After arranging the mountain of supplies into neat stacks, Mi Beibei carved out a narrow passage just wide enough for one person to walk through. She then went into the storage room. After tidying it up a little, she opened the storage room window, sat beside the windowsill, and idly scrolled through her phone to pass the time.
Suddenly, a faint noise came from outside the window, breaking the silence.
Mi Beibei looked up and saw a young man dressed in black standing before her.
His clothes were stained with dark red blood, and a large, filthy hiking backpack hung from his shoulders. His deep eyes held both caution and suspicion, yet remained sharp, as though they could see through everything. His bronze skin showed traces of exhaustion beneath it, while his messy hair hung loosely over his forehead. His entire body radiated a dangerous aura that sent chills down one’s spine.
A warm smile immediately appeared on Mi Beibei’s face.
“Hello! What would you like to buy? I have rice, flour, cooking oil, all kinds of seasonings, instant noodles, self-heating meals, ham sausages, compressed biscuits, various vacuum-packed meats, as well as dried foods and dried fruits. If you need anything, you can exchange it with gold, jade jewelry, or other valuable items.”
Lin Fei remained silent.
His sharp gaze swept across the mountain of food piled behind Mi Beibei. After a long while, he finally spoke.
“Is that a phone in your hand?”
Mi Beibei paused for a moment.
“Huh? Yes… it’s a phone.”
“Can you let me take a look?”
“…”
She hesitated and stared at the man in front of her. Although his expression was cold, his eyes were still clear. Besides, in this post-apocalyptic world, stealing a phone probably wouldn’t be of much use.
So she handed it toward him.
“Go ahead.”
Lin Fei didn’t reach out to take it.
Instead, he simply leaned forward and glanced at the screen while it remained in Mi Beibei’s hand.
His eyes flickered slightly.
Just as he had expected.
The screen clearly displayed the date:
May 22, 2035.
But in his world…
It was already the year 2056.
Moreover, the instant the phone extended beyond the window, its full signal bars instantly disappeared and turned into a large X.
Mi Beibei had no idea that her biggest secret was on the verge of being exposed. She continued holding out the phone, completely puzzled as to why the man would only look at it without taking it.
“That’s enough,” Lin Fei said.
“Uh…”
Mi Beibei looked utterly confused.
“So… do you want to exchange for anything?”
“One serving of rice and one chicken leg.”
Lin Fei reached into his backpack and took out a crystal-clear object that looked like a gemstone, handing it to her.
Mi Beibei stared at it.
“What is this?”
“A zombie crystal.”
It was obvious he had anticipated the question, because he answered immediately.
“Zombie crystal?”
Her face instantly turned pale, and her heart leaped into her throat.
A zombie crystal…
Wasn’t that something taken from inside a zombie’s body?
What use could something like that possibly have?
Could it even be brought back into the real world?
As if he had read her thoughts, Lin Fei explained,
“Zombie crystals can replenish energy for ability users. They also have a certain chance of awakening supernatural abilities in ordinary people.”
“A certain chance?”
Mi Beibei immediately caught the key point.
“So there’s also a high chance that it won’t awaken any powers. If it fails… what happens?”
Lin Fei fell silent for quite a while before finally answering.
“Maybe nothing will happen…”
“…Or you might become a zombie.”
Silence filled the air.
Mi Beibei was completely speechless.
Good grief.
If she hadn’t asked that extra question and had foolishly used it herself…
Sure, becoming an ability user sounded great.
But turning into a zombie was absolutely terrifying!
“No!”
Mi Beibei rejected it without the slightest hesitation.
Lin Fei fell silent once more.
Then he turned around and walked away without another word.
Mi Beibei could only roll her eyes helplessly before sitting back down in her chair and letting out a long sigh.
Just then, her phone notified her that several packages had arrived at the pickup station.
She opened the shopping app and found that nearly everything she had ordered over the past few days had arrived. Only the wet wipes were still in transit.
She casually closed the window and headed out to collect her packages.
What she didn’t notice was that…
The window wasn’t actually locked.
It was only pulled shut loosely.
…
Mi Beibei stacked one package after another onto a small handcart she had borrowed from the pickup station and slowly pushed it all the way home.
After unloading everything, she returned the handcart before leisurely heading back upstairs.
The moment she stepped inside…
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Violent knocking echoed from the storage room, sounding especially abrupt in the otherwise quiet house.
Startled, Mi Beibei hurried toward the storage room.
As soon as she arrived, her eyes locked onto the window that hadn’t been fully closed.
Frowning, she slowly opened it.
Standing outside…
Was none other than the disgusting Liu Laosi from yesterday.
The moment Liu Laosi saw the window open, he was about to speak.
But before he could say a word, Mi Beibei immediately started closing it again.
