Secret Basements

When Xiaoyun arrived in the kitchen, Yueyue and Nami were already sitting at their seats.

"Where did Mom? Didn't she just call us to eat?" Xiaoyun asked, sitting down in his seat with a bowl of rice on the table.

"Mom went to my room to check on the girl."

As soon as Nami finished replying, Yuqi finally arrived in the kitchen. She was wearing her casual clothes and sat down next to Xiaoyun.

After eating for a while, the four of them started to get a little concerned as Leyan still didn't come down.

Just as Xiaoyun was about to head upstairs to check, Leyan finally came down with a little girl in her arms.

All four of them were a little disturbed, as the bone on the little girl was fully visible underneath the skin, a level of malnutrition they had only seen in movies.

"I'll get you some porridge. Wait for a second, okay, Lily?"

Leyan gently seated the little girl before heading inside the kitchen, leaving her to be with the other four at the table.

"Um, hello, Lily. I'm Xiaoyun."

Xiaoyun tried to greet them, but Lily moved back a little as if she was scared of him.

"You have to be more casual, " Nami said as she got up and walked closer to Lily.

"Hello Lily, my name is Nami."

Lily didn't move back like earlier, but she still didn't respond, which disappointed Nami a little.

"Lily is a bit shy in front of strangers... Don't worry about her health. She will be fine after a week or so."

Leyan stated as she came back with a bowl of porridge, lifting Lily onto her lap as she began to spoon-feed her little by little.

"She doesn't need to eat more?" Yuqi curiously asked after Leyan finished feeding her a small bowl.

"She hasn't eaten for a long time. If she suddenly eats too much, it will be bad for her stomach. Her stomach needs to get used to it slowly.

Alright, Lily. Let's get you back to my room to sleep. Everything is going to be tomorrow, okay?"

As Leyan gently carried Lily in her arms, the four of them got up and followed her to the living room.

"I don't want to go to sleep yet," Lily said softly, interrupting Leyan from heading towards the stairs.

"That's fine too... Let's watch some TV. I hope you don't mind Tom and Jerry."

Leyan gently put Lily onto the sofa before quickly heading over to a certain console next to the TV and loading in a DVD.

As the show started, Lily watched in silence as Leyan dragged the four of them back into the kitchen.

"Is she really alright?" Yueyue asked right away.

"She just hasn't eaten for a long time. Everything else is normal." Leyan answered before pausing.

After a short silence, she finally decided to ask something as she turned over to Xiaoyun and Yueyue.

"Earlier, Lily asked me what had happened to her grandparents... Do you two know what happened to them?"

The two stood in silence as they considered the photos inside the mansion's room and the faces of the zombies.

"If they were the two old couples living in the house... We were forced to kill them."

After Xiaoyun answered it out loud, the mood of the conversation instantly took a grim turn, especially for the twins, as they couldn't muster any energy to look up at all.

"It's not your fault that they turned into a zombie... It had to be done to protect yourself and Lily."

Leyan tried to comfort the two, but it didn't help much until Yuqi decided to comfort the two as well.

"I'm sure the grandparents would be happy knowing that you ended their suffering and saved their grandchild."

"Ahem, you two should take a break early today. We'll talk to Lily."

Leyan signaled Yuqi to bring the two upstairs as she and Nami went back to the living room.

---

Back in the office room, Xiaoyun was scrolling on his phone as he lay down on the bed.

His mind was still fixated on the two zombies he had killed, even though he knew what Leyan and Yuqi said was all valid points.

Trying to get his mind out of the trapped mindset, he decided to open his contacts and started texting his dormmate.

Neither Pinli nor Chengyi responded, but after waiting five minutes, he received a message from Mingxu.

"Yeah, I am here. How are you doing, bro?" Mingxu texted.

"I am doing fine. How is it going for you?"

"Not looking good at all. I should have never come to this damn air-raid shelter."

Mingxu's anger was starting to leak out as the text was instantly sent over to him.

"What's wrong?"

After waiting for a minute, Xiaoyun finally got a response from him.

"They are literally sending us to find food, but they don't give us a single gun when they are sitting on top of boxes of guns and ammo.

We're literally risking our lives over pennies worth of food that we can't even keep for ourselves either."

"Shit. That's fucked up." Xiaoyun texted.

"Yeah."

"Is there any way I can help you?"

