Outbreak of Zombie Horde: Three hours remaining

I clutched my phone and shook my head at the person at the door, "Sorry, we're not open today." The screen, now dimmed, still displayed the absurd message before the light disappeared completely: "Three hours from now, zombies will appear. Countdown: two hours and fifty-nine minutes." I work at a small supermarket. Today marks the fifteenth day since the owner went missing. Just a minute ago, I received that text message. The man wearing a black coat at the door muttered something under his breath, but he didn't bother me further. He went to the 711 across the street. Through the glass door, I mustered a guilty smile. I opened Alipay to check my balance. Thirty-five thousand. Thirty thousand was what I earned from working last year, the money I saved up for tuition. The other five thousand was the supermarket's earnings over the past half month. I gritted my teeth and dialed a number. "Brother Li, this is Xiaozhuang from Zhenxing Supermarket. Could you do me a favor and deliver some goods? The sooner, the better." "Okay, thanks. I'll send you the list in a moment." After hanging up, I took a turn around the supermarket to take inventory. Fifty bags of small-packaged rice and flour. Thirty boxes of various flavored instant noodles. An entire shelf of sausages and marinated eggs. Snacks, puffed food, and all sorts of biscuits... We just restocked yesterday, so the supermarket had plenty of supplies. If it were just me, I could survive for half a year. The only problem was... Everyone knew this place was a supermarket, so if disaster struck, the abundant supplies would surely attract trouble. I pondered for a moment, then fetched an axe and a ladder, preparing to take down the store sign at the entrance. That's when Li's truck arrived. Before the vehicle even came to a stop, his booming voice could be heard, "What's going on, Xiaozhuang? Is your supermarket closing down? Then why did you ask me to deliver the goods?" I froze, not knowing what to say. If I were to tell the truth about the zombies, I would surely be taken for a lunatic. Climbing down from the ladder with the sign in my arms, I tried to explain as reasonably as possible. "Our boss said we are expanding and doing renovations." Li didn't suspect anything and jumped off the truck, grinning. "No wonder! I was wondering why you gave me such a big order, almost clearing out half of my inventory." "You asked for it to be delivered quickly, so as soon as I finished loading the goods, I came right away. But it wasn't easy finding those baseball bats and axes you wanted. It took quite some time." Li was in a good mood and chatted with me. But I couldn't force a smile. My palms were drenched in cold sweat. If that text message wasn't true, then my actions right now would be equivalent to madness! "The supermarket is undergoing renovations. Where should we unload the goods?" Li handed me a cigarette. I shook my head and declined, "Could you please deliver the goods through the back door and move them to the second-floor warehouse?" The second floor served as both a warehouse and my dormitory. This building was a mixed-use commercial and residential property. Although it wasn't located in the central area, its proximity to the school meant the property prices weren't low. It was said that the entire building was owned by the missing owner, but she only opened a small supermarket on the first floor, used the second floor as a warehouse, and left the third floor vacant. The hobbies of wealthy people are often different from the norm. Seeing that I didn't take the cigarette, Li didn't get annoyed. Instead, he chuckled twice and said, "That's right. You're a college student, so it's good that you don't smoke. Study hard and make lots of money in the future, but don't forget about your buddy Li!" I mustered a slight smile, but couldn't bring myself to laugh. As for studying, who knows if the school will reopen... My phone, which I had placed in my jacket pocket, kept vibrating as more text messages came in. "Countdown: two hours and fifty-eight minutes." "Countdown: two hours and fifty-seven minutes." ... "Countdown: two hours and twenty-one minutes." In just over forty minutes, I had received more than forty text messages. If this was a prank, no one would be so persistent. As I watched the workers unload the goods one by one, I couldn't help but ask, "Li, do you believe in the end of the world?" Li glanced at me, "What's going on? Is the world about to explode?" "No, it's the spread of a virus, a city surrounded by zombies... Bro, if there's nothing going on, it's best to stay indoors for the next few days." Li Ge was momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter, shaking his head as he said, "You educated elites, always lost in idle thoughts. Has studying made you foolish?" Seeing his disbelief, I couldn't continue speaking and chose to remain silent. After settling the payment, Li Ge hopped into the passenger seat, and his army green winter coat hung on the car door, making a rustling sound. He didn't seem to mind and waved at me, saying, "Xiao Zhuang, I'm leaving now. Contact me if you need anything." The sound of message notifications continued, one after another, like urgent reminders. After giving it some thought, I locked the supermarket door, rolled down the shutters, and even moved several stones, piling them up at the entrance, making it look like an abandoned store that had been deserted for a long time. With everything in order, I took a taxi to the pharmacy. Despite the strange looks from the staff, I practically emptied the pharmacy, aside from some useless supplements. Stammering, I explained, "Supporting education. The class is collectively purchasing medicine." Back at the supermarket, I went upstairs through the back door. Looking at the second floor, which had no place to step foot, I realized how madly I had acted. Apart from the small bedroom where I lived, the entire 100-square-meter house was filled with things. Mineral water, instant noodles, boxed eggs, even hot pot seasonings... What started as a joke of a text message shouldn't have been taken so seriously. But the problem was that half a month ago, the boss lady had said something similar. "Things might get a little troublesome next. Avoid going out if possible." Since then, she disappeared without a trace, and for a whole half month, I had been keeping the supermarket running. This wasn't normal. We had agreed long ago that I would start school on the 20th, and on the 15th, I should have moved back to campus. The boss lady readily agreed and said she would hire another part-time worker on the 14th to replace me. But today was the 16th. The other part-time worker didn't come, and she couldn't be contacted either. The boss lady was a strange person, but also a beautiful woman, a stunning beauty. Judging by her appearance, she was only in her early thirties, not working, yet not lacking money. With a graceful figure, a stunning face, and luxurious dressing style, she exuded extravagance. A pair of her shoes cost more than a year's worth of my living expenses. The supermarket made a profit of over ten thousand every month, but after deducting my salary and restocking, there was barely five thousand left. It wasn't even enough for the boss lady to buy a single handbag, making it pointless to keep the business open. At first sight of the boss lady, I couldn't help but have some negative thoughts, like her being kept by some wealthy man... But after working at the small supermarket for two years, I quickly dismissed this idea. Because the boss lady had countless pursuers. In just these two years, there were numerous luxury cars parked outside the supermarket, waiting to pick her up. She had been on a few dates, but she didn't accept gifts or money, and none of the relationships lasted... My phone in my pocket vibrated, and I took it out to check its battery, which was critically low. I quickly snapped back to reality, searching for charging cables everywhere. In the process, I found dozens of brand-new power banks in a corner and opened them to charge. But soon, I realized a problem—there weren't enough power outlets. That's when I woke up. If there was a power outage, there would certainly be no internet as well, rendering the phone useless even if it had battery. Being an orphan without any family, and having spent my four years of university working part-time to earn tuition, I didn't have many friends. So, at this critical moment, I didn't know who to inform. After thinking for a moment, I dialed my roommate's number and told him that there might be zombies and asked him to quickly stock up on supplies and not go out in the near future.