Chapter 23 – Homebody Fan
The pig’s trotter soup had long finished stewing, its aroma carried out through the exhaust fan. No one could tell which household was cooking it, and nothing leaked into the stairwell. All others could do was swallow their envy and curse whoever was lucky enough to eat like this during the apocalypse.
With the soup and dishes ready, Luo Xun carried them upstairs. On his second trip down for more, he faintly heard noises in the stairwell.
Startled, he quickly raised his guard and slipped into the little monitoring room.
His building was in an out-of-the-way spot, and he lived on the very top floor. All day, no one had moved in above or around him—so who would choose this floor?
The surveillance feed clearly showed the situation: two armed soldiers escorting a few young people up to the 16th floor. The group looked fairly young—probably college students. There were five of them, each carrying a backpack and holding plastic bags. Climbing the stairs had exhausted them, but their faces glowed with excitement at finally reaching the safe zone.
“This floor has two empty units left. The inner one and the one next to it are already occupied. Only these two are free,” one soldier said, pointing.
“There are five of us… Brother soldier, which one’s bigger?” one of the students asked quickly, sharp-eyed.
“1601. That’s a three-bedroom. The other two here are both two-bedrooms. With five of you, two pairs will have to squeeze in together.”
“That’s fine. Two people per room is hardly cramped. Our dorm at school? Four to a room!”
“Dorms? Please. Back in high school, our old dorm crammed eight guys into one room. Every night the whole place reeked of feet…”
“Fatty, living on the 16th floor, you’ll definitely lose that belly!”
“I already feel like I’ve dropped a few pounds these past two days…”
“Hey, soldier, what about the two units over there? Any girls?” one asked eagerly, pointing toward Luo Xun’s side.
“Ha, dream on! All men over there!” The soldiers didn’t actually know who lived in 1604, but they said it anyway, just to mess with them.
As expected, the five bachelors howled in disappointment before following the soldiers into 1601.
Watching from beginning to end, Luo Xun finally relaxed. Five lively college kids were much better than some scheming old foxes.
He shut the inner door and returned to the kitchen for the rest of the food.
“Across the hall, five college guys moved in. They’re in 1601,” he told Yan Fei.
Swallowing a mouthful of rich pig’s trotter soup, Yan Fei suspected that by the time his wounds healed, Luo Xun would’ve fattened him up. “College students? And the other unit is still empty, right?”
“Yeah, still vacant. No one moved in today.”
Building Seven had barely received any newcomers all day, so it was strange those five chose here—and such a high floor, too.
“Be careful on your way tomorrow. Try making contact with those five college students. If they’re decent, teaming up will be safer than moving around on your own.”
Luo Xun blinked, surprised, and looked at him. Yan Fei smiled and winked. “There were still robbers in the neighborhood just yesterday. Making more friends won’t hurt.”
That was true. No need to get too close, but teaming up was always better than going solo. Yan Fei was still injured—even with strong abilities, he couldn’t go out yet. Luo Xun didn’t expect them to risk their lives to save him in danger, but if they could move around together during normal times, some shady characters would naturally avoid targeting a group of young, able-bodied men.
Nodding in understanding, Luo Xun spooned more soup into his mouth.
The little dog sprawled at their feet, happily gnawing on a bone. Even without much meat, it was delicious—so fragrant it yipped with joy!
After setting the alarm clock and preparing the tools and food he would need the next day, the two turned in early. One night’s sleep, and… no, when he woke up, the sky was still dark.
Up and down the stairs, Luo Xun arranged everything Yan Fei might need at his bedside table—food, utensils, other supplies. He opened the puppy’s cage, mixed its formula, soaked its kibble, and checked on the crops at home. Only then did he change into durable clothes, shoulder his backpack, and grab his baseball bat to head out.
Luck seemed to be on his side—the five college students, though they had some supplies of their own, didn’t have much, so they too were up early, heading to the designated gathering point for work. In times like these, sticking with the organized effort was always the right call.
When Luo Xun opened his door, the door of Unit 1 across the hall also opened at the same time.
“Ah, so you’re the neighbor across from us? We just moved in yesterday—Unit 1.” One of the cheerful young men greeted him.
Seeing that Luo Xun was about their age and didn’t have the kind of face that screamed “I’m a bad guy,” the five students immediately lowered their guard.
