Day 13 started with a new smell near the gate.
Alcohol wipes.
Antiseptic.
Real medicine.
People noticed right away. You could see it in their faces. Hope and hunger, mixed together.
The med lane had been running on scraps. Boiled cloth. Dirty scissors. Too little painkillers. Too little antibiotics. Too many wounds.
So when Zhou Qinsong shouted "medicine," it didn't matter that everyone hated him.
It mattered that people were desperate.
Zhao Qingshan kept the gate sealed. Soldiers lined the inner barrier. Civilians gathered anyway, whispering and pointing.
Lan Huan came with his unit, but he stayed back from the front line. He didn't want to make the gate lane about him again.
Zhou Qinsong's voice carried through the metal.
"I brought supplies," he called. "Boxes. Sealed. Clean. Enough to save your med lane for a week."
A civilian man shouted from inside, "Take it!"
Another screamed, "My mother is dying!"
A soldier barked, "Back!"
Zhao Qingshan climbed onto a crate again, face hard. "You don't give gifts," he shouted. "What do you want?"
Zhou laughed, calm. "Commander Zhao," he called, "you're learning. Good."
Then his voice went colder.
"I want one person," he said. "Luo Yan."
Luo Yan's stomach dropped.
The crowd went quiet for one beat.
Then people started turning their heads, searching.
Lan Huan shifted half a step without thinking, blocking Luo Yan behind his shoulder. It wasn't obvious unless you were watching closely.
He Li moved too, bending light slightly so Luo Yan's outline blurred in the crowd.
Zhou continued, voice smooth. "Void," he said. "Bring him to the gate. I give you the medicine. Nobody dies today."
Zhao Qingshan's face went pale with rage. "You're trading medicine for a man?"
Zhou answered, "I'm trading a week of survival for one awakened," he said. "That's a good deal. You know it."
Civilians started whispering again.
One woman cried, "If it saves my kid—"
A man shouted, "Give him up!"
Another shouted, "No! He saved people!"
A fight started right there, over a name and a rumor.
Luo Yan felt cold in his chest.
He hadn't wanted to be known. He'd tried to keep Void quiet. But bites he blocked, people he saved… it had spread anyway.
Zhao shouted, "Silence!" but the crowd didn't obey.
Lan Huan's voice was low, only for his unit. "We leave," he said.
Bai Ling's eyes flashed. "Leave? He's calling for Luo Yan."
Lan Huan's gaze was cold. "That's why we leave."
Gu Jinghe's voice was calm. "If you leave the gate lane now, people will think you're hiding him."
Lan Huan didn't deny it. "Let them think."
Feng Yue's eyes were sharp. "The problem isn't Zhou," she said. "It's the base."
Mu Yin's hands clenched. "They'll trade him," she whispered.
Lu Ziming's grin was gone. "They can't," he said, sounding shocked like he still believed humans had rules.
Qin Yi muttered, "They can. They will."
Mu Yan looked sick. "Med lane needs that medicine," he said. "Chen Yao—"
Bai Ling snapped, "Don't say it like it makes this okay."
Mu Yan flinched.
Lan Huan didn't raise his voice. He just said, "No one trades my people."
Zhao Qingshan heard him. He turned his head sharply. "Your people?" Zhao snapped. "You think you own him?"
Lan Huan's eyes went hard. "I protect him," he corrected.
Zhou called through the gate again, louder now, letting the crowd hear every word.
"Void user," Zhou said, "you can save hundreds if you come out."
Luo Yan's stomach twisted.
That was the cruelest kind of bait. Not just medicine. Guilt.
Zhao Qingshan looked at the crowd. His face was tight, like someone was squeezing his throat.
He turned back to the gate and shouted, "No."
The crowd erupted.
Zhao raised his rifle and fired one shot into the air.
The bang cut through everyone.
"Anyone who touches my soldiers gets shot," Zhao roared. "Anyone who tries to open my gate gets shot. Anyone who tries to drag a person to the gate gets shot."
People froze.
Not because they agreed.
Because they believed him.
Zhou laughed softly. "Good," he called. "You have spine after all."
Zhao shouted, "Take your medicine and go to hell!"
Zhou's voice stayed calm. "I will leave it," he said. "Outside the gate. Sealed. You can choose to take it later."
Zhao narrowed his eyes. "Trap."
Zhou replied, "Everything is a trap," he said. "Even kindness."
Then the outside lane went quieter.
Zhou didn't push the barrier.
He didn't send fast infected screaming at the gate.
He just left boxes in the rain like gifts.
And gifts are worse than threats.
Zhao Qingshan stepped down from the crate and looked at Lan Huan.
His voice was low. "You saw it," he said. "Your Void kid is becoming a trigger."
Lan Huan didn't blink. "Then we leave before the base breaks," he said.
Zhao's jaw clenched. "You can't leave yet," he said. "The roads are—"
Lan Huan cut in. "I didn't say today."
Zhao stared at him. Then he said, rough, "Keep your head down."
Lan Huan nodded once.
They pulled back from the gate lane, using side paths.
But the crowd didn't fully scatter.
People watched Luo Yan's group with hungry eyes now.
Not just fear.
Need.
Back at the container lane, Luo Yan sat down hard.
His hands shook.
He didn't want to be the reason people died.
He didn't want to be traded like a box of antibiotics.
Inside his head, the system chimed. Private.
Ding.
DAY 13 CRISIS MISSION: BECOME HARD TO TRADE
Time Limit: 7 days
Objective: Reduce public visibility of "Void saves"
Suggested:
- Train smaller, less obvious Void use
- Build a wider squad identity so one person isn't the symbol
Reward: "Attention" reduction (temporary)
Reward: Void Screen control +1
Luo Yan swallowed.
A mission that wasn't about zombies.
About people.
He looked up.
Lan Huan was standing by the door, watching the lane like he was already planning for the day the base turned on them.
And Luo Yan realized something simple and ugly.
The apocalypse wasn't just outside the fence.
It was inside it too.