The Reborn Otaku’s Code of Practice for the Apocalypse – CH48

Chapter 48 — Seduction

Yan Fei shrugged at Han Li’s question and glanced at Zhang Su. “If we seal the door now, it’ll be hard to go out. If you have errands downstairs, we can seal it later.”
Sealing it each night would work fine anyway. After using his powers for a while, Yan Fei had noticed something—although he couldn’t replenish his mental strength with crystal cores, every time he exhausted himself completely and rested afterward, his psychic energy seemed to increase slightly. The growth was tiny, slow, but real.

He couldn’t be certain crystal cores would raise his power level, but he had the feeling that this gradual accumulation of mental strength would eventually reach a threshold—then transform into a qualitative upgrade. So he preferred to use up all his power before bed each night. Luckily, they’d collected plenty of metal in the house, giving him more than enough material to practice with.

Zhang Su spread his hands with a smile. “I’ve got food and water, and I need to rest my arm anyway. No need to go out.”
If life outside hadn’t been so hard—if not going out to scavenge meant being ostracized by his team—he would’ve happily stayed indoors. Truthfully, he was a homebody; before the apocalypse, with online shopping so convenient, who would willingly go outside to be gawked at by strangers?

Yan Fei nodded slightly, then turned to the three entrances and thought for a moment. “I’ll modify the door barricades a bit. Otherwise, if someone knocks, we won’t hear it.”

At his gesture, several steel plates floated up, covering the lower halves of the three doors. The upper halves turned into barred panels so they could still see what was happening outside.

Luo Xun twitched his lips and pointed. “Why does this look so much like a prison now?”
But who was the prisoner—them inside or the people outside? Either way, it felt wrong.

Wang Duo burst into laughter, clutching his stomach, and Wu Xin leaned against him, both of them nearly falling over.

Yan Fei gave them a helpless glance and waved again—the bars morphed into a finer mesh. At least now it didn’t scream “jail cell.” This way, if someone came upstairs, they could shout through and everyone would hear. Then they could decide whether to open the door… or maybe just “release the hound.”

“I’ll turn them into proper doors later when we need to go out more often. For now, this’ll do.”
He clapped his hands and looked at the others. “Back to renovating?”

“Oh, oh!” Li Tie and the others cheered in unison.

They really did have enough materials to share some with Zhang Su later, but since he was injured—his arm still heavily bandaged—he had to rest for now.

Because his wind-type ability was clearly stronger than most and he was also a top medical student from a major hospital with decent clinical experience, the military had high expectations for him. Other than his temper, he was considered a very promising asset. So they’d supplied him generously—with blankets, waterproof cloths, a sleeping bag, coal, a small stove, plenty of rice, flour, dried vegetables, bottled water, even a simple water filter. Everything he needed.

Li Tie’s group kindly helped him organize his things, pointed out more efficient cooking methods, then returned to their own place to continue working.

Luo Xun and Yan Fei also went back to their kitchen—one wall newly tiled—when a scream rang out from next door, “Ahhhh!! The mortar I just mixed—it’s hardened!!”

Luo Xun looked down at his own bucket of solidified paste and sighed in relief. “Good thing we only finished one wall and hadn’t mixed a new batch yet.”

Yan Fei smiled, leaned in, and planted a kiss on his cheek—he’d been watching that pretty new neighbor all day. Thankfully, his own Luo Xun hadn’t shown any interest, or he might’ve thrown the guy out in front of those soldiers.

Renovating turned out to be a skill job. After building their perimeter wall earlier, Luo Xun had gotten quite good at it. By the time Li Tie’s group finished their own kitchen and bathroom and came over to help, they were shocked—Luo Xun and Yan Fei had already tiled the entire kitchen and half the bathroom.

“Brother Luo, Brother Yan, you two are so fast!” Wu Xin exclaimed.

“It’s alright. Once you get used to it, it’s quick,” Luo Xun said, standing and stretching his sore back. “You guys done over there?”

“Yeah, just waiting for it to dry,” Wu Xin replied as he took over smoothing mortar. “The others went to help Zhang Su—putting the wall putty on for him.” As for the floors, that would depend on how many materials they had left.

Luo Xun crouched beside Yan Fei again to help with the tiling. “You guys aren’t doing a second coat of putty?”

“Nope. Even one layer’ll take a month to fully dry,” Wu Xin said, shaking his head. “We might get assigned to the base’s server room soon to help with the network, so we won’t have time. As long as the place’s livable, it’s fine.”

Luo Xun glanced at Yan Fei. He still thought three coats were safer—one layer could peel once the heating started. Anyway, they were staying put; what was the rush?

