Chapter 7: Selling the House
1653 Words
The electromagnetic interference caused by the volcanic eruption on the island nation lasted for six whole hours.
Once the radar and other observation systems of various countries were back online, the first to react was the beautiful nation's government—the Tefu had disappeared!
No matter what methods they used, the Tefu's whereabouts could not be detected! The government of the beautiful nation immediately assumed that the Summer Nation must be involved! They believed that only the Summer Nation had the capability to either sink or hide the Tefu!
In response to such irresponsible claims and accusations, the Summer Nation's spokesperson strongly condemned the beautiful nation, warning them not to pursue hegemonic tactics during a global disaster, or else they would become the enemy of the world's people!
The beautiful nation, of course, did not back down. Soon, they mobilized their military forces surrounding the Summer Nation to investigate and gather evidence in the area where the Tefu disappeared.
At this moment, Zhou Lin was already on a high-speed train heading to Deep City. He planned to sell his property there and convert it into supplies before social order completely collapsed.
As the train started moving, Zhou Lin received a message from Ai Bing, asking where he was and why she couldn’t get through to him on the phone yesterday.
"On a business trip." Zhou Lin certainly wouldn’t tell Ai Bing what was really happening. He was now wondering if he should take care of Ai Bing before heading back home.
Ai Bing messaged again: "We haven’t seen each other for two days. Don’t you miss me?"
Zhou Lin sneered. He was too lazy to type and directly sent a voice message: "I miss you so much, I’m almost dying without you!"
His words sounded like playful teasing between lovers, but paired with the gnashing of his teeth...
A light laugh came from the seat beside him. Zhou Lin turned and saw a young, beautiful woman.
"Sorry, I don’t usually laugh unless..." she began.
"Can’t help it?" Zhou Lin raised an eyebrow, but in his mind, he was thinking, "Before long, a young, beautiful woman like this... if she doesn’t have some ability, the outcome... what a pity."
Perhaps his gaze revealed too much. The woman, Wu Xue, slightly furrowed her brows, and her smile instantly disappeared, almost as if she was about to ask Zhou Lin something.
Just then, Ai Bing sent another message, asking when Zhou Lin would be back.
"Probably just wants me to go back and be her ATM again," Zhou Lin shook his head. It was at this moment that he finally realized how foolish he had been in his past life to let someone like Ai Bing control him so tightly.
"I’ll come find you, wait for me!" Ai Bing replied.
She didn’t notice how strange Zhou Lin’s tone was—completely different from usual. She was still planning what to buy for herself when Zhou Lin returned, maybe a new outfit or a handbag...
After sending the message, Zhou Lin didn’t bother with Wu Xue but instead contacted a familiar real estate agent to sell his house.
"Cash deal. If we close tomorrow, I’ll offer you twenty percent below market price. I’ll also give you an extra five percent commission, but if it’s delayed, it’ll drop one percent per day, and the price will go up by five percent."
The agent was, of course, delighted and promised to do everything possible.
Once the housing matter was settled, Zhou Lin closed his eyes, feeling a bit restless.
Ai Bing... If possible, he would just eliminate her quickly. But what troubled Zhou Lin was that in his previous life, he had overheard a conversation between Ai Bing and Cao Bowen about the ability orbs.
If it was just about getting the ability orbs, Zhou Lin wouldn’t even consider sparing Ai Bing’s life.
But the information revealed in their conversation caught Zhou Lin's attention.
Cao Bowen mentioned that he was part of an organization that had not only collected a large number of ability orbs by the fifth year of the apocalypse but had also discovered the secret of the orbs shortly after the apocalypse began.
Could it be true?
Was Cao Bowen bragging?
Zhou Lin couldn’t tell.
But he hoped it was true. If it was, it would be the best chance to give his parents and younger sister the ability to survive in the apocalypse—turning them into evolved humans or ability users as soon as possible!
If he could get close to Cao Bowen through Ai Bing, and then figure out the organization and obtain the ability orbs...
Without a doubt, Zhou Lin believed that his family’s future was more important than Ai Bing’s life. Besides, letting Ai Bing live a little longer meant he could torment her longer—it was a win-win!
Of course, that was a matter for later. For now, Zhou Lin’s primary concern was figuring out his own ability.
Symbiosis: [Level 1 103/1000]
Currently Symbiotic Vehicle: Large Surface Vehicle (Unnamed)
Available Symbiosis Capacity: 0
Storage Space: 0/1
...
