Chapter 52 — On Good Neighborly Relations
“These must be the teams returning from other bases,” Luo Xun said worriedly. “I wonder what it’s like outside now. The outer wall’s still not finished…”
Yan Fei reached out to adjust Luo Xun’s hood. “The dust’s too heavy — wear your mask too.”
The convoy had kicked up thick clouds of dust — visibility across the street was nearly zero.
Seeing Yan Fei pull a spare mask from his pocket, Luo Xun groaned, “Wait, isn’t that the one I gave you a few mornings ago?”
“Yeah.” Yan Fei smiled faintly and put it on him himself.
Seriously? Helping him put on a mask and fix his hood right there on the street? But Luo Xun, though internally complaining, didn’t move away — dodging would just draw more attention.
Once the convoy had passed, they resumed walking hand in hand toward home.
When they reached the livelier streets with stalls and tents again, they found people gathered in clusters, gossiping animatedly about what they’d just seen.
The people from the other bases had finally arrived — though the large wave of refugees hadn’t yet entered the inner city. For now, they were being held in temporary camps outside the perimeter.
The streets buzzed with excitement. Even the usual vendors had abandoned their stalls to trade rumors instead — speculating about everything from how many people had come, to whether the base’s food supply would soon run out, to whether hordes of zombies had followed them back, or whether they’d seen some national leader in one of the cars.
Luo Xun actually knew a bit more than these people — but that was knowledge from his previous life. He knew that quite a few government leaders had indeed survived the apocalypse. However, the high-ranking officials who used to appear daily on television — the ones who truly held power — were mostly concentrated in the Eastern Base. As for the Southwest Base, although there were some influential figures, most of them had been relatively unknown to the public before the world ended.
Passing by the gossiping, excited crowd, the two quickly returned to Hongjing Community. The neighborhood still looked the same as before; the arrival of those new military vehicles hadn’t changed anything. At least half of the residents were now participating in the construction of the outer defense wall, so during the day, the place was unusually quiet.
They climbed sixteen floors in one go. Luo Xun felt fine, but Yan Fei — whose mental power had been heavily consumed — could feel the fatigue building up with each step.
As they reached their door and started unlocking the heavy metal latch, the loud clanking sound startled Zhang Su, who had been idly sitting inside. He came out and raised an eyebrow when he saw them. “Back already?”
“Yeah, we only had to go for half a day,” Luo Xun replied as he opened the door. “Nothing happened in the building this morning, right?”
“Not much,” Zhang Su drawled lazily, leaning bonelessly against the doorframe with a smirk tugging at his lips. His peach-blossom eyes curved in amusement. “Someone came up after you left, tried to pry open a door — I threw him out.”
“Th—threw him out?!” Luo Xun’s hand trembled, and the iron chain clattered noisily to the floor.
Yan Fei pushed open the door, pulled the dazed Luo Xun inside, and said nothing.
“Yeah,” Zhang Su said casually, pointing toward the iron gate. “If that thing weren’t good for blocking the wind, I’d have tossed them right out the stairwell window.”
Luo Xun turned to glance at the large window in the stairwell behind them, then back at Zhang Su’s face, which still carried a faintly regretful expression. “Brother Zhang… this is the sixteenth floor…” What would someone look like after being thrown down from here?!
Zhang Su suddenly stepped closer, his expression playful as he leaned in — almost touching Luo Xun’s face — only for Yan Fei to shove him aside with one hand.
Instead of getting angry, Zhang Su just smiled thinly and continued staring at Luo Xun. “You afraid I might kill someone?”
Luo Xun nodded honestly. “Not really. I’m afraid if someone did die from that fall, it’d be too gruesome — and then the military would come knocking on our door.”
At least for now, the military was still maintaining order and enforcing rules. Luo Xun wasn’t afraid of Zhang Su killing those scavengers who tried to break into people’s homes — honestly, if someone dared sneak into his place and steal what he’d painstakingly gathered before and after the apocalypse, he’d shoot them himself without hesitation.
