Apocalypse: Modifying Everything, Building an Iron Fortress

Chapter 11: The Survivors on the Fifth Floor! I’m Already Bored—That Girl’s More My Type!

“Did she faint from hunger or from fear?”

Jiang Cheng muttered to himself but didn’t dwell on it. He stepped forward, lifted the girl out of the cabinet, and carried her over his shoulder. One hand supported her, while the other held his short knife, keeping vigilant.

Two minutes later, he returned to the home textile store within the furniture section, where he laid the girl on a bed and left her there.

“Let’s fill my stomach first.”

Seeing that the girl wouldn’t wake up anytime soon, Jiang Cheng touched his still-rumbling stomach and walked to the snack section, which was just a dozen meters away. He filled a bag with snacks, as well as some bottled water and drinks. He then moved to the food section and filled another bag with bread, cakes, instant noodles, and the like. As for rice and noodles, which needed to be cooked before eating, he didn’t bother with them for now.

After gathering what he needed, Jiang Cheng returned to the home textile store, sat down beside the girl on a nearby sofa, and began to devour the food ravenously.

The few pieces of bread he had eaten earlier weren’t nearly enough to fill him up.

Before he transmigrated, he had already been starving, just about to go eat.

But after being transported here, he didn’t even get a sip of water before he encountered the apocalypse, leaving him with no time to think about eating, and even if he wanted to, there was nothing to eat.

By now, a whole day had passed. Adding the time before the transmigration, it had been more than a day without food.

Of course, under normal circumstances, if he were just lounging around in a dorm room, a day without food or drink wouldn’t be a big deal.

But since he arrived here, he hadn’t had a moment to rest!

“Damn it, today’s physical exertion is probably more than I’d usually get in a whole month at school.”

Twisting open a bottle of mineral water, he took a few gulps and shook his head, sighing.

…

On the fifth floor of the Daxi Street Supermarket, there was a dining area. Although its scale was nowhere near the nearby food city across the street, it still had several shops.

Additionally, the surveillance room was also located on this floor.

At this moment, the twenty or so survivors on the fifth floor were gathered in one of the stores farthest from the stairwell, enjoying a lavish dinner—luxuries unimaginable in a post-apocalyptic world.

The table was covered with all sorts of seafood from the supermarket’s seafood section, as well as pork, beef, and lamb from the meat section. The feast was almost entirely composed of meat dishes, with hardly a vegetable in sight.

The group was divided into several tables, with one table occupied by five men, all around thirty years old.

A man with a scarred face casually picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth. He looked at a fat man beside him and asked, “Brother Xi, where do you think she could have run off to in all this chaos? Things were so chaotic, and then she just vanished?”

“Run? Heh … In a situation like this, I’d say her chances are slim. Getting eaten isn’t out of the question. What a pity …” The fat man, referred to as Brother Xi, crossed his legs and took a drag of his cigarette, shaking his head.

“That’s not necessarily true. I saw her run up to the second floor, and it was still relatively safe there at the time,” a muscular man in beach shorts with a crew cut disagreed, shaking his head.

“Yeah, the zombies attacked the first floor first, so the second floor wasn’t too chaotic then,” another man with glasses nodded in agreement.

Listening to their conversation, the last man at the table, who was large and had remained silent, glanced over at another table where a dozen or so people were eating.

“Who’s in charge of the surveillance now? Have they spotted anything?”

“It’s … it’s me, Third Brother. I didn’t notice anything before dinner!” A young man who had been eating shivered at his words. He quickly stood up and reported.

“Nothing?”

Third Brother frowned. By now, it had been a whole day. Even if she wasn’t hungry, she’d definitely be thirsty. How could she not have shown up by now?

Could she really have been eaten by those zombies?

“Wait a minute …”

His face suddenly darkened, and he looked at the young man again, “You’re here. So who’s in the surveillance room now?”

“Uh … I-I think no one’s there.”

The young man immediately realized something was wrong. He didn’t dare to meet Third Brother’s eyes and stammered.

“No one?”

Third Brother picked up an empty plate and smashed it across the young man’s head. The plate shattered with a crash, leaving him bleeding profusely.

“And you still have the nerve to sit here eating? I’m telling you, if that girl gets away, I’ll chop you up and feed you to the zombies on the first floor!”

“Y-yes, Third Brother, I’ll go right now!”

Despite the blood streaming from his head, the young man didn’t dare to resist. He hurriedly left the table and ran toward the surveillance room.

Watching this, the remaining dozen or so survivors quickly bowed their heads and quietly continued eating, not daring to make a sound for fear of bringing trouble upon themselves.

“And you lot!”

The burly man known as Third Brother turned to the group, “After you finish eating, go down and bring up some food. If any of you slack off, don’t blame me for what happens!”

“Y-yes, Third Brother!”

“We … we won’t slack off.”

The dozen survivors nodded repeatedly. They had been ordinary people shopping at the supermarket when the apocalypse hit. But when the system collapsed, they didn’t hesitate to side with these five gangsters.

Unfortunately, in this world, no one would value your life. They’d only use you as cannon fodder. But they had no other choice.

“Don’t worry, Third Brother, we’ll make sure they stay in line.”

“Yeah, Third Brother, leave it to us. We won’t let you down!”

The group was joined by six young men in security uniforms who quickly flattered them with fawning smiles.

“Heh, counting on you lot? Just don’t slack off yourselves!” The fat man known as Brother Xi tossed a chicken bone he’d finished gnawing on one of the security guards’ heads, chuckling sinisterly.

“Ouch, Brother Xi, we wouldn’t dare!”

“You’d better not!”

Third Brother shot the six security guards a glance, “Hurry up and eat, and stop dawdling.”

Immediately, the six security guards, as if granted a reprieve, quickly lowered their heads and shoveled food into their mouths.

“As for you two …”

Third Brother turned to look at the two girls sitting in the corner—both college students in their early twenties with average looks. “You lost that girl today, and you still owe us money you can’t pay back. This can’t just be let go!”

“Hurry up and eat. Afterward, go take a bath. Tonight, let us have some fun and relax.”

“Heh, Third Brother is right.”

“I’m not playing tonight. You guys go ahead. I’m tired of these two; that girl was more my type. Too bad these two idiots ruined it!”

“Come on, Brother Xi, with the way things are now, why be so picky? Just make do.”

“… Alright, but tonight, I get to go first!”

“Hahaha, you got it …”

Hearing the laughter of the five men, the two girls in the corner turned pale, their faces full of fear, yet they dared not say a word.

Before the apocalypse, they owed these five men a lot of money, which they could never repay. Fearing retribution, they had no choice but to offer their bodies to pay off the debt.

But that wasn’t enough to satisfy the men. After all, these girls were average in appearance and didn’t have standout figures—they weren’t the gangsters’ type at all.

So, in a desperate attempt to pay off their debt, they had betrayed their dormitory’s belle.

Today, they had successfully lured the campus belle out.

Everything had gone according to plan. They had even managed to drug her drink.

But then the apocalypse hit, and the campus belle, realizing what was happening, took advantage of the chaos to escape.

However, with the outbreak of the apocalypse and zombies everywhere, she didn’t dare to run far. Plus, the drug had started to take effect, making her dizzy and disoriented. In the end, she had no choice but to hide in the furniture section on the second floor.

A sure victory was suddenly snatched away, and the five men were naturally eager to take out their frustrations on the two girls.