Community Traversal: I Have a Daily Rescue Kit

7: Settlement

With the compass in hand, Su Chen turned and left room 602.

But he didn't leave the building immediately—since he was already there, he should take another look.

Su Chen went up two more floors and tried pushing the doors of the other residents one by one.

Without exception, they were all locked tight. Not like ordinary locks that click shut with a single click, but rather like they were welded to the door frame, impossible to push without budging or even wobbling. Su Chen tried kicking them twice, but the doors didn't even leave a mark; instead, the impact made his legs go numb.

He recalled the crooked runes on the walls of room 602.

Could it be that the entire building has similar restrictions? The kind of restrictions that make the doors impossible to open if you don't find the right method.

This restriction itself is a good thing; it's quite effective as a defensive measure. It would be great if we could get our hands on the method of making it.

When the time comes, if you engrave it on your own door, the defense will be several times stronger, and you'll feel much safer when you sleep.

Time flowed by, and the sky outside the window grew even darker. The hazy sunlight seeped in through the mist, turning the stairwell into a somber, leaden gray.

Su Chen's unease grew stronger.

"The human-faced owl appeared last night... the thing that turned that neighborhood into a ghost town, it might be active at night too." He shuddered for no reason. "I can't stay here, I have to leave."

He looked down at the compass in his hand.

Brass case, glass crystal, hands pointing steadily in one direction.

"This thing... can it really take me home?" Su Chen's heart pounded. "What if it points to another collapsed neighborhood, or something even worse? It's too reckless to believe it just because of its name."

A single piece of evidence is insufficient.

He hesitated.

But can we stay here?

Waiting until dark, waiting for some unknown thing to come knocking on the door? That seems even more dangerous.

Both sides are risky moves.

Su Chen stood in the dimly lit stairwell, gripping the compass tightly. The metal casing was warm from the sweat on his palms.

Finally, he gritted his teeth: "If I stay here, there's absolutely no way I can go back; if I follow the pointer, at least I still have a chance to gamble."

"Let's gamble!"

Once he made up his mind, Su Chen immediately took action. He went back to the food storage room in room 602, took a carton of milk and a few sausages from the shelf, and found a clean bowl.

To leave safely, the lame old cat at the door is key.

Cats are too good at hunting, so we have to keep them under control, at least not let them chase us all over the neighborhood, otherwise they won't have time to judge the right direction when they run out.

"Hopefully this food will be useful... otherwise we'll have to race against it."

After preparing his things, Su Chen hurried downstairs.

Thump, thump, thump.

The footsteps were particularly clear in the empty building. Just as they reached the third floor, a low, threatening roar came from outside.

"Wow—"

The old cat heard the noise.

It's still there, guarding the place.

Su Chen took a breath and walked to the bottom of the stairs on the first floor.

Through the crack in the iron gate, he saw the lame old cat crouching a few meters away, its bright yellow eyes fixed on him—or rather, on his neck.

That look was so fierce it was terrifying. Su Chen instantly felt a chill run down his spine, and his legs went weak.

"Hiss—whoosh—" He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

As planned, he unscrewed the milk carton and slowly poured the milky liquid into the bowl. Then he squatted down and carefully pushed the bowl out from under the door.

The bottom of the bowl rubbed against the cement floor, making a slight "rustling" sound.

The old cat was clearly taken aback for a moment. It looked at Su Chen, then at the bowl full of milk in front of it, and the hostility that had been flaring up on its body subsided somewhat.

"Clatter".

It tentatively licked it once. Then it looked up and glanced warily at Su Chen. Seeing that Su Chen didn't move, it lowered its head and licked it a second time.

Then came the third bite, the fourth bite... licking faster and faster, until finally he almost buried his entire face in the bowl.

Su Chen watched as the old cat's raised tail slowly drooped down, and his eyes narrowed. He breathed a sigh of relief: There's hope! This cat is starving.

He quickly took out the sausage, tore open the packaging, peeled off the casing, broke the sausage into small pieces, and threw them into the bowl one by one.

The shredded ham fell into the milk, and the old cat paused again. It blinked, looked at the meat scraps in the bowl, then looked up at Su Chen, made a "gulp" sound in its throat, and then buried its head and began to eat heartily.

The milk was quickly gone. Su Chen's sausage was also half empty.

"It's time for the second step."

Su Chen quietly pulled back the bolt on the door, turning the latch to the point where it could be opened with just a sliver of light. Then, he picked up a whole sausage and tossed it into a dimly lit corner deep in the stairwell.

