On the 35th day of the zombie outbreak, when I woke up, Lin Yan was still sleeping beside me. I got up and tried to turn off the air conditioner, only to find that it had stopped working at some point.

I pressed the switch on the remote control several times, but there was no response. So I went to the entrance hall to check the circuit breaker.

The circuit breaker hadn't tripped, but the electricity in the house couldn't be turned on. The house was dark without any lights. The electronic clock, which had just been fully charged yesterday, showed the time: 5:29 in the morning.

I went to the terrace to check the weather. As soon as I opened the terrace door, I shivered.

Yesterday, it was 38 degrees, but today the temperature gauge on the terrace was already showing three degrees. The sky was covered with dark clouds, and there was a drizzle.

This was the first rain in A City in over a month.

I found a note on the terrace that had been partially soaked by the rain. The writing on it was already blurred by the dripping rainwater.

"The access door is locked, so I can't get in. I left the food in your fire escape."

I took the note back to the bedroom and woke up Lin Yan. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he took the note from my hand.

"The upstairs neighbor?"

I nodded. "There's one more thing, it seems like the power in the house is out."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yan got out of bed and started checking the electrical and water supply in the house.

He walked to the terrace and looked outside. The streetlights in the neighborhood, which used to stay on until six in the morning, were all off.

"Looks like the whole city has lost water and power. I'll install the generator and water pump later." He closed the terrace door and, after a few seconds of silence, picked up the hammer on the table and said, "Let's go and see what's going on with that food the kid mentioned."

I saw him taking the hammer for self-defense and looked around before choosing the clothesline pole.

It had a long reach and suited me.

Cautiously, Lin Yan and I opened the front door, made sure there were no abnormalities in the corridor outside the door, and then stepped out and headed towards the door of the fire escape.

I took out the key and handed it to Lin Yan, gesturing with my hands.

He was responsible for opening the door, while I used the clothesline pole to probe outside. If there was any danger after opening the door, Lin Yan would strike with the hammer.

Once we were in position, Lin Yan opened the anti-theft lock I had installed with the key. The sound of the lock latch opening was crisp and echoed in the empty corridor.

He carefully pushed the door open, and something behind the door fell and rolled to the gap.

It was a bottle of mineral water.

He pushed the door open a little further and saw two buckets of instant noodles.

He looked at me, and it seemed that there was nothing unusual outside. He stuck his head out to take a look at the corridor, and I followed suit. That's when we both saw the teenager who looked exactly like the one in the student ID card, leaning against the wall, fast asleep.

Lin Yan and I exchanged glances. The teenager seemed to be startled by the noise and suddenly opened his eyes, meeting our gaze.