But tossing them from the sixteenth floor? That would leave a corpse too messy to even look at!
And besides, Zhang Su was officially registered with the military. If something like that happened in this building… well, it wouldn’t take a genius to guess that the authorities would come storming in.
Zhang Su blinked in mild surprise, one eyebrow arching as his gaze shifted teasingly toward Yan Fei.
“So you’re worried someone might come after me? Didn’t think you cared so much~”
Luo Xun’s face instantly turned green. “Relax. I don’t care about you in that way. I just don’t want trouble — or to get new neighbors.”
“New… neighbors?” Zhang Su frowned, genuinely confused. Was he really that great of a neighbor? The soldiers who’d brought him here certainly didn’t think so — they looked like they were dropping off a cursed object.
Luo Xun pointed toward his room. “We just reinforced your windows. You live alone, rarely go out, and once you get a steady job, your schedule’ll be regular. I’d rather keep you than have a bunch of unknown strangers moving in — who knows what kind of temper they might have?”
He was just being practical: better to live next to one dangerous but predictable person than a crowd of unpredictable ones.
Zhang Su paused, his expression subtly shifting. “And you’re sure my temperament is suitable for being your neighbor? With the two of you here, I’m pretty sure you could handle any kind of trouble.”
Luo Xun rolled his eyes. “At least you’re just one dangerous person. And with your reputation, the military wouldn’t dare assign anyone else to live on this floor unless they were absolutely sure it’s safe. Between one murderer and ten annoying freeloaders, I’ll take the murderer.”
…Wait. Did he just call me a murderer?
Zhang Su blinked, processing that, then opened his mouth to retort — only for Yan Fei to step forward, blocking his line of sight. “We should rest.”
Zhang Su choked on the words, glaring past Yan Fei. “What, you think you need to guard him from me? I’m not trying to seduce him.”
Yan Fei’s eyes flashed dangerously. “I’m just worried your peach-blossom aura might be contagious.”
“Tch.” Zhang Su gave a low laugh and shook his head. “You haven’t even gotten him yet, have you? You’d better hurry. I might not plan on making a move, but a pure little virgin like him — if he ever meets someone experienced, who knows what’ll happen?”
With that parting shot, he slammed the door and disappeared inside, leaving the other two men speechless.
Luo Xun unlocked their own door — they’d added an extra lock this morning in case Yan Fei was too drained to reshape the metal upon returning. Thankfully, he still had enough energy left to open it; tomorrow, they could seal it completely when they left.
Once inside 1604, they changed shoes and coats. Their little pet, hearing them come in, wagged its tail and leapt up excitedly — only to start chasing its own tail and crash into the cabinet leg with a thud.
“I’ll open the windows next door for ventilation,” Luo Xun said, setting down his bag and heading through the inner metal door.
Yan Fei sank onto the sofa. Though he hadn’t exhausted his mental power completely, he was still tired — like he’d spent the whole morning hauling bricks. It wasn’t enough to drain him fully, but it left him feeling vaguely restless and uncomfortable.
A few minutes later, Luo Xun returned. “That’s better. If we only work half-days like this, I’ll have plenty of time to handle things at home. Even if I expand the crops, it won’t get in our way.”
Their routine felt stable and comfortable. Even managing the crops didn’t take all day, so Luo Xun was quite content.
“Mm…” Yan Fei murmured absently — then suddenly grabbed Luo Xun as he walked past, pulling him straight into his lap.
Caught off guard, Luo Xun stumbled and fell against him. Before he could speak, Yan Fei flipped him over and kissed him hard.
The sound startled the little animal on the floor, which froze mid-bite on one of Yan Fei’s slippers. Tail stiff, it glared at the two men tangled on the couch, then gave a small shake and went back to gnawing — it had seen this scene too many times recently to care.
By the time Luo Xun managed to catch his breath, Yan Fei was hovering above him, smirking down with infuriating amusement. Luo Xun scowled and pushed at his chest — unsuccessfully.
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll crush you?”
