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“Sir, may I get your thoughts on the lockdown in E City?” A reporter, professional smile unwavering, thrust a microphone toward a balding middle-aged man.

“Wuuu, wu, wuuu.”

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

“The mic’s too close,” he grumbled, shoving it away, his gaze stern upon the young woman in professional attire.

“In my view, E City must’ve faced something particularly hazardous to initiate a lockdown. We ordinary citizens don’t feel it much, apart from meat prices skyrocketing. These meat prices, let me tell you…”

“Thank you for your cooperation.” Swiftly, the reporter withdrew her microphone, swiveling the camera toward a nearby male student.

“Hi, may I know your thoughts on E City’s lockdown?”

“Oh, are you a reporter from TVTV?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve been keeping tabs on this. The military blowing up bridges to E City and dispersing the public, it hints at something unspeakable. A clear explanation should be given soon. I have a friend in E City, and now we’ve lost contact.”

His eyes, complicated and shadowed, lingered on his phone, displaying seemingly gruesome images.

“Oh? Did your friend share anything noteworthy?”

“Yes, but…”

Wooong~ Wooong~

The stark interruption of sirens cut through the interview. Several police officers disembarked, swiftly approaching the male student as he began to raise his phone.

“You!” Shock painted the reporter’s face as she watched the police guide the student toward the police vehicle.

“What happened here?” She approached an officer, her voice tinged with urgency and her brow knotted in confusion.

“Please, do not obstruct official duties. Thank you,” the officer briskly declined the interview, and the police car sped away, its sirens piercing the air.

“Young lady, why did you leave in the middle of our conversation? Now, about those meat prices…”

…

Suddenly, an advertisement interrupted the viewing of Lin Feng and his group.

“Why an ad now?” Song Zhe, after chewing a bite of cabbage and pointing with his chopsticks towards the TV screen, voiced his confusion.

Yan Aoxue carefully set her chopsticks down, a contemplative air enveloping her as she spoke. “It appears that news from the outside is being censored.”

Liu Tao, pausing with a bite of cabbage midway, casually probed, “What’s that mean for us? Is E City the only place hit by this? And why hasn’t the military shown up, Lin Feng? Got any guesses?”

“How would I know?”

Lin Feng’s gaze lingered on the last cabbage leaf on the plate, his thoughts meandering as a familiar Shuai Shuai Milk advertisement played on TV.

The screen subtly conveyed that no infections had occurred beyond E City. Hearing about the bombed bridges for the first time, something clicked in Lin Feng’s mind, prompting him to search the room hastily.

“Hao Jian, is there a map around here?”

Hao Jian raised an eyebrow, perplexed. “A map, junior sister? Why would you need that? Besides, this is an archery hall — why would we have a map?” He attempted to stealthily swap his cabbage with Lin Feng’s, only for Lin Feng to smoothly counteract the exchange.

Lin Feng glanced at his phone, unsurprised to find no signal.

“Does anyone have an offline map?” His voice cut through the room, where the entire class had gathered, lured by the functional TV— a scarce link to the electronic world. As they ate, their eyes remained fixed on the screen.

Immediately, the girls began rifling through their phones.

“I have one.” Chen Rangrang, situated next to Anna, raised her phone, a cute little blue and white rabbit dangling from its blue case.

“Let me see it.”

Receiving the phone from Chen Rangrang, Lin Feng opened the map app, zooming in, then further still.

“Did you find something, Lin Feng?”

“This is bad.” Lin Feng’s voice held an ominous note.