“Hello.” Luo Xun nodded at them, locking his own door before walking toward them—the stairwell was right next to Unit 1. “You’re heading out to work too?”
“Yeah, no choice. That soldier yesterday said the base might soon require all new arrivals to work. If you don’t participate in public construction for a certain period, your points will be confiscated!” explained a rather chubby boy.
Another suddenly asked, “By the way, are you a local here, or did you just escape in the past few days too?”
“My home’s here. I’d only just moved in when this mess started. What about you?” The six of them chatted as they headed downstairs together.
“We’re from X University. We’re roommates and classmates.”
“X University? That’s not too far from here. How was the situation on campus?”
At Luo Xun’s question, they all sighed. One of them said, “We don’t really know. The night before the zombies appeared, a prophecy post showed up online, saying the next day would be the apocalypse. Li Tie… that’s him. He’d been following that post for days. When he saw it, he discussed it with us—‘What if it’s true? Anyway, the next day was Sunday. With so many people on campus, it’d be way too dangerous. Better to just hide out.’ So we treated it like a vacation, bought some food from the supermarket, and holed up in a hotel.”
Luo Xun froze, staring at them in shock. “A post? What post?”
“Called ‘Otaku Teaches You How to Survive the Apocalypse’!” Li Tie, the shortest and skinniest of the five, clasped his hands in awe. “I believe it now—someone out there can definitely foresee the future! Or maybe someone was reborn!”
“He’s a hardcore fan of that shut-in nerd now,” the fat one said, spreading his hands.
“You’re not a fan?!”
“Fan? I’m more than a fan—I’m pinker than pink!”
For once, Luo Xun’s ears burned red. He never expected someone would actually believe his post—and even escape because of it. After a pause, he asked hopefully, “So why’d you pick such a high floor? Isn’t going up and down inconvenient? My place is on the 16th floor, so I had no choice…”
The five exchanged looks, then, deciding Luo Xun didn’t seem dangerous, one explained quietly, “Honestly, we just wanted a place with good sunlight. This building isn’t the one stuck on the far edge, right?”
“Yeah, exactly! And even if they build something later on that empty lot out back, nothing will block sunlight on the 16th floor!”
Li Tie patted Luo Xun’s shoulder. “With zombies everywhere, humanity’s living space will shrink, and resources won’t be enough. We figured in the future, green, eco-friendly, pollution-free solar power will definitely become mainstream!”
So that was it. Luo Xun smiled faintly. “Makes sense. That’s why I chose this place too—for the sunlight. Even if the power goes out sometimes, I’m young enough to climb the stairs.”
“Exactly! Oh, by the way, do you live alone?”
“My cousin’s here too.” Luo Xun smiled, and seeing their confusion, explained, “Our parents passed away a few years back. A few days ago, my cousin went out scavenging and accidentally fell on the stairs, hurt his leg. He can’t move for now, so he’s staying home.”
“Oh, is his leg okay?”
“It’s just a fracture. The soldiers checked—no displacement. He just needs rest.” Luo Xun quickly reassured them. As for where Yan Fei was really injured, and how he’d been attacked—no need to mention that. Especially since the ones who attacked Yan Fei were still living in this community.
On the way down, they introduced themselves. The shut-in nerd’s diehard fan was indeed named Li Tie. The fat one was He Qiankun—everyone joked his belly must contain a whole “universe.” The tallest was Han Li, the acne-covered one was Wu Xin, and the last, with an upright, serious face, was Wang Duo. All were third-year Information Engineering majors.
The six reached the ground floor, joining the flow of people already heading out of the community.
As Luo Xun chatted with them about the past few days, he also observed the people around him.
He wanted to see if he’d spot the ones who had attacked Yan Fei—but instead, he unexpectedly saw some familiar faces.
Those who had survived the first zombie outbreak, the second water contamination, the third crop disaster, the fourth animal mutations—most of them Luo Xun remembered well. Now, a few faces looked familiar again—they were survivors who had lived on until right before his rebirth.
Among them were three he could never forget…
A woman, even fatter than He Qiankun, accompanied by her husband and son, both with thuggish expressions. Luo Xun glanced their way with a guilty conscience. He’d assumed that since he hadn’t seen them earlier in the community, maybe that family wouldn’t appear this time around.
But unexpectedly, they’d circled back—and ended up here after all.
That family of three was the same one that, in his last life, had lived in Building 7, Unit 5, Apartment 1604.
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