“Breaking news: A terrorist attack has occurred at Yuhe Bridge in A City. Residents are advised not to go to Yuhe Bridge…”
The car radio suddenly cut in with the news. Si Shen, sitting in the car, abruptly lowered the snack in his hand.
Had the time finally come? Si Shen was a little dazed. After a year, the plot had finally begun.
Nian Chengxiao thought Si Shen was scared, so he comforted him. “It’s okay, baby. We’ll take a detour home.”
Si Shen nodded and began thinking about the plot.
He had been in this novel’s world for almost a year. Nothing from the plot had happened all this time, and he had found a boyfriend here, too.
Now, this news finally confirmed the timing for him: one month after the bridge was attacked, the Apocalypse would break out.
It seemed they couldn’t stay in A City anymore. Luckily, the university had just started summer break, so they could return to Nian Chengxiao’s hometown, C City.
In the novel, C City had the fewest Mutants. Compared to other cities, it was a good choice.
Si Shen had mentioned returning to C City for the summer break before. Now, they might have to move up their plans.
“Let’s head back to our hometown in a couple of days, once you’ve finished your experiment,” Si Shen suggested.
“I’ve already made preparations. Now that it’s vacation, we can drive back,” Nian Chengxiao said, explaining his plans.
They had been together for a year. Nian Chengxiao had always been busy, and teaching students was no easy task. But his experiments would be finished this summer, so he could go home and travel with Si Shen.
C City was a classic tourist destination. They could enjoy a romantic trip there, and the plan seemed wonderful just thinking about it.
After taking a long detour, they got home at eleven. They hurriedly washed up and went to bed.
The next day, Nian Chengxiao still had to go to the Laboratory, while Si Shen had to work at the coffee shop.
In the morning, the alarm rang at its usual time. Nian Chengxiao got up, got dressed, and washed up.
Si Shen was still lounging in bed, waiting for Nian Chengxiao to tend to him that morning.
Nian Chengxiao put the milk on to heat, then expertly dug Si Shen out of the blankets and gave him a good-morning kiss.
He helped Si Shen get dressed, then placed a toothbrush with toothpaste already on it in his hand. Only then did Si Shen fully boot up and start brushing his teeth.
This was their daily routine. The two of them were very affectionate and deeply in love.
That was also why Si Shen didn’t have too many complaints about having transmigrated.
Before, he had been alone, with no family and few friends to care about.
Now things were different. He not only had a lover, but also a job and warm, friendly neighbors.
He loved his life now, but nothing in life was certain. A month from now, this life would disappear completely.
This world would become a living hell for humanity, but he still had his lover.
Still, he knew a lot about what happened in the book, so they might not have to suffer too much.
Si Shen had adjusted to another world within a year and even found a lover. He was very open-minded to begin with, so he was taking the coming Apocalypse in stride as well.
“Baby, come eat breakfast!” Nian Chengxiao called, setting the milk on the table.
Si Shen stopped thinking, quickly splashed some water on his face, and ran out.
“Coming! What’s for breakfast today?” Si Shen poked his head out.
“Milk, a boiled egg, and a sandwich,” Nian Chengxiao replied.
Si Shen slowed his steps toward the table. He didn’t like boiled eggs!
But there was no helping it. He could only frown and finish it, then get into Professor Nian’s beloved car and head to school with him.
That’s right, they both worked at the same university. Nian Chengxiao was A University’s youngest associate professor—only twenty-eight that year!
Si Shen, meanwhile, owned a small coffee shop at A University.
Once they arrived at A University, Nian Chengxiao dropped him off at the coffee shop before heading to the Laboratory to continue his experiment.
By now, second- and third-year students had finished their courses. Those who had completed their exams had already left; only the first-years with the heaviest coursework, along with the graduate students and doctoral students, remained.
There were far fewer people than before, and the coffee shop had noticeably fewer customers. Si Shen was happy to take it easy, playing games in his Rocking Chair.
He also thought about what supplies he needed to stock up on for the Apocalypse and recalled the plot of the novel in his mind.
This novel was unlike traditional post-apocalyptic stories. It wasn’t a zombie novel, nor was it simply about a natural-disaster Apocalypse.
Instead, it featured the relatively novel concept of a Mutant Apocalypse. An unknown substance appeared in this world that could infect living things, causing them to mutate and become Mutants.
Mutants fed on humans, evolving by devouring them.
The novel opened with the Protagonist browsing the internet and coming across news of the attack on Yuhe Bridge in A City, though the Protagonist was from E City.
Later, it was revealed that the incident at the bridge in A City wasn’t a terrorist attack at all, but the appearance of a Mutant.
The novel mainly followed the Protagonist as he fought monsters and leveled up. It was a power fantasy, but the ending was poorly handled, so Si Shen gave it a three-star rating.
Besides Mutants, there were all kinds of Natural Disasters in the novel, so he needed to prepare now.
After recalling the plot, Si Shen sat bolt upright, opened his laptop, and made a spreadsheet to plan his supplies.
He had Nian Chengxiao’s salary and some of their savings—only two hundred thousand yuan in total.
Now he needed to turn that money into supplies to prepare for life in the coming Apocalypse.
Actually, as a university associate professor, Nian Chengxiao shouldn’t have had so little money.
But after Si Shen said he wanted to go on a road trip with Nian Chengxiao, Nian Chengxiao had splurged and bought a Heavy Truck RV.
At least they had their Doomsday ride now.
But if they wanted to travel around during the Apocalypse, the RV still needed modifications: the windows, bumpers, tires, solar panels, and so on.
Si Shen thought about the modifications as he worked on the spreadsheet.
Besides modifying the RV, they also needed to stockpile large quantities of food.
Food was paramount. The Apocalypse would cause people to lose much of their food supply. Even though human Bases would resume farming later on, many people would still starve to death in the early days.
He listed Wheat and rice, and considered buying some dried vegetables since they would be easy to store.
Fresh vegetables were difficult to store and carry. But they could buy Seeds and try growing their own once they reached C City.
Cabbage, radishes, Lettuce, Spinach, beets… He listed every vegetable he could think of.
Large quantities of canned food, dried noodles, luncheon meat, canned fruit, salted duck eggs, preserved eggs, Chinese sausages, cured meat, sausages, and more all went onto the spreadsheet.
Medical supplies were also essential. Iodophor, alcohol, antibiotics… Si Shen planned to add them to the list.
The wildly fluctuating weather would become the new normal in the future, so they needed to keep suitable clothes on hand: at least ten outfits for each season.
The fruits of human society weren’t limited to industrial products. A vast collection of books was the foundation of the development of human civilization.
Reference books, skill manuals, and books on equipment repair were all added to the list.
After the Apocalypse, repairs wouldn’t be as convenient as they were now. If something broke, they’d have to fix it themselves.
All afternoon, aside from making coffee for the few students who came into the shop, he spent his time organizing his Apocalypse spreadsheet.
But while making the spreadsheet, Si Shen felt a little uneasy. Normally, Professor Nian would have messaged by now to ask what he wanted for dinner.
But it was already quitting time, and Nian Chengxiao still hadn’t sent a message. Si Shen couldn’t help worrying.
Unable to work on the spreadsheet anymore, he went to the machine and made a few lattes. Then he took his laptop and closed the shop.
Following the cobblestone path, he made his way to the Fungi Laboratory building.
When he reached the Laboratory on the fourth floor and stepped inside, he immediately sensed something was wrong. The Laboratory, which should have been brightly lit, was now completely dark.
Something had happened!