Chapter 6: Giant Safe
1337 Words
By the time Yu Duoduo returned to her apartment, the sun had just dipped halfway below the horizon, painting the sky in shades of orange and red.
Exhausted from the day’s work, she ordered herself a calorie bomb for dinner: fried chicken, burgers, fries, and a big bottle of cola.
She unpacked the tools she bought from the hardware store and laid them out in the living room. Then she pulled an unused tablecloth from the cupboard and spread it under the base of the wall she was about to cut through—to catch the falling debris.
Everything was ready.
Her apartment building used a beam-and-column structural system. The interior partition walls were mostly 240mm masonry walls, non-load-bearing.
As one of the original designers of this building, Yu Duoduo knew that better than anyone.
Most residents here were white-collar workers who came home late. It was only 5 PM—if she worked quickly, cutting five doorways would take just about an hour. It shouldn’t disturb the neighbors.
She grabbed a marker and sketched out a large rectangular frame on the wall where the opening would go, carefully marking the areas to be cut.
She plugged in the machine. Zzz… zzz… zzz…
Yep, the electric cutter really saved effort.
Following the outline, Yu Duoduo began cutting. Her hands were firm, her eyes sharp. If any large brick chunk looked like it might fall, she instantly blinked it into her space with a thought. That way, there’d be less mess and easier cleanup.
The first doorway took around 15 minutes. Finally, a 1m x 2m opening was complete in the living room wall!
All the debris on the floor was tossed into her space. She didn’t even need to lift a finger—just a glance and a thought, and the surroundings were spotless.
Crossing through the new doorway, she found the unit still in its original, newly-delivered state.
The internal space was divided into two floors with enclosed panels and connected by a staircase. Utilities were all set up; the hard installation was nearly complete.
Yu Duoduo wasted no time and started on the second doorway. Now that she had the technique down, it only took ten minutes.
Ding dong~ ding dong~ ding dong!
The doorbell rang. Was it a neighbor complaining?
She was working on the third wall at the time, but she thought about it—if someone was going to complain, it should be the unit two doors down, not hers.
Leaving the wall cutter where it was, she went to open the door.
Ah, it was her food delivery!
But she had no time to eat. She had to finish the doorways before dark so she could move the supplies out of her space. She needed to go shopping again tomorrow. In just two more days, the heavy rain would begin—it wouldn’t be easy to leave the house after that.
Finally, after one hour, all five doorways were done!
First, she moved the charcoal and coal briquettes from the dining room inside her space to the furthest of the connected units.
Then came vegetables, fruits, dried goods, and eggs—all temporarily relocated.
The hardware and paint she just bought were also moved to one of the new rooms.
As for the medicine, she placed them carefully in her second-floor study. The car fridges were plugged in, the air conditioning was turned on—these life-saving supplies had to be kept in optimal condition.
Only fresh meat, seafood, and frozen items that depended on her space’s refrigeration remained.
Everything else had been neatly relocated to the now-connected neighboring apartments.
The whole setup now felt like a giant safe embedded within her own home!
Even the chickens had a dedicated large room, complete with air conditioning, and a generous supply of corn, millet, and water—they were living the dream.
Now, with the two rooms, living room, dining room, and even the small garden emptied out, she had freed up 250㎡ of usable space.
The supplies were finally organized.
Looking at the fruits of her labor, Yu Duoduo flopped onto the couch with a smile, completely drained. Maoku mimicked her—sprawled out belly-up on the side.
Ding—Mortgage loan received: ¥2,500,000. Balance: ¥2,625,666.
Ha! That shady loan company, “Little Gold,” really lived up to its reputation—specializing in helping people cobble together home down payments. Super fast! The only downside was the insane interest rate… But who cared now?
With the funds in, her mood soared.
Yu Duoduo opened her delivery boxes, spreading the fried chicken and fries out on the coffee table, took two big gulps of ice-cold cola—revived!
Ding ding ding—
Her phone rang. It was her uncle.
Yu Duoduo answered and put it on speaker. Her uncle’s furious voice instantly filled the room.
“Yu Duoduo! Did you come to our house? Everything’s turned upside down! The savings, the property deeds, and your aunt’s jade bracelet—did you take them?! You're young, but you’re already stealing! Do you know that’s breaking and entering? That’s a crime! Return everything now or I’ll call the police!”
Yu Duoduo calmly swallowed her chicken, then slowly replied:
“Go ahead and call the police. The money’s already spent—I can’t return it.
As for the bracelet, that was my mother’s to begin with. When did it become yours?
Call the police. Let them investigate who the house actually belongs to, who’s the rightful owner, who’s the outsider.
Let them check where the money came from and who it rightfully belongs to. While they’re at it, they can clear out the freeloaders in that house too.”
Suddenly, the other end of the call went silent…
This stupid girl—when did she get so sharp?
A moment later, her aunt’s voice came on, softer and coaxing:
“Duoduo, listen. That money was from your parents’ car accident compensation. Your uncle and I were just keeping it safe for you—for emergencies only. You shouldn’t spend it so recklessly!
And besides, that much money… it’s not something you can just blow in one go. Be a good girl, bring it back and let your uncle help you save it. Later on—”
Yu Duoduo cut her off.
“I’m an adult now. I don’t need guardians to manage my money.
I’ve been struggling with my mortgage. I used the funds to pay it off early.”
“You… you… how could you—”
Her aunt was speechless.
Yu Duoduo hung up directly.
If only she’d had more time, she really would’ve preferred to sell the old house before the apocalypse hit and use the money to stockpile supplies.
But using a mortgage loan only got her 50% of the home’s value—cutting her usable cash in half!
She sat cross-legged on the floor, spreading out her supply checklist on the coffee table. She crossed out what she’d already bought and circled the items that were harder to acquire. Then she pulled out her phone and started placing next-day delivery orders online.
Top priority: weapons.
In an apocalypse, when food became scarce, humanity’s darkest nature would show. Looting would be the least of it—murder and dumping bodies would become disturbingly normal.
Guns were off-limits for civilians, but cold weapons were still within reach.
She found an online store that specialized in collectible swords—their forging techniques were even listed as national intangible cultural heritage.
From short blades to xiuchun sabers, there were over a dozen types—an absolute treasure trove!
Yu Duoduo contacted the seller and learned that a batch of stock was available. Shipping out tonight, it would arrive in her city tomorrow evening.
She placed the order immediately, specifying that all blades must be sharpened.
The end of the world was no joke.
To be safe, she ordered three of each:
7-inch fish-gut knives, 12-inch Tang-style short sabers, and 21-inch xiuchun sabers.
- Writer
