Yan glanced at her. Bai could be blunt enough to make kindness sound

like an inconvenience, but Yan knew the difference. There was no pride

in her voice, no expectation of gratitude. She had made a decision and

moved on to the practical details. Yan liked that about her more than

she was willing to admit.

Uncle He tried to sit up. "I can show you the layout."

"You can stay where you are and keep your leg still," Yan told him.

"I know the warehouse better than the kids."

"And I know you have a fever. You can tell us what you remember from

here."

He looked at Bai as if hoping for support. Bai shook her head. "Listen

to her. She’s the boss of your leg now."

Yan gave Bai a sideways look. "I see you have finally accepted my

authority."

"Only over legs."

"I’ll take what I can get."

Lin Yue blinked between them, then looked at her brother. He had the

same expression, as though he had stumbled into a conversation that did

not match the danger around them. Yan ignored them and began asking

Uncle He about the warehouse’s layout, where the medical supplies were

stored, and whether the building had an external power switch that could

be reached without entering the loading bay.

The driver answered each question in detail. The warehouse had belonged

to a regional supplier that stored dry goods, basic medical equipment,

batteries, hand tools, and vehicle parts. A small office stood near the

front entrance, and the loading area extended through the center of the

building. The most valuable items were kept in metal cages at the back.

A side access door connected to an alley, though the alley had a broken

fence and a narrow drain. The power switch was on the outside wall near

the loading bay, but it had been unreliable before the apocalypse.

Yan listened, then began forming a plan. Bai could enter through the

loading bay and draw the infected toward the broadest part of the

building. Yan would move along the exterior wall, check the side

entrance, and provide cover if anything tried to flank Bai. They could

use the power switch if it worked, but they would not rely on the

lights. If the building was dark, they would clear it in sections and

keep a clear route back to the road. Mother Yan would remain with the

injured driver and the siblings, with the caravan close enough that they

could retreat quickly if something went wrong.

Lin Yue looked worried. "You’re going to go in there with only the two

of you?"

Bai checked Whisperfang’s grip. "Yes."

"That’s insane."

"It’s a warehouse full of infected, not a dragon."

Lin Tao looked toward the damaged metal of the overturned truck. "The

big ones can be strong enough to tear open a car."

"Then it is a good thing I’m not a car," Bai said.

Yan sighed. "Please don’t make the survivors think we’re completely

unreasonable before we’ve helped them."

"I am being very reasonable."

"You just compared yourself to a car."

"I said I wasn’t one."

Lin Yue pressed her lips together, clearly trying not to laugh. It

surprised her, perhaps, to discover that the two women who had handled

the zombies with such cold efficiency could argue over something so

silly. Bai did not seem to feel the need to look frightening all the

time. Yan did not seem impressed by the

TO BE CONTINUED.