"No," Zhenlan repeated with a shake of his head, and the single word carried absolute finality.
There was movement in my peripheral vision as Chenghai appeared from the side hallway. His posture shifted into something combat-ready without being overtly aggressive. It was a subtle change as he watched Jian Yuche with focused attention.
He didn't say anything, didn't draw a weapon of his own, just positioned himself where he could intervene if necessary and waited for someone to make the next move.
I stayed on the couch, my phone still in my hand, watching the confrontation unfold with the same detached interest I might apply to a television show or a news report about something happening to other people in other places.
This wasn't my problem, not really. Jian Yuche was desperate and dangerous and operating from a place of survival instinct that I understood intellectually even if I didn't feel particularly concerned about it.
Zhenlan was being Zhenlan, refusing to negotiate because that's what he did. That was how his world worked, people did what he wanted or they faced consequences, and there was no middle ground where compromise happened.
Chenghai would handle it if things escalated to violence, that's what he was here for, that's what he'd been preparing for over the past two days.
I went back to my mental calculations, trying to figure out if we had enough medical supplies to handle serious injuries or if I needed to make one more run to a pharmacy before everything collapsed completely.
I tried to remember if I'd stocked enough antibiotics and painkillers and bandages and sutures and all the other things that would become impossible to obtain once hospitals were overwhelmed and pharmacies were looted.
But the more I thought about it, the more scenarios appeared in my mind. And the more scenarios appeared, the more I started to spiral.
I had no idea when the apocalypse would hit, and I didn't know if I had enough time to go out and get more supplies before the supply chain that kept modern medicine functioning simply stopped working.
And it was at that moment when I heard it.
A sound from outside...low and uneven and persistent... and all too familiar.
It carried on the wind through the door Jian Yuche had left open when he entered.
It was distant but growing closer, a rhythmic dragging mixed with shuffling footsteps and underneath it all, was a low moan that made something cold and terrible settle in my chest.
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to force my usual calm to come back. But it was no use. The moaning continued like it was a physical thing, squeezing my lungs and making it suddenly difficult to breathe.
No.
Not yet.
They couldn't be here now.
It was too early.... fifteen days too early according to my previous timeline.
I should still have fifteen days before the infection was supposed to reach critical mass. I should have time before the infected were supposed to start appearing in numbers large enough to be impossible to ignore or contain or explain away as isolated incidents.
I had thought I had more time, thought I could finalize my preparations and double-check everything and make sure every detail was perfect before the collapse actually began.
But the timeline had shifted again and now they were here, the infected, the walking dead, the zombies. Whatever you wanted to call them... whatever PC term there was for bodies that moved long after they should have stopped moving, they were here.
And mindless and hungry and relentless in a way that made them more terrifying than any human threat. There would be so many of them that humans didn't stand a chance. They didn't negotiate or retreat or respond to reason or fear, they wanted food, and there was only one thing they were attracted to.
My hands started trembling before I could stop them, the phone slipping slightly in my grip as the sound grew louder and more distinct.
I could feel my breath coming faster and shallower as panic started rising in my chest.
I had been so careful, so methodical, so focused on preparation and planning and making sure I had everything I needed to survive, but now they were here and I didn't feel ready at all. I didn't have enough supplies, didn't have enough time, didn't have enough of anything to feel confident that I could actually survive what was coming.
Arms wrapped around me suddenly, pulling me against a solid chest, and I realized Zhenlan had crossed the room without me noticing and pulled me into his side.
His hand was steady on my back and his voice was calm and grounding in a way that cut through the panic trying to overwhelm my thoughts.
"It's okay," he murmured quietly as if Jian Yuche wasn't still holding a gun to him even now. "Whatever you are worried about, it's not as bad as you think. Jian Yuche isn't going to kill me. Even if he points a hundred guns at me, I will be fine. Chenghai has my back and will protect you even if something happened to me. Everything is fine I promise. Why don't you go watch something on TV? I can bring you some snacks later."
I wanted to tell him it wasn't fine, that nothing was fine, that the world was ending and we weren't ready. I wanted to tell him that the infected were here fifteen days too early and all my careful planning had been based on a timeline that no longer applied.
But the words wouldn't come, stuck somewhere in my throat along with the panic and the fear and the desperate need to go check my supplies one more time to make absolutely certain I had everything I needed.
Instead I just nodded against his chest, feeling the trembling in my hands slowly subside as his presence anchored me back to something resembling calm. When I finally spoke my voice was steadier than I expected. "Okay. I'll be in the basement."
Not the couch where I'd been spending most of my time.
Not my room where I could pretend everything was normal.
The basement, where I knew I would be safe from what would happen next. Last time I was stuck getting powers that everyone wanted until they learned that having a power was just a faster way to die.
I struggled to pull myself together, to get back the calm.
Right.
I might not have a timeline anymore, but I knew what would happen next. First came the zombies, then came the bioweapons. Then came the government. Then came death.
I forced my shoulders to relax as Zhenlan placed a gentle kiss to my forehead.
He didn't question why I wanted to go to the basement instead of staying in the living room or going to my room, he just nodded and released me after one final squeeze.
I stood on legs that were steadier than they had any right to be given how badly I'd been shaking moments before.
Behind me I heard three distinct grunts—Zhenlan, Chenghai, and Jian Yuche—all acknowledging my departure in their own way, but I didn't look back to see their expressions or try to interpret what they were thinking about my sudden retreat.
I just walked to the basement door, opened it, stepped through, and closed it behind me even as the moaning outside the house grew louder.