Chapter 63 - 59: Zhou Knows the Cause of the Apocalypse?

Chapter 63: Chapter 59: Zhou Knows the Cause of the Apocalypse?

Zhao Youcai was furious.

His clenched fist was a second away from smashing into the old lady’s jaw.

"Youcai, calm down. It’s normal for older people to have trouble understanding. Just explain it patiently."

Hearing Yu Dong speak, the old lady spat in his direction.

"Stop putting on an act! You’re all in this together! I knew you were no good the moment I saw all that blubber on you... Give me back my son! Give him back! Oh, my precious son~~~"

The old lady actually started clawing at Yu Dong, spraying foul-smelling spittle all over his face.

Yu Dong’s fists clenched too.

"Ma’am, don’t do anything rash! Calm down! Come sit over here for a bit..."

Yan Yikai quickly went and carried the stubborn old lady to the side. His strength was quite impressive.

After Yu Dong went to wash his face, his expression was calm once more.

"If the son you’re talking about is that Teddy of yours... I’m afraid the situation isn’t looking good. You should prepare yourself. If we see him when we’re out, we’ll bring him back for you."

Yu Dong hadn’t seen any animals turn into zombies, but zombies did eat animals.

"Give me back my son! Give him back! I can’t live without my son~~~"

The old lady forcefully broke free from Yan Yikai’s grip and threw herself on the floor, rolling around and making a scene. Everyone’s face darkened at the sight.

BANG BANG BANG!

BANG BANG BANG!

A frantic banging echoed from the hallway.

Everyone held their breath, subconsciously shutting their mouths.

Only the old lady was still wailing.

"Stop yelling! You’re attracting the zombies!"

Zhao Youcai grabbed the old lady’s shirt and let out a vicious, low roar.

The old lady didn’t listen at all and continued to howl.

"I want my son! You go find my son for me! Otherwise, I’m not getting up! Oh, my son~~~"

Zhao Youcai’s face filled with disgust as he watched the old lady’s shameless display.

"Dongzi, she’s completely unreasonable! Let’s just throw her out to the zombies!"

The old lady immediately stopped shouting.

"Heh~ So she can understand, after all. Let the old lady rest in the inner room. We’ll continue our chat. The zombies can’t get in."

In this life, Yu Dong was no longer particularly bothered by zombies banging on the door outside.

Yu Dong briefly explained the situation they were facing and some of the zombies’ habits, but he didn’t reveal how many supplies they had.

He had confiscated their phones earlier to avoid trouble, but now he returned them.

Every person had an unread text message on their phone.

It had been sent at 7:10.

[NATIONAL EMERGENCY ALERT!!!]

After they finished reading, Yu Dong said:

"You all understand the basic situation now. The S-virus has most likely broken out globally. Nowhere outside is safe. If we want to live... we have to cooperate and survive together. What do you all think?"

"Please let me join your team! I can do anything!"

Yan Yikai was the first to speak up, with a decisiveness unlike that of a high school student.

After a moment’s hesitation, Zhao Wenjie turned and whispered a few words to Yang Yi before nodding as well:

"We can cooperate, but we won’t be your hired muscle or lackeys. I also want to be part of the core decision-making group. I know a lot about the apocalypse: the initial hoarding phase, the mid-game leveling up, the late-game mutations... I’ve read no fewer than 1,000 apocalypse novels. I don’t know if you’ve heard this saying, but when you’ve read over a thousand apocalypse novels, you’ll realize that there’s nothing in this world that’s truly bizarre."

Even Huang Zhiqiang was amused by Zhao Wenjie.

"Seriously, did those authors live through an apocalypse before writing about it? You actually believe that stuff? Once we get through this damn apocalypse, our own memoirs would be more reliable than those books!"

Meanwhile, Qiao Ping, who had been listening quietly from the side, asked again, "Where did you get your information? Why didn’t my uncle and his people receive it?"

She instinctively felt that these people were very strange, holding secrets she knew nothing about.

Yu Dong’s brow furrowed slightly. ’My bluff just ran into the real Celestial Family...’

If he didn’t explain, this Qiao Ping would definitely remain suspicious of them.

And Qiao Ping’s identity, along with her uncle who held a position in the local military... this was brand new information for Yu Dong, and it was exactly the kind of official connection he’d been dreaming of.

If the military finished organizing, they could absolutely use Qiao Ping’s status to get rescued early.

This was Yu Dong’s ultimate goal.

Hold out until the army wiped out the zombies, then start over.

Even if they didn’t plan on leaving Xiangti Bay for now, if the army, while rescuing Qiao Ping, also happened to mow down the surrounding zombies... that would be a huge help.

It would allow them to more safely get through the period of national zombie-clearing.

Therefore, Qiao Ping was crucial, and Yu Dong needed to handle his relationship with her well.

So, what kind of explanation should he give?

This explanation wasn’t just for Qiao Ping, but also for her uncle.

