Edge of the Apocalypse
Chapter 5: Large Item Sorter Yu Dong

Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Large Item Sorter Yu Dong

First up was the internet cafe trifecta.

Instant noodles, marinated eggs, and sausage.

So much flavor, no extra salt needed.

Buy!

Planning to eat one pack of instant noodles a day, Yu Dong went straight to the market owner and ordered 46 cases of instant noodles (1,104 packs), 1,100 marinated eggs, and 1,100 sausages.

"Brother, what kind of sausage are you looking for? We just got a new kind with zero additives. It’s delicious and nutritious. Want to try some?"

Seeing a big customer, the vendor seized the opportunity to push his new product.

Yu Dong glanced over.

"Give me the kind with the most preservatives."

"Huh?"

The vendor was stunned for a moment. If he hadn’t just seen Yu Dong on a crazy shopping spree throughout the market, he would’ve thought the guy was looking for trouble.

He gave an awkward laugh and said, "Brother, all our products are certified. They’re made according to national standards, so they don’t have that many preservatives... Safe for the elderly and children to eat."

"I want this all-meat sausage. Bag it up, I’m in a hurry."

Yu Dong pointed to a normal, all-meat sausage, not bothering to argue with the vendor about his ridiculous zero-additive ones. The apocalypse was coming; shelf life was king.

Starch-filled sausages were tasty, but low in protein, so Yu Dong opted for the all-meat ones.

Final cost for the internet cafe trifecta: 4,186 yuan.

’Processed food is so expensive... Even instant noodles, a supposedly cheap and good staple, costs more than just eating rice with Lao Gan Ma...’

At that thought, Yu Dong bought another 100 jars of Lao Gan Ma, spending 700 yuan.

With that, though he wasn’t finished buying the second category of food, he had purchased everything he needed from the wholesale market.

Tomorrow, he planned to go to a good spot to finish buying all the processed foods he needed.

His current haul filled three small trucks.

It was already evening when Yu Dong returned to the Xiangti Bay Community.

He had the three tarp-covered trucks wait outside the underground garage entrance while he went to the front gate to ask the security guard to open it.

The 1.8-meter-tall security guard listened, then broke into a hearty laugh and rolled up his sleeves.

"You got it, Brother Yu! My shift is about to end anyway. I’ll help you guys unload everything."

The guard’s enthusiasm made Yu Dong pause for a second.

He took a closer look at the guard. The man was burly and well-muscled, with tanned skin and a masculine air, but... he didn’t seem very old.

Yu Dong pulled out a pack of Yuxi cigarettes he’d just bought and offered one to the guard.

"What’s your name, brother?"

"My name is Liang Mian. You can call me Liang or Liangzi."

Liang Mian accepted the cigarette, his smile becoming more natural.

"How old are you?"

"I’m twenty this year. I started working right after high school, hehe~"

He scratched his head, seemingly a little embarrassed about his lack of education, especially being near a university town.

"Were you a PE student?"

"Huh? Brother, how’d you know?"

"Just a guess."

"You’re spot on, brother! Do you study psychology?"

"Uh... Liangzi, I was really moved when you offered to help just now... You’ve got more character than a lot of college students these days."

Hearing this, Liang Mian puffed out his chest, unable to suppress the smile spreading across his face.

"You gotta love what you do. It’s all part of the job. No trouble at all. Come on, brother, let me help you unload quickly."

"However... I can’t really let you do this, and I can’t even pitch in myself. The thing is, these are movers we hired. We’ve already paid them, and if they break anything, they have to compensate me. So if you help and a computer or a laptop gets dropped... what if they try to blame it on you?"

"That... probably wouldn’t happen, right?" Liang Mian’s puffed-out chest slowly deflated.

"It’s hard to say, Liangzi. Not everyone has as much integrity as you. To avoid any unnecessary disputes, it’s best to just watch them work. Just opening the garage door for us is enough."

"Well... alright then, brother. If there’s any trouble, just call me. I’ll have your back!"

He slapped his pecs forcefully.

Yu Dong led the three trucks smoothly into the underground garage, parking on the B1 level of Building One.

He took the opportunity to observe the layout of the underground garage.

