Chapter 11: Stockpiling
Hearing her words, Chu Yang immediately clutched his chest, putting on a show of dramatic surprise and hurt. “Oh my, what on earth are you talking about—a conscience? Who carries something like that around these days? It’s far too heavy, and it only gets in the way when you need to run!”
He took a step closer, leaned in, and dropped his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “To tell you the truth, the last time I saw a conscience was before the world ended, while watching a nature documentary. A leopard was using it as a pillow. Looked like it found it quite comfortable, too!”
Without waiting for the old woman to respond, Chu Yang rolled his eyes, spun on his heel, and bounded down the stairs, cheerfully humming an off-key tune: “As long as I have no conscience~ nobody can guilt-trip me~”
Behind him, the old woman spat out a flurry of muffled curses, mostly calling him a “little beast” or a “shameless dog.” Still, she kept her voice down, terrified of attracting things that definitely shouldn’t be invited over.
Reaching the building entrance, Chu Yang was pleasantly surprised to see that Jiang Jue hadn’t left without him. Instead, the taller man was standing patiently under the concrete overhang, waiting.
“Brother Jiang, were you waiting for me?” Chu Yang’s eyes lit up, and he hurried over.
The moment he stepped out from beneath the shelter, a bone-chilling gale struck him like a blade. The swirling snow was so fine and dense that it stung against his exposed skin.
Chu Yang opened his mouth to speak, but a sudden violent gust packed with loose snow blasted straight into his face—
“Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!” He whipped his head to the side, frantically spitting out the snow while tucking his chin deep into his collar. “This weather is way too eager! It just served me a mouthful of shaved ice right out the gate!”
He gave a dry chuckle. “Lucky for me, I came prepared.”
Focusing on his spatial storage, he fished out a full set of cold-weather accessories. He deftly pulled a thick black mask over his mouth and nose, snapped a pair of fuzzy, brown bear-ear earmuffs over his head, and slipped his hands into a pair of plush, fleece-lined gloves. The entire routine was smooth and practiced.
“Phew—much better!” Suited up, Chu Yang let out a contented sigh, his tense expression relaxing. “That warmed things up instantly. This gear is a genuine lifesaver in weather like this!”
Glancing sideways, he noticed Jiang Jue’s ears were already bright red from the bitter cold. Without missing a beat, Chu Yang pulled an identical set from his space and held it out. “Here, Brother Jiang, put these on. This weather is vicious. If you get frostbite on your hands, the itching and swelling will drive you crazy.”
Jiang Jue looked at the offered items, his gaze lingering on the fuzzy bear ears for a beat. His fingers twitched, but in the end, he only took the gloves, calmly slipping them onto his hands.
Seeing that he ignored the rest, Chu Yang didn’t hesitate. He rose onto his tiptoes and reached up, personally snapping the bear-ear earmuffs onto Jiang Jue’s head. “Ears are the easiest thing to forget, Brother Jiang—don’t take it lightly!”
As he carefully adjusted the band to ensure the pads covered Jiang Jue’s ears properly, Chu Yang kept up a steady stream of chatter: “When I was little, I hated wearing earmuffs, so my ears ended up cracked and frostbitten. They swelled up like red balloons. At night, lying in bed, the itch and throbbing were so bad I couldn’t sleep a wink. You have no idea how awful that felt.”
Jiang Jue stood entirely still, allowing the younger man to fuss over him without pulling away.
A faint, clean scent from Chu Yang drifted into his senses, mixed with the crisp chill of falling snow.
Jiang Jue lowered his gaze to look at the youth standing so close. Those bright eyes, usually crinkled in easy laughter, were narrowed in quiet concentration. A few delicate snowflakes clung to Chu Yang’s long eyelashes, trembling gently with every blink.
For reasons he couldn’t explain, watching Chu Yang act so earnest left Jiang Jue momentarily dazed. Even the howling wind seemed to fade into the background, leaving only the steady hum of the boy’s voice in his ears.
