Chapter 79 — The New SIM Card
Luo Xun didn’t have to push far before he saw what was going on. A few people stood in the middle of the crowd, dressed in a mix of denim and hip-hop styles. One of them looked around impatiently and snapped, “Well? Is there anyone or not? If not, quit crowding here—we’re waiting to trade for crystal nuclei!”
Trading for crystal nuclei?
Luo Xun blinked and looked toward the small makeshift table in front of them, built from a wooden board. Three crystal nuclei were laid out on top—each slightly larger than a standard level-one zombie core, and each glowing with a distinct color.
Two were grayish-black with a strange sheen, while the third was clearly an earth-type level-two nucleus. Luo Xun’s eyes flickered with curiosity—the two gray-black ones were unfamiliar. They didn’t look like either speed-type or strength-type nuclei. One had a black base with a faint bluish light, and the other was reddish-brown.
“What types are you looking to trade for?” he asked.
He couldn’t be sure those were metal-type nuclei—the kind Yan Fei could use—but even if they weren’t, they were still rare and valuable. Worth asking, at least.
The men glanced over at him. The fact that he could tell they were level-two crystal nuclei meant he wasn’t some clueless newbie. One of them replied, “Lightning-type or strength-type.”
Luo Xun thought for a moment, then turned and left.
“What’s up?” Yan Fei asked casually as he leaned on the car door.
“There are a few level-two nuclei over there—they’re looking to trade for lightning or strength types,” Luo Xun said in a low voice. “I’m not certain, but two of them might be metal-type.”
No one really knew what a metal-type nucleus looked like, but from their metallic sheen, those two certainly looked the part.
Yan Fei raised an eyebrow. “Watch the car. I’ll go take a look.”
With that, he walked toward the crowd.
Luo Xun slid into the driver’s seat and rested his crossbow in his arms. Not long after, he heard a commotion from the crowd—then people parted to make way as Yan Fei emerged.
“Well?” Luo Xun asked quickly when Yan Fei climbed into the passenger seat.
Yan Fei nodded. “Drive.”
After they’d gone a short distance, he said quietly, “They were metal-type.”
Luo Xun’s eyes lit up instantly, a grin spreading across his face.
“Good thing I got curious and went to check! Did you absorb them already?”
Yan Fei shook his head slightly. “I can tell they’re metal-type crystal nuclei, but… I still feel it’d be better to absorb them after we get home.”
“What did you trade for them?” Luo Xun asked. Though he didn’t quite understand Yan Fei’s reasoning, he supported him without hesitation.
“One lightning-type and one strength-type nucleus—for all three of theirs.” Yan Fei said as he pulled the three crystals Luo Xun had seen earlier from his pocket.
“Three?” Luo Xun looked at him in surprise. “You traded two for three? How did that math work out?”
Yan Fei gave an innocent shrug. “I told them I wasn’t sure if these were the type I needed, so they gave me a ‘buy two, get one free’ deal.”
Metal-type ability users were extremely rare. There were only a handful known in the entire military base, and Yan Fei knew all of them personally. Outside of that small group, even if someone got their hands on a metal-type core, no one else could use it.
And besides, what had Yan Fei done before the apocalypse? He’d been the boss of his own company — skilled in negotiation and psychological tactics. If he hadn’t confirmed that those two crystals were what he needed—and if he hadn’t worried that someone else might snatch them up—he could’ve easily waited a few more days and bought them even cheaper.
Luo Xun tried not to laugh. “So the moment you got close, you already knew those two were the ones you needed?”
Yan Fei nodded, carefully putting away the three crystals. “Level-two nuclei are different from level-one ones. You don’t even need to touch them to sense that resonance between a crystal of the same type and your own ability. As long as you’re close enough, you can feel it.”
Luo Xun exhaled deeply, a grin spreading across his face. “That’s perfect. Once we’re back, you can test and see how these two compare with the level-one ones.”
When they got home, Yan Fei didn’t immediately use the new crystals. Instead, after retrieving the remaining metal materials from the cars in the parking lot and directing them back up to the sixteenth floor, he started making shelves and furniture. Meanwhile, Luo Xun took out glass film and covered every window from the inside—just like in their other apartment—to prevent anyone from seeing in.
By the time he finished with the glass, Yan Fei had completed most of the iron shelving and furniture. Together, they began hanging curtains—thick, heavy ones that Luo Xun had custom-ordered before the apocalypse as spare replacements. He never thought he’d actually end up using them.
