After the natural disaster evolution period began, dawn came much earlier.
It used to get light at 6:00 a.m., but now visibility was already very good by around 4:30 a.m.
Mo Fei naturally woke up at 6:00 a.m. She casually reached over for the phone on her nightstand.
Mo Fei already knew the tastes and nutritional needs of every member of their family of five by heart. She had already made a list of the three daily meals in the Notes app on her phone.
Since they had plenty of ingredients anyway, Mo Fei simply arranged a buffet spread across the long dining table.
For drinks, she prepared strawberry milk, mango milk, plain milk, soy milk, and chilled sweet glutinous rice balls in syrup.
The main dishes included red bean bread, black rice bread, thick spinach omelet, shumai, and dry fried beef rice noodles.
She also placed several hard-boiled eggs, chicken sausages, vegetable sausages, and a few packs of mixed daily nuts on the side.
As for herself, Mo Fei washed cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, and other vegetables with water from her space, then made herself a vegetable salad. She added one hard-boiled egg, one chicken sausage, and paired it with a cup of black coffee.
Breakfast could be kept nice and simple, Mo Fei thought.
Among all these dishes, the dry fried beef rice noodles were the only thing that required a little more effort. While listening to an audiobook playing on her iPad, Mo Fei mixed the evenly sliced beef in her hands with light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and sugar, kneading everything together until almost no sauce remained in the bowl. She then added egg white, cornstarch slurry, and egg yolk separately, making sure to thoroughly mix the beef each time before adding the next ingredient.
While the beef was marinating, Mo Fei trimmed the heads and tails off the bean sprouts. She cut scallions into long sections, separating the white parts from the green parts. She also sliced some yellow chives to use later.
The cast iron wok had originally rested quietly on the stove, but as soon as Mo Fei poured oil into it, the oil immediately began sizzling with tiny bubbles. She quickly added the beef, stir-fried it just until it was nearly cooked through, then removed it and set it aside.
After washing the wok, Mo Fei poured in more oil and added the four beaten eggs. Once they were fully cooked and broken into small pieces, she removed them from the wok. Good dry fried rice noodles required plenty of oil, so she then added the snow-white rice noodles, lightly pan-frying them first to prevent them from breaking apart during the later stir-frying. She continuously loosened and turned them with chopsticks until they were heated through and softened.
Next, Mo Fei stir-fried the bean sprouts and scallion sections in the wok until fragrant, then added the rice noodles and beef. After seasoning everything, she stir-fried the rice noodles until they turned an enticing golden brown, allowing them to fully absorb the flavors of the sauce. Just before serving, she added the yellow chives and the remaining scallion sections, gently tossing everything together evenly.
After finishing the dish, Mo Fei could not resist taking a few bites herself. The tender beef paired with the stir-fried rice noodles made every mouthful deeply satisfying.
With elderly family members and children in the house, everyone had different sleeping habits, so they skipped the rule of eating breakfast together. Whoever woke up first ate first.
After placing everyone’s breakfast separately on the rectangular dining table, Mo Fei leisurely sat down to eat her own meal.
While finishing her salad and drinking her coffee, she took out her phone and browsed the news and trending topics from the past two days.
The content was much the same as before.
Animals were going berserk, humans were losing their minds, widespread power outages continued, and now reports had emerged that the water sources of tap water treatment plants in many regions had been contaminated.
Every available water purifier and bottled water supply had been bought out.
The already panicked public completely lost it. The internet had become an absolute mess, filled with angry complaints everywhere.
The government chose to remain silent while taking decisive action. Supermarkets of all sizes were ordered to shut down, and announcements were issued through multiple channels requiring all residents to register with their local communities. In the future, weekly resource packages could only be purchased with an ID card and household registration booklet. However, the earliest these resource packages would become available was next week. By now, countless households had already run completely out of food.
This move sparked considerable controversy and unrest.
Unlike the endless arguments online, all public servants offline, especially grassroots government workers, public security personnel, and hospital staff, had all vacations and leave canceled.
Countless healthy young volunteers willingly went building by building, doing everything they could to rescue people trapped by the bizarre heat and the zombie hordes.
In addition, the experts who had previously been researching the mysterious ground fissures also released a report, stating that in almost every affected region, the so-called “zombies” had first appeared in the areas where the fissures had formed.
Therefore, they had reason to suspect that some unknown substance within the fissures might be capable of directly altering the human body.
