The Reborn Otaku’s Code of Practice for the Apocalypse – CH128

Chapter 128 — The Toilet

“Ow!”

“What’s that?” Wang Duo tripped over something he couldn’t see. Han Li shone a flashlight down, and everyone instinctively stepped back in shock—

A corpse.

Honestly, dead bodies weren’t that scary anymore. They had killed countless zombies and dealt with countless corpses. But…

“It was killed while still human,” Luo Xun checked briefly. “Less than a month dead. The body hasn’t decomposed much.” He dusted off his hands and pointed to another path. “Looks like internal conflict, not zombies. Let’s go.”

Everyone felt a chill run through them. Taking a deep breath, they quickly detoured around the body. Carrying the two sample toilets together, they continued toward the warehouse.

Moments like this made it even clearer—going out with trustworthy teammates was crucial. If they had randomly teamed up with strangers, they might end up like that corpse. At that point, it would be better to just stay in the base and work.

—

They had been to this warehouse area once before, but hadn’t found toilets then. So this time, they skipped the previously searched sections and explored new ones.

But as soon as they entered, they couldn’t help sighing again—

“Many hands make light work…”

Every single warehouse door had already been opened.

Anything useful—floor tiles, wooden boards—had long been cleared out. Only less-desired items, like the toilets they were looking for, were still left.

“Search carefully! Find the ones we need—and they must be intact!”

There were indeed many toilets in storage. But the problem was—

All the packaging was gone.

And of course it was. What were toilets packaged in? Cardboard boxes and foam. Foam aside, cardboard boxes were valuable—they could be burned for fuel. So anyone who came here would definitely take the boxes.

And would they treat the toilets gently while doing so?

Not at all.

The result—

Broken toilets everywhere. Scattered, toppled, shattered.

Still, among the wreckage, there were a few intact “naked” toilets left.

Everyone quickly got to work sorting through them:

Broken—discard.
Chipped—discard.
Cracked—set aside for now.

After checking everything, they came to a rather alarming conclusion—

“There’s none with automatic flushing?”

“What’s going on?”

Just as everyone was confused, Yan Fei pointed to a pile in the corner.

“Those… should be what you’re looking for. Smart toilet lids.”

“Lids?”

“Lids?!”

“Not the whole toilet?”

They pulled them out—also stripped of packaging, half-buried in foam—and realized there were two types, matching the models of the toilets they had seen earlier.

“…So that’s it. Just install the lid, connect water and electricity, and it works.”

A group of complete amateurs stood there, staring solemnly at the pile of smart toilet lids.

After a long pause, Luo Xun finally came back to his senses and waved his hand decisively: “Take them all!” What if they break after some use? Better have spares at home.

After counting everything, including the two lids they had removed earlier from the showroom toilets, they had collected a total of twenty-two smart toilet lids.

With so many options, the decision was simple—take everything first. If they couldn’t find anything else this trip, then these lids—with adjustable water flow, temperature, angle, full spray coverage, and drying function—would be their only loot.

“Brother Luo! Brother Yan! Glass—there’s glass here!” Han Li suddenly shouted excitedly from a corner.

Today was truly a lucky day.

When everyone saw the stack of pale green cut glass panels hidden under debris—glass that could even be used for aquariums—they all had the same thought.

Although these weren’t double-layered or insulated, and had no special treatment, in this world, having usable glass was already a blessing.

They didn’t lack glass for now, but given how things were going in the base, it was wise to stock up. If something broke later, buying replacements would cost a fortune. Since purchased glass would never perfectly fit anyway, why not just take free ones now?

So, full of joy, they loaded all the glass and toilet lids onto the vehicles. Even the cracked pieces near the edge were taken along.

While hauling everything, they casually dealt with zombies attracted by the smell of human flesh. Luo Xun had Zhang Su, Xu Mei, and little Xinran stay on guard duty instead of helping with transport. With the three of them working together, their combat power was terrifying—perfect for protecting the others.

After loading everything, they made another round, picking up silicone, small bags of cement, and other overlooked materials.

Even in a city already picked clean near the base, they still managed to gain quite a lot, which greatly boosted everyone’s mood.

Like other teams, they were “welcomed” by zombies during the process. But thanks to their strong teammates and the fact that their targets weren’t common high-demand items, they finished quickly. On the way back to the cars, they casually killed another twenty to thirty zombies and collected their cores.

