Apocalypse Showdown: Carrier Conquest

Chapter 30: Thoughts and Motives

Wu Xue brought up some common medical equipment—stethoscopes, blood pressure monitors, and glucose meters.

“Basic data testing isn’t about treating diseases, no need for complicated equipment. What matters is long-term consistency, repeated measurements, and detailed comparisons to obtain accurate conclusions.”

Professionally, Zhou Lin couldn’t argue with her. He felt somewhat awkward, especially since he was wearing a tight-fitting workout outfit, and some lines were more obvious than usual. Wu Xue, on the other hand, seemed calm and unfazed, even when making contact with Zhou Lin during the test.

“Alright, I’ve recorded the basic data. I’ll graph it later. From now on, try to do this daily, and soon we’ll have a complete set of progress charts...”

Zhou Lin didn't quite follow the increasingly professional terms Wu Xue used. He just knew that such “check-ups” would happen daily. And the physical touch from her soft hands was starting to make him uncomfortable.

The more he thought about it, the harder it became to keep his control. He excused himself, claiming he needed a shower, and quickly made his exit.

“Xue Jie, you haven’t forgotten your original goal, right?”

At Zhou Lin's reminder, Wu Xue suddenly remembered, asking urgently, "What should I do now?"

"Just do it—bring me the phone," Zhou Lin responded.

Installing a satellite communication program was easy for Zhou Lin, and within minutes, it was done. Aside from restoring some basic phone functions, Zhou Lin also added Wu Xue to a forum named "End of the World Human Alliance."

The forum had fewer than 100,000 members. Its interface was basic, and the functionality was limited. But still, the ability for strangers worldwide to communicate through it was impressive in these times.

As soon as Wu Xue got her phone back, the first thing she did was try calling her parents. Not surprisingly, the call didn’t go through. Unless her parents had the same satellite-linked phones, there was no way to reach them.

“Sometimes, things turn out unexpectedly. What about sending a message?” Zhou Lin suggested.

Wu Xue agreed and sent a message. But after several minutes, there was still no reply. She could only comfort herself, thinking that maybe her parents hadn't seen it or had discarded their phones while fleeing.

The endless night and extreme cold had thrust human society back to near primal levels. Power outages weren’t just about losing lights and communication. Without power, there was no water supply, heating, or manufacturing. In short, if electricity didn’t return, nothing in human society could function—except the humans themselves.

In the tool room, Yang Kiki added smokeless charcoal into the stove. Her face was no longer perfectly made up, with streaks of black and white on her skin. Her hair tangled with white feathers, giving her the appearance of a rural woman rather than the city-dwelling beauty she once was.

But her mind was far from rural matters. She hated Zhou Lin, but not because of the dirt and "hard work." No, it was because Zhou Lin had deliberately exposed her without a second glance. Yang Kiki felt she wasn’t inferior to Ai Bing—perhaps she was even better in some ways. Even Mr. Cao adored her. Yet Zhou Lin, a "nobody" in her eyes, seemed to ignore her entirely.

Was he looking down on her? If he truly had high standards, he wouldn't have gone after Ai Bing in the first place. She knew how Zhou Lin had treated Ai Bing—like a dog following her, saying things that sounded like they came from the deepest part of his heart, never abandoning her even when Ai Bing treated him poorly. Yet now, Zhou Lin ignored her, though she had so much to offer. Was he playing hard to get? Was he pretending to be "above" her?

"i***t man! Foolish man!" The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. She even entertained the thought of destroying everything in the tool room. If she did that, Zhou Lin and his family would surely freeze to death in the sub-zero temperatures. That would be poetic justice.

But ultimately, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Not only had Zhou Lin warned her, but she also knew that if she destroyed the tools, she would be the first to perish. More importantly, there was still hope—a sliver of it—linked to Mr. Cao.

"There’s always a chance," she muttered to herself, trying to calm her fears. She had studied before; she knew the saying, “Lying on a bed of firewood, tasting bitter patience.” Though she had a warm sleeping bag, sharing a room with chickens and geese, with the constant sound of their calls and the pervasive stench, was that not the same thing?

Suddenly, she thought of Tang Yili and his friend Sun Chenghao. What were they doing now? Probably starving to death—or freezing, maybe. If she knew they were enjoying a warm bowl of instant noodles, how would she feel?

Back in the property office, an old iron stove had appeared, with a long chimney extending through the air conditioning hole. The flames in the stove flickered, keeping the room warm despite the cold outside.

Sitting on the couch, Shao Hang was flipping through a thick notebook. With the emergency lights casting occasional shadows, everything seemed to be proceeding according to his plan.

The communication breakdown and extreme cold had kept the wealthy residents from bothering him. All the backup generators and fuel for the elevators and lights had been collected in an empty room downstairs.

Shao Hang still wouldn’t allow anyone to use them. "People need to be aware of the crisis. If the disaster isn’t going to resolve soon, who will repair the generators? Who can find more fuel? These are irreplaceable resources. We can’t waste them unless it’s absolutely necessary."

A little cold wouldn’t hurt. The stove in the office was working well enough. The community had plenty of plants for fuel, and if necessary, there were wooden structures, even furniture, that could be burned.

Besides saving, the key was to find more sources of energy. There were plenty of cars in the underground parking lot, and cars meant gasoline. No one in this community had cheap fuel, and now was the perfect time to extract it before the owners realized they needed it.

Tang Yili, Sun Chenghao, and a few others, after finishing their meal, grabbed their tools and followed some security guards into the underground parking garage.

The garage, which would normally be brightly lit, was now pitch dark, completely obscured by the depths of the building. However, because of its depth, the temperature here was actually warmer than outside.

"Let’s get to work. Three people in a group. Try not to damage the cars. The manager said these might be useful later," one of the guards instructed.