"Not I can think of. Hey, thanks for texting me. You are the only one who has texted me. It almost felt like everybody was dead."

"Perhaps it's because they are in the countryside. They might not have the best phone service there." Xiaoyun texted back.

"True."

"Oh snap, Jingjing is coming. Oh boy, she looks mad. Talk to you later." Mingxu sent his last message.

"Good Luck."

As Xiaoyun put his phone down on the side, his mind was distracted enough to move past the guilt.

"Nami told me to go to her room tonight, right? Maybe I can take a short nap."

After setting the alarm at eleven, he pulled his blanket back up before falling asleep.

---

"Beep! Beep!"

As the alarm bell rang, Xiaoyun quickly reached over to turn it off before slowly rising from the bed.

"Right, I need to go to Nami's room..."

After changing into his causal wear, he headed straight out to the hallway before stopping at the door to Nami's room.

"Who is it?" Nami's voice came out of the room.

"It's me, Xiaoyun."

"Just wait outside for a second."

After Xiaoyun had been standing by the door for almost a minute, Nami finally opened it.

The moment he saw her walk out, he was a little stunned.

She was wearing all black and a black face mask that covered her forehead to her chin, almost like a ninja or a bank robber.

"Why are you wearing——"

Before Xiaoyun could finish, Nami quickly reached over her hand to cover his mouth.

"Stop asking questions... Just follow me. We are going to do something important that no one can know."

Nami started walking as quietly as possible while Xiaoyun casually walked behind her.

"You know, this just makes it look more suspicious——"

"Shhh, we don't want to wake them up," Nami whispered as she carefully walked down the stairs.

"I am pretty sure there is no way they can hear us when they are all asleep in their room."

Xiaoyun pointed out as they walked down to the living room with only moonlight illuminating their path.

"Okay, maybe you are right."

Nami finally returned to normal as she led Xiaoyun past the kitchen to the backyard glass door.

"What are we doing out here late at night?"

The cold wind immediately sent a shiver that traveled down his spine as soon as she opened the glass door.

"Just follow me," Nami repeated.

She quickly led him down the pavement all the way to the last table in the corner near the hot tub and the pool.

Just as Xiaoyun was about to ask her what they were doing out here in the cold weather, she suddenly lifted a flower vase from the table.

To his surprise, there was some sort of a button remote right below it.

"Here it is."

As she pressed the button, the ground next to the bathtub suddenly moved to the sides, revealing a concrete pathway down.

"What the hell is this?" Xiaoyun asked in confusion as he couldn't believe there was even more to this house.

"I only found it a few summers ago when I was playing hide-and-seek with Qiqi and Yueyue," Nami replied as she turned her phone's flashlight on.

"Do they know about this?"

"Nope. Not even Mom knows about it... I am pretty sure nobody has entered this besides Dad."

Seeing Nami start walking down the stairs, Xiaoyun quickly followed behind her.

"Of course, now you're the second person who knows about it..."

After walking for who knows how long, the two finally reached the end of the stairs.

Right before them was a giant metal door, blocking them from going any further with no other way around it.

On the right of the door was an electronic combination lock, which Nami solved by pressing a few keys.

The dark hallway crept Xiaoyun a little bit, but Nami didn't seem to be scared at all.

"What on earth is this for? How do you know Dad built this?" Xiaoyun curiously asked as he followed her down the hall.

"You will see. Just you wait."

After walking for a bit, another door blocked their way. But this time, the door wasn't locked, as Nami simply pushed it open.

Xiaoyun was instantly stunned by the inside, realizing why he said Dad must have built it.

The walls were white like marble, yet the tap and the touch told him it was some sort of reinforced concrete.

Looking to the middle, a large metal ball was connected by many different lines and wires, almost as if it were something straight from the future.

On the left was a table with a few pieces of paper scattered around and a small cabinet.

"You see why I said Dad built this? Who else could afford this kind of experiment under their own house?"

Nami explained as she brought Xiaoyun all the way to the table first.

"Also, I suspect that you have something to do with Dad's disappearance... You are an important key to this puzzle."

Nami suddenly turned her head towards Xiaoyun and looked at him dead in the eyes.

"What puzzle?"

Xiaoyun scratched his head in confusion as his mind felt a little overwhelmed by everything in front of him.

