"What's going on, Brother Zhao? Why aren't you renting out the place anymore?"
Li Xuan asked through a message.
"Oh, it's like this, Li. I've already listed the apartment for sale. I plan to sell it soon."
The landlord quickly replied.
In recent years, the real estate market had been declining, making things feel unstable.
This apartment was about 90 square meters, with two bedrooms, one living room, and one bathroom. The layout was quite good, the location was decent, and it was very close to a school.
The same type of unit in the neighborhood was selling for around 31,000 yuan per square meter.
At the market's peak, it had been sold for as much as 50,000 yuan per square meter.
Li Xuan lived alone, so he didn't need too much space.
"Maybe I should just buy it?" he thought to himself.
"Brother Zhao, how about selling the apartment to me?"
Li Xuan texted.
"You want to buy it?"
"I'm looking to sell quickly. If you can pay the full price within two weeks, I'll let it go for 2.6 million yuan!"
The landlord seemed eager for cash.
Based on the current market price, the apartment should go for around 2.9 million yuan.
So, with a 300,000 yuan discount, Li Xuan would essentially be getting his rent back for the past three years.
"Alright, we can handle the ownership transfer tomorrow."
Li Xuan agreed.
"You're really going to buy it? No joke?"
"I've been living here for three years—it feels like home. Moving out suddenly would be tough. I was already planning to buy a place soon, so why not just take this one?"
Li Xuan reasoned.
Buying a new home often meant dealing with off-plan apartments that weren't ready for immediate move-in, requiring one or two years of waiting for renovations.
Moving into another neighborhood would feel awkward, and relocating would be a hassle.
Buying this apartment seemed like the best choice—no middlemen, no additional costs, and it saved a lot of effort.
"Alright, let's handle the transfer tomorrow at 10 a.m.,"
Brother Zhao said without hesitation. The deal was sealed.
After finalizing everything, Li Xuan went to bed.
"Phew..."
While Li Xuan fell into a deep sleep, his counterpart in the post-apocalyptic world woke up.
"Looks like there's exactly a 12-hour time difference between me and my parallel self."
"When it's day for him, it's night for me. When it's day for me, it's night for him."
"And it seems like we can't both be awake at the same time. It's like one soul controlling two bodies!"
"If zombies attack while I'm asleep, that could be a real problem!"
Li Xuan frowned.
"I need to find a safer place, somewhere I can sleep without worrying about being interrupted."
Closing his eyes, he focused on his spatial ability and took out all the supplies he had stored away.
Two machetes, three axes, 20 pounds of rice, 3 pounds of beef, 5 pounds of pork, bok choy, chili peppers, potatoes, cucumbers, celery, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar—two of each.
One alcohol stove with extra fuel and several bottles of mineral water.
"The space is still too small. I can't store much at once, but these supplies should last me half a month."
After retrieving the supplies, Li Xuan began cooking and had a hearty meal.
His appetite had clearly increased, as if his body needed more nutrients.
Once he was full, he felt full of energy.
"Maybe I should go hunt for some lone zombies?"
"If I find more crystal cores, maybe my space will expand!"
He grabbed an axe and headed out.
Instead of rushing downstairs to fight zombies in the open, which could easily result in a horde attack,
he chose to sweep through the apartments floor by floor.
If he encountered zombies, it would likely be only two or three, and with his current strength and sharp weapons, he felt confident.
Moreover, clearing apartments would also give him the chance to find valuables—gold, silver, jewelry, and other precious items.
Before, Li Xuan didn't care much about those things. But now, they could be useful.
He could send them to the modern world via his spatial ability, rapidly accumulating wealth to buy better equipment and supplies for his survival.
It was a positive cycle.
Li Xuan reached the 20th floor and expertly picked the lock.
Apartment 2001 opened without any issues. The owner had already left.
He began his search.
Previously, his focus was only on food and water.
Now, his primary targets were valuable items—jade, jewelry, gold, silver, antiques.
Even if the historical timeline in this world was different, antique items, if proven to be centuries old, could still be worth a lot of money.
Li Xuan swept through the floors from the 20th to the 29th, collecting valuable items, but he didn't encounter any zombies.
That was until he opened Apartment 3001.
Suddenly, three zombies charged out at him.
"ROAR!"
"ROAR!"
"ROAR!"
Li Xuan had been prepared.
He swung the axe with all his might, striking the first zombie's head.
Unlike his earlier panic, this time, his strength, speed, and reflexes were all much stronger.
The axe was far more effective than the kitchen knife he had used before.
With one solid swing, the first zombie's head was cleaved in half, killing it instantly.
As the remaining two zombies tried to charge him, the narrow hallway kept them from coming at him all at once.
Li Xuan drew a machete and swung it wildly.
His attacks weren't particularly skillful, but his strength, speed, and bravery completely overpowered the zombies.
He hacked at them relentlessly with the machete and axe, and after a furious assault, the two remaining zombies collapsed.
The three zombies lay lifeless in a pool of blood.
Li Xuan stood there, panting, his body trembling.
"I… panicked again."
"I thought I was ready for this, but when it came to fighting three zombies, I still wasn't calm enough."
"Even though my body is stronger, if I hadn't had the machete and axe, the outcome could've been different."
"I need more training."
"I must conquer my fear of zombies and learn to stay calm in combat. I need to be precise, decisive, and lethal."
"No more drawn-out fights—aim for a one-hit kill!"
As he reflected on his mistakes, Li Xuan started breaking open the zombies' skulls to search for crystal cores.
"What's this? Only the biggest zombie had a white crystal core the size of a glass bead. The other two didn't have any."
"So… not every zombie has a crystal core?"