The Reborn Otaku’s Code of Practice for the Apocalypse - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

That same night, Yan Fei cooly watched several directors arguing about a project in the conference room . When he turned to look out the window he saw a flash of green light and sucked in a breath .

"Hey . "

"Yan Fei?"

"Finish this tomorrow . " An unknown feeling rose in his heart, Yan Fei felt something ominous, a sense of danger and anticipation .

Change was coming, the prelude to a cataclysm . He was not clear if the omen was good or bad . A change for the better or a descent into an abyss of depression and helplessness .

The sunlight shined without mercy with no choice but to wake up . Luo Xun blinked a few times then threw himself out of bed to stare outside . Apocalypse! Doomsday! The end of the world had arrived!

In his past life, Luo Xun had not witnessed the very start but some of his companions had mentioned it while fleeing . He still remembered his self blame,

"If I had known that the apocalypse was coming, I would have prepared in advance! Instead I was living complacently in a bubble . I thought it was a trick of light when green flashed across the computer screen but then the machine shut down . Many became zombies and went after each other . "

Now he saw it with his own eyes . First Luo Xun checked his hands, normal with small wounds and rough skin from days of labour . Then he closed his eyes and meditated – no feeling at all . He picked up a heavily modified, spiked baseball bat . He is still just an ordinary person . Luo Xun stuck close to the walls, fully alert and grasping the bat .

He headed to the patio, opened the sliding door and peeked inside . Some of the crops had transformed . From the thirty-three seedlings dispersed across four shelves, six had turned maroon exuding a gray atmosphere, definitely contaminated . The maroon plant was now inedible and highly toxic with a possibility of turning into a zombie if consumed .

Luo Xun used rubber gloves to pluck the contaminated plants and threw them into a pot in the corner to be burned . Other than the contaminated plants, four looked strange; two golden yellow, one bright red and one silver gray .

Luo Xun removed these plants and transferred them to a separate shelf . Mutated plants may not bear fruit or become more productive . Usually the mutation created a completely different plant species .

No problems on the second floor . After checking each room, Luo Xun grabbed his homemade mace and slowly descended the stairs .

*Bark! Bark!* Luo Xun froze, looked down then felt relief .

The three shrimp had all turned belly up, there had not been enough oxygen inside the buckets . One of the four fish had become a zombie . The fish had been placed in the corners of a box . Two had suffocated and the zombie fish had the eaten the last, only leaving bones .

The puppy barked and growled at the box . Luo Xun strode forward and smashed the zombie fish with the bat, with that all the aquatic creatures had died .

"You're fine . " Luo Xun smiled and petted the dog . He did not feel sad about the fish, the puppy was the greatest gain .

"I'll feed you again later . Wait a while . " He spoke in a gentle tone . The puppy tilted her head curiously .

All eight quail stayed normal inside their containers . No losses! The same applied to the worms, no change but they protested when Luo Xun dug them out .

"Such stubborn vitality…" Luo Xun put them back with a sigh .

Finally he inspected the balcony . One of the apple seedlings was contaminated and one of the orange seedlings had mutated . Though three pepper plants and one star anise seedling were also sacrificed, Luo Xun felt very satisfied with the results . He burned the dead fish and contaminated plants on the terrace before checking the nursery .

Sadly, most of the nursery mushrooms had mutated . Luo Xun needed to get rid of these bright red poisonous mushrooms as soon as possible . Fortunately he had known that mushrooms were suitable from his past experience .

Luo Xun used a telescope to scope out the situation from the terrace . The puppy had been released from her cage and currently acted like a spoiled child at his feet and biting his trousers . He did not want to change the dog's name from 'Puppy', it was cute and sweet . Most importantly the name was easy to remember .

"It seems that the situation outside is not good . " Luo Xun murmured .

Because the apocalypse started overnight, the majority of people mutated at home . Through the telescope he saw many inhabitants in homes had become zombies . Pressing against the windows wearing pajamas, unable to come out since the door was closed .

A relatively small number of zombies were wandering the streets listlessly in search of food . Luo Xun decided to go out and collect supplies while the number of zombies outside remained low!

No one can have too many resources, especially since Luo Xun had a relatively secure storage space . Due to money issues, he had far from enough solar panels and other energy sources . Food, even expired had been the most circulated good during the apocalypse .

Looking at the world with a new perspective, any cautious person in society would take action, especially during doomsday . Luo Xun had replaced his peephole with an electronic version, one would not be able to tell from the outside .

It had numerous functions: LCD screen with night vision, 24 hour surveillance, help tips, recording, SMS prompt, remote control and home computer connection . Luo Xun focused on the night vision and 24 hour surveillance functions, so he could clearly see any people in the corridor even at night . Unfortunately he would not be able to use the SMS feature for a while .

Luo Xun stood behind the door and replayed last night's recording . He was relieved – there were no wandering zombies on the 16th floor . Luo Xun was the only inhabitant at the moment on the particular floor . Apartment 1602 had owners but the two other homes were not complete since the peephole had not been installed .

The 15th floor had been built but there was no one living there . The 14th floor was still under construction and renovation . In general, occupancy rate at the end of year was low, most people have not moved in and furnished . For Luo Xun, his new home was more secure than his old building; less people in the building meant fewer potential zombies .

Luo Xun equipped his mace, a backpack, helmet, an arrow and homemade crossbow . Before leaving he ordered Puppy to watch the house .

Puppy was too young at the moment, but even if she was fully grown Luo Xun would still be reluctant to bring her . She could bite a zombie but then would mutate or turn into a zombie .

The electricity had not been cut in the corridor, a lamp half-flickered on when the door closed . One of the bulbs had burned out three days ago . The developers were cheapskates and bought cheap but non-durable light bulbs .

The elevator was still useable so Luo Xun stealthily loosened the switch cover . Really, there are two elevators but before the grand opening only one was useable .

*Ding* The elevator door slid open, Luo Xun grabbed his mace and walked in . The sound of the elevator attracted growling sounds . Luo Xun guessed that some of the construction workers on the 14th floor had become zombies which could only gather at the locked door . In the small space hearing *ping, ping* without seeing the source of sound as well as low growling, people would inevitably feel depression and fear .