Chapter 3: A Call from the Past

“Click!”

Just as Qin Zhong was quietly lost in thought, he suddenly noticed the sunlight outside dimming. He glanced through the car window and saw dark clouds gathering, with thunder rumbling deep within the sky.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning tore across the horizon like the wrath of a god, ripping open a bright fissure in the apocalyptic darkness, illuminating everything around.

Raindrops began to fall rapidly, starting as a few scattered drops before quickly turning into a torrential downpour, striking the ground and the van with crisp, sharp sounds.

“Is it raining?”

Seeing this, Qin Zhong was momentarily stunned. It had been nearly half a year since the apocalypse began, and this was the first rain he had witnessed. Accustomed to clear autumn skies, the sudden thunderstorm took him by surprise.

Suddenly, the sharp ringing of a phone startled him so much that his head slammed against the car door, causing sharp pain.

Rubbing his head, Qin Zhong looked around and realized the ringing was coming from his pocket. It was his phone, softly ringing. The sound wasn’t loud, and given the thunderstorm outside, he needn’t worry about attracting zombies.

But the problem was, he distinctly remembered turning off his phone earlier. How could it be ringing now?

Watching the phone in his hand vibrate slightly, the screen showed an unknown number. Hesitant, Qin Zhong answered, only to hear a woman’s furious scream, almost shattering his eardrums.

“Wang Qian, you bastard! Li Yun treated you so well, and yet you dare cheat on her! If you’ve got the guts, tell me where you are, and I’ll come to kick your balls!”

Qin Zhong moved the phone away to glance at the screen again—it was an unknown number.

This was strange. It had been half a year since the apocalypse; all phone signals and networks should have long since vanished. Phones had lost all communication functionality and were mere ornaments now.

If it weren’t for Qin Zhong’s habit of checking photos on his phone, he wouldn’t even carry such a burden. In a world crawling with zombies, a sudden phone ring could mean death.

Yet now, his phone—clearly turned off—had received a call from an unknown number.

Qin Zhong looked through the window; the zombies outside hadn’t noticed him. Covering his mouth, he lowered his voice and said, “Hello? Where are you? I’m not Wang Qian…”

But the woman on the other end was clearly enraged and contemptuous, mocking him, “What? Wang Qian, you’re a coward who dares to cheat but won’t own up? If you’re not Wang Qian, then who are you?”

“I’m Qin Zhong. Who are you?”

“I’m your great-aunt, Sun Xiaoyan. If you’re a man, tell me where you are!”

“I… I should still be in Modu, but I’m not sure exactly where!”

...

Meanwhile, in the brilliantly lit capital city, on the balcony of a building, Sun Xiaoyan moved the phone away from her ear, checking the number she had dialed. Yes, it was indeed Wang Qian’s number.

But how...

Hadn’t he just left here? How could he be saying he was in Modu?

This was the capital city. Even by plane, it wouldn’t take just a few minutes to reach Modu. And she hadn’t misdialed!

“Crash!”

Suddenly, a thunderclap shook Sun Xiaoyan’s entire body. Muttering a curse about the terrible weather, she turned and stepped back into the room.

“Hello? Hello? Are you still there?”

Inside the room, Sun Xiaoyan heard a series of sounds from the phone. It seemed the man on the other end was repeatedly asking questions, realizing she hadn’t responded.

Hesitating, she picked up the phone carefully and asked, “What did you say your name was?”

“Qin Zhong. Where are you?”

Earlier, when Sun Xiaoyan arrived at her best friend’s house, she found her weeping. After inquiring, she learned that Li Yun’s boyfriend, Wang Qian, had cheated on her and wanted to break up. He demanded a breakup fee or threatened to release nude photos of Li Yun online.

Furious, Sun Xiaoyan had called to confront him. Amid the thunderstorm outside and in her agitation, she hadn’t clearly heard the man’s voice.

Now, back in the room, listening carefully to the rough voice on the other end, it didn’t sound anything like Wang Qian’s smooth, charming tone.

Realizing she might have dialed the wrong number, Sun Xiaoyan quickly said, “Mr. Qin, sorry, I must have called the wrong number. I won’t bother you anymore…”

“Wait! Don’t hang up! How did you manage to get through to me?”

Hearing the other side’s attempt to end the call, Qin Zhong immediately panicked. “I don’t know who you are or how you got through, but can you help me? I’m surrounded by zombies!”

“Zombies?”

Hearing that word, Sun Xiaoyan raised her delicate brows with a hint of skepticism. It was just a wrong number—she had scolded him, and now he was making up stories to tease his great-aunt?

Well, since he wanted to play, she’d play along. After all, her mood wasn’t great either.

With a smile in her eyes but a trace of fear in her voice, Sun Xiaoyan replied, “I-I have zombies here too. They’re coming up. What should I do?”

“Ah!”

Hearing the voice through the receiver, Qin Zhong frowned. What did that mean? She was surrounded by zombies too? But she hadn’t mentioned that before!

“Sir, should I put down pea shooters in front of the zombies or build a walnut wall?”

“...”

Qin Zhong was speechless. What was this about pea shooters and walnut walls? What on earth were those?

Wait!

Suddenly, a thought struck him. Pea shooter? He’d heard that somewhere before. Pea… right! It was from an old strategy tower defense game, a little game from over a decade ago.

Over a decade ago?

Qin Zhong furrowed his brow even tighter and carefully lowered his voice. “What year is it where you are?”

“Huh?”

Sun Xiaoyan frowned slightly and immediately asked back, “And you? What year is it where you are? It can’t be the Guangxu era, can it?”

“Guangxu?”

Qin Zhong vaguely remembered that was the era name of China’s last feudal dynasty. He knew she must be teasing him, but he was curious about the situation on her side.

So he lowered his voice again. “It’s 2034 here, not the Guangxu era…”

“2034?”

“Pfft!”

Sun Xiaoyan burst out laughing but quickly covered her mouth. From the next room came the faint sound of her best friend crying. Laughing now seemed cruel.

“Sir, are you sure you didn’t get the year wrong? It’s 2024, not 2034. You’re moving through time too fast!”

Hearing that casual, slightly impatient reply, Qin Zhong’s mind buzzed wildly, as if a crowd of tiny voices were clamoring inside his head, drowning out all else and leaving him momentarily stunned.

“Hello? Hello?”

“What a weirdo!”

After she finished speaking, the line went silent. Sun Xiaoyan decisively concluded the other party must have realized their mistake and dared not argue further.

Pouting triumphantly, she hung up. Unnoticed, at the moment of disconnection, her phone brushed against the ring on her right index finger.

A faint glow flashed briefly, and the ring vanished from her hand—something she failed to notice.

At that moment, her attention was drawn to her best friend’s sobbing in the next room. Rubbing her forehead, Sun Xiaoyan resolved to go comfort her friend.

As she passed the window, she noticed that the once overcast sky filled with thunderclouds had cleared, revealing a bright full moon as if the earlier storm had been nothing but an illusion.

“A strange person in strange weather,” she murmured to herself, then turned and went into the adjoining room to soothe her friend.