Panicking, he shoved against the window with all his strength.
Unfortunately for him, it closed too quickly.
He couldn’t stop it at all.
Furious, he roared,
“You bitch! Open the damn window right now! Otherwise I’ll kill you!”
Mi Beibei ignored him completely.
Bang!
She slammed the window shut, trapping all of Liu Laosi’s curses outside.
After making sure it was tightly closed, she calmly turned around and went back to unpacking her deliveries.
She found a place for the entire carton of tissues, then climbed onto a stool and stacked bags of toilet paper on top.
Next, she placed the razors, disposable underwear, sanitary pads, and safety shorts beside them.
The lighters were stored separately in another corner, far away from the other supplies.
Finally, she carried the smallest flat packages into her bedroom and happily began trying on her new clothes.
…
Meanwhile…
In the post-apocalyptic world…
Lin Fei returned as quickly as possible to the area near the signboard, carrying a large bag filled with newly collected gold, silver, and jade jewelry.
From a distance, he spotted three people standing near the window.
Two of them stood off to the side with folded arms, watching the show.
The third was repeatedly smashing the already dilapidated window with a steel pipe while cursing loudly.
“You damn bitch! I gave you face, but you refused it! You dared lock me outside? Let’s see how I deal with you!”
Lin Fei slowed his steps.
Then he quietly entered another nearby building and found a hidden corner where he had a clear view of the window.
Silently, he watched.
No matter how hard the man swung the steel pipe…
The old, fragile-looking window didn’t budge in the slightest.
The man became even more enraged.
The other two burst into laughter.
“What’s wrong, Liu Laosi? You can’t even smash one lousy window? Guess you’ve gone soft! Hahaha!”
“Liu Laosi, Zhang Lao’er, and Li Laosan, stop standing there talking crap!” Liu Laosi shouted angrily.
“This damn window’s just as strange as that woman! Hurry up and help me! Once we break it open, all the supplies inside—and that little beauty—will belong to us!”
Still laughing, the other two stepped forward.
“Just admit it, Liu Laosi. You’re getting old. Hahaha!”
None of them noticed…
Several zombies had already been drawn over by the noise.
Only when the zombies let out horrifying roars did the three finally realize how close the danger was.
“Holy shit! Zombies!”
“Didn’t you say there weren’t any zombies around here, Liu Laosi?!”
One of them immediately turned and ran.
The other two fled in panic after him.
Their voices grew fainter and fainter until they disappeared into the dusk.
…
Lin Fei waited patiently.
Only after the street had completely quieted down and the zombies had wandered elsewhere did he cautiously emerge from hiding and quickly approach the window.
By then…
Everything had returned to how it looked when he had first discovered it.
The place was once again nothing more than a dilapidated ruin.
Only the brightly colored signboard remained, though several of its painted strokes had been smashed off.
Lin Fei tried peering through one of the broken holes.
Inside, all he saw was the same empty, dusty, and ruined room that matched the outside.
Disappointment flashed across his face as he withdrew his gaze.
The sky was gradually darkening.
The distant zombies had begun growing restless.
With no other choice, he reluctantly left, intending to find a safe building nearby where he could survive the dangerous night.
…
Back in the real world…
Mi Beibei finished trying on all her new clothes.
She packed away the ones she didn’t like or that didn’t fit, while tossing the rest into the washing machine.
Afterward, she had originally planned to open the storage room window again.
But the moment she remembered Liu Laosi’s disgusting face outside, she immediately gave up the idea.
What if he was still waiting there?
She checked the time on her phone.
It was already 5:10 p.m.
She decided to go out for dinner.
She remembered there was a handmade dumpling restaurant nearby that supposedly had excellent reviews, so she decided to give it a try.
After quickly getting ready and changing her shoes, she headed out.
…
When she arrived at the dumpling restaurant, one table of customers was already happily eating, while another table was still waiting for their food.
Mi Beibei walked over to the menu hanging on the wall and carefully studied the different fillings.
Chive and pork.
Fennel and pork.
Cabbage and pork.
Green bean and pork.
Celery and pork…
“I’ll have the celery and pork.”
Having made her decision, she walked to the counter, told the owner her choice, paid, and found an empty table to wait.
Before long, a steaming plate of dumplings was served.
The rich aroma immediately filled the air, making her mouth water uncontrollably.
Unable to wait another second, she picked up a dumpling with her chopsticks, gently blew on it, and popped it into her mouth.
The instant her teeth broke through the dumpling skin, the piping hot filling burst free.
Rich meat juices mixed with finely chopped celery exploded across her tongue, and the comforting warmth spread throughout her mouth.
Mi Beibei lowered her head and focused entirely on eating.
Before long, she had finished the entire plate.
She let out a satisfied burp and slowly made her way home.