Chapter 21 – Supplies and Robbery
Up until now, Yan Fei still didn’t know that, aside from Luo Xun’s home, the entire outside world had already lost power. When Luo Xun had asked the soldiers about the blackout, Yan Fei had been distracted, answering questions about his injured bones, and missed it.
During meals, Yan Fei mainly ate porridge, while Luo Xun polished off most of the flatbread. He had made quite a lot, and turned the leftovers into dense, low-moisture flatbreads that kept longer. In a few days, the base would probably be established. Once people began doing labor outside, he’d carry less food and save the base’s issued currency to trade for things he really needed.
As he planned all this, Luo Xun glanced at Yan Fei, now resting after eating his fill. This guy probably wouldn’t be able to go out for two or three months. That meant Luo Xun had to support him for the time being… The more he thought about it, the more he felt this deal was a loss.
If it weren’t for Yan Fei’s ability to craft weapons—and the fact that Luo Xun could freeload half a house under his name—what was the point of keeping someone who couldn’t pull his weight, who needed to be fed, supported, and waited on at home like some grand lord? Truly, nothing beats being shameless ==.
After dinner, Luo Xun cleaned the dishes, tidied the kitchen, washed up, and crept into the bedroom. He slipped onto the far side of the bed, as far from Yan Fei as possible.
That morning’s incident still left him jittery. Just holding hands had triggered a “more pronounced” reaction than usual. What if, while sleeping, he accidentally rolled over, and some more intimate contact happened? Sigh. Life bending you against your will really was bitter. He couldn’t even comfortably interact physically with his companions anymore.
“…Will the army come again tomorrow?”
“Mm, they say they’ll be distributing food and water.”
Today, the broadcast inside the safe zone finally went live. The military first tried to calm people down, urging residents still trapped nearby to wait patiently. Then they announced several supply distribution points, all set up at intersections in recently cleared neighborhoods.
“Are you going tomorrow? Isn’t it dangerous outside?”
“It’d be a waste not to. I should be able to get enough for the two of us. The zombies nearby should’ve been cleared out already. I heard they’re planning to build walls in a couple of days, and everyone will have to help then. You just stay here with the little one and keep an eye on the house. Before I leave, I’ll set food within your reach…”
Yan Fei was silent for a while before finally saying, “Sorry…”
No matter how he looked at it, right now he was nothing but a burden. Even if he had an ability and might have limitless potential in the future, the fact was, Luo Xun was the one supporting two people. Everything he ate, wore, used, or lived in was provided by Luo Xun!
He had never depended on someone like this before—certainly not since he became an adult. The feeling was suffocating and frustrating, yet at the same time, deep inside, there was a faint sense of satisfaction and even anticipation.
He suddenly recalled that unpleasant pang he felt this morning when Luo Xun urged him to leave—so opposite from what he was feeling now.
“It’s fine. Just focus on healing. When you’re better, make me more things to eat—don’t think you can skip out on the bill.” Luo Xun rolled over, turning his back. Anyway, if Yan Fei really did run away, he’d just move into the house next door. He wouldn’t be losing out.
“Mm. Go to sleep early.” After a pause, Yan Fei stared at the pitch-black ceiling. “Your cooking is good. The food tastes great.”
Luo Xun froze, then a smile crept onto his face—part wistful, but mostly joyful.
In his last life, he had survived on mutated, disgusting rations. Only after much practice did he gradually improve the taste, striving to make something even halfway edible. But even then, there was never anyone to share it with.
Now, maybe Yan Fei would only stay for a short while, but his praise filled Luo Xun with genuine joy. To have his efforts shared and acknowledged—this feeling was so, so good…
The solar-powered radio continued broadcasting—methods for killing zombies, how to call for help, reports of the government’s rescue efforts. It also announced areas scheduled for clearance, plans to establish safe zones, and the locations for supply distribution.
Luo Xun prepared breakfast for the two of them again—vegetable and meat congee. Though he wanted to add a chopped preserved egg, he worried the chemicals might be bad for bone healing, so he refrained. The internet had already been down for two days, so he couldn’t even check Baidu anymore.
He upgraded the side dishes, adding a steamed egg custard especially to help Yan Fei recover.
After swallowing the silky custard, Yan Fei looked at him hesitantly. “Do you… have a lot of eggs at home?”
“Plenty, heaps of them.” Two big bamboo baskets full, in fact—brought back from the village when he bought the dog. Eggs didn’t keep forever. Better to eat them up than let them spoil.