"Thud." The sausage landed in the corner.

The old cat's ears twitched, and it turned its head to look.

Su Chen threw out a second one, a third one... one after another, slowly leading the old cat to the corner.

Finally, the old cat stopped in front of the pile of sausages. It opened its mouth and, with a "plop," spat out the seven or eight whole sausages it had been holding onto the ground, piling them together with the last one Su Chen had thrown away.

Then, it completely ignored Su Chen.

It lay down, lowered its head, and nibbled on the sausage, so focused that it seemed as if the whole world had disappeared except for the food in front of it.

"Now!"

Su Chen suddenly twisted the lock, pushed the door open, rushed out, and ran away!

He ran as fast as he could, listening intently to what was happening behind him.

There was no sound at first—the old cat was probably still debating whether to eat the big one or the small one.

But just a dozen seconds later, heavy footsteps caught up!

"Eating so fast?!" Su Chen groaned inwardly. "You should at least chew slowly! You greedy fellow! You're trying to eat everything!"

He sprinted with all his might, his legs almost leaving the ground.

Finally, before the old cat pounced on him, he plunged out of the community gate and rushed into the boundless gray fog outside.

"Meow—!"

The old cat's unwilling roar came from behind.

Su Chen couldn't help but burst out laughing—he had escaped from the giant's clutches once again.

……

"Huff... huff..."

In the gray fog, Su Chen was bent over, his hands supporting his knees, panting heavily.

As the tension subsided and his body relaxed, he belatedly noticed the sweat pouring out. He was soaked through, his T-shirt clinging to his back, but a sense of relief rose within him—the relief of surviving a close call.

However, just as he straightened up, preparing to determine his direction—

A soft whisper entered his ears without warning.

"Hiss!" Su Chen gasped.

All the muscles in my body tensed up instantly. The hot sweat that had just felt refreshing now turned icy cold, sticking to my skin and raising goosebumps.

He stared wide-eyed at the gray fog ahead.

The whispers were indistinct and seemed to come from a distance.

If the other party is going to approach, there should be footsteps, right?

Just listen carefully...

Su Chen held his breath and focused intently.

But the next second, a dry heaving sound, as if forced out from deep in his throat, exploded in the back of his head:

"Does this mean... we're not going to settle a score for the grudge from ten years ago?!"

"Huh?!" Su Chen jumped up in fright, not having time to think, and swung his Nepalese kukri behind him!

Swish!

The knife missed its target.

The force of inertia carried him halfway around.

Just as he turned around, a face was almost touching his nose—so close that he could have touched it if he had moved any closer!

Holy crap!

Su Chen's hair stood on end.

He recognized the face: it was Jiahao.

The young man in the black hoodie who was already dead.

But now, his eyes are wide open, his mouth is stretched to his ears, and his whole face is stiff and inhuman. He looks strange and not like a normal person.

It gives you goosebumps.

"Ugh..." Jiahao made a hoarse sound in his throat and reached out to hug Su Chen's head.

At the same time, his mouth opened—opened to an unbelievable degree, almost splitting to his ears like a snake. And his outstretched arms were covered with a dense layer of grayish-brown feathers!

At this moment, Jiahao was like a "half-finished" human-faced owl.

Apart from the face, the exposed skin was covered in feathers, which was both bizarre and disgusting.

"Get out of the way!" Su Chen raised his leg and kneed Jiahao in the stomach. As the other man retreated, he kicked him hard, making him stagger backward.

After creating some distance, Su Chen turned and ran!

He no longer cared whether the compass was reliable or not—he would go wherever it pointed, as long as he could get out of this gray fog and shake off this damn thing!

He gripped the compass tightly and ran frantically in the direction the pointer pointed.

Behind him, Jiahao's footsteps followed closely.

No, it wasn't just footsteps... there was also the sound of wings flapping?

Su Chen dared not turn around; his lungs felt like they were about to explode, and his throat was filled with the taste of blood.

Just when he felt he was about to give up, a glimmer of light suddenly appeared in the gray fog ahead.

It's the exit! Outside the fog!

Su Chen's spirits lifted, and his adrenaline surged again. "Faster! Faster!"

He roared inwardly, his legs bursting forth with their last bit of strength.

"Ugh—!" Jiahao's inhuman howl came from behind.

Immediately afterwards, a strong gust of air rushed straight to the back of Su Chen's neck—it was the powerful wind from the flapping of wings!