“Of what? You’re not that heavy.” To him, even if his “wife” fell on him hard enough to break a bone, he’d gladly catch him. Not that Luo Xun could actually hurt him anyway — his physical strength was far beyond that of ordinary people.
Luo Xun fumed. Not that heavy? He was a grown man over a hundred twenty jin (over 60 kg)! He wasn’t some three-year-old toddler!
Yan Fei buried his face in the crook of Luo Xun’s neck, breathing in his scent. “Let me hold you. I didn’t use up much energy this morning, but… I still feel off.”
Luo Xun didn’t move, only lifted a hand to gently rub his back. Before long, wrapped in Yan Fei’s warmth, he too began to feel drowsy — his eyelids slowly growing too heavy to keep open.
Thus, their peaceful afternoon — which was supposed to be spent taking care of chores — slipped quietly away in sleep.
Fortunately, the room’s insulation worked well, and even without a blanket, neither caught a cold.
When they woke up, the sky outside was already dim.
Grumbling inwardly about how someone was too warm and made him fall asleep, Luo Xun stretched his stiff shoulders and got up.
After pacing the room a bit, he suddenly asked, “Hungry?”
Yan Fei shook his head. They’d eaten lunch before returning, then fallen asleep — it wasn’t mealtime yet. Luo Xun nodded, rolling up his sleeves. “Then I’ll start on the planting racks.”
Although the next-door unit wouldn’t be fully ready for a while, they could still start preparing some equipment — like PVC pipes for hydroponics and boxes for soil-based crops.
Before the apocalypse, Luo Xun had already hoarded a massive collection of containers — boxes, baskets, trays, tubs — “just in case.” Now, they were finally coming in handy.
And if any of them broke? They could always buy replacements from the base… or, well — he did have a metal-type ability user who could mold metal like clay. It’d just be heavier than plastic, that’s all.
As for the possibility of them breaking up someday — well, people in love rarely think about that sort of thing. Luo Xun certainly didn’t.
Yan Fei followed him up to the second floor, where several unused hydroponic racks sat wrapped in plastic. They’d move them next door later. Still, Luo Xun preferred planting in soil boxes — crops grew better that way. Hydroponic racks were convenient and space-saving, but some plants simply couldn’t thrive in them.
After counting the racks, Luo Xun returned to a small upstairs bedroom filled with stored PVC pipes, vacuum-packed grains, and seed bags. He sorted them briefly, then picked out some materials to modify the next day.
Yan Fei helped him carry the pipes downstairs, and together they selected a few suitable containers from the pile of stacked plastic boxes.
Once that was done, Luo Xun checked on the crops. Mutation rates were highest during germination, but changes could still happen later in the growth cycle. Fortunately, the mutation rate here was relatively low — much better than what he’d experienced in his past life, planting in a dark basement.
Maybe sunlight helped suppress mutation? The thought made him glance toward the window, watching the fading light spill across the green leaves.
But back then, he had heard from other families who also grew plants at home that even for those with decent sunlight, the mutation rate was usually over fifty percent. Could it be because the apocalypse had just begun?
After checking all the crops in the house and paying special attention to a few already-mutated plants on the balcony that he was cultivating to observe, Luo Xun confirmed that none of them were dangerous or aggressive. He then went back downstairs to the seedling room.
Currently, there were no new seeds being germinated. The bean sprouts they had grown earlier were either eaten or planted into hydroponic tubes, leaving only a large box of mealworms and several mushroom logs… Well, the mushroom logs at home did regularly sprout mushrooms, but so far, only a few looked normal. The rest glowed an ominous red or emitted a grayish mist, and Luo Xun wouldn’t dare to keep those alive.
Just as he was about to leave, something caught the corner of his eye — “Eh? The lemon has sprouted!” Luo Xun froze for a moment, then quickly walked over to the only hydroponic container with something inside. Hearing this, Yan Fei also came over curiously.
Sure enough, the tiny yellow seed had split open, revealing a tender green shoot — it looked like it had just sprouted within the day.