The entrance and exit were only blocked by two barrier arms, leaving a large gap. Zombies could easily climb in. The entire garage was a single level that connected all three buildings.

In other words, people—or zombies—from any building could take the stairs down to the garage and then enter the other buildings.

Moreover, the lighting down there was entirely artificial. If the power went out, it would be pitch black...

’The underground garage is a huge liability. On the last day, I have to block the small door leading from my building to the garage first.’

Yu Dong noted down what he needed to do in his notebook, then shouted to the workers:

"Let’s start unloading!"

"One elevator for the dry goods like rice and flour, one elevator for the water."

Building One’s layout had three apartments per floor, sharing two elevators.

The group of workers was very efficient. Within five minutes, they had stacked the elevators full of rice and bottled water. Yu Dong rode up with the elevator full of rice, heading to the fourth floor.

As it passed the first floor, the elevator stopped...

The doors opened to reveal a familiar oval-shaped face. Her hair was done up in a classical-style bun, and she was so beautiful it was breathtaking.

Carrying a small backpack, Liu Ye’ye subconsciously took a step inside, only to find there was no room to stand. She awkwardly took a step back, looked up, and her eyes met Yu Dong’s.

A hint of surprise flickered across her face, and her small, rosy lips parted... But even as the elevator doors closed, her mouth remained slightly agape, and she didn’t say a word.

Only after watching the elevator stop on the fourth floor did Liu Ye’ye let out a soft hmph.

She pressed the up button again. Liu Ye’ye tilted her head, watching the floor indicator. After a long moment, it was still stuck on the fourth floor...

「Fourth Floor」

Yu Dong opened the doors to his three apartments and directed the workers to move the supplies into each of them.

But one thing was weighing on his mind...

’Will there be a problem now that Liu Ye’ye has seen me hoarding so many supplies...’

He had deliberately sent away the property manager, Sister Zhang, and the security guard, Liangzi, and had even covered the trucks with tarps, all to prevent them from knowing what he was doing and to avoid unnecessary trouble.

After the apocalypse begins, anyone who knows he has a large stash of supplies could become a potential threat.

The workers, on the other hand, were fine. They delivered who-knows-how-many shipments all over Yanhai City every day. To them, his load was just a small delivery.

’Forget it. To most people, I’m just another face in the crowd. Liu Ye’ye probably doesn’t have the time to care...’

’Besides, in six days, she might just turn into a zombie.’

Two hours had passed by the time all the supplies were unloaded.

Exhausted from a full day of running around, Yu Dong collapsed onto the bed in a bedroom piled high with instant noodles, feeling utterly drained.

But as he looked around at the abundant supplies, a sense of confidence washed over him.

After turning down his roommate Huang Zhiqiang’s invitation for a meal, Yu Dong ordered some takeout. Once he had regained some energy, he got back to work.

His living room was filled with supplies, with barely any room to walk.

You couldn’t expect the movers to arrange things neatly; you were lucky they just got everything inside.

"Sorting all these supplies tonight is going to be a huge undertaking..."

With a CLATTER and a BANG, Yu Dong began to organize his apartment and his supplies.

First was his primary residence: the large 160-square-meter apartment.

It was a four-bedroom, two-living-room, two-bathroom unit. Yu Dong reserved the master bedroom, master bathroom, living room, and dining room as his living space. The other three bedrooms and the second bathroom were all designated as storage rooms.

First, he threw all the useless furniture out of the apartment. Anything too big to move, he simply chopped apart with the fire axe from the hallway!

These large pieces could be used to barricade the door and the hallway later.

Then, he rinsed the rooms, wiped them clean, sealed them, and made sure they were dry, ensuring no insect eggs were left behind. Only then did he begin stacking the bags of rice—symbols of carbs and hope...

The whole process was tedious and exhausting, but Yu Dong gritted his teeth and pushed through.

After all, he had sorted bulky items on the late-night shift for three years. His life could be summed up in two words: he endured.

「At that very moment.」

In the apartment directly below, Liu Ye’ye, who had just finished dinner, was holding a half-eaten bag of dried fruits and vegetables, staring up at her ceiling.

The sounds of dragging, chopping, and water splashing...

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