"No, you're not her."
The middle-aged man quickly furrowed his brows again, showing a pensive expression.
"Although your hair color is the same and both are quite striking, her eye color is different from yours."
"And you should be a few years older than her, and slightly taller as well."
The middle-aged man muttered to himself a few more times.
Ning Yu finally reacted.
She took out a golden pocket watch, the one she had found on herself at the small supermarket.
Opening it to reveal the photo inside, she placed it in front of the man.
"Is this her?"
It was the family photo.
In the luxurious backdrop, besides herself and her parents, there was another little girl who looked very much like her.
Upon closer inspection, Ning Yu's eyes were amber, while the other girl's were lake blue.
"Yes, yes! That's her, your twin sister, right?"
Teacher Zhang nodded vigorously, understanding immediately due to their strikingly similar appearances.
He swallowed hard, nervously eyeing the crimson Tang sword still resting on his neck.
Ning Yu didn't quite know how to respond, as her memories were still very chaotic and hadn't changed much.
She could only occasionally recall fragmented memories in her dreams, where her sister seemed to be named Ning Xuan.
She had heard her parents calling out 'Ning Xuan' in her dreams.
Shen Yiyue was also quite surprised upon hearing this. She had never heard Ning Yu mention her family background before and had no idea she had a twin sister.
Curiously, she leaned in to look at the photo in Ning Yu's pocket watch.
The two little girls in the photo were both smiling brightly, their faces full of happiness.
It must have been a very happy family, Shen Yiyue thought.
Ning Yu nodded and admitted,
"Yes, that's right."
With the sword still at Teacher Zhang's neck, Ning Yu changed the subject:
"We mean no harm, we're just here to take shelter."
Upon hearing this, Teacher Zhang immediately let go, throwing the bat he was holding onto the ground to signify peace.
The silver-haired little girl also gently moved the crimson blade away from the man's neck.
Seeing the sword finally removed, the man let out a sigh of relief, glancing at the still slightly ajar back door of the gymnasium, saying:
"First... come in?"
Shen Yiyue understood and stepped fully inside, closing the door behind her.
Now, instead of finding her own sister, she had unexpectedly discovered the whereabouts of Ning Yu's twin sister.
Seeing the door closed, Teacher Zhang began to speak as he walked:
"I'm a math teacher at Tianshen Elementary School, my surname is Zhang."
"On the day of the disaster, I happened to be in the gymnasium, as I had no classes and was playing badminton with another teacher."
"The sixth graders were having gym class at the time, so those who luckily didn't turn into zombies, along with us, all took refuge here."
"Your sister arrived two weeks ago, just passing by Tianshen Elementary School. She came with several bodyguards, asking if we had seen you."
"But we hadn't seen you at all, so the next day, a special helicopter came to take her away."
Teacher Zhang's eyes revealed a hint of envy, clearly hoping the helicopter would rescue them too, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
Ning Yu fell into deep thought upon hearing this. Looking for her? With bodyguards? A helicopter?
Her background sounded quite extraordinary.
This was a troublesome matter.
With so many things still unclear in her memory, if she really met her relatives, she would immediately be exposed.
Not meeting them might actually be a good thing.
"Do you know where she went?"
Ning Yu asked.
Teacher Zhang shook his head:
"No idea. With those bodyguards around, we couldn't get close, let alone communicate. She only asked us questions."
Ning Yu stopped inquiring further about Ning Xuan and asked about other matters:
"How are things going for you now?"
At the same time, she signaled Shen Yiyue, knowing she was about to burst with impatience, wanting to ask about her sister's whereabouts.
This was the original purpose of their visit.
Teacher Zhang was taken aback, then sighed:
"Not good... food is extremely scarce, the remaining students are basically starving, and two who were not in good health have already died."
Upon hearing "died," Shen Yiyue's face turned pale with anxiety. She urgently asked:
"Teacher, do you know Shen Qianqian from Class 2, Grade 6?"
Teacher Zhang paused, showing a pensive expression, then shook his head:
"I don't know her. The other teacher taught Chinese for Class 2, Grade 6, and she definitely knew her, but unfortunately, she's already dead..."
"You two... are both here looking for your sisters?"
He looked at Shen Yiyue, realizing she too seemed to be searching for someone.
These two girls, traveling together, venturing into such a dangerous place to find their sisters?
He didn't know Ning Yu's twin sister's whereabouts, only discovering it by chance.
"However, on the second day of the disaster, the gym teacher drove the school bus and took a group of sixth-grade students to break out."
"He said he would come back for the second batch once they reached a safe place, but he never returned."
"So, if she's not among them..."
Teacher Zhang pointed to the activity room at the end of the corridor.
"Then she's likely on that school bus, breaking out with the gym teacher."
He paused, then brought up another matter:
"There's a terrifying monster on the roof of the cafeteria, it appears from time to time. You need to be careful."
His face showed fear, clearly having seen the mutated zombie butcher.
"The female teacher and I went out to look for food together, but that monster killed her from the roof with a hook, in a very brutal manner."
"Now, I'm the only one going out to find food, but the school is getting more dangerous, and there's less and less left..."
"I don't know how long we can last..."
Teacher Zhang's expression showed fatigue and unease, his face full of weariness.
"Did you encounter that monster when you came here?"
Teacher Zhang subconsciously looked at the silver-haired little girl, whose terrifying skills were completely at odds with her cute appearance.
She had just lied to him to get him to open the door, showing very cunning tactics.
He hadn't even opened the door for a second before she had him subdued, his movements too slow to see.
Ning Yu merely nodded slightly but didn't say anything further.
They had just reached the activity room.
The place was quite spacious, with sports equipment and balls all stored to the side.
A dozen elementary school students sat in the corner on some gym mats.
All of them were sallow and emaciated, their expressions listless, clearly having been hungry for quite some time.
Seeing new people arrive, their little eyes looked at Shen Yiyue and Ning Yu with hopeful gazes.
Shen Yiyue also looked at them with the same hopeful gaze, scanning the room.
She didn't see Shen Qianqian's figure.
Her face showed disappointment, as her sister's fate remained uncertain.
Ning Yu quietly handed her a small snack, saying:
"Go ask, maybe there's a student who knows your sister."
Seeing Ning Yu take the initiative to offer food, Shen Yiyue understood her intention and quickly stepped forward, showing the snack in her hand and asking:
"Is there anyone from Class 2, Grade 6? Has anyone seen Shen Qianqian?"
The hungry students, seeing food, all lit up with hope, unable to hide their eager expressions.
One little girl raised her hand, as if answering a question in class, and said:
"Sister, I've seen her! I'm Qianqian's desk mate!"