Chapter 172 - At knife point
That night, everyone drifted into a restless, heavy sleep. The air in the warehouse was thick with unspoken tension, as if the darkness itself was pressing down on their lungs. Outside, the occasional groan or shuffle of an undead body dragging itself along the street kept them from ever truly resting.
Yunfeng lay awake, eyes tracing the rusted beams of the ceiling above him. He turned his head slightly to look at Jai, who had curled up beside him. The boy’s chest rose and fell slowly, finally at peace, if only for a few hours.
Then he looked the other way—Muchen was beside him, already awake, staring quietly into the dim space.
"It’s my fault he’s here..." Yunfeng murmured, voice barely above a whisper. "If I hadn’t told him anything, if I’d just kept quiet... Jai wouldn’t have followed. And now because he’s here, his grandfather will come too."
His voice cracked slightly at the end. The weight of guilt sat heavy on his chest, like hands pushing him into the ground.
Muchen turned to face him fully, brushing his thumb softly against Yunfeng’s jaw. "Isn’t it a good thing? If they come, they might actually rescue us. They’re trained. They might know how to deal with this better than we do."
Yunfeng shook his head slowly, eyes dim. "They’re trained, yeah. But they were taught to protect civilians. They’ll hesitate. They won’t shoot unless they have no choice. The army relies on structure—on orders. If someone like General Shin dies..." He looked down at his hands. "It’s over."
He didn’t say it, but Muchen saw it in his eyes: I’ve seen it. I’ve lived it.
"Even if they do get here," Yunfeng continued, "they’ll be overwhelmed. I’ve seen how it plays out. Soldiers start deserting. Cities fall like dominoes. No one’s safe."
Muchen sighed and wrapped his arms around him, pulling Yunfeng close into his chest.
"Don’t overthink everything. Just for tonight... rest. We’ll figure it out tomorrow. We always do."