Then came the next question—

What now?

“Before coming out, we accepted a mission to collect crystal cores. At least 200 level-one cores—we should meet that, more is better,” Luo Xun said, looking around at everyone. They were gathered between the three vehicles, with Yan Fei’s metal plates forming a temporary defensive barrier around them.

Suggestions started flying:

“How about finding a building and luring them in?”

“Won’t we attract too many? This area has lots of traffic—traps might not work well.”

“It should be fine. Just clear nearby zombies, and once we hit the target, we leave.”

After some discussion, Luo Xun made the call: “Find a corner building, at least second floor. Yan Fei seals all doors and windows on the first floor. Use blood bait to test the situation. Once we get enough kills, we head back.”

Meanwhile, the sound of passing vehicles and occasional ability bursts echoed from nearby roads. Clearly, this wasn’t a good place for quiet farming.

In the apocalypse, the wider the road used to be, the more likely it was now heavily trafficked. Smaller streets and alleys, often blocked, were better.

After checking the map, they chose a less noticeable route and drove over.

Sure enough, halfway there, several overturned buses blocked the road. Fortunately, most of the buses were metal—Yan Fei simply moved them aside.

The street led into a residential area. Shops lined both sides, though everything had already been looted countless times.

They picked a building at a corner and climbed to the second floor using a metal ladder.

Inside, they found a level-one zombie.

It seemed to have been trapped there since the beginning of the apocalypse. In the room lay a heavily gnawed, long-rotted arm—likely belonging to its former family member.

They killed it quickly. Yan Fei sealed the door completely with metal—no shortage of materials here.

Their metal car was parked a short distance away with the others to avoid collateral damage.

“Place it in the street, then open it,” Luo Xun said.

Below, a few wandering zombies gathered, slapping against the metal barricade.

Taking the metal container of blood from Luo Xun, Yan Fei sent it floating to the center of the intersection.

The moment it opened, nearby zombies went wild—like wolves smelling meat. They rushed toward it, howling excitedly.

But just before they reached it, Yan Fei lifted the container into the air—like a carrot dangling in front of a donkey. They could smell it but not reach it, crowding together helplessly.

More roars echoed. Zombies from buildings and nearby streets began rushing over.

“Most of them are level-one… why is that?” someone wondered.

After a moment, everyone reached a similar conclusion—

“In places where zombies died or were injured in large numbers, higher-level zombies might appear more easily.”

The southern ruins had been heavily bombarded—countless zombies had died or been injured there. Maybe mass slaughter actually accelerated evolution?

“So if we want higher-level cores, we should go south. If we’re collecting supplies, come north?” Li Tie suggested.

Luo Xun nodded thoughtfully. “Just a guess for now, but we can test it later.”

Most of the level-three zombies—and even mutated beasts—they had encountered were from the ruins. The theory wasn’t far-fetched.

Due to buildings, debris, and strange wind patterns, Yan Fei couldn’t lure too many zombies. Many were blocked inside the residential area.

They ignored those and focused on what they could see.

With their experience, dealing with hundreds of zombies wasn’t difficult. Luo Xun led Li Tie’s group to target level-two and above zombies—after all that effort, only two level-three zombies had been lured.

Meanwhile, Zhang Su, Xu Mei, and Xinran worked together to clear the rest.

After a thunderous round of ability blasts, the group split into two teams. One continued clearing the zombies trapped inside the residential area and those blocked behind the streets, while the other began digging out crystal cores and collecting what they needed.

The battle ended quickly. After a brief count, even before dusk had fallen, they had already wiped out all the zombies drawn by the blood scent. The rewards matched their efforts—over six hundred crystal cores, including fewer than a hundred level-two cores and two level-three cores.

“Let’s go. Head home,” Luo Xun decided after checking the time. Spending the night inside a fallen city was far more dangerous than staying out in the open.

“Alright! Home!” everyone cheered. Even if the core yield wasn’t amazing, they had already secured what they wanted most—and even got glass as a bonus. That was more than enough.

They climbed back into their vehicles and happily drove toward the base.

But perhaps the day had gone too smoothly—because on the way back, something big happened.

A deafening explosion suddenly erupted from a tall building by the roadside. Then, unbelievably, the entire structure began to tilt—and collapse toward the road!

“My god!”

“The building’s falling!!”

