People from other cities would have to wait. With only three months before the apocalypse, there was simply no time to reach them. For now, priority went to those living in the capital.
Among the people they could realistically approach—and whose character could be trusted—there were only eight.
After finishing the list, she slid the notebook toward her friends.
“We need to start building relationships with these eight people.”
“Perfect timing—eight people means two each. Pick who you want. I’ll take whichever two are left.”
The three immediately grabbed the notebook and huddled together, whispering, making faces, and scratching their heads as they debated.
Eventually, they settled on their choices.
Lu Zhiyu chose Cheng Jingchuan and Zhao Qiang.
A police captain and a construction foreman.
As the sister of a firefighter, she figured she could probably find some connection to both.
Wen Shuyang chose Su Chenyu and Lin Ci.
The gym coach would be easy enough—she could simply sign up for a membership.
The medical prodigy would be harder to approach, but at least his university was right next door. A few extra trips would do the trick.
Song Yunqing chose Zhou Ke and Gu Xi.
They already knew Zhou Ke.
As for Gu Xi, she could simply buy flowers and plants from him and gradually become a familiar customer.
Because Song Yunqing was shy—especially around strangers—Wen Shuyang and Lu Zhiyu had intentionally left her the easiest assignments.
That left Jiang Heng and Shen Ning for Xu Wanning.
A troubled young hacker and a head nurse.
All three unanimously agreed that Xu Wanning had the greatest personal charm.
If anyone could win people over through sheer charisma, it was her.
Song Yunqing quietly wrote something on a slip of paper and pushed it toward Xu Wanning.
“Ningning, did we know all these big shots in our previous life?”
Xu Wanning wrote back:
“Yes. They weren’t teammates, but we completed missions together. They’re trustworthy.”
Song Yunqing folded the note and silently put it away.
After class ended, Wen Shuyang was about to discuss their plans when a voice suddenly called from the doorway.
“Shuyang.”
Jiang Lei.
Wen Shuyang rolled her eyes.
“Tch. Time for me to act.”
“You guys keep discussing things. Tell me the details later.”
With that, she got up, pasted on a sweet smile, and jogged toward Jiang Lei.
The remaining three continued studying the list.
Xu Wanning said,
“After lunch we’ll head to the warehouse and collect supplies.”
“After that, I’m going to the internet café. The rest of you should each start approaching one of your targets.”
Lu Zhiyu tapped Cheng Jingchuan’s name.
“I’ll find him.”
“I have a feeling I know him somehow. At the very least, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen him before.”
Song Yunqing hesitated before speaking.
“Then I’ll start with Gu Xi.”
“I’ll buy flowers first and keep going every day until he recognizes me.”
Xu Wanning nodded.
“Sounds good.”
“As for Shuyang, either of her targets works. We’ll see what she decides when she gets back.”
Wen Shuyang returned quickly.
She was flicking water off her hands and looked thoroughly disgusted.
“So gross.”
Xu Wanning and the others looked at her sympathetically.
“Hang in there.”
“Thank you for your sacrifice.”
Xu Wanning pointed at the names on the list.
“Once we’ve collected the supplies, we’ll split up and start making connections.”
“Shuyang, are you going after Lin Ci first or Su Chenyu?”
Wen Shuyang grinned, revealing her little tiger teeth.
“Both!”
The lunch break wasn’t very long.
After collecting supplies, they would probably have less than half an hour remaining.
Yet somehow she was confident she could tackle both targets at once.
No one knew where that confidence came from.
The four dragged themselves through the morning classes.
The moment the dismissal bell rang, they shot out of the classroom and drove straight to the warehouse belonging to Lu Zhiyu’s family supermarket chain.
The purchasing manager was already waiting at the entrance.
“Zhiyu, everything has arrived. Go take a look.”
Lu Zhiyu smiled.
“Thanks, Aunt Zhao. You can get back to work. Just give me the key—we’ll handle the rest ourselves.”
“Alright.”
The woman handed over the key and left.
The boss had already told her to let his daughter do whatever she wanted.
Her job was done.
What happened afterward wasn’t her concern.
The four entered the warehouse.
There were surveillance cameras mounted high overhead.
Blocking them was impossible.
Fortunately, the warehouse’s electrical control panel was located at the back.
All they had to do was cut the power.
Lu Zhiyu went to the breaker.
Wen Shuyang and Song Yunqing stood watch.
The instant the lights went out, Xu Wanning swept everything inside the warehouse into her spatial storage.
The entire process took less than a second.
One of the advantages of a C-rank storage space was that she didn’t need to physically touch each item.
An F-rank space required direct contact before objects could be stored.
When she finished, Lu Zhiyu switched the power back on.
The warehouse was completely empty.
Not a single item remained.
Adjusting her glasses, Lu Zhiyu said,
“I bet the warehouse next door is full too.”
“If my dad doesn’t believe us, we’ll secretly clear that one out later.”
“Mhm!”
The other three nodded enthusiastically.
They quickly got back into the car and drove away.
At the supermarket, Lu Zhiyu got out to return the key before rejoining them.
To find Jiang Heng, Xu Wanning got off near No. 1 High School.
“You guys go do your own thing.”
“No need to pick me up later. I’ll just take a taxi back.”
“Okay.”
The car drove away.
Xu Wanning curled her lips into a smile.
She pulled out her phone and snapped a selfie in front of an internet café.
She posed with a V-sign beside her cheek, making sure the café’s name was clearly visible in the background.
Then she posted it to her Moments feed with visibility restricted to Lu Chengyue alone.
Caption:
“Can’t get a taxi. T_T”
She waited for a while.
No response.
Looks like he was busy.
Fine.
She could wait.
Putting away her phone, she walked into the internet café.
She knew this was one of Jiang Heng’s usual hangouts.
In her previous life, they had once passed by this place during a mission.
Jiang Heng had casually mentioned that he knew the area well because he had practically lived there for years.
Even though it was a weekday, the café was surprisingly crowded.
Most of the patrons were unemployed young men between eighteen and twenty years old.
Their families hadn’t yet reached the point of kicking them out and forcing them to find jobs.
Xu Wanning stood out immediately.
Anyone could tell she wasn’t part of their crowd.
A café attendant whistled.
“Hey, beautiful. Looking for someone?”
Recognizing the familiar face from her previous life, Xu Wanning smiled.
“Handsome, I’m looking for Jiang Heng. Is he here?”
The attendant pointed toward the private rooms in the back.
“Yeah.”
“See that room all the way at the end?”
“Finally, someone came looking for him.”
“He’s here every day.”
“At this point I’m worried he’s going to rot in there.”
Xu Wanning laughed softly.
“Thanks. I’ll go find him.”
She walked through the rows of computers toward the back.
Immediately, whistles, cheers, and teasing calls erupted from the young men around her.
She didn’t even turn around.
These boys weren’t bad people.
They simply couldn’t succeed in school.
Their parents had long since given up on them, calling them useless and hopeless.
Eventually they had given up on themselves too.
But in many ways, they were more loyal than most.
Jiang Heng had once told her that after the apocalypse began, he and twenty-six brothers from this very internet café had fought their way through a sea of zombies together.
Unfortunately, most of them never awakened abilities.
After three years of survival, only four remained alive—including Jiang Heng himself.
Stopping outside the last private room, Xu Wanning raised her hand and knocked.
“Jiang Heng?”
“Are you in there?”
“Open up.”