22

Without a telescope, our communication was one-way only.

I briefly explained the situation to Anne and agreed to meet on the balcony every hour. Finally able to breathe, I collapsed onto the sofa. After sleeping on the floor for so long, I almost forgot what a soft cushion felt like.

"Chris, where do you think he might be hiding?"

Although Anne was temporarily safe, the issue wasn't resolved until we could break the current stalemate.

"Anything above the 10th floor is unlikely," Chris said, sitting cross-legged.

I nodded; too far away wouldn't be convenient for surveillance.

"The chances are also slim between the 1st and 8th floors," he continued. "The fire doors have good sound insulation; standing inside, you can't necessarily hear footsteps in the stairwell. Given his meticulousness, he would choose a foolproof place."

"Exactly. Just like this morning, he was able to follow us as soon as we left, so he must be very familiar with our movements."

I quickly reviewed the events of the day.

"So, that leaves two possible hiding places—either he's lurking between the 9th and 10th floors, with a good vantage point, or he's in the basement, ensuring the exits on the first floor are under his watch."

Chris thought for a moment, then shook his head lightly. "Not the basement."

"Why not?" I asked.

"He can't be sure which exit we'll take. If we chose the garage, we'd run into him directly."

"Then, only one possibility remains..."

He didn't answer directly but glanced toward Building 51.

"Actually, there's one more place that fits all our criteria."

"And that's 903."

I felt a chill run down my spine.

On further thought, 903 seemed more likely than the stairwell.

It was more concealed, safer, and provided a direct view of our movements.

If this guess was correct, then the night Anne ended her isolation, there was likely a fourth person on the 9th floor.

For some reason, he didn't act immediately but chose to watch us from the shadows, waiting for an opportunity.

"So now the problem is how to get Anne to avoid these two spots and come down to open the door for us," I refocused. "And we have to do it fast."

If nothing happened by sunset tomorrow, he might get suspicious and resort to more aggressive methods to break in. By then, we'd be entirely on the defensive.

Although we had a clear plan, the problem wasn't easily solved.

Both spots effectively sealed off the stairs and the hallway.

"Unless Anne grows wings," I sighed, "No, even with wings, she'll be spotted as soon as she steps out."

Chris looked at me, his eyes lighting up. "You're right, Helen."

"We can't go through the front door. She needs to rappel down to 802 and then come down to us from the 8th floor."

Hmm?

That was a feasible solution.

The only risk was that there might be zombies in 802.

But that risk was acceptable.

I quickly informed Anne of the plan and set the action time for 3 a.m.

With zombies blocking the entrances at night, he might lower his guard a bit.

Before that, Anne needed to make a new rope since I took the only one when I left.

Chris's place had almost no food left.

Fortunately, we had brought some compressed biscuits this morning, which, along with drinking water, served as our lunch.

The biscuits weren't as hard as I expected. Crisp and savory, with a faint peanut aroma. After eating, we each lay on one end of the sofa, resting and waiting for nightfall.

At 2:55 a.m., Anne appeared on the balcony on time, already tied with the rope around her waist.

She flashed her flashlight at us twice.

The operation began.

To lighten her load, we didn't give her the binoculars. From now on, our communication would rely solely on light signals.

She crouched on the edge of the balcony, securing the rope to the railing.

After a few seconds, she let go and leaped down to 802.

My heart clenched in that instant.

Luckily, she landed safely on the 8th floor.

The rope was a bit long, offering little cushioning. She took a while to get up, limping slightly, but signaled with her flashlight that everything was fine.

I immediately responded with "Got it."

She untied the rope and slowly walked into the living room.

Now she needed to clear any zombies in 802 and unlock the basement for us.

Time ticked by slowly.

At 4:02 a.m., she reappeared on the balcony.

The flashlight blinked twice.

Everything was smooth. I finally relaxed.

Chris had already sat back on the sofa.

In the darkness, his eyes were like those of a feline, mysterious and profound.

After a long time, I couldn't help but ask:

"Chris, as long as there are other survivors, will incidents like today always happen? Is it inevitable that unless we deal with others first, we'll always end up in a passive situation?"

That man never intended to interact with us.

The moment he discovered us, he harbored murderous intent.

If we didn't have another safe spot and the advantage of information asymmetry, today could have ended very differently for the three of us.

So, when others don't act, we can't tell friend from foe. And when we can, it's often too late.

It seemed that the initiative lay only with whoever struck first.

Thinking of Chris's overly lenient attitude towards other survivors, I couldn't help but worry: "Aren't you too trusting of human nature?"

After a moment of silence, he sighed softly.

"I don't trust human nature.

It's just too complex to be simply divided into good and evil."

"The terrifying aspect of an apocalypse for human civilization isn't just individual deaths."

"We often say 'the human heart is inscrutable' and 'man-made disasters are worse than natural ones.' But their true meaning isn't that without order, evil can run rampant; it's that because of human weakness, most people can't resist the conditioning of their environment."

"Helen, do you think you're a bad person?" he asked me.

I was taken aback.

"Because what you're asking is exactly his perspective. But he has already put this idea into practice before you."

"Of course, you don't need to feel burdened by this. Because, in a given position, this is the inevitable result of thought."

"But the problem is, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy."

"When everyone believes this is the accepted survival law, it eventually becomes reality."

Chris's gaze was serious. "Maybe humanity's future holds many possibilities, but some paths are destined to fail."

He sighed and changed the topic, "It's too early to talk about this. Let's solve our immediate crisis first."

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