Chapter 31 — The Otaku Squad
After adjusting the radio on the table, Luo Xun tuned into the southwestern base’s official broadcast, which was encouraging citizens to join the expansion efforts and to take part in rescue, scavenging, and zombie-hunting operations.
Since the outside world was too dangerous, anyone leaving the base was required to form a team of at least ten members.
“It’s about the same as what the loudspeakers said, just more detailed,” Luo Xun commented, stroking his chin. “The most important thing now really is building the outer walls quickly. The base’s current size is still much smaller than it was before my rebirth.”
“So what are you planning?” Yan Fei asked. “Join the wall construction, or go scavenging?” From their time together, Yan Fei knew Luo Xun was decisive, and his judgments had always proven sound.
In this chaotic world, no one could predict what would happen next. Two heads were better than one, and Yan Fei didn’t mind seeking the opinion of his housemate — especially since they were sharing not only a home but also a bed, and perhaps, someday, something even closer.
Without hesitation, Luo Xun made his choice. “Go scavenging.”
“But we don’t have enough people.” Yan Fei pointed outside, where the loudspeaker truck was disappearing into the distance. “The base requires all teams to have at least ten members.”
Luo Xun thought for a moment. “We can form a temporary team at the city gate — agree to split up after we’re outside. Or we can ask those college guys across the hall. They’re planning to go scavenging too.”
Even if they only had seven people including those five students, it would still be easier to find more teammates than if it were just the two of them.
After a moment’s consideration, Yan Fei nodded.
But before they could discuss further, someone knocked on the door. They exchanged a glance, then got up and went to open it.
It was Han Li from across the hall. Behind him, their door stood open, and a few others were busy inside.
“What’s up?” Luo Xun asked in surprise. He’d just been planning to go find them — he hadn’t expected them to come first.
“You heard the broadcast, right? We were thinking… maybe we should head out while things are still relatively stable, gather some supplies…” Han Li began, but before he could finish, a head popped out from inside — Li Tie.
“Come over here and talk! Meeting time!”
Locking their door and pocketing the key, Luo Xun and Yan Fei went across the hall.
Inside, the place was a mess of plastic pipes, half-assembled solar panel stands, and five guys bickering.
“You should’ve set this up yesterday.”
“Let’s eat first, I’m starving.”
“Where’s the water?”
“Back here! Watch the board! Ah! My stomach!”
When Luo Xun and Yan Fei stepped in, they could only stand at the door watching the chaos. Wu Xin, carrying a long metal rod, stumbled and accidentally jabbed He Qiankun — a rather large man — right in the gut.
After several minutes of clattering and shouting, the living room was finally cleared enough for them to sit down.
Yan Fei surveyed the three-bedroom apartment — bare concrete, no renovations, littered with tools, food wrappers, and bottles. Typical college boys’ territory.
His gaze drifted to Luo Xun. Unlike this place, Luo Xun’s home, though also full of supplies, was orderly and tidy. Everything had its place. It wasn’t just a “guy’s pad” — it felt like a home. Maybe that was part of what drew him in.
The group sat cross-legged on the rough floor. Even through thick clothing, the cold concrete felt painfully uncomfortable.
He Qiankun and Wu Xin sat together, casting resentful glances toward Luo Xun and the unbothered Yan Fei beside him — resentment so intense it was almost tangible.
Yan Fei, long used to envious stares, remained utterly calm, his “ignore jealousy” skill clearly maxed out.
But while Yan Fei could pretend they didn’t exist, Luo Xun felt awkward. So did the other three, who looked embarrassed by their companions’ behavior.
Li Tie and Han Li each grabbed one of the sulking pair by the arm and hissed, “Quit staring already!” — though, truthfully, they shared the same envy.
Luo Xun coughed lightly. “Ahem, what are you two looking at?”
“Your bro…” came the mournful unison reply.
“One of us is admiring your brother’s waist,” said the plump He Qiankun, who easily outweighed Yan Fei threefold.
“And I’m admiring his face…” muttered Wu Xin, whose acne had survived every skincare attempt known to man.
Yan Fei remained silent, pretending not to hear — mostly because saying anything would just crush them harder.
“Even if you stare, you won’t look like that,” Wang Duo said with a smirk. He was the best-looking of the five — though still nowhere near Yan Fei. Back in school, he used to get love letters from unsuspecting junior girls… who usually broke up with him within a week once they saw his true nature.
“Pfft, can’t we at least dream?” He Qiankun retorted, glaring. “I bet if I lost weight, I’d look better than you!”
Wu Xin groaned, touching his pimpled face. “And I swear, after this apocalypse, I’m stockpiling every skincare product I find!”
Luo Xun couldn’t help but cough again to hide a laugh. “Ahem — weren’t we having a meeting?”
“Yes! Meeting!” Li Tie clapped his bony chest with a loud thump. “You all heard the broadcast, right? I think once the military rescues the western base — or if more people from fallen bases arrive — supplies around here are going to get even harder to find.”
Yan Fei looked at Li Tie in mild surprise — he hadn’t expected this guy to actually be pretty quick on the uptake.
