Lin Lu returned to the car in a fairly good mood.
Of course, the act she had put on earlier had been deliberate. After obtaining the jade pendant’s spatial ability, she had already transferred all of her grandmother’s belongings into it.
With that performance, she not only thoroughly humiliated that blood-sucking family, but also casually tricked them out of forty thousand yuan. It was extremely satisfying.
“Forty thousand yuan… that’s enough to buy quite a lot of bullets.”
She stopped paying attention to that bunch of clowns, started the car, and drove into the night.
On the way, Lin Lu held the steering wheel with one hand and used the other to send a WeChat message to Uncle Zhang.
[Uncle Zhang, do you have any connections to get some heavy-duty stuff? For self-defense. The more powerful, the better.]
The reason she contacted Uncle Zhang was because the old man had traveled widely when he was younger and had connections in all sorts of circles.
Since she was going to face zombies, knives and crossbows alone wouldn’t be enough. She needed real firearms.
However, Uncle Zhang didn’t reply.
Lin Lu guessed he was probably busy settling things in the countryside or had poor signal.
She wasn’t in a hurry. She put her phone away and checked into a hotel in the city center.
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, Lin Lu quickly contacted a real estate agent.
Time was too tight—only four days left.
The priority was to secure a safe house as quickly as possible.
She looked at several properties, running around from morning until afternoon.
Finally, after viewing the fifth house, she stood in front of a villa with a yard.
“This property is located in the southern suburbs. Although it’s not in the city center, it’s only two kilometers from the main road, so it’s very convenient to enter the city.”
The agent enthusiastically introduced it.
“Also, there are few residents in this area. It’s a standalone villa, and the surroundings are quite open.”
“The owner’s family has emigrated overseas and is urgently renting it out. All furniture and appliances are fully included.”
Lin Lu carefully inspected the place.
It was good.
It was far enough from the city that she wouldn’t be immediately surrounded by zombie hordes at the outbreak’s start.
But it wasn’t as remote as her grandmother’s villa, making it easy to drive into the city to hunt zombies.
Most importantly, it had a basement and a large enclosed rooftop terrace. The layout was spacious, with good visibility and easy defense.
“This one will do.”
She made the decision immediately.
She transferred a 20,000 yuan deposit on the spot and received the keys.
The agent was very pleased.
“No problem! You’re really decisive!”
“Feel free to contact me anytime!”
After sending the agent away, Lin Lu entered the villa.
The first floor had a living room and kitchen, the second floor had three bedrooms.
The third floor was an attic connected to a large terrace, and the basement was dry and spacious—perfect for storage.
“It still needs reinforcement.”
Lin Lu touched the somewhat thin anti-theft windows, already forming an upgrade plan in her mind.
Just then, she looked outside.
Heavy clouds pressed down over the city so low it felt like she could reach out and touch them.
Thunder rumbled deep within the clouds. Even though it was only four in the afternoon, the sky looked as dark as midnight.
Soon, heavy rain poured down, covering the world in a gray curtain.
Everything around fell silent except for the sound of the downpour, as if she were the only person left in the world.
At that moment, Lin Lu finally felt a real sense that the apocalypse was approaching.
“It’s coming…”
In four days, everything she knew—this prosperous city—would be destroyed in a world-ending storm.
And the only thing she could rely on was herself.
She took out her phone and opened the diary app.
She wondered if there would be any new clues tonight about awakening abilities.
“If only I could choose the diary topics…”
She couldn’t help but think.
“Ding—”
A WeChat notification popped up.
It was Uncle Zhang.
Lin Lu quickly opened it.
He didn’t say anything, just sent her a contact card.
The profile picture was completely black, with no nickname—only a single period.
Lin Lu raised an eyebrow and immediately added the contact.
For the verification message, she wrote: Recommended by Uncle Zhang.
It was accepted almost instantly.
[ . : What do you need—loud or silent? Long or short? How much ammo? How risky is the route? ]
An ordinary person would be completely confused by this.
But as a forensic doctor, Lin Lu had worked with criminal investigators often and understood all the slang perfectly.
“Loud” meant firearms, “silent” meant cold weapons or suppressed weapons.
“Long and short” referred to rifles and pistols. “Ammo” referred to bullet quantity (one “press” usually meant 100 rounds or one magazine).
“Route” referred to purpose and transportation risk.
Lin Lu quickly replied:
[Pistols—two Glock or Norinco Type 54 if available. With ammo, 50 presses.]
[One rifle, preferably with a scope.]
[Also silent weapons: combat knives, composite crossbows—everything you’ve got.]
[Budget: 2 million. Can you deliver tonight or tomorrow morning?]
The other side went silent for a few seconds.
[ . : Deal. Half deposit first. Delivery at 2 a.m. tomorrow at the abandoned textile factory in the east suburbs.]
[ . : Account: 6222…]
Lin Lu said nothing and directly transferred one million over.
[Lin Lu: Sent. I want quality goods. Don’t try to scam me with water guns.]
[ . : Don’t worry. Recommended by Old Zhang. Guaranteed authenticity. OK.]
After sending that message, the other party stopped replying.
Looking at the account balance that had instantly dropped by a large chunk, Lin Lu couldn’t help but sigh.
“Money really doesn’t last at all.”
She had originally thought that the two million in her hands was already a huge sum, but after buying just a few guns, it was already nearly gone.
Still, in the apocalypse, life was worth more than money. This investment was absolutely worth it.
“Luckily, I still have backup plans.”
Lin Lu opened another banking app to check her loan status.
[Your mortgage-backed loan has passed final approval. Amount: 10,000,000 yuan. Expected disbursement: next business day.]
Ten million!
Lin Lu murmured to herself.
“That’s enough to upgrade this safe house.”
“Tomorrow I’ll ask for an all-inclusive renovation quote. The remaining money will all go into weapons.”
“After all, when you hold truth in your hands, you don’t panic.”
Outside, the heavy rain continued to fall.
Lin Lu took out a steaming box of claypot rice from her spatial storage.
While eating, she quickly reviewed everything in her mind.
Supplies were basically settled. The weapon deal would be done tomorrow.
Now, everything was ready—only two things remained.
First, turn this house into an iron fortress. The renovation team should move in tomorrow and finish within three days.
Second…
On the night before the apocalypse, return to her grandmother’s villa and take everything away.
After finishing her meal, Lin Lu checked the time and called Pei Yanzhi.
She patiently performed a full act—“I miss you,” “I worry about you,” “I’m waiting for you to come back”—before finally hanging up.
Then she placed several online orders, all shipping to her current residence.
By the time she finished, it was almost midnight.
The clock struck twelve, and the diary refreshed again.
Excited, she opened it:
[June 15. Thunderstorms.]
[The outbreak of the zombie virus is now inevitable, but crises often come with opportunities.]
[The virus is a double-edged sword. While it destroys genes, it also reconstructs them.]
[Those fortunate enough to withstand the erosion of the zombie virus will have a chance to awaken special abilities.]
[The key to awakening lies in viral concentration and environmental resonance.]
[In the early stage of the outbreak, entering areas with moderate viral density carries higher risk, but also significantly increases the probability of awakening.]
[At the same time, the environment during awakening will greatly influence the type of ability gained.]
[Near high-voltage substations: likely to awaken lightning abilities;]
[Near burning infernos: likely to awaken fire abilities;]
[Inside extreme cold storage: likely to awaken ice abilities…]
[This is a high-stakes gamble—win, and you evolve; lose, and you are doomed beyond recovery!]