Chapter 209: Chapter 209: Surveying Humanity

Winnie Summers nodded. "Yes, but our team only has about a dozen households left. We should be able to finish the job tomorrow."

Melody Summers suggested, "I’ll go with you tomorrow, then."

The things her mother described were too outrageous. Even though Winnie recounted them in a calm tone, when Melody thought them over, she was terrified!

’They’re all lawless thugs. What if one of them, after being exposed, decides to just throw caution to the wind and take the survey staff down with them...’

The mere thought sent a shiver down Melody’s spine!

’I can’t let my mother face these dangers alone!’

Winnie saw what Melody was thinking. She smiled, shook her head, and said, "To ensure our safety, we’ve increased our teams from two people to four. Thorne is on our team, too. With a police officer around, it’s pretty safe. You don’t have to worry about me."

Seeing her mother’s firm stance, Melody thought, ’With Officer Tanner there, nothing should go wrong.’ So, she didn’t insist further and just nodded in agreement.

To reassure her family, Winnie added, "People that outrageous are the minority. Most of the residents are very good..."

"...In Building 7, there was a family of three. Unfortunately, the two adults died two months ago from pneumonia caused by volcanic ash infection... leaving behind only a five-year-old child."

"When their neighbors, a newlywed couple, found out, they offered to adopt the child. When the Emergency Response Office members visited today, they found the child was being very well taken care of. Rations are tight right now, and no one is eating well, but that couple has managed to raise him to be so healthy and chubby!"

"Then there’s a resident in Building 12, a mother and daughter. During the heatwave last year, the daughter was mugged on her way home from work and tragically killed, leaving her elderly mother to live alone."

"The mother has mobility issues, and it was always difficult for her to go downstairs to collect rations. When her neighbors found out, they took her in and started caring for her. Now they’re getting along just like a real family!"

Cases of people hurting others were, after all, the minority. In the apocalypse, most people would still help each other.

That’s just how humanity is. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

It’s because of this social instinct for mutual aid, this collective drive to unite in times of crisis. That’s how humanity has overcome countless hardships, defeated countless other species, and evolved to stand at the top of the food chain today.

...

After dinner, the family finished washing the dishes and went about their own evening activities.

Grandma, Miss Lowell, and Winnie sat on the brand-new sofa watching TV. Colin Summers, on the other hand, had been out driving a truck for deliveries these past few days and had already gone to bed early.

Melody Summers went back to her room and lay on her bed, idly scrolling through The Metropolis Residences’ residents’ group chat. Unexpectedly, she saw the residents discussing an even more bizarre incident—

"4-2009 Nina: For real? His parents have been dead for so long and he never took them to be cremated? He just kept the bodies at home??"

"3-904 Felinae_Panthera: @4-2009 Nina Absolutely true. It’s in Building 6. My parents discovered it during the household survey. They were nearly scared to death! The two bodies were just lying on the balcony, already mummified!"

"4-2009 Nina: Keeping them in the house after they died, what on earth was he thinking?! Did he want to keep them as specimens?"

"2-1908 Coco: He must be doing it for the extra two shares of rations... As long as he hides the fact that his parents are dead, he can collect three shares of rations every day, plus a triple water allowance!"

"12-1803 AAA Lawson Building Materials - Out of Business: That actually makes sense. Forget the rations, he could make a lot of money just selling the water he doesn’t use. You guys have no idea, a single jug of water can sell for hundreds on the trading market now!"

"3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two: That’s horrifying. How could he stay with two dead bodies for so long? Wasn’t he scared? Could... could he even sleep at night? He must see two corpses every time he closes his eyes!"

"2-1408 Bella Grant: Sigh, maybe because they were his own parents... so he wasn’t scared..."

"3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two: @2-1408 Bella Grant If he was so close to his parents, he should have let them rest in peace! What was he thinking? It’s so unfilial!"

"4-1209 Currently Slacking: I’m more curious about how nobody noticed for so long?! The smell of decaying bodies should be overwhelming! People in Building 6, didn’t any of you smell anything foul??"

"6-702 The Lover: @4-1209 Currently Slacking I’m in Building 6, but I really didn’t smell anything..."

"6-501 Suzy: I’m in Building 6 too, and I didn’t smell anything either..."

"2-1908 Coco: The lack of smell is probably because the weather has been so arid for the past year... Not enough moisture, so the bodies lacked the conditions to decompose and just mummified instead?"

"3-1007 Kiki, Mom of Two: Stop, stop, this is so scary..."

"6-501 Suzy: Ugh, I think I’m traumatized now... Just thinking about two dead bodies being in this building for months scares me..."

"6-501 Suzy: These past few months of darkness have already been creepy enough, and now this happens. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep for the next few days."

"3-904 Felinae_Panthera: Actually, it wasn’t a huge deal at first. He just hid his family’s death to get more rations. He didn’t kill anyone. The Emergency Response Office would have just given him a lecture at most. But this resident completely panicked..."

"3-904 Felinae_Panthera: When he saw that his parents’ bodies had been discovered, he panicked and actually grabbed a knife and stabbed one of the surveyors! He wounded a member of the Emergency Response Office! My parents said the floor was covered in blood..."

"4-1209 Currently Slacking: The surveyor was so unlucky. That guy is insane."

"3-904 Felinae_Panthera: Yeah, luckily no one died, otherwise it would have been a real tragedy! A completely senseless disaster!"

"..."

As Melody read the chat messages, her brow furrowed deeper and deeper.

’I can’t believe something like this happened!’

Winnie had talked about so much at the dinner table, but she hadn’t mentioned this particular incident. ’Was it because she was afraid we’d worry about her if we knew?’

But in any case, after reading the group messages, Melody immediately changed her mind—

She decided that, whether Winnie agreed or not, she absolutely had to go with her to do the household surveys tomorrow!

******

The next morning, thanks to Melody’s stubborn insistence, Winnie ended up bringing her along.

Winnie’s team consisted of herself, Officer Tristan Tanner, Hollis from property management, and Grant from security. With Melody joining, there were five people in total.

The group started their survey in Building 12 in the morning. The first few households went smoothly, with most people at home.

In only one household, the man of the house had left for work early that morning and wasn’t home. The other people in the apartment provided surveillance footage as proof of his departure.

As noon approached, the group arrived at their last household: Apartment 2804 on the 28th floor. When they had tried to survey the residence yesterday, no one had been home.

While they were waiting for the elevator, a sudden gust of cold wind blew past, making Melody shiver.

She rubbed her hands together, thinking, ’The weather is getting colder and colder.’