Apocalypse - Evil Shelter System

As the two men walked with Alex into the apartment complex, they proudly bragged along the way.

"Let's not talk about the good luck we had before; let's talk about what happened recently!" The tall man said smugly, "Just a few days ago, we were running out of food, and the whole place outside was infested with zombies. We didn't dare to recklessly venture out without knowing what was happening, right?

After all, these zombies only know how to bite people; we ordinary folks wouldn't stand a chance, you know?"

"And just when we were discussing whether we should risk going out, a helicopter flew inexplicably overhead, diverting the zombies away!"

"Hey! How lucky was that? Isn't it fantastic?" The shorter man beside him chuckled and said,

"Then, taking advantage of the fewer zombies, we went on a major shopping spree! Now, our warehouse is full of food! With just over twenty people in our gathering spot, we could probably eat for half a year without running out!"

Alex felt a bit embarrassed listening to their tales of good fortune. These people's luck was indeed unbelievably good. His unintentional actions had unexpectedly helped them so much.

Alex casually agreed with the two men's self-praise, not taking it too seriously. What good was luck without true strength? In this post-apocalyptic world, relying solely on luck might keep them alive for a year or two, but eventually, they would have to face the zombies outside. Without real power, they would end up as food for the zombies.

The two men led Alex to a convenience store in the community, pointing inside and saying, "Your cousin and cousin-in-law are inside. Your cousin is doing great now, like a superhero from a movie. He somehow gained superpowers; his hands can shoot fire! He's the most powerful one here, so he and his wife are in charge of our food supply!"

Alex smiled faintly, not expecting that his cousin had also become a mutated individual. Moreover, it seemed like he was living quite comfortably in this post-apocalyptic world.

"Hey, boss, hs is here, come out quickly!" The tall man shouted into the warehouse section of the convenience store.

The first to come out was Alex's cousin-in-law. She was wearing a white T-shirt with short sleeves, and her ample bosom swayed as she walked. Below, she wore denim shorts, exposing large areas of her fair and delicate skin. Her long, black, well-groomed hair was tied up, and some strands fell casually, adding a touch of charm.

His cousin-in-law was still as alluring as ever. However, having experienced the company of many beautiful women, Alex was no longer the naive youth he once was. He didn't feel the same longing for his cousin-in-law as he did back then.

At the first sight of Alex, his cousin-in-law was overcome with excitement and tears streamed down her face.

"Siaomu! Come out! Alex is here! Alex is alive! That's wonderful!"

While crying, she excitedly shouted to her husband inside.

"You have quite the tough luck, they say the lone star has the hardest fate, and I can see that's not entirely untrue," Alex's cousin, Siaomu, walked out of the warehouse with a bottle of Maotai in his hand. His face was a bit red, suggesting he might be a bit tipsy.

"Cousin, cousin-in-law, are you both doing well here?" Although Alex didn't appreciate his cousin's words, he didn't pay too much attention. After all these years, he had become accustomed to it.

"We're doing well! We're not bad off at all," his cousin-in-law said happily, looking at Alex with concern. She asked, "Alex, are you okay? How did you get here? I remember you should be on the side of Jiangcheng University; it's not close from there to here."

"Yeah! How did you get here, kid?" Alex's cousin looked at him curiously and said, "You're not a mutant too, are you?"

Alex smiled and casually replied, "When I drove over here, there were hardly any zombies in this area, so I just walked over."

"I knew it! A useless guy like you, how could you become a mutant?" Cousin Siaomu said proudly, "It's only outstanding men like your cousin, me, who have the possibility of becoming mutants!"

With that, Alex's cousin Siaomu snapped his fingers, and suddenly a flame burst from his hand! It flickered in front of Alex, and his face was full of pride.

Several elderly survivors who came over to watch quickly flattered, "Siaomu is amazing! He can produce fire from his hands! He must be the chosen one! Whoever can save us must be Siaomu!"

