Chapter 2

Chapter 2

At dawn on the second day, excluding today, there were 13 days left until the apocalypse.

Xia Yang and I headed out early in the morning.

The security guard at the gate didn’t even spare us a glance, remaining slumped over his desk asleep.

My brother and I shared a look and split up to take action.

I went to the appliance center first to buy two large chest freezers and had them delivered to the house. The old freezer we had at home was far too small and wouldn’t be nearly enough.

Next, I went to pick up the meat I had ordered yesterday.

I bought nearly a hundred pounds each of fresh chicken, pork, mutton, and beef. As for smoked and cured meats, I bought over three hundred pounds in one go. My movements over these two days were quite significant. Fearing that transporting a massive truckload back all at once would draw too much attention, I spoke with the owner and arranged to transport it myself in multiple trips.

The wholesale market was in a relatively remote location. By the time I got home, the freezers had already been installed. I hurried to pack all the meat, fruits, and vegetables inside.

After a busy morning, the three freezers and the refrigerator were packed to the brim, and there was even some left over that wouldn’t fit.

My mother didn’t understand why I was buying so much. “This is enough to last us for years, isn’t it?”

This was only the beginning. I pulled her aside and comforted her, emphasizing that she must stay home and not let anyone know we were hoarding supplies.

I don’t know what she imagined, but her expression became very solemn as she promised she wouldn’t let anyone find out.

A short while later, Xia Yang returned. The kid certainly didn’t disappoint. He had bought twenty knives of various sizes, along with plenty of self-defense items for women. He also got privacy window film, heavy blackout curtains, two drones, dozens of pinhole cameras, and three pairs of binoculars-one of which had night vision. In addition to all that, he had some electrical wiring.

I nervously asked if anyone had seen him. After all, it was already noon, the time when many people would be heading home from work.

Xia Yang said he only ran into two or three people, but he had pretended to be a renovation worker and even made a show of asking them for directions. They shouldn’t suspect anything.

Since the household goods I ordered were due to arrive in the afternoon, we temporarily abandoned our plans to go out. We would focus on moving the supplies up to the 19th floor bit by bit first.

Even after moving the items up, I still felt uneasy. “This isn’t enough. There are still the fire stairs and the elevator. Both zombies and people can get up here.”

I made a note to buy door jammers, chains, and heavy-duty locks. Xia Yang leaned over to take a look, sinking into silent thought.

By 4:00 PM, taking advantage of the time when everyone was at work or school, we hurried to apply the privacy film and change the curtains.

Xia Yang also installed the pinhole cameras near the windows-one for each of the four cardinal directions. They had night vision, making it easy for us to monitor the situation outside the residential complex.

He went out again and installed solar-powered surveillance cameras in the stairwell from the 5th floor all the way up to our 24th floor.

“Why install so many? And there are quite a few people living below the 15th floor.”

Xia Yang curled his lip. “I know that. I even know both units on the 15th floor are occupied. But it’s precisely because people are there that we need surveillance. That way, if anything happens on their end, we’ll know and can prepare in advance.”

“Even though the internet will cut out sooner or later, if something unexpected happens before then, we’ll have a heads-up.”

This proved to be true, and it did indeed come in handy later.

But his words also gave me an idea. A bit later, once he finished his tasks, Xia Yang started live-streaming games. Fortunately, he didn’t show his face, so I didn’t mind. Taking advantage of the fact that it wasn’t dark yet, I quickly disguised myself and slipped out of the complex.

There were other major purchases to make later, but for now, I wanted to buy some small items.

On this trip, I brought back floor mats, Spring Festival couplets, and various types of shoes.

Xia Yang didn’t understand, so I told him that in a few days, I would find an opportunity to place them in front of some empty apartments downstairs. It would create the illusion that those units were occupied, providing us with cover.

By the end of the day, we had stored our meat and set up our decoys. We went to bed early to rest and recharge for tomorrow’s activities.

The third day, 12 days until the apocalypse.