Just as Yu Dong fell silent, Zhou took a step forward.

"This actually comes from some of our lab’s latest research... In recent months, the composition of the air around us has undergone subtle changes. A new, extremely minute radioactive substance has appeared, with a very strange wavelength. This substance is so minuscule that it’s not enough to harm people, and we can’t feel it."

"Just a few days ago, while I was vacationing here, my team told me that the concentration of this radioactive substance had suddenly increased dramatically and was continuing to rise. An unexpected change occurred within our bodies... I felt something big was about to happen, so I made some preparations with my friends."

"A small number of people have immune systems that can resist the cellular lesions caused by this radiation. The instrument I carry with me can detect this. That’s how we found you and brought you back before the disaster broke out. So please believe us, we have no ill intentions. We purely wanted to save people."

Zhou took out a small, calibrated instrument and showed it to everyone. No one understood it, but they all thought it looked very high-tech.

When he spoke about his profession, it was as if he had become a different person. He had a powerful presence that made you want to believe him.

After he finished speaking, Qiao Ping asked thoughtfully:

"You’re at the Kyoto..."

"I am Professor Zhou Jian Country from the Capital Institute of Technology and Chemistry."

"I see... I’ve heard about the projects your university has contracted."

"Haha~ So, whether by fate or coincidence, here we are standing together today. Yu Dong is an excellent student. In terms of academic knowledge, he is inferior to me, but in terms of survival... I am his student. I hope everyone can follow his lead, and we can all hold out until the day the country comes to rescue us."

His words were flawless, stunning even Yu Dong. It turned out that Zhou, the seemingly agreeable old man with no strong opinions of his own, had this side to him. He had directly bailed him out.

"Yes, I will do my best, Professor Zhou."

At this point, Qiao Ping had basically accepted this explanation.

"My uncle will come to rescue me, and he’ll rescue everyone. Before that... I will follow Yu Dong’s command. It’s just that I’m already seven months pregnant, so it’s not convenient for me to do strenuous activities."

Before Yu Dong could speak, Zhao Wenjie at his side quickly chimed in, "With so many men here, how could we let the ladies work! Before the rescue comes, we will protect every lady and find food for you. You just need to wait at home. This is our responsibility as men!"

After speaking, he gave Qiao Ping a gentlemanly smile, thinking he had been impossibly suave.

Behind him, Yang Yi also wore a satisfied smile.

Yu Dong: "?"

The others felt something was wrong, but... it was awkward to speak up now, as it might make them seem like they were shirking responsibility.

"Then you can be the one to provide for the five women here."

Yu Dong said, pointing at Zhao Wenjie.

The smile on Zhao Wenjie’s lips froze.

"Haha~ We can all just work hard together. Besides, you guys knew about this in advance, so you must have prepared some food, right? Just share a little. It’ll be enough to last until the army arrives. We’re all men here, no need to be so stingy, right?"

After saying this, he even jokingly bumped Yu Dong... only to have his arm throb with pain from the impact against Yu Dong’s rock-solid muscles.

"I’ll give you two choices right now. One, you take on all the work for the five women, and then you get to distribute the food you find to them. Two, shut your fucking mouth and stop spouting that bullshit. You choose."

"I..."

Zhao Wenjie shut his mouth.

"If you’re human, you work! Every single person must do their utmost for our survival! We are not playing house! We are trying to stay alive in a world that eats people! Do you understand?"

"Understood! We’ll do our best!" Liu Ye’ye and Shen Xinyi declared at the same time.

"I can do some logistical work. I’m a decent cook, I can manage household chores, and do some handiwork..."

Faced with Yu Dong’s speech, Qiao Ping didn’t dare put on airs.

As a civil servant, she knew that an organization could tolerate slackers in normal times, but when faced with an emergency mission, everyone had to immediately enter a combat-ready state. Not a single bit of shirking responsibility was allowed!

Otherwise, there were only two outcomes: being made an example of, or being dealt with after the fact.

Yu Dong’s gaze swept over Yang Yi, who hadn’t spoken a word. She was still looking down, acting as if it had nothing to do with her.

"Are you mute?"

"My girlfriend, she’s just a little scared, she’s not good at..."

"I wasn’t asking you. I was asking her. Has she lost the ability to speak?"

Under Yu Dong’s icy glare, Yang Yi bit her lip, her eyes red, and said:

"No."

"And?"

Yu Dong’s voice carried an oppressive weight, making Yang Yi feel as if she were being scolded face-to-face by the strictest head teacher of her senior year of high school.

"I... I understand."

Yu Dong nodded.

"Good. Now that we’re all on the same page, rest up early tonight. We’ll assemble at 7 a.m. tomorrow to clear out all the zombies in Building One first."

The group, experiencing the apocalypse for the first time: "???"

「That night, in apartment 503.」

"Zhou, that radioactive substance you mentioned today... what was that all about?"