"Since you live in the office room, I assume you have already read Dad's journal, right?" Nami asked.

"How do you know——"

"This is just a prediction. Now, I need you to give me the missing two digits from that journal, " Nami said as she started entering the cabinet lock.

"What last two digits?"

Xiaoyun paused for a second, then realized Nami was talking about the X out digits in the diary.

"You mean the one in the diary?"

"Yep, that's the one I'm talking about... Do you know about it, or do you not?"

Nami asked as she moved to the side, with only two digits remaining on the cabinet lock.

"I think I know it... But I'm not sure if it is right."

Xiaoyun quickly started thinking back to his own email password, which matched the one in the diary.

"Just to warn you, there's only one try left. I don't know what will happen if this goes wrong."

Nami's warning made him even more nervous, but he still pressed the last two keys into the passcode.

"Click!"

The two let out a sigh of relief as the cabinet lock was finally unlocked, allowing them to pull the cabinet out.

"Lemme see."

Nami quickly pushed him to the side as she opened the cabinet, forcing him to look from above as she took two things out.

"A letter for you and a notebook. And some sort of liquid in a bottle."

She quickly glanced over the envelope before throwing it to Xiaoyun, taking the notebook for herself.

"A letter for Chen Xiaoyun..." Xiaoyun muttered as he read the title on the envelope.

---

"Hello, I am Chen Xiaoyun from another timeline (I think).

When you see this piece of paper, it means I have succeeded in my mission. I'm going to try to be as fast as I can. So bear with me.

In my timeline, the apocalypse still happened. Everyone in the family died in the first year when the apocalypse broke out. I don't know how yours went, but I assume it's going in the same direction.

I left the place that left me with painful memories. I started traveling across hundreds of different survival camps and countries, but each one of them was either destroyed by people or zombies.

After decades of traveling, I discovered that the stone Uncle Li gave me was not just any stone. I'm not sure where it came from, but it's definitely not from our planet.

Perhaps it's from aliens. No one really knows. Not even me, the smartest scientist alive. (100% Real and not fake, I gain nothing lying to you, my friend)

Anyway, you might wonder how I know about this. Well, the stone was constantly releasing energy that could maintain my appearance as if I never aged at all.

It was almost like magic, giving me unlimited time in the world... Until everybody around me started dying of old age.

I was all alone in this world, with no one to care about or any will to live anymore. So I threw the stone to the ground.

That's when I discovered that the stone had somehow made me time travel back one hour, and it was somehow back into one piece.

After that experience, I became a scientist and started researching the stone, thinking maybe that I could build it to travel back in time.

I just wanted to save them, to see them just one more time... I don't want my life to be a total failure.

Well, as you guessed it, it was a success—at least the time machine part. But here's the thing.

I had completely forgotten about the airborne virus that infected almost everybody as soon as the outbreak happened.

Guess what happens next? Actually, you don't need to. I time-traveled back and caused a zombie outbreak even earlier in the timeline as I became a live virus spreader.

You could say it was the biggest fuckup of all time. But that wasn't the only fuck up thing I managed to do.

The time machine I was using was starting to run out of energy. That's when I learned that the rock wasn't infinite energy as I imagined.

In the end, I realized I was doomed and would be erased from existence. There was not enough time for me to find my even older self and fix the entire timeline.

Isn't it ironic? A man with a time machine running out of time. Anyway, before I gave up, I realized I could send this machine to a completely different timeline—not just time travel back and forth.

Before you say, "Why don't I just get out by traveling to another timeline?" Well, it can't carry any living things. I tested a smaller version with a rat, and let's just say the cells on its body all died, literally.

For now, the machine can't have any living thing for an alternate timeline. So, I am writing to tell you not to use this machine to attempt to move to another timeline.

You won't make it. I really mean that. ONLY use this thing to travel forward or backward within your timeline—and I really mean that.

I hope you can use this machine better than I do. The bottle in the cabinet neutralizes the airborne virus within your body. If you want to travel back in time before the zombie outbreak, you will want to use it.

A note: It doesn't do anything if someone is already bitten. It's practically useless in the zombie outbreak since this already infects everybody.

If their immune systems had not adapted to this virus, they would have turned into zombies a long time ago. Don't be a silly goose and try to cure someone with this.

Another Note: If you are wondering who your father is and what they are like, I had the same question even after I found Leyan.