Swallowing back what he almost said, Yan Fei finally relaxed. Probably just worried about wasting eggs, then? As long as he wasn’t fattening him up for slaughter, that was fine. Not that it was certain who’d win if they really fought…
He glanced at Luo Xun’s thin arms and legs. Despite being on the skinny side, his frame was well-proportioned. Without realizing, Yan Fei’s thoughts drifted toward the other’s build. He didn’t notice anything odd about it as he quietly finished the custard in front of him.
After breakfast, Luo Xun set water and emergency food on the bedside table. Then he went downstairs to let the little one out to guard the house—he figured, in Yan Fei’s current state, even the little one probably had more fighting power. Finally, he packed his bag, geared up, and headed out.
Before leaving, of course, he checked the surveillance footage from last night. The stairwell was as quiet as ever. No one had passed through. Good—safe to go out.
With the elevators all out of service, Luo Xun took the stairs. By now, the complex was showing signs of life again. Quite a few people were stepping out of their apartments to head for the designated distribution sites.
He noticed several unfamiliar faces. A quick guess told him some were like Yan Fei—people who had fled in earlier. Others probably arrived in the past couple of days with the military. When civilians trapped in certain areas were rescued, if they couldn’t return to their original homes, the military would house them in nearby, already-cleared apartments.
From now on, the population here would only grow, not shrink. After all, people were the first productive force. The more people in the safe zone, the more manpower there’d be for searching supplies, planting crops, and even restarting some of the idle factories.
Following the crowd toward the distribution point, the military vehicles occasionally passing by reassured him. Still, Luo Xun couldn’t help but wonder: who exactly had ambushed Yan Fei badly enough to wound him so severely? He had never asked, not even about their appearance, so now he had no clues to start from.
The supply distribution point was at the corner of an intersection west of Hongjing Residential Compound. It was where three residential areas met. Besides Hongjing, the other two were old compounds, six-story slab-style apartment buildings. Those dense, crowded neighborhoods had been some of the toughest to clear this time.
While waiting in line, Luo Xun heard that the two old neighborhoods hadn’t been fully cleared yet. Yesterday, the military had only cleaned out zombies in homes with survivors. They hadn’t even gone door-to-door to check the rest, so the work would continue today.
As soon as the crowd heard there were still zombies nearby, people grew restless. Many started shoving forward, wanting to grab their supplies quickly and hurry back home. What if one of those things wandered out? What if they ran into it? What if they got bitten?!
Fortunately, with plenty of armed soldiers maintaining order, the situation didn’t spiral out of control.
When it was Luo Xun’s turn, he reported his compound, building number, and name. After confirming he had an older “brother with a broken leg at home,” he received ten bottles of 550ml mineral water, ten packs of instant noodles, and two bags of crackers—five days’ worth for two people. After handing over the supplies, the staff also gave him a flyer: the authorities had already mapped out the area for wall construction and were recruiting people to join the work.
Backpack strapped on, Luo Xun didn’t stop to read the flyer. Instead, he quickened his pace back home, avoiding places where people might stop him. Only once inside the compound did he pull the baseball bat from his pack—just a plain one, without nails.
He would never forget everything he’d lived through in his past life after the apocalypse, nor that Yan Fei’s broken bones had been caused by other people. In times like these, human hearts could be more dangerous than zombies.
From a building not far away, he suddenly heard cries of alarm. Luo Xun sped up toward Building 7. The zombies in the compound had been cleared long ago, and military patrols passed outside morning and evening. Whatever happened inside now definitely wasn’t caused by zombies.
Sure enough, moments later a man with a scarf around his face and sunglasses covering his eyes slipped out of that building, sneaked into the one next door, and vanished.
Luo Xun hurried into the stairwell, climbing with caution. Only when he entered his apartment and heard the little one bounding over in excitement did he finally breathe easy. He changed his shoes while fast-forwarding through the surveillance footage from when he’d been gone. Luckily, no one else had passed through the stairwell.
He dropped the supplies off, then carried the flyer upstairs.
Yan Fei didn’t need much sleep these days. Though he still couldn’t move, he was mentally alert. Hearing Luo Xun return, he looked toward the doorway and caught sight of the little one circling around Luo Xun’s feet, batting its tail and rolling about in delight. The corners of Yan Fei’s mouth lifted. “The trip went smoothly?”
“Yeah.” Luo Xun sat down by the bed with the flyer. “The distribution point’s just at the T-junction to the east. But on the way back, there was a mugging in Building 3.”
“Mugging?” Yan Fei raised an eyebrow.
“Mm. Hat, scarf, mask, sunglasses—the guy was more wrapped up than I was when going out to kill zombies.” Luo Xun shrugged and started reading the flyer.
Thank you for reading 🙂 I hope you all liked my translations. If you enjoyed my work, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi 😉
