The second I agreed to the supply run, everyone in the dining room started moving like we were preparing for war.

Which honestly felt dramatic given everything.

Chenghai immediately started reorganizing supplies near the front entrance while Zhenlan checked through backpacks with enough focus to make me regret every life decision that led to this moment.

I could practically see the checklist going off in his head. And the weird thing was... all the other times we had gone out before, Zhenlan had never once acted like this.

Like he knew what to take when you were trying to survive the unknown.

He had everything in a bulky backpack. Medical kits, flashlights, batteries. extra clothes, tools, three different radios.

Seriously, how long did he think we would be gone? He packed enough supplies to survive outside for a week, maybe even longer.

We were supposed to be leaving the house for a few hours.

At most.

I stared at the growing pile near the front door. "...Are we raiding a military compound or shopping at Costco?"

Nobody answered me, and I was getting cranky that I was becoming used to that.

Yuche disappeared into the kitchen while Lingyun wandered after him already arguing about what counted as acceptable road snacks.

Personally, I still believed the best survival strategy involved staying inside the house forever.

But apparently I lived with people now.

It really was tragic.

Chenghai crouched beside one of the backpacks before frowning slightly.

"Where are the weapons?"

Silence filled the room.

I blinked once.

"...What weapons?"

"The guns."

Lingyun looked up from the kitchen counter. "We don’t have guns anymore."

Chenghai’s expression tightened slightly. "Why not?"

Now it was Yuche’s turn to look confused.

"Because the survivors stole them out of your room," he replied slowly. "Then they used them against us, and then walked out of the house with them when the military came. Don’t you remember that whole clusterfuck?"

Chenghai went still and the room seemed to pause with him.

I frowned slightly.

Okay. That was strange.

Mostly because Chenghai had been the one hiding the weapons in the first place. He used to keep them locked inside his room before the survivors found them during the early days of the apocalypse.

Honestly, the entire thing had been stressful and annoying.

One more reason why I hated strangers.

"...Why are you acting like this is new information?" I asked finally.

Chenghai looked at me for one long second before shaking his head slightly.

"It doesn’t matter."

Suspicious answer.

Very suspicious answer.

Unfortunately, I was currently more focused on another issue.

"If we’re done being weird," I announced, "give me ten minutes."

Then I turned around and headed upstairs before anyone could stop me.

The baby vine tightened around my wrist curiously as I climbed the stairs.

If I was being forced into this stupid supply run, then I was at least going to do it properly.

I was absolutely not going out in pajamas and fuzzy slippers. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

By the time I came back downstairs, the atmosphere somehow felt even more tense.

Chenghai stood near the entrance adjusting one of the radios clipped to his vest while Zhenlan checked the front windows again for probably the twentieth time in the last fifteen minutes.

Honestly, they both looked one inconvenience away from starting martial law in the dining room.

Yuche glanced up first.

His eyes moved over me once before pausing briefly.

"You changed clothes for this?"

"Obviously."

Lingyun looked up from stuffing snacks into one of the backpacks. "You thought about the outfit before survival."

"I can survive while coordinated."

He snorted loudly.

Honestly, I looked cute.

I had grabbed a pair of black leggings with a bright purple oversized hoodie and combat boots. My hair was up in a high pony tail because I was not dealing with the humidity I knew would be waiting for me on the other side of that door.

Everything that I was wearing was comfortable and practical.

Not to mention emotionally supportive for my whole ’I don’t want to leave the house’ mentality.

As far as I was concerned, it was exactly what the situation required.

One of the radios crackled suddenly from the entrance table.

"...all personnel are advised to avoid open flame near active root systems—"

Static hissed violently through the speaker.

"...repeat, pollen ignition has resulted in secondary spread across Rongdu South industrial—"

The transmission cut off abruptly.

Lingyun grimaced slightly. "Okay. Maybe the fire thing was my fault."

I stared at him.

"You think?"

"In my defense, setting things on fire normally solves problems."

"Arsonist logic."

"It has worked surprisingly often."

Unfortunately, he wasn’t wrong.

Yuche walked back into the room carrying several water bottles before handing one to me automatically.

Normal.

Thank God.

At least two people in this house still acted like themselves.

Chenghai reached toward the radio volume instinctively before stopping himself halfway through the movement.

His hand lowered slowly.

Like he caught himself caring too much.

That was... weirdly depressing.

I frowned slightly before immediately deciding not to emotionally process that.

Growth as a person sounded exhausting.

Yuche opened the front door before anyone could continue arguing.

Warm air drifted into the mansion immediately.

The jungle outside shifted softly in the evening breeze.

Watching.

Waiting.

The second we stepped outside the plants reacted instantly.

Not aggressively, more like guard dogs that just wanted a pet.

Vines shifted away from the walkway while leaves rustled overhead like something enormous was moving deeper inside the greenery surrounding the property.

Chenghai noticed it too.

I could tell by the way his shoulders tightened.

"See?" I waved one hand vaguely toward the plants. "Security system."

"That is not a security system."

A vine dropped from one of the trees overhead and immediately speared through a zombie that stumbled out from between two abandoned cars farther down the street.

The infected barely managed a strangled noise before the jungle dragged it backward into the vegetation entirely.

Silence returned almost immediately afterward.

I pointed toward the spot where the zombie disappeared.

"That’s my counterpoint."