Daily Life of Being Turned Gay by the Male Lead After Transmigrating into an Apocalypse – CH83

Chapter 83: No Key

Wang Qiang scratched his head, looking over at Li Yu with a helpless sigh. “There’s no key… What do we do now? Do we really have to smash our way in?”

He took a deep breath, pushing down the surge of grief and anxiety in his chest, and forced a faint smile. “Alright, don’t worry about me—I’ll keep it together. Let’s just figure out if this car actually works first.”

The two stepped closer to the SUV. Wang Qiang gave the handle another hard tug, but the door stayed locked tight. “Without a key, we’re stuck. Should we try forcing the lock with brute strength?”

Just as they were debating what to do, the low rumble of an approaching engine echoed from down the road.

Screeech—!

A sleek, pitch-black Land Rover swung around the corner with a stylish drift, pulling up smoothly right beside them.

The driver’s window rolled down, revealing Lin Xiao’s smug, grinning face. “Yo! Qiang! Little Yu! Found yourselves some wheels yet?”

Wang Qiang and Li Yu stared dumbfounded at the imposing vehicle, then up at Lin Xiao leaning casually out the window. It took them several seconds to find their voices.

Swallowing hard, Wang Qiang couldn’t help but curse in awe, “Holy crap! A Land Rover! Brother Lin, your luck is downright ridiculous!”

“Right? Badass, isn’t it?” Lin Xiao chuckled, making no attempt to hide his pride. “Anyway, why are you two standing around looking like statues? Did you pick this one out?”

Li Yu gave a wry sigh, pointing at the locked door. “We’re not just standing here for fun! We ran into a wall—the car is locked tight and there’s no key. We were just wondering if we should smash a window.”

“Step aside, step aside—let a pro handle it!” Lin Xiao pushed his door open and hopped down. Striding over to the SUV, he mimicked his earlier trick, pressing his bare palm flat against the door handle and the lock cylinder.

Channeling his Metal-type Ability, a faint, barely visible shimmer flickered across his fingertips.

With a crisp click, the internal mechanism snapped open.

“Done! Hop in and take her for a spin!” Lin Xiao clapped the dust from his hands, tilting his chin with a triumphant smirk.

Wang Qiang wasted no time. Yanking the door open, he slid behind the wheel and began searching the cabin.

He checked the glove box, pried open the center storage bin, and lifted the floor mats. Finally, in a concealed compartment beneath the driver’s seat, his fingers brushed against a spare key fob.

Grinning with relief, he slotted the key into place and hit the ignition.

The electronics hummed to life, the digital cluster glowing bright as the engine turned over effortlessly, settling into a steady, rhythmic rumble!

“It runs! It actually starts!” Wang Qiang shouted in delight. Glancing down at the instrument panel, his grin grew even wider. “There’s still over a third of a tank left! That’ll get us plenty of mileage!”

Lin Xiao leaned against the open door frame, patting the roof with approval. “Nice! As long as she rolls, we’re golden. The temperature’s climbed, so the gas in the lines shouldn’t be frozen anymore—perfect for hitting the highway.”

Li Yu tilted her head back, shading her eyes against the bright sky. The sun had grown surprisingly intense, bringing a noticeable sheen of sweat to her skin. She frowned with lingering unease. “This weather is just far too erratic…”

“A couple of days ago it was freezing deep below zero, enough to turn your bones to ice,” she muttered. “Today, it has to be close to twenty degrees. A swing like this isn’t normal.”

Sitting in the passenger seat of the Land Rover, Su Mubai nodded in agreement, a shadow of worry crossing his composed face. “She’s right. Extreme, rapid climate shifts are a massive hazard in their own right. Unpredictable weather accelerates mutant flora and fauna, spreads disease… there’s no telling what comes next.”

“Alright, alright, since the car runs, let’s not dwell on things we can’t change,” Lin Xiao broke in, cutting off the heavy conversation. Checking his watch, he urged, “First priority is meeting back up with the Boss. Come on, get in and follow us back the way we came! We don’t want to keep them waiting.”

Before long, the two off-road vehicles rumbled into gear, their exhaust echoing through the empty, desolate streets as they drove back toward the rendezvous point.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Jiang Jue, Chu Yang, and young Little Yu were moving at a much more relaxed pace.

They hadn’t strayed far, instead turning onto a relatively intact commercial boulevard.

Chu Yang had a clear objective in mind. He led the trio straight into a large appliance showroom specializing in refrigerators, deep freezers, and commercial air conditioners.

In the opening weeks of the apocalypse, with power grids collapsing across the country, such large electrical appliances had been rendered practically useless—no better than heaps of scrap metal. As a result, though thick layers of dust blanketed the showroom floor, the display units remained pristine, untouched by looters or passing mobs.

Chu Yang’s eyes gleamed as he surveyed the rows of double-door refrigerators, horizontal chest freezers, and upright cooling units.

Turning to Jiang Jue, he explained, “Brother Jiang, look at how fast the weather is shifting. It’s bound to turn scorching hot soon. I was thinking we should stock up on several heavy-duty freezers and coolers—they’re guaranteed to come in handy later.”

Jiang Jue looked over the appliances and nodded without hesitation. “Good idea. It pays to prepare ahead. We have the portable generator; as long as we secure enough fuel, powering them won’t be an issue.”

He knew Chu Yang had already hoarded a generator and spare fuel, and that the interior of his spatial dimension seemed to keep stored items in a suspended state.

Even so, having dedicated refrigeration equipment would prove invaluable once they established a permanent base or needed to process large quantities of perishable food in the open.

With Jiang Jue on board, Chu Yang eagerly stepped forward, unbothered by the dust.

Walking up to an oversized double-door stainless steel refrigerator, he placed a hand against its cool metal surface. His mental power surged outward, enveloping the massive appliance.

In the next instant, the refrigerator—standing taller than a grown man—vanished into thin air, safely stowed inside his spatial dimension.

Next came a commercial upright freezer, a massive horizontal chest cooler, and a compact portable freezer designed for vehicles. He deliberately selected high-capacity, rugged models built to endure rough conditions, working with swift, practiced efficiency.

Little Yu trailed quietly behind him, his wide eyes brimming with undisguised awe and curiosity.

Jiang Jue stood by the shattered storefront entrance, keeping a sharp, vigilant watch over the street outside.

As he swept each appliance away, Chu Yang used his mental focus to organize the space within his storage, stacking the units neatly against one side to maximize every cubic meter.

After collecting half a dozen heavy chest freezers and several multi-door refrigerators, he finally called a halt. Rubbing his chin as he took mental inventory, he felt satisfied with the haul.

Taking any more would unnecessarily crowd his space, and given their current squad size, this was more than enough.

“Alright, that should do it,” Chu Yang said, clapping the dust from his palms with a bright, satisfied grin. Turning toward the entrance, he smiled at Jiang Jue. “Let’s head back and meet up with Old Lin and the others. I wonder what kind of ride that guy managed to dig up.”

Jiang Jue gave a low hum of agreement. His dark eyes lingered on Chu Yang’s face for a heartbeat, reflecting the youth’s bright, smiling features. Reassured that Chu Yang had fully recovered his energy, Jiang Jue turned and led the way outside.

With Little Yu right on their heels, the trio rounded the street corner and made their way back toward the rendezvous.

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