A Fake Holy Mother in the Zombie Apocalypse

The SUV continued forward, speeding along, returning to a west-northwest direction.

After camping by the Yan River for a night and setting off again the next day, the scenery along the road began to change.

The vegetation gradually thinned, the terrain opened up, and large expanses of red gravel could be seen everywhere. The red earth contrasted with the blue sky, making the sky seem even more vast.

Before long, on the reddish-brown wilderness, a faint black line appeared on the horizon.

This was definitely not a natural landscape; it had to be man-made.

Tang Tang poked her head out of the car window, a little excited. "Look ahead! Is that the legendary defense line? So, have we finally found a safe zone?"

Lu Xingchi replied, "Let's go take a look."

Bei Nuan knew it wasn't.

The squad in the book had been to this place.

Lu Xingchi was following the exact same route as in the book. Although they hadn't reached the legendary defense line yet, this was the first truly well-established human base they had encountered after traveling so far.

This base covered a large area. The main area was an abandoned mining town located at the junction of three countries. The population was very complex, controlled by several different factions.

Bei Nuan tugged at Lu Xingchi, about to speak, when Lu Xingchi stopped the car.

"Shall we get out and walk over?"

This was precisely what Bei Nuan had in mind.

Many bases would confiscate important supplies, so it was best to leave as little outside as possible.

Lu Xingchi had become very familiar with the beloved SUV that had accompanied them all this way, so it was naturally safer to store it in his space.

"We have to walk over there?"

Du Ruo looked at the distant horizon with a pained expression.

"Do you guys know what 'the mountains look close but are far away' means?"

Because the terrain was flat, although they could see it from afar, the distance was not short. Walking across the wasteland under the scorching sun would probably be deadly.

Bei Nuan thought, Of course, we have to be sunbaked, the more the better.

How can we sweat without being sunbaked?

And how can we use Bei Nuan's snow-white, soft little towel without sweating?

Lu Xingchi, however, didn't think so.

"It's so hot. We'll be fine, but Bei Nuan will get heatstroke." Lu Xingchi thought for a moment. "Bei Nuan, take out your little yellow car."

The little yellow car had been stored in her space, unused, and it wouldn't be a big loss if the base confiscated it.

Bei Nuan had no choice but to pull the little yellow car out of her space like a magical Doraemon.

So, the five of them squeezed into the little yellow car.

Although Bei Nuan was the smallest, everyone insisted that she sit in the passenger seat, which meant the three men, Du Ruo and the others, were crammed into the back seat.

The little yellow car was round and small, like a toy. The back seat space was limited, suitable for children, but the three men were packed in tightly, squeezed and distorted.

Du Ruo groaned, "Forget it, let me out. I'd rather walk."

Lu Xingchi didn't stop the car. "Just hold on, we'll be there in a few minutes."

Du Ruo was puzzled. "Bei Nuan, there were so many empty cars on the road that you didn't collect, why keep such a small one in your space?"

Bei Nuan replied solemnly, "Because it was the first car I drove when I traveled alone. I have special feelings for it and can't bear to throw it away."

Lu Xingchi, driving, turned to look at Bei Nuan and smiled happily.

Bei Nuan was baffled.

What was he so happy about? What does my attachment to the car have to do with him?

As the car approached, they could see that outside the base was a well-built defense line, like a trench, several layers deep, with barbed wire erected on the high walls, looking quite sturdy.

The little yellow car drove along the defense line, searching for a way in, and finally found the entrance.

Getting out of the car, Du Ruo stretched his long legs and felt completely relieved.

Bei Nuan carefully observed with her little towel in hand. Even squeezed together like that, they still hadn't broken a sweat.

The sentry had already seen their car, asked a few questions, and then opened the gate.

The base was quite large, a city within. Small buildings were arranged neatly like barracks, all in the architectural style of decades ago, square and characterless, gray and overgrown with weeds.

This place used to be a mining area, but later it was abandoned. The small town that had developed along with the mining area also declined. People left, buildings emptied, and almost no one lived there, so the town was practically deserted.

A deserted town had its advantages.

A deserted town had no people, and therefore no zombies. During this zombie outbreak, many people came here to seek refuge, suddenly bringing the deserted town back to life.

Visionary individuals established inspection procedures early on, preserving this area, and gradually developing it into a base.

As Lu Xingchi had expected, the soldiers at the base let them in but confiscated the little yellow car, saying that such supplies were to be turned over to the public.

However, they also distributed quite a few things.

After they had their injuries checked, each person received a week's worth of meal tickets, which could be used to get food from the canteen.

After a week, they were on their own and had to earn their keep.

They also received a small bag of daily necessities each, including a lunch box, towel, toothbrush, soap, toilet paper, and even several scented candles, all in glass jars or metal boxes, quite pretty.

Finally, like handing out precious treasures, they gave each of them a small plastic lighter.