Mo Fei stared at the news for quite a while.
Under the natural disasters, no one knew where the future lay.
She felt that the government was already close to the limit of what it could do.
Just as Mo Fei was about to put away her phone and wash the dishes, she received a call from an unfamiliar number.
“Hello.”
Mo Fei had barely uttered the word “hello” when an angry female voice erupted from the other end. “Where did you trick my uncle and aunt into going?!”
“Who is this?” Based on the way the caller referred to them, Mo Fei had already guessed who it was, but she deliberately asked in an unhurried tone.
Chen Bingqing stood in Jinshi Garden Residential Complex, continuously kicking a tree downstairs. “Don’t play dumb with me! I’m asking you a question!”
“You’ve got the wrong number. Bye.” Mo Fei promptly pressed the power button to end the call.
Saying even one more word would have been a waste of her battery.
“What did she say?” Mo Qiujin asked anxiously.
“She hung up?! Mom, she actually dared to hang up on me. Is there something wrong with her?!”
Chen Bingqing was so furious she nearly smashed her phone to the ground. Fortunately, just as she was about to do it, she remembered that this was the brand-new phone she had bought with a month’s salary, and her rationality instantly returned.
Mo Qiujin felt slightly dizzy, her lips turning pale. “Then what do we do? Your uncle and aunt won’t answer my calls or reply to my messages either. If we don’t find out where they are, where are we supposed to get food? Why don’t you ask your neighbors again? Have they found another source yet? You were kind enough to lend them food, they should return the favor.”
“When did it become me lending them food?” Chen Bingqing shrieked as though someone had stepped on her tail. “Wasn’t it Su Wenbo trying to save face and act generous? Why did he have to respond in the homeowners’ group chat? One person borrowed a bag of flour, another borrowed a bowl of rice. He makes me so angry I could explode.”
The scolded Su Wenbo quickly got out of the car and gently coaxed them. “Qingqing, Auntie, since they aren’t here, let’s head back first. We’ll think of another solution.”
“Think of another solution, think of another solution. If there really were another solution, would I have come all the way here just because my mom suggested it?”
Chen Bingqing kicked the car door before climbing into the vehicle in a fury. The more she looked at Su Wenbo, the more displeasing he seemed.
The three of them got into the car together.
“All right, Qingqing, say a little less. Wenbo is a good young man. Being kind isn’t wrong. It’s just that now isn’t the right time.” Sitting in the back seat, Mo Qiujin tried to smooth things over. “Don’t worry. I saw so much rice, flour, and other food here last time. They must have taken it with them when they moved. As long as I make a few more calls, your uncle and aunt definitely won’t ignore me.”
Mo Qiujin spoke with complete confidence. “I’ll call again right now.”
“[Sorry, the number you have dialed is powered off…]”
…
When Mo Zhicheng woke up, he instinctively reached for his phone to check the time, only to discover that the phone, which he had put on silent mode the previous night, had run out of battery and shut itself off.
He tossed the phone aside and did not even bother charging it.
After all, Mo Fei had equipped him with a large television and a projector. Those were much more convenient than a little phone, so it did not matter if he skipped using it.
Song Yi woke up earlier than Mo Zhicheng. As she yawned and walked into the living room, she happened to hear Mo Fei saying, “Bye.”
“Who are you talking to so early in the morning?” Song Yi asked.
“A stock promotion call.” Mo Fei put away her phone. “Mom, go call Dad to come eat breakfast. After you’re done eating, wake the two little ones. I’m going to the third floor to work out.”
“Okay. Don’t answer those stock promotion calls. Back when your dad traded stocks, he’d get twenty or thirty of those calls a day. They were so annoying. Go ahead.”
“Okay.” Mo Fei jogged upstairs.
The study was on the left side of the third floor, while the gym was on the right.
Mo Fei turned right without hesitation and rushed into the spacious 50 square meter gym.
Considering the safety concerns, her family would probably rarely go outside to exercise.
For the sake of everyone’s health, Mo Fei had set up this gym.
Mo Fei considered herself a complete beginner when it came to fitness and was not very knowledgeable about it. Based on what she had seen in gyms before, she furnished the room with some of the most commonly used equipment.
There were TPE yoga mats, resistance bands, cordless counting jump ropes, dumbbells, a treadmill, and an elliptical machine. A table tennis table was also placed nearby.
