31

Adjusted the radio on the table, there had not been much official news from the southwest base. The radio encouraged people to actively participate in base expansion and supporting everyone who helped in rescue, collection and extermination tasks. Since outside the base was too dangerous, those who go out must form teams of at least 10 members.

"It's more specific than what the announcement had said."

Afterwards, Luo Xun touched his chin. The most important thing now was to build up the outer wall as soon as possible. The current scope of the southwest base and Luo Xun's before rebirth were too small.

"What are you going to do? Fix the wall first? Or go out looking for materials?"

Yan Fei glanced at Luo Xun, he felt the other was a very assertive person since their first contact during the apocalypse. His own judgement was not bad either.

Now the whole world was in chaos, no one could accurately judge future situations and trends. Two heads were better than one and Yan Fei did not ask unneeded questions to his people. He had made his bed and would develop a closer relationship with his partner.

Luo Xun made his choice almost without a thought. "Go out to collect supplies."

"Our numbers are not enough." Yan Fei had gone outside and heard the broadcast from the road. "All who go out are required to form teams with at least 10 people."

Luo Xun paced. "We can go to the city door and form a temporary team. Plan the best course of action beforehand. We can also ask the university students next door since they're heading out as well."

Luo Xun was glad that the zombies were still relatively low level, even if they met zombies, as long as the group was not surrounded they could escape.

However, even adding the five students next door they only had a total of 7 people. Though with seven the difficulty of forming a temporary team was definitely less than with just two. Yan Fei paused then nodded in agreement.

Just as the two were about to continue discussing, someone knocked on the door. The two looked at each other then went to answer.

Luckily it was just Han Li from next door, the two could see the door across from then was open with the inhabitants busy with something.

"What's up?" Luo Xun opened the door in surprise.

He had considered finding them and did not expect the neighbors to reach out to them first.

"Did you hear the announcement outside? We were planning to go out and find resources after we had rested..." Han Li had not finished when Li Tie stuck his head out. "Come here to discuss! Let's have a meeting!"

Yan Fei and Luo Xun exited together after locking the door and grabbing the key. The house was filled with plastic pipes and a half finished solar panel charger. Several people were argung and blaming each other.

"I should have done this right when I came back yesterday!"

"Cook first, I am starving!"

"Where's the water? Where's the water?"

"Ah! I am in the back! Board, board, my belly, my belly!"

The two people came and stood at the door, looking at the noisy room. Wu Xin moved a long shelf but he was not steady and bracing the furniture against his body. He also did not see He Qiankun's belly behind him.

The sound of splinters, disorderly hands cleaning up...it took five or six minutes to reach a room to treat people.

Yan Fei glanced around, three bedrooms with a relatively spacious living room. But it was similar to his previous room 1603, dirty, dusty and without any furnishings. In addition, yesterday's solar panels, PVC pipes and hardware accessories were put everywhere haphazardly.

The three bedroom doors were all open, a quick peek inside revealed thick clothes scattered in a random corner, some ripped snack bags and empty water bottles. One look revealed a place where boys lived...

An realization flashed inYan Fei's mind, his sight unconsciously shifted from the room to Luo Xun. His home had a lot of things but it was not disorderly. Everything was placed in a proper location. Luo Xun's home had been furnished but as a guy his apartment was clearly more 'home-like' then the other's 'nests'.

Several people sat on the dirty ground. The weather was obviously very cold at the moment, though they wore thick clothes a few still felt the floor was uncomfortable.

He Qiankun and Wun Xin sat beside each other and glared resentfully at Yan Fei who sat with Luo Xun. The resentment quickly gained heat.

Being accustomed to the envious glares of hatred from others of the same sex, Yan Fei calmy acted as if the two were not present. He had maxed his ability to turn a blind eye.

While Yan Fei could ignore the men's looks, Luo Xun felt awkward sitting next to him. Not to mention even the three remaining people were embarrassed by their two companions.

Li Tie and Han Li each grabbed an arm or a sleeve and tried to stop the two's unreasonable staring. Even if envy had budded in their own hearts as well.