"Let’s name it... Tefu... No, better yet, 'Lai Fu.'"
As Zhou Lin thought to himself, the ability stats immediately updated:
Symbiosis: [Level 1 103/1000]
Currently Symbiotic Vehicle: Lai Fu (Large Surface Vehicle)
Available Symbiosis Capacity: 0
Storage Space: 0/1
...
"Not bad. But this experience value..." Zhou Lin thought for a moment, estimating it probably increases by one point per day. He wondered if there were any other ways to gain experience, what would happen when it leveled up, and whether the ability would allow him to increase the number of symbiotic vehicles...
Lost in thought, Zhou Lin eventually fell asleep. Perhaps it was due to his exhaustion from the previous days; he ended up sleeping for seven or eight hours. When he woke up, it was nearly dark.
Wu Xue was looking at him with curiosity, thinking, "What kind of immortality technique is this guy practicing, sleeping so soundly on the high-speed train?" But before she could find a chance to ask, Zhou Lin, who had barely eaten anything, began dozing off again, nodding off until the train reached the station.
At this point, neither Zhou Lin nor Wu Xue had any idea that the two of them would meet again in the future.
Having slept for an entire day, Zhou Lin was feeling refreshed. He wasn’t in a hurry to go home but began his big shopping spree.
With over thirty thousand in savings, Zhou Lin knew he could still squeeze some money out of his online loans and credit cards. After some operations, he temporarily had an extra two hundred thousand in cash, and he expected more disbursements in the next couple of days.
He found a 24-hour supermarket and started shopping.
First, he filled a cart with Summer Nation’s unique seasonings and sauces. After checking out, he found a spot without surveillance in the stairwell, loaded everything into the "Lai Fu" storage, and went back to continue shopping.
Frozen snacks? One cart. Specialty snacks? Another cart. Rice? One more cart. ...
Had the cashier not been giving him strange looks, Zhou Lin would’ve kept shopping until dawn. Even so, he maxed out two of his credit cards with one hundred thousand in purchases.
Seeing it was still early, Zhou Lin gritted his teeth and went to another store to continue buying.
Reasonably priced, comfortable clothing—he grabbed a bunch. Alcohol stove, solid alcohol—got them. Durable camping tents—purchased. Outdoor tools—checked. Electric tools—got them. Mosquito repellents—added to the list...
"D*mn, I’m out of money..." Zhou Lin hadn’t expected two hundred thousand cash to disappear so quickly. By the time the sky was starting to lighten, he only had a few hundred left on his cards.
Back at home, Zhou Lin felt utterly exhausted. He collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep until the phone rang.
"Brother, someone wants to buy your house!" The agent sounded excited on the phone.
"Oh, I’m home. Bring them over."
Zhou Lin’s house was in a good location, with convenient transportation, schools, and medical facilities. He had bought it for 4.5 million two years ago, paying in full. This house had been the key reason Ai Bing had never completely cast Zhou Lin aside.
Given the current market, Zhou Lin’s two-bedroom apartment could easily sell for around seven million, but to cash out quickly, they negotiated for 5.6 million. After fees and commissions, Zhou Lin ended up with around five million.
By 3:00 PM, after finalizing everything at the property center, Zhou Lin’s bank account reflected an extra five million in cash—more funds to use.
Time to order some supplies online, with delivery to his family’s house. Zhou Lin called his mother, Cheng Yali.
"What? You’re coming back?" Cheng Yali sounded confused. "It’s not a holiday, and there’s nothing major happening, so why are you coming back?"
"Mom, you don’t want me to come back?" Zhou Lin asked.
"Well, not that, but young people should focus on their careers. Are you bringing Ai Bing back with you?"
"She’s busy. Not this time. By the way, I ordered some deliveries; keep an eye out for them. Did we sell the big garage?"
"No, it’s still empty," Cheng Yali replied.
"Keep it for me," Zhou Lin said, thinking better of telling his mother about the impending apocalypse. He was planning to catch the first high-speed train out the next morning—the entire eastern coast of the Summer Nation’s air traffic was grounded.
Zhou Lin moved all the useful items into the "Lai Fu" storage, and just as he was about to receive his delivery, the doorbell rang. When he opened the door, he was surprised to see Ai Bing standing there.
"You came?"
Ai Bing’s face looked awful. "You... you sold the house?"
- Writer