Since we already had enough staple foods and still had time, Xia Yang and I decided we could make several trips to a large supermarket to buy other foods and snacks.

Additionally, my mother and I sorted through the supplies we had bought, clearing out useless, space-consuming cardboard boxes and trash.

After bringing up the large bags of snacks we bought, we timed it so we could make a show of carrying empty boxes back down to the car and driving away.

As we were carrying the boxes out, we did indeed run into a few neighbors. Through our actions, we created the false impression that we were moving out.

The combined strength of two young people was truly not to be underestimated. At the large integrated supermarket closest to our complex, we nearly cleared out most of the food section and the snack aisles. We changed our outfits several times in between. During our largest haul, Xia Yang even specifically bought some party toys. While checking out, he chatted incessantly with me about how to throw a birthday party, even earning an early “Happy Birthday” from the cashier.

Xia Yang actually got a bit embarrassed, which led him to drop a hint to the cashier that the pandemic was getting serious and it would be best to stock up on some food at home.

Once home, we stored away the dried fruits and vegetables, canned goods, and compressed biscuits for emergencies. We left the other items that were harder to preserve out to be eaten first.

Our three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment was now more than half-filled with supplies. However, I felt there was still room to keep filling.

But it was getting late, so we had to leave the rest for tomorrow.

Seeing how hard we had worked all day, my mother stewed a large pot of old hen soup for us.

As we ate, I suddenly remembered that no matter how much meat we had, it would eventually run out. We still needed a way to replenish it. It would be best to raise some egg-laying chickens or ducks.

I shared the idea with Xia Yang and my mother. My mother froze for a moment and asked, “Can we raise chickens at home? Think of the smell.”

Xia Yang thought for a bit and suddenly asked, “What about those small pet chickens and ducks?”

My eyes lit up. I immediately searched for pet chickens and ducks that could lay eggs.

Button quail and Call ducks!

Both were quite quiet and suitable for indoor raising!

This way, even in the apocalypse, we could have fresh eggs!

11 days until the apocalypse.

We rushed to a pet breeding base and bought a dozen button quail chicks and one ugly-looking, discounted Call duckling. We also bought plenty of feed and carved out a living space for them at home.

As the time drew closer, I actually began to feel a sense of panic.

I went through our supplies once more and ordered several more boxes of snacks and daily necessities online.

Considering the upcoming temperature shifts and fearing the air conditioning might eventually fail, I bought down jackets, fleece blankets, and cloaks, as well as thermal sleeping bags. After some thought, I added six heavy military greatcoats to the list.

Seeing that I still had enough money left, I also purchased silent electric fans, electric blankets, and rechargeable hot water bottles.

When Xia Yang saw my shopping list, he immediately rushed with me to the wholesale market. The three of us bought hundreds of pieces of various clothing, from underwear to outerwear, directly at wholesale prices.

Our home grew even more cramped, but for us, as long as there was enough space to sleep, it was enough.

It was still hot now, but in a few days, the weather would turn cold. If there was no heating and we couldn’t use the AC, I didn’t know how we would manage.

While planning, I suddenly remembered something vital. I had actually forgotten to buy medicine!

I was just about to tell Xia Yang when my mother suddenly grabbed my hand. She asked me what was really going on and why we were buying so many things.

Seeing the extent of my hoarding, the excuses I had used before were no longer believable to her.

It had to be said eventually, so my brother and I told her the whole truth.

Upon hearing about our experiences before our rebirth, Mother couldn’t stop crying. She might not have fully grasped the concept of zombies, but the fact that both of her children had been murdered by others in the apocalypse was enough to drain her eyes dry.

We held her and comforted her. We had made so many preparations; this time, we would surely live peacefully until the end of the world!

Mother wiped away her tears and asked what she could do to help. After thinking it over, I decided it was best for her to stay home to organize our supplies and throw out any space-consuming trash.

She agreed immediately.

When the next day arrived, there were only 10 days left until the apocalypse.

