Living with My Aloof Ex-Wife After the Apocalypse - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Apocalypse Has Arrived Early!

The bulk of the supplies Xing He prepared consisted of convenience foods. These instant meals were very easy to stockpile, with quantities on her procurement list often reaching dozens of cases or more. They would be more than enough to stave off hunger in the early stages of the apocalypse, but if she continued to consume them without any new intake, she would eventually run out.

Considering nutritional balance and sustainable development, she would eventually need to search for and cultivate ingredients.

For natural ingredients, the importance of seasonings could not be overstated. Xing He had never cooked before and didn’t know which seasonings were essential, so she simply found a spice shop and took a bit of everything. By the time she checked out, several large boxes were piled on the floor.

The shop owner, Chen Yun, was a thin, middle-aged woman. Those who knew her called her Auntie Chen. She looked well-maintained; although she was fifty, there were few wrinkles on her face. Wearing a pair of far-sighted glasses, she looked very sharp and capable. Auntie Chen adjusted her glasses, glanced at Xing He, and then looked at the large boxes on the floor with a smile.

“Little girl, you don’t cook, do you?”

Xing He was surprised she could tell at a glance and felt a bit embarrassed. “Yes. Because of work, I haven’t cooked much.”

A look of “I knew it” appeared on Auntie Chen’s face. “My daughter is the same age as you. She’s so busy every day she has no time to cook and lives on takeout. You youngsters work hard, but you really should learn to cook for yourselves.”

Auntie Chen confirmed with Xing He: “Do you even recognize these spices?”

Xing He shook her head awkwardly. Then what are these big boxes for… Auntie Chen grew suspicious. “Can you really use this much?”

Xing He fabricated a lie: “I finally had some time to come, so I wanted to buy more and bring some for my relatives.” Auntie Chen glanced at her, finding this quite novel. “Oh? Is it trendy for young people to give seasonings as gifts now?”

Fortunately, Auntie Chen didn’t press for a real answer and focused on counting the stock; otherwise, Xing He wouldn’t have known how to keep up the charade. Even though her hands were busy, her mouth didn’t stop. “Little girl, these are commercial-grade seasonings. They have many additives; it’s not good for your health to eat too much.”

Xing He heard the earnest concern in Auntie Chen’s voice. Too many additives were indeed bad, but having only been responsible for eating while in the military, she had no idea how to distinguish commercial grade from the rest. Seeing Xing He’s bewildered face, Auntie Chen sighed in frustration, looking at her as if she were her own daughter. “You should eat better stuff if it’s for yourself. Let me pick them for you.”

Xing He was worried about this very thing, so she was delighted to have help. “Thank you so much then!”

“Don’t mention it. You can just call me Auntie Chen.” As a professional, she quickly re-selected everything for Xing He and even rounded down the total price at checkout. When Xing He left, Auntie Chen waved goodbye with a smile. “Come again next time, little girl!” Xing He waved back in acknowledgment.

In the blink of an eye, several days passed. The supplies were fully stocked, and the upgrades to the small courtyard were nearly complete.

Xing He’s courtyard was a typical Chinese rural building: a standalone house, a small warehouse, and a dirt perimeter wall with a gate enclosing the two structures. Xing He found a construction team nearby.

First, the perimeter wall was repaired. The wall body was recast with reinforced concrete, and a steel barbed-wire electric fence was placed on top. This would prevent zombies with strong climbing abilities from entering and stop ill-intentioned people from sneaking in once the outside world spiraled out of control. Then, all the doors and windows in the building were replaced with steel bulletproof materials. Once finished, they could withstand bullet impacts and were fireproof and explosion-proof.

But even after doing all this, the security of the courtyard was still far from the standard Xing He desired. A courtyard couldn’t be completely sealed; any chance for outsiders to enter meant a risk. To be safe, Xing He decided to tear down the small warehouse next to the main building and build a new safe room entirely out of bulletproof materials, with a small basement planned underneath to store her most important supplies. Finally, she had a tunnel dug to connect the warehouse directly to the main building, providing a double layer of protection.

The construction foreman was named Deng Chengjia. Xing He required him to lead the team to finish within four days. Initially, Deng Chengjia refused flat out, saying Xing He was talking about fantasies and that it was impossible. Xing He said nothing but doubled her offer and asked him to reconsider. The offer was a significant sum; for a middle-aged man with elders and children to support, it was nearly impossible to refuse. Deng Chengjia hesitated for an hour before finally calling Xing He back.

A large portion of the money Xing He had saved over the years in the military and her resettlement funds was spent in one go. However, she didn’t feel distressed. After all, once the apocalypse arrived, no amount of money would be more than a stack of paper.

The frame of the safe house was designed, and the issues of water and electricity were solved sequentially. Xing He installed a solar power system on the roof; while it didn’t provide much steady energy, it was more than enough to maintain the operation of the small courtyard. The small river adjacent to the courtyard also played a huge role. After installing the water purification system in the yard, she only needed to bury a pipe leading directly from the river to the yard to have purified water available at home.

After the modifications were complete, the workers left. Xing He drove back and saw the foreman waiting at the gate from a distance.

“Boss Xing, you’re finally back.”

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Let me inspect the work first.”

“No problem, please!”