And as for what to do once they needed washing? They still remembered that early trip they’d made to the renovation market as “Team Otaku.” They’d raided a nearby fabric warehouse and collected a ton of material—enough to make several more sets of sturdy, opaque curtains.
Once the curtains were hung and all the windows secured, the two checked the placement of shelves, pots, boxes, and containers, making sure everything was ready for the new plants.
Finally satisfied, they called the little creature that had been running around the room inspecting whether the iron racks could serve as a doghouse, and the three of them returned to unit 1604.
After a simple dinner, Luo Xun washed the dishes and came back to the living room—only to see Yan Fei sitting on the sofa, rolling a metallic-colored crystal nucleus between his fingers.
“Are you going to absorb it?” Luo Xun asked curiously, glancing at the one in Yan Fei’s hand and then at the other two—the metal-type and the earth-type nuclei—on the table. He didn’t know why Yan Fei was being so patient. After all, Zhang Su had immediately absorbed his wind-type level-two crystals as soon as he got them—though unfortunately, he reported no noticeable improvement afterward. Xu Mei and Song Lingling, on the other hand, said that even though they’d obtained crystals matching their abilities, they didn’t seem ready to absorb them yet.
Yan Fei tilted his head thoughtfully. “I feel… like something’s still missing.”
“Huh?” Luo Xun blinked, confused.
“It’s just a feeling,” Yan Fei said after a pause. “I think, to get the best results, I should absorb more level-one crystals first before using these.”
He gave a wry smile as he looked at the two level-two crystals. “Their energy still isn’t enough.”
Luo Xun thought for a moment—then his eyes lit up. “Your ability has always seemed stronger than everyone else’s, even from the start. Maybe your initial level was already higher… How many more do you think you’ll need? If you don’t have enough, we can try to trade for more.”
Yan Fei didn’t bother with false modesty. He pursed his lips, thought it over, and said seriously, “At least six hundred more level-one crystals.”
He usually got twenty or thirty nuclei a day from his work with the military, making metal tools.That meant, at his current pace, he could gather that many in less than twenty days. But the sooner Yan Fei could strengthen his ability, the better—and they still had nearly four hundred crystals left from their last outing.
Luo Xun suddenly suggested, “Why don’t we sell vegetables?” He pointed toward the balcony, where fresh greens were thriving. Their biggest harvests lately were all quick-growing leafy vegetables—lettuce, chives, and even some bean sprouts they’d moved to the other apartment just yesterday.
Yan Fei frowned slightly. “Sell vegetables…? But how do we set the price? And can we make sure they all sell in one day?”
The vegetables in their home were far more than two people—and a dog who had recently developed a taste for greens—could ever consume. Selling them wasn’t a problem, but would they sell well now? Could they be sold quickly? And at what price?
Luo Xun hesitated. He had sold vegetables before… No, actually, his entire livelihood in his previous life had been growing and selling vegetables! Back then, he eventually cultivated high-quality seeds and signed a long-term contract with a powerful family’s logistics department, supplying them directly.
Thinking back to the early days, when he had first tried to sell his own produce, he would carefully pack the vegetables he harvested each day and set up a stall outside, standing there all day. In the evening, while preparing dinner, he would only eat the wilted, dehydrated vegetables, keeping the best-looking ones to sell the next morning.
To be honest, in the apocalypse, unless you managed to develop high-quality seeds or could grow crops that tasted like those from before the world fell apart, growing vegetables was only enough to feed yourself.
How many people lived permanently in the base? And how many relied on farming for survival? Except for those strong enough to go out scavenging, most people were just barely getting by. Comparing lifestyles across different groups in the base made it clear: those who followed ability-user teams lived the most comfortably; those who worked for the military lived the most stably; those with plenty of solar panels enjoyed the most leisure; and as for those who farmed—well, most were just scraping by.
Besides them, the base also had people who survived by stealing, selling their bodies, or working as manual laborers. Vegetable sellers only lived slightly better than these groups.
Of course, not everyone could grow vegetables successfully. There were “plant killers” who somehow managed to make everything they planted wither and die. Such people had to find other ways to survive. Worse yet, if plants weren’t properly tended, they could mutate! After countless incidents of mutated plants killing their owners, the number of people willing to farm for a living had sharply declined. Most who still grew vegetables did so only to prevent starvation and save on food expenses. Only professional enthusiasts like Luo Xun—people who genuinely loved studying agriculture—could manage to make a decent living off it.