Luo Xun nodded. “Exactly. Right now, it’s only the western base that’s in trouble, but if the other bases start sending out bad news too, the supplies around here will get even tighter.” He knew that, aside from the southwest and eastern bases, all the others had fallen not long after the apocalypse began. Once the survivors from those three bases gathered at the southwest base, the supplies from nearby buildings would quickly be stripped clean. It was smartest to head out and gather what they could while there were still relatively few people doing the same.
“Yeah! I made a list last night based on what ‘Useless Otaku’ said online — there’s a lot we need. We’d better get going soon! We still don’t have quilts or clothes, and most importantly, seeds!” Li Tie, a die-hard fan of “Useless Otaku,” was brimming with enthusiasm.
“Headcount.”
The voice came suddenly from Yan Fei, who hadn’t spoken since entering the room. Everyone froze.
“Headcount?” The college students without radios blinked in confusion.
“Our family’s got a radio,” Luo Xun explained. “Just now they said that although the base allows people to go out and scavenge, each team must have at least ten members.”
“Ten people…” The five of them looked at one another. “But we’ve only got seven…”
Luo Xun glanced at Yan Fei, then smiled at the others. “There must be plenty of people without radios. Why don’t we head to the gate and see if there are other teams short on members? Once we’ve got ten, we can head out together — and split up later if we need to.”
“Yeah! I bet lots of people don’t know yet. We can just team up temporarily!” Han Li clapped his hands in agreement.
“What about the vehicle?” Luo Xun reminded them. “I’ve got one, but it’s just a thin-skinned Jinbei van. It can carry some stuff, but if we haul a lot, it won’t be enough.”
“That’s easy,” Wu Xin said quickly. “There are tons of abandoned cars in the city. We saw a bunch last time we went out! We just need to find one that still runs and drive it back. No need to rent from the military — especially now that the other bases are in trouble, their vehicles probably aren’t available, and even if they are, the rent will be sky-high.”
The group of young people was quick-thinking. After sorting out the basics, they decided to leave first thing in the morning — the earlier, the better. If the rescue teams ended up luring the zombie horde to the base gates, it’d be too late to get out.
At the end of the day, they were just ordinary people. None of them believed they could face the zombies alone. The last time they’d gone out, they’d seen first-level zombies — faster and stronger than the normal ones — with their own eyes. They knew they wouldn’t stand a chance against them. It was best to act now, while there were still fewer dangerous zombies outside, to gather everything they might need. Once back in the base, they could focus on technical work and maybe secure a stable place there, especially since the base had already shown interest in cooperating with them.
“The military hasn’t started building that network infrastructure they mentioned, right?” Luo Xun asked casually after the discussion.
“Nope. They need to go out again to collect more materials from the same place we did. What they brought back yesterday wasn’t nearly enough. If we move fast this time, our trip should line up perfectly.” He Qiankun licked his lips as the electric cooker brought the water to a boil, tore open a packet of instant noodles, and dumped the seasoning in.
Suddenly, Li Tie slapped his forehead. “We should come up with a name for our team! They might ask for one when we register tomorrow!”
“Sure! What should we call it?”
Luo Xun agreed it was a good idea. He wasn’t planning to go out often, but every team at the base would need a name sooner or later. A known team name would make it easier to talk business or gain respect later on.
“Team Otaku!” Li Tie shouted, springing to his feet and dramatically pointing toward the ceiling at a forty-five-degree angle.
“Craaaack—” He Qiankun’s hand jerked, ripping the noodle bag in half.
Han Li facepalmed, pretending not to know him.
Wu Xin stared, slack-jawed, drooling slightly without realizing it.
Wang Duo burst out laughing, doubled over and unable to straighten up.
Luo Xun’s expression was the calmest of the group — except for the twitching corner of his mouth.
Beside him, Yan Fei raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Otaku?” he repeated, glancing sideways at Luo Xun. If he remembered correctly, this guy had called himself an otaku once, too.
“You don’t know?!” Li Tie gasped. Before anyone could respond, he zipped over to Yan Fei like a bolt of lightning, clutching his beloved phone with both hands.
“Your phone’s charged?” Luo Xun asked dryly, immediately deflating Li Tie’s grand moment.
Before Li Tie could retort, Wang Duo explained with a smirk, “We hooked up some solar panels yesterday. As soon as a bit of power came through, he hogged it all to fully charge his precious phone — made us eat dinner half an hour late!”
“These are treasures! Super important stuff! I had to back everything up before the battery dies again!” Li Tie glared resentfully at the laughing bunch.
When they’d gone scavenging at the construction-materials market last time, they’d grabbed some stationery and notebooks from a nearby convenience store. Now, Li Tie had “commandeered” all of it for himself.
While Yan Fei scrolled through the contents of that phone, Luo Xun discussed their plans with the others. When Yan Fei finally finished looking, the two men left together.
Seeing the door of Apartment 1603, Luo Xun rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He’d have to make a list later — they needed to stock up and fill this place properly.
Thank you for reading 🙂 I hope you all liked my translations. If you enjoyed my work, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi 😉