Yan Fei caught his look and smiled, then reached out with a dirt-streaked hand to pinch Luo Xun’s cheek.

Luo Xun froze, then tried to wipe the grime off—only to smear more dirt on his face. So he retaliated, swiping the mud from his hand onto Yan Fei’s nose. Yan Fei just grinned and let him.

By the end of the day, both apartments had their tiles fully laid. After drying overnight, they could move on to the ceiling.

Next door, Li Tie’s group was enthusiastically helping Zhang Su with the walls. Even though he didn’t want them fussing so much, he couldn’t say it outright. Watching Li Tie preach with a devout look, holding a hand-copied version of The Homebody’s Guide to Surviving the Apocalypse—lecturing Zhang Su about growing food and DIY gear—Luo Xun, who came by to check in, could only cover his face in secondhand embarrassment. That kind of zeal was painful to witness.

Yan Fei patted his shoulder sympathetically. He didn’t actually believe Luo Xun was the author of that post Li Tie idolized, but given how over-the-top Li Tie was being, Luo Xun’s embarrassment was understandable.

After greetings, they found the four guys completely addicted to home improvement.

He Qiankun even waved his trowel proudly. “We’re way faster now! We finished the whole room already!”

“Yeah! Even if the base doesn’t assign us jobs later, we can renovate houses for food!” Han Li added enthusiastically.

By the time they finally went home that night, Luo Xun looked at his dust-covered reflection and twitched his lips.

“Wanna go upstairs and take a bath?” Yan Fei asked suddenly, peeling off his dirty outer layer.

“Bath, huh…” Luo Xun was tempted—but baths wasted too much water.

“Mm. Together?” Yan Fei murmured in his ear.

Luo Xun jolted, jumped back, and glared. “No way!”
His instincts screamed danger. If they shared a bath, he might not even be able to walk tomorrow! Sure, the idea of some passionate bathtub intimacy sounded nice—but his gut told him that if things really went that way, the situation might not turn out quite as he hoped.

He was a man, damn it! A real man! Beautiful men were meant to be pinned down, not the other way around! There was no way he’d let himself be overpowered just because the other guy was stronger.

Of course he wanted to “eat meat”—being a two-life virgin wasn’t exactly something to brag about—but getting eaten instead? Absolutely not. He needed to plan carefully, pick the right moment, and make sure Yan Fei was the one flat on the bed when it happened.

He’d waited two lifetimes—no need to rush now.

Luo Xun shot a meaningful look at Yan Fei’s slim waist and beautiful face, silently resolving to establish his rightful dominant position in this household.

Yan Fei raised an eyebrow. The heat and faintly predatory gleam in Luo Xun’s gaze didn’t escape him. Narrowing his eyes, he touched his chin thoughtfully. He didn’t mind delaying a good meal—but he did mind being treated as prey. Before the apocalypse, plenty of men had tried getting handsy with him; after the apocalypse, even liking this guy wouldn’t mean letting him climb on top. Of course, if Luo Xun wanted to be the one on top—as long as he was the one being taken—Yan Fei certainly wouldn’t object. In fact, he’d welcome it.

The two men, each with their own secret thoughts yet pretending innocence, took off their jackets and dirty shoes and pants, both wearing oddly identical, mischievous smiles.

The little creature wagged its tail and lay beside the quail cage. When it saw the two enter, it only turned its head for a glance before going back to its tireless “observation” of the quails’ miniature world.

As dusk approached, Luo Xun returned, covering the quail cage with the iron mesh and turning on the light. Since the black cloth wasn’t drawn yet, the little thing happily continued watching the tiny scene inside under the lamplight.

Luo Xun pushed Yan Fei toward the bathroom for a shower, then washed his hands and went out to the balcony to check on the crops.

“How strange… why aren’t the bottom rows growing as well?” He crouched by the rack, puzzled. The bottom row of vegetables never seemed to grow as big—or as leafy—as the upper ones.

The little creature lying nearby twitched its ears. When it saw Yan Fei squatting by the white plant rack, its wagging tail froze. It stayed propped on its front paws, quietly shifting its hind legs until its rear end pointed directly at Luo Xun—then calmly went back to watching the quails.

Upon closer inspection, Luo Xun noticed some leaves on the bottom row had torn stems—as if something had pulled them off. “Could Yan Fei have been snacking on these?” The bottom row held loose-leaf lettuce, great for eating raw or dipping in sauce. But who would just pluck lettuce leaves while passing by? They had taken some a few days ago for hot pot, but that wasn’t from this section…

Since Yan Fei was still in the shower and couldn’t be asked, Luo Xun decided to leave the mystery for now after confirming there were no bugs.