Frowning, Luo Xun rested his hand on his chin, tapping lightly as he thought aloud: “If only there were some team that needed to buy vegetables in large quantities on a long-term basis…”
Yan Fei raised his eyebrows, suddenly thinking of a possibility. “The army?”
“Hm?” Luo Xun looked up in confusion, met Yan Fei’s eyes, and then his own brightened. “That’s right! The army!”
The military was currently short on vegetables and food. They couldn’t grow grains themselves—not in sufficient quantities anyway—but small, steady supplies of fresh vegetables might be something the base would want to purchase. Even though they couldn’t spare much to sell right now, it was still a potential outlet.
Sure, if they set up a stall, they might earn a better price—but who could guarantee that everything harvested that day would sell? And one of the biggest reasons they didn’t want to run a stall was simple: they didn’t have time.
From morning until 3 p.m., all their time was spent building the defensive wall. After that, they had to handle household chores, cook dinner, and Yan Fei needed to train his abilities. Adding vegetable selling to the list? Luo Xun wasn’t keen on dying of overwork after surviving the apocalypse.
Maybe one day, when the base no longer needed their help, he could get a permanent stall to sell produce—but for now, they simply didn’t have the energy for it.
“Let me think… I remember Lieutenant Ding saying that if we managed to grow vegetables, we should let him know. Maybe he has some connections for this kind of thing.” Luo Xun thought it over and decided against bothering Captain Guo—the man was kind and reliable, but this wasn’t worth troubling him about. It’d be better to ask Lieutenant Ding first.
Yan Fei agreed. He recalled that Captain Guo had a strained relationship with the logistics department—mostly because of his, well, big appetite. So it was indeed better to start with someone else.
The two decided to visit Lieutenant Ding’s guard post the next morning to ask about it.
For now…
Luo Xun rummaged through a cabinet and pulled out two long-forgotten phones. He inserted the SIM cards that had been sitting in storage all this time.
Both phones had been fully charged before being powered off for storage, so they turned on easily. When the familiar signal bars appeared, the two couldn’t help but feel nostalgic and a bit emotional.
“They still work, huh…”
After connecting to the network, they exchanged new phone numbers and added each other as contacts. Then, following the automatic prompts, they installed an app made by He Qiankun that was bound to the SIM cards. Almost immediately, both received the first real text message of the post-apocalypse.
It was from the base’s official channel—a broadcast message, part of the new information system that sent news updates to all registered phones.
And since the two of them had military-numbered SIMs, they also received internal military notices as soon as they were released.
Today’s message was about the promotion of solar panels. With most conventional energy sources cut off, even water power couldn’t be used the way it had been before. Coal and gas were out of the question.
Not long after the apocalypse began, the military had turned its focus to solar energy. That was why Luo Xun and the others had once been sent on a mission to collect solar panels outside the base. But there had never been enough—certainly not enough to power the entire base. So lately, alongside collecting wall materials, gasoline, and oil, solar infrastructure had become the military’s top priority.
Recently, a large batch of solar equipment had been brought back to the base. After outfitting public facilities, there were still some left over. The military was now encouraging civilians to rent or trade for solar panels to solve their personal electricity needs—and soon, the government would stop providing electricity to private homes altogether.
“So that means,” Yan Fei said, reading the message carefully, “our building’s elevators will still run on a fixed schedule, but household electricity will be completely cut off?”
Luo Xun nodded firmly. “Exactly. Right now, the nightly power supply runs only from eight to ten, and even keeping the elevator powered is already pretty generous. I doubt the streetlights will stay on for much longer either.”
Currently, the streetlight system was still functioning. Luo Xun knew that when solar panels had first been introduced in the base, the authorities had generously replaced the streetlights along several main roads with solar-powered ones.
Unfortunately, not long after installation, those panels started vanishing one by one. The base quickly abandoned the idea of expanding solar-powered streetlights and even recalled the remaining ones before they could be stolen. After that, the project was never mentioned again—eventually, even the ordinary power supply to streetlights was cut, since many poles had been stolen outright.
Even before the apocalypse, you couldn’t expect everyone in society to be moral or self-disciplined. After the world fell apart, there was no point expecting people to follow rules willingly.
