The group around Zhan and Yibo is now already since eight days on the way on the search for the survivors, who called over two weeks ago over radio for help. But so far they still have not found them and they are now almost back in Beijing! Or rather, they are already there. Because last night they reached the dam, where they spent the night.

For today they planned to go back to the city and look for durable groceries, as well as to visit the hospital where Zhan worked as a surgeon and to get the rest of the medicine from there.

The longer they were on the road, the less Yibo liked the fact that they were getting further and further away from the hotel. Somehow it all seemed strange to him. Again and again he asked himself and Zhan, as well as the soldiers, why the group of survivors did not approach them and instead moved further and further away from them. Had this perhaps been a trap? Were they supposed to be lured away from the hotel?

In order not to immediately reveal everything about the hotel to all survivors in the country, they told help-seekers on the radio that they were a small group of survivors, but had enough food, water and medicine.

Since they were too far from the hotel and their radios have limited range, they could not simply radio the hotel and ask if the survivors might have gotten there by now and tried to take control there. That would possibly explain why they were lured farther and farther away from the hotel.

It could be that some of the survivors stayed behind to lure Zhan, Yibo and the group of soldiers further and further away from the hotel so that the others could have free rein and take control. But they do not expect that they will have no easy game there. Because at the hotel there are already almost 100 soldiers, several policemen and their helpers waiting and would certainly not allow anyone to enter the hotel and take control.

Still, Yibo was worried. Because the further they got from the hotel and had to spend their night somewhere where they were at the mercy of the weather. At the moment, a cold wave was sweeping across the country, bringing with it a lot of snow.

Except for that one night they spent in the hangar, and now the night in the dam, they slept in the bus. The driver thought it would be safer if they all stayed in the bus, just in case they had to leave quickly. Although they were protected all around by the bus, it was still cold. After all, they couldn't leave the heater running in the bus all night.

After a hasty low breakfast, from which probably no one in the group really got full, they got ready again to drive to the city.

Since they did not expect to be away from the hotel for more than 5 days, they had not brought enough food with them, to be able to satisfy themselves at least halfway every day. They could have also taken food that had been left in the hangar. But they didn't expect to stay away that long and would be dependent on this food.

Therefore, they were also forced to search for food in the city. They desperately needed to find food and water!

As Yibo and Zhan sat in the very back of the bus again and so got the warm air from the heater directly, they both got tired and would have liked to sleep some more. But they are so close to downtown now that they could already see the first skyscrapers.

"What do you think it looks like there now? Do you think it's close to the burnt city?" Asked Zhan.

"I don't think so. We can see the skyscrapers and if the downtown had burned down too, I'm sure they would have been destroyed by now." Explained Yibo.

"I'm really curious to see if the hospital still looks the same as where we left it."

"Mhm. I think it does, though. Let's just hope the pharmaceuticals are still there."

"I think so. I had hidden most of the medicines so no one could steal them and abuse them."

As they passed the fire station, Yibo remembered how they found Hai Kuan there. "Do you remember?" He asked Zhan.

"Mhm. How could I forget? Weird that even though he's also living at the hotel and even dating my cousin, we haven't even talked to him since the dam."

"I think so too. All I know too is that he immediately volunteered to be a firefighter, and along with your cousin, he's constantly on the road with another group looking for habitable areas."

"I know. After all, that's how they found the prison. Just honestly Yibo. Where did all the prisoners from there go?"

"I was wondering the same thing. Unfortunately, all the police or violent crimes department servers are flat. Without power, we can't get access to the data. Who knows who all is in our hotel and should be behind bars."

"Exactly. That's another reason I'd like to have my own living space. Not just in the hotel the double room. But a little house or something. Because I would feel much safer there than in the hotel."

"Why do you feel that way? You were so sure we'd be perfectly safe there and now you're scared?"

"Well, ever since we heard about the prison and the missing inmates, I've been wondering incessantly if the inmates might be living among us now and what kind of people they are."

"Mhhh something comes to my mind. There must be files about the inmates in the prison, right? Couldn't we compare those with our data at the hotel? I mean, we have all the names and pictures of all the residents fed into the hotel's database and we could compare those with the files from the prison. Then we would know for sure if someone from the jail is among us."

"We should tell my dad as soon as we get back."