"Yeah, yeah! During this time, we really owe it all to Siaomu! If it weren't for Siaomu having superpowers to deal with zombies, even if there were so few zombies outside, we wouldn't dare to go out and find food!"

"A while ago, after our gas ran out, we could drink virus-free hot water and enjoy fragrant rice—all thanks to Siaomu's superpowers!"

The several old ladies praised Siaomu wholeheartedly, not sparing any effort to flatter him. The chosen one, the son of destiny, the superhero—all titles were being thrown around.

These elderly people lacked the courage to fight zombies but had to rely on young people like Siaomu to find food and take care of them. Naturally, they were eager to please Siaomu and his group.

Siaomu perhaps got used to hearing these compliments. He wore a self-satisfied smile and enjoyed the flattery as if it were his due.

"Alex, you know, we don't usually accept useless outsiders here, but since you're my cousin, I can give you a hand." Siaomu said, patting Alex on the shoulder and disdainfully added, "You haven't been particularly talented since childhood, just a bit strong. In the future, stick around with me and run some errands. As long as you do well, your cousin will always reward you with a meal."

Alex smiled faintly and was about to refuse when Siaomu pulled him inside. While walking, he proudly introduced, "Alex, let me tell you, this guy is outstanding. No matter the circumstances, he's always outstanding! Before the apocalypse, I could get into Fudan University, while you could only manage Jiangcheng University.

I could buy a house and marry a beautiful wife, while you had to rely on the money I lent you to endure your university days."

"Now, even in the apocalypse, I'm still outstanding, and you, my little cousin, still have to come and join me."

Talking to himself, he pointed to the fully stocked warehouse in the convenience store, boastfully saying, "See that? So much food! Enough for everyone here for half a year!"

"And look at this!! Nike! Adidas! Nike! Metersbonwe! Semir!" Siaomu pointed to a pile of well-known brand clothes, shoes, and pants on the shelf, proudly saying, "These clothes and shoes are enough for everyone here to wear for a year without repeating!"

Pointing at the clothes, he casually tossed a few to Alex, saying, "I see your clothes are not bad, but they clearly scream street vendor quality, lacking any style! Take these Semir ones, you can wear them! You couldn't afford better ones before, but now, in the apocalypse, has to let you experience the feeling of wearing some good clothes."

Alex glanced at the clothes in his hand, feeling a bit helpless. What he had on was a genuine limited edition Armani casual suit that he had obtained from the mall before the apocalypse. Before the end of the world, this casual suit alone could buy hundreds of these Semir sports short-sleeves in his hand. However, in his cousin's eyes, these clothes had somehow become street vendor goods.

Thinking about it, he could understand. In his cousin's mind, he had always maintained the image of a poor guy, suddenly wearing such high-quality clothes might be a bit surprising. But in the current apocalypse, Alex couldn't be bothered with brand names; he just wanted something comfortable.

"And this!" Siaomu took out a basket of watches from another shelf, all of them were Longines. He casually picked one, the classic Longines model, and threw it to Alex, saying, "Longines watches, all genuine. Unlike that fake stuff on your wrist. Before the apocalypse, these watches would sell for at least thirty or forty thousand!"

Pointing at Alex's Rolex watch, Siaomu continued, "Get rid of that knockoff and wear a genuine one! It's the damn apocalypse, don't embarrass yourself by wearing a fake!"

Without waiting for Alex to respond, Siaomu continued to drag him forward. At this moment, Alex suddenly smelled a strong scent of smoke, and the aroma of cigarettes wafted out from the living room.

Alex peeked inside and saw two tables of people playing mahjong.

Each of them had a cigarette in their mouths, leisurely enjoying themselves.

The currency for gambling was also unique, it was packs of cigarettes.

In the apocalypse, money had become almost useless, and cigarettes had become the hard currency among these people.

