Chapter 27: Novels Can Save Lives
1257 Words
At the property management office of Lanshan Residential Area.
As a high-end luxury community, the Lanshan property management office is a fully equipped residence with both office spaces and employee dormitories.
Shao Hang led Tang Yili into the office, first pouring him a cup of hot water. From the moment they met, he had suspected that Tang Yili wasn’t from the area. After confirming this, Shao Hang inquired further.
“What do you do?” Shao Hang asked, his eyes scanning Tang Yili’s muscular build.
“I’m a fitness trainer.”
“Oh, just training people?”
“Weight loss, strength, various fitness routines, including kickboxing…” Tang Yili explained. The fitness trainer industry was highly competitive, with relatively low entry barriers. As long as one had a solid foundation and was willing to push themselves, anyone could do it. But it also meant you had to know a lot.
After hearing about Tang Yili’s expertise in kickboxing, Shao Hang showed approval. He pointed outside the window. “It’s snowing, and traffic is paralyzed. Do you have a place to stay in Jiazhou?”
“I’m staying at a friend’s house.” Tang Yili answered honestly.
“Well… does he still have food there?” Shao Hang asked, his expression sharp.
Tang Yili swallowed. Sun Chenghao’s house wasn’t devoid of food, but the variety was limited. He hadn’t eaten much because the options were monotonous. That’s why he had chased after Ai Bing and left, feeling both cold and hungry, and now his stomach was protesting.
“Do you know what people are saying about this situation online?” Shao Hang pulled out a bag of bread and a box of milk, placing them in front of Tang Yili. “The end of the world. The apocalypse.”
“The entire world is snowing and freezing. Have you thought about how you’re going to survive in the future?”
“No… not really,” Tang Yili mumbled, taking a bite of the bread.
“You see, this is probably the top residential area in Jiazhou. The people living here are either rich or powerful, and they have many connections. Why don’t you stay here and work for me? As long as I have food, you won’t go hungry.”
“I…” Tang Yili hesitated. He then thought about it and realized that Shao Hang’s offer wasn’t wrong, but he had a condition.
“Ai Bing, right? Don’t worry. As long as I don’t approve, she won’t be able to leave this residential area! In times like this, we shouldn’t place too much importance on women. As long as we have food and weapons, we can have any woman we want. The women living here are of a higher caliber than Ai Bing, trust me.”
“But I like her.” Tang Yili swallowed the last bite of bread.
“Alright, alright. I promise you, Ai Bing will be yours, how about that?”
“Good!” Tang Yili nodded firmly, no longer hesitating. “Then I’ll work for you from now on!”
“Good brother!” Shao Hang laughed heartily and patted Tang Yili on the shoulder. “I’ll get you a winter security guard uniform, and introduce you to the others.”
Just like that, Tang Yili transformed into a security guard at Lanshan Residential Area. After some careful consideration, he even called Sun Chenghao to convince him to join the organization as well, citing the promise of food and “sticking together for warmth.” Sun Chenghao agreed to come over as quickly as possible.
Yes, it was an organization.
Although Shao Hang wasn’t highly educated, he was clever. At thirty years old, unmarried, and fond of reading various types of online novels—especially those about apocalyptic scenarios—he had been closely monitoring the strange events unfolding around the world.
When the abnormal phenomena started occurring globally, Shao Hang began comparing them to scenarios he’d read about in online novels.
Online novelists these days were quite skilled, with vast content databases that explored every possible apocalyptic scenario and potential ways different classes could respond. While many of the ideas were exaggerated—such as the idea of temperatures reaching seventy degrees Celsius, which even Shao Hang knew was nonsense—there were also many valuable insights.
For example, how to stockpile resources, gather weapons, and find suitable shelters. Among these, the most useful tactic for Shao Hang’s current situation was recruiting people.
As long as humans could still survive, even if resources were limited, having enough manpower could solve any problem.
Shao Hang had started recruiting security guards for days, trying to bring them into his fold. For those he couldn’t win over, he used his influence to transfer them to other properties managed by the company. While this reduced the available manpower, it ensured the purity of his “team.”
In addition to loyal security guards, Shao Hang also set his sights on strong, independent “strangers.” Tang Yili wasn’t the first he had recruited, nor would he be the last.
Since it was unclear how the disaster would evolve or what measures the government would take, Shao Hang had made two plans: if society remained stable and the situation improved, he could continue working under the radar; if the world descended into chaos, he would use his recruited “strangers” to handle darker tasks, erasing any evidence and witnesses if necessary.
Meanwhile, Shao Hang had been keeping track of all the residents in the area, learning about their resources and consumption through security guards and surveillance cameras. He had documented details like which family bought what resources, their stockpiles, and even how many people lived in each household.
With all this knowledge, Shao Hang believed he would be the happiest survivor in the apocalypse. He was almost grateful for the disaster, as it allowed him to do things that were impossible in normal society, and enjoy things he would never have had access to before.
As long as he could seal off the gates of the residential area, he, Shao Hang, would be the king of the area.
When Sun Chenghao arrived, he was nearly frozen solid.
By this time, most vehicles on the streets had stalled. In such cold weather, ordinary cars’ engines froze, making it impossible to start them. Some lower-quality cars even shut down completely. Worse still, some areas had lost power due to damage to the electricity grid!
Without electricity, heating became a serious problem.
“D*mn it, Old Tang, it’s all over!” Sun Chenghao wailed.
“Sun Chenghao, right? Don’t worry, we’ve got plenty of fuel and generators in our community. Heating this place won’t be an issue. And the reason I’ve been gathering people is to prepare for even worse situations,” Shao Hang reassured him.
“The fuel station is close, but can you get the fuel out by yourself? Even if you could, how much could you carry?” Sun Chenghao replied, still shaking.
“With enough people, anything is possible,” Shao Hang confidently declared. “If we all work together, we can take the whole gas station!”
“... And the supermarkets in the city are full of supplies. But do you dare go? If you go, can you even come back?”
“... Don’t worry. As long as we stick together, we can survive. The apocalypse won’t stop us!”
“Manager Shao, no—Brother, I’ll work for you!”
- Writer