Bei Nuan examined the candles, a little curious. "Why are you giving out scented candles?"

The soldier smiled and replied, "Because we found a candle factory last time, and there were a lot of candles in the warehouse. Since there's no electricity at night, we brought them back for everyone to use for lighting."

After the personal items were distributed, another person in charge came over, asked about their situation, and then brought out a large notebook.

"We assign living quarters here. You men will share a room. It's a bit crowded for four people, but there's no other way."

He glanced at Bei Nuan. "You only have one woman. According to the rules, we can't assign you a separate room. I'll have someone find you a female companion to share with."

Lu Xingchi suddenly put his arm gently around Bei Nuan's shoulders.

"We're husband and wife," he said.

Bei Nuan almost choked.

Husband and wife? Husband and wife?

"Husband and wife?" the man said. "That's easy then."

His finger slid down the rows of numbers in the notebook and stopped.

"We can assign you a two-bedroom apartment. The three of them can share one room, and you two can share the other."

Problem solved.

He turned around and took out a large bunch of keys, picked one out, handed it to Lu Xingchi, and gave them the address. "Building Number 12, Unit 2, Apartment 602, Area 3."

He spoke so quickly and indistinctly that Du Ruo didn't catch it. "Building Number 12, Area 3, what?"

Bei Nuan quickly answered, "Building Number 12, Unit 2, Apartment 602."

Du Ruo was surprised. "He spoke so fast, how could you remember?"

Bei Nuan thought, Of course I remember, that's my address.

This address happened to be the same as the address of Bei Nuan's home in the other world.

With their meal tickets and daily necessities in hand, they searched for the legendary Building Number 12, Unit 2, Apartment 602 in Area 3.

The base was like a normally functioning small city, with quite a few people on the streets.

However, the city had been abandoned for a long time and was in a state of disrepair. The roads were cracked, weeds grew in the crevices, and the people were thin and gaunt, hurrying along.

There were no civilian vehicles on the road, only convoys on apparent missions whizzing by, presumably heading out of the city to search for supplies.

The buildings here were all identical standardized structures, arranged neatly, so they weren't too difficult to find.

Soon, Bei Nuan and the others were standing in front of an old apartment building that was no different from any other.

The building had only six floors, so apparently, 602 was on the top floor.

They climbed the narrow stairs.

Many units downstairs were already occupied, and they could hear the lively chatter of people inside. Although the building was old, it was full of the warmth of human life.

Reaching the top floor and finding Apartment 602, Lu Xingchi inserted the key into the lock.

The apartment seemed to have been abandoned for a while. The lock was a bit stiff and didn't turn easily. Lu Xingchi tried but failed, so he simply pulled out the key and placed his hand on the doorknob.

The door opened.

The door faced the living room window across the way. The sunlight outside was bright and white, momentarily dazzling Bei Nuan.

Bei Nuan blinked, then adjusted to the light.

The inside wasn't dilapidated at all; it looked like someone had lived there recently.

The windows were bright and clean, spotless. Shoes filled the shoe rack, and a white porcelain teacup sat on the coffee table, as if the owner had just left.

In the bright, dazzling sunlight, Bei Nuan scanned every detail of the room with her eyes.

Distantly, she seemed to hear Lu Xingchi's voice.

"Bei Nuan? Bei Nuan?"

Someone grasped Bei Nuan's shoulders.

Bei Nuan gently pulled away from him and, as she always did when coming home, kicked off her shoes, threw off her backpack, and rushed straight into the master bedroom.

"Dad? Dad?"

The large bed in the master bedroom was simple and clean, a dark men's jacket still draped over the chair beside the bed.

But no one was there.

"Dad?"

If he wasn't in the bedroom, he must be in the kitchen cooking.

Bei Nuan ran into the kitchen.

The kitchen counter was tidy, and a familiar blue checkered apron hung behind the door.

But still, no one.

Bei Nuan opened the door to the small bedroom.

Her small wooden single bed was there, with her childhood plush pillow still on it. Books were piled haphazardly on the bookshelf, unorganized.

Bei Nuan stood at the doorway, stunned for a moment, then rushed to the balcony.

No one was on the balcony either. Her dad wasn't secretly hiding there smoking this time. The bathroom was also empty.

Bei Nuan returned to the living room, feeling lost.

"Bei Nuan, what's wrong?" Lu Xingchi asked.

Bei Nuan crouched down in the middle of the living room, hugged her knees, and burst into tears.

This Building Number 12, Unit 2, Apartment 602 was, without a doubt, her home.

Her home in the other world, the home she had when her dad was still alive.

After her dad passed away, the house had changed a lot. Later, Bei Nuan moved the furniture out of the larger room, replaced it with two single beds, and rented it out to help with expenses.

But this apartment was clearly how it looked before her dad died.