"How about that? The entertainment here is not bad, right? Play mahjong, smoke, drink tea when you have nothing else to do. That's life! I got these mahjong sets from the chess room outside," Siaomu proudly said, feeling proud of himself for coming up with such good entertainment.

Alex shook his head in disbelief. In this kind of apocalypse, instead of figuring out ways to find more food, reinforce the walls, and exercise to stay fit, they were leisurely playing mahjong here? These people's priorities were truly skewed.

It also seemed like also not pleased with these people. She sniffed disdainfully and said, "Siaomu, what's there to be proud of? You've filled the whole room with the smell of smoke, it's unbearable! Take Alex to see our room, I can tell he's still relatively clean, but he probably hasn't bathed in a while."

His sister-in-law also had a faint sense of satisfaction and superiority on her face. In the midst of the apocalypse, having such a life was indeed something they could be proud of.

"Look over here!" Siaomu pulled Alex upstairs again. The entrance hall was cleaned very neatly, even decorated with some items. There was a set of kung fu tea utensils on the coffee table, and green tea was steaming. Beside the coffee table, on a hanging chair with a soft high-end cushion, there was a literary romance novel.

The book was open, presumably something his sister-in-law read in her free time.

If it were before the apocalypse, this would be considered the level of a middle-class family.

"It seems like my cousin and sister are doing well," Alex nodded. Although the life of his cousin and sister-in-law was absolutely incomparable to his own, compared to most survivors in the apocalypse, their lives were indeed quite comfortable.

"Doing well?!" Cousin Siaomu, as if touched on a sore spot, said angrily, "What do you mean by 'doing well'? Is this only considered 'doing well'? Do we have to end up like you, wandering the streets and relying on others to survive before it's considered good?"

"Hmph!" Cousin Siaomu sneered, looking disdainful. "Look at you, so pathetic. I bet you don't realize how precious and rare it is to have such a good standard of living in this kind of apocalypse!"

Alex silently shook his head. His cousin was indeed content with a little wealth. If he were to see Alex's City of Darkness and Demon King's Castle, he would probably be scared out of his wits.

"Siaomu, why are you speaking like this? Alex is still a child, inexperienced in the ways of the world. You should show him some understanding!" With that, his sister-in-law led Alex to the nearby bathroom, proudly saying, "Look! These are the water purifier and water heater your cousin brought back. With the water purifier, we can now take showers every day."

"But the water heater is temporarily unusable. The lack of electricity here is a drawback. Once we get a generator in the future, we can enjoy hot showers comfortably!"

"And these cosmetics and skincare products! They are all high-end Korean goods your cousin risked his life to bring back from a shopping mall filled with zombies! Before the apocalypse, even one set of these would cost several thousand yuan!"

Several thousand? Was his sister-in-law so easily satisfied? Alex remembered the cosmetics he casually scavenged for the female slaves in his City of Darkness. They were all world-class luxury goods, each set priced at tens of thousands of yuan...

Not to mention water purifiers and water heaters. In his City of Darkness, even ordinary slaves were already using them. What was there to be proud of?

Alex nodded in agreement, feeling a bit indifferent to the whole situation.

"Hmph! Why bother telling these things to this bumpkin? What does he know about high-end or not? I bet this kid doesn't even know what skincare products are!" Alex's cousin Siaomu said disdainfully, waving his hand to flaunt his luxurious Longines watch. "Hmm? It's past 11 o'clock; it's almost time for lunch.

Wanshow, go check if the people in the kitchen have finished preparing the meals. Call everyone to have lunch together."

"Alright!" His sister-in-law happily ran downstairs.

Siaomu sneered, giving Alex a cold look and arrogantly continued, "Alex, I've been saying this since you were a kid. You're just hopeless. People are born with inherent differences. Some things, no matter how hard you try, won't change. Look at you, studying your heart out, and where did you end up? Just Jiangcheng University?

Me, despite having average grades and fooling around all day, with a bit of help from your uncle's connections and some money, I still managed to get into Fudan University."