"Cough, what are you two looking at?" Luo Xun had to ask aloud seeing the laserfocused looks.

"Look at you cousin..." The two spoke with undeniable resentment.

One side. "Look at your cousin's waist..." That was He Qiankun whose girth was three and a half times that of Yan Fei.

The other side. "Look at your cousin's face..." Wu Xin had exhausted all methods to deal with his face acne.

Yan Fei still did not utter a word, as if what he heard went in one ear and out the other. In fact, he was afraid any words spoken would hit the two people even harder.

"I can't believe you two."

In Wang Duo's eyes he was the most handsome of the five. Although not comparable to Yan Fei, he had received love letters from unknown female classmates in school. However after a week they would quickly break up with him.

"Stop, do not think about it!" The two were still jealous, He Qiankun stared at Wang Duo. "Although we cannot compare to Yan Fei, I think if I lose some weight I could compare to you!"

Wu Xin depressedly touched his face. "After the apocalypse there are even fewer skin care products available...no I'll definitely bring some back when we go out next!"

Luo Xun could not help but cough to hide to his smile. "Well, you said to have a meeting?"

"Right! Meeting!" Li Tie ignored his sulking companions and patted his chest. "You heard the announcement outside? I think once the base rescued people or if the other bases are overrun, there will be a lot of people coming to our base. Maybe it will be even more difficult to reach the surrounding resources."

Yan Fei looked at Li Tie in slight surprise, he did not think this person was that intelligent.

Luo Xun nodded. "Correct, right now only the west base is in trouble, if the other bases have issues as well, then material stores could be even more tense."

He was aware that other then the southwest, the two bases to the east would also be destroyed and three bases worth of people would join southwest base.

Nearby materials and buildings would soon be picked clean and divided. It was wise to go out now and bring back something while they could.

"Yes, last night I wrote up a list according to WasteWoodHouse. We'll need quite a few things, better go as soon as possible! Quilts, clothes we don't have any! Seeds are the most important thing!" Li Tie was a fervently loyal fan of the post writer.

"Number of people." Yan spoke up for the first time since entering the room and cause the room the calm down. "What number of people?"

The university students who had not heard the news froze in place.

"Our home has a radio, just heard that in order to be allowed to go out and collect supplies, must go out in a team of at least 10 people." Luo Xun explained.

"10 people..." The five looked at each other. "But we only add up to seven..."

Luo Xun smiled at Yan Fei and continued explaining to the group. "You don't have a radio, there are likely many other people without a radio. We might as well go to the city exit and try to fill the missing spots on the team. With enough people we can get out then split up if needed."

"Yes! There must be a lot of people who didn't know about this! Let's team up with some other people!" Han Li clapped his hands.

"Also the car." Luo Xun continued. "I have a car, but it's a small second hand one, able to hold some things but not usable if we need a lot at once."

"How many cars in the streets have no owners? We didn't see many on the way out last time. So long as we can go and come back it's fine." Wu Xin replied immediately.

They had originally wanted to rent a military car but today there might not be any free vehicles on base. Even if they would rent, the cost would not be low either.

The young people's brains were active discussing basic equipment and supplies. They decided to go out early tomorrow morning in case the rescue team lead a zombie army to base. If they were going out they would make the most of it.

At the end of the day they were ordinary people, no one felt they could stand against a zombie on their own. The last time they went out, they saw the faster and more powerful zombie version. It was hard to kill them with their current strength.

Leave a bit earlier, take advantage of the number of zombies outside to grab what was needed. Find a place in the base where they could engage with technology, especially since the group had some intention to cooperate with those on base.

:What the military said last time about the information network hasn't happened yet?" Luo Xun casually inquired after the discussion.

"No, they have to go out once more, to the place we had been to pick up things. The stuff we brought back before was not enough. If we move fast we should be back in good time."

The heater had boiled the water, He Qiankun licked his lips, ripped open the bag of instant noodles and threw in the seasoning packet.

Li Tie suddenly had an idea. "Let's give out team a name! Maybe we should use it for registration when we leave tomorrow."

