Chapter 150: It's Great to Be Alive |
Bai Mu was awakened by the creaking of shelves. He had slept deeply on the mattress and woke up feeling completely refreshed.
The three children were still sound asleep. The noise in the room was coming from the sentry. He had finally awakened from his coma and, looking completely disoriented, was struggling to break free from the ropes binding him.
Bai Mu stood up and clicked on his flashlight, illuminating the pitch-black space.
The sentry stared back at Bai Mu with absolute terror. His last memory was likely the shootout at the Gas Station; assuming he had been abducted by Doppelgangers, he trembled violently.
"Relax, I am not a Doppelganger," Bai Mu said calmly. "If you do not believe me, look at the bandages on your chest and arms. If I were a monster, why would I treat your wounds?"
Hearing this, the sentry glanced down and finally noticed his bandaged chest. His tense expression softened slightly. "You... you saved me? Why?"
"Does saving a life require a reason?"
"Do you want some water or something to eat?"
"Is there a restroom? I really need to go."
Night had already fallen. Moonlight spilled through the drafty, broken roof, faintly illuminating the dust-covered canning machinery. Witch stood quietly on guard in the corner. Hearing the door open, she glanced over but remained perfectly still, as she had received no further orders.
"Where... are we?"
The sentry looked around. Because Bai Mu was blocking his line of sight, he did not spot Witch. His injuries made it impossible for him to walk unassisted, so Bai Mu continued to support him by the shoulder.
"Outside the city," Bai Mu replied, looking away from Witch. "The city is engulfed in artillery fire and gunshots, so I stole a car from the Gas Station and brought you and the three kids here to this deserted place."
As he spoke, Bai Mu helped the sentry over to a corner of the wall.
"You can take care of it right here."
The sentry leaned against a small cart, barely keeping himself upright. Bai Mu turned around, and the sound of a rattling belt buckle followed by a flowing stream echoed from behind. The man had truly been holding it in for a long time; he relieved himself for over a full minute. When the stream finally stopped, he let out a groan of pure liberation.
"It feels so good to be alive, sir," the sentry sighed.
Once the sentry finished, Bai Mu had him sit on a plastic stool outside to change his bandages.
Thanks to the timely treatment, the wounds showed no signs of festering or infection, and the bleeding had stopped. Bai Mu handed him a bottle of water and an unwrapped chicken sausage to fill his stomach.
During their brief chat, Bai Mu learned the man's name: Anton Hunter. Anton possessed the true grit of a soldier. He was trembling slightly, but he did not utter a single cry of pain when his old bandages were peeled off.
"I hope I have not caused you too much trouble, sir," Anton muttered dejectedly. "I have no idea what is happening in the city right now. Those damned Doppelgangers ruined everything."
"At least we are still alive," Bai Mu comforted him.
"Sir, back at the Gas Station... did you happen to see any other soldiers? I mean, any who were still breathing like me?"
"When I found you, you had been shot three times. The others were killed on the spot."
"God, just last night I was playing cards with Ronnie and Devin..."
Anton fell into a stunned silence. He set down his half-eaten chicken sausage and let out a long, heavy sigh.
Looking at his face, Bai Mu could tell he was quite young, a man in his early twenties at most, right in the prime of his life. He clearly lacked life experience and seniority, which was exactly why he had been relegated to a dead-end sentry post.
Anton stood up with a pronounced limp and hobbled over to the doorway.
Outside lay an endless, desolate wilderness. The distant mountain range cast undulating shadows under the moonlight. Staring up at the moon, his face reflected the profound relief of Survival After Disaster, tangled deeply with the sorrow of being the sole survivor.
These two complex emotions warred within his heart, though he managed to accept his harsh reality fairly quickly.
"Sir, what are your plans going forward?" Anton asked, turning his head.
"The outside world is swarming with Doppelgangers, and war is raging everywhere," Bai Mu explained. "So we plan to hide out here, far away from the crossfire."
"Sir, you saved my life," Anton stated firmly. "If you will have me, I want to join your group. My military registration has likely been wiped from the system already. I am officially listed as missing in action. Even if I went back, I might just be treated as a Doppelganger infiltrator or a deserter."
"I have nowhere left to go. Once my wounds heal, I can help you with manual labor. I may not know much, but I have plenty of strength. I hope you will take me in."
"That works out perfectly." Bai Mu drew a revolver from his coat. "I was actually just thinking that if I had saved a troublemaker, I would have had to dispose of him myself."
"You have quite the sense of humor, sir," Anton said with a weak smile.
Bai Mu did not reply. He had not been joking in the slightest. If Anton had proven to be ungrateful and problematic, Bai Mu genuinely would have pulled the trigger. But looking at the situation now, it was no longer necessary. This young man seemed quite reasonable; he understood his place and knew what he should and should not do.
Once he fully recovered, Bai Mu would gain a valuable helper. After all, Anton was a grown man with the strength to handle heavy lifting and chores.
After sitting outside for a little while longer, Bai Mu escorted him back to the basement room to lie down and rest.
The children woke up in the middle of the night, exchanging tentative greetings with Anton and becoming acquainted with his face.
Afterward, Bai Mu did not sit idle. Instead, he began drafting a comprehensive renovation plan for the factory.
He decided to transform this facility into a sanctuary. It was a forgotten corner of the world, located far from any major roads on a patch of flatland near the mountainous wilderness.
In truth, the path leading here had been abandoned long ago. The unmaintained concrete roads were badly eroded by wind and rain. Bai Mu had trekked over rugged mountains and ridges just to reach it. Access required navigating treacherous mountain trails, and upon their arrival, they had seen that the old mountain route was completely blocked by mudslides and debris.
This isolated geography turned the location into a perfectly enclosed safe haven, complete with a sturdy natural foundation for its buildings. He could hardly find a more ideal place to lay low.
During the night, he led the children on a few laps around the factory to familiarize them with their new environment.
Following that, Bai Mu centralized his renovation plans around the underground warehouse.
He determined that their primary living area would be restricted to the basement, focusing all remodeling efforts on the subterranean space. As for the abandoned structures above ground, they would remain exactly as they were.