"Grass!"

At the critical moment, Su Chen suddenly stopped, spun around, twisted his waist, and swung his knife!

Whoa!

A cold glint flashed from the Nepalese katana, precisely striking Jiahao's lunging "wings." Feathers flew as the hand-like, wing-like creature was severed at the root. The blade's momentum didn't end there; it then plunged viciously into Jiahao's neck!

Click!

The blade got stuck in his cervical spine, causing half of his head to droop.

"Oh...human...talent...medicine..." Jiahao squeezed out a few broken syllables from his broken throat.

Su Chen didn't dare look any longer. He drew his sword, turned around, and used his last bit of strength to rush towards the light.

……

With one step, the world suddenly brightened.

The familiar residential buildings, notice boards, green belts... He's back, back to his own neighborhood.

Su Chen slumped onto the cement ground at the entrance of the residential area, watching the gray fog behind him gradually calm down. His heart was pounding and he was panting like a broken bellows.

There was no further movement from within the fog.

Jiahao didn't chase after them.

After a long while, he exhaled a long breath, raised his hand to wipe his face, his hands covered in sweat. He loosened his collar, and steam rose from his chest. He then bent down, loosened the trouser legs tucked into his socks, and let his swollen calf muscles relax.

After a while, Su Chen finally stood up, supporting himself on his knees. He looked around warily, then carried his things home, glancing around as he went.

He was an ordinary person living in a peaceful era, and at this moment he had almost lost his innocence and naivety.

He is quickly adapting to this deadly and dangerous world.

As evening approached, the square was quiet, with the occasional aroma of food wafting out of the windows.

The number of residents on the notice board remains unchanged at 2876.

Su Chen felt a little more at ease.

I'm not dead yet!

I'm still alive!

The closer he got to the residential buildings, the more eyes fell on him.

Hearing the commotion, many neighbors upstairs leaned out of their windows. Their gazes lingered on Su Chen's face for a moment before shifting to the bulging backpack on his back.

Su Chen was all too familiar with those eyes—burning, eager, and even a little greedy.

Silence is more oppressive than sound.

What are these people thinking right now?

Unbeknownst to Su Chen, he picked up his curved sword, silently warning those with ulterior motives, and quickened his pace.

He doesn't want to share, at least not now.

He risked his life to obtain these supplies.

When the residents saw that there was still blood on the knife in Su Chen's hand, they realized that he was not someone to be trifled with.

Most people lost interest.

At least for a short time, it put my mind at ease.

……

When I got home, I locked the door.

Su Chen took off his backpack, feeling completely exhausted.

He was too tired to take a shower, so he simply took off his soaking wet clothes, pulled the big white egg out of his bag, and collapsed onto his bedroom bed.

The eggshell is warm and smooth, and feels very comfortable against the skin.

"How...how will this thing hatch?" Su Chen gently stroked the eggshell, his mind already racing with fantasies. "If it hatches, it'll be the guardian beast of our home, right? Could it be that big cat I encountered earlier? Or...maybe it'll be a cat-eared girl..."

After experiencing all sorts of outrageous things and monsters, his thoughts became wildly imaginative.

Suddenly remembering something, Su Chen got out of bed and pulled out a book from the pile of books: "The Home Hatching Guide - From Birds to Reptiles".

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Su Chen began to read carefully, page by page, under the lamplight.

Before I knew it, it was late at night.

……

It was exactly midnight.

A translucent panel appeared before my eyes without warning:

Survival points are being calculated...

[A total of 2876 residents survived in the Happiness Community, earning 4972 public survival points.]

[Resident Su Chen survived until midnight and gained 5 personal survival points]

Resident Su Chen completed his first gray fog exploration mission, earning 10 personal survival points.

Resident Su Chen has explored an unknown area and gained 20 personal survival points.

Resident Su Chen obtained his first Home Guardian Beast (egg form) and gained 25 personal survival points.

Resident Su Chen has collected a large amount of survival supplies and gained 30 personal survival points.

……

Lines of text scrolled by, and Su Chen's personal survival points jumped rapidly, finally settling on:

Current personal survival points: 95

"Ninety-five points..." Su Chen murmured, a surge of heat rising in his heart.

Although we almost lost everything, we gained a lot!

Before he could think it through, a familiar roar suddenly came from outside the window—

hum hum...

It's the sound of a helicopter!

His personal rescue kit is coming.