Xing He checked the perimeter wall; she had watched the rebar being laid, and the quality of the concrete was fine. Inside the yard, the main building looked much the same as before, save for the new doors and windows. The warehouse, however, was world apart. The original single-story shed was now two stories. The exposed exterior walls on the first floor were redone with reinforced concrete, just like the perimeter wall. The door was not only replaced with sturdy steel bulletproof material but also featured a double-layer design.

The basement of the warehouse was also built entirely with steel bulletproof materials. The cold, steel-colored surfaces made it look less like a home and more like a cage. Xing He thought to herself that if no unexpected accidents occurred, she didn’t plan to visit this place often.

The inspection was complete, and the final payment was made. Their cooperation ended here. As Xing He prepared to say goodbye to Deng Chengjia, a small figure came skipping over to his side. Xing He instinctively looked at the little one. Noticing her gaze, Deng Chengjia introduced her with a smile.

“This is my daughter, Deng Baobao. Her nickname is Doudou.” One could hear a hint of pride in his voice; he clearly loved his daughter. He pointed to Xing He and said gently to the girl, “Doudou, say hello to Auntie!”

Deng Baobao, with her pigtails, had large, twinkling eyes and was very cute. She looked at Xing He curiously and spoke in a crisp, childish voice. “Hello, pretty big sister!”

Xing He leaned down and patted her head with a smile. “Hello there!”

Deng Chengjia nodded to Xing He as a farewell and went to start the car. Deng Baobao seemed very happy, her smile revealing two missing front teeth. She wiped her mud-stained hands on her skirt and pulled a lollipop out of her small bag. “Sister, this is for you.”

The wrapper of the lollipop was a bit curled; it looked as if she had carefully saved it for a long time, reluctant to eat it. Xing He felt bad taking a child’s treat and was about to tell her to keep it, but Deng Chengjia was already calling for her to come home. Deng Baobao waved vigorously at Xing He, said “bye-bye,” and scurried toward her father’s car.

Watching Deng Chengjia lift the girl into the car, Xing He couldn’t hold back and shouted: “Stock up on more things at home and try to stay indoors lately. I heard many people are catching a contagious disease; don’t let the child get infected.” Deng Chengjia acknowledged her from afar, but it was unclear if he took her advice to heart.

Xing He stood there for a long time as the car disappeared. Only after nightfall did she finally return to the courtyard. By the time she had categorized the resources and placed them in the warehouse, it was late at night. With most preparations complete, she could finally relax on her bed.

But once her mind was idle, her thoughts began to wander. In her previous life, after the apocalypse descended, although she was forced into the political struggles of the Dawn Settlement, she spent her whole life dedicated to helping survivors. She fought for humanity’s last bastion until the very end; even after being turned into a Zombie King by traitors, she had a clear conscience.

Counting down from now, in two days, less than one-tenth of the people in this city would remain alive. Whether it was the kind shop owner who treated her like a daughter or the innocent girl who called her “pretty sister,” they would all become cold statistics once the disaster struck.

“Death toll from this sudden incident: 5,325,674 people. Casualties are still rising sharply, and property damage is immeasurable. The government is doing its best to carry out rescue operations. Citizens are urged to protect themselves and wait patiently for rescue.”

Knowing the apocalypse is coming and telling no one while I remain safe because of advance knowledge… Is this really right?

Sensing Xing He’s hesitation, the system, which had been silent for days, suddenly spoke.

[WARNING! WARNING!]

[The host’s current thoughts risk changing the development of the world line. If you forcibly interfere with the world’s direction, your existence will be erased by the world.]

[WARNING! WARNING!]

The cold mechanical voice gave Xing He a headache. She rubbed her temples irritably, hoping the voice would stop, but it didn’t. Perhaps she had crossed an untouchable line; to completely discourage the thought, the system’s warning echoed in her head all night.

By dawn, Xing He hadn’t closed her eyes. There should have been a few days of buffer time, but since she couldn’t sleep anyway, she opened her phone to browse the news. It was too early; many media outlets hadn’t updated yet. Official accounts hadn’t posted any suspicious reports, but she couldn’t be entirely at ease.

In terms of real-time events, the “Big Eye” app’s (Weibo) trending section was usually faster than traditional media. She closed the news app and opened Big Eye. Seeing the tags on the hot search list, she was instantly wide awake.

#SuspectedZombieOutbreak (EXPLODING) #MultipleUnexplainedAttacksNationwide (EXPLODING) #CityCBlockaded (EXPLODING) #CityACannibalism (EXPLODING) #InsiderRevealsUnknownVirusLeakInCityA (EXPLODING)

She carefully read every post about the “man-eating monsters.”

“I saw someone biting people on the street this morning. Is it rabies?”

“I think I saw a zombie.”

“Does anyone know the emergency hotline? My family is hurt, but I can’t reach the hospital or the police.”

“Is there a film crew at Difu Square? I saw someone with their intestines hanging out; the special effects makeup is so realistic.”

“You’re all spreading rumors. Why hasn’t anyone posted a picture?”

Currently, the posts only consisted of text descriptions, and many links showed a “404 Error” when clicked. A few minutes later, the top trending tags with the “Exploding” label were deleted, and the page returned to a peaceful, harmonious state.

The officials were controlling public opinion. Most people were still asleep, and those who were awake were busy with their own lives; almost no one noticed this fleeting disturbance.

But Xing He was almost certain.

The apocalypse has arrived early!

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