We bought as much medicine as possible. Beyond that, we continued our shopping sprees at various supermarkets, stockpiling food and water in large quantities.

Over the next few days, we never stopped our purchasing runs. However, we were very careful to avoid the neighbors. The items we ordered online were also quickly moved into the house.

In addition to food, we bought many books. We also got electronic devices, USB flash drives, and mobile hard drives. We downloaded every highly-rated TV series, movie, and variety show we could find to ensure we wouldn’t get bored while holed up at home.

Dealing with waste would also be an issue during the apocalypse, so we bought a large amount of cat litter to use.

By the time there were only three days left, the space in our home had become extremely limited. Only half a bedroom was left for us to live in.

The supply room had only a few narrow aisles for us to walk through. The living room was relatively less cluttered because we needed to monitor the situation in the neighborhood from there, and the treadmill generator was also kept there.

Fortunately, our building was on the very edge of the complex. This meant we only needed to monitor the two buildings to the south and west, as well as the direction of the neighborhood center.

During this time, I also tried posting anonymously online. I made up stories about being trapped at home due to pandemic lockdowns, hinting that people should stock up on supplies.

Xia Yang had also been hinting during his livestreams to stock up more, using the excuse of being prepared for pandemic restrictions.

We had no way of knowing how many people we actually helped.

On this day, we finally stopped our shopping runs.

The family went out to eat our fill of hot pot. In the evening, we also ordered a large portion of barbecue, fried chicken, and cola to take home. We dodged people the whole way back, and Mother laughed, saying it felt like we were secret agents.

Back home, I checked the news on my phone again. I found a post mentioning a biting incident, but the post simply attributed it to rabies. There was no follow-up after that.

I could already smell the scent of danger.

We didn’t plan on going out for the final two days.

The small items I had bought came in handy. We set up decoys at the entrances of the 17th, 19th, and 22nd floors, as well as the unit across from ours. On some, we pasted Spring Festival couplets; at others, we placed shoes and mats. We wiped their doors clean to make it look like people were living there.

Conversely, we removed the mat from our own front door and sprinkled fine dust on the door and the floor. We made our home look as if no one lived there at all.

Additionally, to seal off the emergency stairwell, we locked everything from the 16th floor all the way to the top. Every floor had iron chains and several large padlocks securing the doors. We even sealed off the rooftop. Every door was fitted with at least two door stoppers.

Xia Yang also produced a bunch of copper bells from somewhere and tied them all to the chains.

The wind wouldn’t move them; they would only jingle if someone tried to force the doors open.

If someone wanted to break through all those levels, they would have to survive long enough to do so.

Originally, Xia Yang wanted to start locking from the 1st floor. However, considering the neighbors downstairs might not have food, if we locked them in, they wouldn’t have a chance to go out and find any. My last shred of kindness prevented me from doing that.

Instead, we left some chains, padlocks, and matching keys behind each emergency door. If they discovered them and needed them, they could use them to lock the doors themselves.

Because of this, even with the extra spares we had bought, we still had quite a few chains, locks, and door stoppers left over. After thinking it over, Xia Yang put them in a backpack and went out early the next morning.

I was a bit nervous because tomorrow was the day the zombie outbreak would begin.

Since it spread like a virus, I was afraid it might reach us early.

Fortunately, my brother returned safely. He said he had bought a few more locks and then disguised himself to sneak into other buildings in the complex. He locked several doors and left the rest behind the doors, just as we had done in our building.

On one hand, this would increase the survival rate of the people in the neighborhood. On the other, it served as a distraction.

“But I didn’t leave anything for the people in the opposite building who killed you, Sis,” Xia Yang said. “For bastards like that, the sooner they’re gone, the safer we are.”

Mother nodded in agreement beside him.

“Don’t worry. We’ve prepared for so long this time. Later tonight, we’ll disable the elevator. No one will find us this time.”

Our family huddled together, quietly waiting for tomorrow’s nightmare to descend.