Chapter 51: Water Source Contamination

"I’ll do my best to finish reinforcing the entire courtyard by tomorrow night at the latest."

"Then, the morning after that, I’ll set out for Su City to bring Junjun back to you."

’The sooner, the better.’ Xie Ning wasn’t even sure when Junjun had turned into a zombie in her past life.

But she knew for a fact that after turning, zombies retained their appearance from the moment of death.

Junjun, however, had been nothing but skin and bones. He couldn’t have starved to that state in just a day or two.

From this, Xie Ning deduced that Junjun must have survived at least three months into the apocalypse to have slowly starved to that point.

"You’re going alone?" Old Mrs. Song exclaimed in a hushed voice. "No, that’s not happening. Absolutely not."

"That’s right. How can you go alone? I’ll go with you."

Xie Ning shook her head. "No, Uncle. You need to stay here and look after our home."

"Sis! I’ll go with you!" Song Kexin hopped up and down a couple of times, pumping her fist. "I might be useless, but I can drive for you."

"Do you have a driver’s license?" Xie Ning asked, her face devoid of expression.

"Do you, Sis?"

’I might not have a license, but I drove for twenty years in my past life. How can you even compare?’

Xie Ning was at a loss for words, unable to retort.

Song You’ai quickly volunteered. "Right, you can’t go. You’re just a kid, stay here with your dad. Ningning, I’ll go with you. My driving skills are top-notch!"

Xie Ning agreed. "Okay. Then it’s settled."

"Grandpa, Grandma, don’t worry. We will definitely bring Junjun back safely."

"I’m just worried about you two. Will it be safe on the road?"

"We’ll be safe, Grandma. If any monsters dare to show up, I’ll just run them through with a Metal Spike. I’m pretty strong now!"

Old Mrs. Song gave a worried smile. "You silly child. You must be careful."

"Okay, now for two more important things. The tap water can’t be used anymore." Xie Ning gripped her grandmother’s hand. "Did you use any tap water when you were cooking?"

"No, we’ve always used water from the well."

"Good." Xie Ning’s tone was grave. "The tap water is contaminated. It most likely contains the virus."

Song Youzhi jumped. "I drank some of their boiled water earlier when I was at the village committee office."

"And that’s why you came down with a high fever, isn’t it?"

"Right, right." It dawned on Song Youzhi. "So that’s why. It was the water."

But Song Kexin’s eyes lit up. "So you can get a fever and a superpower just by drinking tap water?"

"Drinking tap water could also give you a fever and turn you into a zombie," Song You’ai retorted, swatting her lightly. "You silly girl."

"Don’t even think about trying it. The outcome is unpredictable," Xie Ning said, shooting Song Kexin a look.

Kexin quickly nodded.

"So, will the well water get contaminated too?"

"Yes. There was a global acid rain that contaminated all surface water sources. It’s only a matter of time before it seeps underground."

’Based on my experience, the groundwater will also be unusable in a few hours.’

"So, Uncle, I need you to draw as much water as you can from the well right now. We need to store it for future use."

"Right, right, on it!" Song Youzhi was brimming with energy now, itching for more things to do.

The moment Xie Ning finished speaking, he took off running toward the backyard to get to work.

Watching his whirlwind-like departure, the others couldn’t help but exchange glances.

Song Kexin remarked sourly, "Well, look at him. Having a superpower really changes a person, huh."

Suddenly, a loud "CLANG CLANG" came from outside the iron gate.

Xie Ning stood up. "That must be the people from the Song Family Pavilion’s survivor association."

"I’ll go see what they want." A slight smile touched her lips, and a glint flashed in her eyes.