Xiang An leaned his shoulder against the door panel and whispered, “Shen Xia!”
The only person who could deadbolt the seventh-floor security door was the new tenant who had moved in just over a month ago.
After a long pause, a trembling female voice seeped through the door crack: “Xiang Ge?”
“It’s me, open the door quickly,” Xiang An urged in a low voice.
The sound of a body dragging echoed on the stairwell, and he looked over to see Yang Zhiping’s arm draped over the stair landing.
What to do now!
Cold sweat drenched Xiang An’s back. The supplies stored in the living room last night had now become a fatal bargaining chip; Shen Xia only needed to close the door and wait to monopolize all the survival resources.
Xiang An glanced at the stairs leading to the rooftop, a plan forming in his mind.
There was a plastic door on the rooftop that could offer some resistance against zombies. Judging by its movement on the stairs, perhaps a tie-down strap pulled at knee height could trip it.
Just as he was about to pull back and retreat, the door lock suddenly clicked.
Click.
A gap appeared in the old security door.
He instinctively grabbed the door edge, rolled in, and immediately heard the grating sound of fingernails scraping metal outside the security door.
Xiang An leaned his back against the door panel, panting. Although the security door was old, its quality was still acceptable; it wouldn’t be broken by one or two zombies.
“Are you… are you hurt?” Shen Xia clutched the bone-cleaving knife and retreated.
She was about 1.7 meters tall, slender, and wearing a green dinosaur pajama set that she hadn’t had time to change out of.
Blood dripped from the entrenching tool in Xiang An’s hand as he looked up, secretly appraising Shen Xia.
Her actions were dangerous, but understandable.
If their situations were reversed, he would be even more wary. After all, given the current circumstances, a single bite would most likely lead to rapid mutation into a zombie, just like Yang Zhiping!
Just then, a sharp pain pierced Xiang An’s temple, and his retina displayed: 【C-Level Survivor detected. Add to roster?】
He was stunned for a few seconds, then silently thought: “Add to roster.”
【Talent file established!】
【C-Level Survivor: Shen Xia】
【Skill: Apocalypse Theoretician (lv.1)】
【Roster Bonus: Free Construction Count × 1】
【Shelter Buff: Construction Speed +5% / Construction Material Cost -5% (Unlocks later)】
The text flashed continuously, leaving Xiang An a little bewildered.
Xiang An narrowed his eyes slightly, quickly composed himself, and suggested, “It’s hard for you to trust me based on my word alone. How about we both go back to our rooms first? Even if there’s an accident, there will be room to maneuver.”
He enjoyed reading novels during his school days and had fantasized about similar scenarios, so he accepted the current situation without much internal struggle.
Rather than confronting Shen Xia, it was better to understand the system and see if he could find a way to survive through it.
Watching Xiang An enter the room, Shen Xia’s held breath finally returned to normal, and she gently lowered the bone-cleaving knife she had been holding to her chest.
Behind the door, Xiang An’s thoughts stirred.
【Constructible Fortifications: Double-Layer Composite Protective Door, Exterior Wall Reinforcement, Temporary Gravity Trap, Small Rooftop Vertical Farm...】
Next to each fortification name, “Recommended Raw Materials” were listed, which could mostly be found nearby. However, dismantling would definitely require specialized tools and equipment.
It seemed then...
Xiang An looked down at the blood-stained entrenching tool in his hand and suddenly realized that the extra toolbox in the car was probably the system’s doing, its purpose being to allow him to dismantle and obtain various materials for building fortifications.
All the fortifications displayed on his retina could be set up at the intended locations as soon as the raw materials were ready.
Given time, he might be able to build a giant shelter capable of withstanding a zombie horde!
【When constructing fortifications, please place the portable workbench at the construction site.】
“Portable workbench?”
Xiang An tentatively selected “Start Construction,” but a prompt suddenly interrupted him.
He pondered for a moment, and the outline of the toolbox in the car appeared in his mind. When he opened the lid to retrieve the tools, he remembered that some items inside were indeed unusual.
He needed to retrieve the toolbox as soon as possible.
Xiang An walked to the window, quietly observing the situation downstairs. The zombies that had been drawn away by the phone alarm had not yet returned, and the area next to the minivan was still empty.
And in the unseen stairwell, only Yang Zhiping was wandering.
He pulled out a tissue from the bedside to wipe the bloodstains from the entrenching tool and began to review their previous encounter.
Due to his lack of experience, the skirmish was a bit messy, but he could tell that the zombies had no brains. As long as he prepared in advance, dealing with them would not be difficult!
What was truly urgent now was the time window before the zombie horde returned.
Xiang An sat on the bed, carefully calculating.
Dismantling materials would inevitably create noise and expose his presence, so the current free construction count was precious.
The first defensive fortification had to cover a larger area to create a safe buffer zone for subsequent resource dismantling.
The layout of the apartment building entrance came to his mind—installing a double-layer composite protective door there might be the optimal solution.
It would seal off the previously unprotected entrance and also isolate internal construction noise, preventing a concentrated zombie attack. As for the scattered threats behind the security doors inside the building, they could be gradually cleared later.
With his thoughts clear, Xiang An left the room.
Shen Xia was not in the living room; she must have followed his suggestion and isolated herself in the bedroom.
He was indeed going to build fortifications, but before that, he had to address the risk factors—if Shen Xia locked the door again, would she open it for him next time?
Some extreme methods advocated in apocalypse novels flashed through his mind, then were immediately rejected.
This was a living, breathing fellow human. Moreover, building a shelter was not something a lone wolf could accomplish. Even if Shen Xia could only provide basic logistical support, this companionship was worth maintaining.
To go one step further, even if Shen Xia was completely uncooperative, the “Shelter Buff” unlocked in the system was something he needed to strive for!
Once her emotions calmed down, he had to try and establish a cooperative understanding with her.
Xiang An suppressed the urge to knock on the door and instead began systematically organizing the supplies in the living room.
Although the supplies were abundant, there was no way to replenish them at the moment. He had to keep track of the total amount of each type of supply and manage daily allocations to ensure long-term survival.
Thirty minutes later, the supplies were mostly organized, with various foods neatly categorized and stacked. Xiang An called up the system interface and checked Shen Xia’s talent file again.
“Apocalypse Theoretician?”
Xiang An mumbled, staring at the light screen only he could see—it had only been twelve hours since the catastrophe, and all organizations had likely collapsed. The academic field simply didn’t have the time or possibility to establish a systematic research framework.
Moreover, in his impression, the young woman in the dinosaur pajamas didn’t fit the image of a scholar at all.
The crisp click of a mechanical lock tongue came from the second bedroom.
When Shen Xia stepped out of the room, her green dinosaur pajamas had been replaced by a khaki-colored work suit in a combat uniform style. The loose, easy-to-move cut suggested professional consideration.
Xiang An looked up, a surprised expression on his face.
The Shen Xia before him was different from the one in his memory.
“The instant noodle boxes are less than 1.5 meters from the south-facing window,” she pointed to the stack of cardboard boxes by the balcony, “UV light accelerates lipid oxidation.”
She held a thick, cowhide-covered notebook to her chest. Noticing Xiang An’s scrutinizing gaze, Shen Xia instinctively pushed up her slipping black-rimmed glasses, the nose pads leaving faint red marks on her bridge.