The Reborn Otaku’s Code of Practice for the Apocalypse – CH33

Chapter 33 — On the Road

Luo Xun was still wearing his usual gear—helmet, raincoat, and rain boots. He’d prepared the same for Yan Fei, except for the shoes, which didn’t fit. Yan Fei was half a head taller, but since the raincoat was already oversized, it worked fine.

The only problem was the cold weather—Yan Fei would freeze in that thin outfit—so for now he wore Luo Xun’s winter coat, with a mask over his face and his helmet tucked in the car.

As for He Qiankun’s group… they looked ridiculous. They’d layered on so many clothes it was hard to tell their shapes anymore, and to protect their heads, they’d wrapped their heads with several scarves each—bright reds, greens, florals, all mixed together. They looked less like survivors and more like people sneaking around laying mines.

Watching this “bomb squad,” Luo Xun suddenly had the urge to ditch them and go alone to save face. But they’d already agreed to team up—it wouldn’t be right to abandon them just because of their fashion crimes. One had to be decent… even to idiots.

Luo Xun and Yan Fei took the driver and passenger seats, while the five others squeezed together in the back, chattering about where to go and what to bring back.

“Let’s head northeast to Jinlong Home Improvement City first,” Luo Xun suggested. “There’s renovation and construction material there, plus a building full of fabric shops and two supermarkets nearby.” He’d researched the area before the apocalypse—it was a bit farther from the Southwest Base, but had everything they could need except for seeds and clothes.

“Sounds good!” The five nodded in unison. They didn’t know the area well, but Luo Xun’s confidence was convincing enough.

“Brother Luo, you know where we can find plant seeds nearby?” Li Tie asked eagerly, leaning over the seat.

“The closest place is at least two hours’ drive—south of the base there’s a market that sells seeds of all kinds. It used to be a farmers’ market, though—no other supplies there. We can check supermarkets first; if we find beans like mung, red, or soybeans that can sprout, those can be used for growing vegetables.”

“Yes, yes! That works too!” Li Tie nodded excitedly. His dream of growing vegetables could start small, and he already had the theory—even if he lacked hands-on experience.

The Southwest Base wasn’t large yet. Within ten minutes, they reached the main gate. The walls now stood seven or eight meters high, thick and solid. A crowd was gathered near the gate—people preparing to head out scavenging.

Many preferred to stay in the base to help with construction—it was safer—but going out for supplies brought in far greater profit. The base’s supplies were still incomplete; daily survival was barely manageable, but far from comfortable.

Though anyone returning from scavenging missions had to surrender around 20% of their haul, there was still plenty to gain. Early in the apocalypse, the world outside was full of abandoned goods. Anyone bold or capable enough wanted to go out now—before it was all picked clean.

Most of those who’d made it to the base had families. The strong could go out collecting while the rest stayed behind, working simple jobs to earn contribution points.

It was dangerous, yes—but the rewards were worth it. Unfortunately, most like Li Tie’s group didn’t realize each scavenging team needed a minimum number of members. That was why so many were still stuck waiting at the gate.

No one knew whether the people they were teaming up with temporarily were trustworthy — or if they’d get stabbed in the back later. No one wanted to drag a bunch of useless people along and risk slowing themselves down, so everyone eyed one another with guarded suspicion.

Some people didn’t think that far, though — they were openly recruiting on the spot, shouting things like, “Forming a team to head out of the base! Need five more! Ability users and people with good character first!” It sounded exactly like those in-game party recruitment messages and only made them seem less reliable.

Unlike those worrying about being betrayed, Luo Xun’s group clearly had a different plan. As soon as they parked the car and glanced around, he pointed toward a team that also had vehicles and gestured for Wang Duo — the most silver-tongued among them — to go over and negotiate.

The proposal was simple: temporarily team up to leave the base, then part ways once outside.

The other team already had nine members — all people who knew each other and had escaped together to the Southwest Base. They’d been hesitating for the same reasons: fear of shady teammates. Most of those gathered here already had companions and didn’t want to separate to join strangers.

It didn’t take long before Wang Duo turned back and flashed an OK sign to Luo Xun. Luo Xun immediately started the car, and once Wang Duo got in, they followed behind the two vehicles of the other team toward the gate.

When the crowd noticed that the three vehicles clearly carried more than ten people, realization dawned — the rule for leaving the base was a minimum of ten people per team! Minimum, not maximum! This wasn’t some online game where a dungeon had a strict party cap — they had all been misled by habitual thinking.

Actually, several teams had already left before Luo Xun’s group, but those teams had around eleven or twelve members each. These people simply hadn’t caught on yet.

With the sudden rumbling of engines, everyone else scrambled to form makeshift teams and rushed to register to leave the base.

Once outside, Luo Xun’s team quickly split from their temporary partners — the others were heading for a large supermarket, while Luo Xun’s group had a different target. That suited them just fine; they turned onto the northeastern road but stopped shortly after. A small delivery truck sat by the roadside, its door half-open — perfect for Li Tie’s group to use.