I recommend you use this time machine to travel back in time without touching the settings. I already set it up for you. The answer may shock you, but I am sure you won't regret this.

I know you will do it after seeing this. I know myself the best.

Final Note: I implemented a sleepwalking mode in this machine. When the time is up, and you are sent back, you will feel that you just sent a dream.

This is to prevent you from having a split personality. I had to learn it the hard way. You don't want to end up like me mentally.

Also, try to remember that you are Xiaoyun, not anyone else.

Sorry about this ramble. Take this as an old man's last chance to talk to someone.

Good luck. You are going to need it."

---

"That stone. Didn't I lose it at the dorm a few days ago? There is nothing about being able to create things, either.

Did the other me not have that ability? So I got my power from being bitten, or was it from the stone?"

The letter only created more questions. As Xiaoyun put the letter back into the envelope, his mind conflicted as he looked over to the machine.

"What was written in the letter? Did it have anything important?"

Nami asked curiously as she walked over with the notebook and the bottle in hand.

"It just said that that metal thing is a time machine, and apparently, it's from another timeline of me rather than Dad."

"What? Not from Dad? You are telling me I spent all this time trying to find clues about dad is useless?"

Nami started stomping on the ground in anger. She couldn't believe all her effort was going to be wasted.

"Well, it's not exactly useless... How about the book in your hand? Did it contain anything valuable?"

"It's just a bunch of research materials. I can't understand any of it..."

After answering, she put down the book before walking closer to the closed time machine entrance.

"Finally, I can discover the secret that surrounds our family... I'll be the one that solves the mystery."

Nami suddenly got very dramatic as she pushed up her non-existent glasses, her face filled up with excitement again.

"I think maybe we should use this machine at a later time."

Xiaoyun quickly pulled her away from the door, not wanting to go through with what the alternate Xiaoyun wanted him to do.

"No, I had spent so long on this. I am not backing down now. I must know the truth."

Nami suddenly pushed his hand away as she pressed the button, striking a weird pose before rushing inside.

"What are you doing? Get back out here——"

Xiaoyun quickly dragged her back out. Her face was full of anger as she tried to go back in, only to be stopped by his hand.

"If you don't let me go, I am going to spoil everything you have done to all three of them." Nami threatened as she tried to move past his hands.

After a short silence, Xiaoyun finally backed down.

"Fine, but I'm coming with you then."

As the two of them both entered the time machine, they instantly noticed how cramped the inside was.

There was not even a single seat for them, with white walls made of unknown material on all sides and time selection on the left.

"Wait, before we use this, we need to drink before entering this time machine to neutralize the airborne virus," Xiaoyun stated.

"But... there is so little in this bottle. Did the letter say how many people can drink it?"

Nami asked as she held onto the bottle tightly, not letting Xiaoyun get a hold of it in case he was going to drink it all himself.

"It didn't say it anywhere... But I can just clone it if you give it to me."

Nami hesitated for a second but eventually handed the bottle to Xiaoyun, letting him have control over it.

"Here's your copied one... Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Nothing."

The two quickly opened the potion and drank it all down, but after standing for ten minutes, nothing happened.

"Huh? I thought it was going to hurt or something." Xiaoyun murmured.

"Whatever, let's start this thing. I'm sure the potion had done its effect."

Nami pressed the start button before Xiaoyun could stop him. But they were surprised when nothing happened.

"Overloaded, please only have one person on board." A robotic voice came from the time machine.

"Get out! I am using this." Nami yelled as she tried to push Xiaoyun out.

"Hey, I gave this time machine to myself. I should be the one using." Xiaoyun argued as he tried to push her out.

"No! I was the one who discovered this place. I deserve to know the truth!"

"Nami, listen to me. I can always clone this entire machine, but you can't do that.

If the machine breaks, you are forever stuck in the past. Do you want the whole family to be sad and never get to see you again?"

Nami fell into silence as she couldn't argue back against his argument. After a short standoff, she finally stepped out of the machine.

"Fine. But you better tell me what happens when you come back. Don't take too long."

"Don't worry. I will find the truth. I'll find the truth for all of us!"

Xiaoyun suddenly strikes a pose similar to Nami's one earlier, surprising her as he presses the close button.

"Hey! You watch that anime——"

Before Nami could finish, a light suddenly appeared on the metal ball, vanishing right after she blinked.