A lemon doesn’t have many seeds to begin with, and Luo Xun had only managed to get three, along with two watermelon seeds. Since watermelon needed long hours of sunlight, he wasn’t planning to plant them until the weather warmed up.
The small sprout didn’t show much yet — no signs of mutation or infection so far. If it could grow smoothly, then they wouldn’t have to worry about lacking vitamin C anymore!
“Let’s check again tomorrow morning. It’s too short to transplant now.” After examining it closely, Luo Xun smiled with satisfaction. Once he confirmed there was nothing else that needed attention, he pulled Yan Fei out of the room.
The neighboring room hadn’t been turned into a nursery yet. If everything went smoothly, Luo Xun planned to use this one just for seedlings and convert the next room entirely for planting.
After the two busied themselves for a while, they were about to cook dinner when they heard footsteps in the hallway. Opening the door, they saw Li Tie and the others returning. From next door, Zhang Su also opened his door, and just as the main door on the stairway opened, Han Li grinned brightly, waving a lunchbox: “Brother Zhang! We brought you dinner!”
When he saw Luo Xun and Yan Fei, he smiled at them too. “We even got a few extra braised eggs! You two have some too!”
Luo Xun blinked. “Braised eggs? Which canteen were you at? The one we went to at noon barely had any meat scraps.”
“The third canteen… Wait, Brother Luo, you went too?” They asked curiously as they entered.
“I went with them in the morning. Ability users get weak after using their powers too much, so I went along to help Yan Fei. I don’t have any points, but they at least let me eat.” Luo Xun added, “The third canteen’s inside the military camp, right? We ate at the fifth one.”
“Yeah, it’s inside. They say the first and second canteens are even better! We only get two dishes per meal — one with meat or eggs — but I heard the first and second ones have several dishes you can choose from, even meat-only ones!” He Qiankun rubbed his belly and licked his lips. “Still, the third canteen’s food is already great.”
So the deeper into the camp, the better the food, huh? Still, their canteen wasn’t bad — at least it filled their stomachs.
After asking about their day, Luo Xun learned that Li Tie’s group had spent the entire day setting up the wiring and layout for the computer room. They hadn’t even started on the software yet.
They took their meals into Zhang Su’s room.
Zhang Su: …Fine. Since they actually brought me food, I’ll let them stay.
“We saw a bunch of military trucks entering the base this afternoon. Did you hear any news?” Luo Xun asked, knowing the group worked inside the camp and would have more accurate information than street gossip.
Sure enough, at the mention of that, Wang Duo’s eyes lit up. “Yeah! One of our tech guys knows someone who came today! They’re all from the northern base. I heard tons of people are coming — mostly from the western base and some who followed from the north! The northeast survivors all went to the eastern base.”
“How many people came?” Luo Xun asked quickly. “Can our base even hold that many?”
“Of course not!” Wu Xin interrupted. “I heard all the waiting zones outside are already full, and they even expanded another large area. Apparently, those people aren’t being let inside the base yet.”
Wang Duo added, “There’s no way this place can fit so many. Some of the people who came earlier refused to go outside and work on the walls, but after the last rescue, more zombies followed in. If the outer wall isn’t built soon, even the inner zone could be in danger. I heard the base plans to force the outer residents to join the wall construction!”
They couldn’t be sure about other bases, but the western base had fallen precisely because too many survivors refused to work on the most basic defense tasks.
If the military didn’t enforce discipline soon, disaster was inevitable.
The early survivors in the southwest had been enthusiastic about working for food, supplies, and bedding. But later arrivals came with the attitude of freeloaders — wanting others to work while they just ate. Many even had resources of their own and didn’t want to do labor after settling in. So lately, the base’s atmosphere had worsened — streets full of idle talkers, gamblers, and traders.
After realizing this, the authorities weren’t going to keep feeding freeloaders. New regulations would likely be announced overnight.
Thank you for reading 🙂 I hope you all liked my translations. If you enjoyed my work, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi 😉
