Pushing his door open, Su Jin found Fu Qingdai stepping out from the apartment across the hall.
They looked at each other and both paused.
“Are your parents asleep?” Su Jin asked.
“Mm.” Fu Qingdai nodded softly. “I gave them a double dose. They’re dead to the world. I drew two buckets of water and shut off the water valve at home.”
She looked up at him, her small face drawn tight. Tears filled her eyes, but she fought to hold them back.
The way her whole body trembled showed how frightened she was.
Su Jin forced a tight smile, reached out, and pulled her into a hug.
“Don’t panic. I’ve got you.”
As he stroked her hair, his heart ached for her.
For a girl her age to have held on this long took real courage.
It was hard to say who was really saving who anymore.
“We’re out of time. Let’s move.”
He gently released her and took out a box.
“What’s that? What are we doing?” Fu Qingdai asked, her voice hitching.
Su Jin didn’t answer, methodically tearing open the flaps.
The box was full of tubes of superglue-like adhesive, with a stack of papers underneath.
“Seal the doors. Starting on the first floor, fill every keyhole and door latch with glue,” Su Jin said quietly. “If anyone turns into a zombie, keeping them inside their home will make us safer.”
“But… what if they don’t turn? Won’t they be trapped in their homes?” Fu Qingdai’s eyes went wide. “If they run out of tap water, they’ll drink the rain. And what about starving?”
Su Jin pulled the stack of flyers from the box. “I printed notices modeled on community warnings about contaminated rainwater. We’ll slide them under the doors. I also bought glue remover. If things settle down and the timing is right, I can let the survivors out.”
“Helping them helps us, but we can’t save everyone. We’ve done all we reasonably can. Whether they starve or die of thirst is up to their own luck. If this rain actually pours for a week straight, the people on the first floor probably won’t survive.”
Fu Qingdai sucked in a ragged breath, forcefully suppressing her shivers. She squeezed her eyes shut and gave a stiff nod.
“Got it. Let’s go.”
…
They went straight down to the first floor, where Su Jin stepped outside to check the windows.
Most people passed the time with television and newspapers. 3D gaming existed, but most families had no way to play it at home.
As a result, ordinary people generally went to bed early. Most were asleep by around ten.
Confirming not a single light was on in the building, he led Fu Qingdai back inside, systematically jamming every lock with glue and sliding the fake notices under the doors.
He had tested the glue after buying it, and the results had surprised him.
It smelled and behaved much like the superglue he knew, but its bond was much stronger.
Given how the two worlds had developed, that did not make sense.
He could not tell whether things here were made with better materials or glue back home was simply made cheaply.
Each floor housed two apartments facing each other.
They worked quickly, sealing the doors of every apartment in the building.
They left only his apartment, the supply room, and the Fu family’s apartment untouched.
Back on the fifth floor, Su Jin brought Fu Qingdai into his apartment.
She looked at the rows of long objects wrapped in foam on the floor. “Brother, what are those?”
“Steel pipes. They’re for bracing the doors. Glue alone might not stop someone forcing a door open,” Su Jin explained. “I’ve sorted them into groups. Help me carry them downstairs. We’ll set up a steel frame on each floor to brace both doors, then wedge wooden strips into the gaps between the frame and the doors.”
Su Jin picked up the steel pipes, pointing to the wooden strips on the floor. “Take the wooden strips. I didn’t wrap them in foam, so be careful not to make a sound. If someone wakes up, there could be trouble.”
“Once we’re done, I’ll lock the building entrance and turn off the main water valve… then we wait.”
Fu Qingdai gave a grim, silent nod.
…
After more work, the opposing doors on the first, second, third, and sixth floors were braced shut with simple steel supports.
Glue in the locks and steel frames against the doors… short of jumping out a window, there was little chance of getting through those doors.
Even if they mutated into monsters, they would just rot in their own living rooms.
He had largely ruled out future fights with the neighbors, and their survival now depended on him.
…
Back in his apartment.
Fu Qingdai sat in a chair resting as she watched Su Jin work.
He crouched on the floor, passing food and medicine onto the table one item at a time.
“Vitamin tablets. Take one every day. And powdered milk—have a glass in the morning and another at night,” Su Jin said. “Take these vegetables too. Eat the perishables with your parents soon, before they spoil.”
“The power grid won’t fail immediately, but it probably won’t last more than a few days. When you have time, exercise your arms and legs. You need to learn to draw that fifty-pound bow.” Get faster updates on g.com.
“Take these extra glue bottles. While your parents are asleep, glue all the windows shut so they can’t open them. You dreamed about the apocalypse. Once your parents see the rain, they should be wary of it…”
“We should be safe for the moment, but something unexpected could still happen. I need to watch the situation for a few days before coming to see you.”
Fu Qingdai quietly sorted the things on the table.
When she finished, Su Jin sat beside her. “Qingdai, your parents can’t be allowed to wander around either. After you go home, I’ll seal your door too. Take the key to my place. Remember, you can’t tell anyone about the supplies on the fourth floor, not even your parents.”
“I wasn’t going to show you, but I trust you, and those things are meant for you. You’ll have to learn to survive. For now, don’t trust anyone but me. Let’s go.”
She nodded, picked up the things from the table, and followed him out.
She opened her door and set the things by the entrance.
Suddenly, she spun around and threw herself into Su Jin’s arms.
She cried quietly against his chest, her tears soaking his shirt as they held each other in silence.
…
2:00 AM.
Fully dressed, Su Jin sat astride a chair in the middle of the living room, wiping down the Silver Gun over and over, his eyes constantly flicking up.
He stared through the window pane; the night outside was as dark as an abyss.
The apocalypse would arrive today, but neither he nor Fu Qingdai had the exact timestamp for when the rain would start.
It might start before dawn or sometime during the day.
But either way, sleep was completely off the table.
The clock ticked audibly in the quiet room.
It was 3:15:42 a.m.
Suddenly, a purple fissure appeared on the horizon!
A flash reflected off the Silver Gun and caught Su Jin’s eye. He sprang to his feet!
At that exact moment, a roar rolled through the clouds, lightning flickering again and again in the darkness.
Su Jin’s pupils contracted, every hair on his body standing at attention!
The world roared as rain poured down… the apocalypse had arrived!