By the time Jiang Jue collected himself, Chu Yang had finished adjusting the band. Smiling brightly, he took a step back to admire his handiwork. “Now that’s what I call warm! You look surprisingly cute, Brother Jiang~ You’re always so serious, but these bear ears soften your whole look right away!”
Realizing he had lost his composure, Jiang Jue cleared his throat awkwardly and looked away. “Let’s hit the pharmacy first. With weather this extreme, people get sick easily. We need to stockpile medicine.”
“Right, absolutely! Good thinking!” Chu Yang pulled his mask up over his nose and nodded enthusiastically. “Let’s get moving!”
He trotted forward to match Jiang Jue’s long strides, the fuzzy bear ears on his own hood bobbing with every step through the wind and snow.
Watching the lively figure ahead, Jiang Jue unconsciously raised a gloved hand to touch the soft earmuffs, the corners of his mouth lifting in a faint, barely perceptible curve.
The two trudged through the accumulation, every step demanding more effort than usual as the snow crunched beneath their heavy boots.
They made their way down the street until they arrived outside a local pharmacy. The glass storefront was completely shattered, leaving jagged shards scattered across the snowbank by the entrance. Inside was a scene of utter chaos—shelves lay overturned, and discarded packaging and boxes littered the dusty floor.
Jiang Jue scanned the interior carefully. Confirming there was no immediate danger, he gave Chu Yang a nod. “Go in. Make it quick.”
“Got it!” Chu Yang stepped inside first, his eyes sweeping across the messy aisles.
Darting between the fallen displays, he kept a mental checklist running: “Antibiotics, cold medicine, fever reducers, anti-inflammatories… bandages, disinfectants, painkillers, iodine… we need plenty of sterile gauze and cotton pads for wound care, too.”
Once the supplies were neatly swept into his storage space, Chu Yang looked at the growing stockpile in his mind, feeling a solid wave of relief.
Almost immediately, however, his thoughts drifted to Lin Xiao and Su Mubai. He had no idea how they were holding up, whether they had found proper shelter from the storm, or if they had enough food. Ever since they were forced to split up during that desperate chase, there hadn’t been a single trace of them.
He let out a quiet sigh, silently hoping they had been lucky enough to find a safe haven to ride out this sudden freeze.
Seeing Chu Yang staring blankly into the distance with a distracted look, Jiang Jue spoke up to pull him back: “Let’s move.”
The low, steady voice instantly broke his train of thought.
“Ah? Right, on it, Brother Jiang!” Chu Yang shook himself out of the daze, quickly gathering his focus.
He followed Jiang Jue through the snow-buried streets, navigating a series of winding turns. After crossing several blocks, they stopped in front of a sizable hardware store.
“Brother Jiang, why are we stopping here?” Chu Yang looked at the large storefront, feeling somewhat puzzled.
Jiang Jue didn’t answer right away, simply gesturing for him to follow. The lock on the entrance had already been sheared off, leaving the door sitting slightly ajar.
He pushed the door open, the rusty hinges giving a dry screech.
The shop was dim and messy, with knocked-over racks and loose tools scattered across the concrete. Yet Jiang Jue moved with familiar purpose, heading straight toward the far corner.
Tucked away in the back were two brand-new diesel space heaters, sitting beside a neat stack of a dozen sealed fuel drums.
“Brilliant!” Chu Yang’s eyes lit up as he instantly understood the plan. “If we run these at night, we won’t have to worry about freezing in our sleep! This is a total lifesaver!”
He inspected the heaters closely and found they were modern, energy-efficient models. He calculated that a single drum of diesel would easily provide continuous heat for several days.
Chu Yang promptly swept the heaters and fuel into his storage space.
Rummaging through a low cabinet nearby, he uncovered several portable alcohol camping stoves along with two sealed cartons of solid fuel tablets, completely intact.
His eyes brightened even further. Turning back to Jiang Jue, his tone carried an eager, hopeful note. “Brother Jiang, look at these stoves! How about we boil some water and make a couple of bowls of instant noodles to warm up? That watery porridge from this morning wore off ages ago, and walking through this snow has left me starving.”