Besides all those tools and exercise equipment, Mo Fei had also installed a large screen into the wall. Usually, they could play workout videos or yoga classes on it and follow along. Or they could put on a movie or a sporting event, with the whole family gathered together. It would feel much more enjoyable than watching in the first floor living room.
Mo Fei immediately played a downloaded warm-up workout and began exercising along with it.
Even though it was her very first day of working out, Mo Fei had packed her schedule full.
Ten minutes of warm-up exercises, thirty minutes of aerobic running, and another ten minutes of stretching.
The hardest part was always getting started.
Twenty minutes after she began, Mo Fei collapsed onto the floor and lay there for quite a while. Only after her breathing steadied did she have enough strength to climb back to her feet.
But whenever she felt like she could not keep going, Mo Fei remembered being chased by the monstrous bird yesterday, when she had possessed almost no ability to protect herself. Every time that thought crossed her mind, she would drink a mouthful of water from her space before throwing herself back into the training routine she had set for herself.
After completing her planned workout, Mo Fei panted heavily as she experienced the sensation of sweat pouring down her body. Every muscle, tendon, and bone in her body carried a faint ache.
She let out a long breath and walked onto the balcony between the study and the gym.
The balcony had originally been open-air, but after taking over the house, Mo Fei had enclosed it with windows made of double-layered bulletproof glass, which was supposedly impossible for even bullets to penetrate.
It was also said that if the glass suffered a heavy impact, it would immediately trigger the alarm system.
To be honest, the glass and the surrounding walls had been the most expensive parts of the renovation. However, they also gave Mo Fei the greatest sense of security.
Wearing a black backless yoga outfit with a pink towel draped over her shoulders, Mo Fei wiped away her sweat while observing the view outside the window.
Her gaze was unconsciously drawn to a villa about 500 meters away.
A person’s effective viewing distance was only about 100 to 200 meters, but she could vaguely make out someone standing on the upper floor of that villa from 500 meters away.
Mo Fei recalled her suddenly acquired extraordinary hearing and immediately had an idea.
Less than two minutes after she fixed her gaze on the villa, she heard a man’s deep, rich voice.
“Yeah, I moved in. There’s still no news from Su Cong and the others. What’s your situation over there? I’m basically ready here, so I can come pick you up.”
That was all Mo Fei heard. Just as she wanted to keep listening, a loud slam of a closing door echoed in her ears.
Startled, she hurriedly rubbed her ears and drew in a sharp breath.
Could that neighbor have discovered her “eavesdropping”?
That should not be possible. It had to be a coincidence.
“Mom! I’m here!” Mo Jiayue happily skipped upstairs. Not long afterward, Mo Jianian came up as well.
The previous night, both of them had decided that they would also come to the gym every day to exercise.
“Go eat a little more first before you start,” Mo Fei said.
“We already ate two eggs,” the two children answered in unison.
“All right. Then I’ll keep exercising with you.” Mo Fei took a deep breath, turned around, and returned to the gym with them.
…
Inside the villa, 500 meters away, Lin Jiyuan slowly withdrew his gaze and finally responded to the repeated “Hello? Hello? Hello?” coming from the other end of the phone.
“Everything’s fine here now. Go ahead.”
The young man on the other end let out a long sigh of relief. “I was worried you’d run into zombies. You had me scared.”
“I didn’t run into zombies, but I did run into an evolved carrion bird.” Lin Jiyuan glanced toward the courtyard. The monstrous bird was hanging there under the blazing sun. In a few more days, it would probably be dried into bird jerky.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Take a picture and let me see.”
“Nothing else? Bye.”
“Do you even have any brotherly affection, bro?!” Lin Jiye shouted after the mercilessly disconnected call.
Lin Jiyuan locked the sliding door and drew the curtains shut.
Inside the wall cabinet behind him, several long guns were neatly arranged, along with numerous components used to assemble firearms.
Lin Jiyuan closed his eyes and walked to the table beside the wall cabinet. After a brief moment of thought, his hands moved with astonishing speed. Within a few minutes, a fully assembled handgun appeared in his hands.
Lin Jiyuan opened his eyes, unloaded the handgun, tossed it into a drawer, and headed downstairs to find something to eat.
In the basement of his villa, all kinds of long-lasting food were stored in large sealed containers. The largest quantities consisted of biscuits, canned food, instant noodles, and various self-heating military-style rations.