"Maybe your dad already figured it out himself, though. Don't worry about it. I'll stay by your side and won't let anyone hurt you." That was as far as they could take their conversation, as they made their first stop at the very supermarket where Zhan and Yibo had been at the time to stock up on food before leaving town.

The soldiers went ahead and checked if it was safe and then waved Zhan and Yibo over. They all grabbed shopping carts and packed everything they could use. From rice, noodles, ready-made sauces to cans of soups, ravioli, vegetables, meat or fruit, or water and juices, they took it all.

They also got batteries for their night vision devices, blankets for the cold nights, barbecue lighters and charcoal, several cooking utensils such as pots and pans made of Gus so they could use them over open fires, and finally lots of candles and lighters.

As they were stowing everything in the bus, they saw something moving behind a window in the house across the street. One of the soldiers suggested that they go see. The others, however, objected. "If those are survivors, I wonder why they didn't clear out the supermarket long ago." Replied the commander.

"That's right. It's all been exactly the same as Zhan and I left it." Explained Yibo.

"Then we should head to the hospital now and rest there for a while, have a proper meal and get the medicine before we move on." Suggested the commander.

And already the bus was moving towards the hospital. Going back there made Zhan a little nervous. Not because he was afraid, but rather a joyful nervousness to return to where he had worked as a surgeon for years.

With the bus, they slowly pushed aside the obstacles on the roads and arrived at the hospital after about 10 minutes. They parked the bus right in front of the entrance, took some food and water, and then went inside.

Zhan assumed the stench of the corpses must be unbearable now, but there were no more corpses. Just a few human remains here and there, but nothing more.

They went upstairs to the third station, the surgery, and Zhan took out the medicines from the hiding place. Everything was still there. And the rest of the medicines were also still in the medicine cabinet.

Besides the medicines, Zhan also packed surgical materials and bandages. And he even took out from his locker his spare doctor's coat, his scalpel given by his father, as well as a change of shoes and his glasses. As he put on his doctor's coat, Zhan felt like he was back in the old days, just before he went on duty.

As Yibo looked at Zhan in his white coat, he remembered the first time he saw Zhan after he woke up here in the hospital. The whole thing was not even 5 months ago and yet it seemed like years had passed. Everything seemed like this happened an infinite amount of time ago. And yet, not even half a year has passed since the apocalypse.

They all sat down in the doctors' conference room where the X-rays of a patient whose case had been discussed by several doctors when the apocalypse broke out were still hanging and ate together. And this time, they were able to eat enough. 

"I think we should start thinking about this night. Apparently there are survivors in the city. However, these are probably not humans but vampires. The weather will also change soon and it will snow again soon. Without the sun, the vampires can walk around here. The danger is too great for us. Does anyone have any ideas?" Asked the commander.

"Mhm, a few miles from the city, there is a forest and in the middle of it there is a property with a new apartment building. It's not that easy to find and the last time we were there, there was even running water. It's also easy to secure. And there's a finished apartment that should serve as an example of how future buyers might divide up the space." Explained Zhan.

"True. By having only one entrance, the building can be secured well. The windows on the ground floor are all barred. The good thing about this apartment is, in case of emergency, you can just jump out the window at the back because there is a big pile of gravel in front of the house." Added Yibo.

"Then we should go there and maybe we'll get lucky and there will still be running water. Maybe we can also get some car batteries on the way and use them as a power source for a water heater and make hot water for ourselves that way." Suggested the commander.

"That's a good idea sir. I also think we should stop looking for those suspicious survivors. After all, you think just like all of us here that they just want to drive us farther and farther away from the hotel, don't you?" Asked the young soldier, who has been noticed several times for his cleverness.

"Yes, that's right. I think they just wanted to lure us away from the hotel. However, two nights ago, when I was on night watch, I received another emergency call from another group. They are north of us in a bunker. However, they are no longer safe there because of several attacks by vampires. They are also running out of food. What do you guys think? Should we go there and help them?" Asked the commander.

All the soldiers and also Zhan and Yibo agreed. Because, among the survivors in the bunker, there were also several children.

After getting strength and rest, they headed to the apartment building. On the way there, the commander radioed the survivors in the bunker and told them that they should be with them in about 2 days. The survivors were so relieved that everyone in the bus could hear their grateful crying.