The truck still had the keys inside and was relatively clean, aside from some bloodstains on the seats. The commotion, however, drew several wandering zombies toward them.

The five college boys each grabbed their steel pipes — the ones they had scavenged from the hardware market last time.

The zombies stumbled toward them, first swaying sluggishly, then breaking into a grotesque lurching run as they drew near. Luo Xun held a small palm-sized crossbow braced on his arm, watching closely from the car window. He was ready to step in if things went wrong — but he didn’t plan to take the lead in killing. These guys hadn’t actually fought zombies before. They needed to get used to it. In this world, even if someone planned to stay behind and grow vegetables in safety, once the base was besieged, they’d have to defend the walls. Better to get some practice now than panic later.

The five young men climbed out, legs trembling but gripping their weapons tight. They had known, when they decided to go out, that they’d have to face this. When the apocalypse broke out, they’d hidden until rescued by soldiers. Last time, they’d been protected. This time, they’d volunteered. They had to be ready to fight — but being mentally prepared and actually bashing a zombie’s head in were two entirely different things.

Suddenly, Li Tie raised his iron rod and shouted, face red, as he charged at a relatively small female zombie.

“Kill!!” the other four yelled, charging after him. They were already out here — they had to fight! Who could survive in this world without ever killing a zombie? Even if you could, you’d be useless trash!

There weren’t many zombies — five or six in total. Luo Xun shot down two with his crossbow; the rest were bludgeoned to death by the college students’ flailing steel pipes. Luckily, there were no Tier 1 zombies among them.

Panting heavily, the clearest-headed of the five scrambled into the truck to test the ignition. When the engine roared to life, the rest stumbled in. He Qiankun climbed into the back, promptly leaned over, and vomited until there was nothing left. He then collapsed onto the floor, eyes glazed. “God… I think I puked up last night’s dinner…”

“Weight loss… success…” Wu Xin tried weakly to pat his shoulder, but his arm missed and ended up tapping He Qiankun’s head instead.

Luo Xun chuckled, put away his crossbow, and drove after their newly acquired truck. Then, remembering something, he glanced at Yan Fei. “Hey, before you came to the base — had you ever killed zombies?” Maybe he should toss him out for some practice too.

Yan Fei, unaware of Luo Xun’s mischievous thought, leaned against the window frame, scanning the scenery. “Yeah.”

“You have? What happened?” Luo Xun asked curiously. After all, he remembered how terrified he’d been his first time — his legs had turned to jelly just from shoving a zombie down the stairs.

“After a car crash,” Yan Fei replied coolly. Sensing Luo Xun’s intent to see him flustered, he shot him a sideways glance and smirked faintly. “If I hadn’t killed them, those people wouldn’t have been so desperate to cling to me afterward.”

He hadn’t even realized his metal ability had awakened then — he’d just grabbed a gun and a length of iron pipe and taken down a few zombies. He hadn’t understood what those “people” attacking others had become, but he sure knew how to break bones and make sure they stayed down.

The first time he’d smashed open a zombie’s skull was disgusting, sure — but then a bunch of women started screaming and clinging to him like he was their savior, two of them gripping his arms and refusing to let go. With that noise, he hadn’t even had time to think about the gore. If there hadn’t been so many witnesses, he might’ve shut those shriekers up himself.

Thinking back on it, his lifelong aversion to women had probably been building for years — the apocalypse had just pushed it to the point where he’d rather spend his life with a man. Not exactly a sudden development.

The Jinlong Home Improvement Center wasn’t far from Hongjing Community — about half an hour’s drive before the world ended. Now, though, the roads were clogged with overturned cars, debris, and wandering zombies. Moving quickly was a fantasy.

Luo Xun took the lead, driving past He Qiankun’s truck. All along the way, bloodstained zombies howled and lurched at their vehicles. At some intersections, they could even hear distant shouting and the sounds of fighting.

They didn’t stop to investigate — who knew if those were other scavenger teams, locals who never made it to a base, or real survivors in danger? They couldn’t risk it. Some people lured others with fake distress calls.

If they were going to help anyone, it’d be on the way back — not now.

After about an hour and a half, Luo Xun finally spotted the massive “Jinlong Home Improvement City” sign from the overpass. Breathing a sigh of relief, he pointed it out to Yan Fei. “There — next to it’s a big supermarket, and there’s a small convenience store down the road. Beside the supermarket is the Textile Center building. We’ll see if we can find a larger truck for the trip back.” His battered Jinbei van was flimsy, with a small engine and limited space.

He glanced at the mismatched patch on the door — the spot Yan Fei had repaired that morning. Before that, a zombie dog had nearly shredded the metal there. Thank goodness he’d found Yan Fei — and that Yan Fei had a metal ability.

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