Qin Chuan looked at Sun Er's darting eyes and immediately understood.
He had been quietly following Sun Er and found that the other party, like himself, seemed to be looking for something.
Or someone.
Qin Chuan had his suspicions, wondering if Sun Er was sent by someone to find the antibody. However, he had no intention of revealing himself so soon.
If Sun Er's objective was the same as his, why not use him?
After all, he had only just entered this area, and judging by Sun Er's appearance, he had been here for some time.
Instead of wandering around aimlessly, it was better to follow Sun Er. Perhaps there would be an unexpected surprise.
At this moment, Liu Liu was unaware that her acquaintance from school had already met with misfortune. Following the address given by Xu An, she quietly left through the underground passage. With lingering fear, she looked back at the collapsing passage.
"No wonder they said this place couldn't be known to others."
Despite Liu Liu's indifferent nature, she now felt genuine concern for Xu An and the others.
They were right. Just climbing out of such a long pipe by herself had been precarious.
Based on Liu Liu's estimation, it would completely collapse after only two more people passed through.
Beneath these old pipes were the operational engines and other equipment of the Lighthouse.
If one accidentally fell in, survival would be almost impossible. They would be directly torn apart and turned into mud.
And they clearly knew about the instability of this place, yet they were willing to give her this precious escape opportunity.
Liu Liu's eyes darkened. This pipe led directly to the basement level. She stood up and casually cut off all the blood-stained parts of her clothing with a knife.
Most of the people in the basement level were starving, so her appearance did not seem too out of place.
It wasn't until Liu Liu blended into the crowd and returned home that her sister, seeing her disheveled state, softly chided her.
"Sister, where have you been? You haven't come back for days, and you didn't even call me. I was worried."
Liu Liu was surprised, "You don't know?"
Facing her sister's ignorant expression, Liu Liu realized the strangeness she had sensed on her way home.
The people outside were too calm.
No, in the face of the zombie outbreak in District B, the people outside were not only not tense or panicked, but they didn't even have an unusual expression.
Her sister tilted her small face and brought out the food she had saved for Liu Liu. "Sister, what are you talking about? What should I know?"
She pushed the food on the table towards Liu Liu.
Indicating for her to eat.
As if recalling something, her sister suddenly clutched her small head. "I've finished all the homework you assigned me, so you can't scold me anymore."
Liu Liu's eyes suddenly sank, as if plunging into an unfathomable abyss. Her already emotionless gaze now resembled a still, dead pool, incapable of stirring a ripple.
She felt a chill all over her body, as if she had fallen into an ice cellar.
Something in her mind suddenly connected everything.
Why was there no sign of rescue for so long after the incident? Why was the communication signal in District B cut off immediately at the first sign of the zombie outbreak?
Why did everyone she saw after coming out appear to be going about their usual business, with no trace of panic or fear on their faces?
Because they didn't know. Because someone had blocked the news.
Because everyone outside of District B had no idea that zombies had appeared on the Lighthouse.
That was why they were so calm.
So, these people were not without rescue; the Lighthouse had chosen to abandon them, deeming rescue unnecessary, and therefore no troops were dispatched.
All they had to do was to guard the gate at the boundary line.
They didn't even need to bleed or sacrifice. They just needed to watch the gate, ensuring that no zombies were let out, or rather, no living people were let out.
Liu Liu's heart felt as if it were being squeezed tightly. She had never felt so helpless.
It was as if someone had stabbed her in the back.
Seeing her sister in a daze, her sister waved her small hand and then noticed that her sister was covered in dirt.
She then put her hands on her hips and pushed her still-dazed sister directly into the bathroom.
"Oh dear, you're all dirty now. You should go and wash up first. Come out and eat after you're clean. Sister, stop daydreaming."
Saying that, she adjusted the water temperature for Liu Liu and pushed her under the shower.
Only when the warm water flowed from the top of her head into her collar did Liu Liu shiver and snap out of her thoughts.
She looked at her sister with a hint of fear.
Suddenly, she squatted down and pulled the child into her arms. Under the spray of water, silent tears fell.
Her sister initially tried to struggle, but even though she was only fifteen, she was sensitive enough to sense that something was wrong with her sister.
The hands that were about to push her sister away instead held her sister tightly.
The little girl was also startled by the scene.
"Sister, what's wrong with you?"
She gently patted Liu Liu's back.
Allowing the water to drench both of them, Liu Liu remained silent.
Since she had already made up her mind, she would not say anything to worry her family.
They were a fortunate and unfortunate group of people. When they went to the Lighthouse, due to the large number of people, their parents exchanged their entire savings and the position of an elder brother who had failed the physical examination.
Her brother agreed without hesitation. They were both their parents' children, so how could he not understand his father's intentions?
He had failed the physical examination and might not be admitted to the Lighthouse. Instead of that, it was better to exchange it for more food and survive a few more days.
Thus, their mother personally pushed Liu Liu and her sister to the front of the line.
However, no one could have predicted that a temporary measure would actually come true.
The queue that day was long, so long that it was endless.
So long that Liu Liu could not even see the hem of her parents' clothes in the queue.
And it was also on that day that the Lighthouse announced it had reached full capacity.
The queue stopped precisely at the row where she and her sister were.
They were pushed by the frenzied crowd and squeezed through the gate of the Lighthouse that separated everyone's fate.
And their parents were left outside the gate.
From then on, they were separated.
They never heard from their parents again, and from then on, they only had each other, relying on one another.
She had not stopped searching for news of her parents, but the landing locations of the Lighthouse were different each time, let alone finding two people.
It was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Yet, even so, Liu Liu had never given up on finding her parents.
At the same time, she had also taken on the responsibility of being a parent, taking care of her sister alone.