Yan Fei thought for a moment, then smiled. “We should trade for more of those panels. The military’s internal exchange rate seems reasonable. Let’s see tomorrow if we can use our ID badges to get some.”
“Great idea! After work tomorrow, we’ll go ask!” Luo Xun nodded enthusiastically. You could never have too many solar panels! Once they became more widely available in the base, he planned to cover every inch of his exterior walls with them. That had been one of his dreams in his previous life, and now that he had the chance to make it real, he wasn’t going to let it slip by.
Right now, the solar panels at home provided just enough power for their daily needs. But once the neighboring unit was fully renovated—and they needed electric lighting for the crops there—these panels definitely wouldn’t be enough. And it wasn’t just about electricity. Water would also be an issue.
Currently, the two distillation devices they ran daily easily supplied all their water needs. But once large-scale planting began in the neighboring room, two wouldn’t cut it anymore—they’d need at least one more distiller to keep up with demand.
Luo Xun opened the note-taking app on his now-functioning phone and began jotting things down, listing all the tasks for tomorrow one by one. He realized he was about to get busy again: collecting enough crystal cores to upgrade Yan Fei, securing more solar panels to power the next room, building another distillation unit, finding someone to sell vegetables to, and going out at the end of the month for another crystal core-hunting trip…
Sigh—why did it feel like his “laid-back, farm-at-home apocalypse dream” was getting farther and farther away?
In his previous life, though things had been tougher and more tiring, that version of himself had actually been closer to that ideal.
Just as Luo Xun finished writing his notes, Li Tie and his group returned.
As members of the SIM card and app development team, they were among the first to receive new phone cards. Their superiors had even been generous enough to give each of them the latest model of the most popular “Kidney-brand” flagship smartphone from before the apocalypse. After all, those phones were now worthless—left abandoned on the streets. A quick scavenging trip could easily net dozens of brand-new, unopened units. Convenient indeed.
The college students gathered around their sleek new devices, half sighing, half laughing. “Man, this model had just launched before everything went to hell. We couldn’t even afford last year’s version back then—we joked that the only way we’d get this one was by selling a kidney! Who’d have thought we’d end up getting one for free now…”
Luo Xun couldn’t help chuckling at their mix of nostalgia and delight—and promptly poured a bucket of cold water over them. “You do realize those big-screen phones break really easily when you’re out on missions, right?”
The five of them froze, wide-eyed. They’d completely overlooked that! From the side, Zhang Su snorted derisively through his nose, clearly mocking their lack of foresight.
“But… then what should we use instead? Which phone’s more durable?” one of them asked, scratching his head.
Luo Xun coughed lightly and pulled out the two phones he and Yan Fei used. “Rugged models—waterproof, dustproof, and shockproof! You can bump them around all you like on missions, and they’ll still work fine. Best post-apocalypse phone you can get. So, kids, interested?”
“How much?”
“Brother Luo, how about we trade ours for yours?”
“They look kind of bulky and ugly at first… but the more I look, the cooler they seem.”
“Brother Luo, were you using these before the apocalypse? They look practically new!”
Luo Xun grinned and pulled several boxes from his backpack. “Found them when scavenging supplies—uh, just happened to pass by a specialty store.” He’d actually had his eye on that store even before the apocalypse. Back when new phones cost a fortune, he’d never have dreamed of buying one. But once the world ended, no one cared about them anymore, and he’d simply picked up a whole crate. Giving Li Tie’s team a few units was no loss—he still had plenty of spares for himself.
After a bit of discussion, Li Tie and the others traded three of their flagship smartphones plus thirty crystal cores for six rugged phones from Luo Xun. Fair trade between brothers—especially since crystal cores weren’t of much use to them at the moment, and durable phones were far more practical.
As for the three flagship phones they had left behind? Naturally, the group took turns playing with them for fun. Unfortunately, none of the services for that brand of phone worked anymore, and no new games could be downloaded.
He Qiankun and Wu Xin had already started whispering to each other in secret — the two were planning to use their programming skills and access to work computers to develop a few simple games to install onto the phones later.
Ah, being able to code and make games really was convenient~ Even if they couldn’t come up with anything original, surely they could at least clone a few of those once-popular mobile games, right?
Thank you for reading 🙂 I hope you all liked my translations. If you enjoyed my work, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi 😉
