Su Yan was remarkably fast with his hands—a fact proven when he finished at the same time as the others, swiftly installing his new contraptions into different vehicles.
"It's ready now. Go get the others so we can leave," he said, holding the final device in his hand.
Seeing this, everyone gathered around him, watching ceremoniously as he tinkered with the contraption and placed it inside the last car before they all quickly fled.
"We need to be at least a hundred meters away from this place as fast as possible!" Su Yan called out as they all sprinted to their getaway vans and cars, speeding off.
The engines were loud, drawing far too much unwanted attention toward them, when the first loud boom shook the ground and the nearby buildings.
All around them, the infectees turned toward the sound, clamoring to reach the source of the noise. A few minutes later, an even louder boom echoed, drawing in even more infectees and enabling the group to accelerate toward the compound.
Minutes later, as the final and loudest explosion shook the ground beneath them, the compound finally came into view directly ahead.
As they nervously clasped their hands in exhilaration, the van suddenly stalled.
Qin Mufeng froze in shock, trying repeatedly to restart the engine to no avail.
Gao Shen, having anticipated such a setback, remained calm. Scanning their surroundings, he turned resolutely toward the back of the van.
"The infectees are gone. We have to move now before they return!" he announced, before briskly opening his door and climbing out.
Though hesitant, everyone followed his lead, sprinting toward the massive black gates.
They were not the only ones running; various other survivor groups in the area were also sprinting toward the compound after seeing the infectees drawn away.
Back on the farm, a weary Zhao Yuan stood looking across the sun-drenched fields before finally deciding to return to the warehouse.
The fog-shrouded display was now clear, bringing a smile to her face as she gathered as many buns as she could carry. As the primary producer of all these goods, she knew exactly what stock was available, walking around the shelves to collect additional items.
After browsing, Zhao Yuan realized she had even produced items she couldn't use yet due to her current level restrictions.
Gleefully, a bright smile lit up her face as she inspected the restaurant kitchen's newly packed supply chutes. She was ready.
As if on cue, an alarm blared—the same trilling sound that had woken her earlier.
Unlocking the kitchen panel, she was startled by the densely crowded screen, which was filled with small rectangular icons featuring profile pictures and names.
Feeling overwhelmed, she read the text below, scoffing as she realized what was happening:
'Recommended customers available. Please tap accept to grant entry.'
For reasons she couldn't quite explain, her mouth split into a wide, wicked smirk before she broke into a cackling laugh. The screen seemed taken aback by her reaction, blinking rapidly as she cackled even louder while staring down at it.
Outside the compound, Gao Shen and his team members were in complete disarray, running for their lives.
Ren Aiguo had long since been picked up by Gao Haiming, who kept looking back anxiously at his brother, who was supporting two exhausted elderly men on either side. Zhu Mengmeng was faring no better as she pulled a pregnant woman along with her.
They could hear it: the hordes were beginning to return. Despair crept in as they watched numerous other groups of survivors surge past them toward the gates.
The chaos intensified when they reached the entrance—despite their frantic knocking and cries, no one opened the gates.
Looking back at the path they had traversed, many contemplated turning back out of sheer terror. But with the dense crowd and incoming survivors, retreating was impossible, leaving them frantically jostling against one another in frustration.
The mounting panic seemed to dull everyone to the uncomfortable, dizzying sensation that swept over them as the entire crowd was suddenly teleported into the compound.
Suddenly finding themselves in the open, empty courtyard, they continued pushing and shoving, looking almost like a horde themselves.
Observing the scene from afar, Gu Shinyue frowned, wondering what on earth was going on.
Minutes passed, and the crowd would have continued squabbling had the shelter's internal alarm not started blaring.
It was a sharp, piercing noise that made Zhao Yuan scrunch her face in irritation before she returned to the panel to inspect it:
'Recommended customers in danger. Custodian is required to initiate a rescue.'
After reading the message, Zhao Yuan frowned, wondering who exactly she was expected to save.
"Who am I saving?" she asked aloud, before answering herself with another question. "Them?" She gestured toward the frozen crowd of newly admitted customers in the courtyard.
The system, not even given a chance to respond, wished it could shake its head before displaying an answer on the screen.
Unaware of the system's internal plight, Zhao Yuan patiently read the updated text:
"A school bus with customers... are they students, perhaps?" she asked.
'Yes. As the custodian, you are required to clear a path for them,' the system responded.
"But they aren't here yet, meaning they haven't officially become my customers," Zhao Yuan countered.
'Customers are filtered according to the custodian's explicit preferences and must be protected in high-risk situations to ensure their safe arrival at the shelter.'
"My preferences?" Zhao Yuan questioned. "You never asked me about my preferences, so how exactly are you selecting them?"
'During the initial street shop setup, the custodian was asked to rank customer profiles.'
Recalling that moment, Zhao Yuan remembered being asked to rank different customer types. At the time, she had been confused by the request, but it seemed there had been a distinct purpose behind it after all.
"So you analyzed my ratings and used them to determine my preferences," she deduced aloud.
The system felt a surge of pride, metaphorically puffing out its chest as it basked in the praise.
"That's actually quite smart," she added. Hearing this, the system grew even prouder, completely unaware that this would be the extent of her compliments for the day.
"Anyway, why am I required to save this particular group?" Zhao Yuan asked, still unsure why she had to go out of her way just because they matched her criteria.
'Because the custodian's selection criteria are exceptionally high. Based on the limited number of survivors who fit these requirements, we cannot afford to lose any of them.'
Reading the system's response, Zhao Yuan grew thoughtful, considering the implications. But thinking of the endangered students who needed help, she decided to act first and ask questions later.
"Fine. So how am I supposed to clear a path for them?"
.