Chapter 2 – The Best Shelter in the Apocalypse
The agent hurriedly got up and led Luo Xun outside. As soon as they stepped out, he pointed at several high-rises not far away.
“Hongjing Complex, a new development in the southwest district. The whole project isn’t finished yet. Part of it is resettlement housing for former inner-city residents, the rest are commercial apartments. The one you’re interested in is a prime corner unit, quiet, good view, not facing the road, and newly renovated. Don’t be fooled by how empty it looks now—this area is destined to become a commercial hub. See that low building over there? That’s being built to be a large supermarket…”
Luo Xun just smiled and nodded silently. He knew all too well: in the end, only two more towers would be completed, and that so-called supermarket would remain a forever-unfinished rumor. But this location would indeed become a golden, thriving area in the future.
That was because the place was very close to a military division, and another artillery regiment wasn’t far either—both right here in the southwest district.
Later, when the apocalypse arrived and zombies broke out, A City established two bases. One was the Southwest Base, secured quickly under the protection of these military units. The other was the Eastern Base.
Back then, after M City fell, Luo Xun fled north and ended up at the Southwest Base. The Eastern Base, however, was destroyed by zombies and mutant beasts in the second year after the catastrophe, not long after he himself arrived in A City.
Walking into the Hongjing complex with the agent, Luo Xun looked nostalgically toward the ground floor of Building No. 3. The basement in the east corner of that building had been his refuge when he first stumbled into A City, the place he called “home” for more than eight years.
But this time, with better options, there was no way he would go back to that basement. Besides, right now, such basements were only rented out to shopkeepers for storage.
The brand-new corridor walls were already scribbled on by markers and plastered with ads—“renovation,” “AC installation,” “water delivery.” Even the elevator doors weren’t spared.
Inside the elevator, it was the same: writings and stickers everywhere.
Seeing Luo Xun’s curious expression, the agent gave a wry smile. “The property management here hasn’t taken over yet, so no one’s policing this. These people got in early.”
“Now that’s business savvy,” Luo Xun sighed, looking at the familiar-yet-strange “graffiti” of ads. When he had arrived here in his past life, the walls had long been filthy—stained with zombie pus and brains, spattered with human blood. You couldn’t even tell there’d once been small ads.
The elevator stopped at the 16th floor. The agent opened the door with a key. Yes—this was the place.
“First floor has the living room, balcony, kitchen, bathroom, and storage. The second floor has two bedrooms—one big, one small—a terrace, another bathroom, and a shower.” The agent guided him in while explaining.
“It’s finely decorated, even the security door was replaced. The owners originally planned to live here themselves, but I think their work got relocated—too far from the southwest district—so they’re renting instead. That’s why they haven’t installed any appliances…”
Luo Xun nodded faintly. He knew better. This unit had been meant for an elderly family member to live in, but the person had passed away soon after the renovation, before they could even add appliances. The family left the unit empty after that.
The agent probably didn’t want to say it outright, worried it would put him off.
The huge glass windows flooded the place with warm sunlight. Luo Xun was even more satisfied. He went upstairs, didn’t bother inspecting the empty bedrooms, and headed straight to the terrace. Just as he remembered, it had been sealed with glass—for safety, and also because the wind was too strong on the top floor.
What impressed him most was that they had used tempered glass throughout. Just for that, 3,500 yuan a month was absolutely worth it—even in the outskirts of A City.
“Alright, the place is good.”
“So, you’re saying…?”
“I’ll rent. When can the landlord come to sign?”
The agent beamed and immediately called the landlord.
3,500 yuan a month, with one month’s rent as deposit, three months upfront, plus another 3,500 as agency fee.
On the morning of October 1st, the contract was signed, and Luo Xun finally held the keys to the home of his dreams.
Standing in the empty rooms, he felt excitement like never before.
This was a unit he had once envied in his past life. When he first came to the Southwest Base, the base had already begun spreading techniques for small-scale home farming and simple water purification.
Later, exploration teams brought back seeds of mutant crops from farmland near A City. Researchers identified those with high yields, short growth cycles, and good nutrition, and they were soon popularized.
But back then, all Luo Xun had was a basement barely ten square meters, its tiny slit of a window almost always blocked by surrounding buildings, leaving it in permanent shadow. Unlike early arrivals who had a patch of rooftop space to set up solar panels, he had to buy electricity at outrageous prices from others.
Even so, he managed to grow shade-tolerant foods—bean sprouts, chives, garlic shoots, and high-yield mutant crops—saving up a decent amount of resources in the process.
He had always been clever and handy. Even in poor conditions, he found ways to survive. And now that he’d been reborn? Even more so.
The Hongjing complex had eight towers in its first phase—some were resettlement housing, the rest for sale. His current rental had only been finished less than a month ago.
When the apocalypse struck, only four more towers were built, two with just the frames completed. The last two weren’t even fitted with doors or windows until long after, when the military took over the area as a safety zone.
In his past life, this exact duplex had been rented by a family of three about half a month before the apocalypse. Because it was unfurnished, no appliances, it sat vacant for a long time—most workers wanted ready-to-move-in places.
The later tenants he knew: a woman surnamed Wu and her family. They had prime orientation and covered their whole outer wall with solar panels, selling electricity at sky-high prices. She was aggressive and stingy—once even swapped his brand-new battery for an old one. He had nearly fought them over it but had to back down, outnumbered by her burly husband and son.
That family thrived during the apocalypse just by selling power, never leaving the safety zone, not even sending their son out once.
As for the real landlord—Luo Xun doubted they had survived the disaster. Even if they had, the base’s later rules wouldn’t have let them reclaim the unit.
Luo Xun was no saint. He had been an ordinary bottom-level worker in his last life, and in this one he had no grand ambitions either.
Now, he had what he needed: a home, a fortress, a sanctuary where he could live better than before and endure the long, terrifying years to come.
Countdown: 57 days left until the apocalypse.
*
Author’s Note:
Ahem, the inspiration for this story came from the thought—must ordinary people without powers be doomed in the apocalypse? Must those without magical space abilities starve to death? Even if your husband has powers, isn’t he still living off the food grown and cooked by us “ordinary” folks?!
Never forget: our people are incredibly resourceful! Back in the Age of Exploration, scurvy was a massive threat to European sailors—caused by vitamin deficiency. But when Zheng He’s fleet sailed the oceans, they never faced this issue. Why? Because our people were farming experts! They carried beans on board, sprouted them when vegetables ran low, and voilà—fresh vitamins. If the seas stayed calm, the sprouts grew into full vegetables. With a bit of soil, they could even plant grains and harvest food mid-voyage!
In short—these little thoughts came together, and that’s how this story was born.