Not long after, Yan Fei came out of the bathroom. Luo Xun’s face darkened as he immediately tossed a big towel at him: “Are you walking the bird or what?!”—the guy had come out completely naked!

Yan Fei calmly started drying his hair with the towel. “Forgot to grab clothes.”

Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Luo Xun recalled how, just a few days ago, this same man had strutted around with only a small towel after showering. Yeah—this was no accident. This was blatant, shameless seduction.

Not wanting to deal with him, Luo Xun stomped into the steamy bathroom, fuming as he stripped for his own shower. Ever since Yan Fei had confessed his feelings, the man had become an outright flirt, exuding a constant “come and pin me down~” energy. Damn it, if this kept up, he’d really pin him down one of these days!

Face burning red, Luo Xun turned on the shower, trying to wash away his restless thoughts.

When he came out again, thankfully, Yan Fei was already dressed, and Luo Xun sighed in relief. The little creature was lying under the table, using Yan Fei’s slipper as a pillow, tail swishing lazily. When it heard the bathroom door open, it perked up and wagged excitedly at Luo Xun.

Fresh from the bath, Luo Xun—radiant and flushed—was irresistible prey for the wolf named Yan Fei. As he walked past the sofa, Yan Fei leaned in for a quick kiss on the cheek. “Instant noodles for dinner?”

They still had plenty left, even after trading some for metal sheets last time. Though they had vegetables and grains, on lazy days, instant noodles were a comfort—something they both still craved once in a while.

“Yeah, let’s just cook here.” Luo Xun pointed at the induction cooker on the table. Since gas wasn’t available, the base used coal instead, and only people with enough points could trade for it. Solar panels weren’t common yet, so few households still had electricity—many were chopping up wooden furniture for firewood.

They were out of eggs, but they still had a whole box of sausages—Luo Xun’s pre-apocalypse online bulk order. The box was heavy, but thankfully shipping had been free; otherwise it would’ve cost more than ten bucks just to send.

Yan Fei went out to the balcony to pick some fresh vegetables, washed them, and set them aside, then peeled two sausages and placed them next to the pot. The two men had healthy appetites, but Luo Xun didn’t like eating too much at night, so he only cooked three packs.

“The tiles won’t be fully dry until tomorrow afternoon, right?” Yan Fei asked, tossing the vegetables into the pot when the familiar aroma of noodles filled the air.

“Yeah,” Luo Xun replied, stirring with his chopsticks. “The manual says to let them dry for 24 hours. We can install the ceiling the day after.”

“The wall next door will take almost a month…” Yan Fei thought for a bit, then suggested, “How about we renovate the front doors tomorrow?”

“Huh? What door? How?” Luo Xun asked while dividing the noodles into two big bowls.

“The main doors—ours and next door’s.” Yan Fei pointed toward the entryway, breaking the sausage into pieces and dropping them into his bowl to soak in the soup.

“Our doors?” Luo Xun was still confused. “What about them?”

“You replaced the peephole on this apartment, right?” Yan Fei explained patiently. “But that only shows the hallway, not the elevator when it opens.”

“Yeah, since our door faces 1601 directly.” Luo Xun nodded, settling down with his bowl.

“So what if we merge the two doors into one? At an angle. Then we could see the elevator area clearly, and it would also serve as an extra layer of security.” He sketched on the table with his finger. “Rooms 1603 and 1604 form a right angle. If we add an iron plate diagonally between them as a new door, install a peephole camera and a doorbell, it’ll connect the two units into one.”

Luo Xun’s eyes lit up as he imagined it. “That’s perfect! Then it won’t matter which room we use most of the time.”

They had two apartments, though 1604 was the main one. Still, it was cluttered with things that shouldn’t be seen by outsiders. Luo Xun planned to use the other room for visitors—and for plant cultivation. If someone came calling, they could simply be received next door.

Since they had nothing urgent tomorrow, they could easily spend the day modifying the door.

After finishing their noodles (before they got soggy), they washed up, brushed their teeth, and checked the first floor before leisurely heading upstairs.

The apocalypse didn’t offer much in terms of entertainment. Luo Xun had downloaded a lot of files before everything fell apart—but mostly documents and reference images, not movies. He did have a lot of novels, though, great for killing time.

Before, they might’ve each read something before bed—one on a laptop, the other on a phone. But now…

“Get off!”

“No.”

“Behave yourself!” Luo Xun rolled his eyes, struggling to push away the man clinging to him. How had this once-serious, upright man turned into such a shameless pervert the moment they got close? Always touching, always teasing!

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