Jiang Jue looked out at the relentless snowfall and nodded. “All right. Let’s get some hot food in us before we keep searching.” They had indeed eaten a meager breakfast, and fighting the freezing wind had drained a massive amount of energy.
Chu Yang quickly cleared a clean corner of a counter, pulled out a stainless steel kettle, filled it with bottled mineral water, and lit the alcohol burner. A cheerful blue flame sprang to life immediately.
Before long, the kettle began to bubble and steam. Soon, the unmistakable, savory aroma of hot instant noodles mingled with the steam, cutting through the frosty air of the shop.
Chu Yang generously topped each bowl with a braised egg and a savory sausage.
As the piping-hot broth slid down their throats, the lingering numbness in their fingers and toes melted away, leaving them feeling pleasantly warm and relaxed from head to toe.
Rubbing his full belly with satisfaction, Chu Yang suddenly let out another small sigh. “I wonder how Lin Xiao and Little Bai are doing…”
Those two had been the very first people to pull him out of danger when he arrived in this brutal world. Since their separation during the horde attack, he hadn’t heard a single word.
“Something on your mind?” Jiang Jue asked, looking up.
“Oh, it’s nothing.” Chu Yang scratched the back of his neck. “Just thinking about my two buddies who got separated from me earlier. In a world like this, with zero phone service or communication, I just worry…”
He paused, then looked up with sudden hope. “Brother Jiang, when we’re out searching for supplies later, could we keep an eye out for them? They’re really great guys. If we cross paths again, I know you’d get along with them—”
He spoke quickly, his words tinged with the sincere, earnest eagerness of someone who cared deeply about his friends.
Jiang Jue listened quietly, his dark eyes resting on Chu Yang’s face for a long moment, before he gave a low, simple reply: “Mm.”
That single syllable was enough to make Chu Yang break into a broad smile, the lingering gloom instantly vanishing from his face.
Seeing that bright expression, a faint, subtle curve touched the corner of Jiang Jue’s lips as well.
Jiang Jue stood up, stepped behind the counter, and crouched down to sift through the debris until he retrieved an old brass key.
“There’s a storage room in the back.” He weighed the key in his palm and walked toward a reinforced steel door in the corner.
He slotted the key into the lock, giving it a firm turn that produced a heavy clack.
The door swung inward into pitch-black darkness.
Jiang Jue stepped inside first, flashlight in hand.
What lay inside made Chu Yang’s eyes widen all over again—several heavy-duty gasoline generators of various sizes sat lined up in pristine condition, accompanied by multiple sealed barrels of fuel!
“Generators! These are incredible! We can look for a deep freezer next—with electricity, we won’t have to worry about perishable food spoiling!”
Chu Yang quickly checked his mental storage space. Between the medicines, the diesel heaters, the fuel drums, and the huge stash of clothing and food from earlier, the capacity was nearly maxed out.
Right! That old wooden bed frame is still taking up a ton of room! Chu Yang remembered the bulky piece of furniture he had swapped out of Jiang Jue’s bedroom. It was heavy and clumsy, taking up valuable real estate, and he had been itching to toss it aside.
Without hesitation, he turned to Jiang Jue. “Brother Jiang, I’m going to ditch that old bed outside to make room for the generators.”
Without waiting for an answer, he hurried to the front entrance of the shop, focused his mind, and released the heavy wooden frame onto the snow outside.
The bed frame struck the snowbank with a dull thud, sinking deep into the white drifts and sending a cloud of powdery flakes scattering through the air.
Looking at the newly cleared space in his dimension, Chu Yang did some quick mental math: Now there’s plenty of room for the generators, the gasoline, and a bunch of other supplies.
And… He glanced back at Jiang Jue, who was currently inspecting the generators, a sly grin tugging at his lips. Now Brother Jiang has no choice but to share that luxury mattress with me. There’s no way he’d make me sleep on the cold floor now, right?
Back at the apartment, Jiang Jue had already quietly accepted sharing the room. Now, having only one bed left sealed the deal completely!
