Apocalyptic Disaster: Stockpile Supplies for Free and Make a Comeback

Chapter 12 Symptoms
Wu Dayong couldn't sit still any longer, so he immediately found two people to discuss it, and they went out early the next morning.

It didn't rain today, so Song Jinhe and the others carried a pile of wood to the terrace. They first filtered the collected rainwater with clean cotton clothes to remove impurities, and then boiled it pot by pot.

The fact that the survivors at the bathhouse survived on rainwater for so long suggests that it was safe to do so. However, Song Jinhe had been drinking bottled water that she had stockpiled for the past few days, and the rainwater was mainly used for washing.

It took quite a while to boil all the water in the buckets. Before the wood was completely burned, they also cooked noodles and added the leftover pieces of broth from the hot pot they had the day before.

The spicy broth stimulated their taste buds, and the group ate with great relish, especially Peng Zhixue, who hadn't eaten anything so delicious in a long time. He was so excited that he drank half a bowl of soup.

"It smells so good! When you guys aren't here, I can only eat bread and make instant noodles with lukewarm water, and it's the worst flavor I've ever had."

Song Jinhe skewered four sausages with bamboo skewers she got from the hot pot restaurant and grilled them on an unpainted piece of wood.

Behind the door, those who smelled the delicious aroma couldn't help but swallow hard. Were they even human? Cooking noodles was one thing, but to hide here and grill them all by themselves!

Everyone was taking refuge in the bathhouse, and they were all neighbors. They weren't exactly looking out for each other, but that's not how people behave. If it weren't for the fact that everyone said that girl surnamed Song had a bad temper, he would have definitely gone out and said something.

His eyes lit up, and he turned around and called a few children over. The barbecue and sausages were incredibly tempting for the kids.

"Mom, I want to eat too," Zhou Jie's son timidly tugged at her clothes.

Looking at the skewer of ham that Zhang Yi hadn't eaten yet, Sister Zhou gave an embarrassed smile. "Xiao Yi, I'm sorry, it's just my child. Please don't mind him."

That's what she said, but she didn't take the noisy, crying child away. Zhang Yi looked at the roasted ham sausage in her hand, unsure whether to give it or not, and finally gave half of it away.

The other two children were not having it. Zhou Jie's son finished half a sausage and was still staring at Zhang Yi.

"Xiaoyi, do you have any more? I don't want to ask this, but it's about the child." Tian Hui came over.

“That’s all.” Zhang Yi looked at the children and unhappy adults around her, unsure of what to say.

Seeing that Song Jinhe and the others really weren't going to give it to them, the group left the terrace with cold faces.

"What a stingy attitude! Who cares? It's just a sausage."

“Exactly, they’re even shameless enough to give away half a sausage,” Sister Zhou chimed in.

At that moment, behind the door, Song Jinhe rested her chin on her hand and looked at Zhang Yi, "Do you understand?"

Zhang Yi pursed her lips and nodded.

She didn't regret giving half of the snacks to that sick child living in the apocalypse, but seeing the person whose face changed faster than turning the pages of a book, she felt a mix of emotions.

The clouds deepened, and the cold wind picked up again.

A young man with a tattoo on his neck stepped forward and used his machete to slash the severed limb on the ground. The arm had been soaked in rainwater all night, making it particularly soft and rotten. The tip of the knife lightly touched the rotting fat under the skin, and it burst out.

Despite the disgusting scene, the young man was still laughing. "Looks like it fell from above because of the weather the night before last. Tsk, it's a pity that such a body became a zombie."

"Qiu Xiang, are you fucking alright? You have some really unique tastes, even zombies." The man carrying the axe glanced at the rotten flesh on the ground with disgust.

"I haven't seen a single living woman after all this time. I can only sigh. If I had known the end of the world was coming, I should have done something more exciting. At least I wouldn't have to go to jail. It would have been a huge win." Qiu Xiang seemed to be savoring something, his eyes cold and twisted.

"Several hotels nearby were previously requisitioned as emergency shelters to house people evacuated from severely flooded areas. They were packed to capacity, but then they were all wiped out." The burly man at the head of the group squinted as he warned, "The zombies in the surrounding wading areas are showing signs of moving this way. Be careful, or you might get caught in a trap."

