Main building interior.
QZ civilians bustled through the hall, hauling supplies under Norman's supervision.
"Alright, everyone stop what you're doing."
Bryan strode in, surveyed the chaos, and checked his watch. Nearly 1:00 AM. He'd gotten so caught up in conversations that he'd forgotten to call a halt. These people had been working this entire time.
Once the activity stopped, he spoke quietly. "Norman, get them settled for the night. Tell the rest of the squad to stand down too. I'll take watch tonight — let them sleep."
"Copy."
Norman didn't argue. He rounded up the civilians and ushered them out.
As silence settled over the building, Bryan followed Kim up to the second floor. A woman stood outside one of the rooms, watching the interior with worried eyes.
"You can go rest. We'll handle it from here," Kim told her gently.
She nodded reluctantly, cast one last look at the small boy inside, and headed downstairs.
Bryan noticed her concern and watched her leave with a curious look.
"That's Mia," Kim said, following his gaze. "She lost her own child when the outbreak hit. She's had a soft spot for kids ever since."
"And you know this how?" Bryan raised an eyebrow.
"Someone has to." Kim sighed theatrically. "Since none of you can be bothered to learn people's backgrounds, the grunt work falls to yours truly."
"Tch."
Bryan pushed past Kim and stopped at the doorway. Inside, a small boy was curled up in the corner, looking absolutely pitiful. Bryan scratched his head — kids were not his strong suit.
"Give me a minute alone with him."
He cleared his throat, shooed Kim away, and shut the door. Once the footsteps outside faded, he turned to the boy.
Dirty didn't begin to describe it. You could barely see the kid's face under all the grime.
Bryan settled onto the bed nearest the door, arranged his expression into what he hoped was a warm, approachable smile, and spoke in Mandarin for the first time in ages.
"Hey there."
"You're Chinese!"
Chen Shi's eyes went supernova. He shot to his feet and launched himself across the room, slamming into Bryan's chest like a small, desperate missile.
Bryan hadn't expected the full-body tackle. He didn't dodge — just absorbed the impact, the boy's arms wrapping around him. His body went stiff. Physical affection from children was... not in his skill set.
He took a breath, rested a hand on the boy's head, and ruffled his hair gently. "Can you tell me your name?"
Chen Shi wiped away the tears that had sprung from sheer relief, his voice small and childish. "I'm... Chen Shi."
A Chinese name. Something flickered in Bryan's eyes — a distant, nostalgic ache. "And how did you end up here?"
Chen Shi's body went rigid. His eyes darted left and right as his mind raced.
Young as he was, he knew that "I transmigrated from another world" wasn't going to fly. Even if he said it, nobody would believe him. But this body's memories were completely absent — no context, no backstory, nothing to work with.
In all those novels, transmigrators always inherit the original's memories! Where are mine?!
Internal panic. Then — a flash of inspiration.
Amnesia.
He looked up slowly, filling his eyes with confusion and helplessness. "I... I don't remember."
"Hm?"
Bryan frowned. "Don't remember how you got here? That's fair — a kid your age probably wouldn't. But where were you before? Do you have family here?"
"Don't remember..." Chen Shi shook his head.
Bryan's suspicion crystallized, but he pressed one more time. "What do you remember?"
Chen Shi hung his head, performing dejection. "I... I only remember my name. Everything else is... gone."
"...Amnesia?" Bryan confirmed his guess and felt a wave of exasperation wash over him. What kind of soap opera plot is this?
But then — the kid was young, had clearly been imprisoned and beaten by these survivors, and might well have suffered some kind of trauma before that. Memory loss under those circumstances wasn't implausible.
I'll need to ask around tomorrow. Find out what happened to this child.
"It's late," Bryan said softly, patting Chen Shi's shoulder. "Get some sleep. I'll come check on you tomorrow."
He lifted Chen Shi under the arms, deposited him on the bed, and turned to leave.
A small hand seized his sleeve.
Chen Shi looked up with enormous, glistening eyes. "Can I... come with you? I'm scared to be alone."
Bryan hesitated, looked at those puppy-dog eyes, and felt his resolve crumble.
"...Fine. Come on."
Chen Shi beamed and trotted after Bryan as they descended the stairs.
Outside, the compound was empty save for the crackling campfire that pushed back the surrounding darkness.
"How come there are no lights?"
Chen Shi squinted into the gloom. He'd noticed how dark everything was earlier, but stepping outside made it undeniable — not a single electric light anywhere.
"What are you talking about?" Bryan looked at him with amusement and lightly cuffed the back of his head. "The outbreak was years ago. Outside the Quarantine Zone, there's no power anywhere. Don't tell me you forgot that too."
"The... outbreak?"
Chen Shi's blood ran cold. He whipped his head around, actually seeing his surroundings for the first time — the decay, the makeshift structures, the crops growing in what had been a luxury golf course, the repurposed buildings.
His brain stalled. His face cycled through a gallery of expressions — shock, disbelief, dawning horror — all while completely forgetting that he was supposed to be a four-year-old with amnesia.
Bryan watched the boy's face with quiet intensity. Something had been nagging at him since they'd met, and now, observing the rapid-fire emotional processing playing out across Chen Shi's features, the feeling sharpened. This child didn't behave like a four-year-old. Not remotely. He behaved more like...
Chen Shi caught the strange look in Bryan's eyes and felt a spike of alarm. Even at his age, he realized his reactions were wildly inconsistent with a toddler's comprehension level.
But there was no way — no possible way — this man could guess the truth. He forced his expression back to bewildered innocence. "I don't remember any of this. Could you... tell me what happened? Please?"
Bryan didn't answer immediately. He just looked at Chen Shi, steady and unblinking, until the boy started to squirm. Then he turned toward the campfire.
"Come on. I'll explain."
They sat by the fire — Chen Shi on a plank Bryan laid on the ground, Bryan on a stool. Staring into the flames, he began laying out the broad strokes of the current world.
Chen Shi listened, and with every sentence, his face grew paler, his body trembling harder. His first coherent thought: The apocalypse? Zombies?! What the hell kind of world did I land in?!
Then a second thought surfaced, nagging: Wait — Cordyceps brain infection. Why does that sound familiar...?
The harder he tried to place it, the more it eluded him. Exhaustion crept in like a tide, and before he knew it, he'd slumped sideways on the plank, fast asleep.
Bryan noticed, let his words trail off, and prodded the fire with a stick. Every so often, his gaze drifted to the sleeping boy, something unreadable stirring behind his eyes.
...
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