Everything was the same as it had been, as if time had frozen, stopped at the happiest moment, as if the intervening years had never existed.

In this distant, different world, in this apocalyptic base, there was a replica of Bei Nuan's home.

Such a strange thing, yet Bei Nuan wasn't afraid at all.

Because it was bright, warm, and familiar, as if her dad was still there, just having stepped out for a moment because he'd forgotten to buy something.

Du Ruo and the others were still standing at the door, completely clueless about what was wrong with Bei Nuan.

Lu Xingchi also crouched down, gently stroking her back, quietly waiting for her to finish crying.

When Bei Nuan finally stopped sobbing uncontrollably and was only sniffling, Lu Xingchi moved her to the sofa.

Jiang Fei came over and asked Bei Nuan, "What's wrong?"

Lu Xingchi answered for her, "If I'm not mistaken, this apartment is very similar to her home."

Bei Nuan pulled a tissue from the familiar fabric tissue box on the coffee table, wiped her tear-streaked face, and blew her nose.

"It's not similar to my home, this is my home."

Bei Nuan pulled out another tissue and said, sniffling, "This little bunny tissue box, I made it when I was little. One of the bunny ears fell off, and I was too lazy to sew it back on, so I glued it with hot glue."

Lu Xingchi picked up the tissue box and examined the bunny's long ears.

Sure enough, one ear was sewn on, and the other was indeed glued with hot glue.

"No need to look," Bei Nuan said in a muffled voice. "It's my home, of course I recognize it. My school uniform is hanging on the balcony, and my schoolbag is hanging by the door."

"And the shoes, they're all on the shoe rack," Bei Nuan paused, then whispered, "My dad's and mine."

Every detail brought back familiar memories. Things she thought she had long forgotten were all there, surging back at the slightest prompting.

Lu Xingchi looked around. "Bei Nuan, calm down. Look carefully again. Is it really your home?"

Bei Nuan had finished crying and was much calmer now.

She composed herself and first told Lu Xingchi a lie. "Yes, this is my home in S City."

"Strange." Du Ruo looked around the apartment. "S City is so far from here. How could there be an identical place? Are the spaces connected?"

Bei Nuan thought, Actually, it's even stranger than you think. Much, much farther than the distance from here to S City.

This was a replica of her home in another world.

"The time is wrong too," Bei Nuan said. "This is my home before my dad passed away. It's not like this anymore."

"Take another careful look," Jiang Fei also suggested.

Bei Nuan stood up again and walked confidently to the low cabinet.

"This drawer is full of odds and ends, needles and thread, a pair of gold scissors, glue, a big box of pens, and paper clips and things like that."

She opened the drawer, and it was exactly as she described.

"The second drawer has several pairs of headphones, chargers, data cables, and batteries."

She opened the drawer, and she was right again.

Bei Nuan continued, "The bottom drawer has my graduation…"

Bei Nuan stopped abruptly.

That drawer should contain her graduation albums. The scary thing was, those albums had pictures of her in them.

The Bei Nuan in the pictures, of course, didn't look like the current Bei Nuan.

As Bei Nuan's hand froze on the drawer handle, Lu Xingchi reached out.

"Graduation what?"

Lu Xingchi opened the drawer.

The drawer was unexpectedly empty. There was nothing inside.

"Graduation albums," Bei Nuan said. "Where are they?"

Bei Nuan breathed a sigh of relief, closed the drawer, and walked around the apartment again, carefully observing every detail.

Bei Nuan discovered that all the photo frames were gone.

The photo of her and her dad that used to be on the TV stand was gone, as were the pictures hanging on the wall in her room.

If this room was deliberately created by someone, then that person must be very considerate.

Because all the photos that could easily reveal Bei Nuan's original appearance had disappeared.

Except for the missing photos, every other detail was correct.

There was an inconspicuous yellow ring on the kitchen counter where Bei Nuan had accidentally burned it with a pot. Only one of the matching ties for the curtains in Bei Nuan's bedroom remained; the other side was tied with a small cat hair tie.

"Could it be that someone, like Brother Lu, has some kind of special ability?"

Tang Tang's imagination ran wild.

"He extracted Sister Nuan's memories and created this illusion to mess with us."

Tang Tang closed his eyes and touched the furniture around him. "Actually, this room isn't what we're seeing at all. It's just an abandoned room, dilapidated and empty."

He made it sound like a ghost story, quite frightening.

Bei Nuan silently called out to Xiao San in her mind.

"Xiao San, why is there a room in the base that's exactly the same as my old home?"

Bei Nuan thought he would, as usual, solemnly utter four words: "Refuse to spoil."

Instead, Xiao San said, "Huh?"

He knew nothing about it.

"The same?" Xiao San asked, puzzled. "Exactly the same? Is it some kind of space-time wormhole?"

Xiao San's imagination was even wilder than Tang Tang's illusion theory.

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