Before anyone could react, Yan Fei instantly reshaped the solid metal truck beside them into a massive semicircular shield, covering all three vehicles. Luo Xun grabbed the radio: “Follow me! Don’t stop!”

A series of deafening crashes filled the air. Thick dust engulfed everything. The falling building slammed repeatedly against the metal shield, producing thunderous impacts. The shield warped under the pressure but held firm, while the vehicles beneath it shook violently.

Luo Xun, tense, drove while stuffing crystal cores into Yan Fei’s hand to replenish his energy. Grabbing the radio again, he shouted, “Xinran—turn the falling debris into sand! Clear the road! Zhang Su—blow away the smoke!”

A powerful gust of wind erupted from the last vehicle, dispersing the dust. Xinran raised her hands, desperately turning incoming chunks of rubble into sand. With Song Lingling guiding her, she focused on clearing the path ahead.

The ground trembled violently, cracks forming under the impact of falling debris. At last, they managed to push through—

“Ahhh! Brother Luo—the glass! Our glass!!”

Hearing the wail over the radio, Luo Xun’s scalp went numb. He quickly had the people in the back check.

Fortunately, before leaving the base, they had prepared for fragile cargo—originally expecting to haul ceramic toilets. They had packed sponge and cloth for cushioning.

Now that preparation paid off.

After inspection, only the top and bottom layers of glass had shattered. The ones in the middle survived.

“What… what was that just now?” Xu Mei’s shaken voice came through the radio.

“No idea. Drive straight back to the base!” Luo Xun ordered decisively, accelerating.

Whether it was caused by humans, zombies, or structural failure—they had zero intention of going back to check.

With night falling, who knew what might appear? And such a huge disturbance would surely attract zombies. The sooner they got back, the safer they’d be.

They drove in silence, headlights cutting through the darkness. Suddenly, He Qiankun spoke up nervously, “Brother Luo… Brother Yan… I feel like there’s something in the shadows along the road.”

Luo Xun couldn’t spare attention—he had to focus on driving.

Yan Fei, slightly pale from the earlier impact transmitted through his ability, observed carefully before saying, “Zombies. But they’re not coming for us—they’re all heading toward where the collapse happened. Some look small… maybe zombie animals.”

Luo Xun clicked his tongue. “See? Big noise always brings trouble. Just like that duck last time…” Then he glanced worriedly at Yan Fei. “Rest for a bit. We’ll go to the hospital after we get back.”

Yan Fei shook his head. “It’s fine. Feels like I got hit in the chest. Let Zhang Su take a look later.”

He realized the sensation was similar to when he had been ambushed before—except this time, the impact came through the metal he controlled. That collapse likely wasn’t purely natural—it seemed to carry some kind of ability.

Back at the base, after registering, inspection, and submitting mission items, they returned home.

And it turned out—Zhang Su’s “medical expertise” was… oddly applicable.

After listening and casually pressing Yan Fei’s chest a few times, he waved it off. “No coughing blood? Then it’s fine. Probably just shock. Organs should still be intact, bones not broken. If you’re worried, go get a scan tomorrow.”

Such an irresponsible diagnosis made Luo Xun roll his eyes—but since Yan Fei really seemed fine, he let it go.

Only then did everyone finally relax—and move on to dividing the loot.

Luo Xun pointed at the pile. “Glass goes into team storage for now. Use it when needed. Toilet lids are distributed based on how many toilets each room has—take what you need. The rest are backups.”

“Yesss!!” everyone howled like wolves, waking half the building.

Unlike Luo Xun’s household, which still had good-quality toilet paper from before the apocalypse, the others had arrived at the base empty-handed. They had only ever used the rough, recycled paper from the base—and later even experienced its “locally produced” version.

So these toilet lids were practically lifesavers.

Everyone rushed to grab one. Luo Xun and Yan Fei took two—after all, they had two bathrooms.

Even then, seventeen were left over.

So, like true tycoons, they decided—tomorrow, they’d install them in every bathroom across all rooms. No more waiting in line for the toilet—just use another room.

By the time everyone carried their loot home, it was already past 2 a.m.

Once again, they felt lucky they had rushed back that night. If they had returned the next day, even if they avoided the collapse, they would still have had to clear the debris—and by then, that area would likely be swarming with zombies drawn by the commotion. Getting out would have been far harder.

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