"Okay, what name?"

Luo Xun also thought there should be a temporary name, even if he was not prepared to go out often. Starting a team name was a future base trend, if the group was famous, people talking business would have face.

"Otaku Squad!" Li Tie sprang up and pointed at the ceiling.

*Crash* He Qiankun's hands spasmed and tore the packaged noodles. Han Li covered his face, wanting to defend himself but did not know how. Wu Xin looked at him stunned, jaw dropped. Luo Xun's expression was relatively normal, though his mouth twitched. Beside him, Yan Fei's eyebrows rose in doubt.

"Otaku?" He looked to Luo Xun, if he remembered correctly, he had claimed to be an otaku.

Li Tie was shocked. "You don't know!?"

No time to respond when...*beep* Li Tie flew like lightning to the side cuddling his mobile phone like a baby.

"Your cell phone charged?" Luo Xun asked politely.

Wang Duo did not wait for Li Tie and explained with a tight smile. "Yesterday we just connected a few solar panels. With so little energy he still prioritised charging his precious phone to full. Had to wait forever to eat."

"How is this stuff not important!? These are all treasures! I have to write everything down or what would happen if there's no electricity!" Li Tie said staunchly to his fellows.

The last time they went to the building material market to collect supplies, they had come across a shop. Li Tie had forcibly grabbed all the stationery, student books and other writing materials.

Yan Fei looked at the cellphone and read the contents while Luo Xun consulted with the others on the details of the outing.

Seeing the door of 1603, Yan Fei touched his chin. He also needed to list what he needed to fill up his room.

32

Yan Fei's face seemed indifferent but his mind was reeling from the collection of posts saved on Li Tie's mobile phone. Li Tie had reacted quickly upon finding the post/thread. Before the apocalypse, the moderators had deleted the last post since the previous entries were okay. Fortunately his actions were practical, otherwise how would he find these things after the network stopped? What's more, there might still be internet fees, the IQ of the administrators was too high!

Although Yan Fei only saw a cursory glance, he was evidently shocked by the content. It had information about homemade distillation equipment, method of growing vegetables, home safety, how to deal with zombies and other familiar measures...

He followed Luo Xun into the living room, seeing the string of dried chicken, duck, bacon and sausage hanging from the ceiling, his heart shook.

WasteWoodHouse, otaku...was that Luo Xun?

Yan Fei suddenly scrutinized the idea, it was clear that Luo Xun did not have any curiosity towards the post despite the apocalypse having recently started. Luo Xun's actions were very comprehensive but there was nothing really suspicious about his projects. But Yan Fei still felt something was amiss, how was it so convenient? And all the things in the house...a bit too fortunate.

Luo Xun walked to the balcony and carefully examined the small nest of quail. He used tweezers to throw some mealworms in, gave some grain and water for the birds. Then he turned around to check on the growth of various vegetables growing on the balcony.

"Don't know how many days we'll spend outside, Puppy will be home alone..."

Puppy heard Luo Xun call her name but did not understand the rest of the words. She ran straight past Luo Xun's feet into the balcony wall and fell on her butt.

"Leave some dog food and water, should be fine."

Yan Fei felt a slight headache while rubbing the little puppy. She was well-behaved but if they were going out for a while, something might happen at home. Time passed quickly, God knew what could happen after a while.

Luo Xun paused then made his final decision. "Block the balcony and second floor, the other rooms she can wander at random."

They could endure any disorderly biting the sofa or other messes. After all the cage was small, could not hold too much food or water. If the bowls were overturned, they may come back a few days late to a dead puppy.

Yan Fei eyed Luo Xun and dispelled his previous unrealistic idea. If Luo Xun was really WasteWoodHouse and had foreseen the disaster or was reborn before the apocalypse, would he have this 'burden'? Even if the troublemaker had an intimidation effect towards others...wait, intimidation?

He thought back to Luo Xun's words, those seeking trouble would be scared away by barking. So the puppy was not completely useless in the end.