"Got it, Scarface."

The group entered the mall through the fire escape in Zone F and went up the stairs when a zombie corpse suddenly blocked their way.

"I didn't see any other wounds; they were quite efficient."

The axe-wielding man stepped over the corpses and continued forward. Their goal was warm clothes and food, and only Qiu Hui liked those flashy brands.

“Many items are missing from the shelves, and they’re all the same size.” Qiu Hui looked at the lingerie store, his eyes shining with excitement. “Maybe they’re still in this mall.”

Upon hearing this, several men in the group changed their expressions. Meanwhile, on the 10th-floor restaurant...

As Wu Dayong was stuffing food into his bag, Ji suddenly lowered his voice and said in a panic, "There seems to be some noise outside. Could it be zombies?"

"Alright," the short man replied, "Don't scare yourself. Hurry up and pack the supplies. It'll be dark soon, and I don't want to spend the night outside."

The group zipped up their bags, carrying loads of supplies, and headed out. Just as they reached the door, they bumped into another group.

The group was startled when they saw the weapon in the other person's hand.

The eyes of a desperado are different from those of an ordinary person; you can immediately sense the ruthlessness of someone who has killed.

“You guys look pretty good, all clean and carrying so much stuff.” Scarface walked up to you with a forced smile. “Looks like you have a nice place to stay nearby.”

Wu Dayong and the others remained silent, looking timid and hesitant.

The next second, Scarface pulled a pistol from his waist and fired a shot at the short guy.

A deafening clap of thunder echoed as Wu Dayong stared wide-eyed at the person lying dead beside him. A living, breathing person was gone just like that; the other person had killed him and was still laughing.
He had never seen anything like this before, and felt his legs go weak, almost collapsing to the ground.

Seeing the burly man turn the gun, Wu Dayong quickly nodded and said "Yes" twice.

“That’s right.” Scarface nodded in satisfaction and gestured for his men to check their belongings.

“The entrance to our place is sealed off. The people inside will open the door for us when they hear our voices,” Wu Dayong said, trembling.

"Don't worry, as long as you cooperate, no one will get hurt. But if anyone tries anything funny, I'll sever your Achilles tendons and then throw you in front of the zombies." Scarface smirked.

"Tell me about the situation at your residence first. How many people are there, how much supplies are there? Be detailed."

"I said, I said everything!"

The other side had guns; they would kill someone and then brutally cut off their head. How could they dare to say no?

-

Song Jinhe turned all the empty bottles in the space into Molotov cocktails and stored them separately for easy access when needed.

Then he took an unwanted steamer from the kitchen and washed some of the sweet potatoes and potatoes in the space with boiled rainwater, steamed them, and stored them away.

It wasn't easy for her to keep quiet about how she could produce so much food out of thin air, and to do it all the time like a thief.

The steamer took up too much space, so in the end she only took out the stainless steel steaming plate and put it away.

By evening, Song Jinhe felt a little dizzy. She didn't eat much for dinner, and when she lay in bed, she felt weak and cold.

Even with a thick blanket I found in the closet, my feet still felt like ice, my head was dizzy, and my throat was sore.

The noise outside continued for a long time. It seemed that the people who went out to find supplies had not returned yet, so someone found Cheng Yan and the others to ask them questions and also knocked on her door, but Song Jinhe ignored them.

She took the mercury thermometer out from under her arm and held it up to the flashlight. Good heavens, it read 38.7 degrees Celsius.

Song Jinhe took the medicine with cold water and lay in bed feeling unwell for several hours. She couldn't fall asleep until the early hours of the morning, and her condition only worsened, with her body temperature soaring to 39.4 degrees Celsius.

Tinnitus symptoms also appeared, my throat was dry and hoarse, and my whole body felt like it was on fire. I felt a little better after using a fever-reducing patch, but my body temperature wouldn't go down and kept rising to 40 degrees Celsius.

A common cold wouldn't be this severe; it felt like my brain had been burned dry, and I had difficulty breathing and couldn't lie down to sleep.

In her memory, awakening her talent wasn't this painful; these symptoms were more like those of the first people infected with the zombie virus.

(End of this chapter)