Back in the rented apartment.
Sure enough, Feng Zixuan had moved all her things out.
Li Xuan never thought he had a mental illness.
He still had enough rationality and a clear mind.
It was just that the dreams he had were so vivid and real that he sometimes couldn't tell whether he was dreaming now, or if everything he experienced in the apocalypse was just a dream.
Or maybe neither of them was a dream?
The time was 9:30 PM.
Li Xuan enjoyed a bowl of lotus root and rib soup, savoring it before he fell asleep.
"Phew~"
When he opened his eyes, it was 9:30 AM.
The breath he exhaled turned into a white mist.
A bone-chilling cold rushed through his body, and his stomach was so hungry it was cramping.
The pain was unbearable.
In the basement, there was only half a bottle of mineral water left, and half a moldy piece of bread.
Li Xuan's face was pale as paper.
His lips were cracked.
But he still couldn't bring himself to drink the last half-bottle of water.
"Maybe just a sip!"
"After all, dreams will eventually wake up!"
"Yesterday, I dreamed that my girlfriend broke up with me. But it's over now, I guess. That kind of woman isn't worth me even sparing a glance!"
"I don't even know why I was attracted to that green tea (two-faced) woman in the dream!"
"But in that dream, I got to eat my favorite lotus root rib soup. That was really happiness!"
"Maybe that's the only thing keeping me alive, the hope that in my dreams, I can eat a little more. That's already enough for me!"
Li Xuan stood up and ate the last half of the moldy bread.
Then he steeled himself.
With two gulps, he drank the rest of the mineral water.
He needed to regain some energy.
"Today I have to go out and scavenge for supplies. Without food and water, I'll die sooner or later!"
"Instead of starving and waiting for death, I might as well take a risk!"
"The weather has become even colder these past couple of days. Zombies' movements have slowed down a bit. Maybe this is a good opportunity to go out and gather supplies!"
Li Xuan dressed warmly, wrapping himself up tightly.
He then picked up a kitchen knife and a few pieces of wire, leaving the basement quietly.
Large supermarkets were definitely off-limits.
If it had been two months ago, right after the apocalypse began, he could have raided a few stores.
But now, after two months, most of the big supermarkets had probably been swept clean by the earlier survivors.
There was probably nothing left!
All Li Xuan could do now was to quietly scavenge building by building.
House by house, searching for supplies.
Maybe he'd get lucky and find some food leftover from someone else's home.
"Since I've learned lock-picking skills, I originally planned to make a living by opening locks."
"I didn't expect that now, in the apocalypse, this would become the skill I rely on to survive!"
"Searching for supplies has become harder and harder. I've already searched every apartment in Building 8!"
"Today, the target is Building 7. There might be zombies in the hallways. With my current physical condition, I can only handle one zombie. If I'm lucky, I might be able to fight it off with this kitchen knife!"
"But if there are two or more zombies, I might be dead meat!"
After leaving the basement, Li Xuan headed straight for Building 7.
Building 7 and Building 8 were only about thirty meters apart.
Li Xuan moved carefully, holding his breath and moving quickly, so he didn't attract the attention of the few wandering zombies in the neighborhood.
He went straight into Building 7.
The elevators were all out of service, so he had to take the stairs.
He started from the bottom and worked his way up, floor by floor.
The first floor was too noisy. To avoid attracting the zombies' attention, Li Xuan skipped it and started from the fifth floor.
Before picking locks, he carefully listened for any noise or movement inside.
If there was any sound, whether it was from survivors or zombies, it would be dangerous.
Two months into the apocalypse, some people had already resorted to cannibalism to survive.
This wasn't an isolated incident.
Society had completely collapsed.
The law no longer existed.
Some people, desperate to survive, were willing to do anything.
The darkest sides of human nature had been fully exposed.
No one could be trusted.
Like Building 8, many of the apartments in Building 7 were empty.
Some doors were even wide open.
Most residents in the area hadn't been in the habit of stocking up on food before the apocalypse.
Rural areas might fare better, with a lot of grain stored away, but urban dwellers generally couldn't survive more than ten days without supplies.
When survival became impossible, people had to go out and search for supplies.
Once they left, very few returned alive.
The once-expensive riverfront apartments, now abandoned and decaying.
Some of the apartments were still freshly renovated, with luxury layouts.
Now, anyone could live in these homes. For a bag of instant noodles, they'd give you an entire building.
Time passed little by little.
Li Xuan, using his proficient lock-picking skills, opened door after door.
Finally, in Room 1805, under the bed, he found a piece of wedding candy!
He devoured it eagerly.
In this situation, finding something sweet to eat felt like a rare blessing!
"So delicious!"
"Really, this is too good!"
Li Xuan nearly shed tears of happiness.
Eating that piece of candy made him feel like his strength had been restored.
His hands, still holding the kitchen knife, didn't feel as weak as before.
He continued searching the 19th floor.
Climbing another floor, Li Xuan carefully crouched by the door of Room 1901.
He pressed his ear to the door and listened for a full minute.
"There's no sound inside. I should be able to open it!"
He skillfully picked up the wire and began working on the lock. With a "click," the door opened.
"Ten-second lock opening, my skills have improved!"
"If this were in normal times, I'd probably be called the Lock King!"
Just as he was about to open the door, something unexpected happened.
Suddenly, from the once-quiet room, an ugly zombie burst out, mouth wide open, and charged at Li Xuan.
Li Xuan was startled.
He quickly tried to close the door, but the zombie's head was already pushing through, desperately trying to force the door open.
In a split second, Li Xuan grabbed the kitchen knife and slashed at the zombie's head.
One slash after another, he struck the zombie at least twenty times before it finally stopped moving.
This was his first time killing a zombie.
But he wasn't too scared, because half a month ago, a survivor had tried to fight him for a bag of bread.
He killed that person with the same kitchen knife.
If he hadn't done that, he would have been dead long ago.
Having killed a person, killing a zombie didn't feel that different.
Li Xuan lay on the ground, breathing heavily.
After hacking thezombie twenty times, his body was exhausted.
"Huh? What's this?"
Li Xuan looked in surprise at the zombie's smashed brain, where, surprisingly, a small white crystal was revealed.
It was about the size of a marble, but it emitted a tantalizing rice fragrance, completely different from the putrid stench of the zombie's rotting body.
The rice aroma from this crystal was so enticing that it made Li Xuan's appetite stir.
Curious, Li Xuan picked up the crystal, then tossed the zombie's body out the door.
He immediately closed the door and began searching for supplies.
It was clear that the resident of this apartment had once been very wealthy.
The 200-square-meter home was luxuriously decorated.
In the bedroom, Li Xuan even found a box of gold bars, along with a pair of collector-level Imperial Green jadeite.
"Damn it, with a house like this and all this money, yet there's not a single bit of food to be found. What use is this gold and jade to me?"