"What's up? What do you think?" Luo Xun had been busy finishing up and wanted to go to the second floor but found a distracted Yan Fei in the doorway. He called, grabbing his attention.

Yan Fei smiled charmingly. "Thinking of where to go in order to find whatever we need."

His smile was like a blooming flower, Luo Xun averted his eyes and coughed.

"We'll make a list later, don't forget to look at the map."

Done with the house plants, the two grabbed a map, notebook and gathered at the first floor table to plan.

"Flooring, wallpaper, clothes...if convenient still better to get some PVC pipes and plastic buckets. Could place some on the next door balcony. Even if we can't find any, doesn't matter since there are spares. Don't need any electronic appliances we have enough..." Luo Xun sat, writing and drawing.

Yan Fei happily gave him advice. "Also underwear, tableware, toiletries..."

"What about hair styling and beauty products? Young master." Luo Xun said with a supercilious look.

"What do you think I need?" Yan Fei sneered.

A sudden burst of adolescent rebellion distorted his meaning, luckily reason pulled him back. He was born with this face, unlike others who spent fortunes on face milk, skin cream or other products. Why would he take the initiative to use those products?

No matter if he ignored skin care, his face would still be better than most men. Having no blemishes or acne was enough.

Seeing Yan Fei's darkening expression, Luo Xun took back his words. "Cough, underwear of course, can't have no toothpaste or toothbrushes. We also need to grab other daily life necessities..."

Some things were at home but now there were two people, obviously needed to account for more.

Luo Xun resembled a housewife preparing for a big shopping trip. Yan Fei crossed his arms across his chest and laughed when Luo Xun slowed down. "Nice, you would make a great housewife."

Luo Xun's brain stalled then he realized Yan Fei was laughing and shook his fist.

"Who's a housewife? You're more like with that face!"

Yan Fei would not back down. He narrowed his eyes, grabbed Luo Xun and pinned him to the sofa. "From where I am standing, you fit the bill more."

Two people almost nose to nose, Luo Xun's heart sped up and his face turned bright red. Luo Xun had completely crashed before Yan Fei let go as if nothing had happened.

"Don't need furniture for a while. If we bring back some metal or steel I can make some and it could be transformed into other things too."

Luo Xun took some deep breaths to calm his emotions. The powerful and handsome Yan Fei had unexpectedly put in a lot of thought.

Luo Xun nodded. "Right, getting those things would be most cost effective."

Yan Fei could change the shape of metal into many forms. If there were all sorts of metal objects in the room, even if someone broke in, he could quickly change everything into a weapon.

So... "Yes! We can put more metal things in the room that you can manipulate. Even if we are not at home we could use metal for protection, like a gate or something!"

Yan Fei glanced at him with a smile on his face. He had already intended to do so, having only a dog at home was not safe. Completely sealing with metal was simpler than separately covering up plants, animals and windows.

"In that case, just wait until we get back to fortify here and next door! The door here is sealed, usually exit over there. It doesn't matter even if there is a simple barrier."

Even if the landlord managed to take back the house, he would just hole up with Yan Fei in the middle rom with his metal. Even if those people came back, Luo Xun really did not want to give up the house...

Yan Fei raised his arms and gave Luo Xun a back hug. "First jot down the things for tomorrow. When we leave, I will seal the house door again."

A few days ago Luo Xun had spent time with He Qiankun and the others and became accustomed to side hugs. He did not find Yan Fei's actions strange and was too excited to pay attention at the moment. His hand hurriedly scribbled down what came to mind and any required materials.

They spent the night in discussion, all kinds of coping methods when encountering zombies, advanced zombies etc, essentially pay attention while out. Luo Xun slept heavily that night, woke up the next day oddly in the middle of the bed, almost touching Yan Fei's face.

The first thing Yan Fei heard when he woke up was *thump*

"Why are you on the ground again?" Yan Fei yawned at Luo Xun who just sat up from the floor rubbing his back with a dark expression.

Luo Xun grimaced in embarrassment and fled into the bathroom. Behind, Yan Fei's sleepy face dispersed, revealing a cheshire smile.